ã€ŠMy Necromancer Classã€‹


 Chapter 1 Mana Conduit 1

    A strong wind caused a tree branch to beat against Jay¡¯s window, stirring him awake.

    ¡°Ah, finally, today is the day of my ss awakening¡± thought Jay as he got out of bed with a spring in his step.

    He freshened up with some water before making his way downstairs for breakfast.

    Cooking up a fish, Jay began scoffing it down as he thought about how his life was going to change, getting more enthused with each passing second.

    For a moment, he gazed out the window at some mist-sheep in a nearby field, watching as they phased in and out of the mist ¨C disappearing and reappearing.

    Since Jay watched the sheep every morning as he ate breakfast alone, he began to feel a little sentimental.

    ¡°This might be thest week I live in this vige¡­¡± he thought with a solemn smile before cleaning up his te.

    Today was the day he would get his ss, it would open up new opportunities in his life, and allow him to leave this small, quiet vige ¨C and nothing was going to stop him from enjoying every moment.

    ¡°The wait is almost over,¡± smiled Jay, thinking he could finally start killing monsters, levelling up, and officially start his journey as an adventurer.

    ¡°But the first step is touching the mana conduit.¡±

    Getting up from breakfast, Jay left his small house, which was a two story butchery. He started walking towards the only building in town with a mana conduit: the Adventurers guild.

    The mana conduit was arge magic crystal that gave adventurers their ss when they touched it.

    Byw, everyone who turned 18 years old that year must ce their hand on a mana conduit on the 7th day of the 7th month. This is done in order to gain a ss, and no one would ever break this rule, as getting a ss benefited everyone.

    After all, not getting a ss would mean you would get no skills, abilities or magic power.

    Without those, you would have to live a quiet, boring life; a punishment for someone like Jay.

    Looking at the dark cloudy sky as he walked through the stone streets, he frowned slightly.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Ah, just my luck, rain¡­ Better pull over my hood¡± He thought as he pulled up ck hood.

    ¡°The rain sucks, but today is still going to be great though, a little rain won¡¯t dampen my mood¡± he encouraged himself with a chuckle, smiling under his hood.

    Walking along the muddy path towards the adventurers guild, Jay was tempted to curse at the dreary weather as it started to sprinkle a little more heavily now.

    Meanwhile, more thick, dark clouds gathered overhead ¨C blocking out any chances of sunlight gleaming through.

    Jay pursed his lips; he would¡¯ve stayed home if he had the choice ¨C however, if someone failed to reach a mana conduit then they wouldn¡¯t get a ss.

    They would be cursed to live a life as a mediocre civilian at the mercy of the beasts, monsters and other races in this magical and medieval world; so on this special day, even snow would not stop Jay.

    With a sigh, Jay pushed on.

    ¡°Halfway up the mountain now, nearly there¡­ I hope my practice with the knife gives me a cool swordsman ss.¡± he thought to himself.

    ¡°Surely the system will take into ount that I¡¯ve been using a knife as a butcher for thest few years¡­ Ooo, maybe it will even give me a rare passive ability¡­¡± his eyes became more excited.

    Jay walked faster thinking about the possibilities, excited about bing a powerful swordsman and having legendary adventures.

    No more was life going to be mundane, making money as a butcher to get by.

    After Jay¡¯s father moved to another vige to start a second butcher shop, he took over the business here in Lo. There was little contact between Jay and his father, who may as well have been dead since Jay never received as much as a letter from him; part of him felt abandoned.

    Jay cast these sad thoughts aside and kept walking, each step bringing him closer to a new life.

    The muddy road to the adventurer association curved up around a hill which overlooked the vige, dodging rocky outcrops as it led to the adventurers association gate.

    There were a few other people walking up the dirt road too. Some spoke to each other and walked together, but most kept to themselves; the dark weather suppressing any chance of a warm conversation.<sub></sub>

    The hill wasrge and the path was long, causing Jay to start sweating slightly as he started to pant.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty unfit¡± he thought as he started huffing.

    ¡°I should¡¯ve started training or something¡­ oh well.¡± he shook his head.

    Suddenly, a deep man¡¯s voice called out from behind, startling most of the young adventurers on the road. Arge bulky man d in armour was riding a horse ahead of a carriage.

    ¡°Make way for nobility!¡± he called out, his raspy voice had the airy authority of a war-torn veteran.

    With a short sword strapped to his waist, he rode on a ck de-horse ahead of a luxurious carriage as he continued to call out; the man didn¡¯t even turn his head towards Jay, expecting anyone to move at his call.

    The safety of the young noble was clearly his only priority.

    The knight was overqualified for his position ¨C anyone could tell that the knight was bored just by looking at him, yet he still emitted a kind of dangerous pressure when he came closer.

    As he rode past, a trail of steam followed him ¨C his sword¡¯s sheath releasing steam when droplets of rainnded on it.

    ¡°Must have a ruby gem. Heh, must be nice being rich.¡± thought Jay secretly, not risking to say it out loud.

    In this world, gems gave weapons attributes. In this instance, there was a ruby gem socketed into the short sword, which gave the sword +3 fire damage. A passive effect was that it felt warm to the touch.

    When drawn, the sword would glow red-hot, able to carve through flesh like paper and only leaving a cauterised wound behind. A wound such as this would block instantaneous healing abilities. One would have to cut off the cauterisation before even attempting to heal it.

    It wasmon to see these gems socketed intorger objects, but to put them into smaller objects like swords required great skill.

    The fire attribute had to be channelled into the de and not into the handle, lest it burn the wielder. This is what made the weapon so expensive; generally the smaller a socketed object, the more expensive it was.

    Jay did his best to move to the side of the path, getting out of the way of the rich knight.<sub></sub>

    The hill was steep at the edge of the road, it had been built up to make a slightly wider path, though over time it had degraded.

    Standing on the edge of the road to give way to the carriage, Jay realised that he didn¡¯t have enough room ¨C but it was toote to do anything about it.

    Having no choice but to dodge the oing carriage, he stepped backwards towards the edge. Suddenly the side of the path crumbled and he started to slip ¨C the rain helped in making a bad situation worse as it was all turning to slippery mud by now.

    ¡°Shit, ah!¡± Jay attempted to nt his foot firmly on the ground, but the mud caused Jay to just slip further down.

    He began to lose bnce as he yelled, hoping someone would hear him ¨C and someone did.

    A chuckle came from the carriage, and as Jay fell, a mocking smirk shed at him ever so briefly through the carriage¡¯s curtains.

    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s like they¡¯re almost d that I¡¯m being pushed off the road and into the mud, little bastard.¡± he thought as he tried to gain his bnce ¨C yet unsessfully.

    Jay fell over onto his shoulder as he slid a little way down the side of the hill.

    ¡°You asshole in your shitty carriage!¡± Jay yellow, gritting his teeth in anger as he slid down; he only began picking up more speed and sliding faster in the rain and mud.

    Spotting a shrub as he slid down, he grabbed at it to stop himself from sliding further.

    ¡°Graaah!¡± he grasped the small bush with all his strength, yet neither Jay or the bush came out unscathed.

    Jay finally came to a stop as half of the nt¡¯s roots were pulled up. His hand began stinging as it turned red, hurting more than his shoulder now as he just stripped away half of the leaves from the nt.

    Using the shrub as bnce, he stood up slowly, yet was quickly filled with anger.

    ¡°Dammit, will they even let me in now? I¡¯m so filthy, they will think I¡¯m a beggar¡­ and that little bastard in the carriage was basicallyughing at me. Prick!¡± he snapped in frustration, clenching his fist as he noticed the carriage wasn¡¯t even there anymore ¨C it didn¡¯t even stop to help.

    ¡°Little fucking bastard¡­¡± his brows furrowed in anger, swearing through his clenched jaw as he looked at the brown slide he made down the hill.

    Walking back up the muddy hill to get to the road, Jay¡¯s anger still seethed ¨C yet this only caused him to lose his concentration, and with it, his bnce.

    ¡°Fucker¡­ little carriage bastard fucker¡­ ~Oh, wait. Shit!¡± Once more, he fell backwards.

    ¡°Shit, shit, shiiiii!!-¡±

    The back of his headnding squarely on a rock, and Jay instantly lost consciousness.

    His unconscious body continued sliding down the hill for a moment before stopping near some bushes.

    Sadly for Jay, no one saw him fall or even heard him yell in the pouring rain ¨C he was alone, knocked unconscious and caught in some bushes.

    ¡ª

    ¡°KAW~!¡±

    ¡°¡­wha?- AH!¡± A silver crow shocked Jay awake, flying away when Jay¡¯s eyes opened widely.

    Jay sat up quickly, trying to make himself look more lifelike as he realised the crow was about to start eating him as if he were some roadkill.

    It was still close to Winter, and at this point Jay was shivering, his clothes drenched with rain. He couldn¡¯t tell how long he had been unconscious as it was still overcast, but it didn¡¯t matter very much right now ¨C he was freezing.

    ¡°I need¡­.. to get warm¡­ so cold¡­ need¡­ warmth¡­¡± his teeth chattering, his lips blue, and his fingers white. He could hardly form sentences.

    Survival instincts kicked in as Jay started to jog to the vige inn. He would¡¯ve gone home but he knew that his shivering hands wouldn¡¯t have been able to start a fire.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m so hungry, so thirsty. How long w-was I knocked out?¡± he asked himself as he jogged, trying to warm himself up.

    It was still overcast and early in the morning when he finally made it to the only inn in the vige.

    Stumbling through the wooden door of the Snakeraven inn, Jay quickly walked towards the innkeeper standing behind the bar ready to ce his order ¨C however the middle-aged bald man with a twirling moustache took the initiative to speak first.

    ¡°Hello¡­? I¡¯m Devin. How.. can I help..?¡± the innkeeper asked, squinting at Jay as he wondered whether he should kick this dirty mud-covered bum out or not.

    ¡°I¡¯m not getting paid enough for this shit¡± The innkeeper thought, looking at the tracks of mud Jay was making through his establishment before realising he was his own boss.

    ¡°O-one room please, and a hot bath im-immediately! I¡¯m f-freezing!¡± Jay said through his chattering teeth.

    ¡°Sure. That will be 25 gold.¡± The innkeeper eyed Jay¡¯s waist for a coin pouch.

    ¡°It will cost you more if you stay for longer though. And about your bath, it will cost 5 gold for the ruby-bath which heats up water instantly; otherwise we normally heat up water over the fire which would take quite some time.¡±

    The innkeeper exined, casually peering at the thick mud on Jay¡¯s clothes.

    ¡°Ah.. would you likeundry service too? For 5 gold?¡±

    ¡°Obviously I want the fucking ruby-bath, I¡¯m literally shivering in front of you, you absolute fu-¡± Jay thought for a moment before he exhaled angrily and then smiled with dead eyes, replying with an almost sarcastic tone.

    ¡°Yes, I would like my clothes washed and I would like the ruby tub too, p-please.¡± he said through gritted teeth.

    ¡°Sure. 35 gold.¡± Devin said before he called out for his employee.

    ¡°Tamara! We have a customer! Get the hot tub filled right away!¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡± A young female voice sounded from a room behind the bar.

    Jay paid 35 gold as a young woman came out from a door next to the bar.

    ¡°Room 3, but take him to the ruby-bath first¡± Devin said as he took the gold coins and went back to cleaning sses.

    ¡°I wonder what they did to the new recruit to make hime back like this¡­¡± Devin thought as he shrugged, putting a clean ss down and grabbing another to polish. It was not the morning as Jay had thought ¨C he had been unconscious all day; Devin merely assumed this was some sort of training.

    ¡°Old guild leader Sully must be experimenting this year,¡± he shrugged with a smile, ¡°Oh well, not my problem.¡±

 Chapter 2 Mana Conduit 2

    Tamara led Jay down a hallway to a room with the ruby-bath in the centre, gesturing to Jay to enter the room. The bath tub was as big as any other bathtub ¨C yet with a small ruby gem socketed into its base, a metal cage covering the gem to stop petty thieves.

    Tamara pointed to the corner of the room ¡°There¡¯s a basket there to put your dirty clothes in, along with a change of clothes on that shelf. I¡¯ve left a towel and some soap there too. If you need anything just call out down the hallway and I¡¯ll hear you.¡±

    Jay nodded as Tamara closed the door, leaving Jay alone in the room.

    Checking that the door was locked, Jay turned around to start undressing as he noticed wisps of steam, dancing on top of the water. Enticed by the warmth, he hurriedly took his clothes off and threw them in the general direction of the basket before hopping into the bath.

    At first it was hot, but soon his skin adapted to the heat and it feltfortable. As his muscles untensed themselves from the shivering, he could finally rx.

    ¡°Ahhhh¡­ 5 gold well spent¡± He smiled in delight.

    Suddenly, he panicked. Grabbing the sides of the bathtub, he froze.

    ¡°I still need to reach the mana conduit! SHIT!¡± Jumping out of the bath, he grabbed the towel and wrapped it around himself. He remembered that the sun was about to set as he was shocked awake by that crow so he¡¯s really cutting it close.

    Opening the door he yelled ¡°TAMARA!¡±

    Hearing footsteps, Tamara appeared ¡°yes?¡±

    ¡°I need to get to the adventurers¡¯ association as soon as possible. Can you please request a carriage for me?¡± Jay blurted out.

    ¡°Ahh¡­ yeah sure¡­ just¡­ isn¡¯t it closed today?¡± Tamara said quizzically.

    ¡°No? why would it be closed?¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Well, yesterday was the 7th of the 7th, and they will have a lot of paperwork to go through after all the 18 year olds have their sses now, so they¡¯re normally closed on the 8th of the 7th..?¡±

    Jay felt his heart squeeze tightly as he unconsciously held his breath ¡°Yes¡­yesterday¡­¡± he looked like he had seen a ghost.

    ¡°¡­Never mind.¡±

    Closing the door slowly, Jaypletely forgot about Tamara standing there; thankfully the door closed before his towel fell down. Standing naked in the room staring at the closed door, a few moments passed as reality caught up with Jay.

    ¡°I missed it¡­ my one opportunity to escape this hole. How? why? WHY?!¡± Gritting his teeth, he began to get angry as he slowly walked back to the bath and got in, not wasting the water.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to be a fucking butcher forever h¡­ha¡­..haha..hahaha¡­¡±

    He thought about the new adventurers, a root of jealousy growing in his heart as they were now training and learning about the system and their sses.

    ¡°What¡¯s that word they say? Oh yeah¡­ status¡± He said bitterly with eyes half closed and a defeated smile, knowing he will be a butcher forever.

    <[Necromancer level 1]>

    HP: 45/45

    MP: 25/25

    Strength: 15<sub></sub>

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 15

    Energy: 25

    <[Skills]>

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 1]

    [ss Utility] (Passive)

    ¡°Wha¡­?¡± with a furrowed brow and half-opened eyes, Jay took some time to process what he was seeing. Re-reading it again, then a third time, Jay felt his heart jerk him awake before he paused in shock¡­.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­I¡¯M A NECROMANCER?!?!¡± He yelled to himself as he sat in the bath ¡°Isn¡¯t this supposed to be a monster ss?!¡±

    Looking around, he felt a strange mix of embarrassment, excitement and fear ¨C but most of all, he was thankful no one heard him.

    ¡°How¡­ Why¡­ I just wanted to be a swordsman, shit, even a pugilist ss would¡¯ve been fine¡­ Even a fucking monk ss ¨C I would ept that too.¡±

    I¡¯ve been using a knife most of my life working in the butchery after all? Aren¡¯t I supposed to get a ss that suits me?¡±

    Jay thought about why he would get a weird ss like this, before realising he spent a lot of time looking at dead corpses, cutting them, hanging them, gutting them, analysing the meat and learning the bone structure of many different kinds of forest animals.<sub></sub>

    A slight feeling of dread came over Jay as it dawned on him.

    ¡°¡­Yeah ok, that makes sense I guess. Kinda perverted when I think about it like that though.¡± he reasoned.

    ¡°A necromancer¡­ I have only heard rumours of these types of monsters.. Aren¡¯t most of them powerful undead skeletons?¡± he wondered, looking at his hands. He then felt silly because obviously he was still alive.

    While he was happy to have a ss, he didn¡¯t know what to feel ¨C fear of being hunted down for having a monster ss? Happiness that he¡¯s not a butcher anymore? Excitement for the future adventures he would have? Though the strongest of these emotions was currently fear.

    ¡°Should I tell someone? Hmm.. I guess I have to reason at the moment, but I should build trust with someone before telling them in private. In the meantime, I will have to pretend I¡¯m a support ss with only a self-buffing ability, maybe a slight speed buff or something, since my dexterity and energy are high.¡° He stroked his chin as he sat quietly in the bath.

    ¡°Well, at least this means I¡¯m kind of an adventurer now¡± He smiled, trying to look on the bright side.

    ¡°I guess I can test my abilities today and check out the adventurer guild tomorrow to see current quests, or maybe find some low level monster zones or dungeons.¡± Jay realised the association would still be closed for quests due to the rush of new adventurers from today, so he had time to n for now.

    Cleaning the mud off his skin, he got out of the bath, put on a provided gown and went to sleep. Jay slept for the rest of the day as he recovered, only waking up early in the morning the next day, Jay changed into his clean clothes waiting outside his room and left the inn.

    Walking along the street, he thought about his new skill [Raise Feeble creature]. A notification appeared before his eyes.

    <[Raise Feeble Creature level 1]>

    ¨C Imbue a skeleton with necrotic energy, raising it to fight for you.

    [0/1 Raised]

    [¡°Raise¡±]

    [Cost 5 mana (+3 mana per level of feeble creature)]

    ¡°It sounds kind of cool I guess, I wonder how strong it will be.¡± Jay thought, wandering through the cobblestone streets. It didn¡¯t take long before he found an opportunity for his only skill ¨C a desated rat corpse in a quiet alley.

    The rats in Lo wererge, about the size of a cat. Women hated them the most due to the rats being able to prey on babies and sometimes even toddlers.

    He walked up to the dead rat casually, then checked the alley, making sure no one was looking. He pointed at the corpse, casting his spell.

    ¡°Raise.¡±

    20% of his mana left his body in one go, and Jay felt a little dizzy. Some green gas formed around his hand and drifted over the corpse. The green gas circled around the corpse but now seemed to be waiting a moment. Raising a brow as he stared at the corpse with the green cloud around it, he was wondering what was happening.

    ¡°Hey, are you gonna do anything? Can you hurry up¡­?¡± He wanted the skill to go faster before someone entered the alley.

    Suddenly, the green mist entered the corpse through its mouth, it was like it was being inhaled.

    ¡°So I guess I¡¯ll get an undead rat as a buddy? It¡¯ll be fine as long as it doesn¡¯t touch me.¡± Thought Jay, not wanting to even smell therge rat corpse, ¡°desated rat corpse is disgusting¡­ Even a living rat is pretty filthy.¡±

    Suddenly, the rat corpse pulsated, it¡¯s chest rising up and down as it¡¯s skin roiled, and boils of fat and pus appeared on the surface of it¡¯s skin.

    Amazed, Jay stared at it ¨C and then before his widened eyes, it suddenly exploded ¨C bits of flesh flicked everywhere, a lot covering Jay, somending near his lips.

    ¡°MMMMMM! MMMM!!!!!!!¡± wanting to scream in anger and disgust, he didn¡¯t dare open his mouth in case some rotting flesh entered it; he quickly wiped the pieces of flesh off his face.

    ¡°FUCK, I want to die, fuck this, I¡¯ll be a butcher for life I don¡¯t even care anymore. This is the worst day ever. No, actually, the worst two days since I was knocked out for nearly a full day thanks to that smug prick in the carriage.¡±

    Wanting to die after having desated rat fleshnd on his face, Jay made a mental note to stand back after casting this skill next time.

    Looking at the corpse, he realised that only the flesh, hair, muscles and organs were gone ¨C sttered all over the alley around him; what remained were simply the bones floating in a cloud of green mist.

    The mist wrapped around the bones as they shifted and morphed. The cartge cracked and popped as the rat bones re-shaped themselves into a humanoid skeleton creature with a hunch back and tiny horns on its head.

    The green mist was solidifying, acting like a jelly at the joints of the bones.

    The creature was about the size of a small child. It had long spindly bone fingers with tiny ws at the end. If Jay were to guess what it was, he would naturally think it was a goblin skeleton.

    Two hollow eyes with tiny green glowing spheres floating in the middle of the eye sockets looked up at Jay from the rat skull with anticipation, as if to say ¡°I¡¯m ready to kill, what can I kill? Where is my target?¡± with it¡¯s creepy spindly-like hands ready to sh.

    Freaking out, Jay wanted the creature to get away from him ¨C and as if it read his thoughts, the green jelly on the joints of the creature all dissipated back into the mist and disappeared while the bones crumbled back onto the ground ¨C some turning to ash and blowing away, while others turned back into what looked like normal rat bones.

    ¡°Freaky¡­¡± Analysing the bones, Jay gained some understanding of the process.

    ¡°Huh, so it seems like my power is semi-autonomous. It responds to my thoughts immediately but also can act independently when I don¡¯t focus. Interesting. The creature was made up of bones which clearly didn¡¯t belong to a rat, especially since it increased in size ¨C and some of these ¡®bones¡¯ turned into ash. Perhaps that¡¯s part of my magic too, to fill in the gaps where a creature iscking.¡± Jay squinted at the remaining bones.

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why I can only do smaller ¡®feeble¡¯ creatures at the moment? Because I would need to fill in more gaps for therger ones..? I guess I should level up quickly and find out. I would like to test this on a dead bird and other corpses too ¨C to see if I get the same creature or a different one.¡±

    Jay consideredbining different creature corpses¡¯ as he walked to the adventurer association; If a bird corpse made a different creature, surelybining a few different corpses would make something stronger.

    Of course, he will need to find a few different corpses first. So far, he has only managed to find a desated rat.

    ¡°Well, I guess I can kill something in one of the adventurers association¡¯s quests.¡± He thought with a sly smile as he attempted his second trip to the association.

 Chapter 3 New Blood

    A town guard walked by an ordinary alley, turning his head as he noticed a vile smell. Walking towards the rancid odour, he approached cautiously, gripping his spear tighter. He knew this smell well ¨C it was death.

    He quickly found the source of the smell, and it only got worse as he got closer.

    At first, he was shocked. It was like a blossoming flower of desated flesh surrounding a pile of ash-white bones.

    He couldn¡¯t hold back his vomit. Leaving the alley, he wondered if he should report it or not.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I won¡¯t bother reporting it, it¡¯s only a rat after all. Probably just some new adventurers testing out their skills.¡±

    ¡°Interesting skill though¡­. Explosive magic maybe? I hope I never cross them in the wild¡± he thought, a shiver ran up his spine as he had an instant shback of what he just witnessed.

    On the other side of town, Jay suddenly had the urge to grin mischievously.

    ¡°Huh, weird.¡± he shrugged.

    ¡ª

    It was early morning, not afternoon as Jay had previously thought. He knew he missed his chance to ess a mana conduit and acquire his ss ¨C yet he had be a necromancer. However this wasn¡¯t the problem ¨C he would still need to register as an adventurer, and they would find out his ss if he did.

    Thoughts kept shing through Jay¡¯s head:

    ¡°Will I be rejected for not being there to touch the mana conduit?¡±

    ¡°Will they even realise I wasn¡¯t there?¡±

    ¡°Will they assume I don¡¯t have a ss, and hence, cannot participate in quests or training?¡± he frowned slightly.

    ¡°I guess I should be more scared of them discovering my ss and executing me on the spot¡­¡± he frowned.

    Jay simply had to lie his way into the guild ¨C then he would get ess to all the dungeon locations, quests, and other services.

    He slowly walked to the guild. The sun had afortable warmth and the early morning air was crisp, which Jay appreciated as he made his way around the dirt trail curving up the mountain; at least something was lifting his mood. His excitement for bing an adventurer was gone, but remaining a lone butcher was out of the question.

    The adventures association came into sight. It was more like a small castle rather than a functional organisation building.

    A wooden palisade wall surrounded thepound, along with an asionalrge rock or boulder making up part of the wall.

    The nearby fir trees had been cut to provide vision, as well as to construct the 10 metre walls.

    The gate arch wasposed ofrge floating boulders, each of them rippling with a pale blue aura and deep blue glowing veins which kept them floating, ready to deposit them into the gate-gap if need be.

    Who needs an iron gate when you can simply enchant some boulders?

    Jay thought the fancy floating boulder gate was betrayed by the wooden palisade walls around thepound, however it was situated near a small town after all, and he didn¡¯t expect much in the first ce.

    Small viges like his were not even taken into consideration in regards to defence or war so they wouldn¡¯t receive any sort of military budget.

    Besides, the country was only at war with one of the other six races, and the war front was on the north side of the country; Jay¡¯s vige, Lo, was situated on the deep south western side of the continent, where nothing exciting ever happens. It was more like a retirement vige.

    Approaching the gate, Jay saw a familiar face ¨C It was Paul, a regr customer of the butcher shop.

    ¡°Heh, this will be easy¡± Jay thought to himself as his lips began to curl.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Hey Paul, how are you?¡± Jay waved.

    ¡°Yeah good mate, you¡¯re here to start your sses huh? What¡¯d you get?¡±

    Jay feigned a smile ¡°Melee, I¡¯m a swordsman. Pretty keen to get started¡± he lied with a nod.

    As they were chatting a few other people lined up behind Jay, while some just continued walking past and entered through the gate.

    Noticing the queue, Paul decided to cut the chatter and return to his duties.

    ¡°Ah, good on ya mate. Well, the melee instructor is right over there. He¡¯s a bit loud but he means well. I hope it goes well, see youter mate.¡± he gestured to Jay to enter.

    ¡°Thanks Paul, I¡¯ll catch you around.¡± Jay held back a nervous sweat as well as a smile of delight, resulting in a straight face.

    He wasn¡¯t used to lying, but sessfully doing this also gave him a strange feeling of tion and excitement.

    Jay felt like he was better, even superior to his fellow man ¨C despite being level 1 while Paul was level 24.

    ¡°Wow, I should lie all the time.¡± Jay carelessly thought.

    Walking through the floating stone gate, Jay felt a little cautious as the huge stones could crush him into a meat paste. Thankfully, they didn¡¯t respond to his necromancer ss at all.

    The whole courtyard area was about the size of a park. A cobblestone path led to the main building a few hundred meters away, and this was where Jay headed.

    The main building was a 3 story tall wooden barrack, with arge round cobblestone tower protruding from the back left corner of thepound. Arge ck window was on the top floor, looking over the courtyard.

    Most of the courtyard was dirt with small patches of grass that had been trampled over the years. It was filled with aspiring adventurers being trained in their various disciplines; melee, ranged and mana craft.

    There were about 300 recruits all up, the majority of them being a melee-type ss.

    The new recruits had bright, excited eyes and sunny looks on their faces ¨C even as they were yelled at by their new trainers. They were being told to forget everything they knew previously about their respective disciplines.

    In this way, Jay stood out as he was the only new recruit who had a look of seriousness, simr to the veteran trainers. Little did they know it was because he was currently hiding something, though most would assume he simply didn¡¯t want to be there or wasn¡¯t happy with his ss.

    Among the three disciplines were subsses (eg, Melee had swords, axes, spears); each with its own respective abilities, health and mana pool sizes.

    People could learn different disciplines to evolve their ss and merge them (eg. A melee ss such as a [Swordsman] could learn mana craft, and evolve their [Swordsman] ss into a [Spell sword], a [Mage yer], or even a [Quint de] if they had other prerequisites.

    New abilities could also be acquired through personal testing, discovery or finding a rare skill scroll.

    There was also a chance of attaining a unique ss. These sses were rare, having a 0.7% chance of acquiring. In the group of new recruits and aspiring adventurers, only two people so far had attained a unique ss, or so they thought.

    The unique sses were usually considered special, but were not always blessings; for example the [Trypto-Ornamentalist] ss.

    This ss was a mage-craftsman type ss which had a peculiar ability to craft objects which would ¡®follow¡¯ the current owner around. Though not very practical, it would creep some people out when they unknowingly purchased one of these ¡®goods¡¯.

    A victim of such a merchant would be sitting in a pub on a rainy night, enjoying a drink quietly in the warmth of the tavern. Staring out at the rain, he wondered when the storm would end. Suddenly a sh of lightning strikes and his trypto-ornament in the shape of a tiki doll¡¯s head would appear in the window he was looking through, making him figuratively shit himself and ruin his calm mood with high blood pressure. Buyer beware.

    The two unique-ss adventurers were not present at practice. It seemed they were given special lessons, or shipped off to a more advanced guild in a thoroughly developed city.

    Jay mimicked confidence in his walk as to not draw suspicion while he approached the main building and entered the lobby.<sub></sub>

    There was no one at reception because everyone working here would be busy handling the paperwork from yesterday.

    ¡°Oh yeah¡­¡± Jay pursed his lips.

    As went to the exit he noticed a colourful map on the wall ¨C it was a dungeon board showing all the closest dungeons to the vige.

    This was probably only meant to be seen by the new adventurers after enough training. He was level 1 so he knew he probably shouldn¡¯t bother looking, but he did anyway.

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt to know,¡± he smiled.

    Looking at the map, he found a single level 1 dungeon: Stink-Rat Marsh.

    ¡°Hmm, perhaps they get people to train up in the courtyard so they don¡¯t have to go there? Obviously marshes stink, and rat¡¯s stink, so stink-rat marsh must be an absolute shit-hole.

    ¡°It would be a stain in any adventurer¡¯s memory to start here. But I suppose I have no choice.¡± Jay sighed.

    ¡°The less attention I draw, the better, and there will be no one there to witness my ss in action.¡±

    A small smile appeared on his face, thinking about his bone goblin skeleton tearing the rats to pieces.

    There were various other dungeons on the map but they were not ¡®instanced¡¯ dungeons ¨C meaning anyone would be able to go into the dungeon and find you there, whereas the instanced dungeons would create separate pockets of reality in which only you and your party could enter.

    Jay added the location to his map, along with a level 5 dungeon named ¡®Wolf¡¯s Quarry¡¯.

    ¡°Gosh, I wonder what kind of monsters will be at WOLF¡¯S quarry?¡± he chuckled to himself in the lobby.

    His poor attempts at humorous sarcasm had no restraint. Thankfully, it fell of deaf ears as no one was in the lobby today.

    Jay decided to grind to level 4 in stink-rat marsh then head to the quarry to level up some more before returning a few dayster, he thought that hopefully by then he will have a better chance at seeding when he would have to lie about his adventurer paper work being lost.

    ¡°I may as well get some training in while I¡¯m here¡± he thought as he exited the building.

    Looking around the courtyard, he noticed people with swords, clubs, shields and hatchets were on his right, sparring with each other while some of them attacked helpless training dummies.

    Others nearby did push-ups and sit-ups under the guise of their trainer.

    ¡°Hmm, perhaps they¡¯re being punished for losing?¡± Jay reckoned.

    On the left side were people with javelins, daggers, whips and bows. They were all attacking targets from their respective distances.

    Some of the more talented rangers would attempt to attack wooden birds that an assistant mage had summoned while the ranged trainer looked on, periodically giving pointers to the slightly more inept.

    The assistant mage looked bored as her whole job was to collect scraps of wood from the melee training dummies, add magic to them, and convert them into wooden birds which she sent to fly around the archery range.

    ¡°Damn, some magic sure is cool. Sucks to do something so boring with it though¡± Jay wearily smiled, continuing to look around.

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder where the mana craft training is being held¡± Jay thought before noticing in the far right corner.

    Beyond the 150-strong mass of melee disciples was a small garden where people were sitting as still as statues.

    There were about 60 of them, sitting cross-legged while the trainer sitting cross-legged floating, a few small rocks seemed to defy gravity around him.<sub></sub>

    As soon as Jay looked at him, he suddenly heard a voice in his head.

    ¡°Stop beingzy and start training, recruit.¡±

    The voice was blunt and to-the-point.

    Jay shivered and immediately looked away from the trainer, hopefully breaking ¡®mind-contact¡¯ or whatever that spell was. He took three steps forward, pretending to listen to the voice¡¯s instructions as he considered where he should go.

    He had to think fast so as to not look suspicious.

    Desperately wanting to go to the mana craft area, he knew he would not be able to demonstrate his skills, which were grotesque to say the least; not to mention they would get him into trouble or even killed.

    Jay went with his original n and decided to join the melee training, as even a simpleton could do push ups, and he has been cutting up meat since he was a kid, so he was good enough with a knife.

    As he walked away from the main building, he felt a pair of eyes as sharp as daggers staring straight at his back from the building behind him. He felt a cold sweat as the tangible pressure mounted on him. Deciding not to turn around, he resolutely made his way to the melee area.

    As he went to grab a wooden short-sword, his hand was rudely pped away.

    ¡°Just what do you think you¡¯re doing? This has to be EARNED¡± A snooty voice resounded with vitriol in Jay¡¯s face.

    ¡°Uh I¡¯m here for training..?¡±

    ¡°You have to EARN it¡± he said with a sneer ¡°You can¡¯t just start with a wooden sword, you don¡¯t deserve it yet.¡±

    Jay realised this was the same prick in the carriage who smiled gleefully as he tumbled down the hill into the mud.

    The exact same little shit who smirked at him as he fell.

    Knowing he couldn¡¯t smack someone who was a rich noble brat, Jay simply clenched his jaw as he death-stared at the melee trainer, letting his rage out a little.

    The melee trainer had heightened sensespared to most, and immediately responded as he sensed the passive threat level rising.

    ¡°You there!¡± he pointed at the brat, ¡°Quit talking and get back to sparring! And you!¡± He pointed at Jay and red for a moment.

    ¡°You¡¯rete so you¡¯re doing push-ups, jogging, then dummy training! No sparring today since you¡¯re LATE!¡± Some spit left his mouth as he screamed ¡°We don¡¯t tolerate tardiness!¡±

    The noble brat sneered with a smug smile as he went back to the sparring area.

    Jay immediately felt thankful for the trainer, even though he was yelling at Jay with a vein popping out of his head. He went to the push-up area and began working out.

    Jay began doing push-ups with the other recruits as the trainer continued to bark at them. As he began working out, he was amazed at how his own body now was not tired in the slightest, the only thing that changed for him was that his energy status went down from 25 to 23, even though he had just done 200 push-ups.

    The standard training regime for new melee-recruits was to do 200 push-ups, jog around the outside of thepound twice, and then repeat until the instructor was pleased ¨C however, as Jay began to get up, the instructor winced and screamed at him once more.

    ¡°YOU! I didn¡¯t say you were finished! You¡¯re doing four-hundred to make up for beingte!¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t need to embarrass me like this. This is all that noble douches fault anyway, basically pushing me down the hill yesterday¡± he thought as he gritted his teeth in frustration, deciding to channel his rage into his push-ups.

    After the first rage-filled push-up, Jay instantly received a notification:

    [New passive skill unlocked!]

    <[Stress Response]>

    [- You get stronger when you¡¯re angry, and angry when you exercise.]

    [- +5% melee damage bonus when stressed or angry]

    ¡°Sweet¡± Jay smiled as his mood turned positive again and he lost the passive buff.

    The trainer seemed angry as he saw Jay enjoying what was meant to be a punishment, and Jay continued to smirk to himself as he finished the extra 200 push-ups.

    ¡°Hopefully being an underdog always ys out like this.¡±

    After the pushups came the running. He had to do 4ps around thepound, lowering his energy to 17/25.

    Thankfully, he did unlock another passive, though he wasn¡¯t that impressed:

    <[Running level 1]>

    [- You can run faster, further, and use less energy doing so.]

    [- +1% speed]

    Coming back to the trainer, he was greeted with a light smile.

    ¡°Good job recruit, take a wooden weapon and start on the dummies.¡±

    The trainer seemed less annoyed now that Jay had put in the effort withoutining, he seemed to respect hard work.

    Jay was encouraged, and happily went back to the weapon rack and grabbed a wooden short-sword. Jay smirked proudly as he noticed the brat nce at him before going back to sparring another recruit, not willing to test the trainer¡¯s booming voice.

    Jay happily went to one of the training dummies which was closest to the mana craft garden. He started sparring lightly ¨C and whenever he heard the mana craft instructor teach the lucky few in the mana craft group, he approached the dummy, pretending to inspect his damage as he tried to glean any scraps of mana craft training he could get, listening intentively:

    ¨C ¡°¡­twist and pull the rope in, making it a part of yourself..¡±

    ¨C ¡°¡­imagine you are the tree, make your bark, your shell, stronger..¡±

    ¡°¡­It sounds like some bullshit a fortune teller would say,¡± he thought with a raised brow.

    Nevertheless, hemitted each and every piece to memory as he pretended to ¡®analyse¡¯ the training dummy nearby.

    After a few hours of training Jay levelled up, gaining 5 attribute points to spend.

    He realised that his base ss attributes had most points in energy, which increased mana, so he put them all into energy, raising it to 30 and his mana pool to 39.

    His dexterity was quite high, but he assumed it was due to his skills with the butchering knives rather than his ss, but he couldn¡¯t be sure as he checked his status.

    <[Necromancer level 2]>

    HP: 48/48

    MP: 39/39

    Strength: 15

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 15

    Energy: 20/30

    <[Skills]>

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 1]

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [ss Utility] (Passive)

    [Running level 1] (Passive)

    ¡°Awesome. I¡¯ll have an easier time when I visit the dungeon¡± Jay smiled in satisfaction.

    After training till mid-day, a bell sounded from somewhere in the main building and the recruits were dismissed, told toe back tomorrow at sunbreak for more ¡®lessons¡¯.

    Jay looked at his trainer who nodded back, then began making his way home for some lunch. As he left, he noticed a familiar guard on the way out ¨C Paul.

    ¡°How was your training mate? Ready for tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°It was ok, it seems like they drill us pretty hard but I think they mean the best for us. I¡¯ll get used to it.¡± Jay answered, tactfully ignoring the second question.

    Paul lightly chuckled ¡°heh, they won¡¯t let it get easy mate. If you get used to it they¡¯ll just make it harder.¡± he smiled with a nod, ¡°But hang in there, it¡¯ll be worth it, and you¡¯ll be d for going through it some day.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Jay nodded and looked at the ground knowingly ¡°I¡¯ll uh, I¡¯ll keeping back, don¡¯t worry. Anyway I¡¯m exhausted so I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Yeah that¡¯s fair enough, see you tomorrow mate.¡±

    Jay walked down the hill as the douche-brat¡¯s carriage whizzed past once again ¨C this time, without Jay slipping.

    ¡°Asshole,¡± he thought.

    ¡°I¡¯ll out-level him soon enough by getting a head start on these dungeons tonight. I¡¯ll leave this loser in my past where he belongs.¡± Jay grinned.

    ¡ª

    After walking home sprightly, Jay cooked himself up some sausages and tomatoes seasoned with ground bondtussle root, and enjoyed his meal. Surprised, he noticed he got a passive buff from consum

 Chapter 4 How Absolutely Delightful

    Jay took his cooking knife with him as he went to leave. ¡°Something will be better than nothing I guess.¡±

    As Jay walked out the butchery, he left a sign hanging on the door knob: [Be back after lunch]

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be back after lunch.

    He chuckled thinking about the people lining up only to lose patience and leave; but Jay didn¡¯t care, he was an adventurer now. Sometime soon, he would leave this city behind and get rich killing monsters for a living.

    He was quite a sadistic person in this way.

    With a spring in his step and a sunny smile, he began walking down the cobblestone street.

    Checking his map to confirm the direction of the stink-rat marsh dungeon, he abruptly stopped, turned around, and began walking back the way he wasing from ¨C this time in the correct direction.

    Jay blushed as he hoped no-one noticed, his first mistake as an adventurer was embarrassing to say the least.

    Imagining his melee trainer bursting a blood-vessel if he heard of this, Jay chuckled ¡°He will never know.¡±

    It was about 15 minutes before Jay reached the south side of the vige.

    On his way out he noticed a merchant arguing with a stable boy. Not caring for the argument, Jay continued to walk by as he gazed at the merchant¡¯s caravan.

    ¡°Wow, those are some nice weapons. I guess he must be here to cash in on the new adventurers. Heh, but I won¡¯t need a weapon with my ss¡± Jay snickered quietly to himself.

    The merchant noticed someone seeminglyughing at his stock, he paused, and gave Jay an obvious fake smile.

    ¡°Hello sir, you like what you see? Well¡­. you¡¯re gunna have to wait till tomorrow! Ha-ha-haa! I¡¯ll have the booth set up by lunch time.¡± The short fat merchant let out a bellowingugh from behind his moustache.

    Jay inspected the merchant.<sub>.</sub>

    [Bertram ¨C Level 13]

    Hp ¨C 100%

    Mp ¨C 87%

    The only details Jay could get was his name, level, and current health and mana percentages; this was the same for everyone. You would either need to party up to see someone¡¯s ss, and their actual health/mana, or touch a mana conduit.

    Jay shrugged at the merchants¡¯ teasing and left as Bertram pulled a pipe out and began to smoke it, periodically puffing smoke out as he went back to micromanaging the stable boy ¨C who at this point had a red face and looked like he was about to tear up.

    ¡°Poor kid¡± Jay thought.

    The cobblestone path ended and turned to a patchy dirt-grass path as he walked away from the vige. It was nearly the middle of winter, no flowers were blooming and most of the trees in the surrounding forest were missing their leaves, though it didn¡¯t get cold enough to snow in this part of the country, much of the vegetation still suffered through the winter.

    Jay checked his map as he walked.

    ¡°Ok, just a little further on the path, then I have to cut through the forest to the south west.¡±

    After making his way down the path, he turned and began working his way through the forest¡¯s vegetation.

    It was quiet as he walked through the winter forest, a light breeze waved through the trees, the only sounding from the odd twig he snapped underfoot.

    Approaching the map marker with expectation, Jay was confused.

    ¡°¡­what? Where is the dungeon?¡±

    Jay expected a cave or perhaps a crystal to teleport him, yet what he found was a small brown pond surrounded by head-high grass.<sub></sub>

    The water was murky, with lily pads scattered throughout. Quite contrasting to the surrounding fir wood forest.

    Jay walked around the pond as he checked his map, but the marker kept pointing directly into the pond.

    ¡°Fine, you win. I¡¯ll walk into the filthy pond and get my shoes wet, then head back to town with wet shoes and disappointment.¡± He gritted his teeth in utter frustration.

    After sinking his shoes into the mud and the water reaching knee-high, a notification appeared before his eyes.

    [Enter Stink-rat Marsh level 1 dungeon?]

    [Yes/No]

    ¡°¡­ oh?¡±

    Jay was pleasantly confused, but still, he epted the dungeon invitation.

    The wind swirled around him, and for a moment, Jay couldn¡¯t breathe.

    Before he realised it, he was suddenly sucked down under the water and into the mud; anyone looking at this would think he was just pulled under the water by an ancient eldritch monster.

    ¡ª

    Suddenly, Jay was ejected from the mud again, as if being vomited out from the earth itself.

    [You have entered Stink-Rat Marsh level 1].

    [Unlocked Dungeon ¨C You may leave at any time]<sub></sub>

    Landing in the same murky water again, he was assaulted by a foul smell and another notification.

    [Stink Debuff Applied]

    ¨C Persists until you leave the dungeon.

    [Stink]

    ¨C You are distracted by a horrendous smell, -5% dexterity.

    ¡°Heh, five percent is nothing to someone as low level as me¡± Jay scoffed as he examined his surroundings. He really thought being low level was something to brag about.

    The air was sticky, humid and thick. It was warm, and definitely not winter anymore.

    Around him were decaying trees, waist-high grass and ck murky ponds littering the ck-mudndscape.

    While walking to drier ground, his feet produced bubbles with every step; the bubbles adding to the stink.

    ¡°This would definitely deter anyone from bing an adventurer¡± he grimaced as he held his nose, though it did nothing to stop the putrid smell.

    ¡ª

    Jay began exploring, avoiding murky ponds and bubbling swamps. Soon enough, he came to an enormous log.

    Jay approached the side of this gigantic decaying log; it was only getting bigger as he came closer, and as it was finally within spitting distance he realised even a carriage could fit inside the log if it were hollowed out. It was as tall as a house.

    Wondering how he would get over, he looked to each side. The log appeared to go off into the distance forever.

    ¡°Huh, must be some sort of soft-lock to stop idiots getting in¡­ or just really drunk people¡±

    Looking right, he spotted another decaying log which had fallen onto the huge log, forming adder of sorts ¨C though its base was submerged in another murky pond.

    Jay sighed ¡°Damn, let¡¯s get this over with.¡±

    He walked back into the murky brown water, frowning as he felt the slightly colder water enter his shoes again and more bubbles being produced with each step.

    Reaching the log, he found that it was stripped of bark.

    The wood had turned ck after absorbing the muck over the years, and it was beyond dead.

    ¡°You slippery bastard¡± Jay said as he spread more water over it ¨C though no muck washed off. The slimy surface seemed to be a part of the log now.

    Jay attempted to crouch-walk up it, but this was a sad mistake. After getting about half-way up, he lost bnce and fell face-first into the murky water below.

    ¡°MMMMMM!!!!!!!¡± he couldn¡¯t scream or the muck may enter his mouth.

    He quickly mbered out of the water, causing another stir of stink bubbles.

    Wiping his face in frustration, he used his shirt to wipe his lips and spat.

    ¡°FUCK!¡± he yelled through a clenched jaw.

    He felt like his face was grimacing since he was in here, but in this situation, he realised he could break through his own limits and grimace even harder.

    Perhaps his nose would implode?

    ¡°I¡¯m sick of this ce already, it¡¯s no wonder no one woulde here.¡±

    For a moment he felt hopeless, but he pressed on.

    He made his way back to the log. This time, anger and frustration helped him ignore the slime and the possibly impending fungal infections.

    This time, he didn¡¯t take any chances, gripping the log andying on his stomach as he slowly shimmied up the log until he was at the top.

    ¡°Finally.¡± He exhaled and checked his energy.

    [Energy ¨C 24/30]

    Looking around, it dawned on him that he had to jump down the other side, and seeing no logs to get down, he decided he would walk along the log looking for a pond to jump in. He didn¡¯t want to risk a sprained ankle and being surrounded by monsters.

    Pausing for a moment, he first took in the view.

    The marsh went on for as far as he could see. Although it was humid, thick dark clouds hung overhead, cing the wholendscape in shadows.

    Thankfully, he spotted movement nearby.

    Approaching slowly, he walked along the log, then slid himself off the side on his belly till he fell onto the ground.

    He didn¡¯t have the luxury of jumping into a pond as that would have alerted the rats, so he decided to take the risk.

    Happily, he didn¡¯t take any damage, though his chest was covered in decaying wood and moss ¨C not that it mattered at this point. He was filthy.

    Jay walked into some nearby swamp-grass and crouched.

    He blended in almost seamlessly since he was practically covered in half of the swamp by now. He pulled out his cooking knife and made his way to where he saw the movement.

    Stealthily sneaking through the waist-high reeds and swamp grasses, he approached the source of the movement.

    Through the swaying reeds, Jay finally saw it ¨C his first monster. His first victim.

 Chapter 5 Research

    Chapter 5: Research

    ***Author here. This is a 5,100-word chapter. Normally they¡¯re about 1,200 words, so getfortable and expect a long read for this one. Thanks! ¨C Aero182***

    As Jay approached the oblivious soap rat, he realised he couldn¡¯t really make use of his necromancer ss since there were no corpses around ¨C only rotting wood and swamp grass.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to do this the old fashioned way¡­¡± smiling slightly as he equipped his 1 damage cooking knife.

    Squinting, he clenched his jaw a little as he held his knife as he prepared himself mentally.

    He imagined he was like an assassin hunting his prey, thinking of himself as being much cooler than what he actually was ¨C a person covered in slimy shit, holding a cooking knife in the middle of a swamp, about to ambush a fat rat.

    He looked more like a homeless person looking for dinner.

    ¡°Inspect¡± he thought, gazing at the rat with predator-like eyes.

    <[Soap Rat Level 1]>

    [10 HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Slippery] (Passive)

    ¨C The rat uses swamp slime to its advantage.

    ¨C Crowd control skills have no effect.

    [Bite]

    ¨C 1 pierce damage

    [w]

    ¨C Bleed ¨C 2 t damage over 3 seconds (Can stack 2 times)

    [Poison Resist] (Passive)

    ¨C 80% Poison Resistance

    <[Description]>

    [While the name suggests that it may be clean, it is the furthest thing from it.]

    ¡°The rat¡¯srge, about the size of a pig ¨C but with a slender body and a long tail.¡± thought Jay. It was coveredpletely in a slimy sheen of ck fur.

    Studying it, Jay was in the process of sizing up his prey.

    ¡°Huh, it¡¯s hardly a rat, more like a mutant dog¡±

    Arge muscr head was sticking out from the rest of its body;

    ¡°Shit¡­ it could easily crush a pumpkin between those jaws.¡±

    Trying his best to be stealthy ¨C as good as a level 2 Necromancer can be ¨C he was sneaking over as the rat appeared to be distracted while eating something.

    It¡¯s choice of snack appeared to be decaying wood, causing Jay to pity the oversized rat.

    Sneaking ever so closer, Jay wiped the grime off his cooking knife and held it in a reverse grip, preparing himself mentally.

    ¡°Kill or be killed¡± he thought to himself. Sure, Jay could have just left ¨C but in his eyes, returning to a mundane life was as good as being dead.

    Now was the time. Stepping forward and then jumping with the grace of a pregnant elephant, Jay broke cover, pouncing at the rat while stabbing down as hard as he could.

    Unfortunately, his prey reacted in time. It turned to its side and hissed as Jay¡¯s knife left a deep gash on its ribs ¨C a damage number appeared over the rat.

    [- 1]

    The rodent hopped back and then used its momentum to nt its paws in the ground and leap, pouncing at Jay¡¯s right hand.

    Jay pulled his wrist back and shed at the rat¡¯s face, leaving a gash across its snout.

    [- 1]

    ¡°Riiiii~!¡± The rat screeched as it leapt at Jay again, shing back at him with its own knife-like ws.

    Jay braced himself and held his breath. He raised his arms up into a boxer stance with the bloodied knife gleaming in his right hand.

    The rat¡¯s ws gashed down his arms; Jay sessfully protected his head and torso, but deep cuts on his arms began to bleed.

    Jay dropped the knife from the pain as his arms were turning red.

    ¡°Ahh! you bastard¡± Jay clenched his jaw as his anger and adrenaline helped to dull the pain.

    [You are bleeding]

    [0.7 damage per second for 3 seconds]

    [You are bleeding]

    [0.7 damage per second for 3 seconds]

    ¡°A double-fucking bleed!¡±

    Kicking and stomping at the rat¡¯s head a few times in frustration, Jay forced it to back up.

    This was Jay¡¯s first fight, and it wasn¡¯t long into it before he realised that he needed to be a bit more tactical.

    He picked up the knife, preparing to dodge and counter attack the rats¡¯ next attack.

    Jay taunted it ¡°Come¡±

    [Stress Response] (Passive) activated. +5% melee damage.

    ¡°Nice¡± smiled Jay with a predator-like grin.

    The rat lunged and snapped, but Jay back-stepped and stabbed at the rats¡¯ head.

    ¡°Take this bitch!¡±

    nting the knife right onto the rat¡¯s head, it didn¡¯t prate the skull, but thankfully still did damage.

    [-1]

    Unfortunately, Jay¡¯s damage was not high enough to factor in the extra 5% melee damage.

    The rat was aggravated from the attack and went savage ¨C it knew it was kill or be killed.

    ¡°Riii-Riiiiiii~!¡±

    It didn¡¯t let Jay pause, continuing to attack ¨C it¡¯s survival instinctspletely kicked in.

    While its head was still numb,it didn¡¯t retreat as an intelligent creature would have ¨C stepping forward, it sunk its teeth into Jay¡¯s leg.

    ¡°GRRR!~¡± Jay released a primal, guttural roar from the pain as he clenched his teeth.

    He was almost falling over as his leg was being pinned down and gnawed at ¨C the rats¡¯ head shaking as it tried to remove a piece of flesh.

    [-1]

    [-1]

    [-1].

    ¡°Ah shit,¡±

    Losing 3 health all at once, Jay¡¯s blood boiled with rage.

    ¡°Fucker!¡±

    Responding with his own survival instinct, Jay went into overdrive and stabbed down repeatedly as his life depended on it; his vision going red while stabbing the rat like a maniac.

    [-1]

    [-1]

    [-1]

    [-1]

    ¡°GRRRH!¡±

    He made a barbarian noise, still stabbing at the rat, the knife was nowpletely red after finding purchase in its flesh.

    Shaving away more health from the rat, it began to die.

    Loosening its grip, it stopped shaking its head.

    Jay grabbed its fur and continued to stab but only got his hand covered in slime; nevertheless, he continued stabbing in a mad frenzy.

    ¡°Just die you fuck!¡±

    [-1]

    [-1]

    [-1]

    [15 Exp]

    The rat had died at this point, but Jay continued ¨C he wasn¡¯t keeping track of the rat¡¯s health, all he knew at that moment was he needed to stab to survive.

    He stabbed more but began to slow down, the pain stopping as he realised the rat was dead, he let out a sigh.

    ¡°Finally¡±

    Jay checked his arms for damage, but they werepletely healed up.

    ¡°Huh, I guess my HP went down instead of me taking actual damage? ¡­Though I do feel a strange sense of weakness after losing all that health¡­¡±

    Panting at this point, he took a few deep breaths in.

    Calming himself, he began to feel aplished.

    ¡°Tough rat¡± Jay exhaled as he showed the dead soap rat some respect. ¡°You sure wanted to keep your life huh¡­¡± he shook the slime off his hand ¡°..slippery little bastard.¡±

    Finally catching his breath, he decided it was finally time to practice his mana craft.

    Holding out a hand over the corpse, Jay chanted his spell

    ¡°Rise¡±

    Again, Jay felt a little light-headed as green gas materialized around his hand and spread around the creature; he didn¡¯t realise this before since it was daytime, but the gas was luminescent.

    ¡°Cool¡± said Jay as the green glowing light reflected off his pupils.

    He seemed like a true necromancer as he watched the beautiful dancing gas ¨C yet this magical moment was cut short as when the gas prated the creature and disappeared ¨C its body starting to spasm.

    Jay¡¯s eyes bulged, realising the rat corpse was about to explode and flick little bits of flesh all over his face.

    ¡°NO! NOT AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN!¡±

    Jay gritted his teeth as he sprinted to the nearest log, jumping behind it.

    ~Pooowfh!~

    The corpse exploded.

    All Jay heard was a muffled explosion followed by a light-rain from the other side of the log.

    Smiling behind the log, Jay waited an extra moment after the rain-noise stopped.

    ¡°Nope, I¡¯m gonna wait. There are probably still some smaller bits of flesh raining down that I can¡¯t hear¡±

    He still shuddered at the thought of what happenedst time, vividly remembering it.

    Peeking his head over the log, he was happy that he missed getting a face full of gore.

    Viscera, organs, intestines, ck fur, unidentifiable flesh and fatty residue was left all over, it temporarily changed this part of the marsh from ck-grey to a deep crimson red.

    It was probably the only part of the marsh that wasn¡¯t ck.

    The green gas forcefully expelled all the flesh from the rat corpse, leaving only the bones.

    It seeped into the bones as they rattled, cartge popped and snapped as other bones began sticking to each other and floating; a solid dark-green cartge was forming at the joints.

    The bones began to assemble and form a humanoid body with a hunch back ¨C however this time it was slightly bigger, about the same height as the soap rat.

    Thest part to move into ce was the massive soap rat skull ¨C still gleaming with blood and interstitial fluid, it found its home at the top of the creature.

    It didn¡¯t morph into the same humanoid-goblin-shaped head that it did before, it seems like the rat skull was sufficient for its purposes ¨C yet two small horns still formed at the top of the skull.

    Jay analysed it while it was self-constructing.

    It appeared to have a much smaller amount of the dark-green material making up the skeleton and filling in the missing gaps.

    ¡°Huh, perhaps it was smaller before because there were less bones to form it¡±

    After it self-constructed, Jay received a notification

    [Chimera Research ¨C 1%]

    ¡°Chimera?¡± Jay was confused, and pondered ¡°I¡¯ve only heard stories of such creatures.. I thought they were myths? hmm¡­¡±

    An evil grin appeared on Jay¡¯s face.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to make a freaky looking abomination with tentacles, scorpion stingers, antlers and scales; they will tell tales of its horror¡­ mwahahaha¡­¡±

    Laughing alone in the ck marsh, he truly seemed like a psychopath.

    ¡°But why did I get this research? Hmm¡­¡±

    Jay inspected the creature.

    <[Feeble Creature Level 1]>

    [10 HP]

    [Base Damage] ¨C 1

    <[Skills]>

    [Bite]

    ¨C 1 pierce damage

    [w]

    ¨C bleed ¨C 2 t damage over 3 seconds (Can stack 2 times)

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    ¨C immune to cold, poison, bleed, hunger, stress, fear, pain.

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, it¡¯s existence spits in the face of life and death. Execute with extreme prejudice.]

    ¡°Hmm, nope, nothing out of the ordinary¡­¡±

    The status gave him no clues as to why he gained chimera research, but he was more surprised at the description

    ¡°¡­Wow, execute? That¡¯s not very nice¡­ but I suppose it makes sense.¡± Jay shrugged ¡°Anything that messes with a corpse is probably detestable to nature say the least¡± he looked at his own hands ¡°¡­wait, what does that say about me?¡± Jay frowned.

    He didn¡¯t want to be a necromancer, but this was his lot in life.

    Reasoning with himself, he made a decision.

    ¡°I won¡¯t raise a human corpse, that¡¯s where I draw the line¡­ unless it¡¯s an emergency and they were utter scum, then maybe I won¡¯t feel as if I¡¯m the abomination¡­ yeah.. no one is forcing me to be evil after all.¡± he sighed looking at his newpanion.

    ¡°Seems like you have the same skills as the rat.. Well, except the slippery passive since your slimy fur exploded, but I¡¯m notining¡±

    Before he nned his next steps, he looted the remains of the corpse

    [Fur scraps] x 3

    [Marsh bones] x 2

    [Soap Rat teeth] x 3

    ¡°Hmm, I probably can¡¯t do much with these. Maybe I can sell them to that fat merchant¡­ What was his name again? B- something? Eh, I¡¯ll just examine him next time I see him.¡±

    Jay realised he should probably learn the merchants name at least ¨C all he remembered was his smoking, his moustache, and his weight; though this wasn¡¯t very specific ¨C most merchants and nobles were overweight in this world; obesity was not frowned upon at all, but instead, it was among gold and jewellery as sign of luxury and sess ¨C its symbolism was attractive to some, though it wasn¡¯t for everyone.

    Looking at the marsh bones, Jay wondered why there were bones left over after he raised the creature to undeath¡­

    The bones were ckened, slimy and damp.

    Evidently, they have been decaying here for years ¨C then realisation dawned on him: the rat was eating these bones, and not some decaying ck wood as he initially thought.

    ¡°It turns out even bones are not immune to the ckened stain of the stink-rat marsh¡­¡±

    Jay realised what happened after he summoned the rat.

    ¡°Huh, sobining bones of different creatures does make a difference. Though you did still turn out as the same creature, it seems like I may discover another skill eventually¡­ Man, being a necromancer is so cool,¡± He chuckled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief as he started talking to his newpanion now that no one else was around.

    ¡°Hmm, but were the marsh bones from another soap rat or another creature entirely? Seems like I¡¯ll need to do more testing before I jump to conclusions¡±

    Starting to feel pain as his anger died down, Jay checked his status.

    <[Necromancer level 2]>

    HP: 43/48

    MP: 34/39

    Strength: 15

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 15

    Energy: 24/30

    Exp: 15/150

    <[Skills]>

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 1] ¨C 1/1 Raised

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Running level 1] (Passive)

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m not too banged up,¡± said Jay, looking at his health before ncing at his minion.

    ¡°At least you can protect me now on¡±

    The creature moved over to stand in front of Jay, as if waiting for orders, its green glowing eyes gazing at him.

    Jay ignored it, standing up and gazing at the marsnd around him he posited ¡°This will be easy now that I have a summon¡±.

    Jay took out his water bottle from his knapsack and used it to wash his hands; he took a drink and then began eating some wild nuts.

    ¡°Mm. Probably too early to treat myself but I should keep my energy up¡±. Noticing his bondtussle roots as he was grabbed more nuts ¡°Oh yeah¡­¡± He popped a root into his mouth, chewed and swallowed it, getting a notification.

    [Mana Regen buff 1%]

    ¨Csts for 1 hour(s).

    ¡ª

    Eyes squinting over the marsnd grass, he looked at his surroundings as he put his water bottle away. He seemingly looked like a giant as he peered over the surrounding waist-high grass.

    The wind paused for a moment and the grass stopped swaying ¨C all except for a patch which seemed to be getting closer.

    ¡°It must¡¯ve heard me fighting¡­¡±

    Looking at his creature he wondered if he should name it for the sake of practicality ¡°¡­Don, prepare to fight¡±.

    The creature, now called ¡°Don¡±, looked confused for a while ¨C perhaps even angry as it¡¯s new name had no thought put into it ¨C it even seemed to scowl at Jay before assuming a fighting stance to make best use of its ws. Having simr stats to the soap rats, Don had one main advantage to tip the scales in its favour ¨C Don was an undead bi-ped.

    Sure enough, another pig-sized soap rat came to investigate the shouting; parting the grasses, it red at Jay and Don.

    Jay examined it.

    [Soap Rat Level 1]

    Having a smug grin, Jay spat on the ground as he death-stared at the rat and provoked the rat in a deeper voice.

    ¡°DO SOMETHING¡±

    The rat took a few steps forward, hissing, as the rest of its body slipped through and exited the grasses.

    Surprisingly, Don pounced at the rat, immediately responding to the rat¡¯s intention to fight.

    Before the rat could respond, Don¡¯s teeth were already sinking into its flesh.

    Don shook its skull-head from side to side to rend the flesh, while its skeleton-ws were just as damaging ¨C shing at the rat and digging them into its flesh.

    The rat didn¡¯t hiss, but squealed.

    ¡°Riiiiiii~!!¡± It was in immense pain.

    Conversely, Don didn¡¯t make any sound, perhaps because Don had no voice box ¨C though Don appeared to be bored.

    Jay gasped as he subconsciously took a step back, being shocked at how savagely Don was fighting.

    The rat tried to shake Don off but only made its pain greater as it propelled Don to rip a chunk of flesh out of its shoulder.

    Don was flung on the ground with a chunk of flesh in it¡¯s mouth as its prize, while Jay stepped forward and stabbed at rat; it then died after suffering only 1 damage from Jay.

    [15 Exp]

    Jay waspletely surprised.

    ¡°Wow, you did 9 damage? You¡¯re an absolute savage¡± he praised Don, amazed as he gathered the loot from the soap-rat corpse.

    [Fur scraps] x 2

    [Soap Rat Teeth] x 3

    ¡°Man, that was the easiest kill ever. I barely had to do anything. I probably could get away with ignoring the fight entirely while cleaning the dirt from my fingernails¡± Jay said with a proud little smile.

    Looking at his de; It had begun to dull and the point had chipped off. ¡°Hmm, hope these fur scraps are worth something, maybe I can get a better knife or something.¡±

    Don gazed back at Jay with its hollow green eyes as it swallowed the flesh out of a natural reflex.

    Jay gave Don a puzzled look as the flesh left Don¡¯s empty skull, slid down Don¡¯s spine and plopped out on the ground nearby ¨C Don seemingly not noticing anything unusual.

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re weird¡± Jay chuckled as he began looking for movement in the marsh.

    Failing to see anything, he began walking in the direction thest rat hade from.

    It took a few minutes before the unlikely duo came to a small clearing within the reeds and grasses. The dirty homeless-looking man and a waist-high hunchback humanoid skeleton with a huge rat skull entered the clearing.

    Alone in the middle of the clearing was a slightly fatter rat sprawled across a log, uncaringly surveying the duo.

    The rat seemed to be an alpha in these parts of the marsh, having its own little territory market out.

    To Jay, it seemed like a battle-hardened warrior.

    As Jay and Don approached, itzily stretched and jumped down from its log as if this was amon urrence.

    Jay squinted, examining the confident soap rat.

    <[Soap Rat Level 3]>

    [15 HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Slippery] (Passive)

    ¨C The rat uses swamp slime to its advantage.

    ¨C Crowd control skills have no effect.

    [Bite]

    ¨C 3 pierce damage

    [w]

    ¨C Bleed ¨C 4 t damage over 4 seconds (Can stack 3 times)

    [Poison Resist] (Passive ) ¨C 80%

    ¡°This is gunna be a harder one Don. Wait till it attacks, then we strike.¡±

    Jay, Don, and the rat each went into their respectivebat stances.

    Each party waited for the other to strike first ¨C the rat seeming to know some basic strategy.

    ¡°Circle around behind it, draw its attention¡±

    The rat tried to back up as it switched focus between Jay and Don, still in the process of encircling it.

    Realizing its predicament and pouncing at Don, it hoped to kill the smaller one quickly so it could 1v1 Jay.

    The rat bit down onto Don¡¯s cor bone and shook its head, immobilizing its right arm.

    [-3]

    [-1]

    Don took no notice of the pain as it happily bit back at the rat¡¯s neck and started rhythmically wing it and shaking his head.

    [-5]

    ¡°Ha, big mistake!¡± Jay smiled as he stabbed down at the rats back.

    [Critical hit ¨C 2 damage]

    Since Jay was so low level, the critical hit seemed like nothing, but he was happy with the proceeding notification.

    [Dagger Proficiency Level 1] Acquired

    +2% damage when using daggers

    +2% speed when using daggers

    ¨C Can backstab for double damage

    Not having time to enjoy the upgrade, Jay stabbed at the rats back and ribs to kill it faster and save Don.

    [-2]

    [-2]

    [-2]

    Meanwhile the rat continued to bite Don ¨C damage numbers appearing over his creatures head

    [-3]

    [-3]

    Don¡¯s hp depleted quickly, but still wed onest time at the rat, stacking onest bleed on it.

    [-1]

    The rat died to a backstab from Jay before another damage tick from the bleed could kill it.

    [40 Exp]

    ¡°Damn, that rat had so much damage. Looks like I¡¯ll need to find another ce to take cover and heal¡­¡±

    Jay looked towards the log-throne before turning to the bones and the level 3 soap rat corpse.

    Looting the corpse, he got 5 more fur scraps and 3 rat teeth before he ced the corpse over Don¡¯s bone pile, then held out his hand

    ¡°Rise¡±

    Sprinting to the log and jumping over it, he took a moment to rest; having some more wild nuts and water as he waited for the explosion and ¡®rain¡¯ to clear.

    [Chimera Research ¨C 2%]

    ¡°Sweet, 1% closer to shocking the world¡± Jay joked to himself.

    Jay had grown used to talking to himself, sadly he had been alone for thest few years as his father, Frank, was setting up another butchery in a nearby vige, while his mother had died shortly after he was born; raised in the butcher shop, he worked with his dad and learnt the trade.

    He knew his father cared for him, but he never talked much, and Jay was the same.

    After giving him the whole shop, he left for another city ¨C promising to return after his second business was up and running ¨C though this resulted in Jay being alone, his onlymunication with the local hunters and customers ¨C and most of the time it was either empty small talk or price haggling.

    At first he was sad thinking about this, but he came to ept it, and eventually embraced it ¨C while he didn¡¯t have anyone to talk to, he still had things to say.

    As Don re-constructed, two more rats entered the clearing.

    They were both level 1, so Jay wasn¡¯t worried.

    He controlled Don to kill one as he went for the other. Confident in fighting the rats now, Jay waited for it to attack.

    As it lunged, Jay side-stepped and stabbed at its neck.

    The rat screeched as Jay continued to stab at it, not giving the rat a chance to retaliate, he didn¡¯t stop for a second ¨C all that mattered was doing damage before it could retaliate.

    The rat managed to w at Jay once, causing 2 damage in total before it died.

    [15 Exp]

    Jay looked over to Don¡¯s fight, the rat was bleeding out as Don was prepared to counter attack. Though before it could attack, it died, sumbing to its double bleed debuff.

    [15 Exp]

    ¡°Hmm I must be getting close to levelling up¡± Thought Jay, checking his experience

    Exp: 110/150

    ¡°Close, only about 3 more and I can level up¡± Jay wanted to grin, but he was tired. He began to appreciate the hard work that went into being an adventurer, realising it requires perseverance and discipline to get results.

    He feltpletely normal even though his energy level was dwindling; it was 24/30 before thest three fights, now it was a measly 12/30.

    Deciding to take a moment to rest, he quickly looted the 2 dead rats, gaining 4 more fur scraps and 6 more teeth ¨C however, this time he gained a [Stink-rat Tail] too.

    ¡°Hmm.. I¡¯ll check it outter¡±

    Walking over to the same log that the level 3 rat was rxing on, Jay gave orders to Don before sitting down.

    ¡°Protect me¡±

    Don entered a fighting stance and began circling around Jay, peering around the small clearing.

    Sitting in a cross-legged position, mimicked the manacraft trainer, closed his eyes and began thinking about the advice hemitted to memory ¨C while also guessing and filling in the parts with his best guess; while also keeping in mind that some of it was simr to that fortune-telling ¡°carot-card¡± bullshit. (yes, Carot-card).

    Jay never paid them enough attention to be corrected.

    ¡°Imagine a mana rope flowing from the gentle river of mana, pull it into your mind, make it a part of you¡±

    Jay began to sense the ambient mana.

    ¡®Fuzzy¡¯ was the only way he could describe it.

    Attempting to form it into a rope, his effort was in vain.

    At most, it would be like the swaying grasses on the marsh. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t get it in the first 10 minutes, so he kept concentrating and changed his approach

    ¡°Imagine a deep well, at the bottom of the mana river, sucking in and filling up all ambient mana¡±

    He felt the mana coalescing and moving and forming a slightly more dense spot.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing it, yes¡± Jay thought

    He distracted himself with his excitement and the spot became slightly less dense. He recovered his focus and imagined the bottom of the well moving into his body.

    Suddenly, he felt full ¨C not full in the stomach sense, but more like he was full of energy. Maintaining hisposure, he continued to channel the ambient mana into his body.

    The extra energy began to make his forehead sweat as he started to rock back and forwarth. It was an hour before he stopped. Checking his energy, he was pleased with himself; as it took great concentration to get more energy back.

    Energy: 18/30

    ¡°Hmm, so about 100 pushups is equivalent to 1 energy; meditating 1 hour gives 6 energy ¨C 1 per 10 minutes¡± Jay proceeded to calcte how much longer he needed to meditate to get to full energy ¨C though he decided to only get to 29/30 energy incase some sort of ident happened; he had no clue what would happen if someone meditated while their energy was full ¨C would they pop like a balloon?

    Jay meditated for the next hour and 50 minutes.

    ¡ª

    As Jay was meditating, another soap rat attacked ¨C though it was easily killed by Don. Jay was able to stay in his meditation state.

    [15 Exp]

    ¡ª

    Finishing meditation, Jay was pleased with Don as he saw another corpse. ¡°Only 2 more rats and I can level up¡±

    Smiling, he jumped down from the log, looted the fresh corpse for another 2 fur scraps and 3 teeth, then made his way through the marsh.

    Approaching another clearing, he noticed a lot of movement this time.

    Crouching, he crept towards it, the clearinging into sight.

    There were 5 level 1 soap rats.

    Doing some quick calctions and nning, Jay thought he could beat them ¨C they would take out 2 quickly, leaving only 3vs2. Jay knew he could tank some damage from 2 of the rats while Don killed another, resulting in a 2vs2 which they would easily win.

    Jay thought this was either the most genius or most idiotic idea he coulde up with, nevertheless, he implemented it.

    Jumping at the closest rat, he backstabbed it 3 times, dealing 6 damage before it could retaliate, biting his calf muscle as he continued to stab its neck area.

    [-2]

    It counted as a backstab even though he wasn¡¯t directly behind it ¨C perhaps it was the anatomical difference ¨C he was still stabbing its back after all.

    Don jumped at another rat and did his thing ¨C biting, wing and rending flesh.

    The other 3 rats jumped and hissed, startled by the ambush. They didn¡¯t respond at first due to shock, but soon attacked, defending theirrades. Jay was fighting 3 rats at once; he ignored the pain and stabbed thest rat in the throat to end it

    [-2]

    [15 Exp]

    Don likewise killed his first rat and began to work on the second

    [15 Exp]

    As Jay proceeded to fight 2 rats, he levelled up. Ignoring the notification, he fought tactically to preserve energy and health ¨C as they lunged, he dodge backwards and either stabbed them necks or shed them on their heads.

    Both rats lost 3 health each before their survival instincts kicked in and they rushed Jay.

    They charged at him, intending to bite. Jay mmed his heel down onto one rat and jumped over the other one, plunging his knife into its lower torso.

    ¡°Riiiii!!!~¡±

    The rat squealed as Jay pulled out his knife, its liver was executed. Not giving the rat any chances, he continued to stab.

    [-2]

    [-2]

    The rat only had 3 health left before it¡¯s mate could jump and w at jay.

    [You are bleeding]

    [0.7 health per second for 3 seconds]

    epting the pain, Jay kept stabbing like a madman

    [-2]

    [Stress Response] Activated +5% melee damage

    [-3]

    The rat died as it squealed to death.

    [15 Exp]

    Jay had one more rat to kill.

    Looking across the clearing, Don was half-way through the second rat. The skeleton¡¯s teeth holding onto another piece of flesh.

    Jay yed with hisst rat, tactically dodging as he waited for Don to cull its rat. Not attacking, Jay kept being defensive and back stepping as the rat got frustrated.

    [15 Exp]

    Don finished off its rat and came over to attack Jay¡¯sst rat.

    It took only a few seconds before thest rat was dead ¨C riddled with knife holes and scratches, anyone would feel sorry for it.

    [15 Exp]

    The fight was finally over. Jay kept his guard up as he looked around. Holding his knife in a reverse grip as he panted, sweat covering his arms, he didn¡¯t see any enemies nearby.

    The surrounding marsh had a few decaying logs around it along with a few piles of reeds and grasses that seemed to be dried out. Rxing for a moment, Jay checked his notifications.

    He had 5 attribute points, but was surprised to find that he had 1 skill point. ¡°Awesome¡± He grinned widely

    ¡°Since I only have one skill, raise feeble creature, I may as well upgrade it, and I¡¯ll dump the attribute points into vitality so I can take more hits¡±

    Jay checked his stats.

    <[Necromancer level 3]>

    HP: 52/58

    MP: 35/39

    Strength: 15

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 20

    Energy: 26/30

    Exp: 20/375

    <[Skills]>

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 2] ¨C 1/2 Raised

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Running level 1] (Passive)

    Opening the feeble creature skill, he found more detailed information.

    <[Raise Feeble Creature level 2]>

    ¨C Cast on the corpse of a small creature, raising it to fight for you.

    ¨C Damage: 1-2

    ¨C Life: 15

    ¨C 2 Feeble creature total

    ¨C Mana Cost: 5

    ¨C Must be cast on a small corpse or nothing will happen.

    Jay was ted.

    ¡°Haha no way, I can have 2 now? That¡¯s so overpowered!¡±

    Immediately, Jay walked to another corpse, holding his hand over it and cast his spell.

    ¡°Raise¡± before running over to a nearby decaying trunk.

    Waiting a few moments, he realised it was a great skill, but each creature didn¡¯t upgrade very much, having 5 additional health and the possibility of 1 extra damage.

    ¡°Oh well, it¡¯s still awesome ¨C being able to do nothing while my minions kill everything. Maybe one day I¡¯ll be able to stroll through a warzone looting corpses as intense warfare rages on around me heh¡± Jay let out a gleeful smile.

    ¡°Well, I guess this is gunna be easier than I thought.. Imagine having to actually do stuff to level up?¡± Jayughed to himself.

    Don looked at Jay in confusion, probably not understanding whatugher was, then nced at the new minion.

    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Jay said with a devilish smile.

    ¡°Let me make introductions! Don¡­ this is¡­ Don! You¡¯re both named DON! Hahahaha! DON DON!¡±

    Jayughed loudly, almost uncaringly in the stink-rat swamp.

    He thought this was a joke that transcended the cosmic ne, even touching on the ranks of being a godlike joke, yet he was the only oneughing, alone in a swamp, still covered in mud, blood and shit.

    Anyone who saw him would think he was a psychopath.

    After taking far too long to calm down because of a mediocre joke, he nned his next steps.

    ¡°I¡¯ll hit level 4 and then leave this shithole, perhaps head back to town and buy a dagger, then depending on the time, I¡¯ll make my way to wolf¡¯s quarry¡­ It¡¯s not set in stone, but I¡¯ll see how it ys out.¡±

    With a spring in his step, he looted the 5 rat corpses for 10 fur scraps and 15 rat teeth as he dodged the new patch of organs and flesh staining the use-to-be ck marsh.

    ¡°Man, I¡¯m gonna need a jar for all these teeth, ugh, this is disgusting¡­¡± Some of the teeth were ckened and smelly.

    ¡°Oh well, time waits for no one.¡±

    Looking around, he spotted another clearing.

    He began to solemnly walk towards it, with his Don¡¯s leading the way.

 Chapter 6 Cull

    Jay announced his presence as he entered the next clearing, leisurely walking into it with his hands behind his back, he cleared his throat to get the rats attention.

    *Ahem*

    Jay didn¡¯t need to sneak attack anymore, and he was enjoying this sense of superiority.

    The 3 rats present looked up and hissed, a warning not to step any closer.

    Jay, with a proud smile stered on his face, held up one hand and snapped his fingers.

    Without hesitation, the Don¡¯s both dashed out from the reeds behind Jay, their glowing eyes creating green lines as they sped past Jay. Snapping the reeds as they sprinted at the nearest rat, they stabbed their ws into its jugr and bit into it.

    Before Jay could even lower his hand, the first rat was deceased.

    [15 Exp]

    The other 2 rats each tried to fight the Don¡¯s, but were culled almost as quickly as the first rat.

    [15 Exp]

    [15 Exp]

    ¡°Oh man, this is too easy,¡± Jay bragged, d no one heard him. He was having a hard time when he had to fight alone, and was beginning to respect adventurers ¨C but now it was like a walk in the park.

    ¡°Hehehe¡­ They will probably want to kill me out of pure jealousy, disregarding the fact that I¡¯m a necromancer¡± he shrugged ¡°Time to loot.¡±

    [Fur Scraps]x6

    [Soap Rat Teeth]x9

    Jay continued like this for the next few hours ¨C leisurely strolling to a clearing, taunting with a whistle or a cough, then having his minions ughtering anything moving; unknowingly making arge dent in the local soap rat poption.

    His knapsack was getting heavy with fur scraps and rat teeth, and before long, he decided not to carry anymore. Getting bored, he was not even bothering to taunt the rats anymore.

    His strategy had changed too ¨C he would simply send his minions ahead. By the time he entered the clearing, there would be 2 or 3 soap rat corpses waiting for him to loot them.

    ¡°Man, I¡¯m gettingzy. Maybe I should try to get another weapon proficiency or something¡±

    Pulling out his cooking knife, he wondered what he could do.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Hmm, I could start throwing it to get knife throwing proficiency?¡±

    As the soap rats were being decimated by the Don¡¯s, he began to throw his degraded cooking knife at them ¨C to little effect.

    He either missed at worst, and at best, hit them with the handle-end of the knife, doing no damage. Sometimes he missedpletely and had to fish his knife out of a murky pond.

    Getting frustrated, he was slowly giving up.

    ¡°Ah shit, what¡¯s wrong with my throwing?¡± Jay pondered, looking at his incredibly dull cooking knife.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the knife¡­ it¡¯s probably not bnced for throwing I guess? Oh well, I guess it is just a cooking knife. I¡¯ll find an actual dagger or throwing knife once I get back to town, maybe that merchant sells them¡­

    Oh yeah, I should probably get another cooking knife too, heh¡± he chuckled.

    ¡°Well, I guess I could also start punching, maybe get a fist fighting skill or a hand-to-handbat proficiency¡± Looking at his fist, he thought this wasn¡¯t a bad idea ¨C but ultimately decided against it.

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m a necromancer. A caster. I shouldn¡¯t be engaged in meleebat. If only I had a spell or something¡­ hmm, maybe I can secretly learn something from other adventurers..¡±

    Doing a cheeky half-smile, he re-equipped his knife and decided to stop throwing it.

    The ughter had been going on for a few hours now, and Jay was beginning to notice his knapsack getting heavier and heavier, while the Don¡¯s were each missing a few health.

    The stink of the marsh was just as pungent as when he entered; he was not growing ustomed to it at all. Close to levelling up to 4, he marched on, eager to leave this putrid marsh behind.

    As he went from clearing to clearing, he had noticed a small dirt mound poking above the reeds.

    ¡°Probably a den with the dungeon boss in it¡± he thought; deciding to avoid it as he went along, ¡°I¡¯ll hit level 4 before I investigate it, then get out of this dump¡±.

    Looting the fur scraps from histest victims and beginning to leave the clearing, he noticed one of the Don¡¯s had a crack trailing from its jaw to the back of its skull.

    ¡°Ooo, Looks painful¡±. He winced a little. ¡°You¡¯re lucky to not feel pain¡±. Giving Don a quizzical look as he moved closer.

    ¡°Strangely, it isn¡¯t being reinforced with solidified green gas¡­ perhaps that only happens where they¡¯re first being constructed?¡±

    Gripping Don¡¯s skull and tracing his finger across the crack.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ it looks pretty bad. I wonder if I can repair you somehow¡± he said as he held out his hand over the fracture.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Rise.¡±

    The green gas left his hand before dissipating again, as a notification appeared.

    [Must be cast on a small corpse or nothing will happen]

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m not trying to raise something, so I guess that won¡¯t work since it¡¯s already risen¡±.

    Holding out his hand, he tried again ¨C this time, thinking about how he channelled the ambient mana into his body.

    He imagined a well again as he waved his hand ¨C this time the bottom of the well being Don¡¯s skull. He felt a sort of current forming between his hand and Don¡¯s skull.

    Instead of chanting ¡®rise¡¯ he said ¡®Mend¡¯.

    The green luminous gas left his hand once again ¨C though this time it was moving and taking shape, forming a miniature cyclone of sorts ¨C appearing as if it was being sucked down a drain.

    Jay was surprised as it twirled and danced, but maintained his concentration, guiding the green-glowing cyclone over the skull fracture. As he moved it, a solid green seal was formed between the cracks.

    The process took a heavy toll on Jay¡¯s mana pool and he was beginning to feel a little weak. His mana had passively regenerated to 32 in thest few hours, but now it was down to 20/39 and still dropping.

    He pressed on through the light-headedness and concentrated, gritting his teeth a little as he guided the glowing cyclone over the remainder of the crack.

    It was a sight to behold, it looked more like a dark curse, or a necromancer binding a helpless undead to his will.

    As soon as the crack was filled, he snapped his hand away, panting while cing a hand on Don for support; he was rewarded with another notification for his effort.

    [Skill Acquired]

    Grinning, he checked his new skill.

    <[Shell Restoration Level 1 ¨C Acquired]>

    [¡°Restore¡±]

    [1 hit point restored per 2 mana per second]

    [Level this skill up for a better hp-mp ratio]<sub></sub>

    <[Description]>

    [Caster can channel mana to repair constructs, golems, living statues, gargoyles, magic weapons ¨C among other things.]

    ¡°Awesome! But living statues? Freaky.¡±

    Excited and creeped out all at once, Jay checked the now-repaired Don¡¯s stats.

    <[Feeble Creature Level 1]>

    [Type ¨C Undead]

    [HP ¨C 13/15]

    <[Skills]>

    [Natural Bite]

    ¨C 1-2 pierce damage

    [Natural ws]

    ¨C bleed ¨C 2 t damage over 3 seconds (Can stack 2 times)

    [Undeath]

    ¨C immune to cold, poison, hunger, stress, fear, pain.

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, it¡¯s existence spits in the face of life and death. Execute with extreme prejudice.]

    ¡°Hmm, notpletely healed. You must have a few other cracks¡­ also shouldn¡¯t you be level 2 now since I levelled up the skill?¡±

    Jay was confused as he pursed his lips; checking the skill again.

    <[Raise Feeble Creature level 2]>

    Cast on the corpse of a small creature, raising it to fight for you.

    [Damage 1-2]

    [Life ¨C 15]

    [(2) Feeble creature total]

    [Mana Cost ¨C 5]

    [Must be cast on a small corpse or nothing will happen]

    ¡°Hmm, I guess I levelled up the raising skill but that doesn¡¯t actually level up the quality of the monsters I raise..? Damn, fair enough. I wonder how I can increase their individual levels¡­¡± Jay pondered for a moment before realising he hasn¡¯tpletely healed Don.

    ¡°Men-¡­ I mean, Restore¡± He held out his hand again, remembering the spell name correctly.

    The ability was slightly different this time ¨C perhaps because he discovered the skill.

    The gas still left his hand, but this time it was a muchrger amount, slowly forming arger cyclone around Don¡¯s whole body ¨C Don was in the eye of the storm, looking at Jay cautiously, perhaps wondering why they weren¡¯t doing anything; Don didn¡¯t even seem to notice it was being repaired.

    A momentter, Jay cast [Shell Restoration] on the other Don.

    Since he had the skill now, he didn¡¯t need to concentrate at all, the only cost was to his mana pool.

    8 Mana pointster, the mist dissipated; both Don¡¯s now fully repaired.

    Jay was satisfied ¡°Good, I won¡¯t need an endless supply of bones now, I can just keep fixing these skeletons.¡± He patted one of the Don¡¯s.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, only need about 8 more rats to hit level 4¡± He said to the Don¡¯s as he spotted the next clearing.

    The trio kept trudging through the mud and over decaying wood, pushing away reeds and sometimesnding a foot in the swamp water; Jay¡¯s shoes squelching as he culled the soap rats ¨C It was getting harder to find the rats due to how many they killed, but before long, enough died for him to hit level 4.

    [Level up]

    [5 Free Attribute Points]

    Jay sighed, ¡°Finally. Status.¡±

    Normally, one would be excited to level up, but he had been in this stinking marsh for hours, not even fighting most of the time, he was bored, no longer appreciating the effort that went into killing each rat, his morale low.

    <[Necromancer level 4]>

    [HP] 59/59

    [MP] 13/41

    [Strength] 15

    [Dexterity] 25

    [Vitality] 20

    [Energy] 17/30

    [Exp] 5/800

    <[Skills]>

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 2] ¨C 2/2 Raised

    [Shell Restoration Level 1]

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Running level 1] (Passive)

    [Dagger Proficiency level 1]

    [Chimera Research 2%]

    Eating some bondtussle root to get some more mana regeneration going, he thought about where to put his attribute points.

    ¡°Hmm, I haven¡¯t been fighting much myself. Some more health would be good incase I get hit but I think for now, I¡¯ll put them all into energy, raising it to 35¡± After adding the points, likewise, his max MP rose to 51 ¨C a higher energy stat meant arger mana pool after all.

    Satisfied with his choices, he left the clearing, beginning to make his way to therge mound of ck marsh dirt and decaying wood that he had been avoiding till now.

    ¡°Time to kill the king¡± he said, squinting at the mound of filth in the distance.

 Chapter 7 Bread and Butter

    Jay stealthily snuck up to the clearing, scouting for any threats or enemies.

    As Jay watched, arge fat rat exited therge burrow. It began feasting on the remains of a level 1 soap rat.

    Jay had shivers seeing the rat eat its own kind like it was any other snack, then suddenly he got a notification.

    <[Hidden Quest Requirements met]>

    [Alone]

    [Under level 5]

    <[Quest Acquired: y Stench-Rat Molodus]>

    [Reward] 1 Level up

    [Reward] 50 Gold

    ¡°Haha, the dungeon thinks I¡¯m solo. My Don¡¯s must not count. The rewards are pretty good too ¨C especially since I was nning to do this anyway¡±

    Smiling, Jay checked that rat¡¯s status

    <[Stench-Rat Molodus ¨C Level 5]>

    [50 HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Slippery] (Passive)

    ¨C The rat uses swamp slime to its advantage.

    ¨C Crowd control skills have no effect.

    [Piercing Bite]

    ¨C 5 pierce damage

    [Tearing ws]

    ¨C Bleed

    ¨C 4 t damage over 4 seconds (Can stack 4 times)

    [Toxic Aura](Passive)

    ¨C The stench of this creature poisons those around it.<sub>.</sub>

    -1HP/second

    ¨C 3 metre radius

    [Poison Immune] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [Both king and dread of the soap rats; living in the stench-swamp, it has be one with it. ¡°You only adopted the stench, I was born in it.¡±]

    Jay raised his brows at the description.

    ¡°Weird¡­ It¡¯s not much different from the other soap rats ¨C well, except for its massive health and its dangerous passive ability. And those big-ass fangs. Maybe it¡¯s better at fighting, like that other level 3 soap rat¡­ I shoulde up with a n.¡±

    The rat was about the size of a cow, it¡¯s belly scraped the ground as it walked while half of it¡¯s long tail was still in the burrow. It had 2rge fangs pointing out from the middle of it¡¯s top jaw, while it¡¯s fur was thick ¨C filled with slime, green mold and decaying wood. If you looked closely, you could even see small mushrooms nestled in some parts of its fur.

    Jay decided to get the Don¡¯s to circle around to the other side of the clearing. Entering the clearing first, he got the fat rat¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Hey! Rat!¡± Jay was not very creative with his taunt, but it worked.

    The rat stopped chewing on the corpse, dropping it from it¡¯s jaws and stepping on it as if it was just another decaying log. It hissed at Jay as it¡¯s fur on it¡¯s back rose.

    Jay noticed a slight mist around Molodus. Jay took another few steps forward as he controlled the Don¡¯s to break cover and attack Molodus from behind. Molodus charged at Jay before the Don¡¯s could attack, so the ambush failed.

    Jay dodged the charge, stepping to the side as he shed at its side.

    -1.

    Likewise, Jay took 1 damage aftering into contact with the rat¡¯s toxic aura, his skin burning slightly.

    The Don¡¯s caught up to Jay, bones rattling. As the giant rat turned around, they pounced on it, but slid off due to its fur.

    The rat wed at one of the Don¡¯s as they got up to attack it.

    The Don didn¡¯t suffer a bleed since it was undead and had no blood ¨C instead, it was merely slowed down before retaliating with a bite and endless w attacks. The other feeble creature had already started attacking; damage numbers started appearing above the rat¡¯s head.

    -5

    -6

    -4

    -5

    Each feeble creature could do 2-3 damage per second, but the rat king wasn¡¯t going to let them just attack for free.<sub></sub>

    Turning to the side, it nted a foot on a Don, a cracking sounding from the feeble creature¡¯s ribs. The pressure forced the hunch out of the feeble creature¡¯s back, making it go t and straighten up ¨C though it didn¡¯t seem to take any notice of the pain, which surprised the rat, as it never stopped attacking ¨C Its attacks being just as fast as the other minion.

    -5

    Annoyed, it smashed it¡¯srge tail against the other feeble creature ¨C sending it flying off into the swamp.

    ¡°Hmm, guess I better step in¡±

    Running at the rat, Jay twirled his knife and stabbed at the rat¡¯s forearm. Pulling it back, the feeble creature was released ¨C it continued to bite and w at the rat.

    -1

    -2

    -2

    The rat was starting to die. It was already down to 20hp. It started to panic as the other Don ran back from the swamp and was about to sh it ¨C but to everyone¡¯s surprise, another soap rat was chasing after the Don.

    Thinking quickly, Jay had the iing Don attack the soap rat while he began to distract the rat boss.

    As he was bitten, he felt bones being crushed in his off-hand. He grabbed his knife and stabbed in through the rat¡¯s eye.

    Critical hit!

    -2

    The rat was now blind in one eye, and started being more defensive ¨C though there was still a Don which had been attacking it the whole time.

    -1

    -2

    The rat boss shed at the Don to no effect ¨C it was a bleed attack ¨C the Don¡¯s had no blood.

    Jay noticed the Don still had a cracked rib cage from when the rat stomped on it.

    [Shell Restoration]

    The green mist swirled around the Don as the king rat stepped back in shock, wondering what was happening ¨C though the Don continued to attack.

    Jay noticed the rat¡¯s toxic aura stopped burning him as the mist swirled.

    ¡°It must disrupt the mist somehow¡±.

    Hammering on, the Don¡¯s killed both the soap rat and then began to finish off the rat king with some help from Jay.<sub></sub>

    As it was about to die, Jay decided to have thest hit, as he jumped at the rat with his arms wide open, stabbing into the rat¡¯s skull.

    Panting as he caught his breath ¡°Finally, we did it. It wasn¡¯t too hard to be honest ¨C but I guess you¡¯re meant to fight this bastard solo. That would suck¡­. if you weren¡¯t me, hahaha¡±. He said,ughing as he opened his notification.

    [Quest Complete]

    1 Level up

    50 gold

    Suddenly, he felt stronger, smarter. His corroded skin healed along with his broken arm.

    He felt like he had a stronger link to his undead ¨C then he received another notification.

    <[Level 5 ¨C ss Skill Acquired]>

    [Necrotic Ring]

    [Description]

    Bone storage.

    [Two Ring Functions]

    [Transnt] Bones are added to or extracted from the ring. Bones can be extracted from corpses and added to the ring.

    [Shift] The ring changes form.

    No mana cost

    ¡°Bone storage huh? Sounds useful¡­? It would be nice to have a more detailed description though. Hopefully I won¡¯t have to carry around the bones from these guys¡± He said, patting one of the feeble creatures¡¯ skulls.

    Looking at the huge rat corpse, he looted it first before casting [Necrotic Ring] on it.

    [Molodus Coat] ¨C Melee attackers are poisoned.

    [Molodus ws] ¨C Gem ¨C Add bleed damage. Scales with weapon.

    [Poisonous Moss]

    [Large Fangs]x2

    Distracted by the loot, he didn¡¯t notice his spell having an effect.

    Immediately, the skin twisted and roiled as parts bubbled and popped.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡±

    An explosion happened in the marsh, making the surrounding reeds and swamp grasses be temporarily t as the force spread over them.

    Blood, organs, viscera and goo covered Jay once more.

    In frustration, he almost willed the Don¡¯s to kill him, ending it all. Quickly, still holding his breath and closing his eyes, he jumped in a nearby stink-rat marsh pond he noticed while fighting.

    The water was as filthy as ever, but still better than his current condition.

    Coming up for air, he took a breath and screamed

    ¡°YOU FUCKING FUCK!!!!!¡± Perhaps the whole marsh heard him roar.

    Breathing heavily as he angrily spat out ¡°These fucking skills causing blood and piss to squirt everywhere all the time. What the hell is wrong with necromancers, why do they do this shit? Freaks! All of them! I will be avenged!¡±

    It was on this day that Jay swore to eliminate every other necromancer he woulde across.

    After taking a moment to calm down, he noticed the skill was working ¨C the bones from the rat king were all floating around him along with small wisps of the green gas, simr to the ring of saturn ¨C they were in his orbit. He read his new notification.

    <[Necrotic Ring Function 1]>

    [Increased defence 5%]

    [Transnt enabled]

    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s pretty damn cool. It still doesn¡¯t make up for what just happened though¡± he pouted.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try the second function¡±

    [Shift]

    Suddenly, the bones all merged and somehowpacted into a small ashy grey-coloured ring with a skull imprint. Jay was amazed at the impossibility of it as the ring then flew onto his finger ¨C then he got a notification.

    <[Necrotic Ring Function 2]> (Passive)

    [Increased agility 5%]

    ¡°Wow amazing! I love it, it¡¯s so cool!¡± He smiled as he decided to prolong his anti-necromancer crusade.. for now. ¡°I guess a bone stockpile and summoning are the necromancer¡¯s bread and butter. It sure beats hanging out in a cemetery or a mass grave all day long too ¨C or even carrying around stinky bones. Ew.¡± Reasoned Jay as he looked as his ring. ¡°I¡¯d better hide you from that noble brat in case he wants to take you, my special ring, my¡­ my precious¡± Jay devilishly grinned.

    Noticing the rat¡¯s burrow, he strolled over to it, hoping for some good loot ¡°Surely you gotta have some good stuff ¨C being the king and all.¡±

    Checking the burrow, it was mostly decaying piles of junk.

    Clearly, not many adventurers have been here for a long time.

    Picking up an old battered shield from the muddy pit, he analysed it

    [Decayed Shield]

    ¡°Wow, it has no stats? Absolute junk.¡± He tossed it aside, then noticed a book underneath.

    It was a peculiar book, as it had no folds in it¡¯s cover, no signs of ageing, neither was it ckened or wet like most things in the marsh ¨C it was as if it had just been printed.

    Looking at the cover, it was ck with a golden ring, though the ring had a crack at the bottom of it.

    Flipping over the cover, he found the book name

    [Escape the Circles]

    ¡°Hmm, weird book name.¡± He said as he began to read.

    After reading the first page, he found that all the other pages were ck.

    He received a notification

    [Immortality Research 1%]

    ¡°What?! Immortality??¡± He re-read the first page again, hoping to gain more knowledge, yet nothing happened. The pages behind them were still nk.

    ¡°Hmm, perhaps I need to understand it and not merely just memorise it like a parrot¡±.

    ***

    Author here ¨C if you would like to read the first page of Jay¡¯s book, it will be the chapter after this one. I will make all the chapters for Jay¡¯s book free. You can read them if you¡¯re curious or skip them. Thanks, Aero182.

    ***

    Jay stashed the book away, deciding what to do next. He had already been here for hours and wasn¡¯t willing to spend another second here. After looking around the king rat¡¯s area, he found nothing else except more decaying wood and two more dead rat skeletons to add to his necrotic ring

    ¡°This will be enough to summon two more of my feeble creatures.¡± he thought. ¡°Well, I guess there¡¯s no point in staying here.¡± Immediately, Jay was sucked under the mud without warning ¨C the dungeon seemingly responding to his thoughts as it spat him out again,nding in the same spot he entered.

    The clouds were dark and he hadn¡¯t braced himself for the cold weather outside. He was still covered in murky swamp water as he began to shiver.

    ¡°Shit, not again.¡± He began to sprint back to the inn before he caught hypothermia ¨C but before he could take his first step, out came the Don¡¯s ¨C bothnding on him.

    ¡°Ahh!¡±

    The Don¡¯s caused him to eat the dirt once again.

    Annoyed, he was going to de-summon them, adding more bones to his necrotic ring inventory ¨C but he took a moment, and decided to heal his Don¡¯s before he sent them into the woods to hunt monsters so he could passively level up.

    Smiling as they left, he cheered himself up ¡°Yeah, this is what being a necromancers all about anyway ¨C making your minions do all the work.¡±

    In a sh, the Don¡¯s scuttled off into the woods as if they had already picked up a scent and were chasing their prey. ¡°Just don¡¯te near the city or other humans!¡± he yelled after them.

    Squinting at their bone spines, Jay muttered under his breath ¡°..weirdos¡± before he began the run back to the inn, as the grey clouds above cluttered out the remainder of the sunset.

    ¡°Time for another ruby-gem bath¡± he half-smiled, dodging trees and bare branches as he dashed through the winter forest.

 Chapter 8 [Auxiliary Chapter] Old Book: Escape The circles

    ***This is a free auxiliary chapter. This is the book Jay was reading. You can skip it and still understand the story, I just thought It would be fun to add. Thanks, Aero182***

    An epitaph of my former self, now dead.

    So, you¡¯ve escaped the circles,<sub>.</sub>

    or at least you think you have.

    The circles being things that you keep doing which lead to nothing but another repetition of the circle. You toil all the week, looking forward to its end, the end arrives, you do the exact same thing you did on thest end. Somehow you still enjoy doing this.<sub></sub>

    Why? How many times do you need to have this experience before you get sick of it? You¡¯re caught in a cycle, a circle. You¡¯ve stagnated, you¡¯re wasting away, and you don¡¯t realise it yet.

    This isn¡¯t the only circle you¡¯re in ¨C you¡¯re still caught in others but you just don¡¯t realise it yet.<sub></sub>

    While being in the circle, you¡¯re disregarding the future, at least in part. Maybe you do save some money that goes to the future, but you are still losing time, not thinking clearly or making yourself better. You¡¯ve simply be a cog in a machine you¡¯ve continually made with your own actions. You¡¯re not free from yourself.

    How do you break free of such a cycle? Well, stop doing the exact same thing you¡¯ve been doing and think about where your life is going if you continue to repeat such a circle.

    Consider this: you don¡¯t ever see any elders drinking themselves stupid, why? Because this is a circle that is forcibly broken by your physical health ¨C however it¡¯s better if you can break it first through realization, save your health, your time, and your money ¨C and hopefully discover the next circle you find yourself in.

    Maybe you don¡¯t have anything better to do; but how would you know? You haven¡¯t tried, have you? Isn¡¯t that depressing? Will your life change or get better by continuing the same process? ¨C If not, maybe you are crazy?

    Maybe you do this to alleviate pain, but the pain will just continue on if you don¡¯t directly address it.

    Maybe it¡¯s boredom. Could boredom itself be the end of escaping or breaking of the cycles? Maybe you¡¯ve found peace?

    Perhaps you embrace it like a fool? Do you start a new cycle ¨C something to upy the time? Will your old, tired eyes be satisfied chasing the same thing around in circles once more ¨C a way to fill the gap in between the necessary activities? What are you ignoring while you¡¯re busy? If you don¡¯t find something, then what?

    Upon pondering these things I seek for wisdom ¨C she hears my plea; I find myself in prayer. For now, I have but one mission for now ¨C I need to control my tongue.

    ¨C Avawalk the hidden, Conqueror of Himself.

    This chapter is a preview, if you want to see a faster and more up-to-date chapter, please visit . for more content.

 Chapter 9 Business

    On the exquisite upper floor of an inn, in a room withrge rectangr rose-ss windows, luminous orbs gently flicker on the ceiling, bringing warm light to the room.

    Sitting at the head of a dining table below an orb, a man with a brown moustache and arge belly chews some cartge off a mist-sheep thigh; sucking out the bone marrow, he wipes his mouth with a cdrius feather before washing it down with some oaken-barley beer. The feather appeared to not even realise it had been tainted as the tracings of food stains disappeared within a moment.

    ¡®Ahh, I have earned this meal. All that travelling and setting up shop was hard work. Good thing this inn is still open at this time of night¡¯. He thought, looking out the window at the torches and luminous orbs illuminating different parts of the vige; the sunset had passed by hours ago.

    Noticing his gravy boat was empty, the rambunctious man called out for his personal servant.

    ¡°BOY! Come here!¡± Spittle and small pieces of food fly out of his mouth as he yells.

    A frail young man with sses entered the room, seemingly shivering. His ck hair was in a top-knot and he was dressed in expensive servant clothes, though his posture and skinny arms exposed him as the nervous, panicky and fidgety wretch that he was.

    ¡°H-here¡¯s a new pitcher of beer, sir.¡±

    ¡°HESS, MORE GRAVY!!!!¡± The man bellowed, mming his fist down on the table as he threw the gravy boat silverware at Hess, then continued to eat hisrge portion of rat-tail steaks; he had not expected something so delicious to be served from some unimportant inn ¨C and for only 5 gold a piece.

    ¡®It¡¯s a shame the innkeeper refused to reveal which farm he sourced these from.¡¯ he thought as he chomped down another piece.

    ¡°Y-yes sir!¡± Hess squeals in urgency as he picks up the gravy boat off the ground, leaving the room before wiping off a spec of gravy from his sses.

    Every day, Hess dreamed of running away, but he was a ve ¨C no, worse than a ve ¨C he had a quintessence contract, binding his very soul to his master for as long as they both lived. This contract stopped him from evenmitting suicide ¨C lest he breach the terms and conditions and serve his master in the eternal afterlife too.

    While Hess was not even sure if there was an afterlife, but this was not something he wanted to risk, it was a gamble that was not worth the pay-off. Servitude for eternity, it would be hell.

    Why would he throw his eternal life away for some small temporary respite?

    Besides, his master was old, fat, and ate like a king ¨C it will not be long till he is free.

    After scoffing down thest of the numerous courses of food, Bertram began to review his ns as he quieted down.

    ¡°Mmm. Mhm. Good. Hmm. That checks out. Yes¡­ good¡­ mhm..¡±

    As he worked through his papers, his demeanour changed; gone was the boisterous bellowing beast that he was before ¨C reced by a quiet and contemtive tactician, a mastermind of sorts.

    Bertram was by no meanszy when it came to ounting and trading ¨C he was more like a wolf. If anyone examined Bertram when he was like this, you would not think that he just stumbled into his wealth; it would be clear that he had earned every single gold coin he had ¨C though to him, this was not work, It was apetitive sport. He relished every moment of it.

    Even Hess had started to respect this side of Bertram, it was like watching a master craftsman create beauty from wood or stone.

    ¡°Hess, check these papers, tell me if there¡¯s any problems¡±

    ¡°Yes sir¡± Hess was morefortable around tactician-bertram. While he hated Bertram, he knew that he could be treated much worse. Besides, he may still learn a thing or two, so he worked hard for him.

    ¡°Sir.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Bertram didn¡¯t even look up.

    ¡°Won¡¯t the local lord have a problem with this?¡±

    ¡°Haha, he won¡¯t say anything, I¡¯ve made sure of that, boy¡± Bertram tapped hisrge coin pouch.

    ¡°I see¡­ What about your reputation?¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°HA! We¡¯re in a small, distant town where thesemoners never leave. Besides, I¡¯m the only merchant who bothers toe here. Their opinions mean nothing! Ha!¡± He pped his knee.

    ¡°Oh, I see sir. I suppose there are no problems then¡±.

    ¡°No problems at all.¡± Bertram smiled and looked up from his paperwork. ¡°I¡¯ll make another hefty sum of gold from these new adventurers and then we¡¯ll leave after the coin dries up.¡±

    ¡ª

    Jay was sprinting back to the vige when he received a notification

    [15 Exp]

    He smirked. ¡°Heh, I wonder what they caught¡±.

    Getting back to the south road, he drank the rest of the water from his bottle and washed his face a little. He was hoping the stinky mud would dry up and fall off, but it seemed like he smelt just as bad as before.

    Storing his bottle away, he kept running; slowing down would only make him begin to shiver as the sky began to darken.

    ¡ª

    Jay felt eyes on him as he neared the vige.

    Five spearmen blocked the road while a woman behind them held a crossbow, aimed at him.

    Standing leisurely by her side was an athletic-looking muscr man ¨C he was not big and bulky with too much muscle, but was more like a hunter who could both chase down his target and execute it with brutal efficiency. Wearing medium armourposed of thick hide, leather fastenings and dark-blue bux beetle shell pauldrons, he appeared to be bored.

    ¡°Eyes on target, captain. It just left the woodline. Permission to fire.¡±

    ¡°Wait till it gets a little closer..¡± The captain said with his arms folded.

    As Jay approached, he was wondering why all those guards seemed to be ring at him. Curiously, he slowed to a walk, wondering what was going on.

    ¡°It slowed down¡­ It could be intelligent¡­¡± The captain narrowed his eyes ¡°Stay vignt. Only take a shot when you¡¯re sure about hitting it¡± The captain coached the girl.

    She nodded, holding her crossbow a little more tightly as she braced herself and prepared to fire. She aimed at Jay and slowly squeezed the trigger ¨C suddenly, the captain yelled.

    ¡°ANYA WAIT¡±

    The yell startled Anya and she squeezed harder, releasing the bolt ¨C however, the unexpected happened.

    The captain grabbed the crossbow before the bolt could leave it, gripping it so tightly that the bolt couldn¡¯t escape.

    Anya was shocked, but looking at her captain¡¯s expression, he still seemed bored ¨C even while the veins in his hand were bulging as they threatened to snap the crossbow into two pieces.

    ¡°It¡¯s human,¡± he muttered. ¡°Return to duties¡± he said casually as he disarmed the crossbow and gave it back to Anya. The spearmen all raised their spears, then with a salute, they all left. The captain gazed at Jay, checking his stats.

    Jay ¨C Level 5

    [HP 100%]<sub></sub>

    [MP 100%]

    ¡®Level five already huh? Impressive kid. Sullivan¡¯s gunna have his hands full this year¡¯ he smiled.

    The ¡®monster¡¯ continued to approach, covered in ck muck with traces of flesh and blood sprinkled throughout ¨C but at this point, Anya couldn¡¯t care less.

    ¡°He may as well have snapped it, the damage is too extensive.¡± Thought the girl as she pouted, looking at her crossbow with finger-holes in it.

    Jay continued watching as he walked closer ¡°Huh, that was weird. Must be drills or something. Oh well, I need a bath.¡± he said casually, not realizing he looked like some sort of man-eating mud monster and was nearly killed.

    Jay picked up his pace to jogging speed as headed toward the inn with the dreamy ruby bath.

    As he casually ran past the captain and the girl with the broken crossbow, he received a death stare from the girl.

    ¡°Huh, what¡¯s her problem?¡± Jay thought with a confused look on his face, as he ignored them both and kept running as if nothing ever happened; his bag making jangling noises with each step as the soap rat teeth rattled.

    ¡°It will be best not to tell him¡­¡± said the captain ¡°sorry about your crossbow, but it¡¯s better to lose that than to end a man¡±. The captain looked back to the forest with remorse.

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± said Anya, a little unconvinced, as she nursed her broken crossbow.

    Suddenly, she felt the urge to vomit as a strong smell wafted over to her, though thankfully, it left as quickly as it came.

    Her face was riddled with disgust from the smell as she looked up at her captain ¨C however his expression changed for once as the smell hit him too; his eyes bulged and he pursed his lips as he began to run to another part of the vige, it was the first time she saw the captain break hisposure and retreat.

    Anya furrowed her brows and frowned ¡°I hope he doesn¡¯t think that was me¡± she said as she squinted in the direction Jay left in.

    ¡ª

    Jay approached the inn ¨C this time, he wasn¡¯t as close to freezing to death as he wasst time ¨C though he was a thousand times more filthy. Since he wasn¡¯t shivering, he had the energy to look up and check the inn¡¯s name.

    -Snakeraven¡¯s Hollow-

    It wasmonly called ¡®the snakeraven¡¯ by the locals.

    Above the words on the hanging wooden sign was an image of a ck feathered snake with wings and a beak. It appeared to be winking.

    ¡°Why name it after a beast like that? No one likes those horrifying things.¡± He thought as he entered the wooden door.

    Before he could be rejected for his horrendous stench, Jay pulled out 35 gold, as his smell greeted the innkeeper before he could even close the door behind him.

    Quickly approaching with gold in hand, he eximed his order before he could be rejected.

    ¡°One room, a ruby bath, andundry service please!¡±

    Devin was slightly hunched over from the smell as his nose twitched a little, but it seemed like he was tolerating the smell quite well ¨C he did work in an inn after all, so he dealt with the asional vomit.

    ¡°You¡¯re 10 gold short¡±

    ¡°But these were the pricesst time?¡± Jay squinted<sub></sub>

    ¡°You¡¯re extra filthy this timed, 5 extra gold for washing and 5 extra gold for the muck you¡¯ll leave in the bath¡±.

    ¡°Sure. Here you are¡± Jay immediately pulled out the extra 10 gold, not willing to test the innkeeper.

    ¡°TAMARA!¡± Devin yelled out to his daughter. ¡°GET THE RUBY BATH READY NOW¡±.

    ¡°Alright dad!¡± a yell came from somewhere down the hall.

    In a few moments, Tamara came down the hall. It was clear that she could smell Jay too, as she was trying her best to stop her face from cringing.

    ¡°This way, sir¡±.

    ¡°Thanks¡± Jay said, analysing her as he followed.

    [Tamara ¨C Level 14]

    [HP 100%]

    [MP 100%]

    ¡°Level 14 huh, she¡¯s pretty strong¡± Jay thought, he wasn¡¯t nning on asking how old she was, but if he had to guess, she was about 24; 6 years older than Jay.

    She had a voluptuous figure with braided waist-length brte hair, and was about half a pitcher taller than Jay, who was average-height in Lo.

    ¡°Maybe I will ask her what ss she is after I stop smelling like the definition of stink.¡± he thought.

    Entering the room again, everything was prepared the same way asst time. Jay thanked Tamara, locked the door and removed all his clothes, dumping them in theundry basket in the corner before sliding into the ruby-gem bath once more.

    ¡°Ahhhhhhh. Finally.¡± He smiled in delight.

    His entire body rxed as he closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly forgetting to open them. Waking up 30 minutester, Jay was satisfied with his nap ¨C wrinkly, but satisfied.

    Taking some soap, he washed his body and hair as bits of dirt sank to the bottom and pieces of flesh floated to the top.

    ¡°Eugh, gross¡± he said as he attempted to shoo away the floaties.

    The more clean he got, the more disgusted he was by the smelling from hisundry basket. With a final check for mud behind his ears and a soap scrub under his armpits, he got out of the tub, dried himself with the towel and put on a robe.

    Jay decided his bag would need to be cleaned too, so he removed all his items from it and gave whatever he could a rinse in the soapy bath water before putting them on a shelf to dry ¨C though he decided to ce [Molodus¡¯s Coat] in with his otherundry.

    The remaining mushrooms, nuts, and bondtussle root were all spoiled at this point, so he wrapped them in his stinking shirt and ced it on top of hisundry basket for Tamara to dispose of.

    Grabbing the stink-rat tail, he wondered what he should do with it. It was nearly 2 meters long and as thick as a fist. Analysing it, he realised it was top quality meat ¨C the fat streaks formed borate and evenly distributed branches throughout, the marbling could have been the most beautiful that Jay had ever seen.

    ¡®I wonder¡­.¡¯ Jay squinted at the meat.

    Jay opened the door and called ¡°Tamara!¡±

    ¡°Coming!¡± a voice sounded from up the hall.

    In a moment, Tamara appeared. ¡°How can I help?¡± she said with a smile.

    ¡°Here¡¯s myundry, also I left some rubbish in that shirt so please throw that away. Oh, and I was wondering if your father would like to buy this rat-tail? It¡¯s quality meat, and I would butcher it then sell it myself, but I¡¯m going to be too busy these next few days; It would be a shame to waste it.¡±

    She pursed her lips as she took theundry basket with Jay¡¯s bag on top. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Devin¡±.

    ¡°Thanks¡± smiled Jay, happy to have the stinkingundry basket gone.

    A short timeter, someone knocked on the door. ¡°Hey Devin¡± Jay said after opening it.

    ¡°Hello, you have some meat for me do you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, here it is. I¡¯m¡­ I was a butcher so I know top-quality meat when I see it. Have a look here at the marbling and the fat distribution. Quite alluring, isn¡¯t it?¡± Jay said, looking at Devin. ¡®Huh, he¡¯s older than I initially thought, now that I see him up-close¡¯ thought Jay.

    Devin took the tail and inspected it. ¡°How much?¡±

    ¡°50 gold.¡±

    ¡°50 is too much, kid¡± Devin said, his eyes betraying him as he was still gazing at the meat.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I think even 80 gold would be a fair price. It¡¯s nearly 2 meters long, if you cut 3cm thick steaks from it and sold them for as little as 2 gold ¨C which is the same price as your other steaks ¨C it will fetch a profit of about 100 gold; of course, with this quality of meat, you could probably even charge as much as 3 or 4 gold for it.¡±

    ¡®Damn, this brat knows what he¡¯s doing. Even I realise the price is low, maybe there¡¯s a catch¡¯ Devin thought as he scratched his bald head.

    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you do that?¡± Devin inquisitively asked

    ¡°Because I¡¯m bing an adventurer, I don¡¯t have time to prepare it, and it would be a travesty to let this prime meat go to waste.¡±

    Adjusting his sses and half-smiling, Devin made a decision ¡°I see. We got a deal¡± Devin was as indifferent as ever as he pulled out 50 gold and handed it to Jay.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Jay smiled.

    Without a word, Devin left the room and closed the door, dragging the rat tail behind him.

    ¡°Tamara, I¡¯ll be in the kitchen! We¡¯re doing a special tonight!¡± Jay heard Devin¡¯s deep, raspy voice from behind the door.

    Jay was still smiling as he shook his head. He took his now semi-clean belongings as he went to his room on the floor above.

    The room was small. A cab on one wall, a luminous orb on the ceiling and a single bed on a wooden frame was in the corner. There was a tiny round port-hole style rose-ss window which was currently closed.

    Entering the room, Jay went to rest on the bed. He was so tired that he didn¡¯t even get under the sheets, and before he realised it, he was asleep.

    ¡ª

    ¡°What the?¡± Jay was woken up, hearing clunking silverware hit the ground and a booming voice yelling from the room above him ¨C before hearing a quick patter of feet run down the nearby stairs and after a moment, back up them again.

    ¡°Sounds like someone¡¯s having a good time¡± Smirked Jay as his stomach gently growled.

    Making his way out of the room, he found a note which had been slid under the door.

    ¡°Yourundry is ready ¨C Tamara¡±.

    Pocketing the note, he went to the stairs and called out ¡°Tamara!¡±

    Soon, another set of feet came tapping up the stairs.

    ¡°Could you please bring me myundry?¡± Jay asked kindly. He really didn¡¯t want to go downstairs to have dinner in a robe.

    ¡°Yes, sir. Be back in a moment¡± Tamara left.

    ¡°Phew¡± Jay sighed in relief, knowing he would be the source of entertainment for the night if he did wander around the bar in a robe.

    It wasn¡¯t long before Tamara came back with Jay¡¯s fresh clothes and knapsack.

    ¡°Here you are sir. Was there anything else I can help you with?¡± she smiled warmly now that Jay wasn¡¯t a stinking mess.

    ¡°Can I order some food while I get dressed? I¡¯lle downstairs in a moment¡±

    ¡°Absolutely, we have a special tonight ¨C Prime steaks with winter vegetables and gravy¡± She smiled ¡°6 gold¡±.

    ¡°6 gold? Haha so I guess he¡¯s charging 5 gold for the steaks? They must be good.¡± (1 gold for vegetables and gravy)

    ¡°Yes, sir. Premium quality meat.¡± Tamara would not say it was rat tail, under strict instructions given by her dad.

    ¡°Heh, here you go. I won¡¯t be long¡± Jay chuckled at their antics as he handed her the 6 gold.

    Jay retreated back to his room with theundry basket. He changed back into his clothes and put his remaining items back into his knapsack ¨C however, he equipped [Molodus¡¯s Coat].

    The coat was a dark-green colour with round ck-wood buttons. It had a cor that came up just under his chin, while the coat reached his upper leg. Jay looked more dignified andmanding with the coat on, and it suited his dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

    ¡®Nice.¡¯ Jay thought, pleased with his new look.

    Forgetting what the coat did, he analysed it again.

    [Molodus¡¯s Coat ¨C Level 1]

    [Molodus¡¯s Essence] (Passive) Melee attackers take 1 poison damage over 3 seconds. Does not stack.

    [Poison resistance 10%]

    Description: Acquired after defeating [Stench-rat Molodus] ¨C King of the soap rats, scourge of the stink-rat marsnds: Part of the vile rat king¡¯s own soul was woven into this coat, he was not yet satisfied with his scourge as he died, his own hate lived on to form this coat from his own hide ¨C this coat which now attempts to consume and decay all who threaten it.

    ¡°Wow, cool. And it has a level? I guess that means it can level up¡­?¡± Jay smiled ¡°Though having a soul in my coat is a little creepy haha¡± Pleased with his new coat, Jay stashed his knapsack under the bed, before locking the door and leaving for the bar downstairs.

    ¡°Time to try those rat-tail steaks¡± Jay half-smiled as he made his way to the stairs.

    ****

    Author here ¨C Thanks

 Chapter 10 2%

    Tamara was preparing winter vegetables in the kitchen while her dad was frying up some rat-tail steaks, gradually shortening the long rat tail.

    ¡®Ew, how could people even eat that? It¡¯s disgusting!¡¯ She thought as she prepared her smile before going out to the customers.

    ¡ª

    As Jay was about to go down the stairs, a young man with sses and a top-knot ran past ¡°Excuse me sir¡± he said as he continued down the stairs, this time with an empty pitcher.

    Jay didn¡¯t mind him as he followed him down the stairs, walking down the hallway and proceeding to the bar.

    ¡°Here you are,¡± Tamara said with a smile, cing a te with steaming food in front of Jay, smiling as she left him to enjoy his meal ¨C she went on to serve the top-knot guy, who seemed to look both fearful and annoyed that he had to wait because of Jay¡¯s meal taking priority. After receiving another pitcher of beer, he scampered off into the hallway and up the stairs.

    Jay had no hesitation as he scoffed down the tender rat-tail steak, surprised at how juicy the meat was as it melted in his mouth, he almost regretted selling it. ¡°How is this so delicious. Is it because it¡¯s a monster drop maybe? Man, Adventuring is so awesome ¨C I definitely can¡¯t go back to butchering.¡± encouraging himself while he chewed ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer now, I won¡¯t go back.¡±.

    Finishing thest of his meal with a beer, he leisurely walked back upstairs and got into bed, a dozy smile of contentedness on his face. Thankfully, the gentleman upstairs was quiet now, so he quickly fell asleep.

    ¡ª

    On a cold morning in a winter forest, a lone hunter exhales quietly as his breath forms a small cloud. ¡°Last 4 hours at most¡± he thought, checking the tracks again, he knew he was close to his prey ¨C a de deer.

    These animals are prized for their meat, however their eyes are able to see body heat through the thick vegetation. Only in winter can someone hope to catch these deer ¨C the hunter¡¯s body heat masked by the cold environment.

    Slowly creeping around a tree, the hunter stops in ce as he holds his breath at the scene before him.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°¡­ungodly¡±

    The grey winter forest was painted red by the remaining corpse of a de deer, it¡¯s innards pulled out across a rock; It¡¯s head ¨C nowhere to be found. Parts of it¡¯s fleshy hide were ripped out, some hanging on nearby trees.

    ¡°Whatever killed it did it without any mercy at all¡­what the fuck happened here¡­¡± he whispered to himself.

    The hunter didn¡¯t even move a muscle, hoping that whatever did this was not close by. He listened and looked around, the only sounding from small gusts of wind blowing through the trees.

    Readying his bow as he tried not to vomit, he had only one thought: ¡®I have to live, I have to get back to the vige and report this¡­¡¯

    ¡ª

    Sunlight gleamed through the round rose-ss window, a shaft of warm light was slowly creeping towards Jay¡¯s eyes ¨C as time went by it hit his eyes, forcing him awake.

    A notification appeared as he woke up

    [38 Exp]

    Smiling at the notification, Jay wondered what kinds of animals the Don¡¯s were out killing all night as he hopped out of bed and pulled out his knapsack from underneath, checking that everything was still there ¨C but this time he noticed something strange.

    His book¡¯s cover had changed slightly. The circle on the front appeared to be slightly more broken, with more cracks spreading through it. Curiously, he analysed it.<sub></sub>

    [Woes of thefortable]

    ¡°What the? It changed its name?¡± Quickly, Jay flipped open the book. The first page was still the same ¨C talking about ¡®escaping the circles¡¯ which he was starting to understand, so he checked the next page.

    ¡°There¡¯s new writing now? I wonder what happened¡­¡± Jay thought for a moment but wasn¡¯t sure what triggered the next page to reveal itself, so he decided to sit down on his bed as he read the next page.

    ***

    If you wish to read what Jay is reading, the next page of his book is in the next chapter. Reminder that these are free, and always will be. Thanks, Aero182.

    ***

    After reading the next page, Jay received a notification

    [Immortality Research 2%]

    ¡°Nice! But perhaps I should consider if I actually want to be immortal¡­ and I suppose this book is like a warning as well as a training guide¡± he shrugged ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll give it more thoughtter when I get closer topleting the book. I¡¯m getting too ahead of myself.¡±.

    Shaking his head, he realised thest time he read this book was after he levelled up ¨C but he was too distracted by another exploding corpse to realise he had another stat point waiting, plus five attribute points.

    ¡°Oh yeah! Haha¡± he chuckled. Putting away his book, he realised he would probably be pretending to be a swordsman again today, so he wanted to put his points into strength ¨C but that wouldn¡¯t help him as a necromancer, so he opted to put them all into vitality, which worked well for both sses.<sub></sub>

    Of course, he put another skill point into his [Raise Feeble Creature] skill ¨C this time, another notification followed.

    [Undead Mastery Skill Unlocked]

    [Your undead can level up to a max level of (2). Level up is permanent]

    Somehow, Jay felt like he had a better understanding of bone structure after this, it was as if he just understood something previously intangible ¨C why bone was dense in some parts and more honeybed in others.

    He checked his stats before getting up from his bed.

    <¨C[Necromancer level 5]¨C>

    HP: 70/70

    MP: 53/53

    Strength: 15

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 25

    Energy: 35/35

    Exp: 63/1500

    <¨C[Skills]¨C>

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 3] ¨C 2/3 Raised

    [Shell Restoration Level 1]

    [Undead Mastery Level 1] (Passive)

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Running level 1] (Passive)

    [Dagger Proficiency level 1] (Passive)

    [Poison Resist 10%] (Passive ¨C equipment)

    [Necrotic Ring Function 2] (Passive)

    <¨C[Research]¨C>

    [Chimera Research 2%]

    [Immortal Research 2%]

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m getting pretty tanky. Maybe they will try to give me a shield and make me a tank¡± chuckled Jay, talking to himself as he sat on the bed and looked at his hands. They seemed to be getting thicker and more masculine.

    ¡°Well, time to head back to the adventurer guild, they won¡¯t wait for anyone.¡±

    As Jay left the inn, he noticed Tamara cleaning the counter, while Devin was nowhere to be seen ¨C probably still asleep.

    Jay took onest stealthy peek at her voluptuous figure before he exited. After all, this inn wasn¡¯t popr just because it was the only one in the vige¡­

    As Jay went outside, he noticed the top-knot guy loading up wooden crates full of merchandise into the merchant¡¯s cart. Seeing him struggle, Jay paused for a moment, watching.

    ¡®Any second now¡­¡¯

    It wasn¡¯t long before the malnourished-looking man dropped a crate on it¡¯s side, and a number of fancy-looking weapons fell out ¨C daggers, throwing knives, short swords and what looked like fish hooks. The thing that struck Jay the most were the colour of the des, some were blue, green, cyan ¨C while others seemed to have an ever-changing pattern on the des.

    ¡°Wow, are those magical weapons?¡± Asked Jay, attempting to act casual and hide his excitement.

    ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± said Hess, as he looked around, hoping Bertram wouldn¡¯t notice while he put the weapons back into the crate.

    ¡®Top-knot guy isn¡¯t very talkative, I¡¯m probably annoying him.. guess I¡¯ll go..¡¯.

    Looking at the cart as he left, Jay realised this belonged to the same merchant he saw yesterday ¨C the one yelling at a stable boy.

    ¡°Huh, I wonder why he¡¯s hiding those magical weapons, they¡¯re way better than the ones he has on disy now¡­ hmm¡­ maybe they¡¯re only for the rich? Oh well, not like I even need weapons¡± thought Jay as he smiled and began to jog towards the adventurer guild on this cold, crisp winter morning.

 Chapter 11 [Auxiliary Chapter] Old Book: Woes of the Comfortable

    ***This is a free auxiliary chapter. This is the book Jay was reading. You can skip it and still understand the story, I just thought It would be fun to add. Thanks, Aero182***

    An observation of Belphemon, the joyful.<sub>.</sub>

    You have found a task to do, yet you do not. Why do you wait, o sloth? If you wait a day, why not two days? Perhaps a week, perhaps a year? Would you wait an eternity?<sub></sub>

    You can achieve your task today, yet you do not do it. Why, o sloth?<sub></sub>

    Reason with me, and consider the mana-ant ¨C the smallest of creatures, yet it gradually moves mountains.

    It does not wait, even though It has no overseer tomand it to move or to work ¨C yet it continues each day, to gather its food and to reinforce it¡¯s nest.

    Will you continue to lie down, o sloth? Will you continue to say ¡°tomorrow I will do it, for today I rest¡±?

    You say just a second, just a minute, then just a small moment ¨C and so the days pass while you achieve nothing.

    Out of nowhere, you wake up in poverty. However, realising your situation, you give up. ¡°Nothing can be done.¡± you tell yourself.

    And behold, a homeless immortal,pletely undeserving of any respite ¨C yet this respite is all they know, this respite is what destroyed them. Every day is pain as they have no purpose. They continue to die inside, yet they live.

    ¨C Belphemon, the joyful.

    This chapter is a preview, if you want to see a faster and more up-to-date chapter, please visit . for more content.

 Chapter 12 Sullivan

    ¡°Sir, reporting. I was out hunting a de deer, b-but I found something¡­¡±

    Pausing for a moment, the guard looked at him curiously. ¡®His eyes look serious¡­¡¯ thought the guard.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s hard to describe¡­ It was.. Blood everywhere, the deer¡¯s guts were hanging from trees. It was evil. Horrific. I can show you, it¡¯s not far.¡±

    The guard held up his hand, attempting to calm the man. ¡°I¡¯ll report it to the captain, thank you. Go home and rest, don¡¯t leave the vige for a few days.¡±

    ¡°Yes.. I¡¯ll go home¡­ mm.¡± the hunter sounded emotionless. He was mentally scarred for life.

    ¡ª

    Jay approached the adventurer guild again ¨C this time when he heard the guard yelling out to make way for the rich brats carriage, he didn¡¯t even look back ¨C he simply stepped to the side of the road and kept walking.

    As his carriage sped by, a pair of eyes were death-staring at Jay from the luxurious curtains, obviously the noble brat didn¡¯t like this ¨C how could he start the day without making at least one other person suffer?

    A superior, smug smile appeared on Jay¡¯s face as he thought ¡°Fucking loser¡± while the carriage kept moving up the path.

    Jay wasn¡¯t a bitter kind of person, nor did he let small-minded people affect him ¨C he simplyughed at how petty others could be.

    As Jay was walking, he heard a voice ¡°¡­little bastard¡± He looked off to the right.

    Spotting another adventurer who had to step down the hill as the carriage went by, Jay realised he had something inmon with this fellow, the hate of the carriage douche ¨C he offered him a hand to help him back up onto the path.

    ¡°Thanks. Appreciate that. You¡¯re heading to the guild too huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. That brats carriage is pretty annoying, why does it have to be so much wider than other carriages?¡± Jay chuckled.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Well, to fit all of his ego of course!¡± The twoughed together on the side of the road.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name? I¡¯m Jay.¡±

    ¡°Jay? Mark. So, are you in the melee group?¡± Mark guessed since it was thergest group.

    ¡°Yeah, but I would like to learn more about the other disciplines too. Which one are you in?¡±

    Doing a half-smile, Mark put his hands in his pockets ¡°I¡¯m in the manacraft group. It¡¯s ok but.. It¡¯s a little strange to train up the manacraft skills¡­ and then the teacher talks right into your mind when he notices you not absorbing the ambient mana¡± Mark chuckled, shaking his head.

    ¡°Well, we better get going. Good to know that brat is pissing off someone else as much as me¡± smiled mark. ¡°Maybe we can go on a quest sometime¡±

    ¡°Yeah sounds good, thanks for the offer. I¡¯ll let you know when I need some help.¡± Jay gave a thumbs up, trying not to be awkward.

    The two continued to talk while walking.

    As the duo approached the gate, Jay noticed something was different. The guard had changed.

    ¡°Hey, where¡¯s Dave?¡±

    The guard squinted at Jay ¡°He¡¯s been reassigned. You¡¯re to report to the administration straight away.¡± He pointed at Mark ¡°You¡¯re to go to your ss trainer¡±.

    ¡°Wait, why am I getting singled out?¡± Jay said as Mark walked off.

    ¡°Because those are my orders, kid. Now go.¡±<sub></sub>

    Jay sighed as he pursed his lips. The walk to the reception building felt like it took years, as if time slowed down while thoughts rushed through Jay¡¯s head ¡°Am I in trouble? Did I level up too fast? Did they find out about my ss somehow? Maybe it¡¯s because that noble brat wasn¡¯t satisfied with me not stopping to wait as his carriage went by? Shit¡­ If I run now it will only make me look worse.¡±

    With each step, Jay felt his heart sink. As he entered the reception, he was almost sweating from nervousness ¨C then a pleasant olddy at reception greeted him from behind a counter covered with different papers.

    ¡°Hello there, how can I help?¡± she greeted Jay with a warm smile.

    ¡°Hi¡­ I was told toe here. My name¡¯s Jay. Jay Hart.¡±

    ¡°Jay Hart? Ohhh, yes. Sully wanted to have a word with you. Give me a moment¡± The olddy left and went into another room behind her. After a moment, she came back out.

    ¡°He¡¯s ready. Head up the stairs dear. Last door in the middle.¡± the olddy smiled.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Jay smiled back.

    Walking up the stairs, Jay walked down the hallway past various doors, then knocked on the door at the very end.

    The door opened from the inside as Jay noticed an indifferent smile which quickly turned into an angry pout mixed with a death-stare. ¡°Hey.. I know you. You¡¯re that girl who had the crossbow at the gate?¡±

    Sighing as she blushed ¡°Come in and sit down.¡±

    Jay walked into the room as the girl shut the door. Two leather chairs were sitting in front of a dark-wood desk, while a man with piercing, glowing blue eyes sat on the other side. He was wearing a maroon shirt, with a ck tie and a ck coat. He had a neutral look on his face, with flowing ck hair which went down his shoulders and below the desk ¨C from where Jay could see.

    Jay felt nervous as he sat down while the man stared at him.

    ¡°Anya, training has started¡± He addressed the girl who let Jay in. She left with another sigh.<sub></sub>

    Watching her as she left, he didn¡¯t blink. Then he stared at jay once more.

    ¡°So. Jay. My name¡¯s Sullivan. The guild master. I noticed you joined training yesterday even though you aren¡¯t registered.¡± The man spoke with a soft, silky voice, but Jay could tell there was power behind it ¨C it was if he was speaking to a mountain.

    ¡°Oh¡­. there must¡¯ve been a -¡± Jay was immediately cut off mid-sentence ¨C it was as if Sullivan hated hearing lies.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t register on the seventh of the seventh. I know all my students. And now you¡¯re level five. Jay, why didn¡¯t you show up for registration?¡±

    Sighing as he looked at the ground ¡®I can¡¯t lie to this guy. He seems to know everything, a real fanatic for the details¡­¡¯

    ¡°I wasing, but then a carriage knocked me off the road, and it was raining that day so the hill was really muddy and I slipped, then kept sliding. Eventually I hit my head and I was knocked out ¨C when I woke up, it was the eighth.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, that carriage¡­I¡¯ve already had someints about it¡­ So, you are level five, but you didn¡¯t reach a mana conduit to acquire your ss. Is that correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    ¡°Then, how did you acquire your ss? And what ss are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Well, I was thinking of checking my status and I thought I would be a butcher or something but¡­ I found out that somehow I became a swordsman¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a bad liar Jay.¡± He leaned back in his chair, entwining his fingers as he thought ¨C then he pulled out a green crystal. ¡°Margie, can you bring me up a conduit crystal please?¡±

    An older voice sounded from the crystal ¡°Sure sully. Give me a moment.¡±

    Jay and the scary man sat there for a moment ¨C the scary man staring at Jay, while Jay looked around the room, trying not to feel awkward ¨C until the same woman at reception opened the door and entered, a green glowing orb levitating in her hand.

    ¡°Here you are, sully.¡±

    ¡°Thanks Margie.¡±

    She left as the orb floated from her hand, passed by Jay¡¯s head, then hovered over Sullivan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re definitely not a swordsman. No one gets to level five after some training and one day. So you must have a unique ss. Touch the orb and show me.¡±

    ¡°Please, I really-¡°

    ¡°Now.¡± His voice, again, was soft yet had amanding power as he stared at Jay with his glowing blue eyes.

    Jay reluctantly touched the orb as the cool, calm and collected Sullivan¡¯s mouth dropped.

    ¡°Wh¡ª¡± Sullivan was speechless. It was as if reality itself was lying to him.

    ¡°How? What? A nec-¡°

    ¡°A necromancer.¡± Jay finally got to interrupt Sullivan¡¯s sentence in return.

    ¡°But that¡¯s a mon!¡± Sullivan realised he was yelling and whispered ¡°But that¡¯s a monster¡¯s ss¡­. I don¡¯t even see how this is possible. And I know you¡¯re the old butcher¡¯s boy, so you definitely weren¡¯t born a monster. How the hell could this happen¡­¡±

    Sullivan was thinking as Jay interrupted his thoughts ¡°Well, I think it was because I have been working as a butcher my whole life, you know ¨C touching the meat of dead corpses, looking at it, analysing it and stuff? But that¡¯s just my theory. To be honest, I have no clue if corrtion equaled causation here, but¡­ I¡¯m not a monster.¡± Jay timidly said.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Yes, obviously you¡¯re human, I¡¯ve known your father since I myself became an adventurer. What I want to know is why you decided to hide it.¡±

    ¡°Well, simply because it¡¯s a monster ss. I thought I would be killed and seen as a monster.¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­. Ok I see. Can you tell me about your skills?¡±

    Jay decided to tell him part of the truth ¡°Well, I have this skill which raises a little mini-skeleton of a small creature, about the size of a dwarf or a goblin. It¡¯s how I was able to level up so quickly ¨C I had some help.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­. Anything else?¡± Sullivan sounded incredibly professional through the whole process.

    Jay thought about using [Shift] and making his ashen ring into a levitating ring of bones floating around him, but he decided against it. It would only creep Sullivan out even more.

    ¡°No. But I think my ss is a mix between dexterity and manacraft¡­¡±

    ¡°Ok I see. Well¡­ I will keep your ss as a swordsman for now ¨C at least, that is what the records will show ¨C but you will also be attending the manacraft training.¡±

    ¡°Th-Thank you sir. Thanks Sullivan. I¡­ Please, don¡¯t tell anyone. I think the nobles would kill me if they knew.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re safe. I¡¯ll register you as a swordsman, and let you attend the manacraft ss. If anyone asks, just say you¡¯re part of an experiment for Sullivan.¡±

    ¡°Part of an experiment for Sullivan. Ok. Sure. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You may leave. Just know that I¡¯m keeping a close eye on you, Jay Hart.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir. Thank you. I-¡± Jay was cut off once more.

    ¡°Back to training. Go.¡± Sullivan pointed at the door. Jay was dismissed the same way Anya was.

    ¡°Yes. Thanks Sullivan. I¡¯ll do my best¡± Jay said, full of thankfulness as he went to the door.

 Chapter 13 Ash

    In a small office, a sharply dressed man works through papers, piling some of them up while he tosses others into the firece. He sips some brandy as he watches them burn. Suddenly, a knock sounds from his door.

    ¡°Enter.¡± His tired voice says.

    A man with a sword strapped to his waist and leather armour walks in, smelling of sweat.

    ¡°Sir, reporting. It was as the hunter said. Only fifteen minutes south from the vige, the remains of a de deer has been found. Another animal corpse was found nearby too, an ox-badger ¨C it appears that it was beaten to death with the de deer¡¯s head. I¡¯ve never seen such violence.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I see. You¡¯ve already had the forest marked as a no go area for now?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    ¡°Good. I want teams of five at least, patrolling the forest, and focusing on the south side of town¡±.

    ¡°Sir.¡±

    With a salute, the man begins to leave. He ces his hand on the doorknob but doesn¡¯t turn it. Looking back as he asks ¡°What do you think it is, sir?¡±

    ¡°For now, assume it¡¯s a ferocious animal. No need to start rumors and scare the vigers.¡±

    He nods as he leaves ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    ¡ª

    Margie smiled at Jay as he exited the building ¡°Take care of yourself dear.¡±

    Jay smiled and waved as he went out the door.

    Entering the courtyard, he found all the new recruits lined up in their respective disciplines ¨C melee, ranged, manacraft ¨C before them was the same man Jay had seen at the gate with the crossbow girl.

    He was currently standing on a small wooden podium just in front of the administration building holding a green crystal ¨C simr to the one Sullivan had. They were all faced towards the administration building that Jay just left, and Jay momentarily froze from the stage fright.

    The muscr man turned around, frowning at Jay.

    ¡°Get into formation¡± he said in a cold voice.

    Scurrying into the melee formation, Jay hoped not to trip over ¨C he felt like he might even forget how to walk from all the mocking eyes ncing at him.<sub>.</sub>

    Waiting for the crowd¡¯s attention toe back to him, the man at the podium began.

    ¡°Congrattions on learning some basic skills during training today recruits. I trust it was enlightening.¡± He said as his eyes momentarily drifted onto Jay ¡®Hmm, I wonder if we should teach him about his system before he leaves today¡­ hmm, nah. He¡¯s level five, he¡¯ll be fine,¡¯ he thought. After a pause, he continued with his speech.

    ¡°Today, we will be putting your skills to the test.¡± He said in a confident tone ¡°We will be heading to an unlocked level 2 instanced dungeon called Carter¡¯s Demise. You will pair into parties of two or three ¨C one melee, one ranger ¨C and some of you will have a manacrafter in the party too. You will have one hour to find a partner and add them to your party so you can share experience points. Manacrafters, since there are less of you, you will be able to pick which duo you would like to join.¡±

    Jay had a confused look on his face ¡®Experience share? Huh? How am I supposed to join a party?¡¯ but before he gave it any more thought, the man continued.

    ¡°Now, usually we would head out into the forest and learn some basic bushcraft so you can all learn how to make some basic weapons, such as wooden spears ¨C however, for undisclosed reasons, the forest is currently off-limits. Your weaponry is not our responsibility, and you are not permitted to use the wooden training swords as they are specially made to deal zero damage, so if you don¡¯t have a weapon yet, you will have to buy a weapon from the vige.¡± He pointed at the gate.

    ¡°Lastly, about the dungeon. You¡¯ll be fighting monsters called bayring¡¯s, which will be anywhere from level two, all the way up to level 7 ¨C but you won¡¯t get that deep into the dungeon so don¡¯t worry.¡± He hushed the crowd with his hands and continued.

    ¡°It is an instanced dungeon, meaning each group that goes in will go into a separate, private dungeon ¨C this particr one is named Carter¡¯s demise as it was discovered by an unfortunate man named Carter Bushley. Upon entering the dungeon, there¡¯s a small chance that some of you may trigger an event which sends you into a different level four dungeon. If this happens, exit straight away ¨C then you will be able to retry entry into the level two dungeon. Do not attempt the level four dungeon.¡± He said with a stern expression.

    ¡°On an unrted note, we are in no way responsible if any of you perish. After the dungeon you can either return here if you¡¯re wounded, or head straight home. Your one hour to find a dungeon partner starts now.¡±

    A cold shiver went over the audience on thest part of his speech, but was soon reced by talking, chatting, then eventuallyughing.

    [23 Exp]

    As Jay looked around, he smiled, realising he was being freely levelled even while just waiting around doing nothing. Suddenly, he found that many of the other adventurers were staring at him ¨C the only level five there.

    His smile disappeared quickly as he stared back at them coldly ¨C and no one approached because of it. No one realised that he was experiencing stage fright again.

    Most of the other adventurers were level two, a rare few were level three, while there were no level fours. To say that Jay stood out would be understating it; he was more like a beacon. Thankfully, someone walked out of the crowd and approached Jay, breaking down Jay¡¯s stage fright ¨C as well as the people starting to circle him.

    ¡°Hey mate, found anyone to party up with yet?¡± It was Mark.

    ¡°Not yet. I¡¯m a melee ss so it looks like I¡¯ve got to find a ranger¡­¡±

    Mark put his hand under his chin, as he reasoned ¡°Well, not exactly. There¡¯s twice as many melee recruits as there are rangers. We make up about half of all recruits. So at some point, there will be groups of two melee sses together ¨C maybe even groups of two melee¡¯s and a ranger I¡¯m betting.¡± Mark smiled ¡°But it¡¯s a level two dungeon so they probably only want us in pairs so we each get a decent amount of experience¡±.

    ¡°Oh yeah, good thinking. Maybe if we wait long enough we could party up¡± Jay said ¡°by the way, how-¡°

    Before Jay could finish his question, he was interrupted by the muscr man¡¯s hand on his shoulder. With a small fright, Jay looked up.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Jay?¡± said the man.

    ¡°Yes¡­ sir?¡±

    ¡°Michael, but you will call me captain. The guild master wants to see you again. Report immediately.¡±

    Jay pursed his lips ¡°Oh ok¡±

    ¡°Oh ok what?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Yes captain.¡± Jay nodded.

    Frowning, he made his way through the crowd. Everyone seemed to be excited and smiling except him.

    ¡®Wonder what he wants this time.¡¯ Jay thought. Entering administration, he was greeted by the kind olddy again who simrly told him to head upstairs to Sullivan¡¯s office again. After knocking, the door was opened again with a sulking stare from the same blonde girl as before.

    ¡®This is kind of stupid. Why bring me up here again.¡¯ thought Jay as he sat down.

    ¡°Jay. Thanks foring by again. For the dungeon today, you will be partying up with Anya here.¡± He gestured at Anya.

    ¡°She has been informed of your ss and will keep it a secret ¨C obviously, I couldn¡¯t let you party up with the other adventurers or they would see your ss.¡±

    Jay looked confused ¡°So people can see your ss without a mana conduit?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I suppose you missed today¡¯s lesson about your system. If you¡¯re in a party, yes, along with your attributes, actual health, and mana pool¡±.

    Anya began to walk to therge window behind Sullivan and observe the adventurers running around outside, while Jay was giving Sullivan a confused look ¡°Oh.. ok.. Uhh, so how do I party up?¡±

    Sullivan did a half-smile ¡°Anya here can teach you.¡± he tilted his head to the left where Anya was standing.

    Jay nced at Anya ¨C still staring out therge window behind the guild master. She turned back to give Jay an uncaring look, before gazing back out the window as she surveyed the recruits.

    ¡°Obviously, in exchange you will protect her¡± said Sullivan with a sinister smile. ¡°..with your life of course¡±.

    Anya looked back and smiled at Jay as Sullivan said this. ¡°Stop scaring him.¡±<sub></sub>

    Eyes bulging for a moment as Jay said solemnly ¡°I understand¡± ¨C He realised his situation, he wasn¡¯t an idiot. ¡®They¡¯ve got me by the balls¡­ At least it¡¯s only a level two dungeon¡¯ he thought, ¡®I guess I¡¯ll have to y along for now..¡¯ Jay looked conflicted for a moment before he got a notification.

    [23 Exp]

    Getting more experience points always made Jay smile. Sullivan raised his brows for a moment seeing this. ¡®Is he an idiot?¡¯ he wondered.

    Anya turned around and cut into the silence ¡°An hour is almost up, and it looks like most have formed duo¡¯s or trio¡¯s. We should get back before more people notice we¡¯re gone.¡±

    ¡°Very well, off you go, and make sure you teach Jay about the system.¡±

    ¡°Yes, F¡­ Sullivan.¡± she said, then looked at Jay ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Jay nodded at Sullivan as he got up, following Anya out the doorway and down the stairs as he analysed her.

    [Anya ¨C Level 3]

    HP 100%

    MP 100%

    ¡®Hm, not bad. Looks like she got some extra training yesterday¡¯.

    As Jay and Anya left the building and mixed into the crowd, she seemed a little embarrassed by Jay for some reason. She began teaching Jay about the system they kept mentioning.

    ¡°The first thing is the most important. Get something from your ugly bag and say ¡®inventory¡¯.¡±

    Jay frowned at her rudement mixed in with the lesson as he did as she said, holding a soap rat tooth.

    ¡°Inventory¡±

    [Inventory ¨C 0.01% Full]

    The rat tooth disappeared as Jay widened his eyes, he was shocked at first, then quite annoyed. ¡®Man, if I knew about this yesterday I would¡¯ve been able to take more loot¡­ dammit¡­¡¯

    Jack continued to take things out of his bag, his frown slowly disappearing until finally he smiled as he took off his bag and said ¡°Inventory¡±.

    Anya pinched the bridge between her eyes ¡°Finally, you were the only one in the crowd with a bag.¡±

    ¡°mmm, oh well.¡± Jay didn¡¯t care for anyone¡¯s opinion, but he hated awkwardness, so he had to say something.

    Sighing, Anya continued. ¡°You probably already know the ¡®status¡¯ one since you¡¯re level five. There¡¯s a few others but for now they only teach you map, inventory, status and party.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s party up?¡± Jay quizzed her.

    ¡°Just look at me and say ¡®party''¡±

    Jay tried but nothing happened. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m having some trouble with this one.¡±

    Anya rolled her eyes and stuck out her hand ¡°It might be easier to visualise with a handshake¡±

    Jay reluctantly grabbed her hand and said ¡°party¡± as he shook it, before receiving a notification.

    [Anya had joined the party]

    ¡°Sweet¡± Jay smiled.

    ¡°When you get better, you can do it without the handshake, and eventually without having to say the words.¡± Anya added as she stared at Jay ¡°Huh, so it¡¯s true¡­¡±.

    Jay realised she must¡¯ve been analysing him. Returning the favour, Jay still needed to say ¡°Status¡± out loud.

    [Anya]

    [Ashwind¡¯s user ¨C Level 3]

    [HP ¨C 54/54]

    [MP ¨C 24/24]

    [Strength ¨C 20]

    [Dexterity ¨C 30]

    [Vitality ¨C 20]

    [Energy ¨C 20]

    ¡°What the hell is an Ash-¡± Jay¡¯s sentence was cut off by Anya¡¯s hand over his mouth as she began to whisper in a serious, low voice.

    ¡°Tell anyone, and I¡¯ll kill you. Slowly. My ss is as secret as yours is.¡±

    Jay nodded as she slowly removed her hand and a dagger which Jay only just realised was there and aimed at his ribs.

    ¡°Well, can you tell me about your skills at least?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡± said Anya as she half-smiled while looking around, making sure no one saw her with the dagger.

    While waiting for the groups to finish forming, Jay noticed the woman who was making wooden birds from yesterday. Today, she was still looking as bored as ever while she was erecting a tall stone pir with four sides. After it slowly raised itself from the ground, she then stuck a map on each side, showing where the Carter¡¯s Demise¡¯ dungeon was located.

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder what her ss is¡­¡± Jay could only wonder.

    Jay¡¯s map updated with the co-ordinates as Anya shared them in the party.

    ¡®Seems like she already knew where we were going..¡¯ Jay squinted at her.

    Once more, the captain grabbed everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Ok, now that you¡¯re all partied up, take these map coordinates¡± he pointed to the stone pir ¡°and meet us at the bridge on the north side of the vige in one hour. You should have enough time to get a weapon and grab some supplies in that time. Usually, we wouldn¡¯t escort you to the dungeon, however the woods may be dangerous right now, so we are taking precautions.¡±

    And with that, he left the podium and went back into the administration building. One by one, the groups of adventurers began to leave through the floating-stone gate.

    As Jay left he felt a sharp pair of eyes on him again as he began to walk towards the gate with Anya. ¡®Thanks Sullivan¡¯ he sarcastically thought as he shook his head. It was pretty obvious to him now who¡¯s eyes those were.

    Jay turned to Anya ¡°Well, I need to get a new dagger so I¡¯m going to have a look in the market area ¨C a weapons merchant came to town yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Ok. I don¡¯t need anything. I¡¯ll be waiting at the bridge. Don¡¯t bete.¡± she walked off without looking at Jay.

    With a tense feeling in his chest from the recent events, Jay sighed and made his way to the fat weapons merchant and the skinny top-knot guy.

 Chapter 14 Carters Demise

    Walking towards the merchant¡¯s weapon stand, there was a long line of adventurers waiting to buy weapons, while some were still browsing the cart.

    ¡°Weird, why do they only have these junk weapons on disy when they have much better magical weapons in the crates?¡± Jay wondered as he looked at the rugged weapons currently on disy. Jay noticed the top-knot guy was looking at him, but he then immediately looked away, pretending not to recognise Jay.

    Shrugging, Jay thought about what to buy ¡°Hmm, I need a new dagger¡­ but I will have Anya with me and she canunch bolts while I can just have one of my minions to do the damage. Maybe I can just fight passively¡­¡±

    Jay studied the weapons as his eyes drifted away from the dagger.

    ¡°I know! I¡¯ll get a shield. That way I can protect Anya so she can do even more damage, and if she doesn¡¯t like it, she can just loan me a dagger¡± A mischievous grin appeared on Jay¡¯s face when he thought about manipting Anya into loaning him the dagger.

    ¡°And I suppose if things get really bad, I can just re-summon the other two Don¡¯s¡±.

    With resolve, Jay stepped into the queue to buy a shield.

    As Jay approached the merchant, he was still wondering why there was only trash weapons on disy.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± a smug grin appeared on Jay¡¯s face as he went to order, while he watched the other adventurer¡¯s buying the low quality weapons.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°I¡¯ll take one of those shields please¡± he pointed to an iron buckler, which looked like it had taken it¡¯s fair share of beatings in it¡¯s lifespan.

    ¡°Sure¡± Bertram smiled as he rubbed his hands. ¡°That will be 30 gold¡±.

    ¡°30 gold huh? Seems quite steep for a worn out shield.¡±

    ¡°Ha! That¡¯s the price, boy. If you don¡¯t like it, find another weapons merchant¡± Bertram said as heughed at Jay, knowing there were no other weapon merchants in town.

    ¡°For 30 gold I thought you would be selling me one of those magical weapons you have in the back¡±.

    Bertram¡¯s smile disappeared, reced by a cold sweat. ¡°¡­You know, now that you put it that way,¡± he looked around, making sure no one heard him as he spoke more softly ¡°I¡¯ll drop it to 15¡­¡±

    Smiling, Jay stuck out his hand ¡°You got a deal.¡±

    Bertram didn¡¯t even shake his hand as he gave Jay the buckler, while Jay passed him the gold.<sub></sub>

    ¡®How the hell did he find out about the other weapons¡­¡¯ Thought Bertram as he squinted at Jay. ¡°By the way, it¡¯s not a shield, it¡¯s a buckler. Learn the difference, boy.¡±

    Jay waved with the back of his hand as he walked off, analysing the shield.

    [Old Buckler]

    [Defence ¨C 15]

    [Skill ¨C Block] (Passive)

    [Block ¨C Negate 100% damage from an attack. 15% chance.]

    ¡°Hmm, not bad for 15 gold.¡± Thought Jay as he stashed the shield in his inventory. Looking around, he noticed some of the other adventurers weren¡¯t too happy with their overpriced crappy weapons.

    ¡°Sucks to be them.¡± Jay thought as he chuckled and began walking to his home. ¡°I¡¯ll pick up some more bondtussle root and food supplies before meeting Anya.¡±<sub></sub>

    He decided to make his visit quick as he got home. He refilled his water bottle, then grabbing some bondtussle root and stashing it in his inventory, he decided to get some mist-sheep jerky too ¨C licking his lips as he said ¡°Hope she doesn¡¯t think I¡¯m gonna share.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t long before he left his house and made his way to the bridge.

    ¡ª

    Looking across the crowd, Matheson spotted a level three ranger, finding someone to join his party.

    ¡°You! Trenly! You¡¯re going to join me, or else!¡± the noble brat said to the level three ranger.

    Sadly, Trenly didn¡¯t have a choice. ¡°¡­ok Matheson.¡± He immediately lost his excitement.

    ¡°Good. As a reward, I will loan you a bow to use from my private collection. It¡¯s much stronger than whatever you will have now.¡± said Matheson with pompousness.

    ¡°Thanks¡± Trenly said emotionlessly as he knew he was not allowed to voice his dissatisfaction to the local lord ¡°at least I can try a better bow¡± he thought, trying to cheer himself up.

    ¡°Now, we just need a manacrafter..¡± said Matheson as he walked towards a level two manacrafter, but before he could reach one, the manacraft trainer noticed what Matheson was doing and spoke into his mind.

    ¡°You will not force a manacrafter to join you. They will choose which duo they would like to join. If you try, I will prohibit your participation in the event.¡±

    Matheson¡¯s face scrunched up in anger, ¡®Bastard¡¯ he thought as he death-stared at the manacraft trainer.

    ¡ª

    The more curious local vigers were outside their houses, watching the new recruits with joyful smiles as they made their way to the bridge.

    When Jay arrived, he wandered through therge crowd of recruits to find Anya enjoying a muffin. ¡®Huh, I guess she¡¯s got a soft side after all.¡¯ Jay smiled mischievously, thinking she was kind of cute.

    ¡°Hey¡± he said.

    ¡°Hi. Not long now.¡± She said, watching the ss trainers as she finished her raisin muffin.

    ¡®Seems like she doesn¡¯t want to make conversation..¡¯ Jay thought.

    He looked around at the other adventurers, all their faces full of excitement. Some were showing off their weapons, while others were showing their skills ¨C one of the manacrafters was even floating above the crowd in a cross-legged position.

    Jay tried to y it cool, acting like he wasn¡¯t excited by this event ¨C Anya looked like she was bored, just another morning to her.

    After the stream of adventurers joining the crowd slowed to a trickle, the captain, Michael, yelled out to them in arge voice.

    ¡°Recruits, you know the n! We will make our way to the dungeon and you will enter it. We¡¯re here to guide you to it ¨C nothing more, nothing less. Move out!¡±

    The captain led the way as a four-hundred strong mass of adventurers followed him.

    Walking through the cold winter forest, the excited adventurers all moved though, chatting away andughing together which actually made the forest feel quite warm; though the ss trainers all had serious expressions on their faces.

    ¡®Do they ever rx?¡¯ Jay wondered.

    Before long, they were at the dungeon. Everyone was amazed by the dungeon entrance ¨C it was a t ck stone that had a glowing red ring in the middle. Above everyone¡¯s head floated arger glowing yellow ring which was about the diameter of a guard tower.

    ¡°Stand in the red circle and you will be able to enter the dungeon.¡± a trainer said.

    With some hesitation, the adventurers started to enter the dungeon.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± said Anya as she nced at Jay.

 Chapter 15 Obelisk

    The dungeon entrance was particrly surprising ¨C in pairs, the adventurers would stand in the red circle, then begin to levitate until eventually flying into the yellow ring above them and disappearing.

    As Jay entered the dungeon, he was a little disappointed that he didn¡¯t trigger the chance for the level four dungeon ¨C he was level five after all and it would¡¯ve been easy for him alone, much more so with Anya.

    As theynded on the darkndscape of the dungeon, Anya seemed as serious as ever as she looked around at the surroundings and gripped her new crossbow.

    ¡°Is she scared?¡± Jay thought ¡°oh well, I better summon a feeble creature.¡±

    ¡°Anya, I¡¯m going to use my skill to summon one of my little friends. It won¡¯t attack you, so don¡¯t attack it.¡±

    Anya nods back, as she continues to remain vignt but it wasn¡¯t long before she was standing in awe at Jay¡¯s abilities.

    Jay thought ¡®Shift¡¯ as his ring flew off his finger and got bigger, bones began to leave it and began to float around Jay. Small bones at first, then the bigger ones ¨C until finally the tworge ck marsh bones joined the ring.

    ¡°Raise¡± jay said, his hand emitting a green gas which was more dense than the wisps of gas mixed with the floating bones.

    Before Anya¡¯s eyes, a beast formed. ¡°No, not a beast, a monster¡­ an abomination¡± she thought as her mouth was now open, speechless.

    Again, ligaments began popping with bones snapping and relocating themselves; green gas became more dense and mixed with them before it solidified. Two glowing green eyes at the centre of the eye sockets of arge rodent-like skull with horns red at Jay, then at Anya as it¡¯s skeletal body was formed.

    Jay smiled as his necrotic ring changed back into the second form and flew back onto his finger. ¡®Hmm, only about three or four skeletons are left in it,¡¯ he noted, looking at his ring with a smug attitude ¡®I¡¯ll stock up soon enough¡¯ he thought as he pulled out and ate some bondtussle root from his inventory.

    [Mana Regen buff 1%] ¨Csts for 1 hour(s).

    ¡°Now, time to name you¡­¡± Jay almost started chuckling, thinking about naming it Don aswell, but this time he had an even better idea, he grinned evilly as he put his n into action.

    ¡°Today, your name shall be gifted to you from I, your creator ¨C your life. Today I shall bestow upon you your eternal name.¡± Jay said seriously, and solemnly ¡°henceforth, you are¡­ Muffin!¡±

    Jay bent over withughter, it echoed through the dungeon while Anya just stood there, not even vignte at this point, absolutely amazed at Jay¡¯s pathetic level of humor. All she could do was shake her head at him as heughed.

    ¡°You¡¯re stupid.¡± She went back to being vignt once more, still shaking her head.

    It was night-time in the dungeon, a diamond-shaped blue moon was the only source of light. The wholendscape was t, paved with ck stone, while ck obelisks the size of trees randomly dotted thend. In the distance, an obelisk stood out much higher than the rest ¨C it was the size of a mountain.

    ¡°That seems like where we need to go¡± pointed Jay towards the huge obelisk ¡°Muffin, take the lead¡±. The goblin-like skeleton walked ahead of them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay in the middle of you two since I¡¯m ranged¡± said Anya, Jay nodding in agreement.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡ª

    ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t leave. I want to catch up to that level five loser. We¡¯ll get loads of exp from the level four bayrings.¡± Matheson said with confidence.

    ¡°But they told us we should leave if this happens, and~¡± Trenly was interrupted before he could finish.

    ¡°No! You¡¯re using my bow, and you will be my partner till this is over!¡±

    Sighing, Trenly frowned as the duo started exploring the level four dungeon.

    ¡ª

    As Muffin was walking past an obelisk, it lit up with a gold glow. Suddenly, a circr indentation appeared on the walls of the obelisk ¨C two bayring¡¯s flying out of it. It appeared as if they were merged with it before the obelisk was activated.

    These monsters were strange, Jay had never heard of anything like them. They were simply a flying yellow ring with a blue diamond-shape crystal floating at the centre. Jay analysed the creature.

    <[Bayring ¨C Level 2]>

    Type: Phenomenon ¨C Normal

    HP: 50/50

    <[Skills]>

    [Coil] (Passive) ¨C The bayring¡¯s outer body naturally spins at high speeds, giving extra damage to it¡¯s melee attack and charging it¡¯s crystal.

    [Discharge] ¨C 5 electrical damage ¨C 5% chance to stun for 2 seconds. After charging its crystal, the bayring unleashes a devastating attack. 30 second charge time.

    [Graze] ¨C 3 Friction damage/second ¨C Slows down the Bayring¡¯s coil, resulting in a lower charge rate. If the target is in contact for longer than five seconds, they be burnt and take [50%] extra damage, though the Bayring is safely discharged.

    <[Description]>

    No one is sure what these things are ¨C do they grow from the obelisk, is that their home? Are the Bayring¡¯s just a defence mechanism of some long-dead ancient civilisation? We don¡¯t know, perhaps we never will.

    ¡°Huh, they have a lot of health for a level two monster.¡± Jaypared them to the monsters from a level one dungeon. ¡°Perhaps their base stats get higher, the higher level the dungeon.¡±<sub></sub>

    Immediately, the two ring¡¯s flew at Muffin and started grinding from either side.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Jay said as he ran towards Muffin and stopped the attack on one side with his shield. Anya had already responded with a heavy bolt, hitting the other bayring perfectly in the crystal at it¡¯s centre ¨C it went flying away and tumbling to the ground; it¡¯s yellow ring stopped spinningpletely.

    A damage number appeared over it

    -10

    It was a critical hit.

    ¡°Nice one Anya¡± said Jay as his buckler was heating up, the bayring grinding against it. Muffin was quick to act as it started shing at the bayring, some attacks hitting the crystal while others hit the ring.

    ¡°The crystal is the weak spot!¡± Anya yelled as she was racking another bolt.

    ¡°Got it¡± Jay said as he made Muffin focus it¡¯s attacks on the crystal.

    The Bayring on the ground started to spin up again as it levitated once more.

    ¡°Ouch,¡± Jay pulled his buckler away as it was almost getting too hot. He took out his knife ¡°guess I can¡¯t let them have all the fun¡± he said, stabbing his old cooking knife into the crystal.

    Muffin¡¯s ws were only doing one damage without a bleed effect since it was an inorganic life-form; however when it tried to bite the crystal, it didn¡¯t only crit, but did double damage due to it¡¯s piercing attack. Damage numbers slowly floated above it.

    -1, -1, -8

    The other bayring was flying back as it was hit with another bolt, sending it flying away once more.

    -10

    ¡°Just finish that one, I¡¯ll hold the other one off!¡±

    Jay nodded as he went back to stabbing the bayring. It wasn¡¯t long before it died, it¡¯s hard outer ring flickered for a moment before it seemingly vanished from existence; all that¡¯s left was it¡¯s crystal centre.

    [30 Exp]

    Jay analysed the crystal after sending Muffin off to attack the other one.<sub></sub>

    [Minor Crystal ¨C Green]

    [Alchemy ingredient Tier 1]

    [Spell channel Tier 1]

    ¡°¡­spell channel?¡± whispered Jay to himself as he stashed the crystal, running over to fight the other bayring.

    It was half health at this point, and it¡¯s crystal was nearly charged since it only used [Graze] once at the start of the fight.

    It was beginning to make a humming sound just as the crystal glowed it¡¯s brightest ¨C

    ¡°~HmmmMMM~~~[CRACK!]¡± Suddenly, with a loud cracking noise, the crystal released its energy, hitting Muffin squarely on the skull.

    A sh of light lit up the dungeon for a moment, a thunder sound echoed back at them a few times afterwards.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Jay and Anya both said at the same time, waiting for their eyes to adjust to the darkness again. Checking that each other was ok, they realised the bayring attacked Muffin. It needed to die.

    Nodding to each other, they didn¡¯t need to say a word ¨C they knew what they had to do.

    The feeble creature was already attacking the bayring, but it soon fell to a pile of smoking bones. It was low health from the [Discharge] attack, and was injured from another [Graze].

    Another bolt hit the bayring, sending it to the ground once more. ¡°One more of your bolts should do it¡± Jay said calmly, he had the situation under control.

    ¡°Right.¡± said Anya, impressed with Jay¡¯s cool-headedness during the fight.

    Trying to buy some time, Jay ran to the bayring, stabbing the crystal at its centre before it could start levitating again, sessfully hitting it three times ¨C all critical hits since he hit the crystal.

    ¡°Move!¡± said Anya ¨C she was aiming the bolt in Jay¡¯s direction.

    Jay stepped back as the bolt whizzed by and took the remaining health of the bayring.

    ¡°Whew, nice shot¡± he praised Anya.

    ¡°Thanks. Any loot?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I got a green crystal from one of them, you can have the other¡±

    ¡°Thanks. These are useful for spells.. When we learn some anyway.¡±

    ¡°Spells? How do these work?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re meant to socket them into a weapon or armour, but even a ne would work. They allow you to cast offensive spells more quickly ¨C no chanting or charge time. They¡¯re quite useful tobat-based mages. You can even hold them if your hand and sue them, but most people prefer to hold a weapon.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, interesting.¡± Jay said as he gazed at his small crystal.

    Walking over to the bones, he tried to raise Muffin again but was rejected with a notification

    [Not enough resources]

    ¡°Huh, so that¡¯s what happens when they die; some bones are destroyed¡­ guess I¡¯ll need to add some more¡±

    He made his ring [Shift] again, ¡°Raise¡±.

    This time, the remaining bones on the ground as well as some from the ring formed Muffin again.

    [Chimera Research 3%]

    ¡®Part of the marsh bone must¡¯ve mixed in¡¯ He analysed as he smiled, seeing his creatione back to life as if nothing ever happened. ¡®My life is gonna be so easy¡¯ he thought as he shook his head with a joyful smile. ¡®It¡¯s a shame these bayring¡¯s don¡¯t drop any bones though¡¯.

    ¡°You good?¡± Anya asked

    ¡°Yeah, just thinking.¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯m ready. Let¡¯s move?¡±

    Jay was surprised she asked his consent this time ¡°Oh, you were gonna wait for me?¡± he tested her.

    ¡°You¡¯re more useful than I thought.¡± she tried to be expressionless, but for half a second, a tiny smile appeared as she looked away to the next obelisk.

    ¡°I¡¯ve nearly levelled up anyway, so I want to keep going. Maybe I can also reach level five before we get too tired¡±.

    ¡°Sounds good. Let¡¯s move.¡±

    The two continued like this for the next few hours, finding that the smaller obelisks would eject two level one bayrings or one level two ¨C while the bigger obelisk¡¯s would eject two level two¡¯s and rarely, a level three.

    As they walked, they came to realise that the distant mountain-sized obelisk wasn¡¯t getting any closer. They both came to the conclusion that it was simply an illusion, designed to have them walk in a certain direction.

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder if there¡¯s a boss in this dungeon¡± said Jay. So far, it seemed endless, and there wasn¡¯t a progression in the obelisk sizes ¨C it was all random. ¡°They said there would be level seven obelisks in this dungeon right? It seems weird that we haven¡¯t even found a level four one yet¡±.

    ¡°We have to figure that out on our own.¡± said Anya as she looked at the moon and her crystal.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Just fucking hit it!¡± Matheson said, dodging away from the flying bayring¡¯s [Graze] skill.

    ¡°I am! It¡¯s got so much damn health!¡± Trenley yelled back. The level five bayring had a huge health pool, but they had gradually taken it down to about 15% HP.

    ¡°AH!¡± Trenly suddenly screamed as a level five bayring was digging it¡¯s crystal into his back. He fell forward as it pushed into the wound ¡°Fuck this, I¡¯m outta here! We¡¯ll die if we continue!¡± Trenly knew he needed to escape, at this point it doesn¡¯t matter what Matheson said.

    Trenly screamed, slowly losing consciousness as he began to run away from the bayring ¨C he could leave if he made enough distance; thankfully he had a movement ability, [Dash], which gave him enough distance to meet the requirements to leave the dungeon ¨C he had to make it out of the monsters aggression range.

    ¡°Little stupid unreliable bastard!¡± Screamed Matheson, seething with rage while seeing Trenly abandon him as he killed the bayring they both damaged together, before grabbing its crystal and exiting the dungeon.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Trenley yelled as he floated down from the yellow ring ¨C the dungeon entrance. He was caught by his ranged ss trainer.

    ¡°Tend to his wounds, then take him back to the guild.¡± The trainer said in a calm voice.

    ¡°Sir.¡± A guard grabbed the young man from the trainer and carried him off.

    Before long, out came Matheson, swearing with a red face full of anger. ¡°Fucking bastard! He nearly got me killed! I tried to tell him we shouldn¡¯t attempt the level four dungeon but he didn¡¯t listen! I only stayed there to protect him! Instructor, I want to join another party!¡± Matheson did nothing but lie.

    The instructor shrugged ¡°All the other¡¯s are in the dungeon. There¡¯s no one you can join. You can go by yourself.¡± ¡®¡­He¡¯s a pretty bad liar for a noble¡¯ Thought the instructor.

    ¡°Ugh! Can¡¯t youe with me? Hmm?!?¡±

    ¡°No. We have strict orders to guard the students, due to another situation happening in the forest. Not even your father can override these orders.¡±

    ¡°Bastard¡± said Matheson, he knew the instructors couldn¡¯t punish him so he cursed at them freely. Turning around, he floated back into the dungeon.

 Chapter 16 Gate

    Anya levelled up to four as they killed more Bayring¡¯s and collected the green crystals ¨C each of them having about 120 green crystals.

    After killing so many Bayring¡¯s they were bing quite proficient at killing them ¨C Anya would keep one stunned while Jay and Muffins would destroy another as they each switched between tanking the damage from it every four seconds so that it¡¯s [Graze] skill didn¡¯t burn them.

    This gave them enough time to kill both of them before they could release a charge attack.

    Walking through the dungeon, they came to an obelisk which didn¡¯t eject any Bayrings.

    It had three holes on each of it¡¯s four sides. It only took a moment before Jay and Anya got a message.

    [Gate Challenge To Floor 2 Requirements Met]

    [Requirement ¨C 172 Green Crystals]

    ¡°Anya, looks like we have to socket our crystals into it¡±

    Anya frowned, realising she had to give up six crystals for two sides.

    ¡°I wonder why it requires us to have more than 12 crystals though¡­¡± Jay said as he socketed his crystals into the obelisk.

    As Jay and Anya socketed the crystals in, they turned from green to blue and began to glow.<sub>.</sub>

    When the final crystal was in ce, a whole dungeon shook as if there was a massive earthquake.

    All the other obelisks sank into the ground, leaving only square ck bottomless holes in their ce.

    Below Jay and Anya, a red ring appeared ¨C above them, a white ring, yet it didn¡¯t glow.

    Swarms of Bayring¡¯s came spewing out of the ck holes ¨C all charging up, spinning as they prepared to fire.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Jay looked around wondering why he wasn¡¯t being drawn into the ring and teleported out, looking up and yelled ¡°Welle on then!¡±

    Anya noticed that more holes opened up on the obelisk ¡°We have to put in more crystals!¡±

    Jay sprang into action as he began to madly dash around the obelisk and m his green crystals into them, each side of the obelisk taking fifty crystals each.

    A bayring drew closer and threatened the adventurers ¨C Jay made muffin take the graze attack until getting a burn status while Jay frantically fumbled his crystals.

    -3, -3, -3, -3, -3, -6

    Another Bayring flew near Anya as she shot her crossbow at it, sending it sprawling off into the flowing crowd of bayrings ¨C the Bayrings were still endlessly spewing out of the numerous ck holes, all heading for the duo.<sub></sub>

    Anya didn¡¯t even bother to reload, she was looking worried as she ignored everything else at this point, mming the crystals into the sockets.

    Jay was suddenly grazed from behind; he activated his ring, the bones left the ring and formed a floating defensive barrier between himself and the bayring¡¯s as he summoned the Don¡¯s ¨C outside the dungeon, the Don¡¯s old bodies turned to small piles of mangled soap-rat bones.

    -3

    The Don¡¯s reformed and Jay sent one to guard Anya while the other guarded himself.

    At this point, Muffin was destroyed, charr marks all over it¡¯s remaining bones.

    The Don protecting Jay was destroyed shortly after, while the one protecting Anyasted longer ¨C Jay realised it had levelled up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll check its statster¡± he thought as he was about to get grazed.

    ¡°Just 10 more! How many do you have left, Anya?¡±

    ¡°Seven.. Six!¡± She popped another green crystal in.

    -3, -3, -3<sub></sub>

    Anya was much faster than Jay at using her inventory, though Jay was getting quicker at using it during the intense situation.

    The Don protecting Anya managed to kill a Bayring as it died, two other Bayrings having a grinding contest on it¡¯s skull.

    -6, -6, -6, -6, -6,

    [30 Exp]

    At this point, Jay and Anya could only fight through the pain.

    Anya slotted herst crystal, under the pressure of the Bayrings grazing her.

    ¡°Done!¡± she yelled weakly as she copsed to the ground.

    ¡°One more¡­¡± The bayring had already applied burn to Jay; two others were on him and chunking his health away.

    Jay was down to 20 health now, and he was already feeling lightheaded as he managed to slot in thest crystal. ¡°Done!¡±

    Suddenly, a pulse emitted from the tower ¨C the Bayrings all froze.

    ¡°Anya?¡± no reply.

    Jay rushed to the other side of the obelisk, Anya wasn¡¯t moving, covered in blood and burn marks.

    Not saying a word, Jay took off his shirt and ripped it, lightly tying it on her wounds ¨C suddenly they began to float.

    Jay analysed her health.

    Anya

    [HP ¨C 4/54]

    ¡°Shit, one more attack and she would¡¯ve been dead, then Sullivan would¡¯ve killed me too¡­¡± Jay gritted his teeth.

    The ring above them had activated, it turned yellow and they were being sucked into it; Anya, her blood, and the bones from the Don¡¯s and Muffin were all floating into it.

    ¡°Oh shit! Not now!¡± Jay yelled as he was separated from Anya¡¯s floating body. She was only just out of his grasp.

    Suddenly, a notification appeared.

    [Challenge Complete]

    [Dungeon Floor 2 essible]

    [Entering Carter¡¯s Demise ¨C Floor 2]

    ¡°Just hang on Anya, I¡¯ll help you¡± Jay said, pushing off the top of the obelisk and propelling himself more quickly into the yellow ring.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you on the other side¡±

    ***Update (to the message below): I decided to add free chapters twice a month to make up for the early paywall. Starting at chapter 126, to make things right.***

    ***Author here. Hi, I hope you like the novel.

    When I got a contract for this, I only had 35 chapters. It was rmended to set the paywall here, so unfortunately, I did.

    Later I found out this was really early to set the paywall, and it¡¯s my first novel so at the time I had no clue¡­

    After looking at other novels, I found most had the paywall around chapters 30-40. If my contract was with webnovel I could change it, however, my contract is with a webnovel-partner; I upload my chapters to their website, and their program uploads it here. I asked them to move the paywall to chapter 35, but they said it wasn¡¯t possible after the chapters were published.

    I have tried talking with my contractors/editors, but they said they couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    So far, this is the only regret I have with my book.

    Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed reading this far, and I hope you continue to enjoy the book ¨C Aero182.***

 Chapter 17 Accused

    ¡°ANYA!¡± Jay tried to scream her awake as she slowly floated down from the yellow ring. If Anya died, Jay would surely die too after Sullivan found him; he knew his life was tied to her ¨C for now at least.

    Jay caught her and sat her downfortably. Looking around, he made sure they weren¡¯t in any immediate danger.

    ¡°We need to get out of here¡± he thought ¨C but he reasoned that if he tried to leave, she may not be able to until she wakes up, and a bayring could stumble upon her ¨C this was a risk he wasn¡¯t willing to take.

    ¡°Well, she has 4 HP, I think if I give her enough time, she will wake up¡± Jay had an idea ¡°But I could try something¡­¡±

    Jay ced his hand over Anya.

    ¡°Restore¡±

    Swirling green gas left Jay¡¯s hand ¨C yet as it came into contact with Anya¡¯s body, it disappeared.

    ¡°It was worth a try¡­¡± Jay frowned. He still had his necrotic ring in it¡¯s first form, it had automatically absorbed the bones from the dead feeble creatures. For protection, Jay decided to bring back the level 2 Don.

    ¡°Raise¡±

    This time, the swirling, glowing green gas left Jay¡¯s hand and mixed with arger number of bones. The usual popping and snapping sounds happened as the level 2 Don was formed.

    When it was fully constructed, it was taller than the other feeble creatures,ing up to Jay¡¯s shoulder now. It¡¯s back was no longer hunched over and it stood proudly. It¡¯s skull was still a soap rat skull, perhaps because those were the only skulls Jay had; though the bone-horns were smaller now. It¡¯s hands still had ws at the end, but they were much thicker and shorter.

    As it was raised, the level 2 Don was looking around, examining the environment as if it was now more intelligent. Suddenly, it grabbed a bone floating past it from Jay¡¯s ring.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°What the¡­¡± Curious, Jay allowed it as he raised an eyebrow ¡°What is it doing¡­¡±

    Green gas emerged from the level 2 Don¡¯s own hand as it engulfed the bone it grabbed. The bone began morphing and turned semi-liquid as Jay¡¯s jaw dropped.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the feeble creature was standing there with 2 curved daggers both made of bone.

    An ecstatic smile appeared on Jay¡¯s face as he had to try to stop himself fromughing maniacally. Immediately, he grabbed a dagger from his minion and analysed it.

    [Bone Dagger Level 1]

    [4 damage] ¨C shing, piercing.

    [+50% damage from back-stab attacks]

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires essence from it¡¯s creator to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 5 hours]

    ¡°Hmm, did the feeble creature give up it¡¯s own essence to create this?¡± Jay analysed the level 2 Don.

    [Feeble Creature Level 2]<sub></sub>

    Type ¨C Undead

    Damage ¨C 2

    HP ¨C 30/30

    MP ¨C 0/3

    [Skills]

    [Bite] 1-2 pierce damage

    [w] bleed ¨C 3 t damage over 3 seconds (Can stack 2 times)

    [Scrimshaw Level 1 ¨C Can use bone to create basic objects]

    [Undeath] ¨C Immune to cold, poison, hunger, stress, fear, pain.

    [Description]

    An abomination, it¡¯s existence spits in the face of life and death. Execute with extreme prejudice.<sub></sub>

    ¡°It has its own mana pool?!¡± Jayughed, his voice echoing through the dungeon.

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t let you have all the fun.¡± Jay grabbed a bone floating by him, attempting to copy his creatures ability.

    ¡°Ok, a dagger. Simple enough. I¡¯ll try copy the ones Don made.¡±

    He channelled his mana and caused green gas to form around the bone, it began morphing and twisting ¨C though it didn¡¯t seem to turn semi-liquid like the Don¡¯s did.

    ¡°I¡¯m missing something¡­ hmm when cksmiths make their weapons, they almost melt it before hammering it into shape.¡±

    Jay imagined his green gas mixing with the bone, seeping into it and turning it into micro-fine particles. This seemed to work as the bone was now semi-liquid.

    ¡°Ok now I form you¡± Jay imagined the shape of a dagger, as the bone was squeezed. Some of the gas left it, while some remained and became part of it.

    Before he knew it, he was finished crafting his first bone dagger.

    [Skill Acquired: Scrimshaw level 1 ¨C Can use bone to create basic objects]

    ¡°Not bad¡± he said to himself as he looked at it.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Anya was crouching down behind him.

    ¡°AH!¡± Jay dropped the bone dagger, jumping up and trying not to act scared as he turned around ¡°I¡¯m just practicing some stuff¡­¡± he said, picking up the new bone dagger. ¡°¡­wait, weren¡¯t you nearly dead a moment ago?¡±

    Anya smiled as she was satisfied with scaring the deadly necromancer. ¡°Perks of being the guild masters daughter¡±.

    ¡°What?¡± Jay still hadn¡¯t caught on ¡°I thought you were just there because you had a unique ss?¡± Suddenly, it all made sense to Jay ¨C the subtle death threat about him protecting her with his life, Anya¡¯s casual attitude around the guild master, Anya getting a new crossbow overnight, as well as Anya being an acquaintance of the town¡¯s soldiers.

    ¡°Yep, Sullivan¡¯s my father. Anyway, I won¡¯t tell him I nearly died ¨C I want to keep adventuring, and I won¡¯t be locked up in the adventurer guild for the rest of my life.¡± She folded her arms.

    ¡°Oh. Good. Thanks. I¡¯ll try to protect you better next time¡­¡± Jay looked around ¡°anyway, we made it into floor level 2 of Carter¡¯s Demise. I just need to do a few things before we get moving or if you decide you want to leave. Just give me a minute ok?¡±

    ¡°Sure, go ahead¡± Anya said as she reloaded he crossbow, then began wiping traces of blood off her skin and armour.

    ¡°Ok, where was I¡­ oh yes, my pretty¡­.¡± Jay looked at his new creation ¨C the bone dagger.

    [Bone Dagger Level 1]

    [5 damage] ¨C shing, piercing.

    [+50% damage from back-stab attacks]

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires essence from it¡¯s creator to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 24 hours]

    ¡°Ha! Eat shit don, mine¡¯s better than yours!¡± Jay scoffed to his feeble creature. It didn¡¯t seem to mind that it¡¯s master was more skilled than it as it held up it¡¯s two daggers in celebration, as if cheering for it¡¯s master.

    Anya pitied Jay. ¡®It seems like he¡¯s a real loner.¡± She thought, pretending not to look at Jay¡¯s antics. ¡®Well, I better spend my attribute points and skill point.¡¯ she silently upgraded herself ¡®huh, new ability¡­¡¯ she smirked.

    ¡°Hey Jay, can I test my new ability on one of your minions?¡±

    ¡°What? Oh yeah, you levelled up. Sure, but let me just summon one of the weaker ones. I don¡¯t want to use more bone on the level 2 Don.¡±

    Jay summoned Muffin and the other Don while Anya waited patiently; he made the Don stand in front of Anya and willed all his creatures not to attack.

    The Don looked at Jay as it happened ¨C ¡°it is proud of it¡¯s duty or disappointed in me?¡± Jay couldn¡¯t tell, but neither did he care.

    Anya simply stared at the creature and squinted.

    ¡°Are you doing it or what?¡± Jay thought her ability was superme at this point suddenly, an ancient deep, wicked voice sounded out from Anya as it seemed to shake the ground.

    ¡°PROSTRATE¡±

    A shiver went up Jay¡¯s spine as the voice echoed out. Jay felt like he was in the presence of divine royalty. Regaining controls of his bowels, he tried tomand the Don that Anya¡¯s spell was targeted at, but to no effect. It was still bowing down to Anya as if it was ready to give up it¡¯s life.

    ¡°Shit Anya, that¡¯s so powerful. It¡¯s just amazing. I can¡¯t even make my feeble creature stand up!¡± Jay checked his creatures status ¡°That voice was so terrifying, it even lost 5 health! That¡¯s way too over powered!¡± heughed in disbelief ¡°I didn¡¯t think the Don¡¯s even had the intelligence to understand such a word!¡±

    Smiling, Anya said ¡°It will be like that for another 6 seconds¡± she then turned away and looked out into the dungeon ¡°¡­I¡¯m the Ashwind¡¯s user after all¡±.

 Chapter 18 Relax

    Grabbing some bones from his ring, Jay crafted some bone daggers for his level 1 feeble creatures.

    ¡°I won¡¯t need to buy weapons from that disgusting merchant ever again¡± he chuckled to himself.

    Each level 1 underling had a single bone dagger while the level 2 feeble creature had 2 bone daggers.

    ¡°Let my minions do the work¡± decided Jay as observed the next obelisk. He sent his three feeble creatures to test it, while he and Anya watched at a distance.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°Sir, reporting¡± A guard stood behind hismander who was currently looking out into the forest.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°We found something odd. It wasn¡¯t another corpse, but there were two piles of soap-rat bones.¡±

    Themander shivered, remembering his first dungeon, the stink-rat marsh ¨C back in the days before the new adventurers were levelled up at the guild to skip that stinking hole. ¡°Are you sure they¡¯re from the marsh?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir, we had some veteran soldiers and some higher level adventurers verify them.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ return to duties.¡± Themander said as he thought to himself ¡®so, maybe something was able to leave the dungeon¡­? Or was this a pissed off adventurer? ¡­I don¡¯t think it would be a dimerkin, they wouldn¡¯t make it this far down south without being ughtered by the army¡­¡¯

    He decided to send a few people into the marsh.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Scout master, I want two of the scouts to enter the stink-rat marsh, look for anything out of the ordinary before killing Molodus anding back. You have..¡± themander looked at the sky ¡°until nightfall¡±.

    The scout master looked distressed at having to send his men to the marsh, nevertheless, he had his orders ¡°Sir.¡± He sent some of his men south to the dungeon entrance.

    ¡ª

    Jay leisurely put his hands in his pockets as he watched his three feeble creatures fight a level 4 bayring. The level 2 Don seemed to be doing the most damage as it was using one bone dagger to take the graze¡¯s while it stabbed at the crystal with it¡¯s other hand.

    The creatures all made short work of the level 4 bayring, especially with their new weapons. They seemed to possess a natural skill for the daggers, having the qualities of being fast and aggressive.

    ¡°Perhaps they would be good with axes and hatchets too¡± Jay considered, ¡°Though it seems like they enjoy stabbing rather than shing.¡±

    Something unusual happened during the fight ¨C the bayring seemed to have a new attack. It stabbed at a level 1 creature with its pointed crystal core, though thankfully it was destroyed before it could hit anything.

    [55 Exp]

    ¡°Awesome, I¡¯m pretty close to level up.¡± said Jay as he willed the level 2 minion to retrieve the green crystal for him, happy as it brought back one which glowed more than usual.

    ¡°Nice¡± said Jay, gazing into the crystal as he checked it¡¯s stats.

    [Minor Crystal ¨C Green] (Charged)<sub></sub>

    [Alchemy ingredient Tier 1]

    [Spell channel Tier 1]

    [Discharge] (1 charge) ¨C 5 Electrical damage. 5% chance to stun for 2 seconds.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give that a go if my boy¡¯s need some help, otherwise, i bet it would sell a good amount¡± Jay pocketed the crystal and kept moving, smiling as he looked at Anya ¡°feel free to help out¡±.

    Anya didn¡¯t say a word ¡®You clearly did nothing to earn that crystal¡¯ she thought with a head shake.

    The duo were still choosing the smaller obelisks as they explored the dungeon, deciding they would try one of therger ones once Jay had levelled up to 6. The next obelisk they came to ejected two level 3 bayrings.

    Without turning to Anya, Jaymented ¡°They might need some help this time¡±.

    Anya took a few steps forward and took a knee.

    ¡®Huh, when you think about it, she¡¯s kinda like one of my minions¡­following orders and stuff¡¯ Jay had a weird thought.

    Anya was keeping a level 3 bayring stunned while the 3 feeble creatures destroyed the other ¨C though since it was level 3, it recovered more quickly from her attacks, so Jay had to lend her a little help.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the 3 feeble creatures had killed one ande over to help, the five of them together made short work of the bayring¡¯s.<sub></sub>

    [30 Exp][30 Exp]

    ¡°Imagine if there were only two of us, this would be so much harder¡± Jaymented.

    Anya nodded as she took a sip of water then went to retrieve some bolts and a crystal, while Jay got the other one.

    ¡®Oh, this one isn¡¯t charged¡¯ Jay looked at the crystal that Muffin brought him ¡®It must only be the level 4 bayring¡¯s that drop the charged ones.¡¯

    Pocketing the items, they moved on through the dungeon as they only came close to theparatively smaller obelisks which would eject only one level 4 bayring or two level 3¡¯s. It wasn¡¯t long before Jay had a small stockpile or charged crystals ¨C meanwhile, another one of his feeble creatures hit level 2. Jay took some bones out of his ring and created a second dagger for it.

    Looking at his charged-crystal stockpile, he thought ¡°These will be useful in an emergency.¡± he thought to himself ¡°It¡¯s basically a free 5 damage attack with a chance to stun, I suppose it¡¯s effectiveness depends on how quickly I can use each of them¡­ I should definitelye back to this dungeon to harvest these.¡±

    Hitting level 6, Jay smiled ¡°Finally, time for an upgrade. I wonder what I should level up. Another feeble creature would be good, but If Ie to a strong boss it could just wipe them all out. I don¡¯t need to upgrade my shell restoration, they hardly get hurt and I can just wait for more mana. Undead mastery seems like the best option ¨C raising their max level to 3 will be useful in the long run. I may need more MP too for the healing so I think I¡¯ll put some points into health and mana.¡±

    With that, Jay added his 3 attribute points to energy and 2 to vitality ¨C then upgraded undead mastery to level 2.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Anya wondered why Jay stopped moving.

    ¡°Level 6¡± Jay didn¡¯t even look at her as he checked his stats.

    ¡°Nice.¡± she said.

    <[Jay]>

    [Necromancer Level 6]

    [Race ¨C Human]

    HP: 75/75

    MP: 61/61

    Strength: 15

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 27

    Energy: 38/38

    Exp: 63/1500

    <[Skills]>

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 3] ¨C 3/3 Raised

    [Shell Restoration Level 1]

    [Shift]

    [Undead Mastery Level 2] (Passive)

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Running level 1] (Passive)

    [Dagger Proficiency level 1] (Passive)

    [Poison Resist 10%] (Passive ¨C equipment)

    <[Research]>

    [Chimera Research 3%]

    [Immortality Research 2%]

    Jay checked his upgraded skill too.

    [Undead Mastery Level 2]

    [Your undead can reach a max level of (3). Level up is permanent]

    ¡°Now we just gotta level you guys up¡± Jay said, looking at his feeble creatures as they patrolled around him in a loose circle, looking for danger.

 Chapter 19 Daggers

    The duo decided to take on arger obelisk now that Jay was level 6. Jay readied a charge crystal for support, while keeping his necrotic ring in the floating form for the extra 5% defence bonus.

    ¡°Only Muffin is still level 1. It won¡¯t be long before they¡¯re all level 2 with dual-wielding bone daggers.¡±

    Jay smirked as he imagined the unfortunate person who would earn his ire ¨C as the three unfeeling, uncaring shoulder-high creature-skeletons came charging at them with their green-eyed rat skulls and horns, six daggers stabbing them relentlessly from every side. And this is not including Jay who may also choose to fight. There was no hope for a human of the same level as him.

    Eventually, they came to arger obelisk. As the three feeble creatures drew closer, it ejected two level 4 bayrings. Jay still decided he would fight passively, protecting Anya while he had the three skeletons attack one bayring before it could charge up.

    Each feeble creature had 2 bone daggers each, except for Muffin who had 1. Together they output 23 damage if they were to all stab at the same time ¨C while hitting the crystal made it a critical strike, increasing their maximum potential damage to a staggering 46.

    Jay analysed the bayring to calcte how long it would take to kill.

    <[Bayring ¨C Level 4]>

    Type: Phenomenon ¨C Normal

    HP: 104/150

    <[Skills]><sub>.</sub>

    [Coil] (Passive) ¨C The bayring¡¯s outer body naturally spins at high speeds, giving extra damage to it¡¯s melee attack and charging it¡¯s crystal.

    [Discharge] ¨C 5 electrical damage ¨C 5% chance to stun for 2 seconds. After charging its crystal, the bayring unleashes a devastating attack. 20 second charge time.

    [Graze] ¨C 5 Friction damage/second ¨C Slows down the Bayring¡¯s coil, resulting in a lower charge rate. If the target is in contact for longer than five seconds, they be burnt and take [50%] extra damage, though the Bayring is safely discharged.

    [Sacrifice] ¨C The bayring stabs an unsuspecting enemy with it¡¯s crystal core, losing 5 health but dealing 20 damage. Double damage if the crystal is charged.

    <[Description]>

    No one is sure what these things are ¨C do they grow from the obelisk, is that their home? Are the Bayring¡¯s just a defence mechanism of some long-dead ancient civilisation? We don¡¯t know, perhaps we never will.

    ¡°About 4 seconds if they all hit the crystal, otherwise at minimum about 7 seconds. That should be enough time before both can charge their crystals¡­ oh, it seems like it¡¯s charge time was dropped to 20 seconds.¡± Jay chuckled ¡°must be hard.. for others.¡±

    Suddenly, the bayring¡¯s did something unexpected. They began floating higher ¨C just out of reach of the shoulder-high skeletons.

    ¡°Shit¡­ this makes thingsplicated.¡±<sub></sub>

    Immediately, Jay made Muffin retreat and stand in front of him, while he made a level 2 skeleton stand in front of Anya ¨C these would be their shields in case one of the bayring¡¯s could charge up.

    Jay dashed forward with his skeleton in front as he called to Anya

    ¡°Shoot down one so we can take it out!¡±

    Without looking back, a bolt had already struck the crystal core of the level 4 bayring. ¡°Man, she¡¯s a great shot, hasn¡¯t missed at all. I wonder if it¡¯s her ss or just her pure skill¡­¡± Jay wondered as the bayring fell down towards him.

    4 bone daggers awaited the falling bayring, each chipping at it¡¯s crystal core.

    ¡°Eat shit¡± Jay said as he had the final stab.

    Just as he killed one, the other bayring was beginning to glow, running under it, Jay warned anya ¡°It¡¯s about to fire!¡±

    Suddenly, the voice of an unknown and forgotten God-king shook the dungeon.

    ¡°PROSTRATE¡± a ring of wind blew from around her feet as the air was filled with tension.<sub></sub>

    Anya had used her [Ashwind¡¯s user] unique ss ability.

    ¡°Nice.¡± The voice didn¡¯t startle Jay this time but instead it invigorated him, he was smiling as the bayring seemed toe under the gravity of a ck hole. It smashed into the ground, it¡¯s ring unable to even spin. It seemed like it was almost beingpressed.

    ¡°Seems like this is what happens if something can¡¯t physically bow to the king¡± Thought Jay. He didn¡¯t even bother to walk over to attack it, having his minions finish it off.

    ¡°That was a little easier than expected, but I don¡¯t know what I would¡¯ve done if I couldn¡¯t have reached them¡± Jay said, considering the fight.

    ¡°Yeah. Good thing my bolts can stun them.¡±

    ¡°How long does your ability take to cool down by the way?¡±

    Anya didn¡¯t really want to divulge such a secret, but she knew they were kind of in this together since both their sses were secrets; Jay¡¯s being the more dangerous one.

    ¡°1 Hour¡±.

    ¡°I see. Let¡¯s save it for emergency use along with the charge crystals. We¡¯ll do some smaller obelisks while it recharges.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Looking around, Jay spotted a smaller obelisk. Walking there, he wondered to himself ¡°Huh, since when did I be the leader¡­ Well, I guess since she¡¯s a ranged ss it makes sense ¨C plus she has probably been trained to follow orders her whole life. Maybe she doesn¡¯t even realise she¡¯s doing it.¡±

    They conquered three smaller obelisks before trying arger one again. Things went more smoothly this time, as both the skeletons and Anya focused on one level 4 while the other attempted a few graze attacks as well as passively charged up ¨C though they were no match for thebined force of 3 skeletons and Anya¡¯s attacks; doing some calctions Jay realised that each bayring could be killed in under 4 seconds if he took Anya¡¯s damage into ount.

    The speed that they could kill the level 4 bayring¡¯s was unimaginable, other adventurers of their level couldn¡¯t even kill the level 2 bayring¡¯s as quickly ¨C plus they only had enough gold to buy single weapons with about 3 to 4 damage, each of them being the over-priced ones from Bertram.

    Meanwhile, Jay¡¯s minions had 5 daggers in total ¨C equivalent to 5 adventurers without skills. The daggers crafted by Jay even had 5 damage. His ss really was broken by all standards, he even made Anya¡¯s unique ss seem weak byparison.

    Travelling through the 2nd floor of the level 2 dungeon, they were beginning to run out of time.

    They had conquered about 8 of therger obelisks by this point and Anya had levelled up again. At one point, Anya didn¡¯t dodge a pierce attack and revealed her other skill, the one she had since attaining the unique ss ¨C she simply turned to smoke and appeared approximately 10 meters away.

    Jay understood why she didn¡¯t use it before, it wasn¡¯t an offensive skill, and neither would it have been helpful when they were socketining crystals into the obelisk from floor 1.

    ¡°Perhaps shepensated for the skill by spending all her time training with the crossbow¡± Jay thought.

    Nevertheless, Jay made a mental note that she could do this ¨C since bing a necromancer, he didn¡¯t let his guard down. He considered everyone his potential opponent. Besides, if she¡¯s able to choose where she teleports to and uses a melee weapon she could easily backstab her opponent.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been here for hours. It¡¯s probably going to get dark on the outside too, and I don¡¯t want to walk back through the forest at night. We should go.¡±

    Anya considered this for a moment before eventually agreeing ¡°Yeah ok. I¡¯ll tell Sullivan it went well ¨C of course I have to report about your ss skills too, but don¡¯t worry, only Sullivan and I know at this point.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Jay didn¡¯t want Anya to know that he hated this, perhaps it would breed mistrust between them ¨C of course Jay didn¡¯t trust either of them. He grasped the dynamics of their rtionship quickly ¨C he was the unwilling tool being used to power-level the guild master¡¯s daughter; though he pretended he was thankful.

    The pretence of being their partner hadn¡¯t dropped yet, and Jay knew he had to maintain it so he could at least have the illusion of equal treatment.

    A red circle appeared above Anya and she went through it as she willed to leave the dungeon. Jay was about to leave when he realised his creatures would probably cause a disturbance among the other adventurers.

    ¡°Sorry guys, I¡¯ll bring you back when I¡¯m alone again.¡± He unsummoned the three feeble creatures and added their bones back into his ring.

    Oddly, the bone-daggers didn¡¯t follow the other bones into the ring.

    ¡°Huh¡­¡± Jay picked them up and stored them in his inventory ¡°Waste not, want not.¡±

    ¡°Time to go¡± he said to himself as a red ring appeared above him and pulled him into it; he didn¡¯t even look up as he closed his eyes and fully rxed in the zero-gravity environment.

 Chapter 20 Stretcher

    Exiting the ring through the other side, Jay found that Anya was silent with her crossbow drawn, the atmosphere tense. Immediately assessing the situation, Jay was about to activate his necrotic ring and summon his creatures ¨C however a familiar voice calmed their nerves.

    ¡°At ease adventurers, sheath your weapons¡± it was Michael, the guard captain.

    Jay took a big breath, thankful he didn¡¯t expose his ss.

    Looking around, there were the bodies of 15 dead men strewn about the nearby winter forest. Most of them had holes the size of fists in various parts of their chests while a few were knocked unconscious, blood still trickling from their heads.

    ¡°What the hell is happening?¡± Anya said, still aiming her crossbow into the forest as she looked for any threats.

    ¡°We were attacked by bandits. They probably wanted to steal your weapons and perhaps take some of you as hostages, however they didn¡¯t know that we would be guarding you for¡­ various reasons. As this is a well known introductory part of bing an adventurer in these areas, it seems like they nned to take advantage of your low levels.

    ¡°Scum.¡± A nearby guard said, spitting on one of the unconscious bandits.

    Jay shook his head as he smiled, he couldn¡¯t believe his luck. He eyed one of the bandits weapons as a guard cut off his thought ¡°The loot belongs to the guild. Don¡¯t even think about it.¡±.

    Jay frowned ¡®fair enough¡¯ he thought. Receiving a notification, Jay nced at Anya

    [Party Disbanded].

    ¡°There¡¯s no reason to party when we¡¯re not in the dungeon anymore¡± she said.

    Jay shrugged, ¡°Sure.¡±

    A ss trainer was holding a notepad as he reported to the captain. ¡°Sir. Only 2 more left in the dungeon¡±.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope they don¡¯t take too long. In the meantime, have a guard escort these two back to the vige.¡±

    ¡°Sir.¡± he saluted with a stomp before turning to a young-looking guard who overheard the orders ¨C the young guard only nodded his head as he approached Jay and Anya.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go adventurers¡± he gestured.

    ¡ª In a nearby part of the woods ¡ª

    ¡°Idiots. I told ¡¯em something wasn¡¯t right. That viges patrols have been really active in thest few days, but they still fuckin¡¯ attacked the most obvious spot! ¡­ I¡¯ll miss Hoxta, but the rest of ¡¯em deserved to die so fuck em. I¡¯ll do it the right way, I¡¯ll be smart ¡¯bout it¡­¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡ª

    Jay and Anya followed quietly until they were out of ear-shot of the other guards, then they questioned their escort.

    ¡°So, who killed all the bandits? Was it the captain?¡±

    ¡°No, they were like ants to him so he let the ss trainers took care of it.¡±

    ¡°What sses were the bandits? What do you think their level was?¡±

    The guard seemed to get annoyed ¡°Look, i¡¯m trying to protect you and I won¡¯t be able to hear anything with all your bickering so just be quiet¡±

    Jay and Anya seemed to ignore his request as they continued to question him as they walked.

    ¡°Look,¡± the guard stopped and turned around. ¡°I¡¯m not answering any more damn questions so stop asking. Just be quie¨C¡°

    The guard¡¯s sentence was cut short as an arrow pierced him through the neck, though it didn¡¯t go all the way through to the other side.

    He made a gurgling noise as he dropped his spear, grabbing the shaft in his neck while falling to the ground.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Anya yelled, pulling out her crossbow.

    Jay was about to [shift] his ring but was going to wait a moment, just in case the guards from the dungeon entrance would hear and show up.

    They heard a sly, unsophisticated voice from out in the forest, yet they couldn¡¯t pinpoint it¡¯s location.

    ¡°Look kids, I don¡¯t wanna hurt ya, so just give me all ya got from that dungeon n¡¯ i¡¯ll be on mi¡¯ merry way¡± the voice sounded from somewhere in the woods.

    Still, no one showed up to help them, so Jay activated his necrotic ring as he responded to the lone bandit while a dancing mist of green gas and bones began to float around him.

    ¡°Bullshit.¡±

    Anya had believed the bandit for a moment and lowered her crossbow ¨C but raised it back up again hearing Jay¡¯s response.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Heh, don¡¯t think your little¡­. bone shield is it? Whatever it is, don¡¯t think that¡¯s gunna stop me, kid.¡±

    Before the bandit¡¯s eyes however, clouds of green gas along with dozens of bones left the floating ring, as three bone creatures formed before him, rising from the green smoke as if leaving a portal on the ground.

    Hesitating in shock, he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. This was something he had only heard stories of from people daring and high level enough to enter an undead-type dungeon ¨C the tales of the necromancer. Yet there was one here, outside of a dungeon near a low level vige.

    Yet the bandit felt like luck was on his side ¡°Ha, there¡¯s only three of them? Some necromancer you are!¡± he scoffed at Jay ¨C though Jay seemed to ignore his mocking as he pulled out 5 bone daggers and threw them to the ground in front of the tiny skeletons.

    Each creature picked up a dagger or two as Jay lifted up his hand, pointing in the direction of the voice, and in a cold and emotionless voice he uttered a single word.

    ¡°Hunt.¡±

    The bandits¡¯ eyes widened seeing the three skeletons with glowing eyes and oversized rat skulls equip weapons as they charged at him.

    ¡®Oh shit, they¡¯re pretty quick!¡¯ he thought.

    Immediately, he fired an arrow at them, but he missed as they were small and agile targets. The arrow only served to reveal his location.

    ¡°Shit, I¡¯m fucked now¡± he jumped off the back of a tree, pulled out his dagger and began sprinting into the forest ¨C yet the skeletons were quicker.

    Running out of options, he threw his bow and quiver at the skeletons rapidly catching up to him ¨C though this only served to slow one of them down. Suddenly, a pain came from his right ankle.

    Looking down, his fear started to grow.

    ¡°Shit!¡±

    One of the creatures had sessfully thrown its dagger at him, hitting him in the leg.

    Another two daggers came flying, yet they missed as he continued to run ¨C yet now at a slower pace.

    The feeble creatures simply picked up the daggers as they ran, scraping their ws along the ground and hardly slowing down at all.

    He slowed down more and more from the injury as he realised he could no longer outrun them.<sub></sub>

    ¡°I can only try and fight ¡¯em, how hard can some tiny skeletons be anyway. If I finish them quickly I may still be able to hide before the adventurers get here. Maybe I could even go back and rob those brats¡± he thought, preparing himself for the fight.

    At this point, Jay and Anya were way out of sight. ¡®Looks like they didn¡¯t chase me. Pretty stupid¡¯ though the bandit.

    As he turned around to fight, a feeble creature was already in the air, jumping at him with it¡¯s rat-jaw open, ck decaying teeth threatening to snap at him while it had both daggers pointed towards his chest.

    ¡°Faah!¡± he had no time to swear as he side-stepped and parried a dagger, though he stumbled and had trouble getting up as his leg was wounded.

    Before he knew it, another skeleton was flying at him with its daggers pointed, a simr attack to the first one.

    The bandit simply dived under this one as it jumped too high, sessfully evading it.

    The first two feeble creatures wererger than the third smaller one, so it wasst to join the fight with it¡¯s single dagger.

    It didn¡¯t jump at him like the other two did, instead it ran up to him. The bandit simply scoffed at the tiny skeleton and did a spartan-kick, sending it onto its back, forcing it to drop it¡¯s dagger.

    Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed the bone dagger that the creature dropped.

    ¡°Surprisingly lightweight¡± was all he could think about his new dagger as he turned around, ready to parry the attack from the first skeleton-creature that leapt at him ¨C yet it was nowhere to be found.

    ¡°What the fuc-? AHH!¡±

    Two sharp painful stings hit him on his right side, just under his rib cage.

    Gritting his teeth, he did a reverse kick as he hit the skeleton away, the daggers still in his side.

    ¡°Sneaky fucker!¡± he coughed up some blood, a lung pierced.

    ¡°Arrow!¡± he yelled, using an ability. A magic arrow was summoned out of nowhere, glowing a translucent purple as it immediately shot off into the skull of the sneaky feeble creature ¨C yet it managed to survive through even that. What shocked the bandit more was that it didn¡¯t even respond to the damage, it¡¯s attack speed and actions being just as fast and concise as before.

    Seeing that his trump card had no effect, his adrenaline began kicking in.

    He decided to pounce onto the smaller creature as he stabbed at it¡¯s skull ¨C his body and mind going into fight or flight mode.

    He managed to do 13 damage to it yet the creature seemed to not even realise it had been hurt as it shed at his legs with it¡¯s ws while attempting to bite the hand stabbing it.

    ¡°What the fuck are you things? Just die!¡±

    Before he could finish off the creature, he was stabbed again in the back ¨C this time, one of the daggers pierced his spinal cord.

    His legs were paralysed, he dropped the daggers from a shockwave of pain travelling up his spine. All he could do was fall onto the feeble creature in front of him as it bit into his neck, still wing at his body.

    ¡°AHH!¡± he let out a guttural scream of pain as the knives kept plunging into his back while his neck was being bitten. Before long, the other feeble creature came back ¨C yet without it¡¯s daggers.

    Topensate for itsck of weapons, it put all it¡¯s wed finger bones together, forming a hand-knife as it thrust them into his soft underbelly ¨C for a moment it dug around before ripping out an unidentifiable organ.

    All he could do was scream in pain as he passed out ¨C though the creatures had no mercy.

    One continued to stab his back, another continued to rip out his throat with it¡¯s jaw while the most deadly one continued to plunge it¡¯s wed hand into his stomach and pull out his intestines along with other organs as it killed him, ripping open arger andrger hole until his chest looked like an empty crater. Anything below the ribcage had been ripped out from the gaping hole of flesh. Pieces of intestines and fluids began to fall out of their own ord; a pile of his insides spread over the forest floor, some still partly attached to the cavity.

    Jay realised his minions had done their job as he received an exp notification.

    [1100 Exp]

    ¡°Wow, nice amount of exp. I wonder what level he was¡­¡± Jay wondered as he helped Anya tend to the wounded guard.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll heal back to normal once the blood clears from his throat¡± Anya said to Jay ¡°He will probably be unconscious for a little bit longer but he¡¯ll be ok.¡±

    Jay nodded back ¡°The bandit has gone. I guess he was scared of skeletons¡± he said innocently as he shrugged.

    ¡®Why is lying so satisfying¡¯ he thought ¡®the secret feels even better thanst time. I wonder if my ss is affecting my mind¡­ hmm¡­ I should keep track of that.¡¯

    Jay had the skeletons return to him so he could put their bones back into the ring, while he gave muffin orders to stay out in the woods and hunt animals so it would reach level 2; healing Muffin back to full health before sending it on it¡¯s way.

    The two Don¡¯s returned, each with two daggers as he de-summoned them, storing their bones in his ring and the daggers in his inventory. Jay wondered why one of the Don¡¯s boney arms was crimson red up to the elbow joint ¨C he could even see which bone it was, as it was the only fully-red coloured bone floating around him. He then shrugged, used [shift] again and returned his necrotic ring to his finger.

    He decided not to loot anything from the bandit as he didn¡¯t want to be tied to whatever horrible thing the skeletons had done to him ¨C all Jay knew himself was that Muffin was heavily injured, while one of the Don¡¯s had sustained a heavy hit to the skull. Jay didn¡¯t really care though, he considered that this was all he needed to know about the event, having no clue how brutal the feeble creatures were.

    ¡°We should carry the guard back to the dungeon entrance where the trainers were. It¡¯s closer than the vige¡± Jay decided.

    ¡°Sure. I have an idea.¡± Under Anya¡¯s instruction, they crafted a make-shift stretcher from the vegetation, covering it with the guards cloak before cing him onto it.

    As they walked, dragging the nted stretcher behind them he made sure to prepare Anya ¡°Just let me do the talking when we get there. I¡¯ll tell them that something scared him off.¡±

    ¡°Mhm¡± Anya responded quietly in agreement.

    As they walked, the guard regained consciousness.

    ¡°Uhhh¡± was all he could manage to say. For now, his throat would need time to heal.

    ¡°Just be quiet until we get back. You were knocked out for a while and your throat is hurt. We¡¯re heading to safety.¡± Anya reassured the guard.

    ¡°Mm¡± was all the young guard could respond with as he let the two 18 year olds carry him back.

    Approaching the camp, Jay waved down one of the guards.

    ¡°Hey, we need some help. A bandit attacked us.¡± he panted out the words as his energy was low from carrying the guard.

    ¡°Where? When? How many were there? Are you injured?¡± The guard questioned them as he signalled Michael toe over while walking behind them, checking the injury on his fellow guardsman.

    ¡°Not far, you¡¯ll find a blood stain from the guard on the path. We¡¯re not sure how many there were, they told us to drop all our gear after they shot the guard, we did as he asked but then nothing happened¡­¡± said Jay, shrugging as he scratched his head, possibly over-acting in his little y.

    Michael heard his answer as he walked over ¡°Anya, is this true?¡±

    Anya nodded, emotionlessly. She was a much better actor than Jay since she normally didn¡¯t show any emotions; she attempted to change the topic ¡°We removed the arrow and came back here since it was closer. He was temporarily unconscious.¡±

    Michael looked distraught as he scratched his chin, looking away as he thought to himself. ¡®Shit. I nearly had the guild master¡¯s daughter killed by giving a job to a low level soldier¡­¡¯

    It wasn¡¯t long before Michael made a decision.

    ¡°We will all wait till thest two adventurers leave the dungeon ¨C then we will head back to the vige as a group. I won¡¯t let something like this happen again.¡± he attempted to say in a dignified manner.

    Making a hand signal to some guards, they came and took over care for the injured man on the stretcher. ¡°The other adventurers shouldn¡¯t be long now. Have a seat near the campfire to stay warm while we wait.¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡­ So why do you think they didn¡¯t end up robbing us?¡± Jay feigned ignorance once again.

    ¡°It¡¯s unusual that they didn¡¯t¡­ Leave the investigation to us.¡± Michael dismissed Jay as he thought to himself while looking into the forest, his eyes zing ¡®So¡­ the creature even scares the bandits away¡­¡¯

    No one had realised that it was Jay¡¯s skeletons behind the animal muttions ¨C not even Jay had realised. All he knew was that the forest was off-limits for some reason, not making the connection as he was too preupied with levelling up.

 Chapter 21 Want

    The mes danced as Jay gazed at the fire, the wood crackling every now and then, which was the only noise in the entire makeshift camp; every soldier vignte for danger.

    Jay made no effort to start a conversation with Anya sitting next to the campfire on his right ¨C Jay didn¡¯t despise her, but he didn¡¯t let himself like her at all since she could be taking part in her father¡¯s potentially maniptive tactics.

    Jay asked himself ¡°If she does realize that I¡¯m being used as a tool by her father to help her level up, then she will be nothing but another overlord in my eyes¡­ Besides, If she cared at all she would¡¯ve apologized at the very least, but no.. She is either ignorant or evil.¡± Jay furrowed his brows a little as he squinted at the fire while thinking to himself.

    ¡°Though I suppose the treatment thus far has been beneficial for both of us.¡± Jay reasoned.

    It was beginning to get dark, the sun had almost disappearedpletely over the horizon as the dungeon rings glowed, and two more adventurers finally floated down.

    Looking away from the campfire, Jay recognised one of them.

    ¡°Mark?¡± he thought ¡°Looks like he found a partner after all.¡± Jay looked at the short woman by his side.

    Mark was looking around as they floated down, while mostly only angry stares greeted them from the soldiers.

    Mark pursed his lips, realizing what he had done ¡°oops¡­ I should¡¯ve been keeping track of the time¡­¡± he thought to himself.

    Michael walked up to them with a sly grin ¡°Recruits, since you have no problem running in dungeons till dark, you will be in charge of lighting ALL the braziers at the guild tonight.¡± A sly smile appeared on Michaels face.<sub>.</sub>

    At this, the annoyed soldiers collectively smirked and went back to guard duty.

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Mark and the other adventurer said, reluctant but not angry ¨C they recognised that they deserved it for keeping everyone waiting till dark.

    With that, Michael went to the fire Jay and Anya were sitting at, pouring some water on it before announcing in a loud voice ¡°Ok everyone, back to the vige. I¡¯ll take the lead, while I want adventurers walking in the middle.¡±

    The ss trainers and soldiers all formed 2 marching lines as they walked back side by side with Michael on the front. Other than a brief moment where Michael paused to analyse the blood stain still colouring the path, the marching troops maintained a constant speed.

    Along the way, Mark made conversation with Jay. Jay thought he was a friendly guy who seemed to care about others ¨C though he did have hispses in consideration for others.

    To Jay, Mark seemed like a guy who cared about others but was just a little forgetful. ¡°Perhaps he has his own demons¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°So what do or did you do?¡± Mark asked.

    ¡°I used to run a butchery but¡­ well, my father left and I wanted to be an adventurer so I was considering finding someone to run it for me. It¡¯s been hard alone but I am now used to it.¡±

    ¡°Oh cool. My father was a mason, he used to design bridges for the kingdom but he eventually decided to settle down here in the quiet countryside.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Bridge design huh? So you must be kinda rich?¡±

    ¡°You would think so, but he invested in some¡­ unfortunate businesses¡­ After everything that happened we were almost homeless.¡± Mark looked at the ground with sad eyes ¡°But my mother held on and worked hard as a maid, and we were able to stay off the streets.¡± Mark¡¯s eyes seemed like they could produce a tear if he blinked hard enough.

    Jay was instantly encouraged by Mark. ¡®How does he have such a positive attitude after what has happened to him?¡¯

    Before Jay could finish his thought, Mark continued.

    ¡°It was hard¡­ ¡± It seemed like Mark could¡¯ve gone on, but he decided not to over-share.

    ¡°That¡¯s rough.¡± Jay didn¡¯t know what else to say, so he decided to help. Not that Mark was a charity case.

    ¡°Man, if you¡¯re interested, I¡¯m nning to do some more grinding in this dungeon. Wannae?¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Thanks man!¡± Mark smiled broadly ¡°Is it cool if Keles too?¡±

    Mark pointed at Kel ¨C the other adventurer that Mark had left the dungeon with.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Yeah sure, I don¡¯t see why not.¡± Jay shrugged.

    Kel looked back at Jay, a bit of an introvert ¨C Jay was the one to introduce himself.

    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Jay.¡±

    ¡°Hi. I hope it¡¯s all good if I tag along with you sometime¡± Kel smiled. She had a warm smile as she looked at Jay, with a small stature and curly brown hair, she carried a cheap-looking wand as she walked.

    She noticed Jay looking at her wand. Holding up it, she exined herself ¡°I just want to be prepared¡± she smiled.

    Jay chuckled as he turned to Mark ¡°So how did you end up with a manacrafter instead of a ranger?¡±

    ¡°Well, I just had trouble finding a ranger¡± Markughed as he scratched his head, Jayughed along with him.

    ¡°Fair enough. So Kel chose you?¡± Jay nced at Kel before looking back at Mark.

    ¡°Yeah basically¡­¡± Mark said as he looked at Kel.

    ¡°I wanted more experience¡­ They wanted us to choose a group of 2 other adventurers. I chose Mark since he was alone ¨C less exp to share.¡± Kel said, looking at the road as she walked.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m gunna like her¡± Jay said as heughed, pping Mark¡¯s shoulder ¨C Mark smiling back.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Oh, it looks marvelous! So beautiful! All my glowing weapons are so beautiful!¡± Bertram looked at the weapon disy he nned to unleash on the new adventurers tomorrow. ¡°I¡¯m going to make a pretty penny off these fools, HA!¡± he put an arm around Hess as he looked ¡°We¡¯re going to leave with a chest full of gold, Hessy¡±.

    Hess said nothing as he nodded back.

    ¡ª

    Arriving back at town, the soldiers went back to their homes or their duties as the 4 adventurers departed each to their own home ¨C Anya going to the adventurer guild.

    The next day, each of them made their way back to the adventurer guild ¨C Jay smiled seeing Mark and Kel waiting at the start of the curving road heading up to the adventurer guild.

    ¡°Morning!¡± Jay called out from afar.

    ¡°Good morning!¡± Mark called out ¨C Kel doing a small wave as her tiny hand creeped out of her dark-blue cloak ¨C though she yawned as her and Mark had to stay upst night lighting torches.

    The three began walking up the mountain as they talked together, wondering what the guild had in store for them today. The noble brats carriage whizzed by as they all simultaneously said ¡°Bratty shit¡± beforeughing together at their synchronisation.

    ¡°Did you two get much loot at the dungeon yesterday?¡± Jay asked

    ¡°We got a bit. Hopefully enough to buy a better weapon¡± Mark said as he brought out his sword ¡°This was about 120gold.¡±

    ¡°Fuck me,¡± Jay thought. The sword was a true piece of crap ¡®he definitely got ripped off.¡¯ Jay thought.

    Jay looked at his crappy sword, almost about to tell him he got ripped off ¨C but he decided against it. It was the start of a new day and he didn¡¯t want to ruin Mark¡¯s positive attitude.

    ¡°Good thinking. Maybe we can get a discount..¡± Jay smiled mischievously ¡°It really depends how much the crystals will sell for¡± he said as he pulled out a glowing crystal.

    ¡°What the?¡± Mark pulled out a crystal of his own ¡°Why is yours glowing??¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s charged. We got it from a level 4 bayring.¡±

    ¡°Level 4? Wow, you guys must¡¯ve got far.¡±

    Jay smiled as he stashed his crystal ¡°We got pretty far, but I¡¯m sure we can go further¡± Jay said as he gestured at Kel, Mark and himself.

    Mark only smiled back ¡°Hopefully. Those bayrings are little assholes.¡± Mark shook his head, looking at a friction burn on his leather vambrace.

 Chapter 22 Essence

    Entering the courtyard, the adventurers were all chatting lightly as the sun began to flow over the guild¡¯s wooden palisade walls.

    Jay, Mark and Kel waited patiently as they chatted quietly ¨C though it was mostly Jay and Mark holding the conversation, Kel still yawning intermittently. Before long, Michael was standing behind a crude wooden podium as he red at the crowd ¨C the crowd simultaneously bing silent in response.

    ¡°Congrattions. You all have the basic knowledge to start your adventurer journey. Local adventurer guilds such as ours will buy the drops you get from monsters ¨C simrly, you can buy these drops from the guilds. You will be paid for monster drops in either gold or credit, many adventurers preferring credit as it¡¯s safer to travel without gold ¨C though this credit can only be used to purchase monster drops from the guild, or exchanged for gold for a small fee.¡± Michael gestured to the guild behind him.

    ¡°We also extend and offer to you to join our guild. As a part of the guild you will have ess to our knowledge such as dungeon locations, quests and like minded adventurers to form a party with. You can also join the military ¨C a military escort will being in approximately 3 days to take you to arger city and begin your service training. It¡¯s¡­¡± Michael pulls out a paper to read from in an emotionless tone ¡°an opportunity to serve your country, your king, and achieve greatness. You will be given the proper training to achieve your potential and be a brother among many.¡±

    Clearly, this message was intended to be read with an inspiring tone, yet this waspetition to the guild, so Michael only read it as a formality.

    ¡°Of course, you can also be a lone adventurer or return to civilian life.¡± he shrugged, his bodynguage seemingly mocking either of these options.

    Folding the note, he put it back into his pocket and made one final announcement.

    ¡°Some of you will be chosen by the ss trainers for more advanced, tailored lessons. Those of you not chosen can still pay for these lessons. Now, sign-up to the guild can be done at any of the booths here.¡± he pointed to three simple booths around thepound.

    With that, he left the podium as many adventurers began making their way to the booth¡¯s while a few waited, considering their options.

    ¡°So, what are you thinking?¡± Mark asked Jay.

    ¡°Well, I wanted to avoid joining the guild but I need ess to dungeon locations and the relevant information if I want to survive. It would be certain death if I entered a locked high-level dungeon¡­ What about you?¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. Ah, I was actually thinking about joining the military. It seems like it would be good to get further training by them and have a more stable ie.¡±

    ¡°Seems risky. You could just be another number to them. Though I have never seen the military in our small vige, so who knows¡± Jay shrugged ¡°How about you, Kel?¡±

    ¡°Military.¡± Kel smiled, not giving a reason.

    ¡°Oh, fair enough.¡± Jay looked at the adventurer guild building ¡°Well, we still have 3 days before your escortes so I guess we can still do a dungeon together huh?¡± Jay smiled, looking back at Mark and Kel.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ but maybe tomorrow? If I¡¯m going to leave, I¡¯ll need to get some things at home in order, say goodbye and whatnot.¡± Mark half-smiled as he looked toward the gate.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Oh yeah. Fair enough. Well, how about we meet here tomorrow morning?¡±

    ¡°Sounds good¡± Mark smiled ¡°And you¡¯reing too aren¡¯t you?¡± he patted Kel¡¯s shoulder ¨C she simply nodded back and smiled, a true introvert.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to go sign up I guess. I¡¯ll see you two tomorrow¡±

    ¡°See you mate, take care of yourself.¡± Mark put his hands in his pockets.

    Kel simply said ¡°See ya¡± as the duo began walking towards the gate.

    Looking around, Jay found the smallest line and joined it, yet as he waited a voice sounded in his mind.

    ¡°Jay, report to the guild master.¡±

    Jay sighed, leaving the line and began walking towards the adventurer building ¨C some of the others in line behind him looked confused, while few looked at him like he was an idiot even though they didn¡¯t understand the situation ¨C perhaps they were the true idiots.

    Entering the building, Jay only nodded at Margie the receptionist, she smiled back as he went to walk up the stairs and knock on Sullivan¡¯s door.

    It opened as he knocked, seemingly on it¡¯s own as Anya wasn¡¯t there this time.

    ¡®I wonder why he got Anya to open it when he could simply use magic to open it¡¯ Jay looked confused as he entered and sat down, the door closing itself behind him.

    ¡°Good morning Jay¡±

    ¡°Morning¡­¡± Jay looked confused since Sullivan said nothing for a moment ¡°..How can I help?¡±

    ¡°Anya told me about the dungeon. You two went a long way. Further than anyone has been on their first attempt, and you did it as a duo. Seems like your ss is quite strong.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Anya¡¯s skills reallyplemented mine.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Yes, it seems like you synergised quite well. She was telling me your.. Friends¡­ couldn¡¯t reach the bayrings at one point.¡±

    Jay scratched his head a little embarrassed ¡°Yeah. They are quite short. Good thing she was able to stun them.¡±

    ¡°Risky.¡± Sullivan red at Jay with eyes like a predator, a pressure washed over Jay¡¯s mind.

    Immediately, Jay responded under the intense pressure ¡°I would¡¯ve sacrificed all three of them twice over, and then drawn the bayring¡¯s away myself so she could escape if she needed to. She was not in any danger at that point.¡±

    Jay had be better at lying, even enjoying it, but this was something that made his heart feel like it was being squeezed; while Anya was in danger at one point, Jay¡¯s use of words made his sentence truthful.

    ¡°Good answer.¡± The pressure from his re left as quickly as it came.

    Sullivan read some papers in front of him ¡°I¡¯ve chosen you to be given advanced training from all three trainers. Obviously, you will join the adventurer guild and continue to party with Anya, in exchange we will protect your secret.¡± Sullivan didn¡¯t turn his head upward from his notes, but his eyes looked up at Jay.

    Jay only nodded in response as Sullivan looked down again and continued.

    ¡°Your first lesson will be with the manacraft trainer who I¡¯ve instructed to teach you some ranged-based magic. These will be private so others don¡¯t find out about your ss ¨C and don¡¯t worry about the trainers, they have all been mypanions since I was your age. Be sure to take some essence of your type¡­ though I¡¯m not sure what yours may look like.¡±

    ¡°Essence?¡± Jay questioned with a raise brow.

    ¡°Essence is something that¡¯s moulded by your abilities into doing different things. For example, an ice-type manacrafter will carry extra water to perform ice-based magic attacks. Their abilities mould the water into bing parts of spells. Think of it as an ingredient to make stronger spells.¡±

    Jay realised that bones must¡¯ve been his essence since he could freely mould them with his green gas ¨C a physical manifestation of his manacrafting. He simply nodded ¡°Sure. I think I can find something like that.¡± Jay held back a sly smile which almost appeared on his face.

    ¡°Good. Lessons start today. Your sign-up has been taken care of. You¡¯ll progress to the advanced melee lessons when you¡¯re finished with the manacraft lessons. Don¡¯t waste their time.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Jay said as the door opened behind him.

    Sullivan gestured at the door. ¡°See you next time.¡± the guild master said as he went back to sorting through some papers.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Bye.¡± getting up from the chair, Jay left through the door.

    Walking down the hallway stairs and into reception, Margie greeted Jay ¡°Honey, your trainer will be here momentarily. Please have a seat and wait a moment.¡±

    ¡°Ok, thanks Margie.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a nicedy¡± Jay thought ¡°Probably one of the only nice ones who work here¡±.

    She smiled at Jay and went back to her work while Jay went to the chairs. The only ce for Jay to sit was next to an adventurer who seemed to still be in pain, Jay analysed him.

    [Trenly ¨C Level 4]

    [HP 73%]

    [MP 28%]

    Trenly had his arm bandaged with a lot of padding around his shoulder. Jay quietly made conversation with him as he waited.

    ¡°Looks like you had it pretty rough¡± Jaymented.

    ¡°Mm. Never trust an entitled brat to watch your back.¡±

    Jay smiled back ¡°¡­I think I know who you¡¯re talking about¡­ howe you went with him?¡±

    ¡°He saw I was level 4, and you know how he is. I had no choice.¡± Trenly shook his head as the looked at his bandages.

    ¡°Ah, that sucks man. Bad experience for your first time.¡±

    ¡°Well, It wasn¡¯t my first time. My father is a hunter and took me to a level 8 dungeon to level me up. But I was of no use in a level 8 dungeon, so I guess you could say it was my first time doing anything.¡±

    ¡°Oh nice. What¡¯s your father do?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a wild monster hunter. He travels to different viges hunting the monsters outside of dungeons. Usually makes the most money from quests rather than the actual monster drops.¡±

    ¡°Oh cool. So are you going to join the guild too?¡±

    ¡°Afterst night, fuck no. I think I will settle for a quiet civilian life.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so maybe a game hunter?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t really even want to touch a bow again to be honest.¡± Trenly lightly gritted his teeth, still annoyed at yesterdays events.

    At this, Jay realised he may have some skills with gutting animals since his father was a hunter.

    ¡°¡­ever skin a carcass and chop it up into the different parts? Like steaks, breasts, loins, stuff like that?¡±

    Trenly curiously looks at Jay ¡°Yeah¡­ But I don¡¯t know what the parts are called. I can just prepare a carcass for cooking ¨C basic survival skills for a hunter. I¡¯m most familiar with skinning the willowpad rabbits. Why¡¯s that?¡±

    Jay smiled ¡°Well, I was running a butchery. I¡¯m a butcher¡¯s son.¡± Jay hinted ¡°But now I want to do adventuring, though I need someone to run the business¡­¡± Trenly looked up at Jay who was staring at him with a mischievous grin.

    Trenly was smiling at this point while Jay continued ¡°Would you like toe by¡­ tomorrow¡­ no, actually, the day after tomorrow? Does it sound like something you¡¯d be willing to learn?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, thanks so much. That would be great. I¡¯ll give it my best, after my injuries heal that is.¡± he looked at his arm.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a deal¡­ Oh right, you probably don¡¯t know where my butchery is. Do you know the snakeraven inn?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    ¡°How about we meet there at lunchtime in 2 days ¨C the day after tomorrow ¨C and we can walk from there to my butchery.¡±

    ¡°Awesome, thanks. Yeah, I¡¯ll meet you there. Two days, lunchtime, snakeraven inn.¡± Trenly repeated as he smiled through the pain.

    ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡± Jay smiled back as the adventurer guild door opened.

    ¡°Seems like my situation isn¡¯t so hopeless after all¡± Trenly thought to himself as he smiled lightly.

    A man entered the room, dressed in dark-blue robes trimmed with a green pattern. He has red hair and was very tall, Jay reckoned that he was over 2 meters tall ¨C about 7 foot. He nced at Jay as he closed the door behind him.

    ¡°Jay.¡± he nodded.

    ¡°Hi. Sir.¡± Jay became more formal as he was realising this was his trainer.

    ¡°I¡¯m Vdore,¡± he shook jay¡¯s hand ¡°the voice in your head.¡± he smiled, a positive attitude could be heard just from his voice.

    ¡°Oh, I see¡± Jay almost chuckled as he tried to remain formal.

    ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll be training you.¡± he said as he was handed some paper from Margie. He signed it and turned back to Jay. ¡°Come on Jay. Let¡¯s head to the training area.¡± he said with encouragement as he walked to a door next to reception.

    ¡°He sounds way more friendly when he uses his normal voice.¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°Yes sir.¡± Jay followed him into a door next to reception, which opened into another hallway that took them deeper into the building before exiting out the other side ¨C it was a small private garden, the manacrafter¡¯s private training area.

    ¡°Any questions before we get started?¡±

    ¡°Not yet, but I¡¯ll probably have some once we begin.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Well first, sit in a cross-legged position. I¡¯ll be analysing the ambient mana around you while I instruct you.¡±

    Jay assumed a cross-legged position on a nearby rock in the garden as he began his private lessons.

 Chapter 23 Flow

    Training started off as Jay expected ¨C with the basics. Some of the phrases that he overheard earlier were beginning to make sense.

    ¡°Picture a veil, a spider web of the mana around us ¨C grab it, twist it, spin it into twine, then twine into rope ¨C and then pull the rope in, making it a part of yourself; un-twirl it as it enters your mind and body¡±¡­ ¡°Think about the boulders of the earth, standing against the rain and elements. Unmoving ¨C the only thing to split the boulders are the tender roots, seeping into them from trees. Imagine you are the tree, make your bark, your shell, stronger. Be as solid as the rock and unrelenting as the tree.¡±

    Jay tried as he was instructed, however he had found that using his own analogies worked better ¨C he thought about his analogy of the whirlpool while channelling and pulling in the ambient mana into his mind.

    Vdore raised an eyebrow seeing this. Jay seemed to have learnt quicker than any other pupil, while also seeming to be channelling arger amount ¨C Vdore not realising that Jay had previously listened to his teachings in secret.

    ¡°Very good.¡± Vdore said casually, trying not to inte Jay¡¯s ego ¡°Next lesson.¡±

    While trying the second lesson, Jay simrly had trouble until he came up with his own analogy.

    ¡°It seems like my own understanding creates a greater effect¡­¡± he thought as he continued forming his own analogy ¡°The shell strengthens while the centre flows. An imprable bone protects the soft inner marrow.¡±

    Again, Vdore was surprised at how fast Jay learnt.

    ¡°Seems like he¡¯s a natural¡± he thought as he gazed at Jay¡¯s unusually thick manashell forming around his mind ¨C then it dissipated suddenly. Vdore understood he had achieved level 1.

    Jay, receiving the notification, was distracted and lost his concentration.<sub>.</sub>

    [New Skill Acquired]

    [Mana Membrane Level 1] (Passive)

    Mild protection from various mental attacks; mana drain, mana burn, mana overload, destabilization, mental disarrangement.

    [Cytokine Stabilization] (Passive, head only)

    ¡°Good. Practice that at least once a week.¡±

    ¡°Hmm wonder what a cytokine is¡­¡± wondered Jay as he realised he was being talked to, he looked up from the notification at Vdore.

    ¡°Oh, yeah sure.¡± he nodded ¡°So how do I use this ¡®essence¡¯?¡± quizzed Jay, remembering what Sullivan said.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re meant to be learning about it tomorrow unless you happened to have discovered your essence today¡­ there¡¯s like a whole thing I have to exin to you before sending you off to find your essence.¡± He looked at Jay confused.

    ¡°Hmm, no I think I¡¯ve found it¡­¡± Jay said as he stood up, backed away from Vdore and had his floating bone ring appear before Vdore ¨C Vdore¡¯s eye¡¯s opening a little wider as they reflected the intermittent glows from the green wisps of gas floating between the bones orbiting around Jay.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Wha¡­¡± Vdore was temporarily speechless.

    Jay simply smiled as he plucked a stink-rat bone out of the air before the gentle bone-whirlpool disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

    As Jay was sitting down, Vdore¡¯s face cringed at the bone Jay had chosen as a wave of stench washed over him. It was still ck from the marsh, the marrow inside probably rancid and rotting, what was left of the attached cartge was absolutely stinking.

    ¡°No¡­ this will be bad¡­ for your concentration.¡± Vdore thought of an excuse as he grimaced ¡°Have you got anything else?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±

    Jay returned the bone to his ring, not insulted at all ¡°It¡¯spletely understandable¡± he thought to himself, as he pulled out a stink-rat tooth from his inventory. ¡°Hmm¡­ these didn¡¯t want to go into the bone ring so I stored them in my inventory. Perhaps they have other uses?¡± said Jay, holding 3 ck teeth in his hands as he showed his teacher.

    A little disgusted that someone¡¯s essence was seemingly body parts, Vdore continued his lesson. ¡°Ok so Sul¡­ *ahem* the guild master¡± he corrected himself with a slight cough ¡°wanted me to train you in ranged attack magic.¡±

    Jay did a slightly arrogant half-smile in response.

    A few hours passed as the instructor and Jay spent time talking about mana, manacraft and magic; the difference between the cause and effect of them, the results along with the randomness. Vdore exined how mana could be chanelled into certain objects as well as yourself as he touched on the previous lessons ¨C then the lessons on the usage of essence began.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hold your essence¡­the tooth¡­ in your palm and channel some mana into; remember, use your own mana and not the ambient mana. Do this until you can sort of feel the tooth as if it¡¯s a part of your body ¨C then will the tooth, or imagine it, flying at one of those nearby stones.¡±

    Jay held the tooth as he looked around at the nearby stones ¨C some seemed to be new, sitting on what seemed to be dust of the same type of stone, others had scorch marks and some were even split in half.

    Following his instructions, Jay began to channel his own mana into the tooth ¨C the tooth began to float in his hand. Suddenly it began to spin quickly before flying off as fast as an arrow beingunched;ing into contact with the stone, it exploded, sending smaller bits of tooth shrapnel everywhere. The stone remained intact with what seemed like some tooth residue left on it, while Jay received a notification.

    [New Skill Acquired]

    [Unstable Teeth Level 1]

    [Ranged Attack]

    [5 damage]

    [Propagative Stress Rupturing] (Passive) ¨C (4) Fragments split apart after initial attack. (1) damage to anything hit by a fragment.

    [Ability Requires (1) Enamel(s) of any kind]

    [- 6 Mana]

    [Description]

    Practitioner¡¯s of the most vile types of manacraft use teeth as weapons ¨C often, these decrepit cultists pull their own teeth for the spell¡¯s. When in, they aremonly found without any teeth left. ¡°A toothless man is surely a Godless one.¡± ¨C Saint Cleosevine.

    Jay grinned at this ¡°I still have about 19 teeth left¡± he thought ¡°And I don¡¯t even need to use my own¡±.

    Vdore was surprised by the fragments that exploded after the teeth hit the nearby stone ¨C he subconsciously had erected his invisible manafield ability.

    ¡°Dangerous kid¡­¡± thought Vdore ¡°Perhaps we will need somewhere more safe to train in the future¡±.

    Vdore nodded ¡°Well done. That¡¯s a decent basic ranged attack. Since you¡¯ve learnt quicker than I expected, you can have the rest of the day off.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Well, thanks Vdore. I appreciate the lessons. See you next time¡­ oh, and when is next time?¡±

    ¡°Well, I would say about a week. Normally it would be every few days but there are some¡­ strange things going on in the forest so I¡¯m assisting with that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see.. Well, see you in a week then.¡± Jay wondered what was going on in the forest that even the manacraft trainer was being utilized. ¡°I hope Muffin is ok¡± he thought as he scratched his chin, before leaving the adventurer guild.

    With a happy step, Jay walked down the mountain towards the vige, wondering what he would have for lunch ¨C however as he looked over the vige, he noticed a small gathering of people. The adventurers were gathered around Bertram¡¯s weapons stand.

    Deciding to see what was happening, Jay began to walk towards the stand ¨C ¡°perhaps the merchant brought out his better, magical items¡± thought Jay as he got closer. Though it seemed like there was amotion as sounds of peopleining got louder.

    ¡°You had these yesterday and you sold us this junk?!?¡± An adventurer waved his dull-looking spiked mace.

    ¡°NO REFUNDS! And if you don¡¯t like it, shop somewhere else!¡± the fat merchant billowed with augh, before a sly grin appeared on his face ¡°However, I will offer 10% off your next purchase in exchange for your old weapon¡±.

    The adventurer¡¯s jaw dropped as if Bertram was insane, yet instead of continuing the yelling-match, he gritted his teeth before muttering some sort of profanity as he walked to the back of the line.

    Jay squinted at Bertram ¡°Hmm, perhaps I shoulde back someday with a cart full of weapons and undercut Bertram. There¡¯s certainly nothing stopping me from doing it. I wonder why no one else has though¡­¡± Jay pondered to himself ¡°If there¡¯s nopetition, he can basically do what he wants. I would love to see that fat prick have to lower his prices and sell better weapons from day one¡­ then no one would¡¯ve bought that junk.¡±

    Jay scratched his chin as he shrugged to himself ¡°Oh well, not my problem. I can create my own weapons anyway.¡± as he walked towards his home to have some lunch, he did stop for a moment to pity the long line of adventurers standing in line, noticing Mark was there too ¨C though Mark wasn¡¯t facing towards him so he simply left as his stomach was beginning to grumble.

    While having lunch, Jay decided he would probably need to stock up on skeletons and teeth.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only got teeth from the stink-rats but that¡¯s because they were living-beings, while the bayring¡¯s were some sort of construct. I think I¡¯ll head to wolf¡¯s quarry for a little grinding and some bones after a little rest¡­¡±

    While having lunch, some guards walked by Jay¡¯s house. Remembering that something strange was happening in the forest, Jay had to be careful. ¡°It seems like I¡¯ll need to sneak out of town too¡± he thought as he wiped his mouth before heading upstairs for a short nap.

 Chapter 24 Pressed-Dirt

    ¡°So, my men tell me that you said the bandit that attacked youst night escaped. And you didn¡¯t hear anything after?¡±

    ¡°No father, though I was focused on the wounded soldier; However ¡®escape¡¯ is not urate. He retreated from Jay¡¯s grotesque skeleton creatures.¡± Anya took a bite of her muffin as she looked out the window by Sullivan¡¯s side, sighing and shaking her head after remembering Jay naming one of his creatures ¡®Muffin¡¯.

    Sullivan folded his hands under his chin as he put his elbows on his desk ¡°Seems like we may have found the source of these attacks. Perhaps I¡¯ll need to question Jay¡± he thought to himself, before deciding to send Anya to talk to Jay.

    ¡°Anya, head to Jay¡¯s ce. He lives above the butchery¡­ Tell him to withdraw his skeletons from the forest or there will be consequences.¡±

    Anya looked at her father with a confused and concerned expression ¡°What do you mean consequences? What are you going to do with him? And you think he is the one behind the dead animals?¡±

    ¡°We shall see. Go.¡± Sullivan waved his hand as the door opened by itself.

    Sighing, Anya leaves the room ¡°See youter¡±.

    ¡ª

    Jay was jolted awake by the sound of loud knockinging from his front door.

    [72 Exp]

    Jay waved away the notification with a smug half-smile before responding to the door-knocking.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ming!¡± He put on some pants before heading downstairs, almost stumbling.

    Opening the door, he found Anya standing there with a slightly concerned look on her face ¡°You live here?¡±

    ¡°I gotta live somewhere, why are you here?¡± skipping the small talk, Jay reminded himself she wasn¡¯t worth the effort ¨C he was merely a tool to her.

    ¡°The guild master has a message for you. Can we talk inside?¡± Anya said as she looked around for anyone listening.

    Sighing, Jay stood back and gestured her in. After shutting the door, Anya was the first to speak.

    ¡°Sullivan thinks you have skeletons running around killing things in the forest and he wants you to stop.¡± She got straight to the point.

    At this point, Jay was walking to the next room with Anya following behind as he grabbed some water and sshed it on his face.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You have to stop killing creatures in the forest.¡±

    Jay paused for a moment as he put the pieces together. ¡°Is this what the meant by the ¡®situation¡¯ happening in the forest?¡± Jay smiles ¡°the animals dying?¡± He chuckled slightly at how much they were over-reacting.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Jay, they¡¯re not just dying, they¡¯re being brutally disembowelled. One animal was found with it¡¯s ribs caved in after being beaten to death with a de deer¡¯s head. The vigers would be scared if they found out, even some of the veteranse back to the guild looking white as ghosts because of the sheer brutality. If it¡¯s your skeletons, it needs to stop.¡±

    Shocked for a moment, Jay willed his feeble creature Muffin to stop hunting and go into stealth ¨C as stealthy as it could be ¨C and to wait near the wolf¡¯s quarry dungeon.

    ¡°Ok. If it is me, it will stop¡­ so the strange things happening in the forest have been brutal animal deaths?¡±

    Anya nodded as if it was obvious. ¡®Ah, Duh!¡¯ she thought, but didn¡¯t say aloud.

    Jay lightly chuckled as he took a sip of water ¡°Well, is that all?¡±

    Surprised at Jay¡¯sck of hospitality she made her way to the front door again ¡°No¡­ I¡¯ll see you next time.¡±

    Anya didn¡¯t show it, but she was a little disappointed in how distant Jay seemed, though she hid her internal frown as she left.

    ¡°Well, since I¡¯m up I may as well get started¡± Jay said to himself as he finished his water.

    Making his way back upstairs to put on the rest of his clothes, including the Molodus coat which seemed to almost slide itself onto Jay, he began thinking about how he would sneak off into the woods. He decided to pack a shirt, pants and a hooded cloak which he would use to dress up one of his feeble creatures to cause a distraction if need be.

    Lo vige wasn¡¯t a walled settlement, it had 3 main roads with a gentle stream running around the north-west side of the vige, which went under a bridge on the north road.<sub></sub>

    Jay thought the guards probably wouldn¡¯t stop him, but he decided to y it safe and sneak out anyway, heading towards the north-west side of town, he crossed the stream and headed into the forest.

    Normally, the forest was thick enough to conceal someone after going a few meters into it, however this was winter and the only thing with any leaves were the evergreen¡¯s, which forced Jay to walk an extra few minutes into the spindly, cold forest.

    Making his way to Wolf¡¯s Quarry dungeon, he decided to wait until he was inside before summoning the rest of his skeletons. It wasn¡¯t long before he came across Muffin.

    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re quite bloody.¡± Jay thought. Muffin¡¯s entire knife was crimson red, along with it¡¯s bottom jaw.

    Looking at Muffin, Jay realised that it probably was his skeletons causing all the trouble; he could only imagine what Muffin did to be so bloody. All of the skeleton¡¯s bones had at least a few stters of blood on them; none were left undefiled.

    Approaching the entrance of the dungeon slowly, Jay hid behind trees and rocks. Keeping low to the ground and quiet, there appeared to be no one nearby so he didn¡¯t unsummon Muffin, simply sending Muffin to the dungeon entrance.

    ¡°Surely someone would scream, shout or attack if they saw Muffin¡± he thought.

    It seemed like the coast was clear so Jay did a crouch-run to the dungeon entrance.

    The entrance was what Jay expected ¨C a makeshift mining site with a few tools and a rope-pulley going into a dark hole. Arge wolf skull was inside a nted mining tent among some tools.

    Trying to grab one of the shovels lying around, it seemed like it was somehow stuck to the soil somehow.

    ¡°Odd.¡± Jay raised an eyebrow as he bent down and gripped the shovel with all his might and tried to pick it up, yet it wouldn¡¯t even budge. ¡°Seems like these are a part of the dungeon¡¯s entrance¡±. Jay tried to pick up different objects a few more times, including the wolf¡¯s skull ¨C yet to no effect. He pursed his lips and scratched his head as he moved towards the dark mining shaft, receiving a notification.

    [Wolf¡¯s Quarry ¨C Level 5 Dungeon]

    [Instanced][Unlocked]

    [Enter Wolf¡¯s Quarry?]

    [Yes/No]

    Jay braced himself as he hit yes ¨C he guessed that he would have to go into the hole somehow and he was correct, a strange gravitational force began to drag him into the hole. He didn¡¯t resist ¨C it did seem like some other adventurers did in the past though as there were finger marks on the ground from people trying to stop themselves being dragged in.

    After Jay¡¯s head was below ground level, it was suddenly total darkness, as if the entrance had been blocked by arge boulder.

    Jay and Muffin began falling, the wind whistling past them. Soon they began to slow down and levitate, while a gentle glowing light appeared, flickering below them, a beacon in the darkness. They were dropped off by the side of a slow-moving underground river ¨C it was so slow that it produced no sound at all, neither were therepping waves against the rocks; ¡°It must be incredibly deep¡± Jay thought.

    It was incredibly quiet in this huge, cavernous dungeon. Every pebble movement created a tiny echo ¨C however this was quickly drowned out by the nking bones of Muffin; though this caused Jay to smile a little.

    An abandoned nted mining tent with amp hung on a pole was nearby ¨C themp being the only source of light in the cave, the one which they saw when they were falling. Jay summarily grabbed themp and was d to find that it wasn¡¯t ¡®stuck¡¯ to the tent like the tools around the dungeon¡¯s entrance.

    A single pressed-dirt path led along the side of the river and into the darkness.

    ¡°I¡¯ll summon the others before I move on.¡± Jay thought as he shifted his ring into its orbital form, summoning the other two feeble creatures ¨C both of them level 2. The creatures waited patiently as Jay pulled out the bone daggers and tossed them on the ground for them to pick up.

    Jay was beginning to feel like a noble brat as he could¡¯ve easily handed the daggers to them, but decided this small gesture wasn¡¯t even worth the energy; besides, they weren¡¯t truly alive so it would¡¯ve been unappreciated anyway.

    ¡°Here.¡± Said Jay as he handed Muffin themp,manding Muffin to walk by his side while the level 2 feeble creatures acted as a vanguard of sorts, walking a few meters ahead of him on the dirt path, the level 2 creatures being slightly enshrouded in the darkness. Only Jay needed themp as the skeleton¡¯s could see in the dark; a huge advantagepared to other adventurers.

    The path curved along the river as the feeble creature¡¯s bones all created echoes as they walked. It wasn¡¯t long before a golden pair of eyes greeted the four of them from the water before causing a small ssh and disappearing again. Jay was creeped out by those glowing eyes while all four of them paused and assumed a fighting stance.

    Deciding to walk on the very edge of the path that was further from the water, Jay had Muffin acting as a barrier between him and the water while equipping his buckler in case something attacked from the darkness on the other side of the path; though nothing happened. Soon the path turned away from the river and descended into a crevasse in the wall.

    ¡°A little more advantageous for me¡± Thought Jay as he squinted, beginning to walk downhill into the narrow cavern. He could now see the walls on each side, but not the ceiling ¨C it could¡¯ve been either 20 meters above or hundreds of meters, there was no way to tell.

    Jay equipped his own bone dagger with his buckler ready in his right hand; Muffin on his left side was holding themp high in it¡¯s right hand with a bone dagger in the left hand. The level 2 feeble creature¡¯s were prepared at the front ¨C each dual-wielding daggers of their own and ready to pounce at the slightest movement.

    ¡°Here we go.¡± Jay whispered to himself, squinting at the darkness with a smile.

 Chapter 25 Hollow

    ¡°Ah! Shit!¡± Jay¡¯s voice echoed through the cavern system.

    [-10 HP]

    A wolf had its jaw clenched on Jay¡¯s leg as it tried to drag him off into the darkness, away from the safety of his skeletons into a branching cave.

    The wolf¡¯s head was asrge as a pumpkin, the beast itself was as tall as the level 2 feeble creatures and as long as a stink-rat, with a series ofrge, jagged nodules running down it¡¯s back; It¡¯s size was simr to the stink-rat Molodus. It¡¯s sheen-ck fur camouged it from the light.

    The surprise attack would¡¯ve worked, however the wolf quickly let go as it took poison damage by the Molodus coat ¨C ever loyal to its owner.

    Jay kicked the wolf¡¯s head as a feeble creature jumped over him and plunged it¡¯s dagger into the wolf¡¯s cheek ¨C missing the wolf¡¯s pure-white eye which was the bone dagger¡¯s true target. Another feeble creature soon followed up the attack and it pierced one bone dagger into its throat while the other dagger shed a tendon in the wolf¡¯s front leg ¨C yet no blood came out after either of these attacks.

    At this the wolf whimpered from the pain as it bit down onto a feeble creature¡¯s arm, cracking it and tearing some of the cartge in the elbow along with some green matter.

    Jay grabbed his leg and stopped the bleeding as he watched the fight between the 2 feeble creatures and the wolf ¨C Muffin still guarding Jay¡¯s back while holding themp.

    After stopping the bleeding, Jay analyzed the wolf.

    <[Silt Wolf ¨C Level 5]>

    [HP] 40/40<sub>.</sub>

    <[Skills]>

    [Solidify] ¨C The wolf causes its hide to turn as hard as stone, 90% immunity to all attacks excluding blunt based damage types. 10 second cooldown.

    [Corundum ws] ¨C Ignore armour. 5 bleed damage/2 seconds. Can stack (4) times.

    [Corundum Teeth] ¨C Ignore armour. 10 crush damage. Chance to cripple for (10) seconds.

    <[Description]>

    Silt wolves consume top-soil, pebbles and small stones which form its body and help it to grow ¨C along with organic matter that help to form its various semi-organic organs. These wolves are prized for theirrge, cobalt-blue, shiny skulls which often be ornaments in esteemed mansions, while more rarely are made into armour due to the nature of their semi-organic bones being as light as leather, yet as tough as bronze.

    Jay grinned widely at the description ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll be recing the rat skulls with much tougher wolf skulls. It¡¯s about time the bones had an upgrade¡±.

    The wolf continued to fight a losing battle against the 2 feeble creatures which were stabbing and shing it¡¯s torso to no end ¨C along with the asional throat sh.

    At one point, it attempted to retreat back into the darkness, but the skeletons simply chased after it, their shade-vision stopping it from hiding.

    The wolf had no choice but to fight for it¡¯s life; It managed to do more damage to the feeble creature it attacked before, chomping down on the same spot it bit previously and doing more damage ¨C the skeletons arm fell off as the wolf¡¯s jaw snapped down, it¡¯s radius and ulna split in half, one bone dagger dropping to the ground.<sub></sub>

    The silt wolf didn¡¯t escape unharmed from this attack however, as the skeletons¡¯ other dagger found purchase in it¡¯s right eye, the dagger finally finding its target.

    It whelped in pain, it was already half health at this point and fading fast as it activated it¡¯s [Solidify] ability and chomped at the skull of the feeble creature.

    The feeble creatures rat skull, which was small byparison, was caved in. The skeleton was executed swiftly.

    The wolf seemed to learn the trick and went to snap for the skull of the other feeble creature, yet was only met with another dagger in it¡¯s cheek.

    Jay didn¡¯t panic, but acted diligently as his necrotic ring shifted and bones flew around him. He re-summoned the level 2 skeleton and sent it off to fight the wolf, while grabbing themp from Muffin and sending it off too.

    [Chimera Research 4%]

    The wolf was invigorated for a moment as it entered a 1v1 situation ¨C yet it quickly lost it¡¯s will as it was now fighting three opponents. The resurrected feeble creature quickly picked up the 2 daggers from the ground as it sprung at the wolf, seemingly forgetting that it had just been executed as there was no hesitation or any sign of fear.

    Jay realised this would be a real challenge to any solo adventurer, they would probably have to smash themp and exit the dungeon by now, yet he had 3 bone guards which made things easy.

    He decided to try his new ability ¨C [Unstable Teeth]

    Grabbing a tooth from his inventory, he channelled his mana into it. When the tooth began to look like it couldn¡¯t take anymore, he sent it darting at the wolf.<sub></sub>

    ~BANG!~

    [7 Damage]

    An explosion rattled throughout the cave and echoed back a few times.

    Assessing the damage, Jay was pleased as the wolf was finished off by one more attack from a minion.

    [Feeble Creature Level Up]

    [200 Exp]

    Jay smiled at Muffin before looking back at the silt wolf ¡°Seems like I¡¯ll be needing more teeth¡± said Jay as he peered at the fist-sized crater left by the attack, satisfied with the results. ¡°Decent amount of exp too, though I guess I am solo so i don¡¯t have to share any¡± he folded his arms behind his back, stretching his chest.

    ¡°Ok, time for the loot¡­ and to figure out why it didn¡¯t bleed.¡±

    Jay peered at the cuts on the wolf¡¯s body ¡°Seems like it doesn¡¯t have any blood at all¡± he gazed as he pulled the hide apart at the cut, before both his eyebrows raised in surprise at what he saw. The wolf was hollow inside. ¡°What¡­¡± he paused for a moment. ¡°Well, hopefully it has bones.¡±

    Jay unsummoned one of the Don¡¯s, grabbing all the bones including the remains from the Don¡¯s previously executed body, and stored them in his ring.

    He gave themp back to Muffin as he cast ¡°Raise¡± on the wolf and retreated back to the crevasse.

    A familiar muffled explosion apanied by rocks and pebbles skipping on each other resounded.

    Jay went back to the skeleton and was extremely satisfied with what he found, a toothy grin appearing on his face ¡°You magnificent beast¡± he said as he gazed at his skeleton.

    It¡¯s glowing green eyes peered out from the cobalt-blue wolf skull. It¡¯s thick jaw bones threatened to crush any rocks nearby, and wereplemented with extra dark-green matter forming sinew and make-shift muscle. Every bone in its structure was cobalt-blue and seemed to be zed over with syrup, creating a sleek shine in the light. Jay analysed it.

    <[Feeble Creature Level 2]>

    Type ¨C Undead

    Damage ¨C 2

    HP ¨C 35/35

    MP ¨C 3/3

    <[Skills]>

    [Corondum Bite] 6 pierce damage

    [Corondum ws] bleed ¨C 5 t damage over 3 seconds (Can stack 2 times)

    [Scrimshaw Level 1 ¨C Can use bone to create basic objects]

    [Undeath] ¨C Immune to cold, poison, hunger, stress, fear, pain.

    [Shade Vision] ¨C Can still see clearly in the absence of light.

    <[Description]>

    An abomination, it¡¯s existence spits in the face of life and death. Avoid it if possible. Execute with extreme prejudice.

    ¡°Oh cool, seems like it does extra damage now that it has a wolf skull¡± Jay figured out something he thought was quite interesting ¡°So different bones can affect the final creation¡­ It still has the same posture and height as before, so I guess it¡¯s level determines that.¡± Then he noticed a few other things too ¡°Slightly more health, and the description says to avoid it if possible.. Huh, well I guess they should be scared.¡± smiled Jay as he looked at his exotic-looking skeleton.

    Shrugging, he analysed what was left of the wolf ¨C [Ferritic tes]x3

    ¡°Hope these are valuable¡±. He thought as he scratched and knocked on one of the metallic tes ¡°These must be what the bumps along the wolf¡¯s back were.¡±

    Stashing the tes in his inventory, he continued to move through the dungeon with his new cobalt-blue skeleton taking the lead.

 Chapter 26 Craft

    Walking along the narrow passage, it wasn¡¯t long before the 2 feeble creatures in front paused and took a defensive stance.

    A silt wolf greeted them from the shadows, pouncing with gnashing teeth which mped on the cobalt-blue skeleton¡¯s shoulder ¨C yet this time it couldn¡¯t even cause a crack in the skeleton¡¯s bones; The skeleton responded in kind, snapping back with it¡¯s own wolf skull and causing the wolf to let out a whimper.

    Jay could see the cobalt-blue teeth sinking into the wolf¡¯s hide with ease, rending it¡¯s flesh much more effectively than the bone daggers ¨C he reasoned that after this fight, he would convert this wolf¡¯s skeleton into cobalt-blue bone daggers, besides, Muffin would need a second dagger once they left the dungeon and didn¡¯t have to carry themp anymore.

    Jay felt quite at ease since they were in a narrow passage; he watched the fight between the two skeletons and the silt wolf as he stood there casually.

    ¡°They probably won¡¯t need my help now that one of them is upgraded with blue bones.¡± he thought as he patiently watched the fight. The wolf activated it¡¯s stone-hide ability but it was just stalling for time as it couldn¡¯t do significant damage to the blue skeleton, while it¡¯s movements were getting slower and more easy to dodge.

    The wolf died quickly ¨C this time having deeper cuts in it than thest one due to the wolf-skull skeleton¡¯s corundum teeth.

    [200 Exp]

    [Level up]

    Jay smiled at the notification, still rxed in the pitch-ck abyss as he raised his vitality to 30 and his energy to 40, though a little disappointed he didn¡¯t get another skill point as he looked over his stats.

    <[Jay]>

    <[Necromancer Level 7]>

    [Race ¨C Human]

    HP: 73/82

    MP: 53/67

    Strength: 15

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 30<sub>.</sub>

    Energy: 40/40

    Exp: 108/3000

    <[Skills]>

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 3]

    [Shell Restoration Level 1]

    [Shift]

    [Undead Mastery Level 2] (Passive)

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Running level 1] (Passive)

    [Dagger Proficiency level 1] (Passive)

    [Poison Resist 10%] (Passive ¨C equipment)

    <[Research]>

    [Chimera Research 4%]

    [Immortality Research 2%]

    ¡°Not long till I hit level 10. Hopefully I get another handy skill. About 15 more silt wolves till the next level up.¡± Jay calcted, as he took out some jerky and ate it along with some water to refresh himself.

    Walking over to the corpse, Jay shifted his bone ring into orbital form, the green gas tenderly extracted the bones from the wolves pseudo-flesh, however a part was left behind.<sub></sub>

    [Silt Wolf Spine] was left on the ground covered in some soil from the wolf¡¯s hollow body, along with three more [Ferritic tes].

    ¡°Hmm. The spine must be too long to fit into the ring maybe?¡± Curious, Jay was looking at his blue feeble creature, he could tell that it had incorporated the wolf spine into its form, but for whatever reason it was not wanting to enter the necrotic ring.

    ¡°Perhaps the spine has other uses, simr to the soap rat teeth.¡± he could only ponder. ¡°As for its use, I¡¯ll just have to find out.¡±

    The silt wolf spine was nearly 3 meters long and cobalt-green.

    ¡°If need be, I guess I could take the spine out and add it to a bone pile to raise ¨C but I¡¯m sure it would be better used elsewhere, in the same way the soap rat teeth are better for the unstable teeth spell.¡± he thought to himself, holding the long spine in his hand before storing it away, then analysing the soil-like gritty residue on his fingers ¨C there was no blood in it, yet it appeared to be coated with a slimy, clear fluid. Wiping it off his hand, Jay prepared to craft some cobalt-blue bone daggers.

    Pulling out a silt wolf bone, Jay could see tiny glistening flecks in it reflecting from themp; the minerals made me-like patterns going through the bone.

    Jay suddenly had an idea. ¡°Come here¡± he said, standing up as the minions all lined up in front of him, he took all their bone daggers and handed them some silt-wolf bones, yet unlike before they didn¡¯t try to craft new bone daggers.

    ¡°Hmm. I guess I¡¯ll need to do it myself.¡± he thought as he dropped their daggers on the ground and took the bones back before sitting down again.

    ¡°The great part about this cave is how quiet it is. I¡¯m guessing I¡¯ll need more concentration for this.¡± Jay thought as he closed his eyes for a moment, grasping the bone in his hand.

    Thick green gas materialized around his hand as it flowed over the cobalt-blue bone, causing it to levitate above his palm.

    Since training with Vdore the manacraft trainer, Jay felt like he had a better understanding of mana. Jay moved his own mana into the bone rauther than the ambient mana to achieve greater control, it intertwined through the bones and the minerals, causing them to mix together more so than they naturally did in the wolf¡¯s body.

    While they mixed, Jay felt that the minerals were harder together and the bone residue was more of a glue that held them together, realising this, he formed the bone into long strands of bone mixed with strands of the minerals, however he couldn¡¯t make the mineral strands too big or he would lose control over them.

    ¡°Seems like my power stops recognizing them as bone when the purity changes too much¡­¡± reasoned Jay as arge, shining cobalt-blue dagger morphed in front of him.

    This dagger was muchrger than the previous ones ¨C it was more like a bowie knife than a dagger. ¡°It will have much better shing damage,¡± Jay thought, looking at the knife ¡°It¡¯s much heavier too.¡±

    Pleased with the knife, Jay swung it a few times as he felt the weight of it. Its size was somewhere in between a dagger and a short sword, yet broader than both; though in the hands of the feeble creatures it would suit their size perfectly. No one could craft weapons with bone except him, so everything he crafted was a unique creation, even though it resembled other weapons in both appearance and characteristics.

    Before handing it to his sole blue skeleton, he analysed the de.<sub></sub>

    [Ossein Arming Sword Level 1]

    [Silt-wolf bone]

    [8 damage] ¨C shing, piercing.

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires essence from it¡¯s creator to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 96 hours]

    ¡°96 hours, seems like I¡¯m getting better at this¡± Jay smiled as he looked at his beautiful weapon ¡°Maybe soon I¡¯ll be able to craft one that never ¡®dies¡¯. Though it would be a little unfair, other weapons have durability instead of lifespan.¡±

    Jay crafted six more identical des, seven in total. One for himself and two for each of his three minions, all of whom could dual wield now.

    Holding themp himself, he had his minions line up holding their new weapons. Jay could only marvel at how menacing they looked. A blue wolf-skull skeleton stood as a leader between two rat-skull skeletons, each of them wieldingrge blue des. The flickering glowing from Jaysmp was the only light source, only making them look all the more menacing as they seemed to stand on the border of light and darkness.

    Standing for a little too long, Jay paused as he took in their deathly appearance. ¡°This is doom for anyone foolish enough to cross me¡±. He whispered to himself in the depths of the dark cave. ¡°And those extra wide des would cause massive haemorrhaging.¡± he smiled in delight. ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡±

    Jay grabbed back one of the des and handed themp to a skeleton. All four continued to move deeper into the cave system.

    It wasn¡¯t long before they entered arge cave opening. Jay couldn¡¯t see much as the walls pulled away into darkness, yet he knew where to go.

    The minions had stopped at the edge of a pool of water, while stepping stones went across it and disappeared into the darkness.

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s probably not linked to therge river so it probably doesn¡¯t have the same monster in it, but I will be precautious nheless.¡±

    Jaymanded a white-bone minion to jump onto the first rock ¡°If I¡¯m gunna lose one, it won¡¯t be the strong blue one¡± he reasoned.

    Suddenly, the rock shifted as if awakening from a long sleep. The skeletal minion, usually dextrous, lost it¡¯s footing as it fell into the water. Thankfully, the water was only knee-high deep.

    As the rock shifted and moved while the minion sshed in the water, something strange happened ¨C the water began to glow a light purple colour. It wasn¡¯t long before the water in the whole cavern lit up as if a chain reaction happened.

    Jay could see the whole cavern now, the purple glow from the water drowning out themp; it reflected off and bounced from some huge crystals on the ceiling of the cave, each of them turning the light into a more blue-ish colour. ¡°Magical¡± was Jay¡¯s only thought as he was temporarily distracted from the shifting stone.

    Snapping back to reality, Jay was awakened from his stupor as the stone raised up revealing that it was the shell of some type of mollusk creature. Jay had his minion retreat to the shore as they waited for it¡¯s attack; they would have a better time fighting on dry ground ¨C though the creature didn¡¯t move, apparently it was immobile as three nt-like spikes shot out from somewhere below the waterline. One spear went towards Jay, while two shot towards the white-bone skeleton that was still mbering out of the water.

    Jay¡¯s reaction time was slow since he hadn¡¯t been fighting, raising his buckler to intercept the spear, it he was too slow as the spear narrowly missed, continuing into Jay¡¯s shoulder as it pushed him to the ground.

    [-8]

    [Poisoned. -1.8HP per second for 5 seconds]

    ¡°FUUCK!¡± his teeth clenched, face grimacing from the pain.

    [Stress Response Activated]

    [+5% damage]

    The two other spears went right through the skeleton, failing to hit any bones as they continued, creating bore holes in the soil.

    Immediately, his minions responded to the threat against their master ¨C two rushed into the water while the one with themp guarded Jay.

    Ignoring the notification, Jay focused on pulling out the spear from his shoulder as the minions fought the creature. The spear was more like a needle or a skewer. It was about two meters long, having a shell-like texture, making it easy to pull out.

    With gritted teeth, he managed to pull out the shell-spear, though he had lost control of his left arm. The poisoned effect timer kept refreshing to five seconds until he finally pulled it out. Jay held his shield in his other hand as he stood up behind hismp-carrying skeleton. The pain went away quickly despite there being a finger-sized hole going through his shoulder ¡°must be the effect of being an adventurer¡± he considered, d that the pain was dulled. ¡°Perhaps I feel more pain the lower my HP drops¡± he guessed, looking at his health which was now 47 ¡°nearly down to half health¡± he murmured, gazing at the fight between the two skeletons and the shell-monster. He analysed it.

    <[Rockleaf Gastropod Level 5]>

    Type ¨C Mollusca

    HP ¨C 30/30

    Immobile.

    <[Skills]>

    [Bulwark] ¨C 100% physical damage immunity.

    The rockleaf hides in it¡¯s solid mineral shell.

    [Lash] Poison, bleed ¨C 5 damage over 11 seconds (Can stack 4 times). Timer resets if struck again.

    The rockleaf ils its tentacles at nearby enemies.

    [Ecdysis Lances] ¨C 8 Pierce damage. 2 Poison damage/sec over 5 seconds. Multiattack (3).

    The rockleaf flings parts of it¡¯s old shell at intruders.

    [Aquatic] ¨C 50% Resistance to cold, water, ice based attacks.

    [Shade Vision] ¨C Can still see clearly in the absence of light.

    [Description]

    Generally docile creatures, one can even walk right past them and be safe ¨C but remember one golden rule: Don¡¯t step on them ¨C otherwise they will bear an eternal grudge, attacking whenever onees into range. No one knows how they sense or remember with 100% uracy those who vite this golden rule, since they don¡¯t have any eyes.

    ¡°I guess I need to walk past them rauther than use them as stepping stones¡± realising the trick to this part of the dungeon, Jay continued to have his minions fight the aggravated level 5 rockleaf gastropod. ¡°Better finish it off so it doesn¡¯t attack next time.¡±

    The form of the rockleaf was hard to see, all Jay could look at was it¡¯srge, stone-like shell along with the asional ck tentacle that left the water. It had very low healthpared to other level 5 monsters, but as soon as it got below 15HP, it immediately dropped its shell, causing small waves and sshing the water as it hid inside once more.

    The feeble creatures continued to attack its shell to no avail ¨C neither the shell nor the new blue daggers seemed to be taking any damage. Jay furrowed his brow, realising there was no way to kill it after it retreated back to its shell. ¡°Time to move on I suppose.¡±

    Commanding his minions to stop attacking, he began to walk through the glowing purple water, intermittently gazing at the massive crystals in the ceiling reflecting back a blue light. The cobalt-blue skeleton seemed to almost blend into the surroundings as it walked through the glowing pool.

    Jay decided to take a rest once he reached the other side, his health nearly halfway down while his left arm was still limp.

    Following along the line of submerged rockleaf gastropods, it took about 10 minutes to cross to the other side; the water was still slightly glowing purple on Jay¡¯s pants as he sat down, resting against the cave wall near another crevasse ¨C the passageway to deeper parts of the abandoned quarry.

 Chapter 27 Depths

    Waking up next to amp in a dark cave, Jay was startled awake as he found himself surrounded by three skeletons ¨C before realising they were his own minions.

    ¡°How long was I out for¡­¡± he wondered, looking at his arm. The wound was still tender, but his left arm was functionally fine. Checking his HP, it had recovered to 57. Jay wasn¡¯t sure what his health regeneration was but based on the dampness of his pants, he was out for a few hours.

    Grabbing a stone, he threw it into the darkness, sshing into theke as it triggered the wholeke to light up once more.

    Jay sat there for a moment, captivated by the shallowke once more as he slowly woke up.

    ¡°Hmm. It waste when I left Lo. I¡¯ve got to do a dungeon with Mark and Kel tomorrow¡­¡± Jay looked at his skeletons, still guarding him ¡°I probably shouldn¡¯t risk using the skeletons¡­ oh.. I guess they would see my ss if we were in a party.¡± shaking his head, Jay made a decision

    ¡°¡­I¡¯m just going to ¡®forget¡¯. They¡¯ll be leaving with the military troops in a day or two anyway, so maybe I won¡¯t even see them again. I should probably say goodbye, but¡­ oh well.¡±

    Jay felt a little sad as he detached himself emotionally, but he reasoned that they had only met a few times briefly and they probably wouldn¡¯t even remember him anyway.

    With a sigh, Jay grabbed his dagger and stood up while getting his skeletons into formation again ¨C two in the front, another carrying amp at Jay¡¯s side.

    Walking through the winding crevasse, more of the blueish crystals periodically dotted the walls and ground. Dimly glowing back when themp went past, they were creating a faint glowing trail behind him.

    Suddenly the two skeletons at the front pounced into the darkness ahead. Jay stopped, raising his buckler and then slowly moved forward.

    He heard a whelp from the darkness.

    ¡°Another silt-wolf¡±<sub>.</sub>

    Just as the skeleton¡¯s fighting came into view, a glow came from Jay¡¯s right side. Feeling the ambient mana being sucked into the glowing light, goose bumps went up Jay¡¯s back as he sensed danger.

    Stepping behind the skeleton at his side, Jay snatched themp and raised his buckler in the direction of the light.

    Peering over his buckler, Jay looked at the glowing light as three folds of flesh opened up to reveal the bright light, an undting orb gathering mana. Suddenly, the ball of light began to wildly contract, the light getting brighter ¨C then suddenly it exploded. A pulse wave was released, a golden sphere of light expanded, washing over the minions and seemingly going through their bodies before hitting Jay.

    [-10]

    [Debuff resisted][Debuff Resisted]

    The pulse had no physical effect on anything as it passed right through his buckler, but mentally Jay felt like his brain was punched. His hearing was ringing, the mental shock was so great that he passed out for half a second and woke up while hitting the ground.

    The skeleton by his side had already rushed over to stab at whatever the light was.

    Jay¡¯s vision was blurry as he looked up, trying to make sense of his situation while his brain felt scrambled ¨C two minions were fighting a silt wolf, while another was frantically stabbing at something in the dark ¨C whatever emitted the mental attack.

    Not willing to take any risks, Jay activated his bone ring to give him more defence as he retreated back to the cave entrance. If a siltwolf wanted to grab him now, it would have to make it through the floating bones, exploding unstable teeth and a freshly re-summoned level 2 minion.

    It didn¡¯t take much time for the siltwolf to die; the new ossein swords proving again to be far deadlier, their wide des causing so much damage that they almost disabled parts of the wolf¡¯s body during the fight due to the massive holes and gashes.

    [200 Exp]<sub></sub>

    Without a sound it died, falling to the ground as the glow from the unknown creature was beginning to start again.

    The two feeble creatures rushed over to stab at it ¨C whatever it was. Stabbing and shing noises sounded while Jay waited patiently, looking at the intensity of the glow as he stood near the entrance, ready to take cover behindyers of stone in case another mana pulse was about to go off.

    The light grew bright once more, yet this time something different happened. The pulse was physical. An orb of red expanded, a thicker wave travelled a shorter distancepared to the golden one. The cave walls seemed to tremble as the minions were sent flying into them.

    This pulse didn¡¯t travel through objects so it didn¡¯t injure Jay who was hiding, but he had other concerns as he looked up.

    He could only hold his breath while looking up into the darkness above, as if looking up would stop a rock from killing him as he held his buckler above his head.

    The minions had dropped their weapons from the force of the physical pulse, some of which were now lodged into the walls nearby.

    The minions fell off the wall and stood up, returning to the formation Jay had them in previously. Three swords were missing. Jay sent out his creatures, each with one sword to finish off the monster ¨C yet they didn¡¯t bother to move. Apparently the creature was either dead or escaped ¨C though Jay couldn¡¯t tell in the darkness.

    ¡°Did it suicide?¡± he wondered, ¡°I didn¡¯t get any exp¡­¡± raising a curious eyebrow.

    With a resigned expression, Jay had his minions search for their swords. Only two were recovered, apparently the monster escaped with a sword embedded in it.

    Furrowing his brows, Jay decided to upgrade another skeleton with better bones using the new silt-wolf corpse.

    ¡°Come here¡± he said, a white-bone minion approaching. Jay grabbed the ossein swords from it and desummoned, adding its bones back into the ring as he cast ¡°Raise¡± on the silt wolf before retreating to cover.<sub></sub>

    The new feeble creature that awaited him was a little different ¨C it¡¯s bones were still cobalt-blue, but it had specks of red in them.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ probably was eating different coloured rocks?¡± considered Jay, guessing as he decided to name it ¡°You¡¯re Red. Literally red, but that¡¯s also your name now¡± he chuckled to himself before turning to the other one ¡°And you¡¯re¡­¡± Jay thought about naming it something stupid like ¡®brown¡¯, almostughing before he could finish his sentence, but realizing it could be confusingter on, so he decided to be logical ¡°Blue.¡± he smiled ¡°Red and Blue.¡±

    Looking at the one skeleton he had left that wasn¡¯t upgraded ¡°For you, we¡¯ll have to wait till we can see the next bone¡¯s colours.¡± he shrugged, picking up three more metal tes from the wolf¡¯s corpse.

    Jay went over to inspect the are the mana pulse came from. As he neared, there was a ring of dust and soil that had been blown out, while no blood appeared to stain the ground.

    ¡°Must be another silt wolf type¡± thought Jay as he deconstructed the information ¡°Hopefully we can kill it next time.¡± he squinted with revenge, looking around the cave.

    Sitting on the ground, Jay pulled out some cobalt-blue bones and formed three more ossein swords, one as a recement for the missing one, and two more for emergencies.

    He had plenty of bone to make daggers, but not many blue bones left; He could make swords from the normal bones too, but they wouldn¡¯t be as strong. Still needing at least one more siltwolf to fully upgrade his party, many more were needed still for future weapons as well as the possibility of an emergency re-summoning.

    ¡°I guess since I¡¯m nning to ditch Mark and Kel, I can stay a bit longer.¡± Thought Jay as he looked towards a cave entrance on the other side, some of the crystals glowing ¡°Whatever went past it caused them to glow¡± Jay reasoned, beginning to hunt whatever it was.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Hold thedder steady¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m holding it¡± Tamara looked up at her dad awkwardly pulling the snakeraven sign off it¡¯s hooks, she firmly gripped thedder.

    Hearing a carriageing, she saw Bertraming.

    ¡°He¡¯s back dad, the fat guy.¡±

    ¡°Good. His patronage will keep us going for months. Here, grab the sign.¡±

    Grabbing the sign off her dad, Tamara took it inside just as Bertram pulled up.

    ¡°Hello, you¡¯re not closing are you?¡±

    ¡°No no, just cleaning the sign.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful. Same deal asst night please.¡± Bertram smiled, thinking of the juicy steaks he indulged on in the previous few nights.

    Devin nodded, ¡°See you inside. Same price.¡± as he picked up thedder, going through a gate on the side of the inn, taking thedder with him. ¡°I¡¯m gunna need some more food¡± he thought as he brushed his moustache with his fingers.

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll need to make sure to tell Tamara that the official excuse for taking the sign down is for cleaning. We don¡¯t need to risk offending the soldiers¡±.

    Devin was closing the inn while the soldier troops visited for collection in the next few days, knowing that they would likely cause trouble with Tamara. It was well-known what soldiers did to people they considered peasants, and no one with enough authority to punish soldiers would care about some innkeeper¡¯s daughter in a distant, worthless vige.

    ¡°They can stay in their tents, they¡¯re soldiers after all.¡± Devin reasoned as he went inside, waiting for Bertram at the counter.

    ¡ª

    ¡°So, you think it was the boy?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The bandit¡¯s corpse was killed in a simr fashion to the forest beasts.¡± Sullivan replied, taking a sip from a silver goblet.

    ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯ll have him show me one of his skeletons the next time I train him.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vdore. I¡¯ll be watching this time, I¡¯m curious. We¡¯ve never battled a necromancer in all our travels¡±

    ¡°Count it as a blessing that we have never crossed one. That boy¡¯s levelling up fast, and without any help, even Anya can¡¯t keep up¡± Vdore sighed ¡°Seems like the mystery of the forest ising to an end. The men will be happy with reduced patrols.¡± he looked out the window, taking a sip from his own goblet.

    ¡°Mm.¡± Sullivan agreed, taking another sip while gazing at the glowing torches working their way through the vige ¡°I don¡¯t want the military soldiers to find out about the incidents, tell the men to keep quiet. Make sure they know these are my orders, and I¡¯ll be watching.¡±

    Sullivans voice still sounded as smooth as silk, yet with the power of an army behind it.

    ¡°I will.¡± Vdore replied this time directly into Sullivan¡¯s mind ¡°Any news of the ingredients I needed?¡±

    ¡°The association hasn¡¯t replied. We can only wait.¡± Sullivan shook his head.

    ¡°Mm, I see. Thanks.¡± Vdore had a pessimistic expression as he finished the rest of the wine in his goblet, setting it down on therge wooden desk in Sullivan¡¯s office ¡°Hopefully they reply soon.¡± he said as he left the room.

 Chapter 28 Stones or Experiments

    Walking into hisboratory, Vdore took off his coat before it floated itself over the to coat rack and hung itself. A luminous orb lit up the room as he sat down as his desk, waving his hand over a ck cube.

    ¡°Greetings, master¡±

    ¡°Hello.¡± Vdore leaned on his desk over the ck cube with a warm smile ¡°Can you do it yet?¡±

    ¡°No, master.¡± The ck cube responded as tiny ck crystal eyes peeked from the top of it, gazing up at Vdore.

    ¡°Oh ok, keep trying. Soon we can try some different materials, then maybe you¡¯ll be able to sense mana.¡± Vdore looked at the ck cube lovingly, his current project.

    ¡°Thank you, master.¡±

    Vdore only stared back at it, while it seemed to await orders for a moment before it¡¯s ck crystal eyes lowered back into it¡¯s cube body, forming a perfect seam.

    Vdore leant back in his chair ¡°Once it can sense mana, perhaps I can have it make copies of itself or build more of it¡¯s own body, growing into a creation even more spectacr it¡¯s own creator.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    His eyes glowed blue with anticipation, slightly failing to hold back his mana ¡°It already has its own mind, though still infantile at this stage. It won¡¯t be long before I teach it some basic philosophy and maybe even some manacraft theory¡± he smiled knowingly at his little ck cube ¡°Someday, someday soon, It¡¯s advancement will be endless, It will conquer dungeons with ease, and make my power unquestionable.¡±

    With that, he took out diagrams along with some ancient parchments as he began to make notes, tweaking his cube design and writing new diagrams.

    ¡ª

    ¡°I have to keep going, I have to get stronger so no one can control me, or even kill me ¨C then when I¡¯m free, I will continue to get stronger still ¨C for myself, for my own sake. And why would I ever stop? I won¡¯t let someone catch me ¨C only to be their tool again.¡± Jay encouraged himself, reinforcing his purpose ¡°I will be a power among the powers.¡±

    Since the moment he got this ss, he knew he was in danger. Already, he was feeling like he was being manipted by the guild master ¨C both of them knowing that he would be killed if the wrong person discovered his ss.

    Upon telling himself this, resolute in his own way, Jay felt like something was calling to him from his inventory ¨C it was his book. Taking it out, he gazed at the cover.

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s been a while old friend¡± he tenderly held the book as he analysed it.<sub></sub>

    [One day, One Lifetime]

    ¡°Oh? You changed your name again.¡± Jay talked to his little book as he looked at the golden ring on the front of the book. It was slightly more shattered now ¨C while a small dot of gold appeared in the centre of the ring.

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± thought Jay, finding a rock to sit on.

    Since Jay was tired, he decided to read the new page of the mysterious ck book, thinking to himself ¡°I wonder if this is changing my thoughts somehow¡­ Well, so far it has made sense, so it can¡¯t be that bad.¡± he shrugged, turning to the new page ¨C this time, the writing was in gothic lettering.

    **Author here ¨C new page of Jay¡¯s book is the next chapter. Enjoy, Aero182.**

    Jay was less tired now and felt even more resolute. He stashed his book, standing up to continue grinding as he began to walk through the darkness once more, a bluemp-carrying skeleton at his side. Taking random turns through the cave system, he was looking for more monsters to increase his power, though he had lost track of the monster he was hunting at this point, the one that released a mana pulse attack; the cave walls no longer had any crystals in them so there wasn¡¯t a glowing path to follow.

    It felt like an hour before they came across another light up ahead. Moving cautiously, Jay prepared his buckler as he walked towards the light. The closer he got, the colder it was ¨C his breath beginning to create mist as he exhaled.<sub></sub>

    The light seemed to be responding to him as it too moved closer. Suddenly, he saw another skeleton in the dark, Jay was a little startled before he realized it was an old mirror, the light approaching was merely his own reflection.

    The mirror was huge, twice as tall as Jay and wider than two doors, towering over Jay as it seemed to threaten him merely by it¡¯s size. Strangely, it had no dust on it despite being in the filthy mine, perfectly reflecting Jay and his skeletons; the mirror seemed to be as clear as water. At this point, it was obvious to Jay that this was a magical mirror ¨C or perhaps something worse. It had a ck-grey frame made out of some kind of ancient wood, Jay drew near to look at the wood more closely before realizing it seemed to have warped faces of people screaming in horror as it¡¯s decoration.

    ¡°Nope. Fuck that.¡± he backed away as he noticed a silt-wolf approaching from behind him in the reflection. ¡°Shit!¡± he turned around as he ducked to the side. Normally he would¡¯ve stepped back if not for the mirror there.

    As he turned around, raising his buckler he realized there was no silt-wolf there.

    Curiously, he looked at the mirror as he backed away ¨C the reflection of himself however didn¡¯t back away, standing there, staring at him with a scornful expression.

    ¡°Nice try you cursed fuck. You¡¯re not getting my soul.¡± Jay wouldn¡¯t give the mirror a chance, he wouldn¡¯t even throw a stone at it, thinking that it would somehow use it to it¡¯s advantage. He walked back the way he came, and turned down a different path.

    It wasn¡¯t long before Jay came across another silt-wolf. Jay had his two minions, Blue and Red, go to fight it before he was attacked from the side.

    ¡°Shit!¡± A different silt wolf pounced on Jay, the first one was merely acting as bait to draw out his stronger minions. The wolf pushed him to the ground as themp-carrying skeleton stabbed at the wolves shoulder and ribs.

    The wolf was trying to snap down on his skull right as Jay shoved his buckler into it¡¯s maw, stabbing at its eyes while he struggled on his back. The buckler was beginning to crack from the tremendous pressure of the wolf jaw, quickly losing durability.

    Getting desperate, Jay shifted his ring while it was inside the wolf ¨C the wolf¡¯s mouth began to fill up with bones. Before long, it¡¯s neck bulged and it couldn¡¯t take the pressure of the bones as it started to gag ¨C some of the bones were sharp and cutting it¡¯s throat from the inside. It spat out Jay¡¯s buckler along with numerous bones. Jay stood up as it hacked and spewed ¨C while themp-skeleton continued to stab, targeting the wolves neck now.

    Before long, Blue and Red had finished killing their silt wolf and pounced on the one that attacked Jay, ripping through its hide and flesh with fervour. It wasn¡¯t long before it died, still being stabbed relentlessly by three overly-enthusiastic necro warriors.

    [200 Exp][200 Exp]

    With a few heavy breaths, Jay calmed his nerves after the fight.

    ¡°That was close. I probably would¡¯ve been knocked out and lost 20 HP if it bit my head.¡± Jay stared at the corpse for a moment. ¡°Seems like it¡¯s getting dangerous, the wolves seem to be working together more. Perhaps I should leave¡­¡± He looked at his skeletons ¡°Most dungeons aren¡¯t meant to be done solo anyway, maybe another skeleton would be useful.¡±

    Analysing his cracked buckler, the metal frame was warped. ¡°And I¡¯ll need another buckler, or maybe even a shield.¡±

    Having an idea, Jay decided to try to make a bone-shield ¨C but first, he upgraded hisst minion with the siltwolf bones. After the upgrade, this one had the same colour pattern as Red: cobalt-blue bones with red specks in them ¨C so Jay decided to find another name for it.

    ¡°Since you so nicely carried themp, I will put extra creative effort into your name for your service¡± Jay smiled with a toothy grin.

    ¡°Lamp!¡± he began tough into the dungeon, theughter echoing back as it seemed to make a chorus of maniacalughter. ¡°You¡¯re Lamp now. I love Lamp.¡±

    Lamp didn¡¯t respond in any way.

    Pleased with himself, Jay sat down next to the second silt wolf body.

    Jay had his necrotic ring tenderly extract the bones from the wolf corpse as it left three more tes and another spine on the ground behind. Adding them to his inventory, Jay gained six ferritic tes in total from the battle.

    ¡°Maybe I should save these metal tes for when Ie across an armourer, or perhaps mana scribe¡­ hmm, actually I probably won¡¯t be able to afford a mana scribe for quite some time.¡±

    All mana scribe¡¯s were protected by the ruling ss; they were not just a sign of wealth and nobility to their nobles they worked for, but also created powerful items by inscribing manacraft pathways into them ¨C you would merely have to channel mana into such an item and it would reproduce a spell. Often, a noble family would not be considered for marriage arrangements if they didn¡¯t have at least one mana scribe working under them.

    Jay sat cross-legged against the cave wall as he began to craft his shield. ¡°I¡¯ll use the white bones first in case I mess up. Once I discover the ability, I¡¯ll be able to perfect it.¡±

 Chapter 29 [Auxiliary Chapter] Old Book: One Day, One Lifetime

    ***This is a free auxiliary chapter. This is the book Jay was reading. You can skip it and still understand the story, I just thought It would be fun to add. Thanks, Aero182***

    ~Words of the philosopher king, to his dearest son~

    Sedulus, Mern, Radette and I send our greetings, grace and love ¨C along with your queen.

    My child, soften your heart and hear my words, knowing I only want to build you up. You are my reflection, and I would not hurt my own body.

    ¡ª<sub>.</sub>

    What is your purpose, young prince?

    One man strives for wealth, another for power.

    They both seed and are content for a while, only to empty again after some time ¨C Is his true goal then to be content or even more foolishly ¨C to be happy?

    You have the world, yet it isn¡¯t enough, is it?<sub></sub>

    You¡¯ve nted gardens for yourself and built houses, mansions, castles, kingdoms.

    You created families, amassed gold, treasures of kings among all thends.

    You¡¯ve gathered entertainers, singers, and great harems.

    Yet after all of this, you gained nothing, it was all meaningless.<sub></sub>

    Why not then skip the middle step of gaining wealth or power and be content?

    One of the many fools realises this and strives for pleasure ¨C filling himself up in the flesh, only to be drained by the next day, more empty than before.

    Godughs, the heavens scoff, and the depths mock at these pitiful beings.

    No matter how long a man lives or how much he acquires, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity, it would be better for such a man to not have been born; both have the same oue ¨C meaninglessness.

    Yet you, prince, shall find more satisfaction in one single day than those who live forever.

    A little poison taints a whole keg, as a little foolishness tarnishes your wisdom and honour.

    Drunken adulterous foolishness will not cause you any contentment but instead only more pain, and more foolishness, my child ¨C and one day you will be judged for these actions.

    Therefore, knowing you will be judged by the grand council, as well as God, for your actions in this meaningless world, Imend you to live and enjoy your days ¨C but do so with honour, integrity, righteousness and wisdom; then you will wake up with dness all your days, and endure judgement when the timees, being found to be above reproach ¨C The mockers shall be silenced, the whisperers quieted, and the nay-sayers embarrassed for their own words.

    Then a fool ¨C even after drinking all the wine in the world will not be able to reach your level of fulness.

    Looking forward to your return. Peace, grace and love to you, my young King.

    ¨C Philosopher King Helotian, Empire of the Broken, Counsellor of the wise.

 Chapter 30 Growth

    Bones floated in front of Jay as he channeled his mana into them, giving them a light-green tint as it mixed with the bone particles. Slowly, the bones began to soften and meld together before ttening out. It was a round disc of bone at this point, looking nothing like a shield.

    Jay tried to mould it into a shield shape, but he couldn¡¯t hold the shape. Losing control over the bone disc, it fell to the ground, splintering into pieces.

    ¡°Damn¡­¡± Jay thought as he picked up the bone scrap ¡°My scrimshaw ability is still level 1, even after all the dagger crafting. Surely I¡¯m close to levelling it up though¡­¡± Jay thought as he pulled more white bones from his ring ¡°Guess I¡¯ll just have to change that.¡±

    After a while, Jay was getting faster and more efficient ¨C finding he could shatter daggers with his mana before recrafting them, though he did lose some material in the process.

    Two hours and 23 white bone daggerster, Jay finally received a notification.

    [Scrimshaw Level 2]

    ¡°Finally.. What was I doing again?¡± He looked around at the bone residue and splinters on the ground, wondering for a moment.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Oh yeah, making a shield¡± he chuckled, grabbing more bone for his shield.

    This time, as he crafted the t circle he had a feeling that he needed to add more bones, so while holding the forming bone-pancake, he shifted his ring. To Jay¡¯s surprise, the circr bone formation pulled bones in from the ring itself, as if they were maized. Seeing it slow down, Jay added more mana and restored it¡¯s formation speed.

    The shield drew an additional six bones into itself along with a soap rat skull; one of the bones was one of the ckened marsh bones. After Jay forced the mana-filled semi-solid bones into a shield-like shape, the process began automating itself.

    Before Jay¡¯s eyes a shield formed. The rat skull increased in size while it¡¯s snout shortened. It found its ce on the front of the shield as two glowing green eyes appeared in it.

    [Item Complete]

    ¡°Nice.¡± Jay thought, grabbing the shield after the process finished, looking at the menacing rat skull on the front as it stared back at him.<sub></sub>

    The shield was the same shape as a knight¡¯s shield, yet lighter. The edges were thicker and ck, with ws at the three points, facing towards the enemy-side.

    Artery-like structures seemed to stem out from the rat skull at the centre, It seemed to Jay like there was a green-ish liquid coursing through them.

    Pleased with the design, Jay analyzed the shield.

    [Dealthwalker¡¯s Sentry] (Unique Shield)

    [Aware ¨C Alerts the owner when it detects a threat]

    [Shade Vision ¨C Can still see clearly in the absence of light]<sub></sub>

    [Mana burn ¨C Physical contact causes manaloss to enemies]

    [Block ¨C Negate 100% damage from an attack. 15% chance.]

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires essence to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 120 hours]

    [Remnants] When life reaches zero, the shield breaks into three pieces. Can be restored using necrotic mana. Each piece can track the other pieces.

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Jay shuddered with excitement, eyes bulging as he had to take a breath. ¡°No wonder it¡¯s called a sentry, it literally detects enemies in the dark, it¡¯s so good!¡± he grinned, looking at the rat skull on the shield. ¡°The creepy rat skull alone would cause people to think twice before even striking it.¡±

    Standing up, Jay had a snack and some water before getting the party into formation and moving deeper into the caves, excited to try his new shield. He decided he would give his buckler to themp-carrying skeleton once they were out of the cave.

    ¡°Hmm, perhaps I should make you a shield instead¡­Having one of you to guard me with a shield would be good, but I think I¡¯ll keep the other two for damage-dealing.¡± Jay had a realisation ¡°I wonder if I can equip you all with armour too¡­¡± rubbing his chin, he slowly started to smile cunningly, imagining a skeleton d in thick armour.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll wait till the skeleton¡¯s stop growing before giving them armour.¡± he nced at Lamp. ¡°In one level-up, the skeletons went from being up to his hip to being shoulder-high, so they could probably get muchrger.¡± he reasoned.

    A few hours passed as the party of four killed it¡¯s way through the dungeon. Three single silt wolves were dispatched along with two pairs of silt wolves ¨C Jay needing to help with the pairs of wolves, using four unstable teeth attacks and sting holes in their hides, stalling one before the minions could kill them both.

    ¡°This works well enough¡± thought Jay, considering his tactics while continuing through the dungeon ¨C before his shield alerted him, squeezing his wrist a little as it saw something in the dark; another silt wolf ambush.

    Noticing a faint light glowing in the dark, Jay understood that he finally found another one of those silt wolf variants ¨C the one which released the pulse attack and fled.

    ¡°Finally, another one¡­ this time you won¡¯t escape.¡± Jay red at the wolf, he knew it was a different one because it didn¡¯t have a blue bone sword sticking out of it.

    First, hemanded Red and Blue to fight the variant while he backed up, bracing for the mana pulse attack.

    He quickly channelled his mana around his head, imagining a thick membrane which slowly formed. The wolf variant continued to charge it¡¯s first attack even while the minions were now stabbing it¡¯s throat and torso, meanwhile the other silt wolf was winning it¡¯s battle with Lamp, however an unstable tooth sted a chunk of it¡¯s ribcage out, causing the fight to be a stalemate ¨C Jay went back to forming his makeshift mana wall, before being temporarily distracted from the fight.

    [Ability Discovered ¨C Mental Coating]

    Not having time to analyse the skill, Jay continued to assist Lamp while he kept track of Red and Blue fighting the variant, which was starting to glow more brightly at this point.

    ¡°It¡¯s about to do it¡­¡± Jay thought to himself, noticing the flesh-like ps open up. He took a knee, stabilizing himself so he wouldn¡¯t fall over.

    As Jay thought, the glowing light contracted and emitted a translucent blue pulse, it waved through the minions without affecting them. This time, as it hit Jay, he felt like he was poked in the forehead rauther than punched in the brain.

    Jay smiled condescendingly ¡°So weak.¡±

    Raising his hand with a floating tooth in it ¨C the tooth seeming to shudder as if excited or full of energy ¨C Jay only smirked like a noble as his eyes gleamed like a predator.

    ¡°My turn.¡±

 Chapter 31 Semi-flesh

    The spell bolted towards the creature, leaving his palm with the speed of an arrow. The unstable toothnded one of the three fleshy ps, the force of the explosion ripping it off.

    This proved to be ineffective at stopping it as it started to charge again, meanwhile Jay and Lamp still had not dispatched the siltwolf.

    ¡°Dammit, I won¡¯t let you escape again.¡± Jay didn¡¯t lose his cool as he flung another unstable tooth at the siltwolf to help Lamp out before he ran over to Red and Blue, intending to stab whatever this variant was.

    Charging at it, the first thing he did was smash his shield against its body ¨C the light on the creature flickered and seemingly slowed it¡¯s charge speed based on the luminosity. Jay smiled widely as he realised his shield was causing mana burn.

    ¡°Ha, you¡¯re fucked now.¡± He smashed it wildly with his shield, burning away more of it¡¯s mana.

    The mana-light stopped growing brighter at this point. One of the fleshy ps was missing so Jay stabbed his ossein sword straight in, helping to disrupt the mana gathering process through the raw pain of his sword.

    Now that his sword had pierced it, the mana-organ of the creature stopped gathering andpletely dissipated.

    The creature, knowing it couldn¡¯t cause a physical-pulse, attempted to flee. However, Red and Blue had already done far too much damage to it, one of its front legs was so heavily damaged that it seemed to be dangling from a piece of its hide.

    With a whimper, it released another pulse as it¡¯s final act ¨C but this one was not mana based.

    [300 Exp]<sub>.</sub>

    Jay leant down to look at the creature, ¡°What the¡­¡± the creature died before Jay could analyse it, and Lamp was still carrying the light so he couldn¡¯t see it clearly yet. ¡°Did it sacrifice its own life to do that weak pulse? And the pulse didn¡¯t even do anything, it wasn¡¯t physical or magic based¡­?¡±

    As Jay was thinking these things, he had to get back into a fighting stance as the siltwolf dashed over to fight, for some reason it was ignoring Lamp.

    ¡°Are you stupid¡­¡± Jay raised a brow, confused by the silfwolf charging at him, Red and Blue. Even though it was half-health, it¡¯s body riddled with stabs and chunks of hide missing from the unstable tooth explosions, it charged into a three versus one fight.

    Suddenly, Jay¡¯s shield detected more enemies, squeezing his arm as a warning. Two more silt wolves rushed out of the shadows. Jay raised his shield in time as a silt wolf shed at it with it¡¯s ws.

    Lamp ran over to assist. The fight turned into a four verse three ¨C Jay and Lamp both fighting the near-dead siltwolf ¨C while this time Blue and Red held off the other two.

    Thanfkully, the cobalt-blue bone skeletons were incredibly durable. Jaw and w attacksnding on their bones would only leave slight grazes and indentations ¨C instead of being broken or shatteredpletely.

    Jay dodged a wolf bite as he smashed back with his shield and shed with his ossein sword. Lamp stabbed it just behind the jaw but it¡¯s sword got stuck ¨C Jay quickly smashed the wolf with his shield, forcing it back a few steps as he handed his sword to Lamp then summoned another from his inventory.

    ¡°Emergency relief¡± He smiled ¨C the wolf seemed to look confused as its opponent¡¯s face changed into a menacing shape.

    A few more cuts, shes and stabster the weakened wolf slowed down and died, Jaynding the final thrust of his sword ¨C stamping his foot on it¡¯s head as he nted the sword behind its skull, severing it¡¯s spine.<sub></sub>

    [200 Exp]

    Jay considered sending Lamp to help with the other fight and rxing, but he decided it was kinda invigorating and fun to fight, so he continued to y the other two wolves with the help of his minions. Lamp and Red fought one while Jay and blue fought the other.

    The first wolf died to Lamp and Red ¨C mainly because Lamp didn¡¯t need to worry about being damaged.

    [200 Exp]

    [Short Sword Proficiency Level 1 ¨C Acquired]

    Not reading the notification, Jay helped with thest enemy. The final wolf didn¡¯tst long as six swords, all crafted from the wolf¡¯s own bones, shed it and stabbed it to death ¨C three skeletons and Jay easily dispatched a single wolf at this point.

    [200 Exp]

    ¡°Finally, now I can check my notifications.¡±

    <[Short Sword Proficiency Level 1]><sub></sub>

    [+2% damage when using short swords]

    [+2% speed when using short swords]

    [Parry ¨C 5% chance] (Passive)

    ¡°Parrying? Awesome. I thought I could already do it though. Huh¡­¡± Jay didn¡¯t understand why the sword proficiency gave him a skill he already had.

    In this world, people can learn a technique without a weapon or skill, and still fight effectively inbat ¨C the only difference is, if a weapon or skill says it will do something, there¡¯s a 100% chance it will aplish it. Eg. A shield will say it has a 15% chance to block ¨C this means, in the 15% of the time it does block, it will block perfectly no matter the skill of the user.

    This is why Jay and his minions can disable body parts by stabbing at them with swords even though the sword doesn¡¯t specifically say that it does, it can still happen due to physical damage ¨C meanwhile a sword may have the ability to disable, andnding such a hit means guaranteed sess.

    Jay carried on, checking his other notification that he ignored before.

    <[Mental Coating ¨C Level 1]>

    [Mana shield ¨C defence from mental/magic attacks]

    [Area covered ¨C 8 Liters]

    [5 Mana per second]

    ¡°8 Liters huh? Well, I guess it coats it, so that¡¯s about the size of a small bucket of water, enough to cover my sensitive brain. Seems like a high mana cost, but I am low level so I¡¯ll have more manater on ¨C but knowing the pain of not having it, it¡¯s totally worth it. Hopefully I can cover my whole body by the time I fight mental-based monsters that are strong enough to harm it.¡±

    Looking at the corpses, Jay retrieved the sword that Lamp lost, stashed the bones of the three siltwolves in his ring along with nine ferritic tes and three more spines, before making his way over to the variant.

    It¡¯s body was strange. It had no ck fur like the other silt wolves, neither did it have any eyes, nose, ears ¨C it seemed to all be covered by a fleshy, hairless hide ¨C the hide itself was a deep, dark blue. It¡¯s mouth was made up of the three fleshy ps ¨C one of them missing since Jay had sted it off. It had no ws, and waspletely defenceless if not for it¡¯s mana abilities.

    Jay extracted the bones from it¡¯s flesh with his ring, and they tenderly left it¡¯s body. No ferritic tes or spine were left behind however, and Jay noticed the creature didn¡¯t have any tes lining it¡¯s back, so his previous conclusion about the back-spikes being the ferritic tes was correct.

    The extracted bones were the same colour as Red¡¯s, predominantly cobalt-blue with blotches of red, though Jay noticed a few purple spots after looking more closely, almost blending into the blue.

    As Jay was about to leave, he noticed something strange ¨C a lump in the remaining dirt-crystal flesh. Pulling out his sword, he carved a hole to examine what it was, holding his breath in the event of it simply being gas or pus ¨C though he was pleasantly surprised.

    Pulling open the flesh, he uncovered a dark purple stone. It seemed like it had been polished for years, reflecting Jay perfectly under the light from themp.

    ¡°Huh, a nice little reward for catching one of you slippery bastards.¡± smiled Jay as he went to analyse it.

    [?]

    ¡°What?¡± He analysed it again.

    [?]

    And again a few more times, with the same result.

    ¡°Weird,¡± Jay stashed it in his inventory. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll sell itter¡± he thought ¡°Come to think of it, I still have to sell those green crystals¡­ I could probably sell the charged ones to that brat for a decent price too. I better check what the prices are at the guild first before trying though¡­e to think of it, that brat could check too and realise I ripped him off¡­ Maybe I¡¯ll just sell them,¡± he shrugged.

    ¡°The charged ones only do 5 damage anyway, and my unstable teeth attacks already do that, with a chance to do 4 extra damage from the [Propagative Stress Rupturing].¡± he checked his inventory, finding he only had twelve teeth left.

    ¡°Seems like I¡¯ll need to send the boys into the marsh.¡± he thought ¡°I wonder how much a tent costs.¡±

    Jay was making ns to camp near the stink-rat marsh dungeon entrance so he didn¡¯t have to go back into that stinking, sweaty cesspool which was almost a celebration of filth.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll find a tent tomorrow while I¡¯m ditching Mark¡± he emotionlessly thought.

    Sitting down for a moment, Jay considered if he should head back home. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ve been here for at least 5 hours, not including that time I fell asleep¡­ so maybe even 10 hours? It¡¯s probably night time outside; though I don¡¯t feel tired yet, I¡¯m more hungry than anything, so It¡¯s probably getting close to dinner time.¡±

    Even though he was close to levelling up, Jay decided to exit the dungeon ¨C the dungeon responding to his thought.

 Chapter 32 Unfortunate

    Themp burned out and went dark; Jay was in pitch darkness ¨C then suddenly, the darkness disappeared and Jay found himself outside the dungeon with his three skeletons while themp had disappeared.

    Looking around, Jay realised he was out of the dungeon again.

    ¡°Huh, a magicmp.¡± Jay looked at his skeleton he named Lamp ¡°I wonder if you can learn some magic someday..¡± he smiled slyly as he thought about his enemies having to fight a magic skeleton.

    ¡°Huh, pretty good dungeon. It was a little more environmentally hazardous than stink-rat marsh, with a slightly higher variety of monsters.. Oh, and that one trap¡­¡± A shiver went up Jay¡¯s spine as he recalled that demonic-looking mirror.

    ¡°Though I didn¡¯t reach the dungeon boss, I can alwayse backter. Hopefully it drops a unique item too.¡± Jay thought, looking at his coat.

    ¡°I wonder why no one else has this coat¡­ maybe they just sell it for something better? Hmm, maybe I got it due to my ss though, or perhaps it¡¯s a special reward for being the first monster ss to clear the dungeon¡­¡± Jay scratched his chin ¡°Could it be the hidden quest?¡­ well, I guess I¡¯ll see if the next dungeon boss drops anything.¡±

    It was dark at this point. Looking around at his skeletons, he wondered what to do with them before going back to town.

    Jay knew he couldn¡¯t bring the skeletons back to town so he had to make a decision.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Hmm, sending them back into the dungeon would be too risky, it¡¯s a little too high level at the moment, and I don¡¯t want to lose their blue bones.¡±

    Jay didn¡¯t want to desummon them either because he knew that each time he resummoned them, he would lose some residual bone mass, like with his bone daggers.

    Knowing he needed more teeth, he decided to send them back to the stink-rat marsh.

    ¡°Come.¡± the skeletons line up before him, as he handed his old buckler to Lamp.

    ¡°You¡¯re to enter the stink-rat marsh dungeon. Bring me back rat teeth. Avoid all humans. Do not kill anything outside of the dungeon.¡± Jay voiced his orders.

    While the skeletons were semi-autonomous, he could still control them with his thoughts ¨C though he found that voicing his orders seemed to give more power to his orders, making them clearer and to solidify his motives; it wasn¡¯t that the skeletons would disobey, but more that they would gain a better understanding of what to do.

    Since it was dark outside and the forest was dangerous at night, Jay made sure his minions followed him until he could see the torches and glowing orbs of the vige. As he made his way through the forest, it was eerily quiet.<sub></sub>

    The moonlight cast a faint light over his surroundings, though it made Jay feel like the light was only on him and he was a beacon to target, however he made his way back to the vige safely, while his skeletons slipped off into the darkness of the forest.

    A guard spotted Jay as he approached the vige but ignored him after Jay got closer, the guard realising he was human and not some monster tearing up the forest ¨C the guards still hadn¡¯t received the order to return to normal patrols yet, so they were still on high alert, though they hadn¡¯t locked down the vige as severely as Jay had thought.

    ¡°Huh, guess I didn¡¯t need to sneak out¡± thought Jay, shaking his head at himself as he walked into the maze of houses which made up the vige.

    After arriving home, he ate the remainder of his rations before going to bed.

    ¡ª

    ¡°Only one. I want to be on point tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Sure, Kel. Want some water then?¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Yes please¡± Kel smiled at Mark.

    ¡°Here ya go. Looking forward to tomorrow huh?¡± Mark said as he sat down at the table ¡°Jay seems like a decent guy, I hope he looks out for us.¡± Half-smiling as he looked out the window of the snakeraven inn, Mark had a sip of his beer.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be fine, even without him.¡± Kel replied, as she thought to herself ¡°Mark sure doesn¡¯t make eye contact very much¡­¡± she looked out the window to see what Mark was looking at.

    ¡°At first, it seemed like he didn¡¯t really care, but now that I think about it, maybe he¡¯s just a little bit damaged, perhaps from his past. I wonder what happened to him¡­ nothing seems to be able to make him angry or annoyed¡­¡± Kel sipped her water, as she could only imagine what unfortunate event made Mark the way he was; even at his worst his attitude just made him seem disinterested and apathetic, while at his best, he smiled and joked to no end.

    ¡°I guess there¡¯s some damage that can¡¯t be healed.¡± Kel thought to herself as she drank down her water ¡°I wonder how many people have just passed him off as being rude or something¡­ poor guy¡±.

    Kel was a deep thinker, and the deep thinking only added to her introverted ways, though Mark didn¡¯t mind as he was just happy to have somepany, and after doing a dungeon with her he felt like he had a friend he could possibly start to trust.

    ¡°Maybe soon we can find someone else to add to the party too.¡± Mark thought, thinking of Jay ¡°Hmm, maybe not Jay. It seems like life is taking us in different directions.¡±

    Mark finished his beer and ordered another, having Tamara serving him from the bar again before he returned to his table. Mark had been drinking before Tamara arrived there, so she wasn¡¯t sure how much he had.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be on the road soon, the day after tomorrow. Have you got everything sorted? Make sure you have a new pair of shoes, it¡¯ll probably be a long walk.¡± Mark said, though looking at his glistening beer.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m ready.¡± she smiled back.

    ¡°Good. Hopefully we can get some extra gold after the dungeon tomorrow and buy some new items before we go.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully. I just want to level up and discover more abilities. Apparently everyone learns something at level five and level ten, and probably moreter but that¡¯s all I¡¯ve heard for now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, awesome. Well let¡¯s aim to hit level five before the escortes in two days.¡± Mark nodded as he took a drink.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± Kel agreed, before looking at Mark quizzically ¡°So you¡¯re okay with telling Jay your ss?¡±

    ¡°Eh, he¡¯ll figure it out soon enough. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m trying to keep it a secret anyway. After all, I did tell him I¡¯m in both the melee and manacraft sses.¡± Mark chuckled, ¡°Maybe he just wasn¡¯t paying attention.¡±

    Kelughed and shook her head ¡°Maybe.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s getting a littlete. C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll walk you home.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll be okay for thest bit though¡± Kel pulled out her wand with a proud smile.

    Mark stood up with a little wobble from the alcohol ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡ª

    Night time, in the middle of a dark evergreen forest a man in light leather armour stands on an old dirt path.

    Breathing heavily, Alevo was covered in sweat and panting, with his hands on his knees he was trying to catch his breath.

    ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve got to keep running, got to get help¡­ before it¡¯s toote¡­¡± Alevo spits on the ground and starts jogging again towards Lo ¡°I¡¯ll have to run all night¡­ or there won¡¯t be anything left.¡±

    He gritted his teeth and pushed on through the dark forest in the night.

 Chapter 33 Partake

    A few heavy knocks sounded from outside the door of Michaels bedroom. He lived in the adventurers association for free, and slept in one of the nicer rooms since he was the guard captain.

    ¡°Better be important.¡± he thought to himself as he got up and opened the door enough to have his head poke out since he slept naked.

    A soldier with a stern expression stood in front of him.

    ¡°Sir. There¡¯s a developing situation. Would you like the report now?¡±

    ¡°Give me a minute.¡± Michael closes the door and turns around, putting a simple shirt and pants on before leaving his room and joining the soldier in the hallway.

    ¡°Report.¡±

    ¡°A man named Alevo came to the garrison early this morning, before the sun came up. He imed to be from a small hamlet, south east of here. He said the hamlet was being harassed by tiny demons¡±

    Michael had a quizzical expression ¡°..demons?¡±

    ¡°His words, sir.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll have to question him. Where¡¯d you put him?¡±

    ¡°Bottom floor sir, in a bed since he passed out.¡±

    Michael only yawned in response ¡°Return to duties.¡± He made a hand gesture to shoo away the soldier as he returned to his room to freshen up, changing into his normal clothes and armour.<sub>.</sub>

    He lightly polished his bux beetle pauldrons and his boots before marching out of his room

    Walking down the hallway, he entered a slightlyrger room with a few tables and chairs, sitting down to eat his usual breakfast ¨C herbs, mushrooms and sausages. These were all cooked by one of the soldiers every morning as part of their duties.

    The soldier-chef was always amazed by how much Michael ate in the morning ¨C ten sausages and seven hand-sized mushrooms; though the amazing part was that Michael had the chiselled body of an athletic champion.

    Instead of growing weary of his duty ¨C which was having to cook breakfast every day, he came to enjoy seeing this strange thing happening every morning.

    After finishing his meal, Michael nodded at the chef as a thankyou and made his way downstairs.

    Knocking on the first door of the hallway, Michael opened it slowly ¨C yet this room was empty. The next room he knocked on, Margaret the receptionist opened the door as she whispered to Michael with a smile.

    ¡°Morning Mikey¡± she smiled as she gestured to the man she was looking after behind her ¡°He¡¯s exhausted. I think he¡¯s been running all night, his feet are all blistered.¡±

    ¡°Mm¡± Michael nodded at Margaret and looked at the man in the bed. Alevo was breathing lightly while Michael made a decision and walked in.

    ¡°I have some questions.¡±

    Margaret wrinkled her brow in concern, but gestured Michael to the side of the bed.

    Michael tapped Alevo on the hand, yet there was no response. He tried pinching him next, then shaking his shoulder ¨C still no response.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Fine.¡± Michael slowly channelled some mana into the man¡¯s body and mind.

    *HUU*

    Alevo breathed in heavily as he was now wide awake, invigorated by Michaels energetic mana.

    ¡°Hello. I¡¯m the guard captain of Lo. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Alevo.¡± Michael sensed that he wasn¡¯t lying.

    ¡°Where are you from?¡±

    ¡°South-east of here.¡± Alevo looked like he suddenly remembered something as his hands formed fists ¡°Please help us. We¡¯ve been attacked by demons.¡±

    ¡°What did these demons look like?¡±

    ¡°Ah, ck skin. Short. And it¡¯s white eyes, they seemed to look into your soul and suck it right out!¡±

    Michael nodded in understanding ¡°Where is your home?¡±

    ¡°South-east of here. Usually it takes two day¡¯s journey but I ran all night. Please help sir, I don¡¯t know how long they willst.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Who are they? The people in your vige?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a hamlet sir, there¡¯s only seven houses with five families. The demons have been doing hit and run attacks on us with their spears, and asionally throwing sharpened rocks at us. They¡¯ve already taken two children¡± Tears were in the eyes of Alevo ¡°¡­One of their remains was found already.¡±

    With that, Michael stopped channelling his mana into Alevo, who suddenly passed out again. Michael had a suspicion, and checked Alevo¡¯s legs. Tiny bite marks were all over it.

    Margaret looked confused, while Michael only nodded to himself, confirming his thoughts.

    Without saying a word, he left the room and made his way upstairs to Sullivan¡¯s office.

    On the way up the stairs, Michael spoke to one of the officers who had just woken up.

    ¡°The forest situation is resolved. From today onwards, return to standard routines. Oh, and try to keep the men away from the military tomorrow; the forest situation is not to be discussed ¨C It¡¯s to remain confidential. Sullivan¡¯s orders.¡±

    The officer saluted as Michael walked away before saying ¡°Oh, and Sullivan said he will be watching.¡±

    The officer clenched his jaw realizing the gravity of the order, still saluting as Michael left.

    Michael knocked on the door to Sullivan¡¯s office as the door opened itself. Sullivan sat behind his desk, sipping some coffee and he looked at a paper while he leaned back in his chair.

    ¡°Hello Michael.¡± he greeted Michael without even looking up ¡°It¡¯s quite early, how can I help you today?¡±

    ¡°Leech Imp¡¯s are preying on a small hamlet south-east of here. I would send a soldier or two but I want them all fresh for the arrival of the military tomorrow; besides, they¡¯ve been working overtime because of the forest situation. I want to give the men some rest today before tomorrow.¡±

    Sullivan raised an eyebrow as he looked up from his paper ¡°What do you suggest?¡±

    ¡°Sending some of your more advanced younger adventurers to resolve it.¡±

    Sullivan curled his lips ¡°I see. I have a few in mind. Write down the details, and I¡¯ll send them.¡±

    ¡°Thank you sir. Time is of the essence so I¡¯ll send a note up with Anya shortly¡± Sullivan nodded as Michael bowed his head before leaving.

    Sullivan put his paper down and sipped his coffee, pursing his lips as he thought to himself ¡°Yes.. I think Anya¡¯s ready.¡±

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°Morning¡± Anya yawned, entering Sullivan¡¯s office and sitting down with half-opened eyes, sipping a coffee and holding a half-eaten muffin. She put the muffin down and took a note out of her pocket, handing it to her dad.

    ¡°Goodmorning,¡± Sullivan smiled tenderly. It seemed like the only person he smiled at was his daughter.

    Sullivan grabbed the note as Anya said ¡°It¡¯s from Michael.¡± handing her dad the note, she grabbed her muffin back off the desk and continued to eat it.

    ¡°Mm¡± Sullivan read the note, understanding the situation Michael was talking about before looking up at Anya. He watched his daughter eat for a moment before he talked.

    ¡°There¡¯s a situation. A vige south-east of here is being attacked by a band of forest monsters. I estimate about fifty of the monsters. It¡¯s a two day¡¯s walk from here. I want you to head there and resolve it¡­¡± Sullivan looked away as he thought for a moment, before looking back at Anya ¡°Take Jay, and choose a few others. Tell the others I wanted you and Jay in a party together while they¡¯re to be in a separate party. This way they won¡¯t discover your ss or be freeloading exp.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Anya had furrowed brows, still tired from waking up while her father dumped a quest on her out of nowhere.

    ¡°Here.¡± Sullivan handed her the note from Michael. ¡°You should aim to leave before lunch time.¡±

    Anya only sighed as she read the note ¡°What are the monsters?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to figure that out¡± Sullivan smiled mischievously.

    Anya sipped her coffee again. ¡°I get the feeling Jay likes to go solo.¡±

    ¡°Just convince him. Tell him there will be a reward, I¡¯ll think of something special in the meantime. Oh, and take Mark. He¡¯s quite gifted too; his ss isn¡¯t unique but he¡¯s a natural spellsword. Two of the guards could¡¯ve handled it so you should take about five adventurers since you¡¯re much lower level.¡±

    ¡°Mark¡­ right. I heard he was nning to join the military. He probably won¡¯t want to leave the vige since the military escort ising tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Sullivan put his index finger on his cheek and propped his chin on his other clenched fingers while he thought to himself for a moment.

    ¡°Tell him he can jointer, that we¡¯ll escort him to the nearest military recruitment outpost, and he¡¯ll get there even sooner than the military escort, which still has to travel to numerous viges in the countryside ¨C even if he spends a week doing this quest.¡±

    ¡°Sure. This seems urgent, so I guess I¡¯ll be off¡­ See you in a few days dad¡± she smiled as she got up, moving around the side of the desk to give Sullivan a hug.

    Sullivan smiled warmly, ¡°Watch your back.¡±

 Chapter 34 Recruit

    Jay woke up, stretching his body as multiple notifications greeted him.

    [+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp][+15 Exp]

    ¡°Heh, they¡¯re quite productive.¡± Jay smiled in satisfaction at the free experience, while he calcted he would get about thirty to forty-five rat teeth.

    Jay leaned on his side in bed, looking out the window at the mist-sheep in a nearby field for a few minutes while he was still waking up. He always enjoyed watching them phase to mist with the rest of the herd-cloud, while periodically turning back to sheep again when leaving the safety of their mist-form to eat some grass. Mist-sheep had to be farmed by mages who practiced water-based manacraft, otherwise no one could force them out of their mist form.

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t spend all day in bed.¡± Jay had nned to go to the adventurer association to buy a tent, and camp outside of stink-rat marsh ¨C but now he didn¡¯t see the point anymore since he could just stay at home.

    ¡°I think today I¡¯ll head back to the wolf¡¯s quarry dungeon. Maybe I¡¯ll reach the boss this time.¡± Jay thought as he mentally willed the skeletons to exit the stink-rat marsh and wait near the wolf quarry. ¡°Thanks to the tooth stockpile, It¡¯ll be way easier with all the unstable teeth spells I¡¯ll be shooting.¡±

    Jay had his breakfast like usual, adding a little bondtussle root for the vour and the mana regeneration buff.

    Leaving his house, he was walking to the forest before he realised he needed to make a trip to the adventurer guild to sell his monster drops; his inventory being 93% full.

    Jay began walking to the bottom of the hill, arriving at the path towards the adventurer association, then he noticed a familiar face walking down ¨C Anya.

    Sighing, he kept walking up the hill, knowing that she would probably try to rope him into a dungeon run.

    As they got closer to each other, Anya was the first to speak.

    ¡°Goodmorning Jay¡± she smiled.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay only looked back at her nkly ¡°Morning.¡± and kept walking.

    Anya stopped and started walking with him ¡°I need help with something, there-¡°

    ¡°No sorry, I¡¯m busy¡± Jay cut her off.

    ¡°Doing what?¡±

    ¡°Stuff.¡± He bluntly said.

    ¡°There¡¯s a reward from Sullivan himself¡± she sounded desperate.

    Jay stopped for a moment, turning to her. He didn¡¯t say anything but only raised an eyebrow, gesturing to her to continue whatever it was she was going to say ¨C a total power move.

    Anyas voice then sounded soft and worried ¡°There¡¯s a small settlement that¡¯s being attacked by forest monsters. Two days journey from here. They need our help Jay, an innocent child has already been killed¡­¡± she looked at Jay with her purple eyes, trying her best puppy dog expression.

    Jay paused for a moment, thinking to himself ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll do it. For the sake of the people I¡¯ll do it; but maybe I can squeeze something nice out of her.¡±

    ¡°Why should I help?¡± tilting his head to the side, Jay began to bargain.

    ¡°Uh.. Well, there¡¯s a reward. Sullivan didn¡¯t say what it would be, but that it will be worth it¡± Anya told a half-truth to Jay, hoping he would ept before adding ¡°Plus, there will be lots of experience. Apparently only one or two of the high level guards would be needed for this, but we can handle it.¡±<sub></sub>

    Jay scratched his chin, pretending to be thinking about the deal before epting.

    ¡°Fine, but the reward better be good.¡±

    Anya stopped smiling and her puppy dog eyes returned to normal, with an expressionless voice with a straight face.

    ¡°Great. I¡¯ve got other people to recruit. Be ready to leave in one hour.¡± she sounded professional as ever.

    ¡°Creepy¡± Jay thought to himself, realizing she was a better actor than he was, since he actually thought she was going to cry.

    ¡°Ok. I¡¯ll be waiting at the guild.¡±

    ¡°Actually, can you wait at the Snakeraven inn? There¡¯s no point for the others and me toe back up the hill.¡± Anya said.

    ¡°Others?¡±

    ¡°I have to recruit more people or we¡¯ll probably die..¡± she shrugged. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be in separate parties so they won¡¯t see your ss, and we can split up from them so they don¡¯t see your skeletons either.¡±

    ¡°Hmm ok. See youter.¡± Jay waved one hand as he turned up the hill.

    ¡°See you.¡±<sub></sub>

    Jay kept walking up the hill, thinking about what to do now that his ns have changed.

    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll need better armour because at some point my skeletons won¡¯t be around, and perhaps a little waist pouch for my teeth ¨C to make casting quicker. A few days supply of food and water. I won¡¯t need a shield or weapon since I have the blue ossein sword, and my trusty sentry.¡±

    Jay chuckled for a moment, thinking that his shield¡¯s glowing skull might scare Anya.

    ¡°¡­Hopefully¡± he grinned evilly ¡°That by itself will make the whole trip worth it.¡±

    Making his way up the hill, he entered the guild through the floating mana stone gate. Entering reception, Margaret wasn¡¯t there so Jay had to ring a bell. She appeared from a room somewhere behind reception carrying an empty food tray, seeing Jay she smiled warmly.

    ¡°Hello dear. How can I help you?¡±

    ¡°Hi. Uh, where do I sell my monster drops?¡±

    ¡°Oh, just go through that door and meet my friend Lilly¡± she pointed at a door off to the right of reception. The door had a round brass door knob with a window sill under a chest-high sliding panel that one could open up to pass things through.

    Without a second thought, Jay opened the door and entered.

    Entering the room, it had long wooden benches inside ¨C two in the middle of the room with their backs together, and six against the walls. Looking around, Jay noticed arge, round, dark-blue gemstone embedded into the wall. It seemed to have swirling stars inside a dark mist.

    Jay paused, observing it¡¯s beauty for a moment before noticing a door next to it ¨C simr to the door he just entered, with a hatch and a window sill. Wasting no time, he walked through it.

    On the other side of the second door, Jay was red at by a slender, tall woman with long ck hair sitting at a desk. She was doing paperwork and eating a jerky of some sort. Her office was sleek and cold, paved with polished ck-te floors, it had a firece on one side. On her desk sat a frog covered in fur ¨C a kind of novelty pet among the upper ss. It was more like a fluffy rabbit than a slimy toad. It ribbited at Jay, and she patted it to soothe it before ring at Jay again.

    ¡°You¡¯re meant to knock..¡± she said bluntly.

    Wearing a fancy sleeveless leather coat with gold-thread patterns, a red long sleeve shirt and denim pants. Her ck hair was slightly wavy and seemed to curl perfectly on each side of her chest. She sat there silently, staring at Jay as if he was being rude. It was clear at this point ¨C she was rich.

    ¡°Oh. Sorry. I was told toe through the door¡­¡± Jay gestured behind him ¡°I have some monster drops to sell..?¡± he raised a brow.

    She sighed, ¡°Silly margie..¡± as she put down the jerky. Jay only half smiled from his uneasiness.

    ¡°I¡¯m Lillian, this is where youe to buy items and sell drops. We don¡¯t have a teleportation device, so anything you buy can take days or weeks toe via our couriers. When you sell us a drop, we buy it at ten percent off the market buying price.¡± she pointed to arge round gemstone which seemed to be built-in to the wall ¨C the same one Jay saw from the other room; It was a sphere gemstone which could be touched from either room.

    ¡°Touch that and you¡¯ll be temporarily connected to it ¨C you¡¯ll then be able to browse current items for sale as well as how much your monster drops would be sold for. Now when you want to sell something, you give it to me and I¡¯ll pay you. When you want to buy something, I¡¯ll take your details and you give me the gold. Simple right?¡±

    Jay looked around for a moment, piecing together how the system worked in his mind.

    ¡°Yeah, I see. I¡¯ll just go have a look then.¡± Jay went to touch the crystal before hearing a shout behind him.

    ¡°Ah Pebbles, you ate my jerky!¡± Jay turned around to look at Lillian frowning at her furball pet. ¡°Greedy little floof!¡±

    Noticing Jay was still there, and smiling cheekily at her, she suddenly became moreposed.

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t browse it here, I¡¯m busy. Touch the crystal and you¡¯ll be connected to it for thirty minutes. Come back when you have something to sell¡­ or buy.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. Sorry¡­ Nice meeting you.. And Pebbles¡± Jay acted polite as he left the room and closed the door quietly ¨C though still having a smile.

    Back in the room with the benches, he realised why they were there now. Touching the gemstone in the wall, he sat down on a bench as he received a notification.

    [Trade tform essed]

    [29 Minutes remaining]

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay waiting a moment until it went down to twenty-eight minutes before touching the gemstone again.

    [29 Minutes remaining]

    ¡°I see.¡± he though, sitting down to browse the list.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he entered the shield section and found another buckler sub-section under it. Going into it, he found out the true price of the old buckler he bought.

    ¡°Man, Bertram is one greedy piece of shit.¡± Jay found the real market price of the items that Bertram was selling.

    The price Jay paid after his little discount was 15 gold. The market listing was 12 gold for a simr one. Initially, Bertram wanted 30 gold for it ¨C and then he would trade it in for a miniscule discount on the next overpriced item he sells.

    Jay only wondered why no one warned the new recruits about Bertram. The only conclusion he coulde to was that they didn¡¯t tell them so that the new adventurers would learn a lesson. While it may seem like a valuable lesson now, it would certainly be much cheaper to learn as young adventurers rauther thanter in their journey. Perhaps Bertram would even be a fond memory someday as they bartered with another crafty, cunning trader.

    ¡°Hmm. Well, I¡¯ll probably have even better bone weapons and maybe even armour at that point.¡± he grinned with pride ¡°Time to see how much these drops are worth.¡±

 Chapter 35 Tracks

    ¡°Hmm ok, so three fur scraps sell for 1 gold.¡± Jay checked his inventory ¡°So that¡¯s 10 gold since I have thirty scraps.¡±

    Jay brought out thirty scraps, cing them on the bench by his side.

    ¡°Next is the tiny green crystals from those bayrings¡­ hmm, let¡¯s see¡­ okay so 0.7 gold per crystal. Since I have seventy, that will give me¡­ about¡­ hmm, I¡¯m not sure.¡± Jay shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trust Lillian.¡± The system didn¡¯t have a calctor, and Jay wasn¡¯t as educated as the nobles.

    ¡°Now¡­ the ferritic tes. 1.3 gold per te. Not bad.¡± Jay wondered why they were slightly more expensive than what he expected ¨C based on the prices of the other drops.

    ¡°Hmm, they probably make armour and weapons out of these. Perhaps it¡¯s due to the war going on in the north¡­¡± he continued checking his inventory

    ¡°Hmm, now the silt-wolf spines¡­¡± Jay spent some time searching for spines, wolf bones ¨C yet nothing came up except for things such as ornograff beaks, or yuule and dragon bones.

    Jay exhaled in frustration while searching, but nothing ¨C ¡°What the¡­¡± he wondered ¡°Does no one want wolf-spines?¡± he asked himself sarcastically, chuckling to himself before assuming it might be due to his ss ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a necromancer thing to get these¡­ after all, they were left behind after I used a skill on them..¡± he nced at his ring before returning to the hatched door.

    Gathering his crystals and putting them back into his inventory, he made his way to the door where Lillian was ¨C knocking three times.

    Scratching the sill with his finger while he waited, the door didn¡¯t open ¨C instead, the hatch in the door slid across, Lillian greeting him with a slight smile and bored eyes.

    ¡°So? How¡¯d it go? Buying or selling?¡±

    ¡°Good thanks, selling some drops. I have 30 minor green crystals and 28 ferritic tes.¡±

    ¡°Just a moment.¡± Lillian walked to the side of the room, touching the gemstone imbedded in the wall as she checked their prices.

    ¡°How the hell has he got so many drops¡­ he¡¯s only been adventuring for a few days.¡± Lillian wondered as she calcted how much gold to pay him ¡°If he keeps this up, the whole economy could change¡± she joked to herself.

    Returning to the window sill, she had calcted the price.

    ¡°It¡¯s 85 gold, minus the 10% fee and it¡¯s 76.5 gold. Since it¡¯s 0.5 gold, we round it down to 76 gold. Are you happy with that?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Jay thought that rounding down wasme, but this was the only reasonable ce to sell drops. ¡°..yes. Where do I put my items?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, since you have so many,e inside.¡± Lillian closed the hatch and opened the door, and after Jay entered, closing it again and locking it with a bolt.

    What she did next made Jay hold his breath in awe.<sub>.</sub>

    Lillian summoned a light-sword into her hand, it destroyed all the shadows in the room ¨C or so Jay thought. It¡¯s de was as long as her body and about half as wide. She thrust it downwards into the ck te paving of the room ¨C a circle of golden light grew out from where it met the ck te ground; meanwhile the floor wasn¡¯t damaged at all.

    A series of otherworldly runes filled the circle ¨C then disappeared as the whole circle lit up. Jay had to look away due to the brightness. When the light had died down, he looked back ¨C a seemingly bottomless ck hole appeared within a glowing ring, while Lillian had dispersed her light sword.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a portal to another ne?¡± Jay wondered, as everything through the hole wasplete ckness.

    Lillian smiled in pride ¡°Throw your items in here¡± she said ¡°Obviously, my inventory would fill up if I had to hold onto everything; this is one of my skills. de bore. It¡¯s basically a bigger, secondary inventory.. Also infinite.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Right, ok.¡± Jay snapped out of his stun from the disy before pausing again at thest thing she said. The light-ring around the bottomless hole was still drawing out any shadows in the room, sucking them into itself ¨C all shadows were gone except for the one inside the golden circle.

    Jay promptly brought out his crystals and ferritic tes while standing in front of the dark, bottomless hole created by the sword. Against all his rational thoughts, he dropped the crystals and the tes into the ck void.

    Lillian nodded, counting the amount of items dropped in through her ability. Smiling as jay finished, she reiterated the amount.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± She smiled as her ck portal disappeared, then handed Jay a small green pouch.

    ¡°Here¡¯s your payment. Seventy-six gold.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± smiled Jay. Lillian walked over, unbolted the door and Jay left the room.

    With a moment of silence, Jay was thinking to himself, considering if adventuring was even worth it.

    ¡°Hmm, 12 gold per buckler¡­¡± he looked at the prices on the market list.

    ¡°I could¡¯ve earned about 120 gold at the butchery in thest few days, and without putting my life on the line ¨C but I only earned 76 gold¡­ But at least I got stronger¡­¡± Jay held his hand on his chin as he was thinking, slightly disappointed by his earnings.

    ¡°Well, I guess I am low level. When I level up, it will surely be more lucrative¡­ But maybe adventuring will be more costly.¡± he wondered to himself why high level adventurers didn¡¯t simply clear out low level dungeons for some easy gold.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    On a quieter side of the vige, a series of small wooden houses made a loose boundary between the evergreen forest and Lo. A single house in this line of houses pointed out to the forest instead of into the town.

    ¡°Hmm, I thought I would be more excited about tomorrow, but I feel nothing.¡± Mark folded his hands, sitting on a step outside his small house facing the forest. A cup of tea sitting next to him periodically made wisps of steam which smelt sweetly pleasant to Mark. His front yard was usually overgrown with forest weeds, though they were mostly spindly bushes at the moment since it was winter. Clearly, keeping a nice-looking yard was not a priority.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Tomorrow, hopefully, I can finally leave this all behind..¡± he thought as he stared off into the forest while sipping his tea, a few unpleasant shes of distant memories went through his mind ¨C before he shook his head and snapped out of it, returning his gaze to the quiet forest.

    Four years ago, Mark¡¯s father died adventuring ¨C his mother was filled with grief and hopelessness at this news. She became a shell of her former self, drinking every day until vomiting, and crying herself to sleep most nights.

    Mark was just an impressionable fourteen year old kid at the time. Images of his mother getting the bad news, shaking in grief, and vomiting after drinking too much were seared into his mind ¨C the pain had be a part of him.

    Eventually, Mark began drinking too, often drinking more than he nned to; he simply couldn¡¯t control himself when he began. The intoxication made the sadness feel good ¨C or perhaps it only numbed it for a while. Mark wasn¡¯t sure, but he hated himself for this.

    Observing the quiet forest, Mark didn¡¯t notice a short blonde girl walking around the side of his house. Her footsteps were almostpletely silent.

    It was of course Anya, who herself had things on her own mind.

    Anya was wondering why Jay seemed to be cold to her. ¡°I haven¡¯t been rude to him¡­ I didn¡¯t even hit him, it¡¯s bullshit, I did naht.¡± she threw her muffin down as she said this expressionlessly, walking around the small wooden fence around Mark¡¯s house before finding him.

    ¡°Oh, Hi Mark.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Hey, how are you?¡± Mark said with a smile, though he had forgotten her name but remembered her face.

    ¡°I¡¯m good thanks. You¡¯re joining the military tomorrow aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Hopefully.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get in, especially with your ss.¡±

    ¡°Heh, yeah probably.¡± Mark looked at his hands. ¡°I just hope they don¡¯t try to push me harder because of it.¡±

    Anya shrugged ¡°Time will tell¡­ anyway¡­ the military escort will still have to visit numerous other viges around the countryside for recruitment ¨C but there is a way you can skip all that.¡± she smiled.

    ¡°Skip it? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Sullivan said he¡¯ll be happy to make an escort for you to take you directly to a military hub. It¡¯ll save you weeks of senseless walking.¡±

    Mark stopped rxing and stood up, interested in what she was saying as he sensed that there was a condition to the terms.<sub></sub>

    ¡°That would be great..¡± he looked a little confused as he half-smiled ¡°But why?¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a quest of sorts. We need your help, and it will run until tomorrow so you¡¯ll miss the military escort.¡±

    Mark half-smiled, his guard wasn¡¯t down but he reasoned with her for a moment, realizing it was actually a great deal.

    ¡°Oh, awesome. Better to be ying monsters than walking.¡± he sipped his tea and smiled, looking into the forest again.

    Anya was d she didn¡¯t need to do more convincing.

    Generally, guards in the association followed orders without question, however after working with Jay, she expected more people to be like him: resistant and self-contained. While she disliked these qualities in him, she unknowingly and ironically strived for them in herself.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Mark scratched his head, looking a little disappointed ¡°I was actually nning to do a dungeon run with Jay and Kel today¡­¡±

    Anya smiled widely, ¡°That¡¯s ok, Jay¡¯sing on the quest. And Kel cane too.¡± she tactfully recruited both of them at once.

    ¡°Awesome. Same deal for Kel, right? She was nning to join the military too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± Anya made a promise she couldn¡¯t keep, but was sure her father would allow it anyway.

    Sullivan seemed to be more concerned about recruiting Jay into the quest anyway ¨C he didn¡¯t want more people discovering Anya¡¯s ss, knowing that she would be drafted into service of some noble; he aimed to have her party with Jay to level up, making her strong enough to decide her own fate.

    ¡°Great. So, what is the quest about?¡±

    ¡°A small settlement has been attacked by forest monsters. We¡¯re going south east to investigate and exterminate. The quest should be about four or five days long. It¡¯s urgent so we leave in an hour.¡±

    ¡°Oh ok, right. I see.¡± Mark finished his tea in one go, realizing he had to be ready to leave. ¡°Well, I was already packed and ready to leave with the military tomorrow, so I¡¯m ready to go now. Want me to go get Kel?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure. Meet at the snakeraven inn, in about thirty minutes?¡±

    ¡°Snakeraven inn, got it. We¡¯ll see you there.¡± he smiled before turning to go inside.

    ¡°See ya¡± Anya smiled, leaving the same way she came.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°Hmm, perhaps I will need a tent after all.¡± Jay thought, still scrolling through the market¡¯s item list. ¡°Oh, but it won¡¯te in time¡­ damn. Hmm¡­ I suppose there¡¯s a chance they have stock here.¡±

    Jay realised that purchased items take a few days to travel there since this market hub didn¡¯t have a teleportation device.

    Jay got up, knocking on the hatched-door again.

    Lillian ¡°Find something nice?¡±

    ¡°Well.. I need a tent, but I need it today.¡±

    Lillian smiled back in amusement ¡°Well, I can¡¯t do anything about that. We don¡¯t have any in stock.¡± she looked up in thought ¡°But there are some alternatives.¡±

    ¡°Mm? Like what?¡±

    ¡°Just a moment.¡±

    Lillian closed the hatch in the door, and after the shine of a light escaped under the door, she returned with arge green bag.

    ¡°This is a swag. It¡¯s better than a tent since you don¡¯t have to set it up. All you have to do is unroll it and jump in. It¡¯s abination of a mana-powered self-inting mattress and sleeping bag with a waterproof outeryer.¡± she smiled, passing the bag through the hatch.

    Jay grabbed it, it was about 5kg ¡°A swag? Hmm, ok cool. Can I test it?¡±

    ¡°Sure. But you have to roll it back up.¡±

    ¡°Sure¡± Jay chuckled, Lillian watching as Jay was opening the bag and unrolling it.

    Sure enough, it was like arge sleeping bag with a thick outeryer which would certainly keep out the elements. The head hole could be closed up, while a small mesh around it¡¯s mouth area for fresh air.

    ¡°Huh, better than a tent.¡± Jay channelled some mana into it, the inbuilt mattress rose slightly in response, providing about five centimetres of clearance from the cold ground.

    ¡°Nice.¡± nodded Jay.

    Satisfied with it, he unplugged a hole to let the air drain and began to roll it up while talking to Lillian.

    ¡°So, how much is it?¡±

    ¡°Seventy gold.¡±

    ¡°Seventy?¡± Jay¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Yikes¡­ That¡¯s nearly all my work thesest few days.¡±

    Lillian only half-smiled, tilting her head to the side since she couldn¡¯t do anything about the price.

    Jay sighed ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take it.¡±

    ¡°Great. Seventy gold please.¡± she smiled.

    ¡°Wow, she has really white teeth¡± Jay thought to himself as he handed her the gold.

    ¡°See you next time¡± she smiled before closing the hatch, leaving Jay to pack up his swag.

    It wasn¡¯t too hard to roll it up, only taking Jay a few minutes before he could fit it back into the bag it came in.

    ¡°Nice.¡± pleased with his purchase, even though it was expensive, he promptly stored it in his inventory.

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder if I can just store it in my inventory without even rolling it up¡­ Guess I¡¯ll test thatter¡­ well, I better get going.¡± he thought to himself.

    Jay started to walk toward the exit ¨C then paused for a moment, considering if he should buy better armour.

    ¡°Some new armour would be good¡­ But I think it can wait. After all, I have high health thanks to dumping a lot of my points into vitality.¡±

    He continued to walk out of the adventurer association, saying bye to Margaret as he left the building, then making his way down the hill again.

    ¡°I wonder who Anya was going to recruit into the party anyway.¡± Jay wondered as he was on his way to the Snakeraven inn.

 Chapter 36 New

    Entering the inn, Jay noticed Mark, Kel and Anya sitting at a table and chatting. Mark noticed Jay walking in as his seat was facing the door.

    ¡°Hey Jay¡± Mark smiled, ¡°Come have a seat.¡± he beckoned him over.

    ¡°Oh, hey. Looks like Anya recruited you too huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mark chuckled, ¡°guess we won¡¯t be doing a dungeon after all.¡± he shrugged with a smile.

    ¡°Heh, yeah..¡± Jay¡¯s eyes drifted to the bar, trying not to reveal to Mark that he wasn¡¯t nning on going into the dungeon with him. He greeted the others at the table.

    ¡°How are we all? Ready to go?¡±

    ¡°Good¡± Kel smiled back. Mark nodded with a smile.

    ¡°We¡¯re ready. Ahead of schedule.¡± Anya replied before handing them the details of the quest.

    ¡°Thanks¡± Jay said, sitting down at the table before beginning reading the details. Looking through the information, a regretful smile appeared on Jay¡¯s face while reading about how a second child was presumed dead, so he wanted to speed things up; while Anya noticed Jay¡¯s expression.

    ¡°This is why I want to leave quickly¡± she said to Jay.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Yeah..¡± Jay pursed his lips as he thought to himself ¡°So she does care about some people?¡­ hmm¡­¡±

    ¡°Two days¡¯ walking journey? We could just run and burn our energy, camp one night and arrive around morning. Might save some time.¡± Mark suggested.

    The others all nodded at this, knowing they would only feel the effects of exhaustion when their energy started to get low so they can run as long as they have energy; however if it dropped enough they would be defenceless.

    ¡°Yeah, but we should keep a small amount in reserve in case we run into a forest monster or something.¡± Kel chimed in.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll kill anything quickly if we run into it.¡± Anya replied,pletely missing the point of Kel¡¯s suggestion.

    Jay almost shook his head at Anya¡¯s remark. Kel made a good point and it was clear by Anya¡¯s reply that she didn¡¯t even give per point any thought. He decided to ignore what Anya said and reply to Kel as he looked her in the eyes.

    ¡°Good point Kel,¡± he smiled and nodded ¡°How about we hold onto about twenty percent before we decide to rest? Whoever has the least energy can just tell the rest of us when it reaches that point¡­¡± Jay looked around ¡°Hmm so who has the least energy anyway?¡±

    ¡°Well, I have thirty-five.¡± Mark was the first to reply.

    Kel and Anya knew about his ss but Jay still had no clue he was a spellsword, so he was the only one at the table who looked confused. Before Jay could question Mark, Kel quietly told hers.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Forty-five.¡±

    This was less shocking to Jay since she carried a wand. Energy determines mana pool size after all, and Kel had clearly dumped all her points into energy. She probably also was starting with a ss that had a high base amount.

    ¡°I have fourty.¡± Jay said, before looking at Anya expressionlessly.

    ¡°Twenty energy¡­¡± Anya bit her lip, not used to being the one who was the baggage.

    Jay wasughing internally while Mark replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s alright. Just call out to us when it gets low, ok?¡±.

    ¡°Well, I guess we should get moving.¡± Jay said, putting his hands on the side of the table.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Mark said, downing the rest of his half-full ss as they all stood up and left the snakeraven inn, beginning their journey south-east.

    As they left, Jay had his minions travel to the east side of town. Once they left the vige, he nned to have them follow the group ¨C though from a distance so no one would notice.<sub></sub>

    The track wasn¡¯t used very frequently. Some carriage-cart tracks made a make-shift road, but the road continued east while the party had to travel southwest ¨C finding a walking track on the side of the road, they turned off.

    Walking along the path, they had to go single file. It had been semi-created by years of footsteps; the hamlet was so small that even cart¡¯s didn¡¯t travel there, the hamlet itself didn¡¯t even have a name.

    Jay couldn¡¯t help but wonder what kind of monsters they would be fighting ¨C more precisely, he wondered what kind of bones they had.

    ¡°Wait, what the.. What am I even thinking¡­¡± Jay shook his head, almost chucking to himself as he caught his own thoughts.

    ¡°¡­maybe my mind is starting to change?¡± he wondered to himself, since his thoughts were preupied by the bones of his enemies.

    The day went by quickly as the party jogged towards the vige, though Anya had to stop the party to rest since her energy dropped below 20% first.

    ¡°Uh, guys? I need to rest, I¡¯m getting low now.¡±

    ¡°Ah ok. Looks like we made it pretty far anyway.¡± Mark said, as they all stopped jogging. Mark and Jay were both smiling at Anya for different reasons ¨C friendliness and slyness ¨C while Kel didn¡¯t show or say anything as she went to sit down on a nearby mossy stone.

    They had run about 15% of the way so far, however, energy would regenerate pretty quickly if they meditated so they could still make it most of the way today. It would slowlye back even if they were walking, but meditation would progress it much faster, at a rate of 1 energy every ten minutes when done at the most basic level; they would only get better if they practiced afterall.

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve tried this..¡± Jay thought as he sat cross-legged ¡°though thanks to my lesson with vdore and my constant use of mana, i feel like I have a much better understanding of it.¡±

    After Jay began to channel the ambient mana into his body, he felt as if he was full of energy once more. After ten minutes passed, he checked his energy levels.

    [Energy ¨C 25/40]

    ¡°Wow, I¡¯m up to three every ten minutes¡± he calcted since he started at 22/40 ¡°Guess I¡¯ll only need thirty minutes more and I¡¯ll be back to full¡­¡±

    Realizing he wasn¡¯t alone, he frowned knowing he would have to simply wait for the others to regenerate ¨C taking one hour and thirty minutes if they were not that skilled with mana maniption ¨C and he guessed Anya definitely would be.

    ¡°Hmm, I might as well do some scouting.¡± Jay left the others while they meditated, entering the forest to secure the perimeter.

    Jay was using this time to check his minions¡¯ health as well as retrieve the stink-rat teeth they were keeping for him. Once he was far enough away from the others, he willed his minions to return to him. It only took a few seconds before he heard a sound in the forest.

    Two skeletons with wolf-skulls ran at him at full speed, faster than a human ¨C then suddenly stopped as they reported for duty. Jay had to take a step back, thinking they had way too much momentum to even be able to stop.

    ¡°Huh, where¡¯s the other one¡­¡±

    A dark-blue blur went past some trees to his right, then before he could even react, his three minions were before him ¨C but something was different. One of them, Blue, had levelled up.

    Jay was speechless at the changes to his minion¡¯s body. He even forgot about the rat teeth they were bringing him.

    Blue was as tall as Jay now, with eyes glowing green staring back at him. They seemed to pierce his soul.

    From inside it¡¯s wolf-skull, a green, glowing cluster of arteries continued down its spine to form a small lump in the centre of it¡¯s ribcage; its ghostly eye¡¯s weren¡¯t the only thing illuminated anymore. The lump didn¡¯t physically pulse, but the glowing light it emitted pulsed.

    Translucent branch-like structures stemmed out from it, arteries and veins covering it¡¯s skeletal body, radiating from the lump in its rib cage ¨C they appeared to be filled with the green gas.

    ¡°Bleh!¡± Jay instinctively spat. As he was trying to look at his new skeleton, a random spider web thread flew onto his face out of nowhere. He picked it off and wiped his face a few times before continuing to inspect his creature.

    The spine was surrounded by tiny bone tes, making it look more like it had an armoured centipede as it¡¯s backbone. The horns on its head had disappeared now ¨C though at first Jay assumed they would only grow bigger as it levelled up ¨C he could only specte about the purpose the horns originally served.

    As Jay analysed it, he realized it was at half-health, so he healed it up. This only resulted in the green gas flowing into the tree-like branches of arteries covering it¡¯s skeletal structure to glow a little more, seemingly resupplying it.

    ¡°It¡¯s bones got thicker too?¡± Jay could see they had somehow not only lengthened, but thickened too.

    ¡°¡­But where did it get the extra bone mass from..¡±

    The skeleton was now more imposing since it was the same height as Jay, it¡¯s eyes meeting his ¨C not to mention it¡¯s blue wolf skull, which previously seemed to be too big for its body, but now seemed to be just the right size. Parts of it¡¯s joints were now strengthened by ck fibrous tissue strands running over them ¨C though they still had a sickly green reflection in the sunlight. Despite its size, it was much faster than the level two skeletons who could already run faster than a human; appearing as a blue blur in the forest. Now it¡¯s ws wererger, almost looking like finger w armour; it¡¯s finger and wrist bones were reinforced with the ck fibrous tendons too.

    ¡°It could probably crush a skull in its hands¡± he thought as he looked over it. The new form of skeleton looked truly menacing; a thick-boned, blue, wolf-skull skeleton holding two blue swords stood before him in all it¡¯s glory.

    Jay analyzed the level three skeleton.

 Chapter 37 Silk Woods

    [Perennial Creature Level 3 ¨C Blue]

    Type ¨C Undead

    Base Damage ¨C 4

    HP ¨C 45/45

    MP ¨C 10/10

    <[Skills]>

    [Corondum Bite]

    ¨C 4 pierce damage, 5 crushing damage.

    [Corondum ws]

    ¨C sh ¨C Bleed (5 t damage over 3 seconds. Can stack 2 times)

    ¨C Knifehand ¨C Pierce (4 damage. Ignores 50% armour)

    [Bone Eater]<sub>.</sub>

    ¨C Consumes the bones of its adversaries, rebuilding itself.

    [Scrimshaw Level 1] (Passive)

    ¨C Can use bone to create objects.

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    ¨C Immune to cold, poison, hunger, stress, fear, pain.

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    ¨C Can still see clearly in the absence of light.

    <[Description]>

    ¨C An abomination, it¡¯s existence spits in the face of life and death ¨C and they spit back. Flee if possible. Execute with extreme prejudice, burn the bones.

    ¡°Wow, quite the boost,¡± he looked over the stats ¡°and that bone eater skill must be how it gotrger. It seems like the bones it consumes change into the same type of silt wolf bone as the rest of its body.¡±

    Satisfied with the skill, Jay was d that his minions wouldn¡¯t need an endless supply of silt wolf bones. Now any physical damage done could be repaired ¨C if its arm was ripped off, it could simply eat some bones; of course, Jay would still have to mend it to restore its healthpoints.<sub></sub>

    Jay considered what this meant: ¡°Hmm, so even if it had no arms or legs and was just a skull, it could be full health after I mend it; conversely, even if its body was in peak condition it could only have one hit-point left¡­ interesting¡­ I suppose thetter scenario would require powerful magic attacks of some sort of non-physical nature. Of course, under most conditions, both its body and lifeforce would both be damaged at the same time.¡±

    Thinking about these things as he scratched his chin, he was looking up at the treetops. That was when he noticed something strange.

    The tree tops had unusual white tips on top ¨C he wouldn¡¯t have noticed if he didn¡¯t look up, but Jay sometimes looked up when he was deep in thought.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± he squinted. Apparently every tree in this forest had white tips, but Jay suddenly froze when he noticed that they weren¡¯t white at all, they were covered in spider webs. Some of the trees were even connected together by the webs.

    ¡°Well, this is interesting¡­¡± Jay began to follow the connections of webs, as they seemed to travel in a straight line, linking the treetops. He looked up as he followed the path, while he had his skeletal escort with him. Blue was in the lead as Red and Lamp both walked on his back left and right sides ¨C a triangle of skeletons with Jay at the centre.

    ¡°Oop~ shit.¡± Jay tripped on a branch, but caught himself before he ate dirt again.

    Blue looked back for a moment, but seeing no threat it turned forward again.

    Jay noticed the skeletons¡¯ odd behaviour.

    ¡°Creepy..¡± he thought, since he didn¡¯tmand the skeleton to look back.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s getting smarter too¡­?¡± he wondered, periodically ncing at Blue as he continued walking cautiously through the forest, following the silky path above.

    Gradually, as he was getting deeper into the forest, the white caps of the trees were slowly getting lower, covering more of the tree ¨C until it covered so much that the trees were dying. More sickly trees passed by, then dead trees, then hardly any trees at all as the forest had been thinned out in this area since no sunlight could get through the thick webs. They eventually found themselves in a clearing covered in white, each step leaving a ck hole as the soil poked through, while the web clung to their feet ¨C however, there was a single tree at the centre which had no webs on it at all.<sub></sub>

    Jay slowed down, moving a little more cautiously now that he was out in the open. He felt like he was being watched; nevertheless he proceeded towards the tree.

    ¡°So much for scouting¡­¡± he thought, feeling a little bad for not looking out for the others as he was moving closer to the tree in the middle of the field.

    The tree was a ficus macrophy ¨C a sort of tree that hadrge surface roots. Jay wondered why it wasn¡¯t covered in webs since everything else was stered in white silky threads. Walking around it, he found that there was a sort of entrance, a dark cavity inside the tree while a trail of silk leading in.

    ¡°Huh?¡­¡± Jay walked up to the hole.

    [Silk Woods ¨C Level 1 Dungeon]

    [Unlocked]

    [Enter Silk Woods?]

    [Yes/No]

    Jay couldn¡¯t believe his luck.

    ¡°A level one dungeon, out here in the middle of nowhere?¡± He looked back across the field for a moment, standing in the entrance to the dungeon.

    ¡°Hmm, probably an hour more till Anya is recovered¡­ I got time.¡± A sly smile appeared on his face as he entered the dungeon.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Looking around, Kel saw Mark and Anya ¨C Mark was sitting on a ck log while Anya sat on another mossy rock, though she didn¡¯t see Jay.

    ¡°Huh, I wonder where Jay went..¡±

    Kel was the first to finish meditation. As a pure manacrafter, she regrly practiced meditation, finishing only twenty minutes after Jay. She didn¡¯t let the others know, but at the start of this journey she was practicing magic in a nearby forest, which expended some energy ¨C though she still had more left than Anya even after the journey.

    ¡°Hmm. Might as well keep practicing.¡± she thought to herself as she formed a grey orb on the tip of her wand before it hovered in front of her, it was about the size of a human head.

    Looking around, she found a stick ¨C tossing it into the orb, it slowed down as it went through it before dropping to the ground.

    Kel was a [Time Puppeteer].

    She tossed a stone into the orb, yet this time instead of slowing down, it sped up ¨C shooting off faster than any arrow, imnting a few centimeters into a tree nearby.

    She continually did this, trying to switch from slowing to hastening time as quickly as she could.

    Next, she had the orb float over the top half of a nt.

    ¡°Ok, here it goes¡­¡± she breathed in slowly, then out again as she focused harder.

    The orb turned from a smokey grey to a light red colour ¨C suddenly, the nt began to shrink as the orb released heat; Kel was making the nt go back in time. The further back time went, the more mana she had to use and the harder it was to focus.

    After the time maniption, the nt shrunk a few centimeters and had two less leaves than before. She would have a hard time fighting in a dungeon with these skills, but having the ability to manipte time wouldn¡¯t somehow make life easy.

    Time-based manacrafter sses weren¡¯t considered unique ¨C there was even a guild of time mages in the capital city of the kingdom. Many of these mages yed a support role in dungeons or chose to research time rather than pursue power. Of course there were always legends of peerless time mages ¨C though the truth behind these stories were ironically lost to time itself.

    ¡°Phew¡± Kel exhaled as she inspected the nt ¡°Now, it¡¯s time to go back¡± she smiled, knowing it was easier to move things forward in time than backwards.

    She repeated the process ¨C this time the orb turned a dark-grey colour as the nt inside it grew back to normal size.

    Kel kept pushing her magic, as the leaves turned yellow and fell off. Eventually it withered since it didn¡¯t get enough sunlight ¨C at least from it¡¯s own perspective. What was left was a dried out twig that was oddly attached to the top of a green nt.

    She did this a few more times until there were stones embedded in multiple trees around the trio, while a few random small nts with dead twigs on top were near the rocks around them. A piece of moss was also her victim, turning into a grey, dried-up circr patch in the green canvas which was the rest of the mossy rock.

    Satisfied with her contribution to the forest, she had a sunny smile as she went back to meditating again.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    It was humid. There was a sea of ficus macrophy trees ¨C yet none of them had any leaves. The sky in this dungeon was permanently overcast, casting thend in shadow ¨C the was no wind, and no sounds. A silent forest.

    Jay had deathwalker¡¯s sentry equipped, ready to warn him of any danger, while Blue was looking around, turning its wolf skull head left and right as it too was autonomously scanning for threats. Jay looked confused as he peered around the silk woods dungeon.

    ¡°What the¡­ where¡¯s all the silk¡­ and the leaves..?¡±

 Chapter 38 Trapped

    In the upper parts of the Snakeraven inn, a fat merchant rubbed his hands together cunningly. He imagines mountains of gold as he prepares for tomorrow.

    ¡°Boy!¡± he calls out to Hess.

    ¡°S-sir?¡±

    ¡°Did you finish polishing and cleaning all the goods?¡±

    ¡°Almost, sir.¡±

    ¡°What? You should¡¯ve finished by now!¡± Bertram sighed ¡°It needs to get done!¡± he said with a poisonous voice as Hess left the room with his head lowered.

    Leaning back in his chair, he had a puff from a cigar. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t as angry as he led Hess to believe ¨C but for some reason, he had an extremely short temper with Hess, while he would never yell angrily at anyone else. Perhaps because he knew he could get away with it.

    Bertram turned his chair and looked out the rose ss windows of the inn. He knew that a military escort wasing, bringing with them even more na?ve adventurers ¨C these were Bertram¡¯s prey.

    Lo was the third vige the military escort would stop at before travelling to numerous others in the region. They will have been traveling for three days by now, and would need to rest and resupply for a day or two here at Lo.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to make so much money this year,¡± he smiled, blowing out smoke ¡°Maybe the soldiers will even buy a few of my better weapons¡­ after I reveal them.¡± he snickered.

    Bertram nned to use the same trick he did with the Lo adventurers ¨C sell them overpriced, low quality weapons, then the next day disy much better weapons while allowing them to trade the old weapons for a small price reduction.

    Having worked as a trader for most of his life, Bertram knew what people were like. He nned to disy the better weapons on the veryst day the soldiers were nning to leave. This would force them to make an impulsive decision and buy his goods.

    A triumphant smile appeared on his face ¡°Ah, it¡¯s so easy being me¡± heughed, before taking another puff on his cigar.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Creaks of wood sounded throughout the empty, dark forest, echoing back and forward. Jay and his skeletons crept through with their swords at the ready ¨C he felt like he had been watched since before they even entered the dungeon.

    Something wasn¡¯t right here. Even the air felt strange, it felt thicker somehow ¨C he felt as if his body and footsteps were being held back or slowed down by it ¨C yet when he looked at his feet, there was nothing there.

    The party kept walking cautiously along a dark-dirt path that winded through the trees, still in a triangle formation.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay noticed his steps kept getting harder to take, it was as if something was pulling him back.

    ¡°Is the dungeon doing this? Maybe I¡¯m just tired?¡± he wondered.

    Suddenly, Jay¡¯s shield squeezed his arm ¨C looking left, he only caught a glimmer, a sliver of something white disappearing into thin air.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± He raised his shield, ready for the attack ¨C yet after waiting a moment nothing happened.

    ¡°I guess not¡­¡± he lowered his shield slightly.

    He squinted into the sea of trees looking for any signs of movement, but found nothing.

    With his shield slightly lowered, he slowly kept walking through the forest. As the trees continued to create croaking and knocking sounds, Jay thought this was a little too tense for a level one dungeon. The anticipation was starting to get to him.

    The sounds of creaking wood continued as they walked, causing hairs to rise on Jay¡¯s neck. Jay¡¯s shield squeezed his arm periodically, causing them to stop, readying themselves for an attack ¨C but every time, nothing happened.

    ¡°This is annoying¡­¡± Jay shook his head,pletely lowering his shield now. He felt like he was being teased.

    Shaking his head out of frustration, and because it was a level one dungeon, he just decided to just ignore the warnings from his shield, Deathwalker¡¯s Sentry, and keep walking at a normal pace.

    [Stress Response Activated ¨C +5% Melee damage]

    At this point, He didn¡¯t really care if he got sneak attacked or not ¨C he would dly take a hit to get this over with.

    Throwing caution out the window, he marched forward with audacity.

    His shield started squeezing his arm more frequently now, ¡°Ah stuff it!¡± he said as he ignored it and kept walking down the dark path.

    Blue seemed to want to keep stopping to prepare for an attack, but it¡¯s will was overridden by Jays¡¯; it¡¯s master¡¯s will reigns supreme of course.

    Suddenly, a skeleton was attacked ¨C it was Red, who was behind Jay.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Finally¡± Jay sighed, turning around as he was ready to stab and sh at anything to relieve the tension.

    Looking at Red, Jay finally understood what was going on.

    A white spider with crimson red eyes had pounced on Red, it¡¯s piercing legs were wrapped around Red while its dagger-like fangs sunken into Red¡¯s rib cage ¨C but to little effect. It was pumping venom into the rib cage cavity, but it harmlessly trickled out and ended up as a useless mess on the ground.

    Red was quick to respond to the attack ¨C it had already raised a sword against the spider¡¯s abdomen ¨C but it couldn¡¯t sh or piece because of the spider¡¯s legs wrapped around it, holding its arms down.

    Jay¡¯s eyes bulged, d that he wasn¡¯t currently being pumped full of venom ¨C but since he was frustrated, he didn¡¯t hesitate as he leapt at therge white spider. Taking a step forward, he shed one of the legs around Red.

    The spider didn¡¯t shriek or retreat but instead chose to fight more aggressively, clutching Red tighter as it pierced on another part of Red¡¯s body with its fangs, pumping more venom harmlessly onto the bones.

    To Jay¡¯s surprise, his sword cleaved straight through the leg. He looked at his sword for a moment, realizing how sharp it was.

    ¡°Huh, well I guess it is a level one dungeon after all¡­ I guess I¡¯ve gotten much stronger without realizing¡± he chuckled to himself.

    The fight now seemed trivial; the realization dawned on him that he was level seven in a level one dungeon. Since he realized it was going to be easy, he took time to analyse the spider.

    <[Ethereal Spider Level 2]>

    [Type: Arachnid ¨C Normal]

    [HP 17/17]

    [MP 5/9]

    <[Skills]>

    [Poisonous Bite]

    ¨C 2 Pierce damage ¨C 1 Poison damage over 3 seconds (Can stack 2 times)<sub></sub>

    [sp]

    ¨C Detain an enemy. Enemy bes constricted. Lasts 5 seconds +1 seconds for every 1 strength higher than the enemy.

    ¨C Constricted: Unable to attack with sped appendages.

    [Fade]

    ¨C Under certain conditions it can be ethereal. Non-functional in direct sunlight.

    ¨C Ethereal: Bes invisible and non-physical.

    [Ether Silk Craft] (Unique)

    ¨C Unique skill of the Ethereal Arachnid type. Produces ghost silk, which it can make invisible by supplying mana.

    ¨C Condition for [Fade]: Must be on top of ether silk to use [Fade] skill.

    <[Description]>

    ¨C Most creatures that wander into spider territory are never seen again, still, some creatures survive; However, fewer survive wandering into an ethereal spider territory ¨C many of its victims don¡¯t even realise they¡¯re trapped until it¡¯s toote.

    Reading the description, a shiver went up Jay¡¯s spine as he was thinking about entering this dungeon as a level one adventurer, before he shook his head.

    ¡°Probably shouldn¡¯t think about endless hypotheticals¡­ but seriously, this dungeon would suck. Getting sneak attacked by a level two spider while being covered in web. Pretty dangerous.¡± he shook his head at how harsh this dungeon was.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not level one anymore though, am I?¡± he proudly said to himself ¡°The spider only has seventeen health. My swords can kill it in three swings.¡±

    Jay smirked for a moment before leisurely snapping his fingers, causing Lamp to run around behind the back of the spider.

    He felt like being harsh back to the dungeon was like a sort of cosmic justice.

    Standing behind it, Lamp shed its sword across the spider¡¯s abdomen, causing arge tear to form ¨C lumps of green and ck slime fell to the ground, though the thorax still had life in it.

    Lamp smashed it with the old buckler Jay gave it, but the spider continued to thrash at Red with reckless abandon. With a final attack, Lamp plummeted its sword right into the centre of the spider¡¯s thorax, creating a cracking sound as it ended it in an instant.

    [30 Exp]

    Jay looked smug.

    ¡°This is gunna be so easy.¡± he checked Red¡¯s HP, confirming his assumption ¡°Poison won¡¯t even do anything to the undead.¡±

    With a chuckle, he went to loot the spider corpse ¨C but froze for a moment as the world changed.

    Suddenly and without warning, the ground changed white in this area ¨C it waspletely covered with silk. The spider had died so it could no longer supply mana to it, causing the ether silk to be visible.

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± the world around him and becamepletely white. There were webs all over the trees and the ground. Curtains of silk hung in front, blocking the path ahead, while a covering of silk was hanging from bare branches above, causing this part of the forest to be even darker.

    Looking down, Jay realized why he felt like the air was thicker ¨C his shirt had hundreds of strands of silk over them, while his shoes had massive lumps of silk stuck to them, they had progressively clumped up as he walked. Clearly, the silk had been what had made him feel like the air was thicker previously. The silk had a different feel to it when it was invisible, but now the webs felt like any other normal spider web. Jay began to pull them off.

    ¡°Ugh, annoying.¡±

    He used one foot to stamp down on the silk attached to the other, trying not to touch it as he formed a ball. He tried to kick it away but it remained stuck to his foot.

    Sighing out of frustration, he willed Red toe over and remove the silk ball; now the skeleton had a ball of silk stuck to it instead. Jay made Red stick the silk ball inside its rib cage for the meantime, getting it out of the way so Red could bebat capable.

    Looking around, Jay almostughed as he noticed Blue.

    Blue was covered in curtains of silk since it was in the lead, It¡¯s head waspletely wrapped. Taking the silk assault head-on, Blue collected most of the silk since it was in the lead ¨C though Blue¡¯s upgraded strength made it seem like it wasn¡¯t affected by it at all. With a few rakes of it¡¯s ws, Blue scrapedrge clumps of silk off it¡¯s skeletal body, adding it to the ball inside Red¡¯s rib cage.

    Jay shook his head with a smile, humored by his skeletons but also a little annoyed by the dungeon so far. The silk was frustrating, and the tension build-up while waiting for the spiders to sneak attack was irritating too.

    Though it wasn¡¯t physically hard, It was more of a psychological drain from the tension that the dungeons atmosphere created. However, Jay still preferred this dungeon over the stink-rat marsh. Being covered in silk was much better than being covered in the stinking marsh gunk. The trade-off was that the spiders would ambush them.

    Walking over to the spider corpse, Jay looted the body.

    [Ghost Silk]x3

    ¨C Rare crafting material.

    ¡°Ghost silk huh? No poison sack, or fangs?¡± He expected to get somethingpletely different from the spider corpse, while being a little disappointed since the soap-rat¡¯s gave a lot more variety of loot for their corpses: teeth, bones and fur scraps.

    Scratching his chin, he remembered that he still has to get the teeth off the skeletons.

    ¡°Boys, where¡¯s my teeth?¡±

    The skeletons walked over to Jay, holding out their boney hands, each of them only had two teeth each.

    ¡°What the? Where¡¯s all the other teeth¡­?¡±

    One of the teeth then fell off the skeleton¡¯s bone hands.

    ¡°Ohh, right.¡± he tilted his head to the side, thinking he had been a bit short-sighted ¡°Probably hard to carry anything small with your bone hands. I should¡¯ve given you guys a bag or something.¡± he scratched his chin with a humorous smile as he imaged them surrounding a pile of teeth trying to pick them all up.

    Collecting the teeth of each skeleton, he had gained 6 stink-rat teeth; a much smaller amount than he was expecting.

    ¡°Oh well, we can only keep going. We¡¯ve only got about 30 minutes till I should head back. Let¡¯s make this quick boys.¡±

    Continuing, he walked deeper into the forest without any fear.

    ¡°They won¡¯t sneak attack me with my triangle formation. Naturally, they would attack one on the outside, so I should be pretty safe.¡± he reasoned as he looked up and thought ¡°And I¡¯ll be able to feel when we enter more spider territory because the air will feel thicker.¡±

    With a spring in his step, Jay continued deeper into the woods.

 Chapter 39 The Soft-hearted Queen 1

    Walking through the forest dungeon, Jay and his party were sneak-attacked three more times, though the spiders were quickly dealt with.

    The ethereal spiders were having a bad day. Each of them failed to deal any damage to the undead since their main attack was poison, having no effect on the undead.

    The spider¡¯s fangs were made of chitin, a material simr to finger nails ¨C it was no match for the silt wolf bones they were trying to pierce down on; It was like using straw to stab someone.

    Since Jay was level seven in a level one dungeon, it was effortless to him ¨C like a walk in the park. Though this park was gloomy, eerily quiet and had no leaves. He was feeling increasingly rxed as he casually walked through the dungeon, giving him time to think.

    ¡°It won¡¯t always be this easy¡­¡± Jay¡¯s smile was slowly reced with a stern expression.

    ¡°If someone finds out about my ss, I¡¯ll be hunted down to the ends of the earth¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, this isn¡¯t meant to be enjoyable. I¡¯m trying to survive¡­ I¡¯m going to survive.¡± he clenched his jaw as he nodded to himself.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been given a powerful monster ss. If the world discovered my secret, themoners would fear for their lives, while the nobles would fear for their power.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, actually¡­ not ¡®would, but ¡®when¡¯ ¨C when they discover my ss.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    He held up his sword, rubbing his finger along the de as he looked at the cobalt-blue sheen.

    ¡°¡­I suppose the nobles should fear me. Treat me as a hostile, and I will happily oblige.¡± his eyes were resolute as he half-smiled.

    ¡°I better finish this dungeon and return before the others find out.¡±

    Jay had his skeletons pick up the pace to a jogging speed. He only had about ten minutes left before he had to leave. He knew he had to rush thest part of the dungeon if he was going to make it back in time ¨C after all, he was meant to be silently meditating next to the others to recover his energy.

    Because of their reckless abandon ¨C jogging through the dungeon, two more ethereal spiders took advantage of Jay¡¯s seemingly foolish strategy and pounced ¨C however, with a snap of Jay¡¯s fingers, the skeletons went into action and the ether spiders were dispatched in an instant; their abdomens severed in two, green goo plopping out while their thorax was pierced through to the other side.

    ¡°The skeletons seemed to be developing an efficient technique.¡±

    The mass of silk inside Red¡¯s rib cage was getting thicker as they continued, Jay wondered what he would do with it. He tried to put it in his inventory, but apparently it didn¡¯t count as a monster drop.

    He could only guess at this point. ¡°Perhaps the ether silk and ghost silk are different.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°One was produced from the spiders¡¯ ether silk skill, while the other is a monster drop which counts as a reward for killing it.¡±

    He scratched his chin ¡°I guess being able to ¡®store¡¯ skills in my inventory wouldn¡¯t make any sense¡±

    ¡°Oh well,¡± he shrugged, wiping more ether silk off his body and adding it to the ball. ¡°I¡¯ll just leave it there for now.¡±

    As Jay jogged onwards, the path came to a massive white wall. Blue was the first to try push through, but was stopped by the sheer amount of silk.

    ¡°Must be real thick.¡± Jay paused for a moment, scratching his head.

    ¡°Probably the boss area.¡±

    He had Blue sh its sword at the wall while Jay put his hand out, pushing his skeleton forward from behind.

    The sword easily sliced through the silk, but Jay was puzzled by something.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t the silk invisible¡­?¡±

    This question stayed on his mind as he entered arge clearing covered in silk and cocoons ¨C some of which had hatched leaving only a yellowish shell behind; they were the size of pumpkins.

    Jay looked at the structure of the room. There was a column of silk in the middle, probably covering a stone pir orrge rock, which supported the massive dome of silk over the clearing. Not much light got through the silk dome, turning this nest into what seemed more like a dark, cavernous cave.

    The roof was higher than the trees outside could hope to reach, while the pir turned out to be one of four other pirs, creating an incrediblyrge, dark area.

    Based on the curvature of the outside wall, Jay had a decent estimate of the size of the massive silk dome.

    ¡°The whole of the adventurer association could probably fit in here five times over.¡±

    Walking into the darkness, their steps were hindered by the silk once more.

    Deathwalker¡¯s Sentry was warning Jay constantly now. He held it up in defence as he gazed into the nest.

    Red eyes greeted them from the darkness ¨C hundreds of them, perhaps even thousands ¨C Jay wasn¡¯t sure but he sure wasn¡¯t going to stick around counting them all.

    ¡°This¡­ This can¡¯t be a level one dungeon¡­¡± Jay¡¯s jaw dropped.

    Heunched an unstable teeth spell in the middle of the sea of red eyes so he could try to grasp the number of spiders here. The spell exploded with a sh, and that¡¯s when Jay saw something that made his whole body tense up.

    He exhaled from the shock of what he saw.

    A massive white spider the size of the Snakeraven inn was lying there, yet it was lifeless on the ground. Smaller ether spiders ¨C smallerpared to the queen anyway, were covering it.

    Many of them were covered in green slime since the massive spider¡¯s abdomen was ripped open, it¡¯s innards spilled across the dungeon. Lines of green were everywhere ¨C the trails caused by spiders grabbing chunks of flesh and hauling them off for themselves.

    They were eating it.

    Jay was motionless for a moment, then the darkness returned.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ no.. no. Nooo thanks.¡± Jay whispered to himself as he stepped backwards, Deathwalker¡¯s Sentry was still going crazy as it was squeezing his wrist without end.

    Since he justunched an unstable tooth spell at the whole nest, many red eyes were charging over now. These spiders in particr would always respond with unyielding aggression if they were attacked.

    ¡°Fuuuuck!¡±

    Jay couldn¡¯t deal with hundreds of spiders, so turning back to the slit he made in the wall, he knew his only choice was to leave ¨C not just this dome, but the whole dungeon.

    First he had to get out of the aggression range of all the spiders. It wouldn¡¯t be that hard as long as he wasn¡¯t covered in web. If an emergency demanded it, he could always sacrifice his skeletons ¨C this dungeon had proved them to be effective against the spiders, seemingly impervious to them ¨C however, if enough spiders were present, they could be held down indefinitely and pulled apart with enough cooperation on the spiders behalf.

    Turning back towards the entrance, two spiders were already working to seal up the hole he created. The light was quickly getting dim as more and more wraps of silk coated the gap in the wall.

    ¡°Shit¡± he back ran over ¨C as fast as he could run with his legs covered in web. Blue covered the rear of the party while Jay had Red and Lamp rush at them.

    Jay wasn¡¯t sure if the spiders were doing this to trap him in, or because of some other natural instinct, but he knew he needed to get out while he still could; time was of the essence as the mass of red eyes was getting closer ¨C the spiders were not hindered at all by the webs.

 Chapter 40 The Soft-hearted Queen 2

    Arriving at the wall, Red was the first to dash forward, quickly disposing of the first spider while the second spider realized what was happening and used [sp] on Lamp, stopping the skeleton from attacking. Remembering the spiders sp skill, Jay realized how dangerous this dungeon truly was.

    ¡°Oh shit, oh SHIT.¡± clenching his teeth from the stress, Jay gripped his sword, taking a leap forward to sh at the spider on Lamp. Red helped to finish off the spider on Lamp, freeing the skeleton.

    [30 Exp][30 Exp]

    ¡°Ah! You bastard!¡± Some green slime sttered onto his face. Jay still wasn¡¯t used to the feeling of gruel covering his face, even after everything he had been through thus far. Wiping it with his arm he realised him and his skeletons could all be immobilized for 5 seconds by only four spiders if they all used their sp skill. This would be more than enough time for the rest of the brood to catch up and permanently immobilize them while they sunk their fangs into Jay.

    ¡°This is probably how they brought down the queen.¡± Jay shuddered realizing this could¡¯ve easily ended in his death ¨C despite being level seven.

    ¡°Are dungeons even allowed to do this? It¡¯s supposed to be level one!¡± He was frustrated, not knowing how strict the naturalws of this world were. No one would¡¯ve expected that the queen spider, the size of a titan, would be brought down by the sheer numbers of her own offspring.

    Blue was faithfully covering the rear of the party, but there was still time before the sea of red would reach them.

    ¡°Cut it open, NOW!¡± Jay yelled at Blue.<sub>.</sub>

    Blue responded instantaneously, even before Jay could finish his sentence. Cutting open the hole again, it made short work of the part the wall again. The part of the wall that the spiders were trying to patch up was far weaker.

    He didn¡¯t bother to loot the corpses as he jumped through the hole.

    Stepping out of the nest, Jay took a deep breath in, feeling like he could finally breathe again. His skeletons followed after him.

    ¡°Phew.¡± Jay panted with his hands on his knees for a moment. ¡°Close call.¡±

    Having some time to think and room to breathe, he watched his skeletons exit the hole one by one. It was a tight squeeze for a human ¨C much more so for arge spider with its eight legs. He had

    A devilish grin appeared on Jay¡¯s face, as he had a glorious idea.

    ¡°A natural chokepoint..¡± his skeletons form a circle around the hole.<sub></sub>

    Shortly after, the silk wall bulged a little and a spider started to squeeze through the hole ¨C only to be pierced in its head by three swords before even half of its body could get out.

    ¡°Modern problems require modern solutions I guess.¡± Jay smiled in amusement, happy to see that his n was working.

    The dead spider was then dragged back inside the hole ¨C probably to be eaten by its brothers.

    Since the ossein swords did 8 damage each, three strikes was more than enough to end the 17 HP spiders.

    Like flies to fruit, more spiders sprawled out of the opening, seemingly raving from the scent of fresh blood. The first few were pulled back in after they died, but as the hole got bigger, the spiders chose to rush out.

    Another spider went down with three swords through its head, as more trampled over their siblings lifeless bodies. Jay had to periodically help in the event that one of his minions missed a sword strike. Things would get bad quickly if just one spiders managed to use its sp skill on one of the skeletons.

    Eighteen spiders were dead now, and the corpses were piling up around the hole, making it harder and harder for the skeletons to coordinate their attacks. Their bodies were causing a barricade of sorts for the rest of the spiders.<sub></sub>

    Jay levelled up from all the experience, but had to focus on the battle, so he could only wait to spend his skill point. He did get attribute points too, but he was most excited about making his skills stronger.

    As the battle went on, the hole was also getting wider. The tear was ripping open more and more as each spider pushed through. Almost two spiders could leave at once if they squeezed, while one could charge straight out.

    Realizing things were getting more dangerous, Jay had to make a decision. Spiders were pouring faster through the wall, tearing more of the hole open each time.

    He first looted the corpses, gaining 54 ghost silk. He then quickly backed up from the nest until he was about twenty meters away.

    Taking out six unstable teeth, he began to charge all of them simultaneously. The size teeth started hovering in his palm and shivering as they were being filled with mana.

    In a short series ofmands, Jay simultaneously had his skeletons run back from the hole as he discharged all of the floating teeth into it.

    Jay and the skeletons ran back up the forest path without looking back. Six explosions sounded behind them, and Jay didn¡¯t need to know that he just killed enough of them to temporarily plug the hole with their bodies, injuring them enough to slow them down.

    [30 Exp][30 Exp][30 Exp]

    A small feast was happening on the other side of the wall, some of the first spiders who started to eat the others were even ripped apart in the feeding frenzy. Being covered in fresh blood was a dangerous thing. Some of the spidersing out of the hole now were even trying to escape the others, as they were covered in blood which made them a target.

    Jay¡¯s guess was correct as he received the experience notifications, encouraged by his spell attack levelling up ¨C though he didn¡¯t have time to read the details so he ignored it for now.

    [Unstable Teeth ¨C Level Up]

    [Unstable Teeth is now level 2]

    ¡°Ok, I should be far enough away now.¡± Jay willed to exit the dungeon.

    ¡°I¡¯m d no one knows about this ce. Level one dungeon¡± he scoffed, d that he didn¡¯t remember seeing it on the association dungeon map.

    ¡°Perhaps the dungeon hasn¡¯t been culled for a while so this is what happens¡­¡± he wondered.

    Suddenly, webs formed a dome around him and the skeletons, blotting out all light and leaving them in total darkness ¨C then a light appeared. Walking towards it, he found himself outside the dungeon once more; it was the hole in the tree he originally entered. The dungeon made its exit for him in its own way.

    With a deep breath in and a loud exhale out, he was happy with the speed that he carved through the dungeon, even if it did end in horror and no boss fight. He was still a little annoyed that his face was covered in disgusting filth again.

    ¡°Why does that always happen to me¡­¡± he shallowlyughed at his own affliction as he got some water out and re-wiped his face with it. Storing his shield and sword before wiping more of the slime off his face and checking his clothes; beginning his walk back to the others.

    ¡°Seems like I¡¯ll make it back in time.¡± he thought, leaving the exit of the tree and walking around the other side, the direction he initially came from.

    Now that he was walking back, he began thinking about where to put his new skill point and attribute points. ¡°Hmm¡­ which skill to level first¡­¡±

 Chapter 41 Clarity 1

    Vdore entered his office, drained and worn out after spending hours with Matheson, the young noble.

    After the bayring dungeon, a small number of promising adventurers were picked by the association for further training. While Matheson wasn¡¯t picked for special sses, he still had enough money and power to get what he wanted.

    ¡°That kid will never get it¡­¡± He shook his head as he took off his mage cloak ¨C which hovered itself over to the coat hook.

    ¡°He should just stick to his melee ss. You can¡¯t just pay for an understanding of mana.¡±

    Vdore sighed ¡°He would probably feel the ambient mana if he slowed down for a moment and gave it a try but I don¡¯t see that happening.¡± he shook his head.

    ¡°Plus he keeps bringing those silly gems to ss,¡± Vdore smiled reluctantly, ¡°as if that will change anything¡­¡±

    ¡°Adding fire or lightning damage to your sword attacks using gems is not manacraft.¡±

    He felt himself starting to get frustrated, but realized this would only affect him if he let it. With a shrug, Vdore sat down at his desk.

    ¡°Greetings, master.¡± a tiny ck cube sounded.

    ¡°Hello,¡± He smiled as he picked up the ck cube, touching its smooth surfaces for a moment. Despite being a 45 year old mage, Vdore enjoyed ying with the ck cube.

    Sitting it back down on the desk, he began conversing with it.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°How¡¯s your progress?¡±

    The ck cube didn¡¯t raise it¡¯s crystal eyes up since it was just being fumbled around in Vdore¡¯s hands, so it only replied.

    ¡°1,216 Instances of the routine were executed. Process intensity ran at 100%. Ambient mana sense failed to register 1,216 times.¡±

    ¡°Mm?¡± Vdore nodded.

    ¡°I cannot sense ambient mana yet, Master.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok¡­ I wasn¡¯t expecting you to without the new materials I ordered.¡± Vdore sat down, leaning back while folding his hands together on his stomach. A single crystal eye raised and looked at him.

    Vdore noticed his cube looking at him, he leaned forward and put his elbows on his desk with his fingers intertwined, his chin leaning on his thumbs as he thought for a moment, staring back at his cube.

    ¡°Since the materials I was hoping for have been dyed, you will have to wait. There¡¯s no sense continuing the routines without them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master. Going dormant.¡± It¡¯s crystal eye retracted into the cube, forming a perfect seal and making the surface smooth again.

    In the past few days, Vdore was doingplex calctions while waiting for a special delivery of semi-mana materials, certain these new materials will allow his cube to sense mana ¨C the first step to the maniption of it. From there, the possibilities were endless ¨C as far as Vdore could tell anyway.<sub></sub>

    He lightly smiled to himself ¡°I wonder who will grasp mana sense first¡­ the cube or the boy¡­¡±

    He had really low expectations for Matheson.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Walking alone through the deste winter forest, Jay¡¯s minions were no longer following him since he had them return to stalking mode.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s see here¡­¡± Jay looked at his current skills.

    <[Undead Mastery Level 2]>

    [Your undead can reach a max level of (3). Level up is permanent]

    [Current levels: 3, 2, 2]

    He checked his other skill he was thinking of levelling up.

    <[Raise Feeble Creature level 3]><sub></sub>

    [Imbue a skeleton with necrotic life, raising it to fight for you.]

    [3/3 Raised]

    [¡°Raise¡±]

    [5 mana]

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I could upgrade my skeleton mastery and their max level would be level four, but only one of them is level three at the moment¡­ So it¡¯d probably be better to put my skill point into the raise ability, getting me another level one.¡±

    ¡°Besides, in the future I¡¯ll probably want more than three¡­¡± an image shed through Jay¡¯s mind of a horde of skeletons silently walking through a dark, misty forest. ¡°¡­I wonder how many I can have.¡±

    Jay thought to himself as he walked through the forest, pushing aside another branch as he walked back to the others. He had to choose between the two skills.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Maybe I should save the point?¡±

    ¡°¡­Nah. If I spend it on either, minions could be gaining exp and levelling up. It would actually be a waste not to spend it.¡±

    ¡°I suppose a level one minion will be useless for a little while¡­ hmm. I should get the other skeletons to make sure it hits an enemy before they finish it, that way it will get exp¡­ are the skeletons even that smart? They might not understand the order.¡±

    Shrugging, Jay made a decision. ¡°A new minion seems like the right choice. I¡¯ll have to get one sooner orter anyway, better to get it now while we¡¯re all kinda low level. If it¡¯s too slow at levelling up, I¡¯ll just get the other minions to let it fight alone. The level one skeletons are pretty fast anyway, faster than most creatures. So it should hold it¡¯s own with one of my¡­.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Jay scratched his head ¡°I suppose one of my ossein swords will be too big for it. Thankfully I¡¯ve still got some bone daggers.¡±

    Jay reasoned to himself ¡°It¡¯ll have no problem keeping up with our party either, we¡¯re not that fast after all, certainly not faster than the skeletons.¡±

    Pausing for a moment, Jay stopped walking as he put his new skill point into the raise skill.

    <[Raise Feeble Creature Level 4]>

    [Imbue a skeleton with necrotic life, raising it to fight for you.]

    [3/4 Raised]

    [¡°Raise¡±]

    [5 mana]

    Without waiting, he shifted his ring into its second form, a circle of bones and green gass floated around him.

    ¡°Raise.¡± holding his hand out, bones intertwined and cartge popped as a new minion formed before him.

    It¡¯s main bodyposition was silt wolf bone, however a leftover soap rat skull drifted into its form. While it¡¯s body was blue because of the silt wolf bones, it¡¯s head was a soap rat skull. The silt wolf bones were a little thicker than the soap rat bones, so it looked like a buffed up level one skeleton.

    [Chimera Research 5%]

    ¡°Uhh?¡± puzzled, Jay wondered why it didn¡¯t use one of the five silt wolf skulls he had ¨C though as the creature formed, it started to make sense to Jay.

    ¡°Oh I see. It¡¯s been a while since I saw a level one skeleton.¡±

    Jay had forgotten just how big a level one feeble creature was, he recalled his ability used to say ¡°Cast on a small skeleton¡±.

    ¡°Perhaps a level one skeleton needs a smaller head since it¡¯s body is tiny.¡±

    Its height was just below Jays¡¯ hip. The soap rat head was already toorge for its tiny body, while a silt wolf skull would probably cause it to fall over.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s okay with me. Getting some extra chimera research will only be a benefit.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, maybe one of these afternoons I should spend some time de-summoning and re-summoning just to get 100% of that chimera research¡­¡±

    Making a mental note, Jay decided he would gather a few different bone types just to increase his amount of chimera research.

    Turning to his new skeleton, he went to give it a bone dagger ¨C but had a problem.

    ¡°Where did they go¡­?¡±

    Jay was sure he had at least five bone daggers in his inventory ¨C the ones his skeletons were using before he crafted them blue swords. Pursing his lips, he tried to remember if he ever took them out again but couldn¡¯t think of such a time. ¡°Surely the magical inventory doesn¡¯t have holes in it like an old bag or something..¡±

 Chapter 42 Clarity 2

    All his bone daggers had disappeared from his inventory.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± annoyed, he hastily crafted another one.

    [Bone Dagger Level 2]

    [5 damage] ¨C shing, piercing.

    [+50% damage from back-stab attacks]

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires essence to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 6 hours]

    ¡°Ohhh¡­ oops.¡± he felt silly as he read his daggers stats, shaking his head at himself.

    ¡°I forgot to supply them with mana.. they deformed days ago.¡± he crafted a second bone dagger for his new skeleton. ¡°At least the daggers are level 2 now, probably from my scrimshaw levelling up when I was making my shield¡­ I should probably re-forged all the weapons.¡±

    ¡°The level one creatures don¡¯t have any mana, so I will need to get Blue to hold it¡¯s weapons every six hours¡­ damn. What will happen when I go to sleep? Hmm¡­¡±

    Jay took out his sword and examined it.

    [Ossein Arming Sword Level 1]<sub>.</sub>

    [Silt-wolf bone]

    [8 damage] ¨C shing, piercing.

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires essence to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 96 hours]

    ¡°Okay, since the swords willst four days, I can just get Blue to switch weapons with it when I sleep. The level one will be bad at fighting due to therge swords, while Blue will be a little weaker too ¨C but only when I¡¯m asleep. Thankfully this won¡¯tst for long ¨C once it hits level two, it will have its own mana supply and can keep the form of its daggers. I estimate this will only need to be done for one or two nights, as it will probably level up in the next few days.¡±

    ¡°You can go,¡± he waved his hand at the level 1 skeleton ¡°stick with the others.¡± he added as it slinked off into the woods.

    Searching through his inventory, he found five bones in it ¨C his deformed daggers. He added them back into his ring, then with a nod, he marched back. It wasn¡¯t long before he came back to the path.

    It didn¡¯t take as long as he thought it would to get back onto the track that he had initially ventured from. ¡°It seems that following the webbed trees slowed me down more than I realized.¡± He thought, since the walk back was much faster.

    Looking up and down the path, he saw hispanions.

    Two of them were sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed, while one had already stopped meditating.

    Whispering quietly, he greeted Jay.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hey. Where¡¯d you go?¡± Mark enquired, sitting on the same ck log as he was idly snapping some twigs, a small pile of broken twigs had formed below him. He was looking bored as ever as he flicked bits of broken twigs around.

    Mark had finished meditating quickly since he was a spellsword ¨C having a natural affinity for energy and mana.

    ¡°I finished my energy regeneration so I just went to have a look around, do some scouting, stuff like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right¡­ I suppose I should do stuff like that too.¡± Mark looked into the forest. ¡°Find anything cool?¡±

    ¡°Nah¡­ Saw some cool-looking mushrooms, but mostly I just spent a lot of time walking into spider webs..¡± Jay did a sneaky smile as he turned to look into the forest too. ¡°Other than that, it was quite uneventful¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah I see, well thanks for looking out for us¡± smiled Mark as he threw the unsnapped twigs down, jumped off the log and put his hands in his pockets.

    ¡°So¡­¡± Mark was curious about something.

    He whispered to Jay, ¡°Anya¡¯s pretty cute.¡±

    Immediately, Jay could tell what he was getting at as he started shaking his head.

    Jay sighed as he thought to himself ¡°Mark doesn¡¯t know¡­ about our sses or anything. Even Anya doesn¡¯t know that I don¡¯t trust her.¡± Jay looked into the forest as he made up his reply to Mark.

    ¡°She¡¯s alright, but this life we¡¯re living as adventurers, it¡¯s not suited for rtionships.¡±<sub></sub>

    Jay was satisfied with his reply. It was reasonable, but in truth, and in different circumstances, he could picture something happening with her ¨C but this was not how things turned out, and not the life either of them had chosen. Jay even felt it could be hical to have a rtionship since he knew he was essentially, in the eyes of the nobility, a dead man walking.

    Mark looked a little awkward, he already regretted asking.

    ¡°Yeah. True.¡± he couldn¡¯t think of anything else to say, but he hated awkward silences.

    ¡°So.. you¡¯re a swordsman right? What kinda sword have you got?¡± Mark perked up.

    Jay slyly smiled ¡°Finally, we get to talk about something we both love.¡± Pulling out his ossein sword, he let Mark ogle it for a moment.

    A smirk appeared on Jay¡¯s face as he showed Mark, knowing the superiority of his swordpared to the trash that Bertram was selling.

    ¡°Wow, nice. How¡¯s it handle? It looks a bit short, but man, what a wide de.¡± Mark analysed it.

    ¡°And that colour is real nice ¨C do you know what kinda metal it is? And does the blue colour add an effect? Is it imbued with something to add cold or lightning damage?¡±

    Jay chuckled ¡°Heh, nah, I¡¯m not rich enough to afford a gem ¨C but this sword doesn¡¯t have a socket anyway. It was just blue¡­ when I found it. In a dungeon.¡± Jay covered up a lie.

    ¡°It handles more like a heavy dagger ¨C if you can imagine that. Once it pierces something it does massive damage because of how stupidly-wide it is.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯d you find it?¡± Mark immediately replied.

    ¡°On the second level of that bayring dungeon.¡± Jay decided to hide the truth about him going to the silt wolf dungeon solo.

    ¡°Wow, you guys made it that far? Huh, me and Kel didn¡¯t even realise there was a level two ¨C even though we spent longer there than anyone else..¡± Mark put his hand on the back of his head, scratching it a little.

    ¡°What¡¯s your sword?¡± Jay cut him off before he could continue.

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Mark made an awkward side-smile ¡°The guild leader saw some promise in me, so I got this¡­¡± Mark pulled out his sword.

    As Mark pulled it from his inventory, Jay was shocked ¨C not only by the sword, but the guild leader giving him this impressive gift: the sword was as wide as his ossein arming sword, yet it was long; if you stood it up straight, the guard would go up to Mark¡¯s shoulder.

    It was coloured a milky, light-yellow colour while the guard, hilt and grip was ck.

    ¡°Wow.¡± Jay stepped closer as he scrutinized the sword more closely.

    ¡°It appears to be some kind of polished ivory, or perhaps a white soapstone. But it looks so smooth¡­¡± Jay thought.

    There were no pops or dents in the sword at all.

    ¡°What even is this sword?¡±

    Mark leaned closer as he whispered to Jay.

    ¡°A moonstone sword.¡±

    ¡°Moon¡­ stone?¡± Looking at Mark reluctantly ¡°Never heard of it,¡± Jay scoffed ¡°But I doubt ites from the moon,¡± he shrugged ¡°though it looks cool. How¡¯s it handle?¡±

    ¡°Slices through things pretty easily, but unless I feed it mana it¡¯s pretty heavy, making it slow to swing.¡±

    ¡°Feed it mana? What?¡±

    Mark gripped his sword, about to show Jay, but was interrupted by Kel waking up.

    *Ahh* Kel stretched as she stood up on her mossy rock ¡°Morning boys.¡±

    Interrupting the conversation, Kel continued ¡°¡­what?¡±

    Kel just woke up and noticed the others staring at her head.

    ¡°Uh, nothing¡­ you just¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°You have a twig in your hair.¡±

    ¡°Oh..¡± Kel patted around her dark hair,pletely missing the twig as she searched for it; for some reason Mark looked suspicious as he put his sword away.

    ¡°Here.¡± Jay stepped over to pick it out.

    ¡°Thanks¡± Kel smiled warmly as she lowered her head.

    ¡°So, where¡¯d you go?¡± Kel asked out of nowhere, while Anya opened her eyes after meditating.

 Chapter 43 Closer

    ¡°¡­I wanted to keep them both here, where I can look out for them.¡±

    ¡°This will be better for them, they¡¯ll be stronger in the long run. I don¡¯t want to see them leave either, but you know¡­ sometimes the little birds have to leave the nest.¡± Margie said, looking out the window in Sullivans office. Margie was a sweet olddy with a soft voice, Sullivan found her quite agreeable.

    Sullivan slightly smiled as he nodded, looking at his desk.

    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right.. They¡¯ll at least be protected from the safety bearer¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Mm, and I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be d to have them.¡±

    In this world, the ¡®safety bearer¡¯s¡¯ were an elite team of soldiers, each of them having unique sses. Practically, they were royal assassins at the service of the nobles, securing their power and enforcing their politics. Most of them had anti-mana capabilitiesbined with strong sword skills, they made short work of most rampant magicians. The safety bearer¡¯s used to be called ¡®the mage hunters¡¯, but this was changed to trick themoners into thinking what they did was a noble deed ¨C however their role never changed: to hunt down and execute those with potentially dangerous sses ¨C dangerous to the status quo anyway.

    Jay would meet such a criteria, having a powerful monster ss. Sullivan wasn¡¯t sure if Anya¡¯s ss would be considered dangerous too, but he wasn¡¯t willing to take the risk with his only daughter.

    ¡°Yeah. I remember the stories Rn used to tell me about that ce¡­ before the assassins ¡®secured his protection¡¯ when he eventually left it.¡±

    A regretful smile appeared on both Sullivan¡¯s and Margaret¡¯s face as he said that. Rn was a friend of Sullivan¡¯s who was forced to flee due to his unique ss. He was soon found and given a new home by a mysterious group of mages, mystics and mancers ¨C each of them having their own unique sses. At the time, Sullivan was the only person who helped Rn, so the mages left him with a gift: an ability to contact them if he found more people like Rn.

    ¡°Will you send them care packages Margie? When they¡¯re gone?¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± she smiled ¡°as long as they will allow it.¡± she scratched her head, wondering how she would send something to them ¡°You should put that in the letter.¡±

    ¡°Thank you¡­ Maybe we can set up some arrangement to at least send them letters.¡± With a smile, and his smooth but powerful voice, Sullivan sincerely thanked her.

    Margaret bowed her head and left.

    Sullivan thought to himself as he sat in his ck leather chair, staring into the courtyard.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Anya will be protected by Jay while they¡¯re there. Hopefully Jay will ept my proposal¡­¡± a half-smile appeared on Sullivans face.

    Margaret had been like a mother to him, and a grandmother figure to Anya. Working as the receptionist here since he came to this vige, she had looked out for him.

    Sullivan wasn¡¯t defenceless, but was a powerful adventurer. Though simply being powerful didn¡¯t trante into running an association branch, he had no clue. The association branch was his reward for serving in the war; Margaret helped him to run it, and keep hold of it.

    Sullivan started making preparations to form a message, one made of pure mana. This was the skill that was somehow imprinted on him for helping Rn.

    This process would take all of his mana, leaving him defenceless while taking days to recover. It took a toll on his mind and body. Even though the spell was costly, it had its purpose: to contact someone in a mirror reality.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°So, where¡¯d you go?¡± Kel asked out of nowhere, while Anya rubbed open her eyes after meditating. Kel was questioning Jay about something.

    ¡°I just went to have a look around the forest, make sure you¡¯re all safe¡± smiled Jay.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Kel looked up in thought for a moment. ¡°Thanks¡± she smiled.

    *Mmh* Anya stretched, getting up from the rock as she noticed something on the ground ¡°What¡¯s with all the weird nts?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Jay raised a brow

    ¡°Why are all these nts all dead at the top?¡± she leant down, cupping a half-dead nt in her hand.

    ¡°Oh yeah, weird¡­¡± Jay said, crouching and looking at the nt.<sub></sub>

    Kel hid a cheeky smile behind her brown hair, not wanting the attention.

    ¡°Oh well,¡± Jay said, standing up ¡°we haven¡¯t got time for this.¡± he started jogging down the road before looking back.

    Anya shrugged at Mark and started jogging, following Jay.

    The others started jogging now too, so Jay turned and kept going.

    The path turned grassy at some points and rocky at others. Sometimes they had to jump over logs and walk around ponds.

    [Running ¨C Level up]

    [Running is now level 2]

    [+2% Speed]

    ¡°Nice¡± Jay thought, uninterrupted as he swept through the forest.

    After three hours, they had to stop again.

    So far, they were about 30% of the way, having travelled seven kilometres; over mountains and streams, through forests and valleys. The terrain was rugged, while much of the path was non-existent or overgrown, making it hard to travel. If the road was ideal, they could cross up to thirty kilometres in the same time.

    As the group left traces of civilisation, the path got less and less pronounced. Soon, there was no noticeable path, and small piles of rocks were used as markers for the track. Following an unspoken rule, perhaps even a tradition, each of them added another rock to these piles as they passed them.

    Jay meditated for thirty minutes again while Kel only took twenty minutes. Waking up first, she practised her skills for a while.<sub></sub>

    Time passed as she got lost in her practice, and she didn¡¯t realise Jay waking up.

    ¡°What a strange ss¡­¡± Jay sat, silently watching her shrivel a nt.

    ¡°Is that some kind of nature magic?¡± Jay asked in a hushed voice, not wanting to distract the others during their meditation.

    Kel jerked a little, slightly startled out of her deep concentration. Her orb flickered for a moment as she temporarily lost control.

    With a tiny, smug half-smile she turned to Jay ¡°Time magic.¡±

    Tilting his head to the side ¡°Time magic?¡± Jay didn¡¯t understand what it was. Other than wither nts, he could only guess; nevertheless, he wanted to say something positive.

    ¡°Sounds useful.¡± he shrugged.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty easy, but hard to master.¡± Kel said as she went back to practicing.

    ¡°¡­I hope I didn¡¯t sound sarcastic just then.¡± Jay thought to himself as he watched her torment the nts once more before he got up and did a few stretches.

    ¡°Wonder what I should do to pass the time for the next hour.¡±

    Jay took out his book, reading through the pages a few more times. He felt a sense of agreement, even joy as he read through the first two pages, but felt like he still had to digest the third page.

    At this point, Kel was back to meditating again while Mark had woken up.

    With a smile, Jay silently took out his sword, showing it to Mark.

    Mark responded with a half-smile, silently taking out his monstrous white sword.

    They looked at each other¡¯s swords once more before Mark spotted some saplings of varying sizes in the forest around them, he pointed at them, drawing Jay¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Shall we?¡± Mark quietly asked Jay.

    Jay had the exact same idea ¡°Yes. Yes we shall.¡±

    ¡°Which one first?¡±

    ¡°That one.¡± Jay picked a random nt for Mark to attack.

    Mark and Jay then spent the remaining half an hour culling the forest, showing off their skills to each other. A small clearing was even beginning to form around the oblivious meditating girls. They were swinging so fast that the only sound was the nts hitting the ground along with a whoosh sounding from Mark¡¯s sword.

    The girls finished meditating, synchronized as they were shaking their heads at the newly-formed small clearing around them. Anya was still confused by some of the nts being half-dead on the tips, but decided to ignore it since they didn¡¯t have enough time.

    ¡°We¡¯re ready, let¡¯s go.¡± Anya called Jay and Mark over.

    ¡°Right, let¡¯s go.¡± Jay said to Mark as they both culled one final nt before storing their weapons. Jay took the lead again as they continued to jog.

    The next few stops were uneventful. They were getting closer and closer while the sun was getting lower. They ran for 12 hours. Eventually the sun went down, so they decided to stop for the night and set up a small camp before finishing the rest of the journey in the morning ¨C a 6 hour trip remained for them tomorrow.

    ¡°Can we start a fire? It¡¯s cold.¡± Kel asked, unrolling a thick mat with a fur nket on top.

    ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll find some wood.¡± Jay said, ¡°C¡¯mon Mark.¡±

    The party made a square with their sleeping gear, with a fire in the middle. Jay and Mark had gathered a small pile of wood next to the fire in case anyone wanted to add some more.

    Anya pulled out a small tent, setting it up in a sh. Clearly she had camped a lot.

    Jay was standing by the fire, getting warm before he would jump into his swag. Anya took this opportunity toe and talk to him.

    A rasied brow was on jay¡¯s face, looking curious about why she wasing closer.

    ¡°They have been a little too close.¡± she whispered.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I can sense them, looking at us. Your¡­ friends.¡±

    ¡°Ohh¡± Jay finally understood what she was talking about. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll make some room¡­¡± he hinted and nodded, thanking her for the tip.

    Jay willed his skeletons to form a defensive perimeter around the camp, but making sure they were far enough away to avoid detection by Anya; this way they would both sleep soundly.

    Tucking himself into his swag, Jay felt satisfied with his purchase. It was asfortable as his bed at home.

    The night was uneventful, at least for the four sleeping. Anya had her guard up, even while sleeping she had vignt senses; this caused her to wake up a few times as she heard Mark tossing and turning, but she quickly went back to sleep.

    In the morning, the forest was quiet and cold. A mist had appeared, and the fire was long dead.

    Jay was the only one to wake up with a smile, as he received some notifications.

    [1 Exp][15 Exp][1 Exp][1 Exp][5 Exp]

    ¡°Good skeletons¡± he thought, still smiling as he mentally ordered them to break the circle formation and go back to stalker mode ¨C but this time a little further behind the party due to what Anya saidst night.

    The party had some of their own rations, packed up their gear, and made sure the fire was truly dead before jogging off once more.

 Chapter 44 Garden 1

    Today the hamlet was finally within running distance. They all packed up their sleeping gear as they prepared to leave.

    Anya gave a quick briefing before they started thest section of the journey.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting close now. We¡¯ll be in two teams ¨C me and Jay, Kel and Mark. Me and Jay will be focused on search and destroy, while you two¡± she pointed at Kel and Mark

    ¡°will be on defence and security of the hamlet. The association knows what monsters they are, but they didn¡¯t tell us so that we¡¯d have to figure it out, getting some real-world experience. Since they sent us, this means we¡¯re capable enough to handle this. If you have any problems, don¡¯t hesitate to retreat and call us for backup¡­ oh, that reminds me. Here.¡±

    Anya pulled a crystal out of her inventory, handing it to Mark. It was simr to the one Michael used for announcements at the adventurer association, but smaller.

    Anya began to exin it to Mark.

    ¡°It¡¯s amunication crystal that¡¯s linked to mine.¡± she pulled out another, waving it in her hand.

    ¡°Just channel some mana into it and I¡¯ll hear your voice. You¡¯ll also hear my voice, even if you have it in your inventory¡­ as long as you¡¯re in range anyway. These are smaller ones so the distance should be about one kilometre (0.6 Miles). It also has a function to make your voice louder as well, simr to what the guard captain did at the adventurer association¡­ I was only given two of these, so only me and you will get one.¡±

    Jay squinted at the crystal, wanting to analyse it as she handed it to Mark.

    ¡°I should definitely get one of those,¡± he thought. ¡°¡­ wait, who would I use it with?¡± he tilted his head to the side, remembering he had mostly been a loner, and with his skeletons he didn¡¯t really need anyone else.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± Jay said, taking the lead once more.<sub>.</sub>

    The party had to stop one final time for Anya to rest before arriving at the vige.

    As they walked up the forested hill, the path became more apparent as it had been used more frequently since they were getting closer to the hamlet.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s form our parties.¡± Anya said.

    Jay received a notification to form a party with her and he promptly epted it.

    ¡°Huh, she¡¯s level five now. Not bad at all.¡± Jay thought to himself as he looked towards her. Most adventurers were only level three at this point, while more hard-working ones would be level four. She was level five due to her work ethicbined with being the daughter of Sullivan, she knew the best dungeons to spend her time in.

    In the meantime, Anya was shocked, her jaw unhinged as she tried to hide her expression from the others. She thought she had caught up to Jay and was even satisfied, but now she felt a little empty inside.

    A proud smirk appeared on Jay¡¯s face which seemed to say to Anya ¡°Yep, level eight. Take it in. The numbers don¡¯t lie.¡±

    He shrugged, still smirking as they continued onwards to the vige.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°¡­Where the hell is Jay?¡± Trenly was sitting alone in the Snakeraven inn, he had waited for 30 minutes already. Getting hungry, he decided to have lunch.<sub></sub>

    ¡°I wonder if something happened to him¡­ I hope he¡¯s alright. Dammit. Maybe he¡¯s just an asshole, making empty promises¡­ there¡¯s no way to be sure. I guess I shouldn¡¯t jump to conclusions, I will just have to wait¡­ hmm.¡± he drank another sip of his beer as he watched his food being brought over by Tamara.

    There weren¡¯t many people in the pub at this time of day, so she personally brought the te over to his table.

    ¡°Maybe she knows him,¡± thought Trenly. ¡°It was Jay who suggested meeting at this ce.¡±

    The food service came with a smile ¡°Here you are.¡± Tamara said as she ced the te down.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Trenly smiled back. ¡°Hey, do you know someone called Jay?¡±

    ¡°Jay? Doesn¡¯t ring a bell¡­ can you describe him?¡±

    ¡°He has a dark-green cloak¡­ and dark hair¡­ an-¡±

    ¡°Oh, him. He alwayses in here smelling so bad¡­¡± Tamara¡¯s nose visibly twinged as she thought of him.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Suddenly, Jay paused. The others behind almost bumped into him as they stepped to the side, trying to see why he stopped.<sub></sub>

    The path was clear, so they looked at Jay curiously.

    Mark was confused as he looked at the path, then back to Jay as he thought ¡°Did he shit himself or something?¡±

    Jay crouched down as he examined the ground.

    ¡°The path here is weird¡­ it¡¯s covered in something.¡±

    ¡°What? I don¡¯t see anything?¡± Mark said as he squinted at the road, letting out an unrted sigh of relief.

    Jay had sharpened his senses since the silk woods dungeon, the ambush¡¯s and invisible spider webs had made him more alert than ever. Jay pulled out his shield and sword as a precaution.

    ¡°No, I see it too¡­¡± Anya said, throwing a rock onto the path before turning to meet the gaze of Jay¡¯s shield.

    This was the first time Anya saw Jay¡¯s new shield. She paused for a moment as she felt the shield looking at her, staring into her soul.

    She scowled back at the shield in response.

    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t like your shield.¡± she said coldly, before ignoring it and looking back to see the rock she just threw, wondering why it didn¡¯t make a sound when it hit the ground.

    The rock didn¡¯t bounce, but froze in mid-air before slowly floating to the ground.

    Grabbing a stick from nearby, Jay waved it on the path ahead. A clear gooey substance coated the stick.

    ¡°It¡¯s like slime or something?¡± The road was covered in a crystal clear slime.

    The purpose of the slime wasn¡¯t apparent ¨C it didn¡¯t appear to be a trap or have any poisonous or magical properties.

    Since it appeared harmless, they pushed on, walking through the slime as they continued up the path to the small grove of houses. It seemed to get slightly thicker as they walked closer. It wasn¡¯t viscous enough to slow their steps, but still coated their shoes.

    The novice adventurers had expected a greeting, but there was no one around. The only sound was a light breeze travelling through the hamlet.

    The hamlet consisted of wooden houses arranged in a circle, all facing inwards towards a small flower garden at the centre. It looked quite beautiful, though it didn¡¯t take long to realise some of the flowers had been crushed, trampled over. It seemed like a mass panic had happened.

    Something felt wrong as they walked closer to the garden in the centre of the houses, it was eerily quiet. They realised the slime running down the hill hade from the hamlet, it practically formed a slow-moving stream out of it.

    Most of the houses had open doors and broken windows, all of them two-story and simr-looking. Slime was periodically dripping from one of the doorsteps of arger house, creating a pping sound as it gooped down.

    ¡°Hello! Anyone there?¡± Anya called out. Her voice seemed to almost echo back since it was so quiet.

    ¡°Where the hell is everyone¡­¡± Jay wondered as he had his skeletons draw closer and scout some of the forest.

    ¡°Search the houses¡± Jay said ¡°Groups of two.¡± he whispered.

    Entering the first house with his shield facing forward, Jay had hope that the shield would spot something, but it didn¡¯t see anything.

    It was mid-day, though the houses were all dark ¨C the curtains and the remaining windows were closed on most of them. This created some very dark rooms with creeping, shadowed corners. They were dim at best, if notpletely dark.

    Since the hamlet was filled with families of woodsmen, they all had two story wooden houses with multiple rooms; they had built everything themselves. It really gave an impression ofplete independence.

    The entry of the first house opened into a long hallway with a staircase at the end. There were four roomsing off the hallway.

    He walked to the first room quietly, Anya behind him with her crossbow pointed forward, making even less noise as she was aiming over Jay¡¯s shoulder, ready to fire.

    Jay peeked into the first room on the right. He was trying to be stealthy, but the floorboards betrayed him as they loudly creaked.

    Shaking his head with a sigh, Jay knew his stealth tactics had failed, ¡°Even Mark and Kel in the next house over would¡¯ve heard that.¡± he thought to himself as he poked his head around the doorway and peered into the room.

 Chapter 45 Garden 2

    *Urgh*

    Jay grunted from a disgusting smell, the room was filled with a thickeryer of slime which had built up a pungent smell in the darkness.

    Entering the room, a few broken chairs and a flipped table greeted him. Some of the chair legs had been torn off, probably used as weapons.

    A window sill hosted a potted nt with a yellow flower ¨C though it was beginning to wilt already since the curtains had been closed. A cab in the corner of the room was half-opened, inside some jars filled with different coloured jams were waiting to be eaten. An axe was lying behind the flipped table, slightly covered in a mixture of ck and red goo from whatever monster it hacked away at. Next to it, a hammer too ¨C though it was still clean, as if it never hit the enemy.

    No monsters were present.

    Jay squinted at the axe, wondering what it was that attacked. The axe wielder had clearly been unsessful as there was no monster corpse around.

    ¡°Clear.¡± He said, stepping back into the hallway since there was nothing else to make of the room.

    This room had no door, so that¡¯s why he searched it first. He had to make sure it was safe before opening the door on the other side of the hallway. The floorboards betrayed him again as he left the room, making a loud creaking noise, It was as if the house was mocking them.

    He opened the door slowly.

    Sadly, it was another ordinary room. The only thing that appeared to be strange was the slime everywhere.

    He sighed, ¡°Clear.¡±

    There were still seven houses left to search and Jay had only cleared two rooms, the progress was slow.

    ¡°This is useless¡­ it¡¯s going to take forever this way¡­ but I suppose I should keep my guard up.¡±

    Jay was tempted to simply march through the house, opening doors with reckless abandon like he did in the silk woods dungeon, but he knew this kind of temperament would only lead him to an early death.

    He closed the door behind him as he continued down the dark hallway. The only light wasing from the entrance to the building, they had left the front door open in case they needed to make an emergency exit.

    The next two rooms down the hallway yielded the same results. One was a pantry while the other was a kitchen, but there was still nothing out of the ordinary apart from the slime.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°It seemed whoever was here was in the first room when something happened.¡± The first room was the only one with any evidence of a fight. Jay closed the doors before he made his way upstairs to the floor above.

    He crept upstairs with his shield raised and short sword ready.

    The stairs creaked as he crept up them, giving away his presence once again, he smiled bitterly as he continued up the stairs.

    It was much darker upstairs, the only lighting from a small square window at the end of the hallway.

    Jay repeated the same process as he searched the rooms: search, sigh, clear, close door.

    The first two rooms were clear again. One room appeared to be arge closet and a storage room of sorts, while the other room was a bed chamber with a hinged window and a small closet.

    Jay made sure to check under the bed, as well as in the smaller closet. No monsters were present.

    Checking the storage room, there was nothing of use to him. It was mostly filled with old clothes and some sort of wood working tools. The storage-closet room had no slime in it, so Jay simply closed the door and moved towards thest two rooms on the second story of the abandoned house.

    The secondst room had a lounge, on the wall were some books on a small shelf. A luminous orb still flickered lightly, confirming Jay¡¯s thoughts.

    ¡°Yep, it must¡¯ve happened yesterday, in the evening¡± he reasoned, since the luminous orb would¡¯ve been dark by now if it went without mana for much longer.

    Curious about what a handful of people living in the wilderness were reading, he had a look through the bookshelf. The books looked old, they were mostly about which native nts to avoid, signs of monsters, and survival tips; though there was a few different peculiar books about living by one¡¯s own means, being self-sustainable, personal responsibility, and self-governing.

    ¡°Huh, maybe this is why they moved out here¡­¡± Jay thought, intrigued by the books.

    He shrugged, putting a book back onto shelf. Nothing else was in the room apart from a circle carpet and some wooden children¡¯s toys, so he left to search thest room.

    The veryst room was the master bedroom, as there was a double bed in it. The double bed had a small bedside table next to it with a hinged window behind it. The window was partly opened.

    Jay went further into the room, squinting at the open window ¨C but paused for a moment as he checked under the bed, though nothing was there.<sub></sub>

    ¡°It¡¯s too cold for the window to be open..¡± he thought as he curiously went over to it.

    As he crept closer to the window, Anya put her hand on his shoulder.

    Jay stopped, looking back at Anya with a raised brow; she pointed at the bedside table.

    It was dark so Jay missed it at first, but there was a scrap of paper with a rock on it.

    Without saying anything, he quietly moved the rock as he grabbed the paper to read it. It was dark so he had to hold it in the lighting from the window.

    A shiver went up his spine as he read it. The letters were thick and heavy, small shards of graphite made smudges all over the paper because of how hard the writer had pressed down. Clearly they were scared at the time. Two words were hastily scribbled onto it.

    ¡°RUN ROSA¡±

    Flipping over the note, it had a single word one the back too.

    ¡°LIE~¡±

    With a clenched jaw, he showed the paper scrap to Anya. She read it but remained silent, looking back at Jay with a hint of fear as she held her crossbow a little closer.

    ¡°Maybe it was a message to her daughter?¡± he whispered.

    Jay added ¡°Not sure what the lie part means though¡­ hmm¡±

    Anya only raised her brows and shrugged.

    Jay dropped the paper as he gripped his sword firmly, stepping up onto the bed as he leant towards the open window.

    [Stress Response Activated]<sub></sub>

    [+5% Melee damage]

    He ignored the notification as he pushed the window open, however he noticed something on his hand as it entered the sunlight.

    There was blood on his hand, he only noticed it after it was in the light.

    ¡°What the..¡± He had another look at the note and the rock again.

    When he first looked at the rock, he didn¡¯t realise there was blood on it since it was so dark. Most of the blood had dried but there were still congealed lumps of it with liquid blood inside.

    Frowning, he wiped his hand on the pillows while Anya looked at him with a hint of disdain ¨C it was only some blood.

    Noticing Anya, he shook his head at himself, snapping himself out of his annoyance as he continued to open the window.

    Despite having been coated in blood, gore and goo multiple times, Jay still wasn¡¯t used to being covered in bodily fluids; he probably hated it even more now, his past experiences leaving mental scars behind.

    Jay was already getting sick of the tension and the slow speed they were searching. With a sigh, he put his shield away as he poked his head out.

    Outside the window, a make-shiftdder was leading up to the roof. It was basically thick nks nailed into the side of the house. There were some dried smears of blood leading up to the roof, staining the nks of thedder.

    Jay knew he wasn¡¯t going to go up ¨C he simply didn¡¯t want to, so he turned to Anya with a whisper.

    ¡°Can you check the roof?¡±

    She rolled her eyes and nodded as she put her crossbow away and pulled out a dagger. With a quick step, she jumped onto the window sill and climbed onto the roof.

    Jay waited in the bedroom, shutting the door to the hallway so he was alone and sitting on the bed. It was quiet for a moment until he heard Anya¡¯s footsteps above.

    Taking the opportunity, he lied on the bed which caused him to involuntarily smile.

    ¡°Ahh¡­ It feels softer than it should. Probably because of the journey we just went on.¡±

    He felt like he could almost fall asleep ¨C though he stopped himself as he felt his eyes start to close.

    With a sigh, he ate some bondtussle root hoping it would give him some extra energy.

    [Mana Regeneration buff 1%]

    ¨Csts for 1 hour(s).

    ¡°Probably a bad idea letting my guard down in the ruins of a slimy house.¡± he sat up on the bed, taking a deep breath as he tried to resist the temptation of afortable bed.

    Anya followed the trail of blood on the roof, it led her to the spine of the house. It went along the spine until it abruptly turned and created a trail going down off the side.

    ¡°It¡¯s not hard to guess what happened here¡± she thought as she went back to inform Jay, hopping in through the window as quickly as she hopped out of it. She stood on the bed next to Jay.

    It was too quiet, Jay thought he was beginning to hear creaksing from other parts of the house, so he was d she was back.

    They were both a little tense since this was the first proper monster hunt they had outside of a dungeon. Anya had apanied guards on their monster hunts, but never yed a role in them, or was in any danger. At the moment Anya didn¡¯t have any guards, and Jay didn¡¯t have any skeletons to help them, which only added to the tense atmosphere of the destroyed, silent hamlet.

    For some strange reason, Anya felt more rxed around Jay¡¯s skeletons. While they were horrendous abominable monsters, they were on the same side and protected her.

    ¡°We need to check behind the house.¡± Anya lightly stepped off the bed.

    With a nod, Jay pulled his weapons out again, opening the door and leading her back outside.

    The duo made their way to the back of the house, a dirt path leading them between the houses.

    In the backyard was a small fence circling a vegetable garden. The fence was partly broken and pushed over along with some trampled crops. The nts were ruined, not only due to being trampled but also because they were covered with a coating of slime.

    One piece of the fence waspletely covered with a blood stain, as if it had been painted red ¨C though no blood trails were leading away from it.

    ¡°Strange¡­¡± Anya thought as she looked up at the roof, plotting the trajectory of a falling person. ¡°Someone would surely have been heavily injured after falling from that height¡­ but impaling on this spike would definitely kill them¡­¡±

    After some scrutiny, she turned to Jay.

    ¡°I think someone was chased onto the roof, slipped, fell, and was then impaled here.¡± she pointed to the wooden spike.

    ¡°Mm¡­ but no corpse¡­¡± Jay nodded, crouching down as he examined the vegetable patch. ¡°Only human footprints? And they¡¯re all travelling back towards the vige.¡± he thought to himself.

    Jay had a strange feeling as raised his shield as he turned to the woods, scanning it with his eyes and with his shield¡¯s eyes ¨C though neither detected anything.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he red into the woods.

    ¡°What is it? Do you see anything?¡± Anya raised her crossbow and crouched, ready to fire into the woods.

    ¡°No¡­ Just a hunch. Nevermind.¡±

    As they both stood still for a moment, all they could hear was the breeze blowing through the forest, but neither of them saw or heard anything.

    ¡°Shall we search the next house?¡± Anya asked.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Jay shook his head. ¡°We should wait for the others to finish their house search before moving onto another ¨C maybe they found something.¡± replied Jay, still squinting into the woods as he searched for any movement.

    ¡°Yeah ok,¡± still holding her crossbow, she was feeling a little more rxed now since Jay was busy scanning the woods. ¡°Shall we wait in the centre of the hamlet?¡±

    Jay responded with an affirmative ¡°mhm.¡± as he slowly stood up and left the vegetable patch.

    ¡°What¡¯s gotten into him..¡± Anya walked back to the centre of the hamlet with Jay following.

 Chapter 46 Last

    Jay and Anya waited in the garden at the centre of the seven hamlet houses. The garden was filled with different kinds of wildflowers, and Jay noticed a small wooden toy sword lying amongst the flowers. It was lost and forgotten, part of it covered in ck wood rot.

    ¡°The kid probably got a better sword.¡± thought Jay.

    Anya was looking at the various flowers while they waited, bending down closer every now and then to get a better look. These kinds of flowers didn¡¯t appear near Lo so she was observing all of them, even the weeds were different.

    ¡°Kel and Mark are taking far too long, I wonder if they¡¯re in trouble¡­¡± Jay even expected them to be waiting for him and Anya, so he decided to go find them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move,¡± Jay gestured to Anya, ¡°we can¡¯t just look at flowers all day.¡± He said, walking towards the house that Kel and Mark went into.

    Walking into the front door, the house had the same architecture as the previous one: a hallway with four rooms on each of the levels.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I bet Mark is having a hard time with his massive sword in these small houses.¡± Jay thought as he walked past the first two rooms, briefly looking in.

    Kel and Mark didn¡¯t think to shut the doors, so Jay began to shut them as he moved further into the building.

    The next two doors were open too; one of the rooms had its window smashed inwards by something, pieces of ss all over the floor, but nothing else was in the room other than the broken ss, a smashed vase, and a lounge chair.

    Jay made sure the remaining doors were shut before he made his way upstairs. He wouldn¡¯t risk something jumping out of a hastily-searched room and ambushing them from behind.

    Kel walked quietly out of a room on the upper level. Noticing Jaying up the stairs, she shed a smile at him before making a gesture into the room, signalling Mark whoing out after her.

    Jay knew how Mark was, that he would probably say ¡®Hey Jay!¡¯ when seeing him, so Jay immediately put a finger onto his own lips ¨C signalling Mark to be quiet.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take a moment to analyse them, to see what was taking them so long.¡± thought Jay, leaning on a wall beside Kel and Mark. He slowly reached behind mark, closing the door behind him. It made Jay look awkward but he didn¡¯t care. The other looked confused for a moment, but understood what he was doing as he closed the door.

    The four of them were crowded into the hallway now.

    ¡°How many rooms are left to search?¡± Jay whispered.<sub>.</sub>

    Kel held out her hand with three fingers up. Mark was looking at Jay¡¯s shield, nodding in approval he seemed to say ¡°Nice¡± with his expression, distracted from the question by Jay¡¯s shield gazing at him.

    Jay had a confused look on his face, as he was trying to hide his annoyance.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already searched a house, a roof and even a vegetable patch and they¡¯re only this far¡­¡± he was a little frustrated at their speed, but he realised rushing them wouldn¡¯t help so he remained quiet and helped them.

    Jay pointed to the next door with his sword out, gesturing to Mark.

    Mark responded with a nod, holding his massive sword sloping downwards, he intended to do a sword lunge at the first sign of danger.

    ¡°His sword is definitely not ideal¡­¡± he thought.

    Jay wanted to lend Mark one of his swords, but remembered that he told Mark that he found it in a dungeon; his story wouldn¡¯t add up if he now had two of them.

    Besides, Mark would be able to read the stats and see that it¡¯s crafted from silt-wolf bone, and requires essence to maintain its form.

    ¡°¡­Damn, Mark will just have to use his big sword.¡± Jay thought.

    Mark pushed the door open as he held his sword with one hand. The sword had a slight glow as he held it, the mana he was channelling through it made it as light as a dagger.

    Pausing for a moment, Mark peered into the room before slowly walking into it. It was another bedroom.

    Mark checked behind the door and under the bed, while Jay nodded in approval.

    Kel followed next, while Jay and Anya waited in the hallway as they watched the other two.

    After the room was secured, Mark nodded to Kel.<sub></sub>

    Kel went around to a few objects, reversing time on them ¨C but so far she found no useful information. Time would only reverse on objects inside the orb, so if something wasn¡¯t in it when she started, it wouldn¡¯t appear afterwards.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why they¡¯re taking so long¡­Mark must be patient.¡± Jay realised they had been waiting for Kel to use her time magic this whole time. It was a particrly slow process as Kel was quite thorough in her investigation.

    Jay decided to clear thest two rooms on the top floor by himself, starting with the right room first.

    A double bed was inside, with arge cab and another hinged window.

    Jay did the usual checks ¨C under the bed and behind the door before moving to the cab.

    Suddenly, Jay¡¯s shield squeezed his arm as he held it in front of the cab.

    He breathed in a little, but was otherwise calm and ready for whatever was inside the cab.

    Jay nced at Anya as he gripped his sword, pointing it at the cab with his shield still raised.

    First, he kicked the cab, causing it to move back a small amount. He hoped to get a reaction from whatever was inside, making it burst out of the cab to attack him ¨C yet nothing happened.

    ¡°Fine. Have it your way¡± he thought.

    With a sigh, Jay stepped forward to open it, bracing himself for the pain of whatever attack wasing as he stepped forward and opened the door ¨C yet what greeted him melted his heart.

    A small girl was shivering in the dark cab, clutching a half-filled water dder with a smiley face on it. She was too scared to yell, all she could do was shiver out of fear as well as from the cold. Along with her brte hair, tears were now running down her cheeks as she cried silently. Her brown eyes looked up at him, full of fear.

    Since Jay wasn¡¯t sure what monsters they were after, he still had his shield and sword raised as he analysed her.

    [Naria]<sub></sub>

    [HP 100%]

    Jay immediately put his shield and sword away, realising it was a little girl and not some shape-shifting monster, he took a step back.

    Since she had no level it meant she didn¡¯t have a ss, meaning she was too young to get a ss ¨C another sign she wasn¡¯t a monster.

    ¡°Naria,¡± Jay whispered, ¡°We¡¯re here to save you.¡±

    Jay held out his hand but she hugged her water dder closer, burying her face into it while leaning against the back wall of the cold cab. Naria was scared of Jay.

    Her eyes were still watery since he did just have his sword and shield aimed at her. The shield by itself would be enough to scare her, it even made Anya feel ufortable.

    Jay only looked at Anya, his eyes begging for help as he was definitely out of his element.

    Anya walked over and crouched down in front of the cab ¡°I¡¯m Anya, are you hungry? You look hungry. Here.¡± She held out some jerky.

    The little girl cautiously reached out and grabbed it before slowly eating it.

    ¡°There we go, good girl.¡± Anya patted her head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go secure thest room,¡± Jay whispered, ¡°then I¡¯ll find her a warm coat.¡±

    Anya nodded, still patting the girl.

    Thest room had a small single bed. It was the girls bedroom. A straw doll was on the pillow. Jay did the usual checks behind the door and under the bed, but found nothing again.

    There was a small table in the corner with some shoes underneath and a coat lying across the top. It had a small drawer full of tiny clothes ¨C some small dresses, hair clips, socks, etc.

    Next to it was a small toy box with various wooden designs in it.

    ¡°Naria¡¯s quite well raised¡± Jay thought to himself, since none of the toys wereid across the floor. The room was quite tidy.

    He put all the tiny clothes from the drawer into his inventory, nning to give them to Anyater so she could help her change.

    Picking up the coat and the shoes, he went to exit the room.

    ¡°Oh yeah, I nearly forgot the most important thing.¡±

    Turning back to the bed, he grabbed the doll too. He then decided that he might as well grab the pillow and nket too.

    ¡°If we have to take her back to Lo, this will help her limate better.¡± he had a stern expression as he did this, thinking that her parents were probably dead already.

    Most of her possessions were with him now, excluding the toy¡¯s from the toy box.

    Returning back to Anya and the girl, he gave Anya the doll so she could give it to the girl.

    ¡°Come here.¡± Anya held her arms out. The little girl hopped out of the closet and into her arms. ¡°You¡¯re cold, here, put your coat on.¡±

    Anya grabbed the coat off Jay as she held the little girl put it on, along with her shoes.

    ¡°She¡¯s not talking.¡± she said to Jay as she was dressing Naria. Anya had tried to get any information out of Naria but she would only stare back. It was obvious to anyone she had been mentally damaged by whatever happened here.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Jay said with a frown.

    ¡°We¡¯ll need to keep her safe while we exterminate¡­ Can we leave her with Kel?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, send Kel in.¡± Jay left the room and sent Kel in, informing her of who they found, how the little girl wasn¡¯t talking and how she would need to keep her safe while he and Anya went to exterminate the monsters.

    ¡°Phew, d I¡¯m not doing this alone.¡± Jay was actually d that he had the others with him, perhaps for the first time since he got his ss.

    Kel entered the room, introducing herself. It wasn¡¯t long before she got a hug from the little girl. Soon enough, the little girl was bouncing between Anya and Kel getting hugs and pats.

    Anya stood up, whispering to Jay as she watched the girl.

    ¡°I asked her where the monsters came from, she pointed out the window towards a valley. I¡¯m betting whatever it is, it¡¯s living down there.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s get Mark to protect Kel and Naria while we head out.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    As Jay and Anya left the room, they informed Mark.

    Mark was a little disappointed he wouldn¡¯t get to do any monster ying, but he epted his duty with a nod.

    Mark peeked in the room with the girl in it, giving her a wave and a smile as he waited in the hallway. This way, he could monitor the hallway as well as the room.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Jay asked.

    Anya nodded back. She seemed more vignt and serious after seeing the girl.

    ¡°Does she want revenge?¡± Jay wondered to himself as they made their way out of the hamlet, slipping between the houses. They started walking down the hill, weapons ready for anything that could happen.

 Chapter 47 Valley

    ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe we should¡¯ve just gone back to Lo with the girl.¡± Jay thought, walking down the hill.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s more appropriate to confirm if there are any more survivors, even though I doubt it..¡±

    ¡°Whatever happened, happened fast. It seemed like the attack was quite thorough too. Besides, we¡¯re here to exterminate. We aren¡¯t supposed to be bringing survivors back, this wasn¡¯t meant to be a rescue mission¡­¡±

    Jay thought there were no other survivors, but he felt it was his responsibility to make sure, so he kept navigating down the hill, into the valley. He wasn¡¯t sure if he should just take the girl back to save her, but he justified himself in this way.

    ¡°More experience will be good anyway.¡± he encouraged himself as he willed his skeletons to report for duty. He knew they were close, but not sure exactly where they were. Their presence was more like a feeling rather than knowledge.

    It was getting darker and colder as they descended the valley. The vegetation got thicker, and they had to stamp down the bushes and mber over fallen logs. After some time, they found themselves at the edge of a ravine. The ravine was quite deep, a three-story house could be built inside it.

    ¡°Guess we have to find a way down,¡± Anya said, ¡°right, or left?¡±

    Jay looked up and down the ravine, making a decision. ¡°Right, downhill.¡±

    It was at this time that Jay¡¯s skeletons had arrived.

    ¡°Here they are.¡± Jay smiled, introducing his skeletons to Anya.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°That¡¯s Blue, Red, Lamp, and.. I haven¡¯t named that one yet.¡± he pointed at the half-sized level one feeble creature. Apart from its blue bones, it really didn¡¯t seem to belong to the same group of skeletons, mostly due to it¡¯s white rat skull and short height.

    ¡°Wow¡­ they¡¯re blue? And that one¡¯s level three?¡± Anya had wide eyes as she was trying not to yell ¡°You gave them swords now too?¡±

    ¡°This is just ridiculous. Most adventurers are only just reaching level three¡­¡± She was shaking her head at how ridiculous this was getting, she was even a little freaked out ¨C not just that there were now four of them, but that they were so much stronger in such a short period of time.

    ¡°Yep.¡± Jay smiled as he walked over to his level one skeleton, grasping the small creature¡¯s cor bone.

    ¡°Brace yourself buddy, and find a way up to us when yound.¡± he said as he leisurely tossed it into the ravine.

    Anya¡¯s jawpletely dropped after seeing this,

    ¡°Jay, what? Why?¡± Anya was a little shocked, seeing him treat a level one skeleton like trash as he tossed it over the cliff, but she soon calmed down when she saw that the skeleton waspletely fine.

    ¡°That was crazy¡­¡± She shook her head with a smile.

    Itnded with a rattle sound, but was otherwise fine. It didn¡¯t even drop it¡¯s bone daggers. Immediately it scampered off through the crevasse as if nothing even happened, following Jay¡¯s order to find a way up.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Bones are quite light. If these guys had wings, they could probably fly¡± Jay shrugged as he walked ahead. He hid a half-smile from Anya as he turned to walk, thinking that what he just did was pretty awesome.

    As they walked along the cliff, Jay periodically peered into the ravine, noting that the bottom of it was all mostly t. The skeleton he tossed in was no longer anywhere to be seen, it ran at full speed since it had no hindrances. At the top of the cliff however, walking next to the sheer drop was dangerous; Jay and Anya had to periodically navigate around cracks in the ground as well as various rocks, trees and bushes.

    After a while, Jay got a notification.

    [15 Exp]

    ¡°Hmm..¡± Jay picked up speed ¡°The skeleton just killed something.¡±

    Anya didn¡¯t say anything since she also got exp, but stayed behind Jay, keeping up with him.

    It wasn¡¯t long before they found a way down, some boulders forming giant steps. Tree roots ran over them, providing a natural climbing surface.

    Anya and Jay had to climb down, but the skeletons easily jumped from boulder to boulder. Jay made sure that one skeleton stayed up on the top of the cliff in case this area was trapped. His other two skeletons secured the t ravine floor.

    Jay willed the level one skeleton to return since they had found a way down now.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Sense any enemies?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Anya said, squinting at some of the boulders and rocks in the valley.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move.¡±

    WIth the area secure, he made thest skeleton jump down.

    Blue was in the lead since it was level three, with Red next to it.

    Next was Jay and Anya who were holding their weapons casually, followed by Lamp with it¡¯s old buckler, protecting the rear of the party.

    Jay didn¡¯t realise this, but Anya was periodically ncing at Blue.

    ¡°It¡¯s more¡­¡± she couldn¡¯t find the words ¡°vignt¡­ aware?¡± she thought.

    ¡°Compared to the other skeletons, Blue seems more like an adventurer¡­¡±

    Somehow, the levelled up skeleton seemed more life-like in the way it acted, It creeped Anya out a little.

    Anya wasn¡¯t sure if she should be worried about Jay bing an unstoppable force in the future, she could only hope he wouldn¡¯t turn into a monster as he got stronger.

    The party walked through the twisting and turning ravine silently, eventuallying to the corpse of whatever it was that the level one minion killed.

    Jay had to grit his teeth as he inspected the corpse, as it was simply disgusting. Whatever it was had no bones, so the remains of its body was a sack consisting of a slimy ck mass of flesh, white mucousy goo and blood. It was as indistinguishable as the washed-up remains of a severely decayed whale.

    ¡°Eugh..¡± He couldn¡¯t hold in his disgust as he stepped around it.

    ¡°At least it doesn¡¯t stink¡± Anya whispered, taking out a bolt to poke around at its corpse; she was trying to guess what it originally looked like. After no sess from poking it around, she simply dropped the bolt, leaving it with the fleshy goo that was now clinging to it.

    Walking down the ravine, it was bing more humid. Soon they noticed something strange.

    ¡°So many leeches¡­¡± Anya whispered with a frown.

    ¡°Yeah, It¡¯s unnatural. Probably due to the monsters. Try to avoid them if you can.¡± Jay was having the same thoughts.

    At this point, the level one skeleton returned. Clearly it didn¡¯t consider the leeches a threat as the little ck blood-suckers were all over it¡¯s bones.

    Now awoken from their dormant state, the leeches were now searching for food as they wiggled all over the skeleton¡¯s bones.

    Jay made sure the level one skeleton stayed a good distance away from them.

    To make the path clear, Jay was going to use the skeleton. Undermand from Jay¡¯s will, the skeleton went to the ravine wall and ripped out some small shrubs.

    It proceeded to the front of the party before it began to sweep the ground as they walked deeper into the ravine. It was quite good at this job as the level one skeletons had long armspared to the rest of their body, nearly reaching the ground.

    Anya had a reluctant half-smile while seeing the killing machine sweeping the path for them. ¡°It almost makes Jay seem like a king.¡± she thought.

    Jay picked up the bone daggers as the party moved forward, the sweeping skeleton leading the way. Jay would throw the daggers back to it at the first sign of trouble.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Jay to think of a name for his new skeleton, but he decided to save the naming ceremony forter.

    The ravine continued downhill and got deeper; the walls got wider at the bottom and narrower at the top of the ravine. Now it was more like a cave with a skinny line of light travelling along the roof.

    More and more leeches were swept to the side, the ground was getting more popted by the second as they ventured deeper, meanwhile less of the light from above could make it to the bottom of the ravine.

    They continued for some time, and soon they could no longer see the walls of the cave ¨C now they were simply following a trail of light in the midst of the shadows.

    The party stood out clearly as they were the only things in the light.

    Suddenly Jay paused, raising his sword and shield ¨C his shield just squeezed his arm, altering him of an enemy in the darkness.

 Chapter 48 Painless

    ¡°If only we had a torch or someth-¡±

    A light lit up the cave as Anya pulled out a luminous orb with a smug smile. It¡¯s white-blue light lit up the area around them, reaching about twenty metres away.

    That was when they saw it, one of the monsters they were here to y.

    It had ck, slimy, reptilian frog-like skin.

    Basically, it was like arge, human-sized leech yet with some startling differences: It¡¯s mouth was a gaping hole filled with spiny teeth, surrounding its mouth were ten white eyes, most of which were locked onto Jay, though at first nce they simply looked like white spots.

    It didn¡¯t have any arms, though it¡¯s legs consisted of multiple tentacles, all of them wriggling around which gave it silent movement, while much faster than the normal way a leech moves. It was perfectly suited to hunting in a dark cave system.

    Already speeding towards Jay, it was drawn to him like a ma. Strangely, it didn¡¯t even care about the skeletons in front of it as it charged straight into their des.

    Now that it was stopped by the skeletons, Jay took a moment to analyse it.

    <[Leech Imp Level 1]>

    [HP 5/5]

    <[Skills]>

    [de Vision]

    ¨C Sees temperatures rauther than colours. Thermal vision.

    [Annelid Body] (Passive)

    ¨C It¡¯s segmented, boneless, muscr, jelly-like body can bend, squeeze, tten, stretch and twist to extreme proportions, making it hard to wound.

    ¨C Requires a moist environment.<sub>.</sub>

    ¨C Immune to crushing damage.

    ¨C 90% reduced shing and stabbing damage. Pierce damage counts as stabbing damage.

    ¨C 90% increased damage from fire-based attacks.

    [Devour]

    ¨C The leech imp begins to swallow its victim whole (Takes 15 seconds). Once swallowed, the victim begins to be digested by stomach acids. After the meal, anything non-organic is regurgitated along with excess mucus.

    ¨C 1 damage/minute.

    ¨C Once swallowed, the victim can only escape if the leech imp dies. Can attack from inside with 90% damage reduction penalty.

    [Anaesthetic Bite]

    ¨C The creature bites into you, syphoning blood as it heals itself.

    ¨C 1 damage/second.

    ¨C 0.1 Hp heal/second.

    ¨C Enough bites paralyse the target for (1) seconds. Scales with victims vitality.

    ¨C Local anaesthetic. Victim feels no pain. Most creatures will not realise they¡¯re being attacked.

    [Mucus Movement] (Passive)

    ¨C +25% speed in mucus.<sub></sub>

    [Create Kin]

    ¨C After consuming enough blood, can create another leech imp, grown from one of it¡¯s tentacles.

    ¨C Asexual organism

    ¡°Really low health but also high damage reduction.¡± Jay said to Anya while still staring at the leech imp.

    ¡°Also we can talk normally now since it relies on its heat-sense vision. Looks like it can¡¯t even see the skeletons, that¡¯s probably why it charged into them.¡±

    Blue shed at it twice, only doing 0.8 damage each time.

    Jay was d he crafted the stronger 8 damage ossein swords.

    It was a level one monster, but it would¡¯ve been hard to kill if Jay was still using his cooking knife; it would¡¯ve done 0.1 damage. This would be like fighting a monster with 50 health ¨C he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to kill it within the 15 seconds it took to channel it¡¯s devour skill. From inside the belly, it would be like fighting a monster with 500 health due to the extra 90% damage reduction from inside.

    ¡°These things would be hard for any level one to deal with¡­ it¡¯s pretty unfair to even call them level one¡­ I guess my skeletons are pretty unfair too though¡± Jay mischievously smiled.

    The majority of other adventurers would only be level three at this point, with 3-5 damage swords; Jay was level eight. Monster sses are truly overpowered.

    Thankfully he had his skeletons with him, they made short work of the slimy monster, only taking 7 hits to kill it. With thebined attacks of the minions, it was dead within a few seconds.

    Since both Red and Blue dual wielded the swords, each of them only had to attack twice to end it.

    [15 Exp]

    When it died, it turned into a mass of wriggling moving parts for a moment ¨C then slowly stopped as its individual body parts ran out of energy, swimming around aimlessly in a growing puddle of its own mucus.

    ¡°Gross.. I guess that exins all the mucus in the hamlet¡­ Do you want to loot it?¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°¡­No¡± Anya¡¯s face scrunched up at the sight of it. She had already left one bolt behind searching through a corpse, and wasn¡¯t going to waste another.

    Whatever this level one monster would drop wouldn¡¯t be worth digging around it¡¯s slimy corpse for. Jay had his level one minion search the corpse, but it turned up nothing.

    He tried waving his hand over the corpse and picking up any items from it using his inventory but to no result.

    ¡°Perhaps it drops nothing?¡± Jay thought to himself ¡°I guess it¡¯s a non-dungeon monster anyway.¡± he pursed his lips ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll contact Mark, they should know what we¡¯re up against.¡±

    Jay nodded as she pulled out the crystal.

    She channelled some mana into it, but after a few moments she had a frown on her face.

    ¡°Hnn¡­ it usually lights up a little when it works¡­ damn. We must be too far. It doesn¡¯t feel like we walked that far though.¡±

    ¡°Oh well. We can¡¯t do anything about it. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re safer than us anyway, so let¡¯s move on.¡±

    ¡°Mm, sure.¡± She put the crystal away.

    Journeying through the darkness, walking along the light path, Jay¡¯s shield soon squeezed his arms ¨C multiple times.

    Leech Imps started appearing while his shield kept squeezing. The first three were dispatched easily by Red and Blue, but afterwards there were five at once, all much faster as they travelled over their kin¡¯s mucus-covered dead bodies.

    Jay was forced to join the fight with Anya backing him up, while each skeleton was fighting its own leech imp.

    shing at the slimy creature¡¯s long neck, Jay¡¯s sword seemed to have little effect as the leech imp¡¯s body almost seemed to slide around the de; It¡¯s skin was tough, stretchy and slimy; simr to an octopus.

    [0.8 damage]

    The creature lunged back, snapping onto Jay¡¯s arm. Jay expected to feel pain but it only felt like a cold slime was touching his arm. Theck of sensation made him surprised and disgusted as he tried to control his panic ¨C It was as if his own body wasn¡¯t warning him that it was being consumed; like it wasplying with being eaten.

    ¡°Argh!¡± He tried to pull it off his arm but it seemed like his skin was more likely to rip off with it, while the creature¡¯s body merely stretched.

    Anya wouldn¡¯t fire at the leech imp, as Jay was moving a lot and she didn¡¯t want to risk hitting Jay.

    Getting slightly more panicked, Jay began to endlessly and ferociously sh at its ck body.

    Meanwhile the Molodus coat was doing it¡¯s part at protecting Jay, the poison damageing off the coat wasn¡¯t reduced by the leech¡¯s natural defences at all as it slowly killed the leech.

    The coat did 1 damage over three seconds, this made it as if someone was attacking the imp with a three damage sword.

    Damage numbers quickly popped up until it eventually fell off, dead.

    ¡°The worst part of these is that you don¡¯t even feel them.¡±

    He had this thought as he looked back at Anya ¨C she shot a bolt at the leech that the level one skeleton was fighting, though since her concentration was somewhere else, one of the fat ck slugs had crept up behind her and was nowtched onto her lower calf muscle, getting a free meal.

    ¡°Sneaky bastard.¡± Thought Jay as he sprung over to help Anya.

    Not wanting to alert her, Jay jumped at it, stomping on its body as he shed it with his sword.

    Anya¡¯s eyes bulged, trying not to scream as she realised what Jay was doing. She was the most vignt person in the whole party, and yet she was now being eaten alive without even being aware of it. Thankfully Jay had noticed.

    ¡°This could be dangerous if enough bite us without us realising¡± Jay panted ¡°We definitely don¡¯t want to get stunned here.¡±

    The sneaky leech died in a few moments, Jay and Anya both stabbing it to pieces as it squirmed from the pain, though still not letting go of Anya¡¯s leg until it was dead.

    Blue, Red and Lamp had all killed their leeches by now, but like clockwork, six more leeches appeared from the darkness ¨C their sucker-shaped mouths lined with teeth, drooling slime as they silently approached.

    ¡°How many more¡­¡± Jay quietly said as he sprung into action, slicing at another leech.

    The six new leeches died quickly, though Jay was bitten again.

    After the leech imp¡¯s all died, the smaller leeches on the floor all scurried off, seemingly disappearing into the darkness. It was as if Jay and Anya had reimed territory from them and now they were fleeing.

    ¡°Cool..¡± Jay thought, watching the tiny swarm of blood suckers wriggle off into the darkness.

    The party continued onwards into the dark, deep ravine. The sun wasn¡¯t directly above the ravine anymore so it was like night-time at the bottom of the ravine.

    As they walked, they began to find some unusual items lying on the cold cave floor.

    The first item was a wooden axe with a stone head, the next were shoes and socks, then some timeter they found some pants too.

    Jay held up the pants, raising a brow to Anya.

    She didn¡¯t say anything but only gave a curious gaze at them, shrugged, then looked back into the darkness.

    ¡°It¡¯s weird. It doesn¡¯t seem like these woulde off in a struggle¡­ why would someone drop their weapon, take their shoes and socks off, then their pants too?¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t find any clothes in the vige either. Maybe the vigers were taken here and someone left a trail?¡±

    ¡°But¡­ the leech imp¡¯s don¡¯t seem smart enough to take prisoners.¡± Jay scratched his chin in thought as he walked, voicing his thoughts to Anya periodically.

    The leeches started appearing on the ground again, a signal that they were entering more leech territory, so Jay got ready to fight ¨C yet without his shield.

    Instead, his shield hand nursed a few teeth, slightly vibrating as he channelled some mana into them..

    This time, he would test his spell against their natural defences¡­

 Chapter 49 Royal

    ¡°No, no, NO! If I want to go kill some monsters alone, I will do it a-lone! These stupid guards are just holding me back!¡± Matheson yelled as he threw a luminous orb against the wall in his manor.

    With a bright spark it shattered to pieces, temporarily lighting up the room as if a lightning strike happened nearby.

    ¡°My young Lord, please reconsider. We can¡¯t protect you if you go into dungeons alone. Besides..¡± the nervous butler rubbed the back of his hand with the other ¡°we can just have the soldiers get your exp while all you have to do is wait. It¡¯s safer th-¡±

    ¡°No! I needbat experience! I don¡¯t want to be another clueless noble who doesn¡¯t even know how to swing a sword, still suckling the gold out of their mothers tit like a baby! I can¡¯t even sense mana yet because everything is done for me! I¡¯m sick of it!¡±

    He kicked over a suit of armour, while the butler begged him.

    ¡°Please, reconside-¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going and there¡¯s nothing you can do about it! I don¡¯t care if I get less money. Now prepare a hearty meal and some travel food, or rations, or whatever those peasants call it, I¡¯m going to be training in a dungeon this very night ¨C whether you like it or not!¡± he yelled right in Hodley¡¯s face.

    Hodley had worked as a butler his whole life.

    Scared of Mathesons temper, he scurried off into a different corridor of therge manor.

    Hodley let out a sigh as he found safety, finally out of his master¡¯s re. He had served Matheson¡¯s father in the capital years ago, but Matheson¡¯s anger was even fiercer than his fathers.

    Holdley grew more and more frustrated every day; Matheson simply couldn¡¯t be contained ¨C he did what he wanted, he had no self-control.

    Living in Lo was a punishment for the both of them ¨C for Matheson, as he spoke rudely at a noble¡¯s banquet. Hodley was also punished for simply being in the banquet room at the time; he wasn¡¯t meant to be there, as it was considered rude to bring your own servants to someone else¡¯s banquet. Hodley didn¡¯t want to be there, though he was forced to enter the banquet because of Matheson¡¯s threats.

    This single incident caused various repercussions for Mathson¡¯s father, so both of them are now exiled here in Lo.<sub>.</sub>

    Matheson¡¯s budget for his fine lifestyle was tied to his presence in the Lo manor. If he were to leave, the budget would be reduced or even pause until he returned back to it.

    It was a somewhat ingenious idea of his father, as Matheson would be forced to either remain here, living like a child still holding onto his parents, or be a man, making something of himself and forging his own path; of course, Matheson didn¡¯t realise this was his fathers n all along.

    Matheson wasn¡¯t physically forced to stay there, but as a noble without any skills he was purely dependent on the budget of gold that his father provided. It was like an invisible shackle.

    Matheson hated it, feeling suffocated ¨C but one day an opportunity came; he turned eighteen and got his ss.

    While he lived infort, he felt an internal struggle ¨C he was restless knowing he truly wasn¡¯t free, and this feeling got stronger every day.

    For his independence, he decided he would be an adventurer, ying monsters to earn a living. Adventuring was now his way out of exile.

    In this world, adventuring was something that the peasants did, while nobles would be trained to fight by skilled officers in the military, before going on tomand the troops below them.

    Matheson knew he would be looked down upon by the nobles if he became an adventurer, and he didn¡¯t care.

    To him, being independent was much better than being like a child given an allowance: he would still have his self-respect intact, even if he were to earn less than his father¡¯s allowance.

    Matheson started training himself, not taking any shortcuts and using his guards.

    Doing pushups in his manor, Matheson repeated to himself as he trained.

    He did a pushup between each word ¡°No¡±.. ¡°one¡± .. ¡°Is¡± .. ¡°going¡± .. ¡°to¡± .. ¡°own¡± .. ¡°me.¡± He repeated this each time, and created this as a workout mantra for himself, eventually he started applying it to every type of exercise he did.<sub></sub>

    Because his mantra was seven words long, this led him to doing sets of seven repetitions. He didn¡¯t realise it yet but this number of repetitions would create the perfect bnce between lean and bulk muscle.

    As his training progressed he became better at dealing with pain.

    Clenching his jaw, he repeated the mantra numerous times while doing different workouts, even bing happy when he found new muscles to workout. He could workout for many hours during the day due to his ss giving him energy.

    Slowly but surely, he was learning to control his anger and channel his rage into his workouts.

    Each day he did more workouts, each afternoon he ate like a king, and each night he slept like a log.

    Slowly but surely, he was disciplining himself, and he didn¡¯t even realise it ¨C though this was just the start. He still had to practice his sword skills; tonight, he would start going to dungeons by himself.

    Hodley even started to notice a change in the young master. Despite Matheson¡¯s increasing muscle, he had less outbursts of anger ¨C perhaps it was due to being tired, or because he channelled his anger into exercise.

    While he still seemed angry all the time, it was like it became more regted.

    Holdley wondered if he should report this to Matheson¡¯s father.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°Four.. no, six again.. Wait, there¡¯s eight this time!¡± Anya said as she fired her crossbow at a leech imp, the bolt causing it to bend over backwards ¨C though it¡¯s tentacle-like feet kept pulling itself towards them, dragging the top half of its body with it before it sprang back up to normal again.

    ¡°S-should we fall back?¡± she asked after seeing this.<sub></sub>

    Anya was beginning to panic ¨C walking into a monsterir after finding the massacred vige was getting to her. It was clear by now that the vige had been massacred, consumed by these leeches. She wondered why her father sent her on such a mission.

    ¡°No. Not yet at least.¡± Jay said confidently as he had his four skeletons form a wall of death between them and the eight leech imps ¨C though the wall wasn¡¯t wide enough, and some of the imps went around the sides.

    Without a second thought, Jay began to charge one of his teeth as he prepared an unstable teeth spell. Since it was a spell, it wouldn¡¯t count as sh, pierce or stab damage ¨C so Jay could bypass their natural defences with a single spell.

    It was the perfect time to use one, since the enemies were all pushed together as they tried to get past the skeletons. For whatever reason, they still couldn¡¯t see the skeletons ¨C they were treated like vines or roots that the leeches merely had to push past to get to their meal.

    The leech imps seemed mad; they continued to push against the skeletons even as they took damage.

    The unstable tooth spell was ready, the tooth floating in his hand with a faint green glow; visibly vibrating because of the mana forced into it.

    Squinting at the imp leeches with a smirk, he released the unstable tooth.

    It flew towards the leech imp¡¯s with the speed of an arrow, creating a line of green light in the darkness.

    *Boom*

    It exploded against the flesh of one of them, causing a horrible crater in its body. Blood and mucus oozed out of the hole.

    ¡°Oh yeah, I forgot that spell levelled up.¡± Smiled Jay.

    The explosion was much bigger than before and it released even more shrapnel of teeth ¨C all of which pierced the nearby leeches.

    The initial explosion instantly killed the leech, though the fragments hitting the other leeches only counted as pierce damage ¨C this is what Jay concluded after the following damage numbers he noticed:

    [6] [15 Exp] [0.1] [0.1] [0.1] [0.1] [0.1]

    The leech that died ended in another desperately wriggling mess on the ground; squirming and squirting mucus everywhere.

    Unfortunately, since the dying leech leaked slime everywhere, it made the other leeches faster.

    ¡°Ok, maybe we should back up a bit ¨C at least until we get outta that slime area.¡±

    Anya nodded, not wanting to be anywhere near the leeches or more of the slime which they had been walking through for most of the day.

    As they were trying to back up, they paused in shock. A wall of leech imps were around them ¨C they were surrounded.

    Anya nearly walked right into the line of leech imps, the circle had formed around them and it was slowly but surely getting smaller.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Jay pulled out five more unstable teeth, beginning to charge them all.

    Anya desperately loaded and fired more bolts at anything she could. The skeletons continued to hack, stab and sh away at leeches.

    The leeches that surrounded them were different ¨C they had red stripes on their bodies, and they didn¡¯t recklessly charge at Jay and Anya; instead, they patiently moved forward together and seemed to be quite organised.

    There were approximately 35 red-lined leech imps, while about 10 more normal ones were pushing through the encirclement to try and attack Jay and Anya.

    The leech imps that formed the circle were letting the normal ones past. They had a single red stripe travelling down their bodies, starting at the mouth.

    ¡°Stay in the middle.¡± Jay gestured, as Anya stepped between the group of skeletons and Jay. She continued to fire her crossbow from cover ¨C though it could hardly be called cover, standing between a single human and four skeletons.

    Many of the normal leech imps were dead now, killed by the skeletons. The skeletons wasted no time and quickly moved on to shing at the leech imps with the stripes.

    The five teeth Jay was charging had taken a while since there were so many of them, but Jay was getting close to firing them off into the crowd of leeches.

    In the time it took Jay to charge the teeth, Blue had already killed one of the red-lined leech imps.

    After the first one died, the red-lined leeches suddenly all stopped moving forward, it was as if they were waiting for something.

    Thest few normal leech imps that had pushed through the red ones and had been dashed to pieces by now.

    Only the red ones were left, still forming a circle around them ¨C new target of Jay¡¯s minions.

    Jay took a moment to analyse one of the red-line leeches.

    It was level two, nearly the exact same as the other ones except for having more health as well as an addition to its name.

    <[Leech Imp Level 2 (Royal)]>

    ¡°What makes it royal..? Is it because it¡¯s level two?¡± Jay was curious as he guarded Anya. He was wondering about this, but his thoughts were cut off when he heard something strange.

    A voice from the darkness came from outside the circle of leeches.

 Chapter 50 Choices 1

    ¡°Please¡­ stop hurting them¡­¡± A girl¡¯s soft voice cried out.

    Jay paused, surprised from hearing a young woman¡¯s voice in here, a dark ravine filled with deadly leeches of all ces.

    ¡°Surely everyone was dead by now¡­¡± he questioned Anya to make sure he wasn¡¯t crazy.

    ¡°Did you hear that? The voice?¡± he asked Anya as he looked around for the source of the voice.

    Since the red-lined leeches weren¡¯t attacking or closing in anymore, he had his skeletons temporarily stop attacking because of what the voice said ¨C they seemed to freeze like statues in mid-attack, still ready to continue the ughter after the slightest signal from Jay.

    ¡°Do you see anyone?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t see anything¡­ Shouldn¡¯t everyone be dead by now?¡±

    Suddenly, the red-lined leeches circle formation moved and opened on one side.

    Anya aimed her crossbow at the entrance to the circle as a girl with a hooded coat entered. She stayed just far enough away from the light so that all Jay and Anya could see was the faint white skin of her hands and face. The clothes she was wearing blended into the darkness and almost made her look like a floating head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± she said ¡°please just leave¡­¡± She hid her face under the hood.

    ¡°What do you mean you¡¯re sorry? What did you do? Don¡¯t you want our help?¡± Jay asked.

    The girl looked down, hiding her face.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t the leeches eating her alive¡­¡± Jay wondered to himself as he began to get suspicious; he held a hand behind his back, holding something from the girl¡¯s sight.

    ¡°We¡¯re here to exterminate the leeches, we can¡¯t just leave. Not after what happened to that hamlet.¡± Anya replied, ¡°Blood requires blood, and this infestation has gotten out of hand. We can¡¯t let this slide, and neither will the association. The leeches here must be culled.¡±

    Jay squinted at the girl, nodding in agreement while raising his shield. He was still wondering how a young woman was standing there, asking them to leave while surrounded by monsters. It seemed like they even obeyed her.

    After being annoyed by not knowing, he lowered his voice and asked directly.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t the leeches attacking you?¡±

    The girl in the hood looked to the side, into the darkness.

    ¡°I was just¡­ they¡¯re harmless¡­ and my family, since everyone else is dead¡­ after what happened¡­¡± she began to cry, lowering her head. She wasn¡¯t making any sense to Jay, it seemed like her mouth couldn¡¯t keep up with her thoughts.

    Jay didn¡¯t hear the next part, but she whispered this to herself:

    ¡°The blood of my family runs through them, so they are my family¡­ and no one will hurt them.¡±

    Jay continued ¡°We came here to save any survivors. What happened to your family? And the other families? And howe they aren¡¯t attacking you? Don¡¯t you want toe with us? We can leave right now.¡± Jay questioned the mysterious girl. He wanted to analyse her but she was too far away.

    It almost seemed like she didn¡¯t hear him, perhaps she didn¡¯t care about what he had to say, as she started spiralling off into her own thoughts as she whispered things to herself.<sub></sub>

    ¡°¡­They¡¯re here to kill my family¡­ I won¡¯t let them die again¡­ It was my fault, so I have to protect them this time¡­¡± she whispered to herself.

    The circle of leeches closed again as the girl sunk back into the darkness.

    She started crying, and Jay heard the crying sounds but he felt his hair start to stand on end as the crying sounds turned into a maniacalughter.

    The red leeches all started moving again as sheughed from behind them. The circle was closing, so Jay responded with his skeletons; they became life-like again as they began to hack and sh endlessly once more.

    [Stress Response Activated]

    [5% Melee Damage]

    ¡°Anya, I have a n. Follow me closely.¡± Jay said. He was nning his escape while the girl was mentally spiralling, whispering to herself. The moment she appeared, he had started to charge some unstable teeth spells.

    Since his experience with the silk woods dungeon, Jay knew how changing and vtile even the dungeons could be; this quest had already changed since the vige was massacred, and he wasn¡¯t taking any chances. The slightest suspicion meant danger in situations like this.

    His five teeth had charged now. Running towards the skeletons, he flung the teeth at the leeches they were fighting.

    Three of them died instantly, but two remained alive. The gap in the wall wasn¡¯t big enough for him to pass through.

    Jay had the level one skeleton stand behind the higher level ones.<sub></sub>

    Running towards it, he stepped on its head. It was easy since its skull only came up to Jay¡¯s hip.

    The skeleton proved to be a reliable stepping stone as Jay sprang off of it.

    He then nted another foot on Lamp¡¯s head, leaping right over the skeletons, and the red-lined leeches ¨C sessfully escaping the encirclement.

    Jay nearly lost his bnce as hended since the luminous orb was with Anya,nding in the darkness was risky and even a sprained ankle would mean death.

    Anya followed shortly after,nding perfectly since she was much more dexterous than him and had the orb with her.

    This looked like magic to the leeches, since their heat-vision made the skeletons look invisible. It was as if Jay and Anya both used the air as steps.

    The leeches turned into a loose mob now as they chased after Jay and Anya. There were still at least thirty of them left ¨C most of which were level two.

    Thankfully, they weren¡¯t very fast since there was no slime around ¨C silent, but not fast.

    ¡°Argh! Stop them!¡± the mysterious girl¡¯s voice cried out from the darkness once more.

    Jay brought out more teeth, charging five more as he ran.

    Anya kept reloading and firing her crossbow.

    The skeletons continued to hack and sh while they were at the sides of the mob of charging leeches.

    The skeletons were much faster than the leeches, after all, they could run much faster than a human without all the organs, blood and flesh weighing them down. They could catch up to Jay if they wanted, and quite easily too ¨C but Jay had them on murder duty, running along the side of the swarm and they sliced at the leeches.

    Slowly but surely they were thinning out the crowd of leeches. It wasn¡¯t a very heroic tactic, but at least they would survive; people only became legends after they died, and Jay wasn¡¯t ready yet.

    Leeches started dropping off one by one, though this conversely created a problem for Jay and Anya. The dead leeches create pools of slime, which made the other leeches faster.

    ¡°Shit..¡± Jay thought, noticing the paradox he was in. He temporarily had his skeletons stop attacking ¨C but this wasn¡¯t the end of his problems.

    The leeches they killed on the way into the ravine had ended in pools of guts and slime, and the slime increased the speed of the leeches. Each time they passed over a leech corpse, the masses of leeches got closer.

    ¡°This is a problem.¡± Jay said, noticing the horde was closing in. He flung five teeth at the ones in the front, killing two of them and heavily injuring another, but the two new dead leeches only helped the others to get closer.

    ¡°Hmm..¡±

    Jay had to think of a solution or they would have to fight their way out of a leech stomach.

    First, he had his skeletons go to the rear of the pack and kill them off from behind, this way, the pack wouldn¡¯t be able to get a speed boost and their numbers would still be slowly reduced.

    They continued to run, but Jay knew there were still enough puddles of slime ahead for the leeches to catch up.

    A sly smile appeared on Jay¡¯s face as he remembered something.

    ¡°Red,e.¡±

    The cobalt-blue skeleton with red kes on its bones promptly ran from behind the mass of leeches and appeared next to Jay.

    Without a second thought, Jay stuffed his hands into its ribcage and pulled out a thick,rge wad of silk.

    The ball of silk was quite condensed since they squashed it up there, but if it was pulled apart back to its original state, it would probably be enough to reach all the way back to the hamlet.

    Jay ripped pieces of the sticky silk off as he periodically tossed it at the leeches. The silk was effective at slowing them down, as strings of it were getting twisted into the tentacle-like feet of the leeches.

    Soon they crossed another corpse of a leech, so Jay tossed arge piece of the silk onto it.

    Something strange happened as the silk mixed with the slime.

    At first, it seemed to dissolve harmlessly into the slime, yet it had a staggering effect as the leeches crossed over it: the slime had turned into an incredibly viscous, thick and sticky goo.

    Instead of speeding the leeches up, it now slowed the leeches down ¨C even more so than when Jay was simply tossing pieces of silk at them. The pool of slime turned into glue.

    Jay started smirking as he looked back ¡°Let the cull begin.¡±

    ***Author here. Hooray, chapter 50! Send a power stone if you¡¯re enjoying the book :)***

 Chapter 51 Choices 2

    Even the skeletons were having trouble getting through the silk-slime goo mixture ¨C though they were still better off than the leeches.

    Jay and Anya had more time to fire some spells and bolts now, and began to kill some at the front of the pack.

    Whenever the leeches got closer, they simply ran until they passed another dead leech, turning its corpse into another sticky slow-trap.

    After sharing some of the silk, Anya wasunching bolts with silk wrapped around them, turning the leeches into slow-traps as they died, betraying their own kin.

    Jay was down to hisst unstable tooth, so he decided to save it.

    Out of the thirty-five leeches chasing them, only ten remained. Jay knew he could fight them, though he would have to suffer a few bites.

    The skeletons were bringing up the rear, culling them from behind while Anya fired bolts from the front.

    Jay jumped into the fray, killing the leeches as he began to run circles around them. He was lunging in with deadly stabs and thrusts before jumping back out of the leeches attack range. With his dexterity and speed, he was essentially not giving them enough time to bite.

    Two more leeches died, falling victim to the skeletons¡¯ relentless stabbing. The undead were upromising, putting 100% effort into every attack.

    The red-stripe leeches were level two with double the health, but other than that, not much else had changed. They were a little physically bigger, but just as fast as the level one leeches; the main difference was that they formed an encirclement the first time.

    Jay lunged forward, stabbing again ¨C suddenly, as he jumped back he ran into something, causing him to get ensnared by a leeches bite. He bumped into something.

    It was the mysterious girl.

    ¡°What. The. Fuck.¡± he said loudly as he stared at the girl. Hepletely forgot about the battle raging on behind him.

    The girl was not normal, which caused Jay to gasp from the horror that was her body.<sub>.</sub>

    Her legs were ck tentacles, some human flesh still loosely clung to them. The hood she wore had fallen off since he bumped into her, revealing a bald head with two red lines going over it, simr to the leeches.

    ¡°I told you, you wouldn¡¯t escape.¡± she said in an emotionless, empty voice.

    Since Jay was so distracted, another leech behind Jay had enough time to attack now, biting him on his tricep ¨C though he didn¡¯t notice due to the anaesthetic properties of the leech saliva.

    Two leeches clung to Jay from behind as he red at the girl, holding his sword and shield ready.

    The little girl had milky white eyes and no pupils, only a red ring which travelled around where the pupil used to be. Both eyes were now widened as they stared directly at Jay, her mouth had no lips and was beginning to drool.

    Jay had a sense of uneasiness as he was about to strike her, but since she clearly wasn¡¯t human anymore, he went ahead and shed his sword right across her face, causing a deep tear across the skin.

    Her head flicked to the side from the force of his strike, but when she turned back, a ck gash appeared where the sword had cut, some red blood trickling out.

    [0.8]

    Her eyebrows had an angry expression while her mouth-hole curved into a sort of smile ¨C at least from what Jay could tell.

    ¡°Shiiit¡­¡± said Jay, realising he had only made her angrier.

    Before Jay¡¯s eyes, her bottom jaw slowly split down the middle before opening sideways, strings of slime between the jaw bones as her mouth widened.

    The whole mouth split apart. Opening sideways, it revealed sharp, spiny teeth which covered her mouth and throat. Some of these teeth had even started to form on the cheeks.

    Apparently she no longer had any human teeth or even a tongue.<sub></sub>

    She roared at Jay, spittle flying as her jaw stretched wider than her ears, before biting down on him. The creature¡¯s face wrapped right around his neck as its teeth sunk into his flesh.

    ¡°Whah the fuh¡­¡± Jay was startled by her transformation and didn¡¯t react in time. Bitten, his jaw went numb as his mouth opened wide.

    ¡°Hey, this feels kinda good¡­¡± he thought as his head leaned back while his eyes rolled back into his head.

    [Paralysed ¨C 3 seconds]

    [-1] [-1] [-1]

    The three seconds that passed felt like an eternity to Jay as fear began to set in after the paralysis notification. The numbness felt fine for a moment but then he couldn¡¯t move, it was like sleep paralysis as he stood there behind drained. The girls throat was making peristaltic movements as it drained his blood away ¨C along with his HP.

    Finally, a skeleton arrived to help Jay ¨C it was Blue, the skeleton that had been with Jay from the start.

    Without remorse, Blue plunged its sword into the girl, stabbing through her ribs, her neck and her shoulder des, rending flesh and bone as it shed away ¨C though it did less than one damage with each attack.

    Jay was still being drained by the leeches behind him too, though he hadn¡¯t noticed them yet.

    The other skeletons and Anya had killed two more leeches; only six remained alive, including the two attached to Jay.

    Blue¡¯s savage attacks helped Jay to mentally keep his head in the fight.

    After the paralysis ended, Jay immediately shed at the girl¡¯s face again as he tried to jump away ¨C yet the leech on his arm stopped him from moving any further.

    He quickly pulled out hisst tooth as he charged it. The girl learned forward again, grabbing Jay with her arms ¨C which were really arms anymore as much of the human flesh was missing.<sub></sub>

    Jay head-butted her, right before the girl snapped at Jay¡¯s neck again, stunning him and doing three more damage.

    The leech healed a little every time it drained Jay as it stole his life, but Blue was here, fighting by his side.

    While he was being drained, Blue continued to do more damage ¨C more than the girl could regenerate from biting Jay.

    The leech pped a hand at Blue, trying to push it away ¨C but to no effect.

    After the stun, Jay finally finished charging the spell in his hand.

    As she was pushed off Jay¡¯s neck, he punched his hand right into her mouth, hitting the back of her throat, opening his hand and dropping the tooth in before pulling his hand out of her mouth as it exploded in her throat.

    ¡°AHH!¡± she screamed, her voice having many different tones, some of the screams were deeper than a man¡¯s voice as she howled in pain.

    The leech on Jay¡¯s arm was nearly dead; the level one skeleton had been attacking it, while the Molodus coat was poisoning everything that dared to touch Jay at the same time.

    It was a happy coincidence that the molodus coat applied poison every three seconds, poisoning the girl twice every time it bit him.

    The girl¡¯s voice sounded like it was made of many different voices as she continued to scream at Jay ¡°YOU WON¡¯T LIVE¡±

    Jay raised his shield, ready to finally block her bite as he took a moment to analyse her.

    [Rosa ¨C Leech Queen Level 6]

    [HP 24.2/30]

    [de Vision]

    ¨C Sees temperatures rauther than colours. Thermal vision.

    [Annelid Body] (Passive)

    ¨C It¡¯s segmented, boneless, muscr, jelly-like body can bend, squeeze, tten, stretch and twist to extreme proportions, making it hard to wound.

    ¨C Requires a moist environment.

    ¨C Immune to crushing damage.

    ¨C 90% reduced shing and stabbing damage. Pierce damage counts as stabbing damage.

    ¨C 90% increased damage from fire-based attacks.

    [Devour]

    ¨C The leech queen is hungry, she begins to swallow her meal (1 second channelling time). Once swallowed, the victim begins to be digested slowly by stomach acids. After the meal, anything non-organic is regurgitated along with excess mucus.

    ¨C 1 damage/minute.

    ¨C Once swallowed, the victim can only escape if the leech queen dies. Can attack from inside with 90% damage reduction penalty.

    [Anaesthetic Bite]

    ¨C The queen bites into you, syphoning blood as she heals herself.

    ¨C 1 damage/second.

    ¨C 0.6 Hp heal/second.

    ¨C Paralyse the target for (3) seconds.

    ¨C Local anaesthetic. Victim feels no pain. Most creatures will not realise they¡¯re being attacked.

    [Mucus Movement] (Passive)

    ¨C +25% speed in mucus.

    [Create Royal n]

    ¨C After consuming enough blood, can create a leech imp, a loyal servant ¨C capable of producing more of its own kind.

    ¡°Yikes, one second to channel the devour skill?¡± Jay thought as he stepped back, not wanting to be swallowed.

    There was a leech still attached to him from behind, stopping most of his movement. It was nearly dead, but still holding on firmly till the very end. He nearly even slipped over onto it as he lost his bnce, waving his shield in the air.

    ¡°Ah, you little bastard¡±

 Chapter 52 Choices 3

    The bald girl took advantage of Jay being off-bnce, using the ability he feared the most.

    Her entire mouth stretched wider than Jay¡¯s head as it deformed, her throat and body stretched to impossible proportions.

    Her white skin cracked apart as a slimy ck skin was revealed underneath.

    ¡°Eugh!¡± Jay was disgusted once more, though he was muffled since his head was now half-way down her throat.

    Without a chance to escape, the mouth slid down his whole body, working like a peristaltic pump, and Jay was swallowedpletely.

    Strangely, Jay¡¯s Molodus coat felt different, thicker somehow, like it was going into defence mode ¨C it was even noticeable while he was being swallowed, but right now he had to focus on other things.

    Anya saw Jay¡¯s legs being swallowed right after she finished off another leech.

    ¡°Fuck..¡± she murmered as she dashed over to the leech queen. Seeing Jay being swallowed was like seeing her protection go away. He was the one who controlled the skeletons after all, and to Anya, partying with Jay had been the fastest and easiest way to get experience, as teaming up with higher level people would have diminishing returns on experience and wouldn¡¯t really be good for her long-term growth anyway.

    The leech queen couldn¡¯t hope to escape now as her belly had swelled to be five times asrge as a pregnant woman. She could barely support her weight, her belly was touching the ground while her tentacle feet squirmed harmlessly in the air.

    What creeped Anya out the most was the look of satisfaction on the leech queens face after she had eaten. She seemed to have a light smile on her face, as if she just ate arge feast.

    Anya marched over to the girl with a stern expression, walking uncaringly through the battle raging around her as she used her unique ss skill on the area.

    ¡°PROSTRATE!¡±<sub>.</sub>

    An ancient, deep, and wicked voice shook the ravine as itmanded all to bow down. It was filled with divine authority that would not be questioned.

    All the leeches, skeletons and all forms of life bowed before Anya, trembling in fear; a divine fear that reached their soul.

    Even inside the belly of the queen, Jay was kowtowing. He wasn¡¯t willingly doing it, but was under the spell¡¯s effect.

    The queen squeezed around on its belly as it bent down towards Anya, it¡¯s face now kissing the ground before her.

    Since it was a psychic spell, it lost five health without any damage mitigation, as well as being stunned and controlled for fifteen seconds.

    Anya noticed that all the skeletons and leeches were bowing to Anya.

    She red at the skeletons and nodded her head to the side, giving them permission to move.

    Since even the leeches were bowing down in their own way, the skeletons easily executed thest of them before circling the queen. They proceeded to sh at the queen but didn¡¯t stab at it since Jay was inside. They would not harm their master.

    Anya stabbed the queen right in her eyes as she taunted it.

    ¡°How¡¯s it feel to be encircled?¡± She said, prodding it with her sword.

    Realising the effect of her spell wouldn¡¯t let it talk, she gave it permission.<sub></sub>

    ¡°You may speak.¡± Anya said in a domineering royal tone, though her face was angry.

    ¡°AHH!¡± The queen screamed in a guttural roar ¡°Mercy!¡±

    ¡°Why? You¡¯re a monster. And you swallowed my friend.¡±

    ¡°I¡­I can spit him out.. Please, have mercy¡±

    ¡°Do it.¡± Anyamanded her again.

    After some heaving and squirming, Jay was regurgitated, covered in goo and slime.

    Anya noticed Jay came out of the leech still kneeling before her, so she quickly released him from her control.

    ¡°FUUCK! Every time!¡± Jay was pissed as he clenched his jaw, wiping the goo and bile from his face.

    His whole body was covered in the slime; green, ck and yellow coloured slime.

    He was quite angry, as nearly every dungeon he went into or monsters he fought resulted in his face being covered by dposing filth; even his own spells had done this to him on asion ¨C yet this time his whole body was coated. After everything, he still wasn¡¯t used to it and he probably never will be.

    Anya gave him a quizzical look, not understanding what his ¡®every time¡¯ment meant, but without giving it much more thought, she kicked the leech queen as it continued to speak.<sub></sub>

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t always like this.¡± she sobbed ¡°I became this way a few days ago¡­ I couldn¡¯t reach a mana conduit in time.¡± the monster began to cry ¡°My parents told me that it was just a myth about having to touch one, that they used them to control people¡±.

    Anya raised a brow while her face was much less angry now. Before heryed a mutated human that could even be considered a victim.

    ¡°Overnight I changed¡­ my feet grew tentacles, I didn¡¯t¡­¡± She sobbed, not being able to continue ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything¡±

    ¡°My own father chased me off into the valley.¡± tears streamed from her eyes.

    Jay¡¯s skeletons stopped attacking, and for a moment, there was peace.

    Anya halted her attack for a moment too, as Jay replied to the girl.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ believe me, I know what that¡¯s like ¨C at least some of it.¡± He had a furrowed brow.

    Jay was almost going to let her live since her story resonated with him. She was another unfortunate person with a monster ss, much like himself ¨C only her ss caused physical changes too.

    She couldn¡¯t make it to a mana conduit since they lived so far out in the country, perhaps the others even told her that not getting a ss would be fine.

    At first, he wasn¡¯t sure if he should let her live or y her now¡­

    ¡°Perhaps I would let her live¡­ a monster ss doesn¡¯t make you a monster¡­ It¡¯s your actions that decide that¡­¡± he reasoned to himself.

    But Jay remembered the hamlet. Everything covered in slime after the leeches digested everyone in their path, her first victims being children.

    She had no mercy as she swept through the vige with a horde of leeches, swallowing children and draining people.

    Jay made up his mind, having a stern expression as he replied to her, passing his judgement.

    ¡°You massacred the hamlet, killing everyone. We simply can¡¯t let you live. Your actions have proven you to be a monster, now die as one.¡±

    Jay was not entertaining her fake tears, after all, he was just inside her stomach getting digested.

    Anya put a hand on Jay to stop him, but Jay still gripped his sword tightly as he turned to her, only saying two words in an angry voice.

    ¡°RUN ROSA, LIES¡±

    Anya snapped out of it, remembering the note they read: RUN ROSA.

    It wasn¡¯t a note to warn someone called Rosa, it was a note to warn them about Rosa, the leech queen.

    They both started stabbing the leech again, Rosa wailed in anger and pain.

    A sly grin suddenly appeared on the leeches face even though her eyes were missing, some white spots appeared around her head, the queen¡¯s voice changed from a girl¡¯s voice into a deeperbination of voices as it sounded once more.

    ¡°You will SUFFER!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s changing again Jay!¡±

    ¡°Just keep stabbing! She¡¯s nearly dead!¡±

    Suddenly, the leech queen split apart into five more leeches. Four of them attacked while one was trying to get away. Jay could sense some sort of mana-connection between the leeches as he walked between them.

    The four leeches were enough to stop them from chasing the escaping one, but the skeletons could easily handle the situation by themselves ¨C the leech queen probably lost her normal vision some time ago since she didn¡¯t understand the invisible force killing them wasn¡¯t magic spells, but was actually the skeletons. They gave off no thermal signature, so in the dark environment, they may as well have been invisible.

    They all began to kill the four leeches, while Jay sent Blue to kill the escaping one.

    ¡°Not gonna happen, bitch.¡± Jay was still pissed off, covered in slime as he fought like a mad man.

    He wasn¡¯t going to let a single one get away, especially after seeing the devilish grin on the leech queens face.

    Two leeches died along with the escaping one, leaving two more alive. Again, one tried to flee, but it was promplty killed by Anya and Blue.

    Thest one couldn¡¯t do anything as it too fell to the sword ¨C though Jay still didn¡¯t get any exp.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Anya, the light over here please.¡± she brought the luminous orb over, quickly adding more mana to make it a little brighter.

    He looked over the five corpses they had just in. It was almost invisible, but a small slime trail had left one of the corpses. Jay followed the slime trail until he found what he was looking for.

    A tiny red leech was squirming away.

 Chapter 53 Final 1

    A tiny red leech was squirming away, it was short and fat though was still surprisingly quick.

    Jay smiled, his guess was correct as he jumped over to it.

    It tried to squirm a little faster after it realised it had been found.

    Jay lifted his foot over it, lightly pressing against the leech to stop it from squirming away, rolling it into a ball with his foot. It started doing tiny screeching sounds as it was trapped.

    With a cid, peaceful smile, Jay said two words.

    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    He then raised his foot up high and stomped down, twisting his foot on it, forming a red paste, its body sttering across the ground. Jay was already covered in filth so he didn¡¯t care about getting more on the bottom of his shoe.

    Goo was squirting out from under his shoe while an evil grin appeared on Jay¡¯s face, getting bigger as he twisted his heel on it, finally getting revenge for what the leech did to him.

    [250 Exp]

    ¡°Finally. It¡¯s over. Sneaky little parasite.¡± he said as he stepped off the leeches corpse and rubbed his shoe on a nearby rock. He showed no remorse at killing someone who had clearly lost their humanity. He even enjoyed killing it after it covered him in slime, not to mention what it did to the hamlet ¨C swallowing him made it personal.

    With a sigh he sat down, mentally and physically exhausted after everything that just happened.

    ¡°That could¡¯ve been me¡­ I wonder what happened to turn her into such a murderous monster¡­ was she like that before or did her ss begin to change her thoughts¡­¡± Jay had furrowed brows as he thought to himself.

    ¡°What¡¯s going to stop me from bing like that? We all have the potential to be monsters, but she went ahead with it¡­¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Are my thoughts beginning to change too?¡± he wondered, his thoughts then drifting to his book.

    ¡°The book seems to be logical, maybe it can keep me centred, grounded in reality. Perhaps my book seems to help to keep me normal¡­¡± he thought.

    ¡°The book seems to be made to prepare a mind for eternity; an immortal body requires an immortal mind, lest it sink into corruption. Hmm¡­ I wonder if even a little bit of corruption in the mind, spread across an eternity, can warp and twist even the most pure minded people into demons.¡±

    ¡°I suppose under the right circumstances, anyone could change¡­ this book is quite valuable when I think about it like that. I suppose one of the only things that stays with you eternally is your mind anyway.¡±

    ¡°Even if there¡¯s a little corruption in me, if you spread that across eternity, I would probably be worse than the most twisted, vile monster that Rosa could ever dream of¡­¡±

    Anya noticed Jay, starting into the crack of light beaming down from the top of the ravine with a strange look on his face.

    ¡°Are you okay, Jay?¡± Anya asked, her voice seemed more soft than usual to Jay, he could tell she was genuine so he answered sincerely.

    ¡°Me and Rosa, we both have monster sses¡­ I¡¯m just thinking¡­ I¡¯m d I¡¯m not like that¡­¡±

    ¡°Your actions define you, Jay.¡± was Anya¡¯s only response as she sat down for a rest too. They sat in silence for a while before Anya changed the topic.

    ¡°Pretty decent amount of exp huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Won¡¯t be long till I hit level nine.¡± smiled Jay, looking at his skeletons.

    ¡°You need to slow down, It¡¯s so unfair.¡± Anya joked as she shook her head with a smile.<sub></sub>

    Taking out some water, Jay began washing his hair and face with it, not caring about getting his clothes wet since they were already covered in slime.

    The molodus coat however was clean of slime, it had either absorbed it or corroded it away, Jay wasn¡¯t sure ¨C but he used it to periodically wipe away his face and hands, the slime disappearing off the coat after a moment.

    The coat looked slightly different now, having a gold trim around the ck buttons, while it had be an even darker green. He remembered that the coat felt a little thicker when he was being swallowed, but now it was back to normal, so out of curiosity he analysed it.

    <[Molodus¡¯s Coat ¨C Level 2]>

    [Molodus¡¯s Essence] (Passive)

    ¨C Melee attackers take 2 poison damage over 3 seconds. Does not stack.

    [Consume] (Passive)

    ¨C The coat feasts on whatever it can find. Does not consume it¡¯s Master¡¯s pocketed items.

    [Poison resistance 11%]

    <[Description]>

    ¨C Acquired after defeating [Stench-rat Molodus]. Molodus was King of the soap rats, scourge of the stink-rat marsnds: Part of the vile rat king¡¯s own soul was woven into this coat, he was not yet satisfied with his scourge as he died, his own hate lived on to form this from his own hide ¨C this coat which now attempts to consume and decay all who threaten it.

    Dark-green with gold-trimmed, round ck-wood buttons. The cores up just below the chin, and the coat goes down ending just above the knee.<sub></sub>

    Jay secretly smiled at his coat, still washing himself.

    ¡°Congrats on levelling up,¡± he said quietly to his coat.

    ¡°Thanks. I put one attribute point into eminence, and four points into energy so we can travel a bit faster¡­ During the fighting my stamina was getting pretty low, but it refilled when I levelled up¡­ probably would¡¯ve been bad otherwise.¡± she had pursed lips as she scratched her head, thinking about what could¡¯ve happened if she did run out of energy.

    Anya thought Jay was talking to her, but he went with it. She would probably think he¡¯s weird if he was talking to his clothes.

    ¡°¡­eminence?¡± Jay raised a brow.

    ¡°Oh¡­ It¡¯s just part of my ss. Never mind¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm, rightio. Good thinking anyway, It¡¯ll help in the far future too.¡± he shrugged, standing up ¡°Ready to head back?¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Anya nodded, putting her crossbow away and her hands in her pockets. ¡°Though we will probably need to rest before we climb up those boulders, my prostrate skill really takes it outta me.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure. I¡¯m going to leave two skeletons here to finish off any more leeches in the cave. They have that ¡®kin¡¯ skill that lets them create more of themselves. I don¡¯t want an army of leeches marching on Lo in a few years just because one of those things escaped.¡±

    ¡°Oh I didn¡¯t notice that, good thinking. I was treating this like a dungeon, thinking we finished it since we defeated the ¡®boss¡¯ monster¡± Anya said with a nod.

    ¡°Yeah, this is our first non-dungeon quest anyway. I think we did quite well.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡± she smiled.

    Jay decided he would leave Red and Lamp. Both of them were level two, so they could maintain their weapons with essence, and Jay also wanted to keep Blue with him since it was level three.

    Jay thought about what would happen if he needed them on the way back to Lo or at Lo. At first, he was just going to have them run back when he needed them, but even with their speed, it would take at least a whole day, so he decided to de-summon them, trying something else.

    First he grabbed their three ossein swords and the old shield they were carrying, adding them to his inventory.

    Jay gathered their precious silt-wolf bones and wolf skulls, adding them back into his necrotic ring. Their blue semi-solid bones were the most precious part.

    After pulling out a bunch of the normal, weaker soap rat bones and two soap rat skulls, he shifted his ring back into the normal form. This was so that his ¡®raise¡¯ spell didn¡¯t pull out the higher quality silt-wolf bones during the re-summoning.

    Since he cut off the supply of the better bones by shifting his ring back to finger-form, the spell would have to use the low quality ones that he pulled out, now piled on the ground before him.

    Red and Lamp were recreated before him, yet sadly were indistinguishable from each other.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay had an idea, wanting to test something as he had a theory.

    He created four bone daggers out of some normal bone before speaking to his skeletons.

    Holding two daggers in one hand, ¡°Lamp, here you go.¡±

    To Jay¡¯s surprise, one of the skeletons stepped forward.

    ¡°So you do know your own names! Ha!¡± Jay was excited about this.

    The young skeleton didn¡¯t have a name, so today was it¡¯s initiation into the pack.

    He quickly turned to the level one skeleton ¨C the one he hadn¡¯t named yet, while making sure Anya was looking ¨C and of course she was, it¡¯s not every day you get to see a necromancer summon two skeletons.

    Jay tried his best not to smile as he began the sacred ceremony. Of course, if Anya wasn¡¯t around he wouldn¡¯t bother.

    Jay made the small stand before him with it¡¯s soap-rat head facing downwards, submissive to it¡¯s master; It was a strange sight seeing a bloodthirsty skeleton act like this, and Anya didn¡¯t look away for one second.

    ¡°I, your eternal master¡± Jay made some of his green gas flow from his palm as he slowly tapped the t side of a bone dagger on the skeletons shoulder,

    ¡°hereby grant you your eternal name¡± then tapped it on the other shoulder, before holding the dagger above it¡¯s head,

    He held the dagger, lightly pressing it against the top of its skull ¡°may we fight alongside one another to the bitter end, I name thee¡­¡±

    ¡°Sweeper!¡± Jay began tough ¡°Since you swept the path for us, Haha!¡±

    Anya instantly shook her head, the whole ceremony that Jay constructed lost all of it¡¯s gravity and sense of majesty. Meanwhile, Jay¡¯sughter echoed through the ravine for the next few minutes, and for a moment it even sounded like Rosa¡¯s maniacalughter. Afterughing for quite some time, even Jay thought he wasughing for way too long. Soon, he finally stopped, though still letting out a few chuckles every now and then.

    Anya was only shaking her head in response, wondering when he was going to stop, until finally it seemed like he got tired fromughing.

    *Phew* he sighed

    ¡°I really have a way with words.¡±

 Chapter 54 Final 2

    ¡°I really have a way with words.¡±

    Anya only responded with a smile and a head shake.

    Still smiling and feeling quite pleased with himself, Jay gave the other two bone daggers to Red as he sent them both off down the ravine, sending them on a search and destroy mission. Now the only skeletons with them were Blue and Sweeper.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±

    They began walking back up the ravine towards the vine-covered boulders. By this point, the trail of light was no longer in the middle of the ravine but had moved onto the wall, quickly ascending as it was getting dark.

    Anya took out the luminous orb once more, ¡°Can you add some mana?¡±

    ¡°Yeah sure, pass¡± she gave Jay the orb as he charged it with mana, causing it to glow brightly again.

    ¡°Want me to carry it for a while?¡± he asked, still holding it.

    ¡°That¡¯s nice of you, thanks.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Jay took credit for being nice instantly, as he gave the orb to Blue.

    ¡°Man, I really enjoy messing with Anya.¡± he thought to himself with a smug grin.

    He willed the skeleton to hold it above its head. It was much better now because the light was higher and they wouldn¡¯t get tired carrying it, but Anya still gave Jay a head shake anyway.

    ¡°What? This is better.¡± he said, knowing she wouldn¡¯t admit it.<sub>.</sub>

    Anya decided not to say anything, only slightly smiling as they walked back through the dark ravine.

    Jay was confused by her smile, but he let it slide. Thinking about it wasn¡¯t worth the effort to him, as he tried not to feel silly for whatever the head shake was about.

    They continued to walk until they came to the boulders.

    [15 Exp][15 Exp]

    ¡°Good thing you sent them huh¡± Anya said, getting experience point notifications since they were still in a party together.

    Jay had already begun to get notifications and was happy with his decision to send Red and Lamp away into the darkness.

    ¡°Yeah.. they¡¯re professionals.¡± Jay joked, sitting next to the boulder. ¡°They had a lot of practice in our own forest afterall¡±

    Anya sat down, leaning against a thick vineing off the boulder.

    Jay noticed Anya was tired, so he made a suggestion. ¡°How about we wait thirty minutes and then climb up and walk back? You can rest more in town after.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Let me try to contact Mark.¡± Anya said as she pulled out themunication crystal.

    ¡°Hello? Mark?¡±

    ¡­ it took a moment before Mark responded.<sub></sub>

    ¡°¡­If I can get this thing working ¨C oh.¡±

    ¡°I can hear you Mark¡±

    ¡°Anya? Hey! Good to hear ya, we were starting to get a little worried. We haven¡¯t heard from you for ages.¡±

    ¡°Sorry. We were in a ravine and had to walk along it for ages until we found this nest of monsters.¡±

    Anya left out the part about Rosa.

    ¡°We culled all of the ones we could find, so we¡¯re heading back now. How are you two and Naria doing?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re ok. By monsters, do you mean the leech imps?¡±

    Anya and Jay looked at each other silently, right before she replied.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ did some attack you? We didn¡¯t see any outside of the ravine.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we searched the rest of the houses and two of them attacked, but I took care of them, so it¡¯s all good.¡±

    Jay gestured to Anya to pass the crystal.

    ¡°Mark? It¡¯s Jay. Did they attack from the forest or did you find them in the houses?¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Uh.. I think it was probably the forest. We were outside when it happened.¡±

    ¡°Damn..¡± Jay said, handing the crystal back to Anya.

    ¡°Everything alright there?¡± Mark asked, hesitantly.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ uh. We¡¯re just taking a rest because I¡¯m low energy. We should be back in about an hour.¡±

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll see you then.¡±

    Anya returned the crystal to her inventory. She was silent as she worriedly looked at Jay, stressing about what to do. If there were still leeches out there, they could only grow in number.

    ¡°I think we should stick to the n: Head back. Rest¡­ I¡¯ll have Blue and Sweeper ¡®sweep¡¯ the forest clean¡± Jay let out a mischievous smile as he calmed Anya down a bit.

    ¡°Besides, their passive skill only works in humid environments. Without it, they would die to a single sword sh. We don¡¯t really have a very humid environment in Lo.¡±

    Jay continued ¡°Even if they did create a horde of leeches, we could easily cull them on a dry day. Not everywhere has a ravine to hide in after all. Besides, we¡¯ll be much stronger if that was to happen.¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­ I suppose you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s just hope your skeletons are thorough anyway.¡±

    ¡°Trust me, they¡¯ll be much more thorough than us. They¡¯re much faster and don¡¯t even need sleep.¡±

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Matheson ran up the hill towards the adventurer guild. It waste in the day, and he almost didn¡¯t notice it, but as he approached the association, a dark-orange orb flew out of the building, heading into the sky and disappearing.

    Matheson felt an emotional nerve of inadequacy being pinched ¡°Dammit, I will learn magic too. I¡¯ll make people beg me to help them, to save them from monsters and natural disasters.¡± he thought as he entered the building to find the dungeon map.

    Matheson was by himself, and have to make a decision about which dungeon he would go into. Since his past experience in the bayring dungeon, he decided to y it safe.

    He knew he would be fully reliant on himself this time, and because of all the nurturing afforded to a noble, he himself didn¡¯t even know how strong he was, this realisation had put arge dent in his pride ¨C but notrge enough for him to stop looking down on others and treating people like garbage.

    ¡°Stink-rat marsh. Located south west of Lo.¡± Matheson squinted at the board in the adventurer association, nning his night training trip as he added its location to his map.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always hated rats, shitting everywhere in my mansion. This will be so easy.¡±

    With a smug grin, and one final check of his equipment, he left the adventurer association, jumping down the steps and running across the courtyard.

    Now that he decided to be independent, he tried to do everything himself ¨C he didn¡¯t even use his obnoxious oversized carriage anymore, instead he simply ran everywhere. This was another form of training in his mind.

    Like a mad dog, Matheson just ran up the hill to the guild, and now he was running back down it again. He didn¡¯t even acknowledge Margaret at the reception or the gate guards as he breezed past them; he was a man on a mission, wholly focused on his task.

    ¡°There he goes again.¡± said a guard at the gate, shaking his head.

    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s gone crazy ¨C with all the running? He seems like a psycho.¡± another said.

    ¡°Heh, who cares? It¡¯s funny seeing a noble act like that. I never knew those frilly stupid clothes they wore were that durable, I¡¯m surprised they¡¯re still attached ¨C but yes, he looks crazy.¡±

    ¡°He looks like a rampaging flower! Haha! Those frilly little clothes aren¡¯t scaring anybody, you would think he¡¯s a madman rauther than a noble.¡± another guardughed.

    The guardsughed together as they watched a trail of dust make its way down the hill, though they made sure the young noble was far enough away before mocking him of course. Even though they were in a small country town, they would still be punished for mocking a noble.

    Matheson sped through Lo, he would have be the talk of the Snakeraven inn if more people saw him ¨C a dishevelled sweaty noble. Thankfully he didn¡¯t stop once, not many people saw him speeding through the town.

    He exited the south side of town and ran along the road before heading into the bushes; there was hints of a path made towards the dungeon as there were broken twigs and squashed bushes, telling him that other people had been here recently too.

    As the sun went down, Matheson reached the dungeon entrance.

    He took a moment to stretch before going in.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to meditate for a while to get my energy back. It¡¯s too bad I can¡¯t train this the same way as my body¡­ but I¡¯ll sense the mana soon. All I need is time and willpower.¡±

    Matheson was still having a hard time trying to understand mana. His ss had a higher mana amount than most other melee sses.

    Since he couldn¡¯t sense it, he could only channel his efforts and anger into his workouts; but this wouldn¡¯t work for sensing mana. It required a quiet and calm mind ¨C something he hardly ever had, and something he was yet to learn.

    Three hours passed before his energy was full again, waking up toplete darkness as the sun went down ages ago.

    ¡°Finally,¡± he said, with a hint of anger.

 Chapter 55 Military

    The sun had already gone down when the military escort finally arrived in Lo, carrying torches and orbs which formed a small worm of light moving through the forest. Many of them were weary from the journey, some of the soldiers brought bad attitudes with them as they were behind schedule after having to fight a treant hectopede in the forest. It wasn¡¯t necessarily a hard creature to kill, it was more that it was hard to catch.

    The military escort was quite small, as they had only stopped at two other viges beforeing to Lo, though the soldiers with them were enough to deal with things in the forests.

    Currently the escort was made up of ten soldiers being regrly hounded by two officers, and following them like lost sheep were all the adventurers who joined them from the previous two viges.

    There were about twenty of the new recruits so far, most of them looking weary from the journey too.

    They didn¡¯t enter the town but instead marched up the hill on the east side of town towards the adventurer association.

    As they arrived, an officer approached the adventurer association gate guards.

    ¡°Military recruitment escort, southern regiment, under authority of his majesty requesting shelter.¡± He handed the guard a scroll with a thick golden coloured wax seal on it, the guard then quickly ran it into the association building with it.

    After a moment, the guard came back out with Michael walking behind him. Michael stood at the front door of the building as the guard rushed back to the gate.

    ¡°Shelter granted,e through sir.¡± the guard said as he stood to the side of the floating boulder gate.

    The military escort began walking through the gate. Since it was night time, it was easy to see the threatening blue glowing from the mana-veins coursing through the floating boulder gate, and a blue gleam shined off the officer¡¯s armour as he walked through.

    The soldiers and adventurers entered one by one, followedstly by the second officer.

    Sullivan had made sure some makeshift fireces had been built up for them as they set up their tents and camped in the association¡¯s courtyard; the men and women were of course separated into opposite sides of the yard.<sub>.</sub>

    Women were allowed to serve in the military in this world, as their sses weren¡¯t diminished in power, though they usually got dexterity or ranged based sses rather than strength-melee based sses.

    This wasn¡¯t their choice, but was due to the mana conduits; no one gets to pick their ss after all.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t a rule as there were many women who were prodigies with the sword; they were just very rare. Some even got unique melee-based sses while others trained endlessly and acquired a second ss; though thetter was even more rare than the former.

    Michael watched as the two officers used their ten soldiers to coordinate everything. They had done this for the past few years in many different viges so they were quite proficient at setting up a campsite, and it showed.

    It wasn¡¯t long before there were tents set up along with some bubblingrge pots of stew on various fires. One of the adventurers floated around the camp on a floating metallic golden disc, while another created a chair from the earth.

    Most of the adventurers were melee types though, which didn¡¯t have such abilities and were limited to chatting around different fire pits ¨C while the soldiers had their own fire pits.

    They were all chatting and quite livelypared to the soldiers who sat around quietly and stared into the fire, it seemed like they had seen the horrors of war and weren¡¯t ¡®enthusiastic¡¯ to say the least.

    The two officers, seeing that things were in order and that the adventurers were behaving, walked to Michael at the door.

    ¡°Michael,¡± he nodded. ¡°We¡¯re behind schedule so we¡¯ll be gathering the recruits tomorrow and leaving at lunch time.¡± This officer had met Michael every year for thest few years and remembered his name, though he wasn¡¯t one for idle chit-chat.

    ¡°Very well. As usual, we have prepared two rooms for you,e inside.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. Also, this package was sent for someone called Vdore. Usually we don¡¯t do deliveries but there was extra money in it. Anyway, here you go.¡± he took out a small package from his inventory and handed it over.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hmm. Ok thanks.¡± he grabbed the package. It was wrapped with noon-leather, a type of anti-magic material. The wrap of leather was held together with a red ribbon, apparently it was quite an expensive purchase. It would definitely be sealed with some form of anti-tampering magic, so the soldiers wouldn¡¯t have tried to take a peek inside.

    ¡°Wonder what that crazy mage ordered this time..¡± Michael thought as he put it into his inventory.

    Michael promptly showed them their rooms and they soon settled in.

    The adventurer association unofficiallypeted with the military for recruits, but ultimately they both served the monarchy; the adventurers dispatched threats within the borders and provided dungeon resources, while the military enforced the borders. This allowed the officers rooms while the soldiers all slept outside ¨C of course, they had different ranking systems and could not give direct order to one another without a special document, simr to the one the officers presented at the gates.

    Because Sullivan was already expecting the military escort, Michael didn¡¯t go upstairs to tell him. All Sullivan had to do was look out the window to his office and see the soldiers after all. Sullivan preferred to not interact with the military anyway.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    [15 Exp][15 Exp]

    Two more leeches died ¨C whether they were in the ravine or the forest, Jay wasn¡¯t sure. He simply couldn¡¯t determine which skeleton killed them.

    After Anya had rested, Jay and Anya climbed up the vine-covered boulders, and began their walk back to Mark, Kel and Naria.

    The sun was setting as they began to walk along the ravine, and it went downpletely before they began hiking back up the hill towards the hamlet.

    When they arrived, Anya had to use themunication crystal again to find them, as they had moved into a different building.<sub></sub>

    Kel and Naria were ying upstairs, while Mark was guarding the upstairs hallway. Naria was diligently searching through the toy box of another child ¨C though she had a frown, and even some hesitation while looking through the toys, as she knew the child who owned these toys; a child who was no longer with them.

    Mark casually squinted at the stairs, his sword raised as Jay was walking up the stairs. Jay was surprised at how bored Mark seemed to be. He almost looked disappointed that Jay wasn¡¯t a monster.

    ¡°Hey Jay, wee back.¡± Mark said, seeing Jay walk up the stairs.

    It was dark by now, but Mark and Kel had gathered all the luminous orbs from the other houses and distributed them all in this one so they could easily see them.

    ¡°Hey. How are you two.. Three?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re okay. We were about to have dinner and then put Naria to bed. Nothing much happened here.¡±

    ¡°Good, good. We¡¯re pretty tired so we¡¯re going to rest for a bit.¡± Jay said, walking past Martk while putting his shield and sword away. He peeked into the master bedroom room to see Kel and Naria ying.

    Jay went into the other room, sitting on a chaise lounge as he leaned back and rxed for a moment. Anya followed behind, sitting on the end part of the lounge as both of them rxed for a moment..

    ¡°We think there¡¯s still some out there, in the forest.¡± Jay stretched himself over the couch, talking to Mark in the hallway.

    ¡°Yeah. But we killed most of them.¡± Anya added, eating some rations.

    Mark stood in the doorway, looking at them taking a break. ¡°They both look pretty tired from the journey.¡± he thought to himself before replying.

    ¡°Ah ok, all good, I¡¯ll keep guarding. They¡¯re not that hard to kill anyway so I¡¯ll be fine by myself. You two can rest for a bit, I¡¯ll take the night shift since you guys cleared out most of the infestation today, I¡¯m sure you must be tired.¡±

    ¡°Thanks Mark, appreciate it.¡± Jay cheekily pulled out a beef-wad ration for dinner, chewing it for a while as he rested on the lounge before asking Anya something.

    ¡°Uhh¡­ so can I sleep on the lounge?¡± he said as innocently as he could ¨C though he gestured to her to get off, his hands saying ¡®shew¡¯.

    She sighed ¡°Fiiine,¡± pulling out her small tent as she began to set it up in the middle of the room. It was a little unnecessary, but Anya decided she would rauther befortable in her privacy, even if it took some effort. Giving up the couch was not a sacrifice to her at all. They both went to sleep quickly, but were woken up shortly after by a noise in the hallway.

    Heavy steps of Mark wereing from down the hallway, along with many movements of shadows.

    Jay stood up with his sword, as Anya was poking her head out of her tent with half-opened eyelids.

    ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll call out if we need you.¡±

    ¡°Mmh¡± Anya was really sleepy, she poked her head back into the tent.

    Jay went into the hallway and was shocked at what he saw.

    Mark¡¯s moonsword was glowing, coated with a dangerous thick blue aura. It seems some leeches had followed Jay and Anya back from the forest; five of them were currentlying up the stairs one by one ¨C but this wasn¡¯t what shocked Jay.

    What shocked Jay, or even annoyed him, was that Mark¡¯s sword was cleaving through the leeches like melted butter, easily slicing them in half and ending them in one swing.

    Their bodies didn¡¯t even bend or stretch, they simply disintegrated before his de.

    ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± Jay thought with his mouth open as Mark effortlessly killed them all with his huge sword.

    The leeches had a passive skill which mitigated 90% of shing, piercing and stabbing damage ¨C Mark¡¯s sword however was counted as a spell, so he easily cleaved straight through the leeches. It was as if he was waving his sword through water, there was no resistance.

    Jay realised he wasn¡¯t in danger, but he lookedpletely defeated and helpless as he put his sword away and walked back into the room.

    Anya had poked her head out again saw Jay¡¯s face. He looked like he was drained of all his blood.

    She asked with a raised brow ¡°Everything ok?¡± Jay still had a dazed look on his face as he walked to the lounge.

    ¡°..y-yeah. Fine.¡± he sat on the couch, deciding not to tell Anya.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Everything¡¯s fine. Perfect. I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± Jay had enough.

    ¡°Hmm ok then¡­¡± she pulled her head back in her tent and went to sleep.

    ¡°We could¡¯ve.. just taken Mark¡­ shit, he could¡¯ve done the ravine by himself.¡± Jay thought to himself, trying to get to sleep while he closed his eyes.

    ¡°One single fucking swing¡­¡± he slowly shook his head ¡°This is a joke.¡± he stopped himself fromughing at his own misfortune as Anya was trying to sleep.

    ¡°We could¡¯ve just sent Mark to this vige alone¡­¡± he thought as he rolled onto his other side on the sofa and went back to sleep ¨C or at least tried to. He was quite annoyed as he clenched his teeth.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll go back tomorrow. I doubt we¡¯ll be fighting something like that again anyway.¡± Jay thought, not seeing the irony as he himself had an ¡®unfair¡¯ ss.

    Eventually, he fell to sleep sometimeter after his thoughts drifted to something less painful.

 Chapter 56 Losla 1

    [15 Exp]x9

    While Jay was sleeping, nine leeches were culled. The skeletons were active throughout the night, never resting as they searched the ravine and the forest for targets. They were merciless in their search, like hunting dogs as they ran through the forest faster than any human.

    Meanwhile, Jay woke up a little wobbly after sleeping on the chaise lounge since he slept without a pillow. Anya had already packed her tent up and was in the other room ying with Naria and Kel.

    ¡°Morning¡± Mark greeted Jay from the hallway, leaning on the wall. He had stayed awake all night so was looking a little drained.

    ¡°Morning.¡± Jay rubbed his eyes ¡°Want to have a quick rest before the journey? I¡¯ll guard for a while.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, thanks. I ended up killing seven morest night but that was it, no more came in thest five hours.¡±

    ¡°Oh ok, good. Seems like there¡¯s not many leeches left.¡± Jay got up from the lounge.<sub>.</sub>

    Mark went into the room, taking Jay¡¯s spot on the chaise as he rested his eyes for a moment. It only took a moment before he was lightly snoring.

    Jay closed the door and nced into the other room with the three girls in it.

    Naria looked at Jay for a moment, seeing him protecting them in the hallway, but she quickly went back to ying with some wooden toys.

    Kel was asleep on the bed. Last night, she and Naria slept in the double bed under the protection of Mark in the hallway, but Naria woke up much earlier, so Kel continued to sleep for a little longer too.

    Mark and Kel had already searched the hamlet, so there was no point in the party sticking around in this tiny rural hamlet any longer.

    It was still early in the morning, and after Mark and Kel had a short rest to refresh themselves the five of them started the journey back.<sub></sub>

    Since Naria was a child without a ss, she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with adventurers and their energy pools, so Jay and Mark carried her on their backs ¨C though she took a little convincing to let Jay carry her. She was still slightly traumatised from his shield. Jay gave her the sword and shield to y with for a while so she could get over her fear, since she didn¡¯t have a ss she couldn¡¯t analyse the items.

    The sun went up, over, and down while they travelled the whole day. It was uneventful and borning, but Jay was surprised that even Naria didn¡¯tin ¨C though she still was yet to say anything at all, she didn¡¯t look bitter.

    They had to camp once more on the way back to Lo, sleeping in the woods once again. They had travelled all day at a moderate pace, and were bound to arrive at Lo the next day around lunch time.

    As the sun went down and it got a little too risky to run in the darkness they decided to make came.

    Coming to a stop near arge boulder, Jay put Naria down from his back as this was a rtively t ce to camp.

    ¡°Hmm.. Naria can sleep in your tent with you right?¡± Jay asked Anya.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Of course. I got some room.¡±

    ¡°Great. Here¡¯s her pillow and nket. I¡¯ll go gather some firewood with Mark. C¡¯mon Mark.¡±

    Jay gestured to Mark and he followed Jay off into the woods while Kel and Anya cleared out a small area for the campsite and began making a fire pit surrounded by rocks.

    Naria sat on arge rock, hugging her knees quietly as she watched them work.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Matheson exited the stink-rat marsh dungeon. He was quite exhausted, and going from the dank humid environment of the marsh to the cold dry environment of the bare winter forest was an unwee change. He spent all night in the dungeon, and the sun was just beginning toe up ¨C that¡¯s when he saw a glint on the ground. Crouching down, he found that it was one of the town guard¡¯s scouts¡¯ various badges.

    ¡°Huh, one of the scouts must¡¯ve dropped it. I¡¯ll give it to a guard on the way back, maybe I¡¯ll get a reward.¡±

    Matheson no longer looked like a noble, being covered in filth and stinking like a sewer ¨C though through sheer bitterness and tenacity, he kept fighting through the dungeon, no longer caring about how he looked or smelt. In his own mind, a noble who couldn¡¯t support themselves was simply a finely dressed beggar, and this change in his thoughts was what drove him. His pride wouldn¡¯t allow him to stay the same.

    ¡°Finally, level 5, and I deserve it after fighting through that cesspool. Damn rats, easy to kill but they hardly drop any loot, pathetic. How are adventurers supposed to get rich anyway?¡±

    All Matheson got from the stink-rat dungeon was fur scraps, though he had a rapier with a socketed fire gem which made it much easier for him than other adventurers with their low damage junk they bought from Bertram.

    He was a little bitter. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, I won¡¯t let father control me, that prick.¡±

    Matheson didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with his father, in fact, he hardly ever saw him. He would attend the events the young nobles would go to and his father went about his business, making deals and for the most of his life, didn¡¯t even live in the same mansion as Matheson. This of course led to Matheson doing what he wanted without giving any of his actions a second thought, as there was no one he would answer to.

    A little dissatisfied, he began to run back to his mansion, still training hard even after the dungeon as he began to drain thest of his energy.

    The south part of Lo came into view, he saw a guard standing there as if he was looking for a monster, but upon seeing Matheson covered in the same filth that Jay was, he promptly ran to another part of the city.

    ¡°Not a monster, my job here is done. The night shift is over. If I run fast enough I won¡¯t be able to smell him.¡± thought the guard as he ran away.

    The guards usually received tips about monsters, though this was another false rm.

    Whenever he remembered Jaying back to town, he felt like he could almost taste the vomit from his memory. That day, they had a report of a monster approaching too. Even Michael the guard captain came to see, but it was just an adventurer going to the level one dungeon. That day was different though ¨C with his captain around, he had to stand his ground and suffer from the stench.

    ¡°We really should find a way to block off that dungeon somehow,¡± he thought.

    As he was heading home to grab some breakfast ¨C or dinner for him, he felt like something was off, and the guard looked behind him.

    ¡°Oh shit, he¡¯sing this way. Fuck.¡±

    The guard turned and ran a different direction, but Matheson followed behind, not slowing down in the slightest as he looked at the guard with murderous intent. Matheson wasn¡¯t actually angry or anything of the sort, this was just the face he made when he was training.

    ¡°¡­Is he following me?¡± the guard wondered before shaking his head.

 Chapter 57 Losla 2

    ¡°Surely not.¡± he made another turn, but to the guards demise, Matheson still followed.

    ¡°Dammit, I guess I gotta lose him.¡± the guard made a sharp right turn, running down an alleyway and onto another street before turning left and then left again down another alley. He started walking as he looked back, thinking he lost him, but quickly began sprinting after he saw Mathesone around the corner, who was just as fast as before.

    ¡°Shit. What¡¯s wrong with this guy? I don¡¯t care what he wants, I won¡¯t talk to him¡±

    The guard ran to the east of the vige, making random turns through the streets and houses. He even hopped over a fence and crossed a field, running straight through a fog of mist-sheep.

    ¡°What the fuck¡­ he¡¯s still chasing me? Even across some farmers¡¯ fields? Dammit. I just want to get a meal and go to bed¡­ But I won¡¯t be mentally scarred from that smell again. Anything but that.¡±

    The guard suddenly had an idea, and he smiled to himself smugly while hopping over another fence. They were in the west part of Lo now, so he ran around the outskirts of the vige to the north side of town and crossed the bridge before heading directly to a ce inessible to civilians ¨C the barracks. This was a small building where guards had meetings, equipped themselves as well as rested from their duties. Sleeping here was free, but it was not ideal, and many of the guards had their own homes in Lo; many of them were civilians of Lo before their employment, though they had to leave Lo eventually to train in higher level dungeons before returning again. This was to be capable of handling anything that would happen at Lo, and many of the guards were at least level twenty.

    ¡°He won¡¯t be able to chase me into the barracks.. Heheh.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    Still running through Lo, the guard had the stink of Matheson trail across the whole western part of town before he entered the small barracks. It had a small wooden wall around it with another guard at the front, so Matheson couldn¡¯t get in.

    ¡°Sorry bud,¡± thought the guard as he ran past the other, entering the barracks. He felt sorry for the other guard who had to stand at his post and stop Matheson, smelling the stinking noble.

    Matheson stopped at the entrance, raising a brow as he looked at the guard.

    ¡°Hmm, I guess I can give this to you.¡± said Matheson, holding the scout badge in hand while giving it to the guard at the entrance to the barracks. He promptly ran off again, heading back to his mansion.

    He didn¡¯t seem to mind about chasing a guard over the vige, he reasoned that this was probably a routine exercise and he would at least copy the guard, doing what he thought was the bare minimum of training.

    Matheson¡¯s training was going quite well, in a matter of days his muscle mass had increased substantially. His biceps had stretch marks on them biceps because the muscles got bigger and the skin couldn¡¯t grow fast enough. His progress was impossible for any normal human, but he had an energy pool which allowed him to keep going as long as he desired. His clothes were starting to get tighter too, and he began to notice they were looking small, though he would wait a little longer to rece them as it felt good to squeeze his muscles against his clothes.<sub></sub>

    Back at the mansion, Hodley was peacefully having a cup of coffee with some mushrooms and cheesy eggs for breakfast, though he paused his chewing for a moment upon smelling something horrible ¨C thankfully it was just a whiff and it went away as quickly as it came.

    ¡°Hmm? Weird.¡± he leant forward and smelt his cheesy eggs ¨C they smelled fine, so he went back to eating as he enjoyed his quiet breakfast, watching a few birds fly between trees outside as they collected worms.

    ¡°Mmm¡± he chewed his warm food with contentment.

    Suddenly the door burst open and a stinking man covered in filth entered, it only took a moment for the whole room to fill up with the same stench.

    ¡°Hodley! Run me a bath! Then prepare me a breakfast feast!¡±

    Hodley nearly fell out of his chair, startled from not only the young master bursting into his room, but also from the stench.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Y- yes sir!¡± he said, gripping his chest as he quickly stood up and left the room to prepare a bath.

    ¡°What a horrible way to start the day¡­ being yelled at out of nowhere¡± he thought, filling the bath with water andthering in some soap.

    ¡°And it was worse since I wasn¡¯t expecting it either, I had my guardpletely down¡­ I was even feeling peaceful for a moment. Dammit.¡±

    He sighed to himself as he took a deep breath in ¡°But I won¡¯t let something like that ruin my day. I¡¯ve been through worse after all.¡± he encouraged himself.

    ¡°Plus, maybe I¡¯ll be able to go back to the capital if Matheson bes independent.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s not him I¡¯m serving anyway. He¡¯s just a horrible person I have to be around for the time being. It¡¯s not permanent, I work for his father.¡±

    Hodley took out amunication stone and contacted the head chef,

    ¡°The young master is back. Prepare a feast ¨C a dinner feast. He was awake all night so this will be dinner for him.¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah, we¡¯ll be about¡­ one hour.¡±

    ¡°Thankyou.¡± Hodley said to the chef.

    Hodley sighed again, ¡°Howe even the people under me are rude to me too? I¡¯m polite to everyone no matter their status¡­¡±

    He shook his head before he tested the water with his hand.

    ¡°No. I¡¯m not letting myself sink into self-pity. Not today. I¡¯m polite because of the person I am, it has nothing to do with the person I¡¯m polite to.¡±

    ¡°Besides, I¡¯m too old for these silly feelings anyway¡­¡± he thought as his spectacles were starting to get foggy.

    Hodley had to encourage himself like this nearly every day; no one else would. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was either getting used to the world seeming to be against him and treating him poorly, or if he was actually being worn down, little by little, piece by piece.

    The bath was a multi-ruby bath type so it heated much quicker, but the water still took time to fill it. After the temperature was right, he went to tell Matheson the bath was ready before returning to his meal.

    The room was stinking and his breakfast was cold, much of the oil had run out of the eggs making the whole te greasy and gross.

    ¡°Why¡­¡± Hodley looked at his food.

    ¡°Did he n this?¡± he wondered as he sat down. Matheson¡¯s timing was perfect; frightening the old man when his guard was down eating breakfast, but right before he could even get half-way through his te.

    The meal was ruined, not just because of the coldness but because of the smell which Matheson brought back, still lingering on.

    He opened a window and finished his meal anyway, not letting the food go to waste. He knew things would get harder soon as Matheson would be around less and less, meaning the mansion¡¯s budget would decrease.

    After bathing then eating like a king, Matheson went to bed, sleeping until midday before he nned his next outing.

 Chapter 58 Losla 3

    In the courtyard of the adventurer association, an officer was looking over a crowd of adventurers who would soon be joining the military.

    These were the new recruits from Lo, and Michael stood by the officers side.

    The second officer was sitting behind a desk outside as he recorded their names, level, ss and that they were from Lo vige before making a report for the other officer.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ ording to our records there is usually more¡­ You have been saying the script right?¡± the officer enquired of Michael

    ¡°Of course¡± Michael smiled, pulling out a note as he used an overly enthusiastic voice, so enthusiastic that it sounded almost sarcastic, as he began to read it before the officer:

    ¡°Working in the military is an opportunity to serve your country, your king, and achieve greatness. You will be given the proper training to achieve your potential and be a brother among many!¡±

    He put the note away with a shit-eating grin, knowing that he read it with the most dull and boring voice he could muster when he initially read it.

    The officer sighed ¡°Hmmh, very well.¡± He could smell Michaels bullshit from a mile away.

    ¡°There were going to be two more as well, but they are on a short mission. We¡¯ll be sending them at our own expense directly to a military hub.¡± Michael added.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°I see, good. Everything¡¯s in order so we¡¯ll be leaving in a few hours.¡±

    ¡°Okay. If there¡¯s anything else, speak to Margaret at reception.¡± Michael pointed to the building.

    ¡°Thanks. We¡¯ll see you in a year then.¡± said the officer bluntly, looking at the other one as he made a hand sign, signalling him to start getting the soldiers to pack up.

    The soldiers began to herd the adventurers, getting them to pack up first before they put their own tents away, dismantling the various cooking objects over the fire pits and filling in the holes.

    Other adventurers did the same while one of them ttened the earth again before leaving ¨C he had made himself a whole dirt house to sleep in, to the envy of some of the other adventurers ¨C though a few befriended him as they thought they could get an advantage by being his friend.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Vdore walked into his office, ready to start another day of research.

    ¡°Oh?¡± he raised a brow, seeing a ck package with a red ribbon around it sitting on his desk.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Oh!¡± realising what it was, he was excited ¨C a little too excited for an old mage.

    ¡°Finally, finally!¡± He ripped the red ribbon off as it fell to the ground, opening the package.

    ¡°Oh my¡± it wasn¡¯t visible but as soon as he opened the noon-leather, a dense wave of mana resonated from the package.

    ¡°Better than I expected.¡± he smiled widely with a toothy grin.

    The noon-leather contained a small wooden box with five ck crystals inside, each of them levitating quietly inside the enchanted box. The crystals were spindle-shaped and seemed to absorb all light, they were purely ck without any gleam or glint.

    ¡°Amazing¡± he smiled as he picked one up and went around to sit at his desk.

    With a finger, he pressed on his ck cube, tapping it a few times.

    ¡°Time to wake up.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Initiating¡­¡± the cube responded, while Vdore gazed into the ck crystal.

    It was hard to tell he was even holding it in his hand as it seemed to look like a hole was in his hand which opened into an abyss; looking like a hole in space and time itself.

    ¡°¡­Initialised. Hello master.¡±

    ¡°Start the mana sense practice. The materials came in so we¡¯re going to start experimenting again.¡± he said, putting a ck crystal next to the cube.

    ¡°Try to feel the presence of this crystal.¡±

    ¡°Yes master. Beginning routine.¡±

    Vdore put the other four crystals into his inventory. ¡°I¡¯ll keep adding them until it works¡­ then if not, I¡¯ll even try building them into the cube itself, but that will be ast resort.¡±

    By now, Vdore had almost spent his life savings on making this ck cube. He had not only sunk money into his ck cube project, but his time, effort and energy. The cube was at first his retirement n, but soon he realised that it would give him enough power to rival kingdoms.

    The cube was meant to absorb ambient mana and convert it into its own body structure and fuel source. Vdore believed that its body could grow endlesslyrger, learn magic and even use it¡¯s own body to fuel spells. The only problem was that it couldn¡¯t sense mana, which was a necessary step to absorbing it. For the time being, Vdore had to channel his own mana into it to keep it alive.

    Originally, Vdore studied materials in the capital city. He was part of a research branch of mages which operated under the safety bearers. Much of the research was ssified, as it would be too dangerous in the wrong hands. This was the same group that was responsible for creating materials with anti-magic properties.

    After stumbling upon a discovery by himself in aboratory, he immediately destroyed it. He began to continue researching this discovery in secret, eventually creating the first version of the ck cube.

    Vdore needed a betterb to work from ¨C rather than his home¡¯s kitchen, so he quit his job and left the capital, saying that he wants to do something more inspiring like teaching.

    Since he was merely a researcher, they let him go.

    He found the most remote adventurer guilds he could on a map and began to scrutinise their leaders; this was when he found out about Sullivan.

    Sullivan was a powerful magician, though he was discharged from the military for ssified reasons. Using some of his ties to the research department, Vdore found out that Sullivan was friends with a B3-ss variant ¨C someone with a dangerous ss.

    Variant just meant someone that couldn¡¯t be controlled if they got too powerful, while B3-ss was a grading system.

    A normal ss wouldn¡¯t be on the grading system as they wouldn¡¯t be considered dangerous, though someone with a powerful ss would have a rank of either S, A, B, C, D, E or F.

    For instance, a C-ss variant would start as a C1. As they got stronger they would be a C2; all the way up to a C7, which was the strongest this person could be.

    Rosa, the leech queen, would have been considered an E1-ss variant.

    S-ss variants were easily powerful people with the most dangerous sses, for example, anyone who had ess to soul,w, dimension, love or micro type magic.

    Normally, an E or F ss person would be secretly monitored and eventually either recruited into the safety bearers with a ve contract, or killed ¨C either way, they would disappear.

    One of the biggest secrets in the kingdom was that the ve contracts were made by a soul mage who was controlled by the safety bearers.

    Sullivans B3-ss friend was killed by the safety bearers. Since they both served in the military, Sullivan escaped harsher punishment for knowingly hiding his friends¡¯ variant ss. He was discharged from the military as punishment, stripped of hismand title and his ornamental armour was taken away. Though to keep his skills from going to waste, and as payment for his service, he was sent to the wilderness to run the adventurer guild.

    Since Sullivan had a questionable rtionship with the safety bearers and probably wouldn¡¯t report anything unusual, this guild was the perfect ce for Vdore to start his experiments on the cube. Lo was a quiet, safe ce to start growing and more deeply researching his discovery, which of course led to the cube bing semi-sentient.

    Now, all he had to do was wait for the results.

 Chapter 59 Camp

    [15 Exp]x3

    Jay woke up with a smile to some more experience point notifications.

    The amount he was getting was slowly dropping, so there were probably not many leeches left in the forest and ravine.

    It was quiet today, and still a little dark as the sky was overcast with dark clouds, though they were high up in the sky so it didn¡¯t seem like it would rain.

    ¡°Hmm, the others aren¡¯t awake yet¡­¡± he looked around the quiet campsite.

    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have a look around.¡±

    Jay rolled up his swag and put it in his inventory before heading out into the forest.

    The area they chose to camp was still quite far from Lo so he knew he wouldn¡¯t be anywhere near the silk wood dungeon. Since they were not in a rush to save anyone and had Naria with them, they were travelling a little more slowly.

    They had camped on a t part of a hill at the edge of a valley. The forest was dark and quiet, wind slowly weaving through the trees was the only thing he could hear.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay decided to walk down to the bottom of the valley. He guessed there would probably be some small predators out here in the forest, as his skeletons killed some various wildlife when they were protecting them the first time they came through this forest, though they could have been defenceless animals. Nevertheless, Jay didn¡¯t see anything at the moment. It was like the forest was still asleep.

    Walking down the hill there was arge green-covered tree that stood out as it was covered in moss. At the bottom of the mossy tree there were some colourful mushrooms quietly growing, but Jay decided not to touch them since they looked menacing and were probably poisonous.

    ¡°I should probably warn Naria not to touch any of these¡± he thought as he kept walking down.

    The valley ttened out at the bottom, the dirt reced by t stone with a shallow cut going through the middle of the valley floor caused by years of trickling water. Small ponds and pools had formed, going up and down the valley floor as the water flowed slowly from one to another.

    He walked by the small trickling stream, seeing some crayfish scuttle themselves under a rock as he approached.

    Suddenly, Jay ducked as a massive shadow went right over him, thinking he was about to be attacked.

    Looking up, a giant grey bird with four wings flew over the skies. The feathers at the end of its four wings were ten times longer than the others, and they seemed more like ceremonial ribbons. It¡¯s head had a long ck beak which looked like polished obsidian with threerge brown eyes on each side of its head.

    The whole quiet atmosphere changed in the forest, reced byplete tension. It¡¯s size alone caused Jay to hold his breath out of fear; it was hard to tell but Jay thought it would have been at least three times as big as the adventurer association ¨C including the courtyard.<sub></sub>

    Even as he watched it, he could hardly believe his eyes ¨C that such a huge creature existed which he had never heard of. A single flyover would cause all seven races to stir, perhaps even new wars would be started because of such an event. If such a lifeform was sentient, it could rule over all the races ¨C and they would have no choice but to bow down before it in fear and reverence.

    Whatever this was, it was beyond his level. Living a quiet life in Lo, he had never seen anything like it.

    It¡¯s casual fly over caused Jay¡¯s chest to feel tight. He could do nothing but stand before it and await judgement, yet the bird didn¡¯t even acknowledge Jay¡¯s existence as it flew by. Perhaps it didn¡¯t even notice him. It seemed like Jay wasn¡¯t even worthy of being a meal, he wouldn¡¯t even make up for the energy required to fly back up into the skies again ¨C due to the bird¡¯s altitude and weight.

    The majestic creature was leisurely gliding high above, just under the clouds,pletely uncaring of whatever was happening on the ground; however it was still effortlessly travelling at least ten times faster than a horse.

    Wherever it was going, or whatever it was doing, Jay wouldn¡¯t know. He would perhaps never see it again. It was flying beyond the known world ¨C all seven races had only shared a small part of this world which was called the known world, each of them slowly conquering monsters in the wilderness to expand their nations ¨C though sometimes it was impossible as god-like monsters like this bird were present; this would result in war with other nations, fighting another race would sometimes be easier than dealing with a legendary monster.

    The human race was just an ant among ants whenpared to the horrors and powers that existed in other parts of this world. This kept them, for the most part, from splitting apart their own kingdom and having civil wars.

    It took a few minutes before it disappeared into the skies, and Jay watched it silently in awe. He knew he would probably never see something like this again ¨C something which made him stand in amazement.

    He didn¡¯t realise it, but this experience would be ingrained in his subconscious, driving him further ¨C instead of aiming at bing strong among humans, he would aim to be stronger than all, never satisfied or prideful about his own power.<sub></sub>

    The whole forest seemed to be quieter afterwards.

    Jay looked around for a moment before grabbing a stick and piercing some of the freshwater crayfish which would be his breakfast.

    Marching back up the hill to the campsite, he gathered some dry sticks on the way. Other than the bird, there was not much out of the ordinary down here.

    Getting back to camp, he noticed the others were still sleeping, so he sat down quietly and prepared at the campfire. The fire was mostly white-grey ashes, but after some prodding he found some glowing red coals underneath.

    Jay snapped up the smallest twigs and added some dry bark, scrunching it in his hand until it looked like a bird nest. He poked the nest into the coals and blew on them, causing them to glow brighter until the twigs burst into fire.

    With the me restored, he added slightlyrger twigs and worked his way up torger pieces of wood until the fire was stable again.

    He took out the crayfish, some sausages and a metal skewer he had taken from his butchery, piercing the sausages and crayfish and began grilling them.

    It wasn¡¯t long before they were sizzling, and a delicious garlic smell wafted from the sausages, causing the others to wake up out of hunger.

    Naria was the first to get up. It seemed that she was too shy to ask for some food, as she sat near Jay and watched the sausages cooking silently, however it was more likely that her trauma was still affecting her as she was still either unable or unwilling to talk.

    After a little while the food was ready.

    Jay nned to eat them all himself, but hadpassion on the young girl and gave her a sausage, along with some trail mix. The trail mix was mostly made up of dried fruit and nuts.

    He also checked her water bottle to make sure it wasn¡¯t empty.

    Naria tried to eat the sausage but it was too hot, so she picked at the trail mix slowly while periodically testing the sausage with her tongue. She was awkwardly holding it on the skewer since they had no tes or cutlery.

    Jay was slightly amused as he watched her eating, she would get distracted by the trail mix and the skewer in her other hand would slowly lower to the ground.

    He shook his head with a smile,

    ¡°Don¡¯t let the sausage get cold¡± he would say before it got too close to the ground, needing to say this a few times so that it didn¡¯t get dirty. He patiently did this a few times before it was cool enough for her to eat.

    By now, the others had woken up and were preparing a meal for themselves.

    ¡°Thanks for starting the fire¡± Mark said as he pulled out a pan.

    Mark had pieces of meat cooking on a pan, while Kel added some grey mushrooms to the same pan. Anya had a muffin, which somehow wasn¡¯t stale; she ate it while boiling some water for a coffee.

    They all chatted together as they had breakfast by the fire, and their conversation made the forest seem a little warmer because of it. Mark mentioned that he must have slept on a stone as he cracked his back, while Kel talked about a weird dream she had which involved all of them running a race around Lo.

    Jay and Anya mostly talked about different tactics they could have used to y the leeches if they had more time, but joked that tactics don¡¯t matter when they could have just sent Mark in by himself ¨C his spell sword was the perfect counter to their passive body skill, ending them in one hit.

    Jay described the massive bird he saw earlier in the morning, but no one believed him.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t offended that no one believed him, in fact he even expected this; he started the story by saying ¡®you guys won¡¯t believe this, but something crazy happened this morning¡­¡¯

    After a finishing breakfast and enjoying the fire for a while, they put it out and packed up their gear, beginning to stretch before starting their journey back to Lo.

    ¡°All ready?¡± Everyone nodded back in response.

    ¡°Good, let¡¯s go. We should arrive a little after lunch time.¡± Jay said, taking the lead once again.

 Chapter 60 Message

    A dark snowstorm was rolling over a sprawling range of icy white mountains. The mountains appeared to be nearly endless, a rocky ocean of ice covered in a never-ending winter. There were no trees on them, and they were void of life.

    In the midst of these ice mountains, a circr stone tower stands defiantly against the blizzard. There is no entrance to the tower, no hatch on the roof, and no iron door. It¡¯s only features are two spade-shaped windows on each side.

    From inside the tower a dim glow radiates through it¡¯s iron ss windows, the warmth inside concealed from the storm.

    A firece consistently crackles away while an empty wooden chair sits silently before it. A series of fire pokers stand near one side of the chair while on the other side a small ckwood table hosts a golden bowl. A decorative crystal ss and a bottle which was half-filled with a dark-brown alcohol sit next to the bowl.

    Variousrge paintings hang around the room, most of them depicting warm sunny environments. On the other side of the room, a staircase which leads down deeper into the tower has a desk next to it.

    Sitting in a studded leather chair behind the desk, a bald man with spectacles and a great ck beard sits. His robes are loose and majestic, with patterns of green, gold and blue trailing over them; the blue colours of the robe periodically move as if they¡¯re ribbons waving in a gentle wind.

    He watches over a magic quill as it writes for him; the symbols being written on the page aren¡¯t in any knownnguage, as it¡¯s anguage invented to specifically send secret messages.

    Suddenly, the magic quill stops as he senses something in the ambient mana.

    An energy signature is rapidly approaching.

    ¡°Mmh¡± He gets up with a grunt and walks to one of the two windows.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± he rxed ¡°It¡¯s been quite a while since we¡¯ve had one of these..¡±<sub>.</sub>

    His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the glowing orb travelling his way.

    Orbs containing messages usually came to this tower with a specific energy signature, however this one was different.

    At first, he was slightly rmed as the energy signature was different to the usual orbs he would receive, and the colour of the orb was different too, but he recognised it nheless.

    This orb was dark-orange in colour, though typically, the ones he received were light-blue. This only meant the message came from someone outside of the secret society.

    ¡°This will be interesting¡­ a dark-orange orb.¡± he squinted.

    ¡°A dark ORANGE orb, OOO! ORANGE!¡± he said orange with a weird, sarcastic voice as he repeated himself, announcing the colour seemingly to the sky.

    He had been in this tower for a while without much contact, and was mentally starting to get a little weird. When he first came here, he had no beard at all with plenty of hair on his head.

    Stroking his beard, he became seemingly normal again, ¡°I wonder what it says.¡±

    He sat down at the chair in front of the firece and poured himself a ss.

    The dark-orange orb flew through the closed window as it could pass through physical objects.<sub></sub>

    Finally, it materialised into physical form and gentlynded itself in the golden bowl.

    The old wizard put a finger on the orb, scanning its contents before tapping it a few times, and the orb disintegrated leaving a message behind.

    Without a pause, he opened it and began reading; after a moment his eyes bulged, shocked by what he read.

    ¡°A human necromancer¡­¡± he whispered to himself as he tried toe to terms with what he was reading.

    Suddenly, he mmed his ss down and stood up. It was as if he was a soldier being called to arms, gone were the slightly mad parts of his attitude ¨C reced by diligence; no more was the casual demeanour that he previously had.

    Folding the message, he added another of his own into it, then immediately formed an orb of his own ¨C yet this one was not light-blue, but ck: a top priority message.

    With a flick of his wrist, he sent it off through the other window ¨C which took the message to the mirror reality.

    The tower he upied was merely a separate pocket in space and time, acting as a bridge between reality and the mirror reality, a way station of sorts. This was the purpose of its two windows, each leading to a different reality. There would have been three windows if this was linked with another reality.

    Suddenly, one of the walls shimmered for a moment before going back to normal.

    The old wizard raised a brow and froze at seeing this ¨C but nothing happened.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hmm, must have just been a distortion of some sort. Perhaps it was due to the different message type.¡±

    He went back to his desk and continued to work.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    A smile appeared on everyone¡¯s faces as they saw Loing into sight, and each of them picked up their walking speed a little.

    ¡°That¡¯s our home¡± Kel said to Naria who was walking by her side. Since the path near Lo was actually a t path and not just wilderness, they stopped running and let Naria walk for thest part of the journey.

    Naria didn¡¯t say anything but her eyes looked bright and curious as she looked at the town. She had never left the hamlet before, and before this, seven houses were the most buildings she had ever seen.

    Lo was considered a small country town, but it still consisted of nearly a thousand houses, each differing in size and shape.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take her to the adventurer association, they¡¯ll know what to do with her,¡± Jay said.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Anya quickly replied, an unofficial representative of the association. She didn¡¯t let the others see it but she was feeling a little tense as she still hadn¡¯t told her father about Kel having to go with Mark¡¯s escort; she made a promise she wasn¡¯t sure if she could keep or not ¨C though she didn¡¯t see the harm in Kel going too anyway.

    ¡°Me and Jay can take her. You guys can go home and rest, it¡¯s been a long journey. I¡¯ll update you about the escort when I find out the details.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ ok. Well, thanks for the quest it was nice grouping with you two¡± Kel said, before giving a warm smile and a hug to Naria. ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon, take care of Jay and Anya for me¡±

    Naria smiled back and nodded, hugging her back.

    Mark smiled at Naria but didn¡¯t say anything, this was his way of saying goodbye.

    ¡°It was good, thanks for the opportunity Anya. Maybe we¡¯ll see you at the snakeraven sometime.¡±

    The two walked off into Lo, but from the direction they were going, it was clear they were heading to the snakeraven inn to get lunch ¨C and for Mark, probably a few beers.

    Anya grabbed Naria¡¯s hand as they made their way to the association, Jay walked up the hill alongside the two girls.

    ¡°So, you said the reward would be good.¡± Jay remembered as they passed the spot where he epted the quest.

    ¡°You know, this ¡®good reward¡¯ will determine if I help the next time. If it¡¯s mediocre, perhaps I won¡¯t take any more quests.¡±

    Anya gave him a look which seemed to say he was being petty, but she did make a promise after all.

    ¡°It will be good. I will make sure of it.¡± She tried to sound confident.

    Jay could see right through her fake confidence, but he didn¡¯t let her see his face as he regretfully smiled to himself.

    Walking under the floating stone gate, Naria hesitated a little but kept going in, holding Anya¡¯s hand. The guard gave them a strange look, wondering why they were bringing a little girl here, but it wasn¡¯t his business so he let them through without saying a word.

    A few various adventurers were still training on the courtyard dummies while others were going in and out of the association building for a dungeon or a quest.

    Most of them were melee based sses, many carrying swords and shields as their weapons.

    The mana and ranged based sses would have all been recruited into parties by now, raiding dungeons and making money. Since there were less of them around, they were in demand.

    At the archery range, a few of the melee based sses were practising using a bow and arrows ¨C they looked awkward, but with enough diligence it would pay off.

    After enough training they could get a subss and merge their melee ss with a ranged one.

    For instance, a tank ss could practice with a whip and be a [Stone Snare]; using a whip, sword and shield,bined with aggression-pulling skills, they could keep a monster pinned down and fighting with them while their party members focus on doing damage.

    Naria got distracted looking at the people training in the courtyard. The whole environment was a little overwhelming for her. The adventurer association was asrge as her hamlet after all.

    ¡°Come on Naria, let¡¯s go in¡± Anya smiled, patting behind her shoulder.

 Chapter 61 Reward

    ¡°So we ended up killing the leech queen Rosa, but we didn¡¯t tell the others about it.¡±

    Anya was in her fathers office, going over the quest details with her father after she left Jay and Naria downstairs in the care of Margaret at reception.

    Upon hearing that the whole hamlet was massacred, Sullivan had a remorseful look on his face for a moment before replying.

    ¡°¡­I see. It¡¯s good that you didn¡¯t mention Rosa to the others. We don¡¯t want an investigation by the safety bearers. Where is Jay and the girl now?¡±

    ¡°With Margaret, he took all Naria¡¯s stuff from her room so he¡¯s probably handing it all over to Margie¡­ Oh¡­¡± Anya looked at the bookshelf in Sullivans office as she remembered something.

    ¡°I also promised you would give Jay a nice reward for the quest ¨C not just the quest payment price.¡±

    Sullivan half-smiled at his daughter¡¯s antics ¡°I see¡­¡± Sullivan intertwined his fingers as he put his elbows on his desk.

    ¡°Tell him it will be ready by this afternoon, and to keep information about Rosa a secret. It would be better if he forgets about her, better if you both do.¡± Anya could feel her fathers piercing eyes looking at her.

    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll tell him¡­ so what are you going to do with Naria?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Margaret, we¡¯ll figure something out. Perhaps Alevo can care for her once he recovers; he still has to be told that the hamlet is gone. It will be some time before either of them will be.. useful.¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯m going to have a rest before I start training again.¡±

    Sullivan nodded as Anya left the room before he swivelled in his chair and looked down at the adventurers on the courtyard.

    ¡°Now¡­ what to get Jay,¡± Sullivan started calcting in his mind.

    ¡°Sending him away will be part of the reward, but I¡¯ll add something else¡­¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°He¡¯s too powerful, so maybe some sort of utility type item. Perhaps even a promise would do, a promise to help him with something in the future¡­ That seems a little flimsy though, and I won¡¯t be tied down by a promise either. He probably won¡¯t want something as simple as a sword anyway, he doesn¡¯t do much fighting by the sounds of it¡­¡± Sullivan rolled his tongue in his cheek as he thought for a moment.

    After some time, a slight smile appeared on Sullivans face as he thought of something perfect for Jay; something that wouldn¡¯t make Jay stronger but would also be useful for him.

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± he smirked, ¡°those will do nicely.¡±

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°It¡¯s ok honey, we¡¯ll take care of her.¡± Margaret smiled at Jay from behind her sses.

    Jay, Naria and Margaret were in a small private room in the association. Jay put thest wooden toy he had in his inventory onto the floor next to Naria before heading to the door with Margaret as they left the room.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon, stay here ok?¡± she said to Naria as she closed the door and turned to Jay.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s see what we can do about your reward.¡± She went back to reception with Jay in tow.

    ¡°Okay, so the difficulty of the quest, type of monster, time, urgency¡­¡± Margaret started speaking to herself as she went over a few documents behind the counter.

    ¡°Here we are dear. Thankyou for your service.¡± Margaret plonked a bag full of gold coins on the counter in front of Jay ¨C 340 glistening pieces to be precise.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Jay smiled as he took the bag. By Jay¡¯s estimate, this quest was worth it and far more lucrative than grinding in a dungeon; he got to get experience points, and get paid for it.

    Plus, if he found anything valuable on the quest it was his to keep ¨C though the monsters didn¡¯t drop anything valuable this time. However, if they did he would have made even more money.

    ¡°I was told Sullivan has a special reward for me too¡­¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hm? Uh, that¡¯s unusual. Give me a moment dear.¡± Margaret went into the back room to use a contact crystal before she came back out.

    ¡°Yes. There is a special reward,¡± she smiled. ¡°Come back in a few hours to collect it ok dear?¡±

    ¡°Awesome, thanks. I¡¯ll see you soon then.¡± Jay turned away.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Margaret waved at Jay before he walked too far away from the counter ¡°Also, an adventurer named Trenly wanted to speak with you. We told him you were on an emergency quest and that we¡¯d notify him when you get back if that¡¯s ok with you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah sure. I¡¯ll be back in a few hours for my reward so maybe I can meet him here then?¡±

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll send him a message dear. Take care.¡±

    With a thankful smile, Jay walked over to the dungeon board to see what dungeons he could do while waiting for the next few hours.

    ¡°Might as well be grinding while I wait.¡± he thought as he looked at the board.

    ¡°Hmm..¡± he thought to himself as he looked over the dungeons.

    ¡°Something simple would be good. The skeletons are still all a few days¡¯ journey away at the hamlet, but I¡¯ll just re-summon Red and Lamp.¡±

    Red and Lamp were Jay¡¯s level 2 skeletons, and were still in the ravine hunting leeches back near the hamlet; though Jay had no experience point notifications for a while so the ravine was probably clear by now.

    While Jay was in the ravine, he re-summoned these two skeletons using soap-rat bones while sticking the semi-organic silt wolf bones into his inventory. The soap rat bones were weaker so he didn¡¯t care about losing them.

    This way he saved the precious silt wolf bones, so when he resummoned them using these bones again, the soap-rat bones would be left behind in the ravine ¨C but this was fine with Jay since he considered them trashpared to the blue bones of the silt wolves. It was likeparing wood to iron. One was much stronger and could easily destroy the other.<sub></sub>

    Looking over the board, he decided on a level three dungeon. It was way too low level for Jay who was level 8, but he only had a few hours and two level 2 skeletons, so he thought he would just go ughter some helpless dungeon monsters for a while.

    There were two level 3 dungeons near Lo, but only one was an instanced dungeon. This was a requirement for Jay, as his skeletons would cause an uproar and probably lead to his early death if anyone saw them with him.

    The level three dungeon was called [Mist Keep]. The information avable about it was simply ¡®Stone soldiers. Pyramid trap. Be able tofortably fight at least four at once¡¯.

    Jay considered things for a moment. ¡°Stinkrat Marsh was a level 1 dungeon, while its monsters went up to level 5, so this level 3 dungeon¡¯s monsters would probably go up to level 8 or 9.¡±

    The dungeon level system represented the minimum level monsters of the dungeon, which also corrted to it¡¯s difficulty. The higher level a dungeon, the more dangerous it¡¯s internal trapping mechanisms would be.

    Jay thought he probably wouldn¡¯t get very far in only two hours, nevertheless, he added the dungeon to his map.

    He had a thought that fighting stone with bone might not work out too well, so he visited

    Lillian. Jay was intending to purchase some iron bars to make into semi-bone hammers.

    The hatch in the trading door was open and Jay could see Lillian.

    ¡°Here you go you little floof ball¡± Lillian smiled, feeding her novelty pet parts of her lunch. Her smile soon left as Jay rudely knocked on the trade door. He already knew what he wanted.

    ¡°Hello,¡± Lillian reced her real smile with a fake smile that she used for customers ¡°What would you like?¡±

    ¡°Three.. Actually six iron bars please. You have some in stock right?¡±

    ¡°Six iron bars. Yes. Let me check the price.¡±

    The hatch closed for a moment before Lillian returned.

    ¡°Six iron bars will be 72 gold.¡±

    Jay handed her the money and the hatch closed again while a familiar light shot out from under the door.

    Lillian returned with the iron bars, Jay stashed them in his inventory and left, not wanting to waste any time. He went back to the lobby and left the association, jogging towards the dungeon.

    ¡°It¡¯s about a 20 minute jog, I should only spend an hour and a half there so I don¡¯t get back toote,¡± Jay calcted as he jogged through the floating gate of the association, making a sharp right turn towards the dungeon.

    The adventurer association was located on a hill on the north-east side of town, though the guild itself faced the east since the road coiled eastwards around the hill.

    The dungeon was located north from where the guild was, down the mountain and slightly deeper into the rocky forest.

    Compared to the forest on the south parts of town, there were many more rocky boulders in the northern forest and the trees were a little less dense, making it noticeably easier to travel through. This was due to the presence of the mountain, with the guild on top, as well as the association managing the trees ¨C for both line of sight, and as resources for the palisade walls.

    Jay didn¡¯t realise this till now, since he had no reason toe here, but a quarry was being set up here ¨C or that was what it looked like to him anyway.

    Much of the vegetation and dirt had been cleared away from a small area here and various workbenches and tools were around. A few rough stone blocks had been cut out of a t cliff face. Near them was a few empty tents with some different chiselled stone blocks.

    Jay guessed this was new as he had never heard about it, so perhaps it was a preliminary step to a stone quarry, a test of sorts.

    ¡°Maybe Sullivan¡¯s upgrading the walls,¡± he thought.

    Jay kept walking, and it didn¡¯t take long at all for Jay to reach the bottom of the hill.

    To his surprise, there was a stone path here. It was vaguely in the same direction he was going, so he decided to follow it.

    ¡°Huh, useful path.¡± It led him straight to the map marker ¡°It must be part of the dungeon¡¯s entrance.¡±

    The path came to a smallpound with a broken down stone wall. It seemed like the ruins of a stone tower that used to have quite a thick stone wall surrounding it; though both the tower and wall were crumbled.

    There were two stone statues at the front of the wall. They were 7-foot tall, towering over Jay and d in thick stone armour with huge stone swords, kite shields and T-visor helmets.

    Oddly, the statues both looked brand-new, as if they were chiselled yesterday and ced her overnight. They were quite contrasting to the destroyed tower they were protecting which was mostly just a toppled pile of stone blocks.

    A few other adventurers were here too. Some were having lunch together while others were strapping their armour on more tightly as they prepared to enter the dungeon.

    Strangely, no nts grew within the broken down walls; no grasses, moss or even insects. It was only cracked and dried out soil. The only thing living inside the walls were Jay and the other adventurers. Someone spotted Jay and went to greet him.

    ¡°Hey. You¡¯re here for the dungeon? Want to join our party? It¡¯s easier with more.¡± the adventurer was recruiting people to his group. So far, there was four of them sitting nearby in a circle, all tending to their weapons as they prepared to enter soon as well.

    ¡°Thanks, but I prefer to go solo.¡± Jay said.

    The adventurer pursed his lips ¡°Oh ok all good.¡± was all he said, but his expression seemed to say ¡°Ok, it¡¯s your death wish I guess.¡± as he returned to his small group.

    Jay walked further into the centre of thepound, towards the ruined tower.

    All that was left of the tower was a wooden door with stone surrounding it, holding it upright.

    Jay didn¡¯t need to guess how to enter this dungeon as he walked up to the door, getting a notification when he put his hand on it.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    *Author here. We made it to 100,000 words. Hooray! The books has made it to #1 on the thirty-day scale for male-contracted books too, so thanks for the power stones. It¡¯s really awesome to see so many people enjoying the book, especially since the beginning I was writing this purely out of enjoyment for myself. Also, if you¡¯re using the webnovel app, you can unlock some secret hidden chapters so you can read ahead; I¡¯ve stockpiled 5 chapters there. Enjoy! ¨C Aero182*

 Chapter 62 Workers 1

    [Mist Keep ¨C Level 3 Dungeon]

    [Unlocked][Instanced]

    [Enter Mist Keep?]

    [Yes/No]

    ¡°Yes¡± thought Jay with a nod as the thick wooden door flung open and his body was pulled inside. He thought he heard a snicker from some other adventurers as he went through.

    After a moment of darkness, he found himself in an empty ck desert, standing on more of the dried out, cracked soil. There was no life around, everything was deste.

    The sky above crackled with thunder and dark, heavy clouds slowly rolled over as they stretched into the horizon ¨C though no wind blew.

    A few ckened tree stumps littered the earth around him; it was as if he was in a forest that had been drained of life decades ago.

    After looking around for signs of anything, Jay soon found that nearby a toppled statue had fallen next to an old road ¨C both of which were almost non-existent at this point as they were being lost to time. It¡¯s degradation was so bad that took Jay a second look to realise it wasn¡¯t just a pile of rocks.

    After checking through the statue rubble, there was nothing of interest.

    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll follow the road.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    The dirt path led up a small hill, and reaching the top gave Jay a view which made him speechless.

    Before his eyes was a stone kingdom; though it had beenpletely destroyed. Every building was in ruins and every building was in rubble.

    All that remained standing tall were a series of ck-stone pyramids, each bigger than thest, going off into the distance. They had sets of pirs at their fronts that led to each of their entrances.

    After counting, Jay found a total of six pyramids rose from the ruins ¨C though these were themselves not untouched by whatever happened here, as some of the cap stones were cracked. They looked like they had been attacked by an army of angry stonemasons.

    At the destroyed gate of this mega-city, two stone statues of knights stood resolutely. Simr to the ones at the dungeon entrance, these looked brand new, expertly crafted and extremely lifelike.

    Squinting a little, Jay noticed a few more of these soldier statues dispersed throughout the destroyed city. It was like they were still guarding it¡¯s streets ¨C even though there was nothing left..

    Jay now believed he understood the information about the dungeon, specifically the part where it said ¡®Pyramid trap. Be able tofortably fight at least four at once¡¯.

    He guessed that the pyramids would trap him inside while he would have to fight at least four stone statues at once.

    The adventurer guild provided enough information to keep adventurers safe, but not enough to give every little difficulty or secret away. It attempted to provide guidance between nurture and nature, to grow adventurers as much as possible without letting them kill themselves through inexperience.

    Of course, they wouldn¡¯t be responsible if you died anyway.<sub></sub>

    At the entrance of the destroyed stone gateway of the city, the stone statues didn¡¯t move or even appear to have eyes, though it was hard to tell behind their thick stone helmets.

    Jay thought he should be cautious anyway. Heading back the way he came, he went down the hill until he was out of sight of the destroyed city.

    Jay shifted his ring into the orbital form, summoning Red and Lamp using the silt-wolf bones.

    No one saw this, but their skeleton bodies in the dark ravine near the hamlet copsed immediately as they were resummoned into this dungeon.

    Just recharged their swords with essence and as he was about to hand them over, however, he then put them back into his inventory.

    ¡°Swords probably won¡¯t do much against stone.¡± he said quietly to his skeletons.

    ¡°We can do better than swords anyway..¡± he smiled as he sat cross-legged, assuming his crafting position.

    ¡°It¡¯s hammer time.¡±

    Jay had purchased six iron bars, so he would create one hammer for himself, four for each of his minions and one spare hammer left over, for emergency ¨C Jay would not be caught without a weapon at hand.

    ¡°Ok, crafting this will be a little different¡­ I¡¯ll be working with more than just bone.¡± he thought, holding an iron bar.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hmm¡­ how am I going to make the bone attach to the bars¡­¡±

    Jay looked at his skeletons for a moment as he analysed their knee joints. Thinking for a moment, he had an idea.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have the bone will form a Y-split that the bar will seat in ¨C but the hard part will be forming something new: a tendon. I¡¯ll wrap the tendon around the bar and attach it to the top of the Y-split, pulling the split tight around the bar, which will in turn pull the bar into the split.¡±

    Thinking about each step involved, Jay began the process,

    Thick, dark green smokey mist left his palm as it pulled out a bone from his ring.

    It was arge thigh bone, extra thick. His essence seeped into it and began to mould and meld it, reshaping it ording to his desire.

    A split formed at one end and was reinforced with the green gas as parts of it solidified the structure.

    Jay concentrated, holding everything in ce as he got one of his minions to hold an iron bar in ce inbetween the split.

    ¡°Ok, now the tendon¡­¡±

    The tendon would be made predominantly from his green gas. More gas burst forward from his hand as it went onto the end of the bone and solidified.

    Before long, a string formed across the bar, getting thicker as more of Jay¡¯s essence flowed into it.

    After it was thick enough, Jay finished the process holding what seemed like an iron hammer with a bone shaft ¨C though before Jay could even test it, the iron bar slipped out.

    ¡°Damn¡­ well, it probably wouldn¡¯t have worked on the first try anyway.¡±

    Jay repeated the process another time, yet the same result.

    ¡°What am I missing here? Hmm..¡±

    Jay had one of his skeletonse over. He analysed the joints of the creature as well as the tendons, particrly the flexor tendons on their ws.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay made it open and close its hand ¡°Oh! Right!¡±

    Jay realised that tendons don¡¯t just hold things together, but they actually contracted and extended; he realised he would need to make the tendon in an extended state as he wrapped it around the iron bar, then contract when it was finished.

    Once more, he used the same thigh bone which was already a Y-shape. Having Lamp hold the bar, Jay crafted the tendon around it.

    Once again it got thicker and formed ¨C then he had it contract.

    The tendon was quite strong, and Jay felt like the bone threatened to crack from the force of the tendon pulling it together, so he added more green gas to solidify the bone.

    Jay knew he was getting closer now as he had a feeling that it was starting to craft itself, and soon it felt like the hammer was drawing in Jay¡¯s essence by itself.

    The bone got thicker for a moment and elongated. It took more of a shaft shape, gone were the bulbous parts of the bone at the end; then went to reinforcing its structure.

    The bone had a tint of green by the end of the process, looking like any other war hammer with an unwrapped shaft; most shafts were wrapped with leather, but Jay¡¯s hammers¡¯ was covered in thick veins of green going up and down it.

    After grasping it, Jay wasn¡¯t disappointed. The vein-like structures proved to give enough grip, and the shaft got longer so he could build up a stronger swing.

    ¡°Nice.¡± Jay thought, his eyes gleaming with expectation as he looked at it.

    ¡°The only part I don¡¯t like is the iron bar, but it will do the job.¡±

    The iron bar was square and t at the ends. It wasn¡¯t much to look at, and Jay felt like it betrayed the rest of his fine craftsmanship. The bone with strands of green going through it gave it an ornamental feel.

    ¡°Beautiful. Can¡¯t wait to smash some heads open with you. Let¡¯s see your stats.¡± Jay analysed the bone hammer.

 Chapter 63 Workers 2

    [Bone Hammer Level 1] (Iron Bar)

    [5 damage ¨C crushing, bludgeoning]

    [5% chance to stun or cripple targets ¨C Dependant on point of impact]

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires necrotic essence to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 4 hours]

    ¡°Ok, ok. Not bad. Pretty simr to my bone daggers but with one extra damage and a shorter lifespan, not that a short life is a problem anyway.

    Jay got up and searched for a rock. Most of the ground was cracking dried-out soil, but after walking down the hill a little he found his first victim ¨C arge rock.

    *Thwack! ¨C clingg*

    The hammer made a ringing noise after he smashed it against the bare stone, but it came out much better than its target. A chunk of the rock had cracked and fell off, unable to withstand a single blow from his hammer.

    ¡°Nice.¡± Jay was satisfied, smiling at his hammer as he gripped it firmly and swinged it a few times.

    Sitting down cross-legged again, he started to make five more ¨C though after only making three, he had to stop himself. The hammers required so much of his essence during their creation, and since Jay¡¯s mana was getting too low, he ended up only crafting four in total.

    Giving one hammer to each of the skeletons, he realised that he didn¡¯t need more than four anyway. The skeletons were holding the hammers with both their hands.

    Since they were smaller than Jay it made it seem like they were two-handed hammers, specifically designed for them.

    ¡°Good, good.¡± Jay smiled, d he didn¡¯t waste time making more.

    ¡°I guess with two-hands they can hit harder too, so this works out great¡± he thought, looking at his blue skeletons.

    Each of the skeletons looked threatening, their blue wolf-skulls gazing defiantly as their bone hands ended in ws, grasping the shaft of the dark green bone hammers.

    Jay was d with how much work he put into his minions, and they represented his work over thest week or so.

    At first, he started with a single tiny skeleton that didn¡¯t have any weapons, was made of weak rat bones and wasn¡¯t even as high as his waist. It could only do 1 or 2 damage and had 15 health.

    This first feeble creature, true to its name, was feeble. At the time, it didn¡¯t even have a name; though now it was Jay¡¯s strongest ¨C Blue.

    Blue was now ressified as a ¡®perennial¡¯ creature after levelling up to three, having 45 health, strong blue wolf bones and could craft its own weapons. It even had mana, which was rare for summoned creatures.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay smiled with pride as they stood before him. He had worked hard, and had trulye a long way.

    ¡°But while I may be much better than other adventurers my age, I should not forget that I¡¯m still weak. Unlike them, I¡¯m trying to survive. I must get stronger so that I can¡¯t be killed on a whim of some powerful noble. I¡¯m not evil or a monster, and I don¡¯t deserve to die for my ss.¡±

    Gripping his new hammer tightly, he marched back up the hill again, encouraged by how far he hade as he was resolute in himself. The two wolf-skull skeletons followed after him.

    Peering over the hill, he found his first two targets ¨C the two statues guarding the gate.

    Jay took the path down and made his way over.

    The deathwalkers sentry shield squeezed his arm, warning him of danger, but this was unnecessary, it was pretty obvious what would happen. Not to mention the clue from the association making it clear he would fight statues.

    Jay analysed one of the 7-foot tall stone statues, each of them another head taller than Jay.

    <[Helvetian Soldier ¨C Level 3]>

    [35 HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Helvetian Standard Sword]

    ¨C 7 damage

    ¨C Knockback if blocked

    ¨C Unlootable

    [Helvetian Standard Tower Shield]

    ¨C Block (Passive) ¨C Negate 100% damage from an attack. 15% chance, otherwise reduce damage taken by 80% when shield is hit]

    ¨C Unlootable

    [Brittle Armour]

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.<sub></sub>

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Immune to non-physical magic damage.

    ¨C Any wielded weapons or items be cursed and unlootable.

    <Description>

    A soldier of the Helvetian kingdom. The Helvetian kingdom was once the jewel of the world, a ce of dreams and magic, a force of justice and freedom. Here the soldiers stand guard, waiting for their chance to exact revenge on those who would harm their precious kingdom.

    ¡°Uh, the kingdom has already been harmed¡­?¡± Jay looked around at the walls, all broken down and in ruins.

    ¡°You guys had one job¡­¡± Jay mocked them.

    The statues began to move, responding to either Jay¡¯s taunt or his analysis skill ¨C he wasn¡¯t sure, but now it didn¡¯t matter.

    They both power-walked over with heavy steps, creating thud noises and cracking the ground from their sheer weight as Jay prepared himself with his minions.

    Jay had the minions go to each side, preparing them for a nking attack. He was going to have them attack the soldiers ankles and legs while he would act as the bait. Jay was counting on their heavy weight helping to crush their own ankles.

    The first stone soldier lunged, swinging his massive stone sword through the air.

    *Whoosh!*

    It created a sound as it swept through the air, passing over Jay since he crouched down at thest moment.

    This was when Jay had his minionsunch their attack.

    Before he could stand up, the second soldier¡¯s sword came directly at him, thrusting sharply.

    Jay didn¡¯t have enough time to dodge, and the sword went right through his stomach and out the other side.

    *Shlew*

    [-7]<sub></sub>

    [Mana burn ¨C 0.5 mana per second for 5 seconds]

    *¡±Eugh! huuuu¡± was the only sound that came from Jay¡¯s mouth as his lungs were squeezed upwards and the air forced out of his throat from the massive sword in his chest.

    The sword strike also applied mana burn, though losing 2.5 mana was inconsequential for Jay, as he currently half-way up a sword.

    The pain was intense, but the sword was quickly pulled out as the soldier prepared to thrust again. The hole in Jay¡¯s chest was healed in an instant, his health points draining instead, while the pain left.

    The damage would only be permanent if his health points reached zero ¨C then he would die.

    This was the first time Jay took a mortal wound; until now, he had only taken small stabs and scratches, though a wound like this would have originally killed him instantly; he certainly would have died if he was still a normal person without a ss.

    Thankfully, Jay was an adventurer with arge health pool now. There was no such thing as mortal damage as long as you have health points.

    During the fight, it took some time for Jay to adjust to this, realising he was still alive and the hole in his chest was gone as he patted his hand over it.

    ¡°Dammit, d I put lots of points into vitality¡­¡± he thought as he stepped back and rubbed his chest.

    ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± he thought, as there was no hole.

    *Whoosh!*

    He ducked another sword swing which flew over his head ¨C then he promptly rolled to the side.

    *Shruu*

    The second sword made a different noise as it was thrust through the wind ¨C directly at the same spot where Jay was just crouching.

    The minions were attacking the ankles of the warriors by now, chunks of rock and cracks were forming.

    *Clingg*

    Jay dodged a few more times before finally, with a loud ring, the ankle of one of the soldiers was sted apart.

    The first soldier fell to the ground, leaving only the second standing.

    Jay had both his minions focus on the standing one while he stopped dodging and put in some work with his own hammer.

    *Cling cling cling*

    After the soldier¡¯s legs were crumbled, the three of them went together, ganging up on the second soldier.

    Jay smashed at it¡¯s head, removing a cheek te off of it¡¯s stone T-visor helmet.

    The minions were each focusing on its ankles still, soon it turned around with a swing of its sword, hitting Lamp.

    Lamp offered no resistance to the sword as it was sliced directly across it¡¯s abdomen. The skeletons were light and the sword was heavy, so of course, Lamppletely left the ground.

    ¡°Lamp went fucking flying¡±

    Jay almostughed, the level 2 skeleton made it almost halfway up the hill that they just walked down. Their light skeletal bodies couldn¡¯t contend with a huge stone sword after all.

    ¡°I guess they can fly.¡± Jay thought with a chuckle as he turned back to the soldier and smashed the back of it¡¯s head with his hammer.

    [6 damage]

    [Stunned ¨C 1 second]

    ¡°That¡¯s all I needed.¡± his eyes gleamed with ferocity.

    Jay dropped his shield and held his hammer with two hands, high up behind his head. He stepped closer to the soldier and brought it down swiftly like an axe on a chopping block.

    The stone soldier couldn¡¯t even grit it¡¯s teeth to brace for the impact ¨C if it had teeth anyway.

    [12 damage ¨C Critical Hit]

    The rest of it¡¯s helmet crumbled away, falling off as the soldier turned back to Jay with another swing ¨C but this was an obvious move. Easily dodged by Jay, it only gave him more time to smash it¡¯s head in again.

    [12 damage ¨C Critical Hit]

    [40 Exp]

    The stone soldier died.

    *Sploii~*

    ¡°Ah shit!¡± Jay looked down, a sword was thrust into him again.

    The first stone soldier who was on the ground had managed to crawl over and pierce Jay¡¯s left side, the tip of the stone sword sliding right under his ribs.

    ¡°Fucker!¡±

    [-7]

    [Mana burn ¨C 0.5mana/second for 5 seconds]

    Jay¡¯s health reced the open wound as it dropped by seven, ¡°Little bastard!¡±

    Red watched as Jay was attacked, and responding to its master¡¯s pain it jumped over to the stone statue, bringing its hammer down on the soldier¡¯s spine.

    The soldier couldn¡¯t do much from the ground ¨C this sneak attack was all it had left, so it was quickly destroyed by Jay and Red.

    ¡°I should¡¯ve just ended it when I had the chance. That was a little silly¡­¡± Jay thought to himself, he was more calm now as he beat it¡¯s rocky brains open with a hammer.

    Lamp returned from the hill just as thest stone soldier died.

    [40 Exp]

    Jay healed it using his restoration skill, the whole skeleton was enveloped in a cloud of the green mist as its HP was brought back up to 30/30.

    ¡°I can see why that adventurer looked at me like I was an idiot.¡± Jay thought as he went over the fight.

    ¡°I had to y defensively until one was taken out. Surely there¡¯s a better way you can kill them though¡­¡±

    Jay considered their heavy, bulky size for a moment as he thought up a battle strategy.

    ¡°If I¡¯m fast enough, maybe..¡± scratching his chin as he thought to himself.

    ¡°Maybe I can step around a stone soldier, using it as a barrier and keeping the other one behind it. This way, I would only have to fight one at a time.¡±

    ¡°Then I can just smash their heads open, ending them quickly if I get a stun.¡±

    Nodding to himself, he went over to loot the broken statues.

    [Soulstone (empty)]x2

    ¡°Soulstone¡­ if these things had souls, maybe they were sentient? ¡­Wow, I almost feel bad for destroying them¡­¡±

    ¡°Almost.¡±

 Chapter 64 Ruins 1

    ¡°Pretty strange loot¡± Jay thought, putting them both into his inventory.

    ¡°I wonder If I get different loot because I¡¯m a necromancer¡­ or technically a monster.¡± he wondered as he walked past the broken stone gates. So far, the soldiers have not dropped anything useful for Jay.

    ¡°Maybe I should have chosen a dungeon with more bones. I really should get more silt-wolf bones at some point.¡±

    The stone warriors didn¡¯t drop anything except empty soul stones and rocks; both of which werepletely useless to Jay.

    All the buildings he walked past were crumbled and broken,pletely unidentifiable at this point. He couldn¡¯t tell which were houses and which were shops, whatever happened here left no buildings standing.

    The streets were paved withrge, polished, ck obsidian stone bs that had blue mosaics covering them. Though much of the street bs were covered by debris, Jay could tell that this would have been quite a magnificent and wealthy civilisation at the height of its existence.

    Jay walked towards the first pyramid structure, it was covered in polished ck obsidian simr to the streets. While the first pyramid was smaller than the others behind it in the distance, it was still huge and majestic in it¡¯s own way. Not including the other pyramid, it was one of thergest buildings Jay had seen in his life ¨C he was merely a butcher living in a small rural vige after all.

    He crossed by another intersection when something caught his eye in a nearby ruin.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he squinted at the gleaming lighting from the ruin, ¡°surely it¡¯s not a trap..?¡±

    Approaching whatever caused the gleaming light, he had his shield and sword ready ¨C he didn¡¯t want to take another sword through his chest.

    He climbed over a small barricade of rocks and rubble. Next to a broken down wall on the ground was what seemed to be a rusted metal torch holder, originally built into the wall; it was nowpletely orange and coated with rust, parts of it even seemed fuzzy because of the buildup of rust.

    There was no longer any torch in the holder, nor any wood. All life in this city was gone and it seems like that included dead things like wood. Not even moss would grow on the old dpidated stones here.

    Loosely hanging off the metal torch holder was a white ne, it was simrly not immune to the passage of time as the chain hadpletely rusted, though the pendant itself was made of porcin.

    Jay gently grabbed the pendant, his hand coated in orange as shavings of rust rubbed off while he moved the chain.

    Looking closely at the pendant, it was white with a slight blue hue to it.

    ¡°Perhaps this was blue originally.¡± Jay thought as gazed at it, moving it around in his hand.<sub>.</sub>

    The pendant opened itself as he rotated it, whatever the sp was made of had disintegrated long ago. Some ck powdery ash fell out, disappearing in the air before it could reach the ground.

    ¡°Oops¡­¡±

    Holding the opened pendant, he brought it closer to inspect it.

    It was hollow inside, whatever it was holding had dposed a long time ago.

    ¡°Hmm, probably a note or something¡± he thought ¡°Wish Kel was here, we could probably have read it.¡±

    Pocketing the amulet, he moved out of the ruins, making his way towards the first smallest pyramid.

    Two stone statues were ahead, one on each side of the street facing each other. Simr to the other soldiers, they each hadrge shields and swords.

    Jay wanted to put his new battle tactics to the test: kiting around one and keeping the second soldier behind the other so that he would only have to fight one at a time.

    ¡°The street seems a little narrow, but I¡¯ll give it a try anyway.¡± Jay thought.

    As he approached, one of the statues slowly turned its stone head towards Jay, sensing his presence as the rest of its body began to wake up.

    The second stone soldier slowly began to move too, taking a step forward onto the street with a dull thud.

    ¡°Ah, here we go again¡± Jay smiled, brandishing his new hammer with threatening eyes.

    He was confident despite being stabbed through the chest because he knew their attack patterns ¨C or at the very least he could tell what they were going to do based on their movement. So far they only thrust and shed with their massive swords, so it wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    The stone soldiers were strong and full of physical force, but slow and far too obvious. Time had not been kind to them, while being made of stone would make anyone¡¯s movements slower.

    The first one shed its sword, and Jay ducked underneath before jumping to the side ¨C just likest time, a sword thrust from the second statue narrowly missed him.<sub></sub>

    Jay made a smile as if he was a hunter closing in on his prey. They were harmless if they couldn¡¯t hit him.

    ¡°Time to try my new tactic.¡± jumping to the side until the second soldier was behind the first, he was ready.

    The two skeletons he had at the side joined the fight, smashing their hammers against the legs and heels of the massive stone warriors, chips of stone flying off at high speed as the skeletons pummelled their ankles with all their might.

    Jay ducked another sword swing, crouching down low. From his crouched position, he jumped up high and brought the hammer down squarely on the stone T-visor helmet. Both of the cheek tes cracked off and fell to the side, revealing a life-like face beneath the armour.

    [6]

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    Jay almost felt like pausing his assault, a little taken back by how lifelike the stone face looked; not noticing it previously as he just wanted the fight to be over. The face even had subtle blemishes and pores on the skin.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine craftsmanship¡­¡± he admired the details put into the masonry of their stone faces ¡°it¡¯s too bad.¡± he thought as he smashed the hammer right into its jaw, chipping off more stone.

    [6]

    ¡°Damn, no stun.¡± he jumped back ¨C but not fast enough. Jay was relying on a stun after smashing it¡¯s head, so now he didn¡¯t have enough time to dodge.

    Bracing himself, he held his shield high as the sweeping de came in.

    *Btush*

    The damage was mitigated, but creaking noises sounded from the shield as it made contact. Jay was pushed a few metres to the side, almost falling overpletely.

    The shield remained intact, but Jay could tell it had been damaged badly as he channelled some of his necrotic essence into it; There was no resistance as the shield greedily absorbed up all the essence it could. It didn¡¯t appear to have any damage, but the veins travelling over it¡¯s surface weren¡¯t glowing anymore, it was as if it had used up it¡¯s internal blood supply of necrotic energy to stop itself from splitting apart.

    Jay realised he made a critical mistake after this encounter.<sub></sub>

    ¡°I better not rely on chance..¡± he stepped back into the fight after a short analysis.

    This was an important lesson which was better to learn early on while the consequences wouldn¡¯t be bad.

    He side-stepped a sword thrust and retaliated immediately, bringing the hammer down near it¡¯s shoulder ¨C but the strike was blocked by it¡¯s shield.

    [1.2]

    Another sweeping strike came which he easily ducked, but missing caused the soldier to stumble and it had to step back, giving Jay another opportunity for another hammer strike.

    *Drung*

    [12]

    The hammernded with a ring, a critical hit in the same spot as before, squarely on it¡¯s head and with just as much force. Threerge cracks travelled through the soldier¡¯s head as it dropped to its knees.

    Somehow it looked heroic as it fell to its knees, ready for it¡¯s enemy to end it¡¯s life as it knew it had been bested.

    For some strange reason, Jay didn¡¯t want to end it¡¯s life. It was like he felt pity for it, or perhaps even respect ¨C nevertheless, with one final solid hit he smashed his hammer against the soldier¡¯s cheek.

    The head split into three blocks and fell to the ground alongside the stone warrior¡¯s body.

    The other soldier swung forward with it¡¯s sword, leaning over it¡¯srades body but not harming it.

    [6]

    [35 Exp]

    Jay backed up, stepping smoothly out of range of it¡¯s attack. The two skeletons were focusing on it now, but it¡¯s target was still Jay.

    Something strange happened as it tried to fight Jay. The stone soldier didn¡¯t walk on the corpse of the other one, it was as if it was showing respect.

    ¡°Huh..¡± Jay walked around the remains of the first stone soldier as the other one did too. It wouldn¡¯t step over it¡¯s fallenrade.

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡±

    Jay continued to run around the broken stone statue. The skeletons were still smashing the one chasing him to no end, and soon it fell without Jay even doing any damage to it.

    [35 Exp]

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    In a quiet office of the adventurer association, a man converses with a cube.

    ¡°What? You sense mana? Yes! Great!¡± Vdore was with his talking cube in his office.

    ¡°Yes, master. I sensed mana. Out of 1,847 iterations, I felt it 3 times, sessfully drawing it into my reserve. Stored power increased by 0.74 percent.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ well good, it¡¯s not much but it¡¯s a start! Keep it up and-¡±

    ¡°Mana has not been sensed since.¡± the cube interrupted.

    ¡°¡­¡± Vdore stared at the cube.

    ¡°¡­¡± The cube remained silent, staring back through its tiny crystal eyes.

    ¡°¡­what do you mean ¡®not been sensed since¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Since exactly 49 minutes and 21 seconds ago, master. That was thest time. The first time was 44 minutes and 37 second ago.¡±

    ¡°¡­ So you only grasped it three times within those times?¡±

    ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    ¡°What was different about those times?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Vdore poked its eye back down into the cube.

    ¡°¡­Unknown.¡±

    ¡°Dammit, shit. I mean, you did a good job, but damn¡­¡± Vdore then channelled some mana into the cube, raising it¡¯s stored mana back to one hundred percent.

    ¡°Keep doing the exercises.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    He sat down at his desk as he pondered ¡°What happened forty-four minutes ago¡­ what was different¡­¡± he furrowed his brows in thought ¡°If only I was here.¡±

    Vdore was puzzled and slightly bitter, he missed out on the opportunity to be here and was doing a lesson with a student at the time so he couldn¡¯t know what caused the change. It frustrated him to no end as he could have easily sensed the changes in the ambient mana of the room if he was here.

    With a sigh, he sat down, feeling a little defeated before encouraging himself.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ It¡¯s only been a few days. We can wait for another breakthrough; I now know that I¡¯m on the right track anyway, so that¡¯s a victory.¡± he lightly smiled ¡°Yes, this is a victory. It¡¯s progress..¡± he walked around the room.

    ¡°..And when I find whatever it was that helped it sense mana, whatever it was that happened. I¡¯ll make it happen again, and replicate the results.¡±

    Vdore had renewed determination; he was betting everything on this, and felt like he was getting to the point where he would do anything to finish this project.

 Chapter 65 Ruins 2

    ¡°Hmm, two more soul stones huh. I wonder if these will be useful.¡± Jay pocketed the items.

    ¡°I wonder how much they would sell for at the market¡­ actually, I should price check everything I loot because my ss might cause different loot to drop from the monsters¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Come to think of it, I have probably been pretty careless so far¡­ I¡¯m betting my coat is a special item drop as I haven¡¯t seen anyone else wearing one, and it probably exins why I couldn¡¯t find any teeth or bones on the market.¡±

    Jay scratched his chin as he thought,

    ¡°¡­Though I guess no one but me would want teeth and bones so maybe no one else has bothered to collect them ¨C so at least these soulstones will help to prove my theory.¡±

    Jay began walking towards the ck pyramid again, wondering how the empty pendant rted to the rest of this dungeon.

    Two more stone statues were on the next street ¨C yet this time they wielded long stone spears with thick arrow-head shaped tips.

    ¡°Deadly¡± Jay squinted as he slowly approached them.

    After analysing them, the statues were still level three, so none of their stats had changed, only their weapons.

    Before beginning the fight, Jay used restoration on his shield. It had taken a lot of damage in thest fight and still needed to be mended. This caused Jay to start to feel light-headed as his mana was close to bottoming out.

    Being low mana made him feel this way, even though his energy levels were high he felt a sort of tiredness in his head, and wasn¡¯t as sharp.

    ¡°Hmm, 10/67. Getting a little low. There¡¯s no time to rest, so I¡¯ll fight these two and head back.¡± He decided after checking his mana. After all, he did just craft four hammers, raise two skeletons, and restore his shield.

    Jay approached with his skeletons as the spear-wielding stone statues woke up and readied themselves, shields forward. Even though their stats were the same as the swordsmen, they acted very differently.<sub>.</sub>

    Their battle stance was low to the ground with their shield raised, their long huge spears held back alongside their shield, poised to strike with a thrust at any moment.

    Slowly they marched forward while Jay did too, simrly having his shield up and hammer ready to strike.

    The skeletons were sent to each side as they intended to pick at the ankles of the stone warriors.

    Jay took the initiative, walking to the side of the first statue so that the second one was now behind hisrade ¨C unable to attack Jay.

    ¡°Another easy win.¡± he smiled, side-stepping to avoid a spear before smashing back with his hammer, nailing the soldier right on it¡¯s elbow; small bits of stone chipping away.

    Jumping back he nned for his next strike, but Jay was distracted by something for a moment.

    The second statue was now attacking his skeletons ¨C clearly it was not going to bother running around it¡¯spanion and instead just went for the nearest target.

    ¡°Dammit. Fall back a little¡± Jay thought as the skeletons responded to his mentalmand, they both scrambled backwards and jumped onto some of the destroyed ruins.

    One of the skeletons had taken a direct hit already, though there was no significant damage.

    Seeing that his enemy was being distracted from the fight gave the stone soldier precious time to strike.

    *Shru*

    The spear pierced Jay¡¯s shoulder while he was distracted by the other fight.<sub></sub>

    ¡°AHH FRRRK!¡± he grinded his teeth from the pain as the spear was pulled out, doing more damage as it left the hole which caused his health to drop again.

    [-7]

    [Mana burn ¨C 0.5mana/second for 5 seconds]

    The hole disappeared as his HP drained instead.

    ¡°You¡¯ll pay for that!¡± Jay said angrily as he swung fiercely and stepped forward, his hammer smashing against the statue¡¯s helmet.

    No stun happened, but Jay wasn¡¯t relying on it anyway.

    The stone soldier stepped back as it prepared another thrust ¨C but Jay had nted his foot on its shield and pushed it back, causing it to back up a few steps so it wouldn¡¯t fall over.

    ¡°Damn, mana burn again. It must be caused by the soldiers¡¯ skills since these ones have different weapons.¡±

    As his mana was getting lower, Jay was finding it harder to think. He wasn¡¯t in any danger right now but he wondered if he should retreat or not.

    Not thinking too clearly, he decided to have his skeletons pounce and hammer at the statue he was fighting. If they both died he would just collect the bones and run, resummoning themter after he had meditated and was in better condition. Jay¡¯s health was fine and it was only his mana getting low that he was worrying about.

    The statue only had 20 health left, and after Jay¡¯s skeletons pounced it was dropped to 10, then 5 after another smack from Jay.

    The second statue thrust its spear at a skeleton again, easily hitting it since Jay had them fighting thoughtlessly like berserkers.<sub></sub>

    The speed and force of the thrust was enough to send the skeleton flying into some nearby ruins.

    Jay ended the stone soldier with a final smash to it¡¯s head, causing it to drop its spear which shattered onto the ground; it fell to its knees and stopped moving; still sitting upright with its shield in hand.

    [40 Exp]

    ¡°Yep, it¡¯s dead.¡± thought Jay as he nced at it. He expected it to fall face down, but instead it¡¯s body ended up in this upright kneeling position.

    The second statue walked around it¡¯s dead brother, thrusting at Jay and using it¡¯s shield to swat the skeletons. It had 30 health, as one skeleton had managed tond an attack previously.

    Jay and his skeletons made short work of the lone stone soldier. At least one of them could make an attack when it was distracted by the other two.

    Jay was getting good at dealing with two statues, so killing a single soldier was simple now, a piece of cake.

    With some well-ced hammer strikes, he crumbled thest soldier.

    [40 Exp]

    It died falling onto it¡¯s back after Jay hit it with a final uppercut attack, his hammer sessfully connecting with its chin.

    ¡°Come here,¡± Jay said to his skeleton. Red approached Jay, it was just about half health and it¡¯s rib cage was caved in.

    ¡°Ouch, you took quite a hit huh? Those spears really hurt ¨C more than the swords did.¡±

    ¡°Ok, that¡¯s it. Home time.¡± Jay was really low mana, so he decided to finally head back.

    ¡°We can find out what the pendant doester.¡±

    Jay unsummoned Red; Instead of healing it now he would just re-summon itter, bringing it back to full health. The spell would either use the cracked right cage bones for other parts of the skeleton¡¯s body or mend them; either way, it didn¡¯t bother Jay.

    Pocketing the two soulstones after looting the soldiers, Jay found a ring on one of their bodies. It was gold in colour with a purple triangle gem in the middle.

    ¡°Cool.¡± he thought, looking at the ring. It didn¡¯t have any stats, and the only information he got from analysing it was [Helvetian Ring].

    With a shrug, he willed to leave the dungeon.

    Nearby, some of the rocks in the ruins began to float and move; before Jay¡¯s eyes a doorway formed in a wall which was constructed before him.

    Remembering the adventurers outside the dungeon, he made sure to un-summon Lamp too. The world was not ready for Jay¡¯s skeletons ¨C at least not yet.

    Walking out of the dungeon, Jay was approached by the same guy.

    ¡°Hey, how¡¯d it go? Get many rings?¡±

    ¡°Rings?¡± Jay decided to y it dumb.

    ¡°Uh, they¡¯re loot that the soldiers drop.¡± he looked away to his group for a moment before looking back at Jay.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t go so well? The offer is still up to join our party if you¡¯d like.¡± he gestured to his party, which was sitting down in a circle; more members thanst time.

    ¡°Oh..¡± Jay noticed one of the adventurers in the circle nce at him for a moment.

    ¡°Perhaps my theory is correct¡­¡± Jay thought to himself before replying. ¡°¡­He hasn¡¯t mentioned the soulstones.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but I have a few other things to do¡­ See ya.¡± he walked through the ruined stone gate and left. The friendly adventurer simply shrugged as Jay left, and sat back down in the circle.

    ¡°Rings huh¡­ and no soulstone?¡± Jay thought as he made his way back up the hill. He was starting to think that his theory about getting different drops because of his monster ss might actually be true.

    ¡±I¡¯ll check for them both at the market when I get back. I should be a little early since I had to leave before my mana dropped too much¡­ man, that mana burn thing was annoying.¡±

    Jay pulled out some bondtussle root and ate it as he walked, getting a familiar notification.

    [Mana Regen buff 1%] ¨Csts for 1 hour(s).

    There was a main path that went back to Lo that connected to the north side road, but Jay opted to go back using his own path, walking up to the top of the hill, directly to the adventurer guild.

    Jay took out the empty locket he found from his inventory ¡°I wonder what I¡¯ll do with you¡­¡± he studied it in the light of the sun. It was unblemished, perfect porcin and the blueish colour was gone in the bright light.

    ¡°Must have mana-based properties¡± thought Jay, since he could no longer see any blue.

    ¡°I¡¯ll hold onto you. We¡¯ll see if you¡¯re part of a hidden quest in that dungeon.¡± having a strange feeling while holding it, Jay pocketed the locket again.

 Chapter 66 Trivial

    On the upper floor of the Snakeraven inn, a fat merchant was angrily scoffing down an applenut pie while periodically ripping into some plump chicken breast with his bare fingers as he ate; he was ravenous, starting to shove them both down his gullet at the same time.

    ¡°How did we¡­¡± he had to chew and swallow ¡°..miss the damn military escort!¡± mming his greazy fist down on the table, Bertram¡¯s face was red with anger as he yelled at Hess.

    ¡°S-sir. They came in the night while we were sleeping and left before lunchtime¡­ there was no way we could have -¡±

    ¡°No way?! No fucking way?! No excuses! We missed an opportunity to make some gold!¡±

    After taking a sip of beer, he lowered his voice, but still sounded as angry as before as he spoke in a deep, cunning voice.

    ¡°Listen here, boy..¡± he spoke low and slowly, pronouncing every word as he squinted at Hess ¡°every time we miss out on some gold you should take it as a sign of the end. One day you miss one opportunity, then two,¡± he finishes his beer and ms the mug down.

    *THUD*

    ¡°and then all of them! All your efforts wasted, your gold flees from you, everything turns to dust, and you end up face down in the dirt. Mark my words, boy. Ruines as fast as wealth does¡­¡± he dipped some more chicken in gravy before eating it ¡°¡­no¡­ ites faster.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡± he nodded really quickly as the fat merchant looked at him with ferocious eyes.

    Hess was holding his breath from fear of being punished, but at the same time was remembering every word Bertram spoke. He knew he would need to remember this experience someday ¨C not the obvious knowledge of the words themselves, but the drive and the desperate passion behind them. It was something that couldn¡¯t be taught, and he could tell that at some point, Bertram must have been in a more desperate position than he was, and it was what probably forged Bertram into the shrewd person who was now his master.

    ¡°Secure the merchandise, pack everything away. We¡¯ll be leaving soon. Most of the adventurers will have discovered the trade function of the guild by now anyway..¡±

    ¡°Yes sir¡± Hess quietly bowed before leaving the room, leaving Bertram alone with hisfort food.

    ¡°Mmh, behind schedule..¡± he wiped his mouth with his cdrius feather, returning it to his pocket. ¡°If only that escort wasn¡¯tte.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    Pushing hisrge te forward to make room on the table, he took out a document as he nned his next steps.

    ¡°Ok¡­ to Tolgard to check on my business, then head back to Eevulen. I¡¯ll unload some supplies here and check the inventory here and load some¡­¡± he mumbled to himself as he wrote all over various papers and into diaries.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°Hello dear.¡± Margaret smiled at Jay as he entered the adventurer association.

    ¡°Trenly isn¡¯t here yet, but your reward is ready now. Sullivan wants to give it to you himself, he¡¯s waiting for you in his office.¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡± Jay smiled at the kind olddy, wondering why Sullivan wouldn¡¯t just hand the reward to Margaret.

    Walking upstairs, Jay was thinking that thesest few days have been great, and he was quite content with the way things were going. He was steadily levelling up, gaining skills and knowledge, making money, and exploring dungeons. It had been dangerous at times, but it was within his ability to handle. Despite not being able to party with anyone except Anya ¨C one of the few people who knew about his monster ss, things were still going smoothly anyway.

    ¡°I wonder what Sullivan has for me if it¡¯s important enough for me toe upstairs¡­¡± he wondered as he got to the door.

    [10 Exp]

    ¡°Hmm¡­ they must have killed a forest animal at that hamlet.¡± Jay still had two of his skeletons, Sweeper and Blue, running through the forest at the hamlet killing monsters ¨C though he didn¡¯t expect to get exp as he assumed most of the wildlife had been killed by the leeches.

    ¡°Perhaps the animals are reiming that part of the forest again¡­ I wonder what they killed¡± he wondered as he went up the stairs to Sullivan¡¯s office.

    Jay only knocked once before the door seemingly opened itself.<sub></sub>

    Jay looked puzzingly at Sullivan who was sitting at his desk as he walked through the door, while the door closed itself behind him.

    Jay was confused since the door opened by itself, this was the first time he experienced it. He pointed at the door behind him with his thumb over his shoulder ¡°Howe you make Anya open it when you could do that all along?¡± Jay asked with a raised brow.

    ¡°Because I won¡¯t always be around.¡± Sullivan answered with a simple yet dark answer.

    ¡°¡­oh¡­ I see.¡± Jay quickly sat down as the room was sufficiently awkward now. Sullivan didn¡¯t say anything as he looked at Jay, so from the tense feeling, Jay spoke instead.

    ¡°So, Anya said you have a reward for me?¡±

    Sullivan didn¡¯t say anything for a while, giving Jay even more of an awkward, uneasy feeling.

    ¡°I can¡¯t protect you forever Jay.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jay looked confused as he sat in front of Sullivan, he didn¡¯t even seem to listen to Jay¡¯s question. ¡°Did I do something wrong? What did I do¡­.¡± he thought internally.

    ¡°One day, the safety bearer¡¯s will find out about you, and they¡¯lle for the both of us.¡± Sullivan pointed to the roof ¡°This is already my punishment for protecting a unique ss, there won¡¯t be any leniency for protecting a monster ss¡­¡±

    It took Jay a moment before Jay realised Sullivan was talking about the building he was in, then it made sense that someone as strong as Sullivan shouldn¡¯t be here in Lo.

    ¡°¡­¡± Jay looked at him with dead eyes, slowly nodding as everything he said was true.

    After a long silence, Sullivan sighed.<sub></sub>

    ¡°I¡¯ve made some ns anyway¡­¡± he looked away for a moment before looking back at Jay.

    ¡°Anyway, your reward¡­ That¡¯s right¡­ two rewards actually, but the other one won¡¯t be ready for a while¡­ You¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m happy with two rewards.¡± Jay shrugged with a smile.

    Sullivan almost half-smiled at Jay, but kept his casual face in check as he pulled some boots up from under his desk.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ll find these to your liking.¡±

    ¡°Boots..?¡±

    ¡°Just take them and give them a try. They only have one ability so it shouldn¡¯t be too hard for you to figure out.¡± He pushed the boots forward with his hand, though still holding them, not letting Jay grab them off him before he added a crucial point:

    ¡°Don¡¯t test them inside.. Unless you want to die.¡±

    Sullivans spoke thest part slowly, his voice sounding as smooth and powerful as ever, like a quiet river cutting through mountains. Obviously this was important.

    ¡°Sure. No inside usage¡­ Thanks.¡± Jay took the boots and put them in his inventory, not willing to argue or joke around anymore.

    Sullivan didn¡¯t say anything as he stared at him; Jay sat for a moment, wondering if that was all Sullivan had to say, while the room began to feel awkward again.

    ¡°You may go.¡± Sullivan finally said, Jay got up and quickly left through the door which Sullivan had opened for him.

    Jay headed back downstairs to the lobby, he was about to leave but Margaret called out from behind the counter.

    ¡°Jay, your friend should be here soon dear.¡±

    Jay stopped, remembering Trenly ¡°oh yeah..¡± he turned around, going to sit down on a couch in the lobby area, but then paused, as he decided to head back to the trade area to find out if his theory was true.

    Jay¡¯s theory was that he was getting different dropspared to other adventurers because of his monster ss, that ying monsters as a necromancer caused the monsters to drop different sorts of items after dying.

    ¡°First I¡¯ll check the ring¡­¡±

    cing his hand on the massive wall-crystal, sure enough, he was greeted by a familiar notification.

    [Trade tform essed]

    [29 Minutes remaining]

    Sitting down on a nearby couch, he began to browse.

    ¡°Hmm, 9 gold.¡± he found the price of the Helvetian ring. ¡°Now, where are the soulstones¡­¡±

    After searching some time through various menus, sub-menus and misceneous areas, Jay couldn¡¯t find anything like them. There was also no [Molodus¡¯s ws/Coats] either.

    ¡°Hmm, I guess that confirms it¡­ For whatever reason, I get special monster drops¡­ this could be due to my ss or perhaps because I¡¯m considered a monster. There¡¯s no way to be sure.¡±

    Jay pursed his lips. ¡°I suppose the distinction doesn¡¯t matter. At least I can still get normal drops and earn a living.¡±

    Jay proceeded to sell the Helvetian ring, annoying Lillian with a few knocks and handing it over as he was given back 8 gold.

    Jay raised a brow at her, but she knew what he was thinking and responded first.

    ¡°9 gold, 10% fee. Remember? We round down.¡± she smiled condescendingly as she mmed the hatch shut, walking back to her desk.

    Jay was standing there, a little dazed after how it seemed like she did this every day and even seemed to enjoy it.

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± he shook his head as he walked away, he almost couldn¡¯t believe her attitude, and she did it with a conniving smile too.

    ¡°At least she smiled¡­ though it was quite an unpleasant one.¡± he shrugged, trying to look on the bright side and quickly forgot about it.

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll need a luminous orb too¡­ damn. I should¡¯ve just taken one from that hamelt.¡±

    Checking the prices of orbs, Jay wasn¡¯t too annoyed, ¡°10 gold for a smaller one, I guess that¡¯s reasonable ¨C though it will be 11 gold because of the fee.¡±

    Jay checked if Lillian had any in stock, as he didn¡¯t want to wait for them to be delivered, and thankfully, there were plenty. She promptly sold him one without any difficulties and another devilish grin.

    Jay returned to the lobby and waited for Trenly.

    Before Margaret reminded him, he hadpletely forgotten that he offered Trenly a job and would need to apologise.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I feel kinda bad about it, even though I do have a good excuse. I nearly forgot about that guy again..¡± he smiled regretfully as he scratched the back of his head.

    ¡°Ugh, I need a coffee¡± he thought as he sat in the lobby, he felt strangely tired even though his energy wasn¡¯t low.

    ¡°Hmm.. must just be my mana being low¡± he ate some more bondtussle root as he waited.

    ¡°Perhaps I should meditate..¡±

 Chapter 67 Crystal

    ¡°Mana detected¡­ absorbing.¡± a faint green aura appeared around the ck cube sitting on Vdore¡¯s desk.

    It was afternoon at the moment so Vdore was sleeping in front of his desk after he dozed off, not woken up by the cube talking to him as it operated.

    ¡°Master? Mana detected¡­¡± the cube said in it¡¯s hollow voice to Sullivan who was napping nearby, yet no response came from Sullivan other than a slight snore.

    The cube began absorbing mana, it was initially smooth and t on each of its surfaces, but slowly a small lump began to appear on one of its sides. The lump seemed to be semi-solid as it moved around; more of the ck crystal was growing and forming as it absorbed the ambient mana.

    ¡°¡­Mana sense lost. Appendage growth 13%plete. Re-initializing mana detection routines¡­¡±

    Twenty minutester, Vdore was still asleep even after the ck cube made progress on it¡¯s growth.

    In a short amount of time it had formed a small lump, which with enough time, would go on to form the first parts of its body.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°It was probably just a one-time kinda thing. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s not usually like that.¡± Trenly said to himself, still a little frustrated with Jay.

    He was meeting Jay for a job which he needed to avoid a life of adventuring, so he made sure to hide his insecurities and keep a positive attitude as he entered the association.

    Opening the door, he saw Jay giving him a light smile.

    ¡°Trenly?¡±

    ¡°Jay? Hey, how are you¡± he shook his hand.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Good thanks. Sorry about not meeting you the other day¡­ They wanted me to go on an important mission¡­¡± Jay scratched the back of his head, a regretful smile on his face. He decided not to mention the details of the mission as it still weighed on his mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s all good. I ended up finding your shop anyway, heh¡± Trenly smiled ¡°Though there wasn¡¯t much I could do, I can¡¯t just break into your shop and start working.¡± he shrugged.

    ¡°Heh, good. At least you know where it is¡­ well, are you free at the moment? We could head down the hill and I can get you started at the shop¡­ hmm.. Oh.. actually, I haven¡¯t bought any meat in a while so there will be nothing to butcher¡­¡± Jay scratched his chin.

    ¡°Say, you¡¯re good with a bow right? Would you want to try catching something? Maybe you could hunt something today and tomorrow we can butcher it? Since you hunt it I¡¯ll let you keep the profits too? Does that sound good?¡±

    Jay was asking a lot of questions all at once, but Trenly nodded positively through all of them before finally replying.

    ¡°Sure, that will be great. It¡¯ll be good to see the process from start to finish.¡± he smiled.

    Trently was quite happy with the deal as he had be an avid hunter; afterall he was raised as one by his father, and was one of the higher level bow users on the first mass-adventurer outing to the Carter¡¯s Demise dungeon ¨C clearly, he was talented.

    ¡°Awesome,¡± Jay smiled with a nod, ¡°and don¡¯t worry, once the shop¡¯s up and running you won¡¯t need to hunt anymore.¡±

    ¡°How about youe over tomorrow with some time? You¡¯ll be ok hunting tonight or tomorrow morning right?¡±

    Trenly smiled back with a head shake ¡°Heh, don¡¯t worry about the hunt, It¡¯ll be over before night fall.¡±

    ¡°I like your confidence. Well, I¡¯ll see you then.¡±

    ¡°See you tomorrow morning¡± With a nod, Trenly left the association, walking through the courtyard. Pulling out his bow, he plucked the drawstring a few times before waltzing off to hunt in the forest.<sub></sub>

    ¡°He¡¯s got a good attitude¡­¡± Jay thought to himself ¡°he¡¯s very focused on what¡¯s in front of him. Perhaps that¡¯s why he attained a ranged ss in the first ce.¡± he scratched his chin.

    With a shrug, Jay left the association shortly after Trenly left. Exiting through the mana-stone gate, Trenly was already much further down the hill before Jay turned and went North again towards the dungeon.

    Jay had unfinished business in this dungeon, he wasn¡¯t able to make it to the ck pyramids and he still had a mysterious porcin locket with him.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to find out what this locket does, surely it¡¯s a hidden quest of some sort¡­ I should test these boots out too, the ones Sullivan gave me. It¡¯s supposed to be a reward after all.¡±

    As Jay walked near the quarry again, he found arge t cube rock to sit on. Taking off his shoes as he sat in the afternoon sunlight, he was feeling quite rxed.

    Bringing out the new boots from his inventory, he was a little hesitant. They appeared to be like any other ck leather boots, going up just under his knee. Upon closer inspection, Jay found a slight circr indentation on the back of the heel and on each side of the ankles.

    ¡°Probably some manacraft¡± Jay thought, tracing his finger over them. ¡°It feels like they are deeper than they look. Hmm..¡± he finally analysed the boots.

    <[Askveti]>

    [3 Armour]

    [Asklin]

    ¨C Ak ask ved io sep arat

    ¨C 3 metres. 10 second cooldown.<sub></sub>

    <[Description]>

    ¨C Veti gorm fif ask tac lo Kreege Frode.

    Jay furrowed his brows, puzzled as he read the description.

    ¡°What the? Whatnguage is that¡­ He really gave me some weird boots from some other race? Isn¡¯t my analysis skill supposed to trante¡­?¡± he frowned slightly.

    For a moment, Jay hesitated to put the boots on, but after considering that it wouldn¡¯t really benefit Sullivan to have him killed, he gave them a try anyway.

    ¡°Hmm.. Whatever skill thises with has a 10 second cooldown, so it can¡¯t be that strong.. Though I wonder what the 3 metres refers to.¡±

    After sliding them on, he sighed in relief ¡°Well, I¡¯m not dead yet so that¡¯s a good start.. Guess I¡¯ll try this new skill¡­¡±

    He took the boots off before sliding them on again, making sure he could actually remove them.

    ¡°Hmm, he said something about not doing it near walls so I guess I should move away from these rocks.¡±

    Jay stepped away from the stone block he was sitting on, finding a small t area near the quarry that gave him at least 5 metres at every side.

    ¡°Ok, here it goes¡­Asklin!¡±

    *Pshhht*¡­ ¡°Oh shit¡±

    Immediately Jay felt like he had beenssoed as his feet were pulled out from under him. The boots made his feet shoot forward as if they were tied to running horses, he was almostpletely upside down before his head hit the ground and before he knew it, he found himself lying in a small cloud of dust.

    ¡°Dammit, what even are these boots? Is this a prank?¡±

    He looked at the boots. They seemed to be fine and ready to go again.

    Jay sighed ¡°Hmm. I guess I can give it another go.¡± he shook his head ¡°I bet Sullivan isughing his ass off right now..¡±

    This time, Jay prepared himself, knowing what the boots would do as he leaned forward.

    ¡°Ok¡­ Askin.¡±

    *Pshhht* ¡°Oh, oh!¡±

    This time he went flying forward for a moment, but the boots still had too much force and he ended upnding on his ass, sliding in the dirt.

    ¡°You bastards.¡± he cursed at his shoes before he got up, rubbing the dirt off his trousers and coat.

    ¡°Seems like I really have tomit¡­¡±

    After waiting 10 more seconds, Jay prepared to give the boots another go.

    ¡°This time, I won¡¯t just lean forward, but I¡¯ll crouch and start falling forward. Right before I hit the ground, I¡¯ll activate them¡­¡±

    With his ever-so-detailed n thought out, he tried it without much hesitation.

    *Pshhht* ¡°MMH!¡±

    Jay went flying forward 3 metres, suddenly going from almost falling over, he shot forward. The boots caused him to finish standing up right. He did take a few steps forward as he wasn¡¯t used to the feeling, but was fine after a slight wobble in his steps.

    ¡°Ok I see¡­ damn, these are crazy¡­¡± he began to shake his head with a smile.

    ¡°10 seconds huh¡­ Pretty decent cooldown I guess..¡± he wondered about how well this would work in a fight. ¡°I guess It could still save me some time during a fight.¡±

    Jay didn¡¯t mind too much about the 10 second limitation; 10 Seconds wasn¡¯t long in a fight, not a real one anyway, most fightssted as much as 15 minutes, and this would be longer when fighting higher level monsters withrger health pools.

    It was always people who never got into fights who thought that one second would be like an eternity; this wasn¡¯t true in real life, and this much was clear to Jay after his various battles.

    Generally, if a fight was over in less than 10 seconds it was because one person had used up all his energy trying to overwhelm his opponent like a mad idiot; the same person who was now easy pickings for a more experienced fighter who only used their stamina for necessary actions.

    One would simply have to wait till the other guy tired himself out.

    Of course, there were exceptions to this. With a strong ss, a fight could be over quite quickly ¨C though for Jay, he didn¡¯t even have to lift a finger.

    Jay practised the movement skill a few more times before he began moving down the hill. After a few more minutes and a few more bruises, he was able to use the skill without wobbling afterwards, finding the perfect time to activate it while falling forward. He even found that if he did a pushup and activated them, he wouldnd on his feet.

    ¡°This is great, can¡¯t wait to test it against the Helvetian soldiers. Maybe they¡¯ll just surrender this time¡­¡± a mischievous smile appeared on Jay¡¯s face.

    **For anyone wondering, Yes, I did start creating anothernguage**

 Chapter 68 Stalker

    Jay ate some more bondtussle root as he walked down the hill, a smile on his face as he was happy with his new boots.

    ¡°Mmm, these are quitefortable for some weird othernguage boots.¡± he thought, jumping off arge rock.

    As Jay was walking he noticed something strange.

    ¡°That seems a little¡­ out of ce.¡± he squinted at a skinny spindly tree with ck bark. He didn¡¯t recall seeing it as he was walking down or up the hillst time.

    The tree was about as tall as Jay, and it stood out from other trees as it had ck bark; most were evergreens or tall with shades of brown and green bark.

    ¡°Hmm¡­I definitely would¡¯ve noticed you before¡­¡± he squinted as he slowly walked towards it.

    ¡°¡­what the fa-¡± he was startled as he got closer, noticing something on it¡¯s branches as he stepped closer.

    ¡°¡­an eye..? An eye! That¡¯s a damn eye! What the fuck!¡­¡± he shifted his ring into the orbital-bone form; bones began floating around his body forming a passive shield as he stepped back, pulled out his shield and waited for an attack.

    Jay had seen some strange things so far, but this was perhaps, in his mind, the most demonic and twisted thing he had seen so far.

    Imnted into the tree¡¯s branches was an eye, staring at him. As Jay looked, he began to notice a few more, mostly where the branches connected. Soon, little slits on the tree opened up, revealing more eyes, all staring directly at him.

    Jay¡¯s face scrunched up from the uneasy feeling it gave him, he continued to back up as he was freaked out, feeling like the tree had locked onto him with its eyes. He had no clue what the tree could do after all; he had never even heard of an eye-covered tree.<sub>.</sub>

    After a moment all the eyes finally closed, the branches shook, and suddenly the tree disappeared.

    ¡°¡­ the fuck was that¡­ Is it gone or invisible¡­ I won¡¯t take my chances.¡± he went in the opposite direction of the disappearing tree, walking for a while before continuing to head down towards the mist keep dungeon. He was mostly down the hill at this point, and it was closer than the adventurer association.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go find some other adventurers¡­ safety in numbers¡± he thought ¡°¡­but I¡¯ll stay behind them, just in case.¡± he shrugged. Jay was going to let someone else be the bait, there was nothing in it for him to take chances with some sort of mutant demon tree.

    Jay shifted his ring back into the normal form before quickly heading down towards the bottom of the hill, finding the familiar stone path at the bottom.

    With a light jog he followed it before finally making it back to the destroyed tower surrounded by the destroyed wall; the two stone statues still protecting the entrance ¨C of course, these were merely decoration.

    Jay looked around for the party of adventurers what initially tried to recruit him, but to no avail.

    ¡°Hmm.. the others must have gone in.¡± he thought as he looked around. The guy who was trying to recruit him into a party was gone now, along with the circle of people sitting down, which would have been his party.

    A few other adventurers were standing around, preparing to go in, but they seemed weak to Jay; they still looked excited and bright-eyed as they waited to enter the dungeon, which was a red g ¨C meaning that they haven¡¯t yet suffered very much.

    Shaking his head ¡°they¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡± he thought as he dashed past them.

    Most people who had fought as much as Jay had would lose their rosey enthusiasm quite quickly ¨C of course, if Jay could afford to go at a slower pace, perhaps he would enjoy this lifestyle.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯ll just go in.¡± Jay was disappointed by theck of other adventurers around, as this meant there would be less bait for whatever that eye-tree was.

    ¡°It¡¯ll probably be safer in there than out here. Besides, it¡¯s an instanced dungeon, so nothing can follow me into the dungeon unless it¡¯s in my party.¡± he reasoned.

    To the surprise of the other adventurers in the courtyard, Jay jogged through the broken down gate, right up to the dungeon door and entered without hesitation; they all began talking among themselves in disbelief. Seeing someone try to solo a dungeon like this was idiotic ¨C after all, the average level of adventurers was level 4; most wouldn¡¯t even have the extra money to purchase blunt weapons, and this guy just went straight in without a second thought.

    ¡°What the? Did you just see that?¡± One of the adventurers standing near the gate asked.

    ¡°See what?¡± another replied, ying with a small wisp of blue fire.

    ¡°Some guy just literally ran in from the forest and went right into the dungeon¡­¡±

    ¡°Ha, really? Just then? Wow¡­ should we tell someone?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ he was pretty quick, I wonder what he was thinking¡­. Do you think he was some kinda high level prodigy or something?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.. I know there were a few unique sses after the 7th that no one has seen since so maybe they¡¯ve just been put into some kinda crazy training regime and that was one of them?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, maybe¡­¡± he shrugged. ¡° Or maybe it¡¯s just some idiot.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Heh, maybe he just has no life.¡± another chimed in with a chuckle, as he continued slinging rocks into the nearby forest.

    The adventurers all chuckled for a moment outside the dungeon before they went back to their normal conversations, checking their gear and talking about their varying battle strategies.

    ¡°Hm, I guess it¡¯s permanently overcast here¡± looking up at the rolling clouds, Jay sat down for a moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m still not back to full mana, so I¡¯ll summon the boys to protect me while I rest for a while. This time, I¡¯ll at least make it into the first pyramid.¡± he challenged himself.

    Shifting his ring, he summoned Red and Lamp. The gas pulled some extra bones out of the ring, snapped a few others and popped some cartge, and before Jay¡¯s eyes, their bone bodies were all back to their normal shapes once more, no more dents or caved in rib-cages, and their health back to 100%.

    Jay took out the bone hammers and threw them on the ground before his skeletons.

    ¡°Protect me.¡± he simplymanded before beginning to meditate, sitting cross-legged and alone in the dark dungeon.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°Mnnh, mmm¡± Vdore woke up from his deep afternoon sleep with a grumble, rubbing some gunk from his eyes as he slowly woke up.

    ¡°Well, time to prepare for my next student, that heat maniptor.¡± Vdore got up from his desk, having a ss of water from a jug on his desk and unwrinkling his clothes.

    ¡°Now, my notes for this kid¡­¡± he looked around his desk for a moment before setting his eyes on his cube ¨C which currently appeared to have a lump on it.

    ¡°¡­¡± speechless, his eyes bulging as he leant closer in shock, seeing that his cube had a growth on it.

    ¡°RE- REPORT!¡± he pped his hands on the desk, wanting an immediate response from the cube.

    ¡°Master, mana was detected 2 times out of 328 iterations. Sessful absorption happened one time. Appendage growth reached 13%. Mana sense practice resumed, shall I continue master?¡±

    ¡°YES!¡± Vdore celebrated as his hands began to shake lightly, beginning to jump around the room ¨C as much as an old man like him could anyway.

    ¡°Yes yes yes! It¡¯s working! Progress!¡± He walked back and forwarth, rubbing his hands in joy before gazing lovingly at his cube again.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a lump, sure, but this is proof of concept.¡± he shook his head ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s finally working.¡± he felt a sense ofpleteness in himself.

    ¡°Finally¡­¡± he picked up the cube, poking at the lump on the side. It was rock hard with a smooth surface.

    ¡°Brilliant¡­¡± He gasped, ¡°So, when did you sense it?¡±

    ¡°23 minutes and 15 seconds ago, master.¡±

    ¡°What? Why didn¡¯t you wake me!¡±

    ¡°I attempted to, master. ¡°

    Vdore could only sigh, ¡°Dammit, not again¡­ I¡¯m getting old.. Well, maybe tomorrow. It was around this time of day too, perhaps that has something to do with it¡­ Hmm, what keeps happening in the afternoon¡­¡± he paced back and forwarth in his office.

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be awake tomorrow. I¡¯ll cancel ss for tomorrow afternoon if I need to. Damn.. ss.. I had better get going.¡±

    He left the room, closing the door, then after a moment, opening it again and sticking his head through ¡°Keep practising.¡± he gave onest instruction before snapping his fingers, causing his robe to fly off the hook and leave through the door with him.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°A hobbit-boar¡­ not the nicest meat, but it¡¯ll work.¡± Trenly aimed his bow at the small forest pig, squinting his eyes as he slowly pulled back.

    *Struush* the arrow whistled through the air and found it¡¯s target.

    ¡°Oh good, instant kill. I won¡¯t have to chase it while it runs off and bleeds to death.¡± he put his bow in his inventory and pulled out a small hunting knife as he walked towards the small pig.

    ¡°I¡¯ll only gut it. That¡¯s how most butchers get their meat from hunters anway. Jay can teach me how to butcher it properly¡± he thought as he skillfully navigated the small pigs insides with a knife, removing it¡¯s intestines, dder, lungs, stomach and kidneys.

    Usually, hunters would remove all the organs, dumping them on the forest floor before selling the carcass, sometimes taking the liver for themselves if they felt like saving some money on lunch. A skilled hunter would not burst or rupture any organs so as to not taint the meat, and this was one of the first lessons he learnt.

    He took out the liver and heart, putting them separately in his inventory with the carcass, wondering if Jay would want to use themter.

    ¡°Ok, done.¡± he wiped his knife on some nearby moss before storing it too.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t take too long to find something. It¡¯s a shame that this was all I could find, it¡¯s like all therger animals have disappeared or something¡­ oh well. Hopefully I can start working for Jay tomorrow.¡± he smiled, heading back to Lo with his prize just as the sun was even down.

 Chapter 69 The Prophecy

    ¡°Mmh¡± Jay was a little sore from sitting cross-legged on the hard dungeon ground for thest hour, rubbing his back as he got up.

    ¡°Mana is full, time to move.¡± Jay made his way towards the stone soldiers once more.

    In this world, the monsters in a dungeon would respawn when someone enters the dungeon or after a certain amount of time ¨C of course, unique items from in monsters would only be dropped once.

    As Jay made his way back to the soldiers, he had a happy spring in his step as he began to think about his previous trip to this dungeon, and how easy it would be now that he was more familiar with it.

    ¡°This is kind of fun¡­ Am I having fun?¡± Jay was surprised to find himself thinking this.

    ¡°I think if I didn¡¯t have the need to be stronger I would probably be doing this anyway¡­ I think I quite enjoy just having these adventures¡­ I suppose I need to do it for power, but that doesn¡¯t mean it can¡¯t be fun.. Anyway, it¡¯s not like I¡¯d simply enjoy being powerful¡­¡±

    He reasoned as he walked towards his victims, ¡°Gaining power for the sake of it seems to be a waste of time. I¡¯m d I have at least found enjoyment in the small trivial things, it would be quite depressing if there was nothing special ¨C even more so if I didn¡¯t recognise the special things that came across my path¡­¡± he considered as he thought about the majesticrge bird-creature he witnessed, the glowing cavern in the silt-wolf dungeon and even his simple life as a butcher as he smiled gently to himself, walking down the hill.

    ¡°I bet somewhere out there, in this world, past the endless forests, there¡¯s beings out there with great power that find no enjoyment¡­¡±

    [Immortality Research 3%]

    ¡°Oh?¡± he raised a brow, ¡°I guess another page of the book is ready¡­¡± he was almost within aggression distance of the stone statues.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to read it after this dungeon; It¡¯s a little hard to focus in here.¡± he thought, continuing down towards the soldiers, readying his hammer.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay began the fight, using the same strategies he did previously ¨C fighting one statue at a time while he kept the second statue behind the first one.

    The fight seemed much easier this time, and their moves seemed much more obvious to Jay; they even appeared more slow.

    ¡°How did I even get hit before? Yikes¡­¡± he looked at therge stone sword flying towards him before dodging it.

    ¡°Perhaps this is the difference between having full and empty mana.¡± he thought as he easily predicted their shes and weaved between them.

    ¡°It¡¯s like my mind is faster with full mana¡­. Or maybe it was just slow before¡­ huh, maybe my body is slower with low energy and my mind is slower with low mana?¡±

    Previously, they seemed like veteran warriors, each of their strikes making menacingly dangerous noises as their weapons coursed through the wind ¨C yet now, the sweeping soundsing from their weapons was more like an early warning sign, and now it was like he was fighting with a couple ofzy couch potatoes; people who thought that simply having a big weapon would make them strong.

    ¡°Well, having a big weapon just means you have a small¡­ mana pool.¡± he mischievously smiled to himself.

    Jay easily ducked in and out, smashing his hammer on their heads and dodging therge stone swords. To the stone statues, it would have been like fighting apletely different person.

    As Jay fought, he didn¡¯t realise, but a smile was beginning to form on his face.

    ¡°This is¡­. Pretty fun?¡± Jay chuckled,nding another hit and taking the first statue down.<sub></sub>

    ¡°It feels like there¡¯s a sort of flow to the fighting.¡±

    After he found out about his necromancer ss, he seemingly lost his sense of adventure and enjoyment, turning hisst few days into a tense struggle to survive, but now he had some breathing room, and was beginning to feel more enthusiastic and energised.

    Before he knew it, the two stone soldiers were both in rubble on the ground.

    [35 Exp][35 Exp]

    ¡°I guess time flies when you¡¯re having fun.¡±

    Jay looted them, but was surprised to find that they didn¡¯t drop any soulstones.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ at least I got another one of those helvetian rings.¡± He stored it in his inventory to sellter at the market.

    Jay dashed off to fight the next two statues with a spring in his step. While the dungeon was dark and dreary, his mood was cheery, and it was like he had rediscovered his joy again ¨C the adventurous feeling he had when he first woke up on his day of awakening.

    ¡°Next.¡± he said, beginning to jog to the next set of stone statues.

    ¡°Last time, I fought two sets of swordsmen and then two spearmen statues. My health still hasn¡¯t recovered¡­ but I don¡¯t n to get hit again.¡±<sub></sub>

    Checking his HP, it was 77/82. This was still high enough for Jay, so he wasn¡¯t worried.

    The next two statues were on the next street ahead, and he was still outside of their aggression range ¨C they hadn¡¯t noticed him yet, so he made a n.

    ¡°I¡¯m just going to run up, jump, and smash it¡¯s head in before it fully wakes up.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t a n.

    True to his word, Jay ran up to the stone soldier. It¡¯s head turned and gazed at him before it¡¯s body started waking up.

    ¡°Its going to be close¡± Jay thought as he sprinted towards it. He put away his shield and hammer to run faster.

    ¡°Asklin!¡± he activated his boots, dashing forward and closing the distance lightening-fast before jumping up high. With his hands over his head, he took his hammer out of his inventory, it appeared in his hand and he held it in a two-handed grip for extra damage.

    ¡°This shit be too easy!¡± he said with a smile as he brought the hammer down, smashing on its stationary head with two hands, crumbling its helmet and cracking its skull.

    [24]

    ¡°A critical hit! And I did double damage since I used two hands, nice!¡±

    The force of the blow sent the soldier stumbling, Jay almost felt sorry for it. It was such an easy attack to pull off that he wondered why he didn¡¯t do it before.

    Jay pulled out his deathwalkers sentry shield, one of the stone soldiers was heavily damaged but the other one had just woken up.

    ¡°Kill the damaged one.¡± Jaymanded his skeletons as they sprung into action and wreaked havoc on the poor confused stone statue.

    Before Jay even started fighting the second soldier, the first one was dead, in mercilessly by his minions.

    [35 Exp]

    Jay easily dodged the first swing and thumped the second soldier on it¡¯s head, meanwhile his two skeletons started harassing it at its sides, and it wasn¡¯t long before it fell to the flurry of hammers.

    [35 Exp]

    Jay proudly smiled ¡°It would be even quicker if Blue and Sweeper were here.¡± he then felt a weird sense of sadness ¡°¡­Do i miss my skeletons?¡±

    ¡°Grow up man¡­¡± Jay said to himself ¡°they¡¯re just a product of a skill¡­¡± he chuckled at his weird thoughts before looting the statues and pressing onwards, deeper into the ruined city.

    [Helvetian Ring]x2

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    An old man in robes was inhaling some blueish-white ashes through his nose, giving himself visions.

    ¡°Mountains of flesh.. visions of death¡­ visions of skeletons¡­ visions of necromancy¡­¡± Albin said quietly before realising what he was seeing, his pure-white eyes bulged as he screamed in the underground room.

    ¡°Necromancer!¡± he caused his chains to rattle as he yelled. ¡°Nh-NECROMANCER!¡± he yelled as loudly as he could, his hands shaking from fear.

    ¡°We must prepare¡­ stop the war¡­ we have no choice¡­ A great threat looms in the future, death ising, a new king, war and peace.¡±

    The frail old man seemed to sound as if he was begging, his voice solemn, waiting as he listened to the guards¡¯ response.

    ¡°It will be reported.¡± the guard said before rushing off, he sounded alert after Alben¡¯s yelling. It was quite out of character for the old man to show such emotion after seeing his visions.

    Alben sighed after the guard left. He had a unique ss which allowed him to see possible futures, and he was currently a prisoner of the mage hunters, otherwise called the ¡®safety bearers¡¯; he was not dangerous enough to execute, but his ss made him useful enough to have him imprisoned, so they simply did it. The mage hunters answered to no one.

    Normally, out of spite, Albin wouldn¡¯t bother to share most of his visions, but this would be something that would affect all of them, something that would shake the world, turning entire nations upside down. Even though he was imprisoned, what he saw and felt during his vision made his skin crawl.

 Chapter 70 Black Pyramids 1

    With two more of the sword-wielding stone soldiers destroyed, Jay made his way to the next pair.

    ¡°The spear-wielding ones are next if I remember correctly¡­¡± he looked at his skeletons ¡°Focus on dodging this time.¡± he squinted at them, remembering that one of their rib cages was blown inwardsst time.

    Jay didn¡¯t want to waste mana on repairing his skeletons, and he remembered that getting hit by the weapons of the stone soldiers caused mana burn, so he was trying to conserve as much of his mana as possible.

    Feeling confident, Jay decided to simply have his two minions distract one of the spear soldiers while he would fight the other one.

    As the fight started, the spear statues were more aggressivepared to the swordsmen variants.

    Jay didn¡¯t notice it before when he was low mana, but he had to dodge and duck a lot more to avoid the spear thrusts and swipes ¨C of course, they were still obvious to him now that he was full mana.

    After dodging a spear thrust, he jumped up, swinging his hammer sideways and smashing it in the side of it¡¯s head, the stone helmet flying off.

    [6]

    ¡°Oh?¡± He found a new trick to fighting them ¡°I assumed the helmets were attached somehow¡­ Well that makes things easier.¡±

    Without much more thought, he jumped past another spear and smashed it¡¯s head again.

    [12][Critical Hit][Stunned]

    Seizing the opportunity from the stun, he dropped his shield, gripping his hammer with two hands.

    ¡°It really isn¡¯t your day, huh¡± he thought in mid-air.

    Gritting his teeth from the strength he was putting behind the strike, he smashed it directly into its head, forming a small cave as he shattered it into rubble and stones.

    [24][Critical Hit]<sub>.</sub>

    [40 Exp]

    Jay smiled after seeing his damage, ¡°It¡¯s over when Ind a stun, especially when I use two hands for double damage.. maybe I should just use two hands from now on.¡± he looked at his shield on the ground as he thought for a moment.

    ¡°¡­Nah, It might hurt me in the long run. Thebat experience with a shield will be important, and it would suck to let such a good shield go to waste anyway¡­¡±

    Jay picked up the shield ¡°Besides, I can only go 2-handed when I know the enemy can¡¯t strike, which is almost never. In the future, it will probably be too dangerous to fight without a shield.¡± he reasoned to himself as he thought about other adventurers who fought using two-handed weapons, such as Mark.

    ¡°Hmm, Mark¡¯s probably a rare case of someone with insane damage, but most of the others don¡¯t have those glowing swords, so how do they do it¡­¡° Jay wondered how the 2-handed sses survived in dungeons, then he realised something incredibly obvious ¨C something which he didn¡¯t have, and may never have.

    ¡°Hmm, they probably go with someone who has a tank-ss, someone who pulls aggression while they attack relentlessly¡­ dammit. It would be easy if I could just party with whoever I wanted.¡±

    He felt a little jealous, but looked at his skeletons, still fighting the other stone soldier.

    ¡°I suppose you guys are ok.¡± He smiled, looking at them slowly getting the upp hand over the spear-wielding stone statue.

    Jay waited for a moment as he watched them, letting them finish the target off.

    The skeletons were pretty good at working together as a duo. One would attack while the other would defend.

    The statue thrusted at Lamp, while Red would strike the statue. After doing some damage Red would be the target, so Lamp would start to strike the statue instead.

    ¡°They make a good team.¡± thought Jay as he watched. ¡°They probably can¡¯t solo a statue yet, but they¡¯re good enough to do it together at least.¡±

    Before long the second statue was dead ¨C and without any help from Jay.

    [40 Exp]<sub></sub>

    ¡°Nicely done¡± he smiled, seeing the experience point notification.

    ¡°Huh, howe I didn¡¯t notice that before¡­ The spear statues give more exp points. That¡¯s strange. They¡¯re still level 3 though, so it doesn¡¯t really make sense¡­¡± Jay looted the soldiers, getting two more rings, but was still puzzled as he pressed onwards, moving deeper into the city as he made his way closer to the first ck pyramid.

    ¡°Maybe I got more exp because they¡¯re harder to kill?¡± Jay wasn¡¯t sure, as he walked, he had made up different theories, but so far, none of them made much sense.

    Moving further into the city, the rubble piles wererger, and more of it crossed the obsidian-paved roads as he walked.

    ¡°There must have beenrger buildings near the pyramid¡± he guessed.

    As he made his way through the rubble, he finally saw the entrance clearly.

    The entrance was huge and rectangr, two giants could have easily walked through side-by-side.

    Arge b made up the roof of the entrance, held up by two massive ck statues on either side; they had the same armour as the stone soldiers but were made from obsidian, both looking majestic as they held up the massive b which was jutting out from the pyramid structure, forming an extended roof of sorts.

    Further outside, two huge obsidian pirs stood in front of the pyramid, each as wide as Jay¡¯s house and taller than the 3-story Snakeraven inn. The pyramids and these columns were the only things so far that weren¡¯t in ruins.

    Approaching the pirs, Jay saw three stone soldiersing into view, standing in between them; at first the pirs looked like the size of a normal soldier, while the soldiers near them looked like ants ¨C but Jay was just far away.

    ¡°What is this, a dungeon for ants?¡± he thought as he approached.

    In between the two swordsmen was a spear-wielding soldier; each of the three of them carried a shield in their off-hand.

    Jay squinted at the spear soldier, trying to see more clearly ¡°¡­Is that a ck helmet?¡± he paused for a moment.

    ¡°That mayplicate things, hopefully I can just knock it off.¡±<sub></sub>

    Jay decided to make a strategy since there were three soldiers this time. After seeing how well his minions could fight, he decided to have each of them fight a statue ¨C well, not fight, but distract.

    There were three in Jay¡¯s party and three enemies.

    ¡°I¡¯ll fight the first swordsman and y it, then I¡¯lle over to fight spearmen. The skeleton fighting the spearmen can go help fight the second swordsman.¡± he nodded.

    ¡°At this point in the fight, two skeletons will be fighting one swordsman, and I¡¯ll be fighting the spearman.¡± Jay nodded to himself affirming his n, ¡°Not much else to worry about after that.¡± he shrugged, casually walking forward as he made his skeletons form a line next to him.

    With his n sorted, there was nothing more left to say. Jay marched forward with his minions as the stone soldiers began to ¡®wake up¡¯, breaking out of their guard stances and readying for battle.

    Each of the soldiers picked a target, and thankfully, one of the swordsmen statues picked Jay.

    ¡°All ording to n¡± he smiled.

    Like the previous fights, it was easy for Jay to beat a swordsman statue. He didn¡¯t take a single hit, and in no time, the soldier dropped to its knees, falling face down and it¡¯s head crumbled when it hit the ground.

    Jay looked to see how the other fights were doing.

    Red was fighting a swordsman, and was doing fine as it dodged it easily; Lamp was having trouble with the spearman, and had taken a few hits already.

    ¡°Damn.. I thought I told them to focus on dodging.¡± Jay quickly ran over to relieve Lamp and sent his skeleton to help Red.

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle it.¡± he said to his skeleton,manding Lamp to go fight the swordsman.

    Like usual, Jay dodged a thrust from the spear and went to smash against the side of it¡¯s head.

    To his expectations, the ck helmet flew off, revealing another normal-looking stone head underneath.

    ¡°Heh, I guess you¡¯re not that special.¡± Jay smiled condescendingly as he dodged another thrust.

    *Sploii!*

    ¡°Fuh!¡± Jay was stabbed in the shoulder, the pain stopping him from swearing.

    [5 damage]

    [Mana burn ¨C 0.5mana/second for 5 seconds]

    Jay backed up, retreating until he was out of attack range. The hole filled up as his hit points went down.

    ¡°What the hell? It just attacked twice¡­ what the hell was that¡­¡±

    As Jay thought this, he realised he hadn¡¯t analysed any of them yet.

    ¡°Ugh, I should¡¯ve analysed it when I saw that damn helmet¡­¡± He felt silly, starting his analysis with the spearman.

    <[Helvetian Soldier ¨C Level 4]>

    [50 HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Brittle Armour]

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage.

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Magic damage immune.

    ¨C Any wielded weapons be cursed.

    [Double Strike]

    ¨C Does two attacks in rapid session. Each attack is 75% as strong as a normal one.

    ¨C 10 Second cooldown.

    <Description>

    ¨C A soldier of the Helvetian kingdom, turned to stone. It stands guard, waiting for it¡¯s chance to exact revenge on those who would harm its kingdom.

    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s level four. That double strike skill must have been what hit me.¡± he read over the other information as he back stepped ¨C the soldier was slowly walking towards him as its steps caused trembles in the ground.

    ¡°I wish it showed me information about their weapons¡­ I guess the analysis skill can only go so far. It¡¯s annoying that it doesn¡¯t show me the curse information either, but I suppose that may be part of the curse?¡± Jay shrugged as he looked at the skill again.

    ¡°Double strike, 10 second cooldown¡­ guess I need to end this quickly before it can hit me again.¡±

    Jay sprung back into action, side stepping the spear thrusts as he smashed it¡¯s head. It had more hit points than the level three statues, so Jay realised it would be able to use it¡¯s skill at least one more time.

 Chapter 71 Black Pyramids 2

    ¡°Hmm.. What are my options.. It¡¯s going to hit me one more time when it uses that double strike skill.¡± Jay thought as he dodged another spear thrust.

    It would normally be hard to think like this duringbat, but since Jay was level 9, he was far quicker than the level three and four soldiers he had fought so far.

    ¡°I guess I could just take the hit¡­ hmm. But I can¡¯t just do that every time, that would create a bad habit in my fighting. Besides, I don¡¯t want to be a pin cushion.¡±

    After nearly ten seconds passed, Jay backed off from the fight again ¨C right before the stone soldiers¡¯ double strike skill came off cooldown.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think if I predict when it uses the skill, I should be able to block it..¡±

    Jay waited another 5 seconds before stepping back into the fight. He was certain that the soldier would use the double strike skill as soon as it came off cooldown.

    With a whistling noise, a thrust came towards him which he easily dodged ¨C though this time, he raised his shield immediately after dodging.

    *Thwungg~* Jay smiled fiendishly as the spear was stopped by the shield; as it made contact, he took no damage as the shield had a 15% chance to ignore all damage when blocking.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Deathwalkers sentry, you beautiful bastard!¡± Jay smiled at his shield, jumping forward with excitement again, continuing his onught with his hammer against the stone statue¡¯s head.

    Jay was more focused on counting the seconds than the fights as he swung his hammer wildly, but before he could get to 10 seconds, the statue fell backwards, it¡¯s torso splitting into two halves as it cracked on the ground; defeated before it could muster a third double-strike.

    [100 Exp]

    The two skeletons were still fighting the swordsman, and Jay analysed it before helping. Finding that it was level 3, and posed no threat, he decided to loot the other soldiers.

    [Empty soulstone]x2

    [Helvetian Ring]

    ¡°Soul stones again.. What about that helmet.¡± Jay walked over to the ck helmet, picking it up to try it on.<sub></sub>

    It was far too big for him, he looked like a child wearing his fathers helmet.

    Jay tried to analyse the helmet.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Nothing happened, and he didn¡¯t receive any notifications.

    ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t count as armour maybe?¡± he tried to store it in his inventory, but still, nothing.

    ¡°Huh, it must count as part of the dungeon or something¡­ I can¡¯t even stash it away. Damn.¡±

    Jay pursed his lips, a little dissatisfied that he had to leave the helmet here. After physically inspecting it, he found that it didn¡¯t even have the slightest mark from when he smashed it with his hammer.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame. I guess it has no use to me.¡± he thought, leaving it sitting on what was left of the spearman¡¯s crumbled stone body, a tombstone of sorts.<sub></sub>

    ¡°It does seem a little strange that there is even such a thing in a dungeon ¨C an invincible helmet?¡± Jay thought as he walked away ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not invincible, maybe it¡¯s just a training mechanism of the dungeon?¡± he wondered to himself.

    [35 Exp]

    The two skeletons had finally in thest stone soldier, and Jay casually went over to loot it too.

    [Empty soulstone][Helvetian Ring]

    ¡°Phew, a little rough but we did well.¡± Jay thought about the fight, ¡°And I have learnt another lesson the hard way: always analyse enemies. That reminds me,e here.¡± he beckoned Lamp over as he used [Shell Restoration] on it. Green gas left Jay¡¯s hand as the creature¡¯s hitpoints slowly returned to 100%.

    ¡°Thankfully you only took 5 damage this time.¡±

    After Lamp was healed, Jay finally took a moment to admire the massive pyramid before him. It was the smallest of the ones he saw, but in front of it he was like an ant; it wasrger than the hill that the adventurer association was built on.

    Even the gigantic pirs he stood between seemed to betray it as they paled inparison.

    Jay felt like sitting down, gazing at it for a while, but he resisted the urge.

    Walking forward, he made his way towards the entrance. As he got closer, the b roof above casted arge dark shadow, noticeably colder as he passed into the shadow.

    Since the structure was sorge, it took him a while before he even made it into the pyramid.

    Walking through the entrance of the dark pyramid took 10 minutes, and Jay held the deathwalker sentry shield forward, using it¡¯s [Shade Vision] skill to see any looming threats in the darkness.

    Not much light got past the entrance or therge statues holding up the roof, so it was hard to see the walls on either side.

    Therge rectangr entrance was the start of a long passage, which continued for some time ¨C but after a while it gradually became smaller.

    ¡°The air smells stale and dry,¡± thought Jay. Nevertheless, he pressed on as he waited for his shield to detect traces of enemies in the darkness ahead ¨C nothing was seen though.

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s getting a little too dark now¡­¡± Jay took out a small luminous orb, a soft blue glow emanating from it.

    The skeletons were already using both hands to carry their hammers, so Jay sheathed his sword to hold the orb.

    ¡°If a fight happens I¡¯ll just ce it on the ground and get out my hammer.¡±

    Jay¡¯s orb was a small, budget-friendly version that wasn¡¯t as bright as Anya¡¯s one. It gave just enough light for Jay to see enemies a few metres ahead of his skeletons, which were walking a few metres ahead of him ¨C though this didn¡¯t really matter to his skeletons which could see in the dark, having the same shade vision skill as his shield. Meanwhile Anya¡¯s would be able to shine twice as far.

    Of course, mana orbs weren¡¯t expensive, but Jay was just cheap as he didn¡¯t think he would need to use it very often. He even had some orbs at home, but they were mounted onto the ceiling; Jay had mostly forgotten about them anyway, after his father left there was no one around to channel mana into them to keep them functional. Thankfully, the ambient light from other houses and the silver moons were enough for Jay to get by on; of course, he would light his firece and use sugar-candles when it got too dark.

    ¡°Mana is so useful¡­¡± With a warm smile, he added some mana to his orb as it glowed in his hand, walking into the darkness.

    As Jay walked, therge entrance got much narrower, and was slowly bing smaller; a more human-sized corridor.

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s starting to feel like another chokepoint¡­¡± a slight shiver went up Jay¡¯s spine as he remembered the silk-wood¡¯s dungeon ¨C all the spider corpses piling up into mountains of their own bile and goo as they tried to leave their massive nest, only to be sliced apart. Nevertheless, Jay nned to go back there someday and clear out the nest if he could ever find it again; It shouldn¡¯t be too hard because of all the spiderwebs in the trees leading to that particr dungeon.

    Jay began to caution himself ¡°I¡¯ll try this with just two skeletons. If I need to, I¡¯ll quickly summon Sweeper and Blue, otherwise this will be a goodbat experience¡­¡± he slightly grinned to himself ¡°Not to mention, it¡¯ll probably be fun too.¡±

 Chapter 72 Black Pyramids 3

    *DRRRRR* dust and pebbles fell down from the ceiling near the walls.

    The heavy grinding stone sounds came from each side of Jay and his skeletons as the walls started to move downwards.

    ¡°My first trap I¡¯m guessing.¡± he raised his shield a little, curious of what was toe.

    Jay wasn¡¯t rmed, as he expected something like this to happen, and he was still a far higher level than this dungeon ¨C it was still the first of the six pyramids too, so this would surely be more like a beginner¡¯s test, a small taste of what¡¯s toe.

    The walls slid down slowly, and Jay was a little surprised. There was no toxic gas,rge boulders or poison arrows flying at him ¨C just more statues.

    ¡°More soldiers?¡± Two more stone sliders waited for the wall to drop as their bodies began to move and awaken, dusk and pebbles falling off.

    ¡°They must have been here for quite some time¡­¡± he thought as he analysed them.

    <[Helvetian Soldier ¨C Level 4]>

    [50 HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Brittle Armour]<sub>.</sub>

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage.

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Magic damage immune.

    ¨C Any wielded weapons be cursed.

    [Double Strike]

    ¨C Does two attacks in rapid session. Each attack is 75% as strong as a normal one.

    ¨C 10 Second cooldown.

    <Description>

    ¨C A soldier of the Helvetian kingdom, turned to stone. It stands guard, waiting for it¡¯s chance to exact revenge on those who would harm its kingdom.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re basically the same as the level four spearman outside except for the different weapons¡­ but the spearmen fought more aggressively even when they were the same level, so this might be harder than I thought.¡± acting quickly, he put his orb down gently before pulling out his hammer as he prepared himself.

    What cautioned Jay was that each of these soldiers were both dual-wielding stone daggers ¨C each dagger about the size of his ossein arming swords.

    They would have been considered swords if a normal human was holding them, but in the hands of therge statues, they appeared to be daggers suited to them.

    ¡°Those things could really mess me up¡­¡± squinted Jay, thinking if these statues were holding his blue ossein arming swords, they would perhaps be twice as deadly ¨C the stone daggers and his swords had incredibly simr proportions after all.

    Unlike the stone statues which brandished massive stone swords and spears outside, their daggers were well suited to fighting in this enclosed space; well suited to the environment.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame I can¡¯t use ded weapons too.¡± he thought, ncing at his hammer ¡°Well¡­ I guess I could, but they wouldn¡¯t do much to their stone bodies.¡±

    ¡°Even though these hammers have less damage than my swords, the statues¡¯ natural resistance to swords and weakness to the hammers make the hammers the obvious choice.¡±

    The stone wall finally stopped sliding down, forming a t part of the floor surface. The stone soldiers each stepped forward, readying their weapons. The time for thinking was over, and the fight had begun.

    Suddenly, each soldier stepped forward with a double-sh strike; one soldier aimed at Jay and the other aimed at his minions.

    ¡°There¡¯s that double-strike skill again.¡± he pursed his lips as he began counting in the back of his mind.<sub></sub>

    Jay backstepped towards the entrance while his skeletons jumped deeper into the pyramid, both groups sessfully dodging the first attack.

    ¡°Huh, these guys are pretty fast for stone statues.¡±

    Jay decided not to counter attack, as he was still in striking distance of both statues. After a moment, one of the statues turned to face his skeletons while one turned to face him.

    The statue made a fighting stance, holding one dagger low above it¡¯s knee, and the other high above its head.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Jay raised a brow ¡°they look like veterans¡±.

    Jay stepped forward with his shield first, blocking a dagger and bringing a dagger down towards it¡¯s stone head ¨C *ting*

    The hammer didn¡¯t connect with its head, but made a ringing noise as it was swatted away by the statue¡¯s second dagger.

    Jay backstepped, ¡°I guess these ones are well trainedpared to the others; they are pyramid entrance guards after all.¡± he tilted his head to the side after not being able tond a hit.

    ¡°How am I going to get past its defence¡­¡± Jay wondered for a moment ¨C though before he could think more, the soldier stepped forward and thrust at Jay.

    Sidestepping immediately, he noticed the next dagger wasing at him straight after the first one.

    *Boongg* He quickly raised his shield, blocking it before retaliating with a hammer swing. This time, the strikended ¨C a powerful strike right on the soldier¡¯s shoulder pauldron.

    [6]

    Another dagger thrust came at him from the side, threatening to sh across his face, but he ducked below as it went past. Normally Jay will have backstepped, but he was at risk of getting too far away from the luminous orb.

    If Jay fought in the darkness, he would have no choice but to run back to the entrance where he could see again; the entrance wasn¡¯t too far away, but the clouds were dark and thick, hardly any light got past them, less still got past the massive stone b roof that jutted out of the entrance.

    Jay raised his shield as the next one came right after, grazing across the shield as he deflected it.

    ¡°Double strike¡± Jay thought as he started counting to ten seconds again, he predicted it perfectly this time, not needing to disengage and wait a few seconds like he did previously.

    Taking the opportunity after it¡¯s double strike ability, he swung at the soldiers jaw, an uppercut strike with the hammer was easily enough to send its stone helmet flying off into the darkness.

    [6]

    ¡°I guess my strategy has found itself this time¡± he thought as he was starting to damage it.

    Dodging another dagger thrust and taking a hit to his shield, he swung his hammer sideways, finallynding a hit on its jaw.

    [12][Critical Hit]

    Jay smirked ¡°Half way.¡±

    The fight continued for a while, but since Jay learnt how to deal with the statue, the oue was inevitable. The statue couldn¡¯t do anything after Jay found an opening, but it still fought to the bitter end.

    The statue has waited here for aeons and had all the time in the world, now all it could do was simply bide its time as it waited for death.

    *Crack!*

    With a final hit from Jay¡¯s hammer, the statue¡¯s head shattered. It¡¯s stone daggers fell from its hands and crumbled on the ground just before the rest of its body did too.

    [100 Exp]

    Jay didn¡¯t really need to catch his breath after the fight, and he took no damage, making it quite easy; he had only used a small amount of hisrge stamina pool too.

    ¡°They¡¯re not so hard. Perhaps if it had more intelligence it could have tried to bait me into attacking and maybe wait for an opportune time to use double-strike ¨C rather than using it as soon as ites off cooldown. Oh well.¡± Jay smugly smiled as he walked over it¡¯s corpse, collecting the loot ¨C another empty soul stone and a ring. He threw them into his inventory before going to help the other fight.

    ¡°¡­where are they?¡± Jay couldn¡¯t see his skeletons, grabbing the luminous orb off the ground, he began to slowly jog towards them.

    ¡°Have they just been back-stepping all this time?¡± Jay chuckled to himself ¡°The statue¡¯s aren¡¯t that hard to fight¡­ perhaps they¡¯re just being extra cautious since I didn¡¯t want them taking damage.¡±

 Chapter 73 Black Pyramids 4

    Jay could hear the rattling of bones and the grinding of stone, the sounds slowly getting louder as he ran.

    ¡°Hmm, yep, they must have been backing up so they wouldn¡¯t get hit¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to have to heal their damage, I should speed up.¡± Getting closer, Jay ran a little faster.

    ¡°Oo~!¡± Jay came to a halt as he saw the back of the stone statue appear in the darkness, but he was running too fast and had too much momentum to stop in time.

    ¡°Ah shi-¡± *thud*

    Jay¡¯s face softlynded right onto the ass-cheeks of the soldier. ¡°Ugh, dammit, ouch¡­¡± he realised where his facended as he stepped backwards.

    ¡°Dammit!¡± he grimaced as he realised what he ran into, falling into a frustrated rage.

    ¡°Why?! Why does this always happen -¡± he smashed his hammer at the spine of the statue ¡°with every fucking dungeon -¡± he swung sideways at it¡¯s knee, causing the soldier to stagger for a moment. ¡°Every dungeon I go into my face always gets covered in filth, dammit!¡± he exhaled with a grunt, gritting his teeth in anger and giving it one more hammer strike.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°And why doesn¡¯t it have any ass armour!?¡± Jay shook his head, he wasn¡¯t sure if it was the darkness ying tricks with his mind, but for a second he thought he saw some mud¡­

    Responding to the damage, the soldier turned around, meeting Jay¡¯s rage with it¡¯s own fury ¨C though it was all for nothing. As soon as it turned, it gave up it¡¯s back to the ravaging of two skeletons who were both using 2-handed hammers.

    Before it could even strike once at Jay, it crumbled to the ground.

    [100 Exp]

    ¡°Egh¡­¡± Jay grumbled as he collected it¡¯s empty soulstone.

    There was nothing on Jay¡¯s face from the encounter, but he naturally wiped it anyway before continuing. It was almost an instinct for him now.

    ¡°Bleh, ok, I think that¡¯s enough for me¡­¡± Jay decided to bring Sweeper and Blue into the fight.<sub></sub>

    Switching his bone ring into the orbital form to summon his other skeletons, some of the bones clinked and rattled against the side of the corridor as they floated around Jay.

    Green gas left his hand, mingling with the silt wolf bones floating around and assembling his two minions before him. Jay had a smile on his face as he saw sweeper assemble with blue bones; it only meant one thing.

    ¡°Congrats on levelling up buddy,¡± Jay smiled at his youngest skeleton. ¡°and there goes thest of my silt-wolf bones.¡±

    Jay nned to send his skeletons into the silf-wolf dungeon for more bones, but the skeletons had no way to carry the bones, or to extract the bones from the silt-wolf corpses ¨C he would have to go personally.

    Without his bone ring, he would have to re-summon the skeletons each time to get all the excess muscle, organs and viscera off the bones ¨C and then figure out a way to carry them.

    Thest time Jay saw sweeper, it was a little level one skeleton, still using the white soap rat bones from the stink-rat marsh, but now when he resurrected it the spell automatically used the silt wolf bones, including the wolf skull.

    Seeing that they had no weapons, Jay realised he needed to get them some hammers.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Oh.. this is a bit of a miscalction¡­ damn. Ipletely forgot. At least I bought some extra iron bars.¡± Jay pursed his lips, ¡°So much for conserving my mana.¡± he thought, popping some bondtussle root into his mouth, getting a familiar notification.

    [Mana Regen buff 1%] ¨Csts for 1 hour(s)

    Jay crafted two more hammers from his remaining iron bars before venturing forwarth again. Both hammers were sessfully made on the first try.

    ¡°Hmm, how far did I run before?¡± Jay thought, looking back towards the entrance. It was like a small light, a distant star. Unknowingly, he had ran a long way as he followed the sounds of his skeletons fighting.

    ¡°Hmm, Surely I would have exited out the back of the pyramid by now? This ce must be bigger on the inside.¡±

    So far, all the walls were smooth with no distinct markings ¨C the only gauge he had to measure was the light from the entrance.

    Jay continued venturing forward, deeper into the pyramid. It seemed to be almost endless as the passage started to turn left and right, with some parts going up and down ¨C meanwhile there were still many walls with stone statues hiding behind them. After walking for an hour, Jay and his four skeletons had destroyed eight more statues beforeing to a T-intersection.

    On the wall of the T-intersection was a petroglyph ¨C an image made by carving into stone.

    The carved picture was massive, the light from Jay¡¯s orb only reached across half of the image, making him have to look at one half before the other.

    The image showed a tremendous sprawling city with beautiful buildings, streets and gardens. Hundreds of thousands of people were in its streets, vines and nts hung from balconies and various streams, gardens and fountains dotted the vibrant city.

    It was easy to tell that this city was luxurious, it was like a paradise, a utopia; at the side of the city was a massive purple-blue orb of dark clouds and purple light, it was muchrger than the city itself and its effects had only just touched on a small part of the city boundary.

    Standing closer, Jay could see tiny lightning bolts in the clouds of the orb. The buildings near it were all crumbled, and Jay could tell that the artist tried to depict parts of the stone floating into and around the purple orb. This would have causing debris to destroy buildings, which would create more debris to feed into the storm of magic.

    Jay noticed that the nts, trees and vines near it had all withered, and bodies littered the streets near it ¨C though they didn¡¯t die to rampant debris hitting them, their cause of death was something else.

    ¡°Is it some sort of life-draining spell?¡± Jay thought as he looked across the city once more. Now that he noticed it, it was like the area near the purple storm orb was like a zone of grey; the rest of the city was rtively green and colourful with all sorts of flowers.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ there¡¯s no pyramids in the picture¡­ but it wouldn¡¯t make sense to have a picture of another city. Perhaps the pyramids were built after whatever this was?¡± Jay reasoned, examining the picture. The six ck pyramids were huge, they definitely would have been a main feature of the city.

    ¡°Oh well, I guess I won¡¯t know more until I explore more of this dungeon¡± Jay thought, deciding what to do next.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ left or right..¡± Jay took a moment to think about any clues he may have seen, wondering if he should go left or right.

    ¡°Eh, I¡¯ll just go left,¡± he shrugged.

    Going left, Jay fought two more statues which springed forward from the wall ¨C though they were easily destroyed by the four skeletons, with Jay at the side of the fight periodicallynding an easy hit.

    Soon enough, he came to a halt. Before him were two more statues ¨C though these ones weren¡¯t hiding in the walls, but standing side by side in front of a series of pirs.

    ¡°Oh? What are you guys protecting?¡± a mischievous smile appeared on Jay¡¯s face as he leisurely walked behind his four skeletons.

 Chapter 74 Treasure

    The walls broke away while the pirs continued forward into the room. It was probably a massive room as Jay could no longer see the walls or even hear echoes from them. The only guide now was this series of pirs on each side of him.

    Both of these statues in front of the pirs had ck helmets, and Jay realised he would have to either have a drawn out battle with his four skeletons, or risk himself while knocking off their helmets to have a shorter battle.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay analysed them. ¡°Both level four. Eh, the skeletons can handle it.¡± He decided to rx for a bit as the skeletons fought in his ce.

    Jay leisurely sent the skeletons forward. While two skeletons had to back up while fighting a level four statue previously, they now had Blue on their side ¨C the level three skeleton.

    Blue was not just bigger than the other skeletons, its bones and ligaments thicker, but it seemed more intelligent too ¨C so much so that he noticed Anya giving Blue some suspicious looks.

    Blue seemed to have morebat awareness than his other skeletons. This would slowly but surely tip the fight in favour of the skeletons.

    Jay of course wasn¡¯tpletely counting on them ¡°If they back up enough toe near me, I¡¯ll just step in and help them.¡± thought Jay as he took out his swag and sat on it.

    It was a little too low to the ground to sit onfortably, so Jay looked through his inventory for various things to put his swag over, in order to make a temporary seat.

    ¡°Hmm, silt wolf spines? Those may puncture my swag¡­ old buckler¡­ too t.. Soulstones, old book¡­ oh, that weird stone.. I forgot about that.¡±

    Jay pulled out a strange purple stone he found inside a siltwolf.

    Holding it in his hands, he was a little surprised ¡°¡­I thought it was smallerst time?¡±<sub>.</sub>

    It still had a brilliant polish, reflecting Jay¡¯s curious gaze back at him in the darkness.

    He analysed it, curious once more as he forgot what happenedst time.

    [?] The item still didn¡¯t let him analyse it.

    ¡°Damn¡­ I¡¯ll have to check on itter or ask someone about it.¡±

    Jay wasn¡¯t sure what it was, or if it was getting bigger or if his memory was just bad, but he made a mental note to try and remember he had it in his inventory ¨C to check it in the future.

    ¡°I¡¯d better not sit on it since I have no clue what it is.¡±

    With a shrug, he stashed it back in his inventory.

    ¡°Whatever, I guess I¡¯ll just lie down for a moment.¡±

    Jay waited patiently for his skeletons to finish the fight, surprised by Blue, which even managed to knock off one of their ck helmets to end it even faster when it started pping it¡¯s hammer against the soldier¡¯s head.

    Lamp and Red were pushed back for a moment, but soon, Blue had finished one and thest soldier didn¡¯t stand for much longer.<sub></sub>

    [100 Exp][100 Exp]

    ¡°Nicely done.¡± Jay leisurely nodded in approval and gave his skeletons a golf-p, feeling quite pompous as he was lying down. It was as if this was a diator tournament all designed to entertain him.

    Jay looted the statues and proceeded forward, walking between the pirs quietly. It didn¡¯t take long before the party came to some stairs; the pirs going up on each side of them.

    ¡°Onwards and upwards,¡± he shook his head, not looking forward to walking up a seemingly endless set of stairs.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Oh, great.¡± he smiled. He couldn¡¯t see it in the darkness, but the stairs only went upwards for about two stories. Reaching the top, he realised that it was actually a small pyramid.

    ¡°A pyramid within the pyramid¡­ so stupid¡­¡± he shook his head with a mocking smile

    ¡°at least there¡¯s a reward.¡±

    Before Jay, glistening in the soft-blue light of his luminous orb was the glinting glow of a golden chest.

    On the chest was a single engraved word.

    ¡°Sedulus¡­.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hmm. Why does that seem familiar? Oh well. You should have put your treasure chest in a safer ce, whatever happens is on you¡­ this isn¡¯t my fault¡± Jay shrugged, justifying his actions as he went to loot the chest, trying to hide his excited smile.

    ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t need to justify myself anyway, this is a dungeon.¡± This was Jay¡¯s first dungeon treasure chest, and to him, it felt strange to open up a chest to steal its contents ¨C at least for now.

    Opening the lid slightly, his eyes reflected a golden gleam of light shining out from below the lid ¨C suddenly he opened itpletely, excited about what he would find.

    ¡°Cmon, give daddy something good!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°What the?¡±

    Nothing was inside the chest. Suddenly, before he could realise it was a trap, four glowing blue walls materialised around him and his skeletons. The walls went all the way up to the ceiling ¨C which was seemingly endless as it looked like they just kept going.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Jay boredly said, disappointed that the chest was merely another trap. He wasn¡¯t scared, as it was a low level dungeon ¨C rauther, he was annoyed. ¡°I probably could¡¯ve activated my boots and dashed out of here if I was quick enough¡­ oh well.¡± he shrugged.

    ¡°Here we go again.¡±

    After a moment, he felt a little confused as nothing happened after the blue walls formed ¨C though suddenly, the ground below him, along with the chest, dematerialised. Jay and his skeletons fell down into a small chamber.

    The floor re-materialised as they fell through it, creating a roof and sealing them in his room.

    The room was quite small, and Jay was feeling a little too close to his skeletons. There wasn¡¯t enough room for any of them to fight.

    ¡°Damn, at least this trap¡¯s a bit more creative. The wall-ambushes were kinda getting boring.¡±

    Looking around, one side of the room had attice of tiny ck threads, criss-crossing to form a sort of web-wall. It almost looked like the wall was made of fibrous hairs.

    Jay squinted at it suspiciously, approaching slowly, and putting his hand on it.

    ¡°Ah, bastard.¡± the fibres that made up the wall were sharper than razors, easily cutting into Jay¡¯s skin.

    ¡°Damn, how am I supposed to get out of here?¡± Jay didn¡¯t bother touching the hair-like fibres again or forcing them, knowing it would just end in pain. He tried to gently sh his hammer across it, but it had no effect. The fibre-wall was made of the same invincible dungeon material.

    Walking to each different wall of this prison cell, he cautiously put his hand against each wall ¨C all three sides were solid without any engravings.

    ¡°Damn, I guess I could try to use a spell against the fibre wall. It¡¯s too bad I shoved myst tooth down that leech queen¡¯s throat.¡± Jay smiled to himself slyly, remembering how much that parasite squealed in pain.

    ¡°Well, I suppose I could just leave the dungeon¡­ but that¡¯d suck, what a waste of time..Surely it wouldn¡¯t end like this. I guess I could try calling out.¡±

    The fibre-like wall wasn¡¯tpletely filled, and Jay¡¯s orb glowed through to the other side, forming gentle shadows on the ground.

    ¡°Hello?!¡±

    Silence¡­for a moment.

    ¡°..hello¡± Jay¡¯s voice echoed back after a moment. Clearly it was a veryrge room.

    After the echo died down, Jay heard a new noise ¨C the sounds of stone boulders grinding once more.

    ¡°Ok, so somethings gonna happen at least.¡±

    Jay went to the back of the cell as he waited patiently for whatever was about to happen. The sounds of grinding stone soon started to mix in with sounds of heavy footsteps ¨C though it was hard to tell how many. There could have been four or fourty statuesing for him, he wasn¡¯t sure.

    Jay wasn¡¯t too phased though, as he would just sacrifice his minions and leave the dungeon if it was too dangerous.

    ¡°Bring it on,¡± he said confidently, raising his shield as he waited.

    ***Sorry for the slower chapters. Study has started again. Doing a healthcare degree is a lot of work. Fear not though, the book will continue :).***

 Chapter 75 The First Servant

    Jay stood in the back of the prison cell for his own safety; blue orb in one hand, deathwalker¡¯s sentry in the other, as he peered from behind his skeletons into the darkness.

    The marching sounds grew closer until finally it sounded as if they were just outside the cell.

    *Throosh~* a spear suddenly pierced through the veil, sending a skeleton flying right into Jay and knocking him down for a moment.

    ¡°Ah~¡± Jay let out a gasp, pushing the skeleton off him as he got up.

    Another spear followed shortly after, but didn¡¯t connect with any targets.

    ¡°Back up to the wall.¡± hemanded his skeletons ¡°If the spear can¡¯t reach or hit us, maybe the statues will open the cage¡­¡± he squinted as more spears pierced into the cell.

    Strangely, the veil wasn¡¯t breaking as the spears passed through. It was like a liquid when the spears went through it, and after the spears left again, the veil reformed itself resulting in no holes.

    Waiting for a moment as the spears harmlessly pierced the air in front of them, Jay was getting impatient.

    ¡°When is it going to open¡­ or is it even going to open?¡±

    ¡°Maybe I will need to just leave the dungeon¡­¡± he said with a regretful half-smile.<sub>.</sub>

    After waiting a while, the fibre-curtain still didn¡¯t open ¨C though the soundsing from the other side began to change.

    Swings and thrusts of spears sounded from behind the veil, yet no spears thrusts came through.

    A ng of a hammer rang every so often. Clearly, a fight was happening behind the veil.

    ¡°What the hell is happening out there¡­¡± To Jay, it sounded like a one-sided ughter.

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± he continued to squint as he listened, trying to understand what was going on from the sounds he was hearing.

    In hardly any time at all, the spears stopped piercing the veil and there was almostplete silenceing from the other side ¨C except for a distinct single pair of footsteps.

    Simr to the stone statues, they sounded like they had weight behind each step ¨C but the sound was more like a fine shoe or high heels as opposed to a heavy boot thudding noise.

    ¡°Hello?¡± Jay called out one more time, anticipating meeting a bigger threat, he was ready to leave the dungeon.

    A voice sounded from behind the veil. It was the ghostly-sounding voice of an older woman.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hello young one. Fear not, the statues are gone. You may approach.¡±

    Jay didn¡¯t take a single step forward, and stared nkly at the veil as if to say ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot.¡±

    Stepping forward would just make him a sitting duck.

    ¡°Cautious. Good.¡± the woman¡¯s voice continued, ¡°Young one, I see you are like us¡­ at least some of us.¡±

    Jay tilted his head to the side, still squinting from suspicion.

    ¡°I sense immortality in you; we still have our minds intact. Some of these men¡­ the statues¡­ they were hastily formed, a weak seal slowly leaking over time. This is as simple as I can describe it. For these ones, much of what they do is simply instinctual, having forgotten that they too were once human; relics of their former selves.¡±

    ¡°Most humans forget that they¡¯re human too.¡± Jay retorted with a single shoulder shrug, a glimmer of wisdom in his eyes.

    ¡°Hmmh,¡± the voice seemed to chuckle in its own way. ¡°This trap was not meant for you, let me open it.¡±

    Jay patiently waited a moment as the tiny fibres of the veil all retracted into the wall with a paper-tearing noise.<sub></sub>

    Seeing what was on the other side, he subconsciously backed up for a moment ¨C hitting the wall and raising his shield.

    Before him stood the statue of a slender tall woman, it was a head higher than the statues he had been fighting and much more imposing.

    The armour seemed like a light armour variant yet with detailed engravings, giving off a sense of royalty.

    In its hand was arge spear whose de was tipped with ck material. ¡°Probably the same invulnerable type of material as the dungeon.¡± thought Jay.

    The spear had a hammer built into the de further down from the spearhead, simr to a halberd.

    It was a two handed spear, but this statue obviously could use it one-handed as well, as the other hand of the statue had a stone hand which ended in long ck ws.

    The face of the statue was covered with a ck mask, though Jay could tell that it wasn¡¯t moving it¡¯s mouth when it spoke.

    Jay stood in admiration of the magnificent creation before him ¨C until it moved and he rposed himself.

    Gripping his hammer a little more tightly in case it would attack, the statue responded by speaking gently.

    ¡°Fear not, young one.¡± a blue orb resonated as the voice spoke, a lighting from the throat of the statue. ¡°I won¡¯t harm you; no. I need your help.¡±

    Jay was still distrusting of the statue, but he decided to entertain its conversation; still ready to leave the dungeon at a moment¡¯s notice. For some reason, the statue had a voice simr to margaret; gentle and caring.

    ¡°¡­¡± Jay was silent as he had his skeletons stand between him and the female statue, waiting till they got in position before he spoke.

    ¡°What kind of help? And what¡¯s in it for me? And who was the trap for, if not for me?¡±

    ¡°Come to a safer ce so we may discuss it.¡± The statue turned and began walking into the darkness.

    Jay hesitated before walking out of the prison cell. Stepping out, he was shocked at how much stone soldier statue rubble was lying around.

    Only three spears could pierce into the cell because the statues wererge when they stood side by side, but outside, Jay counted approximately 6 swords and 5 spears as he walked after the slender female statue.

    Of course as he walked, he covertly collected as many of the helvetian rings and empty soulstones as he could; 9 rings and 14 stones.

    Unlike the pyramid above, this was more like a catb of sorts; there were many twists, turns, a bridge, rooms with pirs, and part of the trip was simply walking in darkness.

    This confirmed to Jay that the pyramids were bigger on the inside. It was like a dungeon within a dungeon.

    At one point, a stone soldier statue crossed their path ¨C but the female statue effortlessly destroyed its head with a single swing of its hammer-spear.

    Jay gripped his shield a little more firmly as he saw this, but didn¡¯t let his fear show before the statue.

    After some time of following, the statue spoke again as they came to a wall. It seemed like apletely t, innocuous wall until it moved.

    ¡°We¡¯re here, young one.¡± The wall slid down slowly with a grinding stone sound, and inside was what seemed like a banquet hall made purely from ck obsidian.

    At the end of arge ck b table was a small throne, which is where the statue went to sit down after itid its weapon down directly onto the table.

    Behind the throne was some diamond shaped blocks of obsidian of different shapes and sizes, though it wasn¡¯t apparent what these were for.

    Jay followed the statues example and took a seat at the table while his skeletons stood behind him.

    ¡°So¡­ where do I start¡­¡± The statue seemed like it was deep in thought from its voice ¨C of course, its expression hadn¡¯t changed; its stone face was hidden behind a ck mask.

 Chapter 76 Sedulus

    ¡°Maybe just start with who the trap was for?¡± Jay suggested, but it seemed like the statue wasn¡¯t listening, deep in thought.

    Clearly it had been here for a long time as it seemed to either have trouble remembering or piecing its story together, thinking about where to start its story.

    Jay took some time to analyse the statue as it was deep in thought.

    <[Sedulus ¨C Spear Judge Level 20 ]>

    [300 HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Brittle Armour]

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage.

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Magic damage immunity.

    ¨C Any wielded weapons be cursed.

    [Double Strike]

    ¨C Does two attacks in rapid session. Each attack is 75% as strong as a normal one.

    ¨C 10 Second cooldown.

    [Upromising]

    ¨C Immunity to all forms of crowd control: Snares, stuns, slows, taunts, sleep.<sub>.</sub>

    ¨C 5 seconds duration. 1 minute cooldown.

    [Retract]

    ¨C Spear returns to its owner.

    ¨C 7 second cooldown.

    [Triple Threat]

    ¨C Two translucent spears float next to the main weapon, striking targets alongside the main weapon.

    ¨C 10 second duration. 1 minute cooldown.

    [Sweeping Lance]

    ¨C Knock targets down, cause stagger, or breakposure.

    ¨C 35 second cooldown.

    [Force Thrust]

    ¨C Thrust attack with double damage.

    ¨C Knocks targets back or executes if below 20% health.

    ¨C Disrupts channelled abilities.

    [Repel] (Passive)

    ¨C Knocks away physical ranged attacks.<sub></sub>

    ¨C 70% chance.

    <Description>

    A servant of the Helvetian King, turned to stone. She stands guard, waiting for a chance to exact revenge on those who would harm the King.

    ¡°Sedulus¡­ same as the name on the chest I opened¡­¡± Jay continued to read her stats, ¡°Wow, level 20¡­ so much health. Some simr skills to the other soldiers, but I can¡¯t tell what the damage is because I can¡¯t analyse these cursed weapons¡­ Man, she has so many skills, it must be due to her ss and being level 20.¡±

    Jay decided he definitely wouldn¡¯tst long in a fight with her, and definitely wouldn¡¯t try to start one.

    Levelling up didn¡¯t just make you stronger, but you also gained skills too ¨C not to mentionbat experience which couldn¡¯t be measured. She simply outssed him by leaps and bounds.

    Jay thought his own skills paled inparison and realised he needed more.

    ¡°Hmm, I should put more effort into finishing that chimera skill. It seems easy enough to level up anyway; I just need to summon a feeble creature using the bones of different creatures¡­¡±

    ¡°Perhaps tomorrow I¡¯ll spend time on it¡­ after I get Trenly employed at the shop.¡±

    ¡°Man, this chair is ufortable¡­¡± thought Jay, shifting in the cold stone chair as he waited patiently, until finally the statue spoke.

    ¡°Helvetia, our city-state, a ce once glowing with life. An independent mega-city, it was almost a country in its own right. We were the jewel of the nations, the envy of many. Our manacraft was getting more advanced every day, beyond the understanding of other nations ¨C still, the other countries left us alone. We rose high and grew powerful, and in our pride we mocked the surrounding countries, and no one could do anything against us¡­¡±

    Her voice turned angry as Jay listened.

    ¡°A small cult rose from our own ranks, at first they stole technology and research. Soon, to feed their experiments, they struck out against other nations; cities and forests turned to withered barrennds ¨C and only we had the knowledge to stop them.¡±

    The statue¡¯s voice turned sad, and it had to pause for a moment before it continued its story.

    ¡°We set our pride aside and went after the cult. This was our problem that only we could stop. I served the King directly as he marched with his army, and for weeks we chased a small group of the cult through different nations; our supplies dwindled as we followed their wake of destruction¡­ though this was all for nothing.¡±

    ¡°Unknown to us, this was a diversion, as arger group of the cult directly attacked the defenceless Helvetia, and with a single spell the whole city wasid to waste. The spell drained life to strengthen itself, and it didn¡¯t end until there was no life left to take.¡±<sub></sub>

    Jay nodded slowly.

    ¡°We returned to a ck pit of rubble. Already low on supplies, we could not turn to any other nation for help, as they hated us for our loftiness and for the actions of the cult.¡±

    ¡°We rummaged through the ruins, searching for anything, and soon we found our only option ¨C the soulstones¡­ That very day, we made a pact with each other ¨C a pact for revenge. With the advanced knowledge of our military manacrafters, hexamists, and stone wielders, we used the soulstones as our vessels ¨C cursed ourselves and turned into the statues you see today¡­ But this isn¡¯t living.¡±

    ¡°With a single focus for revenge, we built these lofty pyramids, pretending to guard a treasure that isn¡¯t here. It was all to lure the cultists back to us so that we may exact our revenge ¨C though this was centuries upon centuries ago, perhaps they have already all died. The trap you fell into was one of the many which were meant for them¡­ There are many fake treasure chests just like it.¡±

    Jay was a little dumbfounded ¡°So you¡¯re telling me there¡¯s actually no treasure at all here? Well thanks for saving me the trip¡­¡±

    ¡°Our treasure is our knowledge, young one. It¡¯s safely locked away.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ so if I help you, then will you give me knowledge? What is this knowledge about?¡±

    The statue looked at the skeletons, then back to Jay.

    ¡°Hm¡­ a necromancer. I will give you one of three options: Mind, mark, or host.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m listening¡­¡± Jay tried to sound casual, but his eyes still glowed with excitement.

    ¡°Mind will allow you to learn the craft of mind-moulding. This will let you create beings with sentience.

    Mark will let you ce an undetectable, invisible mark on someone ¨C as long as you can see them. After you ce the mark, then no matter where they are, you will be able to find them, and know exactly where they are.

    Host will let you mentally enter the mind of a skeleton, controlling it as if it were your own body.¡±

    Jay had to stop his mouth from opening as he thought to himself in excitement.

    ¡°Wow¡­ mind and host both sound amazing, but if I¡¯m going to get a lot of these undead, then the host skill will be weaker ¨C It would be better to have an army of smart soldiers rather than a single elite amongst a pile of trash.

    I can¡¯t really see much practical use for mark other than for taking revenge. I guess I could put more thought into these skills anyway.¡±

    After giving them some thought, Jay turned to the statue with his decision already made up in his mind.

    ¡°So, what do I have to do?¡±

    ¡°We are many, we are old, and our chance for revenge has been lost along with most of our sanity. It is my wish that you put an end to us.¡±

    Jay received a notification but was too shocked to process it.

    ¡°What? You want me to kill you? The remnants of Helvetia?¡±

    The statue was silent for a moment as Jay began to speak to himself and look at the weapon on the table.

    ¡°I only just found out about Helvetia¡­ and it wants me to end it, why¡­ what about all the lost knowledge, what about helvetia¡¯s revenge¡­ was this all for nothing?¡±

    The statue seemed to respond positively seeing that Jay was concerned for it.

    ¡°Young one,¡± the statue leaned forward and spoke with a hint ofpassion ¡°don¡¯t follow our path. Our knowledge will not help you as you step into eternity, no. It may simply destroy you¡­ but I understand your plight, and it may be a while before you develop these skills on your own journey¡­ therefore, I shall give you all three skills ¨C but you must find and kill every statue, collect every soulstone, and bring them back to me.¡±

    ¡°O-ok¡­¡± Jay felt some restraint, but couldn¡¯t logically disagree, and after some thought he couldn¡¯t bring himself to let this continue. He couldn¡¯t let them suffer and lose their minds.

    He read the notification he got previously.

    <[Hidden Quest Discovered ¨C Soul Liberation]>

    [Gather soulstones and bring them to Sedulus]

    [Progress]

    ¨C Soulstone: 26/500

    ¨C Large Soulstone: 0/2

    ¨C Greater Soulstone: 0/3

    [Rewards]

    ¨C 3 Skills: Mind, Mark, Host.

    ¨C Weapon: Sedulus¡¯s war spear.

    ¡°So¡­ I get your weapon too?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Once the curse is lifted. A final gift.¡±

    Jay red at the weapon with a ravenous smile before turning back to Sedulus, his smile disappearing ¡°¡­Will I have to end you too?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± the statue was silent for a moment, but resolute as it spoke.

    ¡°Yes. And I can¡¯t help you on your quest, as I am bound to the pyramid.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡±

    Jay matched her resolute voice with his own, staring into the eyes of the statue. ¡°I will liberate Helvetia.¡±

    He stood up, readying his hammer and shield and looking for the exit.

    ¡°¡­So how do I get out?¡± the majestic, courageous moment passed ¨C reced by awkwardness as he felt a little silly.

    A crack of light formed behind Sedulus¡¯s throne, a wall came down and a staircase formed.

    ¡°I see¡­thanks¡± he walked up the staircase and began his mission toy waste to every statue in sight.

 Chapter 77 Quest

    Jay walked into the light. It was still overcast outside so he wasn¡¯t overwhelmed when returning from the dark depths of the pyramid.

    Looking around, he found that he exited the back side of the pyramid, still in the crumbled ruins of a once-great mega city.

    ¡°Five hundred soul stones¡­ this quest is going to take some time.¡± Thought Jay as he looked around, making sure the exit was safe.

    ¡°I¡¯ll read that new chapter of the immortality book before I forget to¡­¡±

    Jay walked closer to the pyramid, leaning against it as he pulled out his book and began to read.

    ¡°Huh, that page was much shorter.¡± he thought as he stood up, checking his stats to see his immortality research percentage.

    <[Necromancer Level 8]>

    [Race ¨C Human]

    HP: 82/82

    MP: 61/67

    Strength: 15

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 30

    Energy: 40/40

    Exp: 3849/6000<sub>.</sub>

    <[Skills]>

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 4]

    [Shell Restoration Level 1]

    [Shift]

    [Unstable Teeth Level 2]

    [Undead Mastery Level 2] (Passive)

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Running level 2] (Passive)

    [Dagger Proficiency level 1] (Passive)

    [Asklin] (Equipment)

    [Poison Resist 10%] (Passive ¨C equipment)

    [Scrimshaw Level 2] (Passive)

    [ss Utility] (Passive)

    <[Research]><sub></sub>

    [Chimera Research 6%]

    [Immortality Research 3%]

    ¡°3%¡­ it¡¯s progressing quite slowly, but that¡¯s fine.¡± Jay thought as he put away his book.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s about time to do some hunting.¡±

    Jay was still sitting down as he snapped his fingers ¨C the four skeletons charged off as a group into the city. The four of them could easily overwhelm two of the standard soldier statues, and since they were using two-handed hammers, they could just bring the empty soulstones back in one hand while carrying the hammer in the other.

    Jay smiled seeing them leave into the ruins, jumping over rocks, debris and boulders effortlessly.

    ¡°Ah, sometimes it¡¯s just too simple,¡± he thought.

    It didn¡¯t take long before some experience points rolled in.

    [35 Exp][35 Exp]

    The skeletons all came back, dropping two soulstones at Jay¡¯s feet before sprinting off into the ruins again.

    ¡°Nice. I guess I can take a short nap.¡±

    Jay leant his head back against the pyramid and closed his eyes. It was overcast, but it wasn¡¯t cold so he could sleepfortably.

    *Clink*

    [930 Exp]<sub></sub>

    Jay woke up from his light sleep as a small pile of soulstones shifted; two more were added, causing a clicking sound as they toppled down the pile.

    With a yawn, he rubbed his eyes as he stood up.

    ¡°Woah, you guys are the real MVP, damn¡­¡± Looking at a small pile of soulstones, Jay was amazed by their efficiency.

    ¡°.. Or maybe I was just asleep for a while. Hmm. Surely it wasn¡¯t that long¡­¡± Jay pocketed the soulstones.

    [26 Empty Soulstones]

    ¡°So they got 26 while I was sleeping¡­ but I¡¯ve been here for hours and got 26 myself? That¡¯s a little ridiculous; they literally doubled my stones while I slept.. Undead truly are the best workers.¡± Jay shook his head, still amazed.

    ¡°The experience alone would have been enough for me¡± he chuckled.

    Jay wanted to stay in the dungeon with his skeletons, but had to make a decision.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to leave the dungeon soon, I don¡¯t want to miss Trenly again.¡±

    ¡°I suppose I could just leave the skeletons here to gather crystals and level me up while I sleep tonight¡± he shrugged with a devilish smile, ¡°Anya will lose her shit when she sees that I¡¯m level 9¡±

    ¡°Compared to having the skeletons hunt in the forest, they give so much more exp ying higher level monsters in dungeons, so this is much better than having them kill things in the forest.¡±

    Jay decided to heal his skeletons before leaving the dungeon, draining his mana slightly ¨C but it was nothing that he couldn¡¯t get back with a good night¡¯s sleep.

    A pir sprung up from the street as Jay willed to leave, a door embedded in the pir. Touching the handle, he opened it into the real world and stepped out cautiously.

    Looking around with his shield raised in suspicion, Jay was d that the weird demon tree was gone.

    ¡°Hm, they probably all went home.¡± There weren¡¯t any adventurers around either, and it had gotten dark.

    With an exhale, he lowered his shield and took out his luminous orb, charging it before he began walking back to Lo; heading south on the trail before heading west around the mountain in order to cross the north bridge of the town ¨C the route most adventurers took.

    The path was well-trodden, as this dungeon was instanced which gives greater rewards uponpletion ¨C of course, at this point, many of the adventurers here would be way too weak.

    The average adventurer level in Lo was gradually creeping up to five, and they were still babiespared to what would await them in future campaigns.

    Approaching the lights of the town, Jay noticed a few people still outside, wandering between the houses.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s not toote, but I¡¯m pretty tired so I might as well go to bed.¡± thought Jay as he made his way home and went to sleep.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    *Shring~*

    A single strike created a red slit across a soap rat¡¯s neck. It¡¯s body suddenly stopped moving before it¡¯s head slowly slid off.

    Another soap rat saw this and paused in fear ¨C but this was more than enough time for Matheson to dash across to it.

    *Shring~*

    A single slice from his skinny sword was all that was needed to create a slit right down the middle of the soap rat¡¯s head. It¡¯s head dropped to the ground and split in half.

    With the gaze of a ravenous hunter, Matheson had an emotionless expression.

    ¡°Perhaps I should find a more challenging dungeon.¡±

    When he first starteding here, he proudly smirked with a wide smile every time, having a pompous attitude whenever he killed a rat ¨C he celebrated himself as if he had brought down a god-tier boss monster, but as time progressed, his pride slowly began to disappear. These were level one rats, and he was nothing ¨C he was slowly beginning to understand something that he was once protected from.

    ¡°Might makes right¡­¡± his thoughts drifted to the capital.

    There were many rich nobles and rich families ¨C and many of them were richer than the royal family, but the reason they held power was a simple one: they controlled the military, the adventurers, and the mage hunters.

    Matheson originally thought he was superior to themon man, as he chased after wealth, thinking it was a measure of power, but as he himself got stronger he was beginning to realise one thing: In the face of pure power, wealth is like a paper shield, an illusion of superiority.

    As he got stronger, he realised how weak he truly was.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try a different dungeon soon¡­ and if no one wants to party with me, I will do it alone.¡±

    For thest few days and nights, he was training himself non-stop. His physique was changing into a lean muscr type, his muscles getting more well-defined with each passing day.

    Normally, it would take someone a year to gain 10kg of muscle mass, but he had done it in the span of a few days.

    This was the advantage of having a ss, you could put points into strength, and would never tire until your stamina was used up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill Molodus a few more times before I head back.¡±

    Matheson was getting efficient at clearing this dungeon now. He would run up the log at the start, he knew exactly where the rats would spawn and end them in one hit, then proceed directly to Molodus¡¯s burrow ¨C sessfullynding a sneak attack almost every time.

    Unlike Jay however, he did not receive any hidden quests, nor any coat. Fur scraps were the only thing he could loot, but he was still getting a hefty allowance from his father so it wasn¡¯t even worth his time.

    ¡°Phew,¡± he panted ¡°Time to head back. I should have enough stamina to run back in one go.¡±

    With Molodus in for the 8th time, he decided to head back to his estate, forcing his chefs to wake up and prepare him avish feast before he himself would go to sleep.

 Chapter 78 [Auxiliary Chapter] Olmetrecâ€™s Protection

    ***This is a free auxiliary chapter. This is the book Jay was reading. You can skip it and still understand the story, I just thought It would be fun to add. Thanks, Aero182***

    <- Extract of a conversation between Olmetrec the Masses and Rera the Gatherer. ->

    ¡°Olmetrec, why do you create the unending maze with no reward? Do you enjoy their suffering? Are you trying to block them?¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°It is not a block on their path, Rera, no¡­¡±

    ¡°Why then?¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t block them, but keeps them going. Their curiosity drives them to purpose, and their purpose drives them to live¡­ for in their hearts, they wish to be deceived, so they will chase these empty dreams, vein philosophy and rumours through my maze until the day they die¡­ ever chasing but never fulfilled.¡±

    ¡°Why? It seems cruel.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°They would turn to murder those who have, since they have not.¡±

    ¡°What about the ones with purpose? Those who have eternal purpose without your sacred maze?¡±

    ¡°They areplete, their lives built on mountains instead of on the seas. They won¡¯t be harmed by the maze dwellers who are preupied trying to find what theplete have.¡±

    ¡°Why not make the maze dwellersplete?¡±

    ¡°They are told the truth and they reject it; they have been told countless times ¨C no, to them, the truth is an offence.¡±

    This chapter is a preview, if you want to see a faster and more up-to-date chapter, please visit . for more content.

 Chapter 79 Preparation

    ~ Human kingdom of Astrata, City of Redfall, The Royal Castle ~

    A guard in beautiful decorative golden armour rushed around passages in a sprawling castle, carrying with him a golden scroll holder.

    It was inurate to call it a castle, as it was much bigger than that. It was more like three castles that had merged into one huge militaryplex;monly called ¡°the three sisters¡± by the peasants who lived around it.

    This was the home of the royal family, where most of the higher tier military generals lived, and where the majority of top-secret magic research and manacraft took ce.

    Underneath one of these three sister castles was where the mage hunters operated, and this was where the golden scroll holder started its journey ¨C from one of their special prisons.

    After Alben the prophet made a grand im of death, a new king, and a necromancer, an official report was made.

    This report had to be signed by three of the higher level personnel before it would even see the eyes of the royalty, and this was the reason for the guard rushing through the castle with the scroll.

    Finally, after rushing about with the scroll to get three signatures, the guard finally made it to the infamous golden doors.

    The golden doors were as good as an urban legend tomoners, but every royal guard knew that these were real; they were the entrance to the most secure ce in the kingdom ¨C protected not only by physical force, but also by high level magic.

    Another guard in a higher tier of decorative armour that made his own look like trash stopped him, he stood before a file of these guards the door. These were part of the elite royal guards.

    The royal guard held out his hand without saying a word.<sub>.</sub>

    The elite door guard¡¯s armour even had a mana shield that created a lightly glowing bubble, which he had to deactivate as he grabbed the scroll holder.

    Simr to the royal court being protected physically and magically, the elite royal guards were too.

    With a nod, he checked the three signatures were present before returning the scroll to its holder and turning around; into the golden doors he slotted a magical key which has wisps of a glowing aura circling it, colours of pinks and yellows shing around it.

    The golden doors opened with a crack. He passed the scroll through to an inner guard before sealing the doors again.

    The prophecy had sessfully made it into the royal court.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    *Knock knock knock*

    *Ahh~*

    Jay yawned as he woke up.

    ¡°Who the?¡­ Oh right, Trenly wasing over today.¡± Jay needed a moment to get his thoughts together ¨C and then saw that he had a few notifications, but he decided to read themter.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hang on, I¡¯ming!¡± he called out as he got out of bed, drank some water and made his way downstairs.

    ¡°Damn, he¡¯s so energetic, how¡­¡± he thought as he opened the door, seeing Trenly¡¯s energetic face.

    ¡°Morning! I told you I¡¯d be quick with hunting.¡± Trenly said proudly.

    ¡°Come in.¡± Jay opened the door after zing at him once, walking back into the kitchen to make himself some breakfast.

    ¡°Just give me like¡­ 10 minutes to wake up. Have a seat at the table.¡± Jay pointed to his dining table as he found some food for breakfast.

    ¡°So, what did you end up hunting?¡±

    ¡°A hobbit-boar.¡±

    ¡°Eugh, a hobbit-boar. Good enough I suppose. Let¡¯s get started.¡±

    Jay spent the next half an hour butchering the boar infront of Trenly, showing him where to cut, which tool to use as well as the best and worst cuts of meat.

    ¡°Since this isn¡¯t very nice meat I think we will just salt it and make some jerky.¡±<sub></sub>

    Trenly nodded along, remembering every movement Jay made with each of the butcher tools.

    ¡°When you buy some better meat we can make sausages, patties, schnitzels, things like that. Today I want you to go to the market and buy an ox-badger and a de deer. We¡¯ll open the shop tomorrow after we prepare them.¡± Jay said as Trenly nodded along.

    ¡°Also, buy this list of vegetables and herbs too.¡± Jay began to write a simple list before handing it to Trenly.

    Jay thought to himself as he gave Trenly the list

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll need to check on the skeletons.¡±

    He turned to Trenly before leaving. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a few hours so here¡¯s a spare key.¡±

    Jay took out a key from a vase that was on a window sill and handed it to Trenly.

    Everything happened so quickly but still, Trenly managed to pay attention to everything.

    ¡°Right, a deer and a badger, got it. I¡¯ll see you in a few hours.¡± Trenly was to the point. He eyed the butchered hobbit-boar,mitting it to memory one more time before leaving.

    ¡°Man, he seems like a hard worker, I like that.¡± Jay thought as he transferred the salted boar into a barrel.

    ¡°Well, I better check on the skeletons.. Oh, and those notifications too.¡±

    [2740 Exp]

    [Level Up]

    [5 Free Attribute Points]

    [1 Free Skill Point]

    ¡°What the fuck, I levelled up?¡± A wide smile appeared on Jay¡¯s face.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost too easy.¡±

    ¡°Now, where should I put my points¡­ hmm. I never thought I would have energy problems but I did yesterday.¡±

    Jay thought for a moment ¡°But I can recover my energy much more quickly than health by simply sitting down, and losing energy doesn¡¯t put my life at risk¡­ I think for now I¡¯ll dump it all into health.¡±

    With 5 more points into vitality, Jay¡¯s health rose up to 93.

    ¡°Damn that¡¯s high¡± Jay smiled at his high HP stat, ¡°to think when I was level one, I was doing one damage with my shitty kitchen knife. I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against my current self ¨C let alone my insane skeletons.¡± he chuckled to himself.

    ¡°Now, my next skill point¡­ hmm..¡± Jay looked over his skills.

    ¡°Do I want higher level skeletons or an extra one¡­¡±

    Looking at his restoration skill, he didn¡¯t even consider it worthy of thought. If a skeleton was injured, he could just raise it back if its health was too low, and it was probably even more mana-efficient that way anyway.

    ¡°No, my minions are my strength¡­ I should focus on them.¡±

    Jay¡¯s eyes drifted to his [Shift] skill as he looked at his stats.

    ¡°Hmm.. perhaps I can save it. I did get a ss skill at level 5, so maybe there will be one at level 10¡± Jay thought as he looked at his ring.

    ¡°Yep,¡± he confirmed his decision. ¡°I¡¯ll just save it and see what happens when I hit level 10¡±

    With a nod, Jay left his house and went back to the dungeon where he left his skeletons.

 Chapter 80 Immature

    Jay walked through the city, leaving the north side of town and heading for the dungeon.

    Since it was daylight, the path was much easier to see ¨C and there were even a few other adventurers walking just ahead of him.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay noticed something off to the side of the path. ¡°I thought so.¡± he eyed some familiar nts.

    He walked off the path, ripping a small nt from the ground and adding it to his inventory.

    [Bondtussle Root] x 4

    ¡°Awesome, I thought I recognised you.¡± he looked around, noticing a few more nts in the area.

    ¡°I might as well pick them while I¡¯m here.¡± he shrugged.

    Jay briefly scoured the forest, adding the nts to his inventory as he collected more of the mana-regen nt.

    ¡°This will be enough tost me quite a while,¡± he thought with a smile, having collected twelve of the nts so far ¨C each giving him multiple roots.

    Thanks to his adventurer strength, ripping them from the ground was an effortless task.<sub>.</sub>

    Content with his stockpile, he continued on to the dungeon. A few other adventurers had seen him picking the nts, but ignored it; they only cared about getting stronger and levelling up ¨C why waste time gardening?

    Clearly none of them had realised the hidden feature of this nt.

    As Jay approached the courtyard of the destroyed tower, he found that there were roughly three groups of adventurers waiting to go into the dungeon.

    ¡°Huh, I guess this one is pretty popr¡­ I wonder why people don¡¯t do some of the other non-instanced dungeons though? It would let more people party up at once¡­ they could even form two parties and work in tandem.¡±

    Non-instanced dungeons were simply dungeons where the monsters would all respawn after a certain time. If two different groups of adventurers entered the dungeon at the same time, they would end up in the same dungeon ¨C rauther than having their own version of the dungeon to fight through.

    Jay leisurely walked through the crumbled gateway.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s him!¡± a girl called out, tugging the arm of another adventurer.

    ¡°Ooo! Quick, recruit him!¡± another said.

    ¡°We saw him first!¡± someone else called out.<sub></sub>

    A smallmotion broke out among the crowd of adventurers as they all noticed Jay.

    Somehow, word had gotten out that Jay was soloing the dungeon.

    This was inconceivable to most, seemingly impossible, as it was a level 3 dungeon and most of the adventurers were only level 4 or 5.

    Many of them didn¡¯t even believe Jay was level 8 until they analysed him today ¨C and now he was level 9!

    Surely he was being power levelled by someone, but now there was no doubt about his strength as he came here alone.

    Normally, adventurers of their level require a party of at least 3 to even have a chance against this dungeon ¨C yet Jay wasing and going into it like it was the snakeraven inn!

    It was inconceivable, they couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    Most doubted this was happening ¨C but here he was again with some brand new boots. Clearly he was making a profit, and since he was alone, he would get all the loot to himself.

    Jay paused for a moment, seeing all the other adventurers looking at him.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Weird¡­ he thought.¡±

    Most were smiles, but if he looked closely into the crowd, there were even re¡¯s filled with animosity towards him.

    ¡°¡­what the¡­¡± Jay raised a brow, continuing to walk slowly through the crowd, wondering what themotion was about. It didn¡¯t take long for him to realise themotion was about it ¨C the crowd swarmed around him.

    ¡°Jay, would you like to join our party? We¡¯ll give you 50% of the loot?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him, we¡¯ll give you 100%, we just want someone to show us through the dungeon! That¡¯s a pretty good deal right?¡±

    ¡°Fuck, he¡¯s level nine? How??¡±

    Jay was harassed by the recruiters of different parties, but he kept walking; he had a quest toplete, and he wasn¡¯t their babysitter either.

    ¡°No thanks. I haven¡¯t gotten far anyway. I barely only make it past the gate.¡± Jay held his hands up, hushing the crowd.

    Jay rejected them politely, and even though he was sounding humble, the jaws of adventurers around him dropped.

    ¡°He made it past the two gate guards on his own!¡±

    ¡°How? Just how!? I nearly died from one those damn things!¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t believe it¡­¡± another scoffed, ¡°He¡¯s probably picking off some weak isted guards.¡±

    Jay continued to walk forward, but a short adventurer with sses blocked his path.

    ¡°Jay was it? How about you join us? I¡¯ll pay.¡± he said with a proud voice.

    ¡°Hmm, he¡¯s not a noble¡­¡± Jay thought as he looked at his clothes ¡°So I guess I can reject him without repercussions.¡±

    ¡°No th-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid,¡± said the short man, a party invitation notification appearing before Jay¡¯s eyes ¡°I don¡¯t invite everyone into my party. You¡¯ll be missing out. Besides, if you don¡¯t,¡­¡± he leaned closer to whisper so only Jay could hear.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell everyone that you love Anya¡±

    Jay stopped walking for a moment, smiling with a headshake ¡°¡­clearly this pathetic little worm doesn¡¯t know me at all.¡±

    The little worm had a smirk on his face and his arms folded before Jay replied.

    ¡°Go fuck yourself.¡± Jay said with augh and a big toothy grin, making sure he said it loudly enough so everyone could hear, walking away to the dungeon door.

    The little worm had his mouth open, shocked. Clearly his maniptive strategy sounded better in his head.

    He was powerless against someone who simply didn¡¯t give a shit about what others thought. His face turned red with embarrassment as he merged back into the crowd ¨C though not before Jay analysed him, remembering his name.

    [Stephen ¨C Level 5]

    [HP 100%]

    [MP 100%]

    ¡°Yikes, what a shell of a man, he really should grow up¡­ I¡¯ll remember his name in case he tries to mess with my life.¡± thought Jay as he finally got to the dungeon door, entering it and disappearing, leaving the crowd with a level of humour as some of them still smirked at Stephen.

    ¡°That little bastard¡­¡± Stephen stomped with a scowl ¡°I¡¯ll make him pay for this embarrassment¡­¡±

    He folded his arms as he looked into the forest ¡°hmm, but how¡­ perhaps a little trap in the forest? Yes¡­ that will be good. I am a sentry trapper after all.¡±

    He proudly smirked to himself ¡°That little bastard won¡¯t know what hit him¡­¡±

    Stephen marched off with his arms folded.

 Chapter 81 Eaters of Death

    Jay entered the dungeon again, ¡°Oh.. I¡¯m back here?¡±

    He found himself teleported back at the very start of the dungeon.

    ¡°I assumed I would be brought back to where I left the dungeon, next to the pyramid¡­ Oh well, I guess I have some walking to do.¡±

    Jay squinted around at the cursednd.

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder if the soldier statues have respawned since I left and came back into the dungeon?¡±

    As Jay approached the gates to the ruined city once more, he found that the destroyed bodies of the statues were still toppled and strewn about; each of them still piles of rubble.

    ¡°..I guess the dungeon only resets when everyone including summoned creatures leave. Good to know.¡±

    This was a good thing. If you were in a party with others and had to leave for a moment before returning, the statues wouldn¡¯t suddenly respawn when you came back, catching your team by surprise and ying them all mercilessly.

    [30 Exp]

    Another statue was in by his skeletons as he walked.

    Jay walked past the rubble gateway into the city, heading towards the first pyramid ¨C which he now knew as Sedulus¡¯s home; of course, he would be walking around the side of it, as it was on the other side of this pyramid where a small mountain of empty soul stones were waiting for him toe and collect them.

    Even though no statues respawned, Jay remained vignt as he walked. He had the deathwalker shield raised, but to his surprise he didn¡¯t encounter anything as he got to the two pirs in front of the ck pyramid again.

    ¡°Huh, I guess there¡¯s either no patrols, or my skeletons are quite thorough¡­¡± he thought, since he didn¡¯t see any signs of the powerful stone statues.

    As Jay walked around the side of the pyramid, he still didn¡¯t encounter a single statue ¨C despite not having personally travelled this path before.

    Nevertheless, he dide across a few broken statues, and it was obvious who, or what, had in them.

    [30 Exp]

    His skeletons were still putting in the work.

    Jay didn¡¯t care very much about not finding any statues to fight, as his mind was on other things. While he walked, a smile was beginning to form on his face ¨C a smile of anticipation.<sub>.</sub>

    His soul stones were waiting for him.

    ¡°I wonder how many they gathered¡­ And all while I was sleeping? Heh, If anyone finds out about my undeadpanions doing all the hard work, they would kill me out of jealousy.¡±

    Jay had gained 2740 exp all while he slept, which was ridiculous numberspared to normal adventurers who would have to do 4 or 5 dungeon runs to even get the same amount.

    It would take a year of hard work for someone to reach level 20, be Jay was almost half way to level 20 in under a month.

    Normally, your experience points would be divided equally in your party, but since Jay was alone, he was reaping all of the benefits.

    Not to mention, the skeletons worked tirelessly through the night, showing no signs of fatigue, pain or exhaustion.

    Jay finally made it to the back side of the pyramid, and turning the corner, glimmers of light entered his eyes.

    ¡°Ohh yes!¡± a wide grin appeared on his face as he ran to a mound of the empty soul stones.

    Jay almost wanted to jump in and swim around in them, but it would probably be a painful experience, so he decided to restrain himself.

    ¡°There¡¯s so many..¡± his eyes gleamed as he looked over the small pile of the dark-green crystals.

    With a smile on his face, he put them straight into his inventory.

    [Soul stone (Empty)] x 76

    ¡°Wow,¡± Jay whistled ¡°seventy-six of these¡­ that surely brings my quest progress up a bunch.¡±

    Jay checked his quest.

    <[Hidden Quest ¨C Soul Liberation]>

    [Gather soul stones and bring them to Sedulus]

    [Progress]<sub></sub>

    ¨C Soul stone: 102/500

    ¨C Large Soul stone: 0/2

    ¨C Greater Soul stone: 0/3

    [Rewards]

    ¨C 3 Skills: Mind, Mark, Host.

    ¨C Weapon: Sedulus¡¯s war spear.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing therger soul stones will be in the other pyramids; probably also filled with all kinds of fake treasure traps.¡±

    With a shrug, Jay recalled his skeletons.

    After a moment, the skeletons came sprinting out of the ruins, vaulting over debris and jumping past rocks like it was nothing.

    If Jay didn¡¯t know any better, he would assume that they were hunting him with a passionate vengeance.

    Of course, these were his minions, and they answered to his call.

    Jay noticed one of the skeletons was slightly damaged, a rib had cracked and was jammed into the rest of the rib cage.

    ¡°Come here.¡± he said to the skeleton before eating some bondtussle root.

    [Mana Regen Buff 1% ¨C Lasts 1 Hour]

    ¡°It will be better to stay ahead of my mana consumption.¡± he chewed the root down before he started fixing the minion.

    Reaching his hand into the ribcage, he tugged and pulled the jammed bone a few times.

    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s wedged pretty tightly..¡±<sub></sub>

    He took out his hammer and jammed it into the cage. At this point, the skeleton was on the ground lying on it¡¯s back.

    Rauther than a delicate surgeon, Jay was more like a mechanic, jamming his tool into the skeletons body like he was trying to pry open a locked chest with a crowbar.

    Jay began pushing his hammer and levering it against the jammed rib, grunting as he pushed harder.

    ¡°Argh! Come on you prick¡­¡± Swearing at the inanimate objects surely helped.

    *Snap*

    ¡°Finally.¡± The bone popped out and he could repair it.

    He channelled his [Shell Restoration] skill while the bone floated back into its rightful ce, reattaching with some of Jay¡¯s solidified green gas.

    Jay didn¡¯t stop there; he continued to channel the skill until his mana stopped dropping ¨C this would mean that the skeleton was at full health and had stopped absorbing the necrotic gas.

    He repeated this on all his skeletons until they were back to full health.

    Looking over his skeletons, Jay noticed many little dark-green flecks and spots on their bones ¨C the result of his restoration spell.

    The bones had been patched up with the green mist like wall ster, and Jay was surprised at how many tiny bits of damage were on the bones ¨C all of which were now filled in.

    Generally, the skin and muscles would inste the bones from the slightest scratches or dents, but since the skeletons had neither, every little bump would cause a scratch or some of the bone to chip off.

    It was mostly superficial damage, but over time it would build up. Nevertheless, it was repaired anyway.

    ¡°Hmm, there¡¯s also something different¡­¡± Jay squinted as he noticed something.

    As Jay looked across his skeletons, he noticed that two of them were now the same height as Blue.

    ¡°Lamp and Red, you both levelled up?¡± Jay smiled, raising a brow, ¡°Well, of course they did, they had just helped to y 76 statues..¡± he thought.

    ¡°Perhaps I should put my extra skill point into [Undead Mastery] so they can reach level 4.¡± he considered, scratching his chin as his eyes drifted across his skeletons.

    Looking at Sweeper, ¡°You¡¯re probably not far off from being level three either.¡± he thought before looking back at the others.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ why do you two look weaker..?¡± Jay looked at Lamp and Red,paring them to Blue before he realised something.

    Their bones looked weaker, thinner somehow, they were like the budget version of Blue.

    ¡°Oh right, you need some bones if you¡¯re going to get bigger huh?¡±

    Jay shifted his ring into the orbital form to feed them some bones, but to his disappointment, it was mostly a floating ring of gas; hardly any bones were left.

    Half of a jaw bone and what looked like a knee cap floated by.

    ¡°Damn¡­ I¡¯ve neglected stocking up on bones for far too long¡­¡±

    After reasoning for a moment, Jay made a decision.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to leave¡­ It will be better anyway because this dungeon will reset, and you four can hunt some freshly respawned statues.¡± he looked on the bright side, thinking about getting another 2,000 exp.

    ¡°Now, should we get some silt wolf bones or some soap rat bones¡­¡± Jay rolled his tongue in his cheek, thinking for a moment.

    ¡°Oh yeah, your level 3 skill allows you to convert bones right?¡±

    Jay analysed Blue once more, confirming his thought.

    <[Perennial Creature Level 3 ¨C Blue]> (Silt Wolf Bones)

    [Type ¨C Undead]

    Base Damage ¨C 4

    HP ¨C 45/45

    MP ¨C 7/7

    <[Skills]>

    [Corondum Bite]

    [Corondum ws]

    [Bone Eater]

    [Scrimshaw Level 1] (Passive)

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death. Flee if possible. Execute with extreme prejudice, burn the bones.]

    ¡°There it is.. That bone eater skill,¡± he analysed it.

    [Bone Eater]

    ¨C Consumes the bones of its adversaries, rebuilding itself.

    ¡°If I remember correctly, the bones it eats get converted into the same bones as its body. Since you¡¯re all made from mostly silt-wolf bones, eating the weaker soap rat bones will be fine, as you will convert them somehow.¡± Jay wasn¡¯t sure of the mechanism, but was d for it.

    Analysing Red and Lamp, Jay found that their HP was still 30/30, while Blue¡¯s was 45/45.

    ¡°Interesting¡­ so health corrtes to bone mass I¡¯m guessing. Well, we better get you guys a snack.¡±

    Jay still had his ring in the orbital form, so he made his skeletons stand in it as he un-summoned them. Immediately their bones became floating parts of the ring and they dropped their hammers.

    Jay added their bone hammers back into his inventory.

    ¡°Quite a quick trip this time. Oh well, time to leave.¡± he shrugged. All he did this whole time in the dungeon was mostly walking.

    A ck pir with a door erected before him, sprouting from the street ¨C the dungeon exit.

    ¡°There¡¯s gunna be a ughter in the marsh today, boys. Meat is back on the menu.¡± he half-smiled menacingly.

    Double checking that he picked up all the crystals and bones, he left.

 Chapter 82 Forest

    ¡°Hey, he¡¯s back!¡±

    ¡°Wow, so soon¡­ I wonder how many statues he killed?¡±

    ¡°Quick, ask him to join our group!¡±

    ¡°Hey, we¡¯ll pay you more than them if you join us for the dungeon!¡±

    Jay left the dungeon and found himself in a small crowd. He calmly walked through the crowd of desperate adventurers, ignoring thempletely.

    Many adventurers wondered why he was doing this dungeon solo, surely he could make much better progress if he was teaming up with others ¨C but little did they know, Jay had his own reasons.

    ¡°I can¡¯t party with them anyway, otherwise they will find out about my ss¡­¡± He didn¡¯t care too much about being alone, as his ss more than made up for it.

    Still, he was feeling a little disappointed, but to the other adventurers he actually looked quiet and confident as he walked through the crowd around him.

    ¡°¡­so cool¡­¡± an adventurer quietly said as Jay walked by, gazing at his deathwalker sentry shield which was still equipped.

    ¡°It must be a super rare drop¡­ oh fuck, I think it¡¯s looking at me!¡± Another adventurer grabbed her friend¡¯s arm as she stared at Jay¡¯s shield. For some reason, it sent shivers up her spine.

    Jay totally forgot he had his shield out, so he immediately stored it away.

    People couldn¡¯t analyse the shield unless he gave it to them, and of course, he would never do that, so he was safe ¨C but it would be better to hide the demonic-looking item anyway, lest rumours spread.

    ¡°I should pick up some supplies and check on Trenly as I pass through town¡± Jay thought about his next steps as he walked by without even looking at most of the adventurers. His mind may as well have been in another world.

    As he walked, the crowd gave way to him, forming arge circle around him as if he had a barrier spell.

    It was like he was an untouchable prince, but he didn¡¯t even notice people were treating him like this as he left the area through the ruined gateway, heading into the forest on the north side of Lo.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Matheson found the mining camp in the silt-wolf dungeon.

    ¡°Hmm, seems like I¡¯ll need to carry thismp,¡± he held it in his free hand.<sub>.</sub>

    Using up a hand to carry themp was fine for Matheson, as he used a one-handed rapier. His other hand was usually free; though sometimes he would use it to punch, but that was a rare urrence.

    Matheson¡¯s sword had a ruby gem socketed into it, it emitted faint red glowing wisps of its aura every so often. It glowed slightly, but not enough to provide adequate light for him to see, so themp was still necessary.

    ¡°I will need to get a luminous orb from home.¡± he realised he may need this for future dungeons.

    Matheson just entered the [Wolf Quarry] dungeon, and after thoroughly inspecting the mining camp, he began to follow the pressed-dirt path which ran alongside a deep river.

    Suddenly, something stirred in the dark waters.

    ¡°¡­¡± Matheson squinted at a pair of golden eyes popping up from the slow-moving underground river to stare at him.

    Without incident, the massive golden eyes retreated back under the water surface.

    ¡°¡­¡± he waited a moment to make sure it disappeared.

    ¡°pathetic weakling¡­¡± he sneered ¨C albeit quietly.

    Matheson slowly walked down the path, taking care and creeping along very slowly. To his knowledge, this was the safest way to do a dungeon by yourself.

    Matheson was alone, so he had to be extra cautious. A dungeon like this was meant to be done by a group of at least three adventurers after all.

    Soon he came to a narrow path that entered into the cave wall. Walking into it, he checked behind every single crack and every stgmite as he went ¨C and soon enough, he found his first enemy.

    Behind arge boulder, a silt wolf was crouching as it waited for a chance to ambush a passer-by.

    As it noticed Matheson peeking around a rock, the silt-wolf pounced with a snap, but Matheson stepped back, easily dodging it.

    Before fighting, he immediately analysed it.

    <[Silt Wolf ¨C Level 5]>

    [HP] 40/40<sub></sub>

    <[Skills]>

    [Solidify]

    ¨C The wolf causes its hide to turn as hard as stone, 90% immunity to all attacks excluding blunt based damage types.

    ¨C 10 second cooldown.

    [Corundum ws]

    ¨C Ignores armour

    ¨C 5 bleed damage/2 seconds.

    ¨C Can stack (4) times.

    [Corundum Teeth]

    ¨C Ignores armour

    ¨C 10 crush damage

    ¨C Chance to cripple for (10) seconds

    <[Description]>

    [Silt wolves consume top-soil, pebbles and small stones which form its body and help it to grow ¨C along with organic matter that help to form its various semi-organic organs. These wolves are prized for theirrge, cobalt-blue shiny skulls which often be ornaments in esteemed mansions, while more rarely are made into armour due to the nature of their semi-organic bones being as light as leather, yet as tough as bronze.]

    ¡°Huh, I have a few of these skulls at home.. so this is where theye from.¡± he read the description before checking its other stats.

    ¡°Level 5 with 40hp huh, I¡¯m gunna make these little dogs squeal¡± he said confidently, perhaps out of habit, before some other thoughts followed ¡°Though it is a level 5 dungeon after all. If it¡¯s too hard, I¡¯ll try a lower level dungeon¡­¡± he shrugged; much of his godplex had disappeared.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just see how the first fight goes.¡±<sub></sub>

    The siltwolf pounced again with a snap, but Matheson side-stepped and shed with his rapier, leaving arge burning gash on its neck.

    The wolf immediately used it¡¯s solidify skill, but it seemed to be useless against the burning effect.

    Matheson¡¯s sword has a ruby gem, so it did bonus fire damage.

    The wolf whimpered from the attack, retreating for a moment as the fire burnt into the cut; it only took half a moment before it recovered and resumed growling again.

    ¡°Simr attack style to the rats. Now all I have to do is wait as it bleeds out.¡± he smirked to himself.

    The wolf jumped forward a few more times ¨C snapping with its teeth and shing with its ws, but Matheson easily dodged each attack as he hadparatively much higher dexterity.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it dying¡­¡± Matheson sidestepped another attack and looked at the sh across the wolf¡¯s neck, noticing something odd.

    ¡°The gash is still there, but there¡¯s no blood?¡± he was confused for a moment, but this was not an obstacle to him.

    ¡°I guess I will just have to sh you to pieces.¡± he furrowed his brows in anger ¨C annoyed that the wolves would be wasting his time.

    Matheson took a more aggressive strategy now, waiting for the wolf to pounce and then counter-attacking with a sh or a poke. Before, he was simply only doing one attack and waiting for it to die.

    Matheson developed a strategy to fight the rats ¨C sh at the neck and let them bleed to death. Unlike the wolves however, the rat¡¯s actually had blood.

    This was the most effective way to fight, as he could kill them quickly and conserve energy. Slowly but surely, Matheson was bing a technical, tactical fighter.

    While the wolf didn¡¯t bleed, damage numbers were still appearing with each strike, so he knew he simply needed to keep shing at them.

    ¡°Aruu~¡±

    After many whimpers from the wolf, it was finally dead.

    ¡°Wow, 200 exp. It was worth it. Compared to the rats, I would have killed about 3 of them by now, totalling 45 exp.¡±

    Matheson looted the wolf, getting some [Ferritic te] and a silt-wolf skull.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t need to loot, as I have enough money, but this seems like a good habit to get into, especially when I start relying on the loot for money. In the meantime, perhaps I¡¯ll create a collection of these drops.¡±

    Matheson continued on his journey into the mine, albeit slowly. It wasn¡¯t long before he encountered his second wolf.

    ¡°I think I can handle these 1 versus 1 fights, otherwise, I think I will have to leave¡­¡± he thought as he entered the fight once more, a calm demeanour.

    Fighting a single wolf was fine, but adding a second wolf would make things three times as hard.

    Matheson held back no strikes and showed no mercy as he struck the wolf.

    He didn¡¯t care much about its whimpers as he repeatedly plunged his sword into its burning cuts to cause more damage. He shed its tendons so it couldn¡¯t pounce and sliced across its eyes. There was absolutely no mercy or charity in his de.

    It was kill or be killed, and there was no such thing aspassion when fighting beasts.

    Previously when threatened, Matheson would almost instinctively start yelling about how he was a noble, how his father would punish them ¨C but this verbal reflex was now mostly gone from his character.

    The beasts don¡¯t care about nobility, wealth or background ¨C they only kill, and this was the core part of the reality that Matheson found himself in. It was like a wall that he ran into, shattering his reality.

    Matheson was being changed by these dungeons as they made those little things seem to not even matter at all when faced with life and death.

    Slowly, it was like the dungeon was teaching him, bing a part of him.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Jay walked leisurely through the north forest of Lo. It was a nice day outside and the sun was shining, which was quite refreshing after the long, dark winter, so he took his time.

    (In this world, winter was during June/July, summer was during December/January)

    He was walking rtively slowly, enjoying the sunlight shafts peeking through the trees and looking at the various nts ¨C when suddenly, he felt a small pain in his side.

    *Taka taka taka*

    Looking towards a sound, he saw a strange nt shooting tiny wooden barbs at him.

    [-1][-1][-1]

    [You are poisoned]

    [-0.8 damage per second for 5 seconds]

    ¡°What the?¡±

    There wasn¡¯t much pain, and it seemed like his cloak was blocking most of the damage as well as the poison. The wooden barbs were already consumed by the Molodus coat.

    Suddenly, a small crab-shaped rock opened up, and from underneath, two tiny cylinders poked out and began shooting Jay with rock spikes.

    *taka taka taka taka*

    [-2][-2]

    ¡°Ouch.¡± Jay got his shield out and blocked most of the spikes easily. The deathwalkers sentry immediately squeezed his arm, warning him of nearby enemies ¨C though this much was obvious.

    The small turrets took some time to set themselves up before firing, which gave Jay ample time to prepare.

    *flut flut flut*

    Nearby a puddle made a sloshing noise, and a translucent water turret rose from it, firing water bullets towards Jay ¨C of course, these too were easily blocked.

    Jay took a few steps back and took cover behind a nearby tree.

    *taka taka taka*

    The turrets continued to fire at the tree even though they didn¡¯t have line of sight.

    Jay was more confused than angry or annoyed about what was happening; with his 93hp, they were like mosquito bites. He easily shrugged off the hits.

    ¡°What the hell is happening?¡± Jay raised a brow, leisurely standing behind the tree.

 Chapter 83 Ambush 1

    Since these strange little things were doing small amounts of damage, Jay didn¡¯t feel like this was a very dangerous situation ¨C he doesn¡¯t need his skeletons, and won¡¯t risk exposing his ss for something small like this.

    With a nod, he equipped his ossein arming sword and stepped out from behind the tree, raising his shield to block any iing damage.

    *taka taka taka taka*

    Jay analysed the turrets.

    <[Instinctive Stone Turret]>

    [5HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Instinctive Activation] (Passive)

    ¨C Can activate without the presence of it¡¯s creator

    [Twin Launchers] (Passive)

    ¨C 2 damage

    ¨C This turret has an extra turret for double damage

    <[Instinctive Forest Turret]>

    [5HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Instinctive Activation] (Passive)<sub>.</sub>

    ¨C Can activate without the presence of it¡¯s creator

    [Natural Poison]

    ¨C 1 damage

    ¨C 1 damage per second for 5 seconds (Doesn¡¯t stack)

    <[Instinctive Fluid Turret]>

    [5HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Instinctive Activation] (Passive)

    ¨C Can activate without the presence of it¡¯s creator

    [Mana Form]

    ¨C 1 damage

    ¨C 1 mana burn

    ¡°Huh, interesting little things. I¡¯m guessing the stone one is for normal enemies, the forest one for armoured enemies and the fluid one for magic enemies.¡±

    Jay took his time to read through their stats as they continued to shoot against his shield.

    ¡°I wonder what would happen if they were made from different nts or rocks?¡± he thought for a moment before shrugging.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Oh well.¡± he gripped his sword with a light smile and went for the rock turret first ¨C it was doing the most damage.

    *Thunk* He stabbed down on it, but to little effect.

    [-1]

    ¡°Hmm, good thing I have a hammer.¡± he quickly switched his sword out with his hammer and gave it a harder smack.

    [-4]

    The stone turret crumbled and turned into a pile of broken rocks.

    ¡°Next,¡± Jay lightly smiled. This was like a walk in the park for him, and his leisurely walk through the forest wasn¡¯t ruined.

    Jay switched back to his sword before approaching the forest turret.

    *Shring~*

    With a single sh the turret was sliced in half, the top fell off and it stopped firing.

    ¡°Next,¡± he seemed bored.

    The water turret. Jay decided to have a closer look at this one. It waspletely made from water, and clearly it was being maintained by mana somehow.

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± he gazed closer, taking a few hits from the water bullets.

    [-1]

    [Mana burn ¨C nullified]<sub></sub>

    ¡°Heh, must be my mana membrane skill. Well, I guess I better end you.¡± he turned to the turret, stabbing his sword into it.

    The water turret deformed for a moment, but quickly reformed and began firing again.

    ¡°¡­ nothing happened?¡±

    *flup flup flup* it continued to fire its little water projectiles at Jay¡¯s shield.

    ¡°Huh, no damage. I wonder¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re probably made from mana, so I simply need to attack your mana reserve right?¡± Jay looked at his shield, remembering a skill that it had.

    [Mana burn ¨C Physical contact causes manaloss to enemies]

    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one with mana burn¡± he smiled.

    Jay gently brought the shield closer to the turret ¨C and upon contact, the turret deformed.

    The turret, of course, tried to reform ¨C only to touch his shield again.

    ¡°Stop hitting yourself¡± he chuckled.

    This process repeated a few times, and it didn¡¯t take too long before the turret turned back into a harmless puddle of water.

    Jay stood up, looking around at these strange little turrets he just killed.

    ¡°Hmm. Weird. I guess it was probably some adventurer testing their skills and forgetting to de¡­construct them.¡± He almost said desummon, but realised that wasn¡¯t exactly urate.

    Jay put his sword and back his inventory and used [Shell Restoration] on his shield as he continued to walk through the forest before he put it away again.

    Continuing along the path, it curved around a thick patch of trees and bushes ¨C this was when Jay heard a now-familiar noise: the sound of the turrets activating.

    Jay ducked behind a tree just as the turrets began firing.

    *taka taka taka*

    *taka taka taka*

    Two stone turrets, one fluid turret and one forest turret began to assault Jay ¨C that was when he heard someone snickering at him from atop arge rock.

    ¡°This is what you get¡± a short man with a proud sneering smile and his hands on his hips spat, he was looking down on Jay as if he was a pig rolling around in mud.

    It was Stephen, who Jay publicly insulted before entering the dungeon. Clearly, he was bitter about it ¨C and Jay expected as much.

    ¡°Huh, I was wondering if that guy was going to try something, so these turrets must be his¡± Jay thought as he brandished his sword and shield.

    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to put him in his ce.¡± he pursed his lips and gripped his sword.

    Jay jumped out from behind the tree, immediately running at the forest turret.

    *taka taka taka*

    A few barbsnded on Jay¡¯s shield as he was running directly towards the forest turret ¨C of course, it would be hard to miss a target running in a straight line towards you.

    With a single sh, Jay sliced it in half while maintaining his speed as he continued past it.

    For the other turrets, Jay¡¯s movement was too quick, so only a few bullets hit his shield ¨C let alone Jay.

    Jay quickly stepped behind another tree before choosing his next target.

    Switching to his hammer, he jumped from behind his tree to another tree ¨C slowly getting closer to the twin-turret rocks.

    Each of them were ced in front of therge boulder that Stephen was standing on.

    Jay dashed at them with his hammer raised high.

    *taka taka taka taka taka taka*

    Jay blocked every stone spike with his shield and destroyed the first turret with a single hit.

    [-2][-2]

    He took a few hits but it was nothingpared to his high health.

    Stephen¡¯s eyes bulged seeing Jay end his turrets in one hit ¨C he didn¡¯t even expect that Jay would have a hammer. He started fidgeting as he considered running.

    Jay brought his hammer down on the second stone turret, shattering it into rubble before jumping up onto the boulder.

    ¡°Wh-what about the water turret?¡± Stephen thought Jay would finish the turret off beforeing for him, but he was obviously only used to fighting monsters.

    When fighting monsters in a dungeon, Stephen would be ignored, as the monsters would attack whatever was the biggest threat to them ¨C the turrets.

    Stephen had a single dagger he was holding with two hands, pointing it at Jay.

    Jay sneered ¡°pathetic¡­¡±

    And from anyone¡¯s perspective, Stephen did look pathetic. Long gone was the smug look on his face.

    Jay ignored the liquid turret, it was only doing 1 damage, while its mana burn was beingpletely negated.

    ¡°What? Not so high and mighty now huh?¡±ughed Jay. ¡°you only wasted all your time waiting to get embarrassed even further¡­ at least no one is around this time huh?¡±

    Jay did a light shield-swipe with his shield, causing Stephen to fall on his ass as Jay stood over him, looking like an emotionless monster as he calmly spoke.

    ¡°You think you¡¯re something but you¡¯re nothing. Wake up to yourself; you¡¯re weak, stupid and pathetic. You seriously thought this would work? Just how dumb are you?¡±

 Chapter 84 Ambush 2

    Stephen said nothing as he shivered, still holding his dagger up ¨C but against all logic, he suddenly found the nerve to talk back.

    ¡°You¡¯re probably just strong because you push other people down! You¡¯re like a parasite! You¡¯re probably just exploiting someone else to get stronger! I bet deep down you¡¯re just a scared little boy! Admit it.¡± A smug smile almost began to form on Stephen¡¯s face.

    ¡°How stupid is this guy? Are we even living in the same reality?¡± Jay wondered.

    Stephen had absolutely no clue about Jay¡¯s life, he simply started to judge Jay and tried to make him look like some sort of evil viin ¨C even though there was no one else around. It was like he was trying to rile up a crowd of people which didn¡¯t exist toe and defend him.

    ¡°He tried to kill me because I embarrassed him, now he¡¯s calling me evil? Seriously? This loser probably thinks he¡¯s some kind of hero in a story, that everything he does is morally good ¨C and if not, he will do all sorts of exining to justify the evil acts he does, giving himself a pat on the back at the end of the day¡­ These self-justifying types oftenmit the most evil.¡± Jay thought as he looked at the pitiful man before him. His brows were furrowed, mixed with anger and pity; he wasn¡¯t sure what to feel.

    ¡°Huh..¡± Jay was surprised with his own thoughts. They were quite deep for a situation like this.

    ¡°Perhaps the immortal book is giving me these thoughts..¡±

    Stephen was silent, his eyes widened. He looked as if he got caught opening someone else¡¯s presents ¨C it was like he was hoping that Jay would buy his story.

    A wide smile was about to form on his face as he waited for Jay to fall into his psychological maniptive trap, wondering if he could trick Jay into arguing with him right after he attacked Jay ¨C but after Jay¡¯s next actions, his eyes started tearing up.

    Clearly, Jay¡¯s thoughts were elsewhere.

    Stepping forward, Jay grabbed Stephens dagger by the de.

    [-3]

    Blood dripped onto Stephen¡¯s sses.

    Jay received some damage, but it was worth sending a message. He ripped it out of Stephen¡¯s double-grip with ease, tossing it away.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°How will I make him remember this¡­¡± thought Jay.

    He knew he had to send a message, or people like this would just get slightly stronger, get over confident, and then try to hurt people they didn¡¯t like ¨C all while giving themselves a false sense of moral high ground and a self-congrattory pat on the back.

    The sad thing was, people like Stephen truly believed the bullshiting out of their own mouths ¨C even though they were the ones who made it up.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±

    Jay stomped down on Stephen¡¯s foot, causing him to wince a little.

    Taking his sword out again, he stabbed it into Stephen¡¯s leg, between his tibia and his achilles tendon.

    ¡°GRAAAHHH!!!!¡± Stephen screamed in pain, tears flowing from his face.

    Truly, he was like a little child who thought the world belonged to him, but seeing his scream powerlessly made Jay smile.

    Jay shrugged ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re screaming, the next part will hurt more.¡±

    He ripped his sword out sideways, severing the achilles tendon.

    Stephen had no breath left in his lungs to scream ¨C and after taking one breath he began to cry.

    After second, the tendon healed back up, draining Stephens health.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ how will I stop it from healing¡­¡± Jay wondered.<sub></sub>

    He wanted to permanently slightly cripple Stephen by causing permanent damage to his achilles tendon ¨C resulting in a permanent limp. A permanent reminder which would stop him from developing such hubris.

    Furthermore, this would stop him from being able to run away if he tried to do the same thing to others in the future. Of course, if he tried attacking Jay again, he can say goodbye to his other tendon too.

    This was when Jay had an idea for an experiment.

    ¡°I wonder¡­¡±

    Jay turned to Stephen, pulling his hand back and then punching, he bashed Stephen right in the cheek, causing his head to bounce off the rock; he was knocked out in a single punch.

    The water turret was still firing, and had taken 15 of Jay¡¯s health so far, so it was slowly taking it¡¯s toll.

    Jay hopped down from the boulder and destroyed it with his shield before returning to Stephen again.

    Next, Jay repeated the same process to sever his tendon, yet this time, Jay tried something risky ¨C he put his hand across and would, and before the tendon could heal, he channelled some of his necrotic essence into the wound.

    Jay closed his eyes and felt his energy going into the flesh.

    It was much moreplicated as he was used to dealing with bone ¨C but the difference this time is that he wasn¡¯t trying to make something useful from it, but to disable it.

    Soon he honed in and found the snapped ends of the tendon.

    ¡°Okay.. here it goes.¡±

    Jay focused on them and channelled his necrotic gas to solidify around the ends of each tendon ¨C creating a sort of cartge-cap on each end.<sub></sub>

    ¡°If this works, they will act like a barrier to stop the tendons from reconnecting.¡± he smiled, watching the wound close up once more.

    Jay checked Stephen¡¯s health after the instantaneous surgery.

    [64%]

    ¡°Good.. it¡¯s not dropping. I guess I¡¯ll just have to wait and see what he¡¯s like after he wakes up.¡±

    Jay decided to walk further down the path until he could barely see Stephen lying unconscious on the rock. He didn¡¯t want to be around when he woke up.

    Jay continued to enjoy the warm sun and the gentle forest breeze. Other than the ambush today, it was quite peaceful and he was still somewhat enjoying his day ¨C but now, Jay was more interested in his instantaneous experiment.

    Soon, Stephen stirred on the rock, lifting his head up before he sat up.

    ¡°Arrh!¡±

    He let out a little squeal as he tried to stand up, putting some pressure on his foot. Clearly, Jay¡¯s surgery worked.

    Jay watched as Stephen began to gently rub his foot.

    ¡°It¡¯s working¡± Jay smiled mischievously.

    After a while, Stephen had to get down from therge boulder.

    ¡°AHH!¡± he screamed as he put pressure on his busted ankle.

    After taking a moment to recover, Stephen began searching around the boulder.

    ¡°¡­What¡¯s he doing now¡­¡± Jay wondered for a moment before realising.

    ¡°Oh right, he¡¯s looking for his dagger.¡± Jay smiled, stopping himself fromughing ¨C he didn¡¯t want Stephen to know he was watching from a distance.

    After this pathetic disy, Jay had seen enough, his experiment was a sess and he was still in a good mood ¨C perhaps even a better mood after learning this trick.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if his intention was to kill me, but not killing him was a wise choice ¨C I won¡¯t have a dead body or an investigation to worry about.¡±

    ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t want to kill anyone¡­¡± he furrowed his brow.

    ¡°If I have the choice, I will choose not to. It¡¯s not just legally wrong, but it feels wrong, and I bet my conscience wouldn¡¯t let me sleep well.¡±

    ¡°Though I¡¯m sure there¡¯s people out there who don¡¯t murder simply because they fear punishment¡­ I wonder if this makes them evil ¨C even though they have notmitted the act?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ perhapsws are only for those who are bad, requiring a threat of punishment to stop them?¡± he was getting quite philosophical as he walked through the calm woods.

    Jay pondered such things as he walked through the beautiful forest, his thoughts quite contrasting to the environment.

    He decided to put these thoughts aside for now, and enjoy the rest of his walk.

    Jay made his way back to Lo, entering over the bridge on the north side of town.

    It was pretty quiet today, and people seemed at ease as they went about their business.

    Stopping at his butchery, he found no sign of Trenly.

    ¡°Hmm, I guess he¡¯s still busy at the market¡­¡±

    Little did Jay know, it was a little harder to find a carcass in the market because recently, many of the forest animals were decimated.

    The scent of blood on the wind had kept away much of the normal wildlife.

    ¡°Oh well.¡± Jay entered his house, stocking up on some supplies ¨C water and food.

    He went to have a bath, but decided not to as he was heading to the stink-rat marsh. He was about to get much filthier.

    ¡°Hmm.. I¡¯ll leave a message for Trenly¡±

    He wrote a small message and put it on the butchering counter.

    [Trenly ¨C I will be back sometime this afternoon. Feel free to get started butchering one of the carcasses. Or wait for me. Up to you.]

    As he was leaving he remembered something.

    ¡°Oh yeah..¡± he turned and went to his small kitchen, adding some utensils, tes, and cups to his inventory.

    ¡°Hmm, but why stop there?¡± He added a chair, a stool, and a nket too.

    Jay looked around the room, wondering what other kinds of homelyforts he may want when out adventuring ¨C though not specifically for the marsh, as anything he takes out there would get a bad smell to it.

    Not finding anything else worth bringing, he left, and headed for the stink-rat marsh.

 Chapter 85 Bane of Rats

    Jay entered the stink-rat marsh.

    Once more, he was greeted by the sickly rotting smell. The air felt thick, warm and moist; Jay¡¯s face automatically grimaced in response.

    ¡°Eugh, I forgot how hot and humid it was here.¡±

    [Debuff Applied]

    [Stink]

    ¨C You are distracted by a horrendous smell

    ¨C -5% dexterity

    ¡°Oh yeah, that debuff¡­ I suppose it still doesn¡¯t affect me very much though.¡± he shrugged,

    ¡°Now, first I have to cross that giant log¡­ Let¡¯s get this over with.¡±

    Jay found the same giant log that stretched into the horizon, after walking he found the other log that had fallen on it. He began crawling on his stomach up the make-shiftdder.

    He still had vivid, horrible memories of when he tried to walk up it the first time he was here.

    One on top of the house-sized log, he gazed around.

    ¡°I¡¯ll summon the skeletons before I jump down, they can start collecting while I get down; save myself some time.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    Jay shifted his necrotic ring, summoning Blue and Sweeper first before summoning Red and Lamp with the remaining bones. This was to make sure Blue had a full skeleton.

    He then took out the blue bone swords before giving them instructions.

    ¡°Alright boys, here¡¯s your Ossein swords.¡± he handed them the swords.

    Normally, Jay would toss them on the ground and not bother, but they were on top of a huge log, and he didn¡¯t want to risk one falling into the swamp water on either side.

    ¡°Three objectives today: Kill the rats, eat the bones if you need to, and bring me the teeth. I want a small pile of teethid before me¡­ we can worry about corpse collectionter.¡±

    As opposed tost time he was here, he no longer looked like a homeless man hunting rats for dinner, rauther he had an air of respect around him. He seemed more like a militarymander now ¨C or at the very least, an officer.

    Jay pointed into the swamp.

    ¡°Go.¡±

    Instantly, the skeletons jumped off the log, plunging waist-deep into the swamp water before they found some solid ground to walk on and could sprint at full speed.

    With zero hesitation, they then shot off into the murkynd, creating trails in the tall swamp grass as they snapped the reeds from their sheer speed. The mud didn¡¯t slow them down one bit.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s see¡­¡±

    Jay began to look for a ce to jump down ¨C somewhere where he couldnd that wasn¡¯t water or mud. Cautiously, he began walking along the giant log.<sub></sub>

    It wasn¡¯t long before the experience notifications started, causing Jay to smile.

    [15 Exp][15 Exp][15 Exp]

    The soap rats were level one, so the skeletons were all hunting individually. This allowed them to kill a greater number of them at once.

    Jay finally found a way down, he jumped down, and thankfully the ground was solid.

    ¡°Awesome. This is going much more smoothly thanst time..¡±

    Jay looked around for a moment, wondering what he would do while waiting.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll read my book over a few times, maybe I can unlock the next page if I understand it.¡±

    After he began reading, it wasn¡¯t long before Blue returned ¨C dropping a soap rat tooth before Jay then promptly went off to hunt again.

    ¡°Nice work Blue¡± thought Jay, pocketing the tooth and going back to his book ¨C though he soon got tired.

    Jay began to rummage through his inventory, finding something that might upy his time.

    ¡°Hmm, Ipletely forgot about this¡­ I guess saving Anya distracted me.¡±

    Jay brought out a small green crystal with a glowing core from his inventory.<sub></sub>

    [Minor Crystal ¨C Green] (Charged)

    [Alchemy ingredient Tier 1]

    [Spell channel Tier 1]

    [Discharge] (1 charge) ¨C 5 Electrical damage. 5% chance to stun for 2 seconds.

    ¡°Ipletely forgot about this¡­ I was going to use it in an emergency, but now, 5 damage seems like it won¡¯t really help in a dangerous situation. The enemies I¡¯m up against have too much health.¡±

    Jay checked its other uses.

    ¡°Spell channel or alchemy ingredient¡­ hmm. Well, I don¡¯t know alchemy¡­not yet at least. Perhaps I can try something with its spell channelling¡­ but how?¡±

    [15 Exp]

    Two more skeletons returned with soap rat teeth, dropping them before Jay and returning to the hunt.

    ¡°I should be fine wasting some teeth as I try something.¡±

    Jay held the minor crystal in one hand and a tooth in the other.

    The tooth began to vibrate and levitate in his hand as it was filled with his necrotic power.

    After it was sufficiently full, Jay released the spell.

    *Bang!*

    The tooth exploded on a nearby rotting log, causing small bits of the ck wood to fly everywhere.

    [15 Exp][15 Exp]

    Jay then put the crystal away, casting another [Unstable Teeth] spell on the same log.

    Comparing the holes made by the spell, they seemed to be almost identical.

    ¡°Clearly, it has no effect using it like this¡­I¡¯ll have to try something different.¡±

    Jay thought for a moment about what else he could do.

    ¡°Well, it says ¡®channel¡¯ so maybe I hold the crystal in the same hand as the tooth?¡±

    The crystal was about the thickness of a sausage, and half as long, so he could easily hold it in the same hand.

    Jay had one tooth left, but he wasn¡¯t worried as he knew that more were on the way.

    Putting his n into practice, he began to channel another spell while holding the crystal in his hand.

    ¡°Hmm it feels different¡­¡± Jay¡¯s necrotic energy was flowing around the crystal, as if it was trying to avoid it.

    Nevertheless, the tooth still charged and began to float.

    *Bang!*

    Jay released the spell on the same log.

    ¡°Damn¡­ I guess that wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    The spell created another identical hole.

    ¡°What else can I do¡­¡± Jay racked his brain, trying to think about what to do.

    For a moment, he channelled his necrotic energy, attempting to have it enter the crystal ¨C but nothing happened. It was like it was being repelled somehow.

    ¡°Yep, I¡¯m stumped¡­ I guess you can¡¯t always win huh¡­¡± he pursed his lips.

    ¡°I remember Anya saying you could just hold it to use it as a spell channel or something¡­ But maybe I¡¯m doing it wrong. Perhaps there¡¯s a technique.¡±

    Jay gave up for now, storing the crystal away.

    After casting the spells and getting nowhere, he decided to slowly walk towards where he remembered Stench-rat Molodus was.

    It was better to fight rauther than waiting around doing nothing anyway.

    ¡°I might as well make use of my time¡± shrugged Jay.

 Chapter 86 Iâ€™m Weak? 1

    Lamp and Red finally brought back some soap rat teeth.

    They had taken much longer than the other skeletons, so Jay was slightly annoyed.

    ¡°About time..¡± Jay said, but then saw blood dripping from their skulls ¨C he then realised what they were doing.

    ¡°Eugh!¡± his face grimaced.

    As they approached, Jay noticed bits of flesh and gore covering their jaw bones; tendons, viscera and fur stuck into their wolf-skull¡¯s teeth.

    The skeletons were normally imposing by themselves, but this made them seem almost like undead cannibals, like they mindlessly ate flesh even though they had no stomachs; a truly horrific sight.

    The skeletons were using their bone eater skill to grow themselves ¨C but Jaypletely forgot that they would have to chew through flesh first to get to the bones.

    ¡°I forgot, you would have to get the bones yourselves¡­¡±

    Normally, Jay¡¯s ring would tenderly extract bones from a corpse.

    ¡°I¡¯m d I wasn¡¯t there to see it at least¡­ eugh¡±

    The skeletons dropped two more soap rat teeth before him and quickly resumed hunting, and Jay immediately put them in his inventory; He didn¡¯t mind touching them too much as nothing in the swamp was clean anyway.

    More experience points rolled in while Jay walked towards therge burrow, and this was when he heard Stench-rat Molodus.

    *HISSSS~*

    He heard a deep, threatening hissing noise as he approached and poked his head through the reeds and peered into the clearing.

    Molodus was already fighting one of Jay¡¯s skeletons, though it wasn¡¯t alone.

    A smaller soap rat fought alongside Molodus, and since it was 2 versus 1, it looked like the skeleton, Sweeper, was almost losing and could use some help.

    ¡°Oh, one of you is already here¡­ Well, I want some practice.¡±

    Jay had Sweeper back off from Molodus, and focus on fighting the smaller soap rat, while he went up and shed at Molodus, grabbing its attention.

    *Riiiii~!*

    He analysed it.

    <[Stench-Rat Molodus ¨C Level 5]><sub>.</sub>

    [34/50 HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Slippery] (Passive)

    ¨C The rat uses swamp slime to its advantage.

    ¨C Crowd control skills have no effect.

    [Piercing Bite]

    ¨C 5 pierce damage

    [Tearing ws]

    ¨C Bleed

    ¨C 4 t damage over 4 seconds (Can stack 4 times)

    [Toxic Aura](Passive)

    ¨C The stench of this creature poisons those around it.

    -1HP/second

    ¨C 2 meter radius

    [Poison Immune] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [Both king and dread of the soap rats; living in the stench-swamp, it has be one with it. ¡°You only adopted the stench, I was born in it.¡±]

    ¡°Hmm, I guess I won¡¯t get a hidden quest this time.. Oh well.¡± he shrugged.

    Jay jumped forward, shing at Molodus, though therge rat easily dodged and bit Jay.

    ¡°Agh! You rat bastard,¡±<sub></sub>

    [-0.8][-5][-0.8]

    Jay was taking reduced poison damage from Molodus¡¯s aura, though his coat was blocking some of the damage.

    He didn¡¯t have time toprehend how strange it was that Molodus¡¯s soul was apparently in his coat but also in the rat before him.

    Were they two different rats? Did the soul respawn or get copied? Did his coat only have some of the soul essence in it? He may never know.

    ¡°Well, I have high HP now, so that poison damage is negligible.¡±

    Jay jumped forward, shing again. Molodus did the exact same thingst time ¨C dodge and bite.

    [-0.8][-5][-0.8]

    This time however, Jay took the bite in stride and continued to stab and sh at the rat.

    [-8][-8]

    Molodus shed back with his own ws; one paw missed with the othernded.

    [Bleeding]

    [4 damage per second for 4 seconds]

    *Hiss!*

    It quickly shed again, but only scraped harmlessly across Jay¡¯s shield.

    ¡°Argh! Dammit!¡± Jay jumped back, gritting his teeth as he waited for his bleed to stop.

    ¡°How the fuck is this level 5 rat doing more damage than me?¡±

    Jay remembered that his necromancer gas stopped the poison aura, so he released some around him.

    *HISSS*

    The fat rat hissed at Jay, attempting to intimidate him.

    ¡°It was easierst time, but I guess that¡¯s because I wasn¡¯t alone¡­¡±<sub></sub>

    While Jay was fighting, his skeleton fighting the soap rat nearby had finished its fight.

    Sweeper had killed the smaller rat and wasing to help ¨C but Jay decided to have it wait on the sidelines, only to step in when he needed it.

    ¡°I¡¯m level 9. I should be able to do this alone.¡± he thought as he gritted his teeth in anger.

    [Stress Response Activated ¨C +5% melee damage]

    ¡°Nice¡± thought Jay as he stepped forward to sh again ¨C but this time, it was a feint; a fake attack where his weight was shifted differently to prepare for the real attack, which would shortly follow.

    Molodus dodged the feint to the same side and as it went to bite, Jay shed,nding a deep cut across its cheek.

    [-8.4]

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it¡± he smiled.

    [0.8] Jay took some more poison damage; he lost concentration and stopped releasing necrotic gas for a moment.

    Jay received a notification after this sh, but decided to wait till after the fight to read it.

    *RII!*

    The rat seemed to get more furious now and charged.

    *Riii~ Riii~ ¨C RIII!!~~~*

    It¡¯s survival instinct kicked in and this was its final assault.

    Jay attempted to dodge, but took a w swipe, giving him another bleed ¨C but he retaliated with his own damage.

    [-8.5]

    Molodus had 1.2 health left now, and both knew the fight was over.

    Jay decided to end it quickly, as he was still taking poison damage.

    He stepped forward in the mud ¨C ¡°Ah shit..~¡± he slipped, dropping his sword.

    This was the worst possible moment to slip.

    Seeing its opponent fall, light twinkled in the fat rats eyes. This was the rat¡¯s only opportunity to live now, and it seized this opportunity like a starving Bertram would cease a baked ham.

    It pounced on Jay and shed, hitting him with both ws.

    Jay tried to reach for his sword but the rat was toorge, it¡¯s body weight stopped him from reaching his sword.

    ¡°Dammit¡± he said through gritted teeth.

    The rat attempted to bite Jay¡¯s shoulder too, but his shield was protecting it so he took no damage.

    Jay couldn¡¯t do anything ¨C but he knew the rats health was low, so he began punching the rat.

    [-0.1]

    ¡°Fuuck, what? So low?¡±

    Jay saw the tiny damage number, wondering what was happening.

    Immediately, Jay panicked and got Sweeper toe help him.

    Immediately, Sweeper pounced with its sword.

    Sweeper only needed a single attack, and the fight was over in an instant.

    [100 Exp]

    ¡°URGH¡± Jay pushed the huge fat rat off his body, albeit slowly.

    He had taken a lot of damage, so next he checked his health.

    [11.8/93]

    ¡°Fuck, I nearly just died¡­ How am I so weak? I mean, I can take a hit, but seriously, I only did 0.1 damage with that punch¡­¡±

    Jay immediately summoned Blue and Lamp toe protect him. His health was low; only a few more hits and he would be dead after all.

    ¡°I should¡¯ve used the charged green crystal to end it, but in the heat of the fight Ipletely forgot.¡±

    He picked his sword up and had his shield out, waiting for his undead guards.

    After Blue and Lamp came, Jay had them join Sweeper and form a triangle perimeter around him.

    Now that he was mostly safe, he finally had some time to think; analysing the fight.

    ¡°Now¡­ What happened there? I am so weak¡­¡±

    Jay checked his stats, there were no debuffs other than the [Stink] one. He looked at his sword next.

    ¡°It still does 8 damage¡­¡± He thought for a moment.

    ¡°I suppose that all this time, my damage only increased because I made better weapons¡­ and I haven¡¯t put any points into dexterity so I¡¯m probably as slow as I was when I was level 1?¡±

    Jay had a shattering realisation: His strength and dexterity had not changed at all since he was level one.

    ¡°¡­Am I just as weak as I was when I was level one?¡± he looked at his hands ¡°It seems like the only difference is, is that I have more health and better equipment¡­ Shit¡­ I think I may have really fucked this up¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­What have I done¡­¡±

    Jay shook his head, he felt like his heart sunk with hopelessness for a moment.

    He felt pathetically stupid, like he wasparable to that noble brat who relied on his personal guards and expensive items to make himself strong ¨C and what was the difference? He couldn¡¯t find one.

    Little did Jay know that Matheson¡¯s progression was going quickly, he was changing for the better both mentally and physically.

    ¡°It¡¯s not toote to fix this¡­ I¡¯m only level nine after all¡­ I can start putting points into strength and dexterity¡­ I can fix this.¡±

    Jay nodded, trying to encourage himself.

    ¡°I should have put more thought into it back then¡­ man, I really didn¡¯t know what I was doing back then¡­ taking it all too lightly.¡±

    ¡°Okay, my next points will all go into strength¡± he nodded to himself. It was his lowest stat.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make it even to my 25 dexterity, and then raise them both as high as vitality.¡±

    ¡°After that, I will favour dexterity, as my ss started with a higher amount.¡±

    After Jay realised he¡¯s actually incredibly weak, he even felt embarrassed¡­

    ¡°Dammit¡­ I even thought I was strong for a little while there¡­ So that was a fuckin lie.¡± He was self-deceived, but thankfully he had woken up.

    What happened in the swamp today may very well stay with Jay forever, a permanent part of his memories.

 Chapter 87 Iâ€™m Weak? 2

    Instead of leaving the dungeon, Jay decided to wait here while his health came back to a reasonable level. He still needed those teeth after all, while the extra bones would be useful in the future.

    Of course, with only Red out hunting rats, his gathering operation slowed down.

    Jay decided to have Red drag back the nearby dead rats too, as he needed the bones for his ring.

    There were many dead rats nearby, so it didn¡¯t take long for Red to bring back some fresh corpses; previously, the skeletons killed them and only took their teeth.

    Jay shifted his ring, extracting the bones from Molodus as well as 4 other corpses now surrounding him.

    When done with the corpses, Jay had Blue form a pile of the boneless corpses nearby.

    Slowly, the piles of boneless sacks of flesh started to form arge unidentifiable mass of flesh in the small clearing. Since they have no bones, they looked like desated pieces of a rotting whale as they pped on top of each other.

    Afterwards, Jay finally had some time to check the notification he had ignored during the desperate battle.

    [Sword Proficiency Level 1 Acquired]<sub>.</sub>

    +2% damage when using swords

    2.25% Chance to parry. Scales with dexterity. ((Dex*sword proficiency level/20)+1).

    ¡°Finally¡­ it took so much longer than my dagger proficiency¡­ I wonder if it¡¯s because I was constantly backstabbing with the dagger?¡±

    After an hour, Jay¡¯s health went up by 4.2, bringing it back to [16/93].

    Health regeneration was increased with vitality, along with how fast his body would heal from wounds. When he previously had much less vitality, it would take much longer for his health points to fix up a wound.

    Red was the only skeleton collecting teeth and corpses, and had brought back 5 more teeth so far.

    Jay decided to send Lamp off to hunt, now having only two guards; of course, he took an extra precaution of charging an unstable tooth spell.

    ¡°Damn. This sucks¡­ but I suppose it¡¯s what I deserve. I¡¯m d I found out how weak I am this early on.¡±<sub></sub>

    Jay waited a few more hours in the swamp, and soon enough his health was nearly back to being half-full.

    Feeling a little more secure, he sent off Sweeper to collect teeth and corpses, only having Blue to guard him ¨C though he was quite safe as all the rats in the area had been culled.

    Jay had a small collection of 52 teeth so far ¨C though not as many corpses as he only had the skeletons bring back the nearby ones.

    Each time a skeleton left, it took longer and longer to return as they had to travel further to find a rat.

    The soap rat poption was thoroughly decimated. Eventually, Jay considered leaving the swamp and returning so that the rats would all respawn, but he decided to just wait.

    ¡°I¡¯m nearly ready to head back to Lo anyway¡­¡± he had been waiting there for hours for his health to regenerate ¨C not to mention the time he spent reading his book and messing around with the spell channelling crystal.

    Jay had plenty of teeth by now, so he put Red on primarily corpse collection duty. It was quite a strange sight seeing a skeleton drag corpses across a swamp, it was like it was an ant bringing home food for the colony¡­ If the colony was arge hive of bones and flesh.

    Collecting 5 more corpses, Jay was satisfied as he watched a thick curtain of bones floating around him.<sub></sub>

    He called his skeletons back to him, collecting any teeth they had.

    ¡°58 teeth and 10 corpses, this will keep me going for a while¡± Jay smiled to himself, ¡°I think it¡¯s time to go.¡± He willed his skeletons to return to him.

    Jay looked at his skeletons and made sure they were allplete; having 45 health.

    ¡°Ok, you all look as bulky as Blue, so I¡¯m happy. Clearly the bone eater skill is doing its job..¡±

    ¡°And your new bones still have red kes in them, good¡± he smiled at Red.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ speaking of different bones¡­¡± An idea shed across Jay¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Sweeper,e here.¡±

    Jay unsummoned sweeper, its bones copsing to the ground. Jay took out parts of its blue bones and added some soap rat ones of approximately equal proportions.

    There was now a mix of the rat bones and the wolf bones before him.

    ¡°Arise.¡± he said.

    [Chimera Research 7%]

    Jay repeated this process until his mana got low.

    ¡°Arise.¡±

    [Chimera Research 8%]

    ¡°Arise.¡±

    [Chimera Research 9%]

    ¡°Okay¡­ I think that¡¯s enough for now¡± he said, feeling a little light-headed and checking his mana.

    [MP 24/68]

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep some mana in reserve so I can raise another in an emergency.. I¡¯m about to unsummon all of them and leave the dungeon after all.¡±

    Raising a level 3 skeleton would take 13 mana. Jay could ¡®raise¡¯ again, but that would leave him with only 11 mana left. This would be dangerous because if he left the dungeon with only 11 mana and no skeletons, he would have no hidden trump ¨C which of course is the ability to summon a skeleton.

    Before leaving, Jay used his loot skill on the deted-looking pile of blubbering corpses.

    ¡°Damn, no soap rat tail¡­¡± he pursed his lips.

    Jay checked around the perimeter once more, making sure he was safe before he unsummoned all of the skeletons, adding their blue bones to the ring and leaving the dungeon.

 Chapter 88 Passive Grinding

    Jay exited the dungeon, stinking like a sewer once more.

    ¡°At least I¡¯m notpletely covered in filth this time¡­¡±

    Jay headed back to Lo, smiling as he approached from the South side.

    ¡°Huh, there¡¯s no guards this time? I guess they aren¡¯t training today.¡±

    Jay still didn¡¯t know that the guards were therest time because of a monster report ¨C the monster being Jay covered in grime after he first left the marsh.

    Since Matheson had been regrly going to the stink-rat marsh, people grew ustomed to the filth-covered humanoids.

    Still, after looking harder, Jay noticed one guard ¨C but he was sprinting away, and at quite a fast pace.

    ¡°How odd¡­¡±

    Jay made his way to the snakeraven inn, entering the building, he was greeted by frowns from everyone there.

    ¡°¡­not again.¡± Devin thought, seeing the filthy Jay walk into his establishment as he was at the bar, serving a drink to another customer.

    ¡°15 gold forundry and the ruby-bath.¡± he pre-empted Jay¡¯s order, hoping he wouldn¡¯te closer to the bar as he pointed towards the hallway.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay nodded with a smile, pulling out 15 gold and cing it on the counter before heading to the room. He remembered where it was so he didn¡¯t need Tamara toe show him.

    Devin poked his head into the kitchen.

    ¡°Tamar¨C¡±

    ¡°I know dad, I can smell him¡­¡±

    ¡°Mmh¡± he nodded and went back to the bar.

    Devin returned to the bar, ¡°Shit¡­ where did my customers go¡­¡± he pursed his lips, leaving to get his mop and bucket after Jay left a small trail of grime.

    Jay put his dirty clothes into a basket in the hallway and closed the door to his room, jumping straight into the ruby-bath.

    ¡°Ahh~¡± he smiled with half-closed eyes and fell asleep.

    Jay marinated in his own juices for the next thirty minutes until finally he was woken by a knock at the door ¨C hisundry was done.

    Tamara simply knocked and left the basket of clean clothes outside the door. It was standard practice, but she really didn¡¯t want to endure more of the smell he brought with him.<sub></sub>

    Jay sighed ¡°Ah, I better go check on Trenly¡­ then I can leave the business in his hands and focus on getting to level 10¡± his eyes glowed with anticipation.

    An idea suddenly shed through Jay¡¯s mind.

    ¡°I wonder if I can drop the skeletons off at the dungeon and get home before Trenly is ready¡­¡±

    A cold, calcting smile began appearing on his face. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense ¨C but he would have to leave immediately.

    Jay quickly grabbed the clothes basket from the hallway, got dressed and left his room before running out of the snakeraven inn.

    ¡°Thanks Devin!¡± he yelled without looking towards the bar area.

    ¡°Mm.¡± he grumbled back, putting the mop and bucket away.

    Jay immediately ran north, crossing the bridge and turning into the forest. He was sprinting through the north forest towards the mist keep dungeon.

    ¡°Looks like he made it back.¡± Jay smiled as he ran past the rock that he left Stephen on.

    As he got to the ruins, there were still a few adventurers outside. Each of them had hopeful eyes as Jay dashed into the ruins.<sub></sub>

    Jay ignored them and ran straight past, entering the dungeon.

    ¡°There he goes again¡­¡± an adventurer said hopelessly, thinking that he was weak as he watched the level 9 adventurer run past with zero hesitation.

    Getting into the dungeon, he was greeted by the dark shadowyndscape once more.

    [Shift] His bone ring floated and a thick curtain of blue and white bones floated around him.

    ¡°Rise.¡± he said four times, raising all his undeadpanions.

    Before him stood his four skeletons. For once, Jay¡¯s energy matched theirs as he was moving fast with a single goal in mind ¨C to get them out onto the killing field.

    Jay brought out 4 bone hammers, handing one to each of them before giving a single order:

    ¡°I want their soulstones piled up here.¡± he pointed next to him.

    Before he dismissed them, a thought crossed through Jay¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ what if I put Blue in charge. Would they behave differently?¡±

    With a shrug, he decided he might as well try it. ¡°Blue¡¯s in charge while I¡¯m gone.¡±

    Each of the skeletons looked at Blue for a moment.

    ¡°Weird. Can Blue even give orders?¡± he wondered.

    The skeletons knew exactly what Jay wanted; with no hesitation, they rushed off to ruthlessly carry out their task.

    Jay nodded, seeing that everything was in order before willing to leave the dungeon.

    Arge pir rose next to Jay with a door in it ¨C the dungeon exit. He quickly entered, finding himself back in the ruined courtyard once more.

    ¡°What the¡­?¡± an adventurer saw hime out right after he went in ¡°But he just went into the dungeon?¡± he said to one of his party members.

    ¡°Perhaps he forgot something.¡± the other shrugged.

    ¡°Sucks to be him, having to walk all the way back to Lo.¡± someone else added before taking a drink of water.

    Jay left the same way he came ¨C running at full speed.

    He ran all the way back to Lo, and it was aroundte afternoon at this time.

    ¡°Trenly won¡¯t mind, It will be fine.¡± he thought as he ran back home.

    He did say he would be back after lunch, so he was quitete. However, Jay took his time because when he checked previously, Trenly still wasn¡¯t back from the market.

    [30 Exp][30 Exp]

    The experience started rolling in, and Jay had a grin on his face as he ran through Lo.

    Many of the people he passed gave him strange looks; he looked like a lunatic as he sprinted through town with a wide grin.

    All in all, it only took him about twenty minutes to drop his skeletons off at the dungeon.

    ¡°Well the trip was worth it¡± he smiled to himself as he finally got home, looking forward to waking up to a massive experience point notification tomorrow.

    As Jay entered his house, he found Trenly with a de deer carcass lying on the counter. He had taken off the hide, as well as the hooves and head.

    ¡°Hey Trenly, nice work. Looks like you¡¯re ready?¡±

    ¡°Hey. Yeah¡­ Sorry I took a while, but I was looking for a good deal¡­ the price was still a bit higher than expected.¡±

    ¡°Wow, he¡¯s the one apologising for beingte?¡± Jay thought to himself ¡°Well, fine with me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright mate. Let¡¯s get started butchering.¡± Jay smiled.

 Chapter 89 Setting Up Shop

    ¡°Ok, we¡¯ll start with the back legs first.¡± Jay said, brandishing one of his many butchering knives.

    He spent the next hour showing Trenly how to butcher; starting with the leg, then moving onto the rump, nk, brisket, ribs, backstrap, foreleg, chuck, and finally the neck.

    ¡°The shanks are good too, but I usually save them for myself. They make a good little snack, and people don¡¯t typically buy them.¡± Jay handed Trenly two shanks.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Trenly smiled, adding them to his inventory.

    Clearing the table, Jay prepared it for the next carcass.

    ¡°Make sure you always wipe down the table. People can taste the difference otherwise. Have you got the ox-badger?¡±

    Trenly nodded, bringing out therge ox-badger.

    The ox-badger had the body and head of a badger with the legs and horns of an ox. It was not as big as an ox, about the size of a sheep.

    ¡°This one has a bit more fatpared to the deer, but basically, mostly all the other animals you butcher will be somewhere in between these two. This time you cut, and I¡¯ll guide you.¡±

    Jay handed him the knife and cleaver.

    ¡°I see. Sure.¡± Trenly nodded, grabbing the tools.

    Jay guided Trenly through the process, and before they realised, it was butchered.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t make many mistakes. Seems like he¡¯s a natural¡± thought Jay.

    ¡°Now we can just put them on disy, crumb them, or make them into sausage¡­ but for now, just store it in your inventory. We can get some out when we need it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if the inventory will stop things from spoiling though¡­¡± Jay scratched his chin.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Oh, it does.¡±

    ¡°It does? How do you know?¡±

    ¡°I just do¡­ I thought it wasmon knowledge?¡±

    Jay shook his head in disbelief ¡°Wow. Well¡­ I¡¯m d I know now I guess?¡± he smiled at Trenly ¡°We¡¯re learning new things every day huh?¡± he chuckled, causing Trenly to smile too.

    Jay proceeded to show Trenly how to make sausages, but couldn¡¯t show him how to crumb them as he had no eggs ¨C though he told him the process. It¡¯s a pretty simple one too, so he just trusted him with it.

    ¡°Try to have about 200 sausages and about 80 crumbed pieces. That¡¯s usually how much people buy, but feel free to make more if you sell out; if you don¡¯t sell everything you can just use it yourself.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Jay showed him the prices as well as the small meat disy and a few other business functions. After the process, Trenly was ready to run the shop himself.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re ready¡± Jay nodded. ¡°Feelfortable running the shop by yourself tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give it a go¡­ will I need to buy more carcasses for tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°The day after tomorrow. There should be enough here to sell for the next two days. Every second day we just open a bitte as we have to buy stuff from the market¡­ other than that I think you know everything. Usually I get about three carcasses of simr size to the deer, so you may run out, but that¡¯s fine. Just close if you run out.¡± Jay shrugged.

    ¡°Awesome¡­ Well, we will just see how tomorrow goes. I¡¯ll see you in the morning.¡±

    ¡°Great.. Uh, just let yourself in tomorrow. I might not be here¡± Jay shrugged. ¡°Dungeon stuff¡­ ya know?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right¡­ Well, I¡¯ll see you tomorrow. Maybe.¡±Trenly pursed his lips, shrugging.<sub></sub>

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~3rd Monastic Academy, Mirror Reality 34~

    Norgrim was sitting at his desk, stroking his long ck beard as he went through some papers. Periodically, he would nce at a floating nt on his desk which had a light-blue glow to it.

    Norgrim was the headmaster of the 3rd monastic academy, an institute designed to protect those who were deemed too dangerous to remain living.

    Jay would obviously fall under the banner of being too dangerous ¨C as well as those who had soul,w, dimension, love and micro type magic.

    Suddenly, a knock came from his door.

    ¡°Come in,¡± he said, looking up from his work.

    ¡°Oh, William, hello. Any news?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I found an interesting person¡­ though it appears, you will be getting a message about him soon enough. He¡¯s not strong at the moment though, and he seems to be quite cautious ¨C but he was given special treatment by the guild master at Lo.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ Well, let¡¯s just see what this message says. You have been keeping your eyes out of restricted areas I hope?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± he nodded with a straight face.

    ¡°Good, good¡­ anything else?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The royal court also received a prophecy, though I wasn¡¯t able to see what it said.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ Thanks, William. I¡¯ll have some people pry into it.¡±<sub></sub>

    With a nod, William left. He had usually reported to Norgrim every few days; his unique ss which was a mix of soul and nature. While he didn¡¯t fully understand one of his abilities, it still allowed him to see ¡®important events¡¯ that would most likely affect him somehow.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to meet that guy¡­¡± he thought as he entered the white-stone hallway of the academy. ¡°He surely must be someone important.¡±

    This was called the 3rd academy, as the first two had been destroyed by the safety bearer¡¯s. Thankfully, the constant attacks by the mage hunters caused one of the students to develop their abilities to such an extent that they could create a separate pocket of reality; this was where the school currently operated.

    There were 6 academies in total, and the 5th and 6th still operated in hidden parts of the real world.

    Of course, not everyone would want to join the academy, and for those who wished for a quiet life, they were allowed to live in a separatemunity within the pocket dimension, or simply leave to risk getting caught in the real world.

    Most people who came joined the academy however, only leaving to join themunity to start a family, or after they got injured, or were simply too old.

    Norgrim was currently the headmaster of the 3rd academy. One had to have a sharp mind to avoid and scheme against the safety bearers, as well as a powerful ss to keep the students in line ¨C thankfully, he fitted both roles.

    Oddly enough, his ss was not considered unique when it was first discovered: He was a [Mana maniptor].

    While nearly every adventurer, mage, hexamist or practitioner of manacraft manipted mana, Norgrim¡¯s ss allowed him to take it to another level.

    Mana was like the fuel source for all magic, and before him, magic was helpless.

    It would be likeparing someone who could cause a ssh in the water with their hand to someone who could stop an entire river from flowing with their mind.

    He could not only snuff out spells without a thought, but he could cause mana burn or even fill someone¡¯s mana up.

    Constantly emptying and refilling some of his enemies mana pools had caused them to fall into a state of numbness; permanently catatonic.

    It wasn¡¯t long before he was branded as a threat. Seemingly overnight, the mage hunters created a way to deal with him.

    Thankfully he escaped; his picture was stered all over the kingdom, but he was soon recruited into the 1st academy as a student, all those years ago. Over time, he rose to be the headmaster.

    It was quite a fitting position as no magic worked on him.

    Norgrim was rxing in his chair, thinking about what he may have for dinner when suddenly

    a distortion in space happened, a small rift of darkness and light opened up, and a messenger orb floated through.

    While this was amon urrence, the messenger orb this time was coloured ck ¨C a top priority, top secret message.

    Thest time he got one of these was when the mage hunters were attacking.

    His eyes widened as he got up from his desk; running to the window he grabbed it immediately before putting it into a golden chalice, which was required to open the message container.

    He snapped his fingers and all the mana was sucked out of the room ¨C no magical listening devices would work under such circumstances.

    His eyes darted across the paper as he began to read.

    After gripping the paper firmly, he loosened it a little as he read ¨C there was no attack.

    Finally, he sighed in relief. Impending danger was noting, but rauther an opportunity, or dare he say it ¨C hope.

    The message was of course the one that Sullivan sent all those days ago. It had already made it past the checkpoint between dimensions where it was put into the ck priority orb.

    ¡°A necromancer? A human necromancer?¡± He almost couldn¡¯t believe what he was reading. He almost couldn¡¯t bring himself to. Necromancers were undead creatures of legends, intelligent beings that only the most powerful adventurers may ever see. Even then, it would only be a glimpse.

    They were naturally illusive creatures, summoning more undead so that they may never see the front lines of battle.

    Their army would march one direction while they would march another.

    Chasing a necromancer meant charging through an army of ravenous undead ¨C and these would not be slow-moving undead either; when undead are summoned by a necromancer, they would always be fast and aggressive, like a rabid pack of wolves bearing down on a defenceless prey, sprinting much faster than humans could ever hope to.

    ¡°If we could get a powerful necromancer on our side, perhaps we would no longer have to hide¡­ No, why limit ourselves to hiding? We could even conquer, carve out a chunk of the world for ourselves¡­ Maybe they would have to hide from us!¡± he gripped his fist tightly, smiling broadly.

    He now had work to do ¨C recruitment.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to dispatch the acquisition team immediately.¡±

    Immediately he ran to his desk, getting amunication crystal.

    ¡°Lannister, urgent mission. Retrieval of¡­¡± he checked the message.

    ¡°Retrieval of two uniques. Names are Jay and Anya. Location is Lo vige, in the south-western part of Astrata. Priority is Jay. I¡¯ll send you the details.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll start the retrieval preparations.¡± Lannister replied.

    ¡°Lannister¡­ this is important, perhaps a key in our future. Take Lara with you.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯ll bring her too, thanks. We won¡¯t let you down.¡±

    Lannister could tell Norgrim was serious, he even had a hint of desperation in his voice.

    ¡°I wonder what Jay will bring to the academy.¡± he thought as he started writing down what he need to do: a list of rituals, ingredients and ns he would be doing over the next few days ¨C the steps needed to head back to the real world and then bring others back to the mirror reality.

    The first step was of course information gathering.

 Chapter 90 Summoning Jay

    Vdore paced back and forward in his room.

    ¡°Why? why is there no change?¡± he wondered, looking at his cube.

    His cube was slowly turning into a prototype instead of the final version.

    ¡°You sensed mana for two consecutive days in the afternoons, but yesterday and today ¨C nothing. No mana detected and no new growth.¡±

    The ck cube didn¡¯t respond, as it had no answers.

    ¡°What was different¡­¡±

    ¡°I was asleep one time and another I was training a student. Other than that, nothing changed.¡±

    He looked at his ck cube with a hint of bitterness on his face, shaking his head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll figure it out tomorrow. Hopefully¡­ hopefully this is only a small setback.¡± he felt defeated.

    It was night time by now, and without a word he went to check his training roster.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Jay¡¯s training session. We were meant to meet a few days ago but that¡¯s alright. Let¡¯s see¡­ Last time I taught him how to channel a spell, and he learnt mana membrane too.. Good¡­¡±

    Vdore had previously written the letter ¡®N¡¯ next to Jay¡¯s name, and suddenly remembered that Jay was a necromancer.

    It seemed like a massive thing to forget ¨C but Vdore had his cube to worry about.

    It was all he thought of day and night, believing that if he was sessful, even an army of necromancers would bow before him.

    ¡°Oh right, we have to keep the training a secret too. Hmm, though I¡¯ll train him like any other student ¨C focus on the basics before moving onto more advanced stuff.¡±

    ¡°Next steps are to learn to detect, and then to channel through a medium.¡±

    With a nod, he made a note in a pocketbook before returning it to his coat.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to send someone to tell him he has a lesson since I haven¡¯t heard anything from him in a while.¡± he shook his head ¡°Usually people are dying to have a lesson with me¡± he began to smile, still shaking his head.

    ¡°I suppose I was like that when I was young.¡±

    Vdore usually hand-picked a few adventurers each year to teach, so he was surprised Jay didn¡¯te.

    The students he picked were the cream of the crop.<sub>.</sub>

    If you were one of the chosen being taught by Vdore, other adventurers wouldpete to have you join their party for dungeons ¨C you were that much better.

    Not to mention that to be picked, you would have to be naturally skilled with a useful ss to begin with.

    Of course with enough money, people such as Matheson could buy lessons too. There were even some adventures that were grinding in dungeons for the sole purpose of saving up enough gold to buy these private lessons.

    Vdore also suited the teaching role. Compared to other manacraft practitioners, Vdore had a ss which allowed him a greater sense and control of ambient mana; his ss being a [Telekine], which had to do with telekinesis, magic analysis, and telepathy.

    Having such a keen sense for mana was what made him not just a good teacher, but also a good researcher ¨C which was his previous job in the capital where he used to work for the mage hunters, now called ¡®the safety bearers¡¯.

    ¡°I¡¯ll send a guard to summon him when I wake up tomorrow.¡±

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Jay woke up with a smile, seeing some notifications greet him.

    He didn¡¯t have much to dost night so he went to bed early, allowing him to wake up before the sun came up.

    He quickly opened his notifications, his eyes filled with expectation.

    [2870 Exp]

    ¡°Awesome, a hung chunk of exp ¨C all while I slept¡± he smiled, checking his stats while he was still in bed.

    <[Necromancer Level 9]>

    [Race ¨C Human]

    HP: 93/93

    MP: 68/68

    Strength: 15

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 35

    Energy: 40/40<sub></sub>

    Exp: 5419/9000

    <[Skills]> (1)

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 4]

    [Shell Restoration Level 1]

    [Shift] (Unique)

    [Unstable Teeth Level 2]

    [Asklin] (Equipment)

    [Undead Mastery Level 2] (Passive)

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Running level 2] (Passive)

    [Dagger Proficiency level 1] (Passive)

    [Sword Proficiency Level 1] (Passive)

    [Poison Resist 10%] (Passive ¨C equipment)

    [Scrimshaw Level 2] (Passive)

    [ss Utility] (Passive)

    <[Research]>

    [Chimera Research 9%]

    [Immortality Research 3%]

    ¡°About half way¡­¡± he thought, seeing his experience.

    Soon his eyes drifted over his vitality stat. It was high, but he now felt silly whenever he looked at it.<sub></sub>

    Why have lots of health and still be weak? He basically made himself into a walking training dummy; a punching bag.

    Strength-wise, he was even weaker than most level one¡¯s, as other sses started with 20 or even 25 points in strength ¨C of course, they would most likely have low energy or really bad energy-mana scaling, resulting in a small mana pool as a trade off.

    Of course, none of them would have undeadpanions.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure Sweeper has levelled up. I better go gather the crystals and reset the dungeon¡­ but there¡¯s no point in healing the skeletons as I have to unsummon and re-summon them.¡±

    Jay headed off to the dungeon. It was still early in the morning so there weren¡¯t many people around, which made it easier to sprint through Lo to the dungeon.

    Jay entered the dungeon area, this time there were no other adventurers around since it was still so early in the morning.

    A big smile appeared on his face as soon as he stepped into the dungeon, as arge pile of soul stones greeted him.

    ¡°Oh yes! One step closer topleting the quest¡± he grinned as he added them all to his inventory.

    [Soulstones] (empty) x 94

    Next, he willed his minions to rally to him.

    As if responding to a call to war, they immediately started sprinting out of the ruins. Their wolf skulls would probably begin to make whistling noises if they could run any faster.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the four skeletons stood before Jay ¨C but there was something different.

    Three of them had lined up, while Blue stood in front of them as if it was theirmanding officer.

    Instead of being like a loose rabble of four unruly teenagers, they were now more like a single military unit.

    ¡°Huh, I guess they act more like soldiers when you give them amander?¡± Jay thought, remembering that he said Blue was in charge before he left the dungeonst time.

    ¡°Well done, good job¡± he said, before he grabbed their hammers.

    Jay didn¡¯t know if they would even acknowledge his praise, but at this moment it seemed like Blue¡¯s skull raised up a little, as if proud that it had served its master.

    Jay began the process of resetting the dungeon. He stored the hammers away before de-summoning them, returning their bones to his ring.

    He then left the dungeon so that the monsters would respawn, before re-entering again and summoning the skeletons.

    After being summoned, they immediately re-formed their formation: Blue in front with the 3 others lined up behind him.

    Jay raised a brow seeing this, it was as if they weren¡¯t all just de-summoned at all. They skeletons remembered that Blue was in charge.

    ¡°Cool¡­ I guess he continues with his orders even after he¡¯s summoned?¡±

    This would be handy if Jay had numerous skeletons, he would simply have to re-summon them if they died, and they would then leave to carry out their orders.

    ¡°Sweeper looks skinny¡­ oh right. You need some food¡± Sweeper had levelled up to 3.

    Jay still had his ring in the orbital form, so he let sweeper feast.

    ¡°Go on¡± he said, pointing with a nod towards the bones floating around him in the ring.

    Sweeper happily obliged, plucking some bones out of the ring and began chomping them down.

    Jay didn¡¯t need to heal any of his minions, as he just re-summoned them.

    As Sweeper ate, Jay analysed the hammers before giving them back.

    ¡°Hmm, seems like they¡¯re in pretty good condition¡± Jay thought as he analysed them.

    Most of them were still holding their shape; it seemed that the skeletons were feeding them mana to maintain them.

    This couldn¡¯t bepared to Jay¡¯s [Shell Restoration] skill, as to maintain necrotic items all they needed was a mana supply.

    The skeletons still had the ability to craft rudimentary bone weapons ¨C this was where Jay learnt the skill from in the first ce, but they still had no need as Jay supplied them with much better weapons than they themselves could craft.

    Jay did spend hours crafting bone daggers in order to raise his scrimshaw skill up to level 2, eventually making the [Deathwalker¡¯s sentry].

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Later in the morning, a guard visited Jay¡¯s butchery.

    He had to knock a few times before Trenly answered.

    ¡°Hello, we¡¯re not quite open yet but how can I help?¡± Trenly thought it may have been a customer who was there before the shop even opened; Trenly was a nice guy too so he didn¡¯t like to keep people waiting either.

    After all, any reasonable person wouldn¡¯t mind bringing in a customer early, and it made the business seem more like a part of themunity, like it had a soul rauther than being there simply for profit ¨C of course, profit was necessary.

    ¡°Jay? You¡¯ve been requested by the adventurer association.¡± the guard said.

    ¡°Oh. I¡¯m not Jay¡­ I¡¯ll go see if he¡¯s home. Give me a moment.¡±

    Trenly headed upstairs, knocking a few times on Jay¡¯s bedroom door.

    ¡°Hello? Jay?¡±

    No answer.

    Trenly knew that Jay wasn¡¯t a very heavy sleeper, or he would¡¯ve been up by now, so he headed back down to tell the guard.

    ¡°He¡¯s not here, sorry, but I¡¯ll pass on the message?¡±

    The guard had walked inside without invitation.

    The guard didn¡¯t actually know why Jay was summoned ¨C he had assumed that Jay was in trouble, or perhaps had stolen something, so he did act quite overbearing.

    Normally, stepping into someone¡¯s house would have been rude and imposing, however, it was also a butchery. People were expected toe into the shop, so Trenly didn¡¯t even seem anxious.

    The guard looked upstairs for a moment before pursing his lips.

    ¡°Just tell him that he¡¯s been summoned and he shoulde to the association if he doesn¡¯t want to be punished.¡± he spoke with a raised, raspy voice.

    With a nod, the guard left, closing the door enough to be loud, but not enough to m it ¨C another petty intimidation tactic.

    He wasn¡¯t even phased, and if he realised what the guard was doing, he would probably evenugh at the guard and his ridiculous behaviour.

    Trenly had grown up around a few of his fathers fellow hunters who were like this.

    These kinds of people would seemingly find any reason to get angry and yell at someone who they deemed to be below them.

    Of course, they were quite gutless and wouldn¡¯t yell at him with his father around.

    These kinds of people would usually end up bitter and alone, Trenly knew this after seeing it as he grew up, so when people acted like that he would think about their future andugh.

    Their anger was not his problem to deal with after all, and to Trenly, they were more like small dogs, barking out of fear.

    Many would yell to dominate others, as it stemmed from a feeling of powerlessness, ack of control and weakness.

    Trenly knew that deep down, these were damaged, emotionally unstable children, and so he never took it personally.

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t willingly spend time with such people.

    ¡°Huh, I wonder why Jay was requested at the guild.¡± Trenly wondered before going back to make some sausages,pletely unfazed. It was like the guard was never even there at all.

 Chapter 91 20%

    After handing the hammers back to the skeletons, Jay sent them away with onemand.

    ¡°Resume Orders¡­?¡± He raised a brow, wondering if it would work.

    The skeletons ran off towards the ruined megacity, resuming the hunt once more.

    ¡°So they do remember through death.. interesting.¡±

    ¡°Not long till I hit level 10¡­ I wonder if I will get another ss skill?¡±

    He had hopeful eyes as he watched the wolf-skull skeletons running over the hill, the ttering of their bones getting quieter.

    Jay left the dungeon and headed back to Lo. He passed a small party of three adventurers on the way who were heading for the mist keep dungeon ¨C but he still hadn¡¯t encountered Stephen again.

    The party of three gave Jay a wide-eyed look as he ran back from that dungeon ¨C not only amazed that they weren¡¯t the first ones there, but that someone was already heading back from it.

    ¡°He¡¯s been here so long that he¡¯s already heading home?¡± one shook their head in disbelief.

    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s been there all night?¡± One asked among their trio.

    ¡°That¡¯s why he¡¯s level nine¡­ he just doesn¡¯t stop¡­ He probably does this every day and every night¡± Technically, this person was right. Jay¡¯s skeletons were fighting almost non-stop.

    That was all Jay heard as he continued past them, though admittedly, he too was a little surprised seeing other adventurers out this early.

    The mist keep dungeon was popr at the moment. It was a level 3 dungeon where you would usually fight two stone soldiers at a time. The were easy to find in the dungeonndscape, had obvious attacks, and there was plenty of time to prepare to fight ¨C you could even avoid them if you wished.

    If you wanted to have more of a challenge, you would simply need to walk further towards the pyramids where the foes would be higher level, though for the most part they still had simrbat styles to the lower level soldiers; their melee weapons would tell you what kind of attacks they would do.

    The level 3 mist keep dungeon was much easierpared to the level 5 wolf quarry dungeon, which had a moreplicated dungeon path with dead ends, sneak attacks, pitch-ck darkness and narrow paths; the enemies also started at level 5.

    Not to mention the more varied enemies such as the silt wolf variant that did mana-based attacks, or the rockleaf mollusk.

    All these smaller things added up to make it a much harder dungeon to grind in, especially in groups.<sub>.</sub>

    Most of the adventurers were still level 5, though a few had hit level 6 by now.

    Jay¡¯s stomach was beginning to make noises, he woke up so early today that he decided to skip breakfast.

    Returning to the butchery, he was met by Trenly as he entered the shop.

    ¡°Wow, you got here this early?¡±

    ¡°Yep¡± Trenly nodded ¡°First day of work.¡± he smiled.

    Trenly was still making sausages so Jay decided he would try them for breakfast.

    He cooked them up with some bondtussle root, he did just summon 4 skeletons after all, so he needed some of the mana regen.

    Trenly periodically watched Jay cooking his sausages, wondering if they would be good or not.

    Finally, Jay sat down to eat.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ mm.¡± Jay took the first bite. Immediately he looked at Trenly who was looking at him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s good, but there¡¯s only one thing ¨C you need to add a little more fat from the ox badger. They should be about 20% fat.¡±

    Trenly nodded ¡°I see.¡±

    He went off and adjusted the sausage mix.

    ¡°Seems like the business is in good hands.¡± he thought as he finished his meal.

    Jay was going to head back to the mist keep dungeon, but Trenly stopped him.

    ¡°Hey, a guard came by. He said you have to go to the adventurer association.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Oh? What was it about?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. He just said you were requested.¡± Trenly shrugged.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask him why?¡±

    ¡°No?¡± Trenly looked a little uneasy. ¡°Am I in trouble?¡± he wondered to himself.

    ¡°Hmm, alright. I¡¯ll go see what it¡¯s about. Keep up the good work.¡± Jay tapped the counter with his hand and headed off to the adventure association.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Matheson squinted at a silt-wolf in the cave.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it looking at me?¡± the light from themp was reaching the wolf but it had no reaction.

    From behind, it seemed like a normal wolf ¨C though it had norge jagged nodules running up its back.

    Suddenly it¡¯s head turned into the light where he could see it, and it caused a shiver to go up Matheson¡¯s spine.

    ¡°What the fuck is that thing¡­¡±

    It had no eyes or nose, only a mouth that opened into 3 jaws.

    After squinting at it for a moment, it didn¡¯t seem that dangerous to Matheson.

    ¡°If it can¡¯t see me, it might even be easier than the other ones¡­¡±

    Matheson decided to try to fight it, starting the battle off with a sneak attack.

    Slowly he crept forward, but then he noticed something ¨C another silt-wolfy in wait in a corner of the room. A normal one, it seemed to be guarding the other eyeless one.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Damn.. I didn¡¯t want to fight two at once.¡± he pursed his lips, ¡°I¡¯ll give it a go anyway.¡±

    He was trying to push himself harder and take bigger risks.

    This was the second night he hade here, and he had ventured much deeper into the mine this time, though the dungeon was an underground maze and he definitely didn¡¯t take the same route asst time.

    Hitting level 6 also gave him a confidence boost, so he decided to fight.

    ¡°I¡¯ll start with the normal one first.¡± It seemed less risky.

    Matheson walked over. The wolf noticed him, but before it could react Matheson jumped forward, shing his red hot sword across its face.

    The wolf whimpered for a moment before snarling andshing back.

    Matheson easily dodged it¡¯s swipe and retaliated with his own sh.

    Matheson¡¯s sword did 5 damage, with 3 extra fire damage, and 1 burn damage for 2 seconds, totalling 10 damage per hit.

    The silt-wolves only had 40 health, so after the second strike it was already half-dead ¨C though if he attacked too quickly the burn damage would not stack (only doing 1 damage), meaning he would have to do 5 strikes to kill it.

    The silt-wolves also had the [Solidify] skill, which gave them massive damage resistance. If Matheson was too slow, it would be able to use this ability twice during battle. Theoretically, a silt-wolf couldst for 7 strikes from Matheson¡¯s de.

    As Matheson waited to dodge the silt-wolves¡¯ next attack, he noticed a weird bright lighting from behind him.

    He wanted to look but knew he would be bitten if he turned away from his opponent, so he jumped back and twisted his head at the same time, ncing at the light.

    Not far behind him, a blue orb was slowly rhythmically pulsing as it was glowing brighter.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± he looked back at the wolf he was fighting as it was about to pounce.

    With a sidestep he dodged its bite attack before shing at its neck.

    The wolf howled in pain, and while it was an easy fight, Matheson had a bad feeling about the blue orb behind him.

    It had grown so bright in intensity now that he didn¡¯t even have to turn his head to see the light.

    ¡°Retreat or fight¡­¡± he thought.

    In a split second he made a decision ¨C retreat to the entrance of the room. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him, dashing across the room.

    Thankfully he had high dexterity so he ran incredibly fast.

    As Matheson got around the corner, suddenly the lighting from the orb shed brightly and disappeared.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Matheson raised a brow, peeking out from behind the wall.

    Suddenly, a wave of blue light came flying at him, a sphere of light emanating from the centre of the room.

    Matheson¡¯s eyes bulged for a moment, he hurriedly turned and stood with his back to the wall, hiding from whatever this wave of blue thick light that wasing towards him.

    *RRRrrrrrr~*

    The wave hit Matheson, but he only realised after he found himself falling to the ground, though with his high dexterity he managed to catch himself and stand up. Due to the attack, he didn¡¯t remember thest half-second.

    All he knew was that he was hiding from an attack, and then he found himself falling over.

    Clearly, the wall did nothing to block whatever that attack was.

    ¡°Argh..¡± he put his hand against his head, rubbing it as it throbbed. The pain was immense; he felt dizzy and heard a loud ringing noise.

    ¡°What the hell¡­¡± he couldn¡¯t hear his own voice because the ringing noise was so loud.

    Looking around, he noticed a silt-wolf at the entrance.

    His vision was a little fuzzy too, but he wearily readied his sword.

    Unfortunately, the passage was narrow and he couldn¡¯t side-step, while he was feeling too dizzy to simply jump backwards.

    Before he realised, the wolf pounced forward bearing its teeth.

    ¡°ARRGGH!¡± he screamed as the wolf sunk its teeth into his arm.

    It was painful, but Matheson had built up some tolerance to pain through his insane workouts.

    Without pause he began shing at the wolf.

    Thankfully, it died after two shes.

    With his arm free, it healed back up as he lost some health points ¨C though there was still some paining from it as the bone was now cracked; It would take a little longer to heal due to that.

    Health points healed flesh quite quickly, but bone was another matter.

    ¡°GRR!¡± he clenched his teeth in anger, entering back into the room ¨C however, it was empty.

    His brow was furrowed, angry as he looked around for his target, though he still found no traces of it.

    ¡°Dammit! Fuck.¡± kicking the silt-wolf corpse, he let out some anger.

    He wanted revenge.

    After he felt like his head felt better, he was considerably less angry.

    ¡°The wolves were attacking an intruder, not a noble.¡± he thought after his mind was more clear.

    ¡°Nevertheless, I will not show mercy¡­¡± he looked at his arm.

    ¡°I¡¯ll level up more ande back some other time. It¡¯s too risky to stay.¡±

 Chapter 92 Thanks Sweeper

    Jay had started getting experience point notifications, but he decided to ignore them until he went to reset the dungeon, otherwise it would be bugging him all day.

    Of course, if anyone knew that getting experience was annoying him, they would probably p him in the face and curse at him.

    After getting the message to head to the adventurer association, he crawled up the hill and was finally here.

    ¡°Hello dear¡± Margaret smiled, seeing Jay walk into the lobby of the adventurer association. ¡°You¡¯re here a bit early today?¡± she chuckled.

    ¡°Hi. Yeah I guess? I was told to report here.¡± Jay misunderstood her joke but smiled anyway.

    ¡°Hmm, let me see¡­¡± Margaret checked some notes behind the counter ¡°You have been summoned¡­ for a lesson with Vdore today.¡±

    ¡°Oh right, I forgot about the lessons.. Shall I go to his office?¡±

    Margaret almost chuckled, seeing a student forget about having a lesson with the infamous Vdore. Jay was the first to take these lessons so lightly.

    ¡°Just take a seat dear, I¡¯ll call him for you,¡± she smiled.

    ¨C

    *knock knock*

    ¡°Vdore? Jay is here for his lesson.¡± Margaret knocked and peeked into the room, but all she saw was Vdore facing away from her, standing as still as a statue.

    ¡°Vdore?¡±

    She stepped in and tapped him on the shoulder.

    ¡°ARGH!¡± he was surprised with a hint of anger ¡°You scared me.¡± He shook his head and looked back at his desk.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Oh, sorry!¡± She smiled, ¡°It¡¯s just little old me.¡± she said to Vdore who was still looking at the cube on his desk.

    Margaret briefly looked at the weird ck cube on his desk before turning back to Vdore

    ¡°Jay¡¯s here for sses.¡± she didn¡¯t think much of the small ck cube.

    ¡°Uh..¡± Vdore paused for a moment ¡°Can hee backter?¡± Vdore asked, looking at her a little anxiously.

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll tell himter¡­ Is everything ok?¡±

    ¡°Yes.. yes, it¡¯s fine, better than ok.¡± Vdore smiled, realising he was acting weird.

    ¡°Alright, well I¡¯ll go tell him.¡±

    Margaret left the room to tell Jay toe back in a few hours.

    ¡°Finally she¡¯s gone¡± Vdore thought as he turned back to the cube. Truly nothing else mattered to him.

    ¡°Now¡­ let¡¯s see¡­¡± he began using his mana analysis techniques to analyse the cube.

    The cube had an internal mana converter with a mana pool. The converter was meant to absorb the ambient mana and convert it into its own usable mana.

    Vdore could easily sense the mana flowing into the mana pool, as well as mana flowing throughing from the mana converter, but the strange thing was that the mana converter wasn¡¯t pulling in any of the ambient mana.

    He furrowed his brows seeing this, dumbfounded.

    ¡°It has to being from somewhere¡­¡± he focused harder ¨C but nothing.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Is it absorbing something that isn¡¯t mana? But what? Mana converters don¡¯t just make mana from nothing, it must be absorbing something¡­¡±

    Suddenly, it stopped. The mana conversion shut down.

    [¡­Mana sense lost. Appendage growth 22%plete. Re-initializing mana detection routines¡­]

    Vdore clenched his fist in frustration.

    ¡°So close to a breakthrough.¡±

    The cube normally was charged by Vdore¡¯s mana to carry out its routines ¨C mana sensing. However, growth was a different matter because it had to use its own mana, and for some reason it was converting some other non-mana energy into its own mana.

    Vdore began scribbling notes in his book, detailing his new discovery before trying to brainstorm what the cube was absorbing.

    Whatever it was, he couldn¡¯t sense it.

    ¨C

    ¡°Well, since my lesson has been postponed, I might as well try to make it to the second pyramid in the mist keep dungeon.¡± Jay thought, he had already left the association.

    ¡°I¡¯ll check back there after lunch.¡±

    Jay ran over the hill, past the quarry and entered the mist keep dungeon.

    There were more adventurers around now that the morning had progressed, but it still didn¡¯t matter to Jay; he ignored them all without a second nce towards them.

    Entering the dungeon, there was already a small pile of crystals waiting for him.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Good job boys¡± he smiled, pocketing them.

    [Soulstone] (Empty) x 6

    With a single thought, he summoned the skeletons. It only took a moment for them toe rushing over.

    ¡°Looks like you guys have been having fun huh?¡± he asked rhetorically.

    The skeletons lined up before him once more with Blue in the front.

    Jay nodded seeing this, he liked how disciplined they now seemed ¨C not that they required it since he controlled them all, but they were more structured; as soldiers should be.

    Jay walked to each of them, using his [Shell Restoration] skill. It didn¡¯t use too much mana because they had only been here for a few hours at most.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get moving.¡± Jay said, walking ahead of them towards the city.

    The skeletons were all level 3 now, so each of them could go even if they fought 1 on 1 with a stone soldier ¨C however, there were four of them. It was always a 4 on 2 fight,pletely unfair for the stone soldiers.

    Jay noticed Blue walk behind him with the other 3 skeletons walking behind Blue in a line.

    ¡°Nice.¡± he nodded in approval, appreciating their changed behaviour.

    As Jay got to the top of the hill which overlooked the city, he noticed some stone statues running towards them.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he was confused seeing the two helvetian stone statues running directly to him.

    He wondered for a moment what was going on; this wasn¡¯t their usual behaviour ¨C He only just got here after all.

    Suddenly, Blue ran in front of Jay, and the other 3 skeletons lined up in front too.

    ¡°Oh, they must have been in a fight when I summoned them.¡± Jay realised.

    ¡°I like that the skeletons will just drop whatever they¡¯re doing and obey,¡± he thought with a happy smile.

    The three lined up skeletons rushed forward, meeting the two stone soldiers in battle.

    Jay decided to watch for now.

    ¡°The skeletons have been killing these non-stop so maybe they¡¯ve learnt a thing or two?¡±

    Jay¡¯s guess was proved correct as the fight started.

    The skeletons still fought the same with their hammers, but they had developed a rudimentary battle tactic.

    Two skeletons would fight a single statue, while the solo skeleton would run around the second statue in circles, literally in circles, keeping it distracted.

    Jay shook his head, almostughing as he watched.

    Therge soldier was turning in circles slowly, trying to keep up with the insane speed of the single skeleton while itsrade was slowly chunked to death.

    ¡°It must be so stupid that it works¡­ perhaps this strategy is because Blue is in charge?¡± he thought, remembering how the skeletons fought as if they were alone previously but now it seemed like they fought as a team.

    Blue wasn¡¯t in the fight; still standing on the sideline near Jay, protecting its master, though it seemed like it was observing the battle.

    ¡°I wonder.. if I wasn¡¯t here, would Blue be fighting or still watching the fight from the sidelines.¡±

    ¡°Surely Blue isn¡¯t that smart. I don¡¯t even have that [Mind] skill yet.¡± Jay wondered before shrugging.

    ¡°Oh well.¡± he kept walking down the hill towards the fight, not worrying about the battle, as he trusted in his skeletons.

    As he walked, the first statue went down. The two skeletons then ran over to finish off thest statue.

    With three skeletons hammering at the one statue, the helvetian soldier had sealed its fate.

    Suffice to say, the second statue was crumbled in an instant.

    Two skeletons lined up behind Blue and Jay, and thest one was on crystal gathering duty ¨C it was Sweeper.

    The minion came running back like a dog fetching a ball, seemingly excited to bring them to its master, holding two crystals out to Jay.

    Jay reached out to ept the crystals, ¡°Thanks Swee-¡±

    The skeleton suddenly dropped them on the ground before him.

    ¡°What the?¡± Jay felt like he got metaphorically pped in the face.

    His own skeleton let him bend down like a peasant and pick them up.

    Nevertheless, he knelt down and picked the crystals up anyway.

    ¡°So this is how it feels¡± Jay thought, remembering how he typically throws their weapons on the ground for them to pick up.

    While this seemed like a rude thing to do, the skeletons didn¡¯t actually have a bad attitude ¨C really. It was because Jay had previouslymanded them to drop them before him.

    Both to make a pile, and back at the marsh when they were covered with blood.

    He simply didn¡¯t want to touch them; they are made from decaying bone and flesh tissue after all, it was not hygenic.

    Remembering that this was his fault, he wasn¡¯t offended; only feeling a little silly.

 Chapter 93 Black Highway

    Jay¡¯s destination was the second pyramid, however he first had to walk past Sedulus¡¯s pyramid, along with the two massive pirs which sat in front of the first pyramid.

    Jay remembered thatst time he was here, there were two sword statues and one spear statue in between these pirs of the pyramid; the spear statue had a ck helmet that he was forced to knock off before he could end the fight quickly.

    For a moment he consideredmanding the skeletons, but after seeing what Blue did previously, he decided to let Blue maintain hismander role ¨C for now anyway.

    Walking along, Jay decided to open his exp notification.

    [240 Exp]

    He closed it with a slight smile. Usually he would say ¡°Nice¡± to himself, but something else was weighing on his conscience ¨C Thest few days had felt repetitive to him.

    ¡°It feels like I¡¯m moving in circles¡­ heading back to the marsh, realising I am weak and have note very far, doing this dungeon multiple times¡­ what am I even doing here?¡±

    He walked a little more slowly, feeling like he was getting nowhere.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ it feels like a waste of time¡­¡± he pursed his lips, and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly ¡°But I have a reason to keep going.¡±

    ¡°I could live a peaceful, quiet life.¡± he stopped walking.

    Taking a moment, he looked around the ruinedndscape as he went deep into his thoughts.

    It was quiet and dark. A deadnd. Barren. Every building in ruin, never to be built up again.

    ¡°No. A quiet, peaceful life can onlye about when I am all powerful¡­ this world wont allow peace for the weak.¡± he looked at the ruins around him.

    ¡°It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war after all.¡±

    ¡°Otherwise, I may end up like this city.¡±

    With a nod, he kept walking.

    ¡°This is not a meaningless walk.¡± he now walked a little faster, having encouraged himself.

    Suddenly, Jay got a notification.<sub>.</sub>

    [Immortality Research 4%]

    ¡°Huh, another page.¡± he thought, looking for somewhere to stop.

    Ahead, there were two stone statues, so he decided he would read the new page while the skeletons fought.

    As he read, the skeletons prepared for battle.

    Once again, the three skeletons stood in front of Jay, while Blue stood at Jay¡¯s side like a personal body guard.

    Jay smiled and shook his head, seeing that the strategy was the same as before.

    ¡°If it works, it works¡± he shrugged, taking out his book.

    Jay read it as the fight went on, then read it again, trying to take it in and understand it.

    ¡°Huh¡­¡± Jay felt weird after reading the new page of the immortal book, but he soon felt normal again while watching thest statue crumble before him; another victim of his skeletons.

    He continued walking across the dungeon, fighting a few more groups of the statues as they marched towards the pirs.

    Finally, the small band came to the three stone statues in between the pirs.

    Two swordsmen and one spearman.

    ¡°Should be an interesting fight.¡± Jay thought as they approached.

    Finally, the skeletons stepped forward, though this time Blue was with them.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna help huh?¡± Jay said to Blue who finally entered the fight.

    Blue didn¡¯t look back to its master, being wholly focused on the enemies.

    The skeletons then ran off, each to their own targets.<sub></sub>

    ¡°I¡¯ll step in if I need to.¡± Jay thought.

    Blue went to help fight the spearman.

    The spearman statue still had the ck helmet on, so Jay wondered if Blue would try to knock it off to do critical hits or simply attack the rest of the statue¡¯s body to slowly kill it.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Jay to get his answer.

    As the fight progressed, Blue and Red slowly killed the spearman statue without sessfully knocking off the ck helmet.

    ¡°I guess their skill level isn¡¯t quite there yet.¡± he pursed his lips.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Red and Blue killed the spearman statue.

    [35 Exp]

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder why the spearmen statues give more exp even though they are the same level? The swordsmen statues only give 30 exp each.¡±

    ¡°I guess I can ask Sedulus. I might as well drop off some crystals to her too.¡±

    Blue and Red each went to fight one of thest two swordsmen statues; destroying them took no time at all.

    [60 Exp]

    The small party continued on their journey to meet Sedulus. Now all Jay had to do was walk around the side of the huge pyramid, which took some time because of its sheer size ¨C yet this was the smallest pyramid out of all of them.

    Two more statues hampered their journey, though they were quickly ended, and finally Jay made it to the back.

    ¡°Now, the entrance¡­¡±

    Jay walked until he found the gap in the back of the ck pyramid wall. It was hard to see at a distance because the whole pyramid was ck, and it was a gloomy dungeon.

    Entering it, he walked down some steps before finding the same room that he left Sedulus in.<sub></sub>

    There the statue sat, silent in the darkness, a whole head higher than any other statues Jay had encountered so far.

    The war spear was still lying on therge table, as if it was an ornament or an artefact designed to be looked at.

    ¡°Sedulus?¡±

    The statue didn¡¯t move or respond.

    ¡°I have some of the crystals?¡± Jay felt a little awkward because of the silence.

    After a moment, the statue finally spoke ¨C yet it didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°Thank you, little one.¡± Sedulus sounded tired to Jay.

    A notification appeared before Jay¡¯s eyes.

    [Deposit Soul stones?]

    [Yes/No?]

    ¡°Yes¡± Jay thought, as he watched the soul stones disappear from his inventory.

    ¡°Thank you, child. Good progress¡± the statue encouraged Jay.

    Jay then checked the progress of his secret quest.

    <[Hidden Quest ¨C Soul Liberation]>

    [Gather soul stones and bring them to Sedulus]

    [Progress]

    ¨C Soul stone: 215/500

    ¨C Large Soul stone: 0/2

    ¨C Greater Soul stone: 0/3

    [Rewards]

    ¨C 3 Skills: Mind, Mark, Host.

    ¨C Weapon: Sedulus¡¯s war spear.

    Jay finally had a chance to ask his question.

    ¡°Sedulus, why do the spearmen give me more experience than the swordsmen?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    It was quiet for a moment before Sedulus replied.

    Clearly, Sedulus was quite old so answering such questions would take time ¨C though after waiting patiently, she answered.

    ¡°Once men of great might and strength. They weren¡¯t all the same level when they were in the flesh, but the vessels they turned into became simr¡­¡±

    ¡°The spearmen of Helvetia were more skilful than the swordsmen¡­ while they are simr in strength now, they were once unmatched. Worlds apart.¡±

    ¡°Of course, greater quality soul stones resulted in higher levels; more skills and memories could be maintained. The spearmen weren¡¯t afforded such stones as there were too few of them.¡±

    Jay became quite interested in these seemingly useless soul stones.

    ¡°So¡­ if you have a perfect soul stone, you can create a perfect statue with a permanent mind?¡±

    Sedulus understood what Jay was asking, but knew this would only turn out to be a curse.

    ¡°Little one¡­ these things are not for you to know¡­ I will not let our mistakes be repeated.¡±

    ¡°I see. Thanks anyway.¡± Jay nodded with a solemn smile.

    ¡°I can still juste here and gather them for myself after the quest. Who¡¯s gunna stop me?¡± Jay thought, but he stopped himself from making a cunning expression. He wasn¡¯t sure if Sedulus could see his facial expressions after all.

    After looking at the beautiful war spear once more, Jay left, leaving the statue in peace.

    ¡°Hopefully I can get arge soul stone today¡­ but they will be higher level statues to fight. Good thing I have about 60 teeth spells; I¡¯ll probably run out of mana first though.¡±

    Jay hadpletely forgotten that the statues were magic immune.

    When using a tooth spell, the damage was mostly superficial, but there was still some. The explosive force of tooth would cause tiny bits of it to fly off at high speeds due to the [Propagative Stress Rupturing] part of the spell, which would cause minor physical damage.

    Still, it was a waste of both a tooth and the 10 mana required for the spell.

    Jay looked towards the second pyramid; It was muchrger, and much more imposing.

    Its grand size alone somehow resulted in a sense of beauty and majesty.

    Thankfully, there was arge wide path connecting the pyramids; a highway of sorts.

    The gigantic pirs that were out the front of the first pyramid were now lining each side of the highway.

    Jay began his journey to the second pyramid along this ck stone road.

    It was still quite far in the distance, and many stone soldier statues made up military checkpoints along the highway.

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder what the point of these pirs are¡­ just to look cool maybe?¡± He thought as he walked along.

    It wasn¡¯t long before he approached the first group of statues.

    Three of them ¨C all spearmen.

    ¡°Thankfully, they are all still level three. I wonder if they can work together.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, three is probably not enough to form a phnx.¡±

    Jay remembered the guards when he approached Lo, there was about five of them all with spears. Even then, they did not look very dangerous.

    As he approached, the four skeletons finally jumped into action.

    *** Sorry there was no chapter yesterday, the next parts of the story have been quite hard to piece together (I try to do at least one chapter per day); there was also another page of the immortal book. It¡¯s also my birthday. ***

 Chapter 94 [Auxiliary Chapter] The Guards

    ***You all know the drill by now. Free chapter, you can skip if you want; Why? Because I enjoy it. This one is about malevolence. Aero182.***

    ~Journal extract of Strenholm Lugatticus; the saviour and liberator of ves~

    ¨C 5 years before he fought back against his own king, the tyrant king Velothore ¨C

    I found something, in the depths of a dungeon. I had never delved deeper, and never will again.

    Of course, I was rewarded.

    At first, I thought this reward was a curse, utter madness, but instead it made me truthful, a bringer of light; knowing now that evil is a part of me, I¡¯m able to stand against any evil, seeing it through any mask or veil,pliment or empty titude.

    Down in that hole I found a pit of darkness.

    I threw a rock in, and heard no noise as I gazed into it, listening.<sub>.</sub>

    Yes; I gazed into the darkness ¨C and it changed me.

    It showed me something that became a part of me¡­ No, actually.. It revealed a part of me. This was what I saw.

    ~~~

    We were ves with no names, having outlived our usefulness and destined to die.

    All gathered up for the ughter.

    I was there, a ve¡­ something I will never forget as we walked to our death was the look on the faces of the other ves; defenceless likembs to the ughter. Utter fear.

    All I could do was shiver.<sub></sub>

    Guards with spears prodded us from each side.

    They had no reason to hate us, yet they did. They only wanted to destroy.

    Caged in from each side like livestock; we were being fed into the fiery mouth of the beast.

    How could my fellow human do this to me?

    How can they kill the innocent as if they are emotionless machines?

    How can they destroy without reason?

    They would force us to be quiet, beating us.<sub></sub>

    Though I knew I was about to die, so I may as well speak up.

    ¡°You are a monster!¡± I yelled at a guard.

    This was when I realised something, something primal in me opened its eyes.

    Suddenly, I was in the body of the guard.

    Somehow I had be a guard and was being yelled at by my former self.

    ¡°I called myself a monster?¡± I thought to myself, utterly confused.

    Yet I knew it was now true.

    I looked back at my former self with anger and despised my weakness.

    Truly, I looked like a hopeless wretch, so naive¡­ I was not naive about others, but about myself.

    Now, I am the guard.

    Staring back into those desperate eyes, I looked at them with a stern and emotionless stare; I only had two words as I funelled my former self towards the mouth of the beast.

    ¡°I know.¡±

    My former body then disappeared, ceasing to exist; It did not enter the mouth of the beast.

    Many entered the fiery mouth, never daring to speak up.

    I stopped prodding the ves with my spear, yet they still entered.

    I stopped the other guards, yet they still entered.

    Finally I stopped the ves. Their endless march to suffering stopped.

    The fire from the beast¡¯s mouth raged, and was then spat out. mes washed over the crowd instead.

    Many perished from the me, but it was soon held back.

    The only ones who survived its direct mes were the guards.

    Fire came from their own mouths and matched the beast, for inside all of them their own monsters had been awakened; no longer powerless against beasts.

    No more ves were burned hereafter ¨C yet it was not the ves who were liberated, but the guards.

    ~~~

 Chapter 95 Crossfire

    The three statues slowly marched forward with their spears pointing down, ready to meet the skeletons in battle.

    To face this spear wall would be an impossible task if Jay was solo, an imprable wall of spikes threatening to pierce him as soon as he got too close ¨C however, he was not alone.

    The four skeletons red out, and surrounded the small troop of three statues.

    With each of them pointing different direction, their threat waspletely gone. Their defensive formation waspletely ruined.

    Like thest four versus three fight, each skeleton kept a statue busy while Blue and Red would bully one of them while Jay watched patiently.

    *Fwoosh~*

    A spear narrowly missed Blue as it dodged to the side.

    The skeletons were light and dextrous so shifting their weight to dodge was easily done. Not to mention the attacks of the statues were too obvious.

    *Clunk*

    Red took the opportunity to dash forward and bash its hammer against its back, stone chipping off at high speeds.

    Jay was watching silently, but soon he realised the weakness of the spearmen ¨C their range. If you can get close enough to a spearman, they are defenceless.<sub>.</sub>

    Mentally, hemanded Lamp to dodge the next attack and jump forward, getting past the dangerous tip of the spear.

    The advantage of the spear was its range, and if you could get past it, you could beat a spearman; of course, apetent spearman could back up quickly ¨C however, these statues are slow because of their sheer size.

    The skeletons were much faster than the statues, so Lamp easily got in close and started smashing its hammer against it.

    However, Jay didn¡¯t expect what happened next.

    The statue seemed to grunt before kicking Lamp, sending the skeleton flying back out of spear range again.

    Lamp took a little damage even though it did more, but if it were doing this for hours it would eventually die.

    ¡°Oops¡­¡± Jay thought, feeling a little bad about getting Lamp punished. He failed to realise that the sheer size of the statues would allow them to simply kick away their opponents.

    The statue, now unhampered by Lamp, then went over to help itsrade, and it would have gotten in a free hit on one of the skeletons, but the skeletons all quickly backed away from each of their fights.

    Thankfully Blue noticed and had the other skeletons back off as they waited for Lamp to recover.

    ¡°Ok¡­ so I¡¯ll have to heal Lamp after the fight; It seems like the skeletons have probably found the most efficient way to fight. After all, they have been doing this for days now.¡±<sub></sub>

    Jay gave Lamp over to themand of Blue again and went back to passively watching.

    Before long, Lamp got up and pre-upied the statue again while Red and Blue finished off another.

    Sweeper was doing well distracting a statue as well, and soon the other skeletons came to help; the fight was over.

    It only took about seven minutes, and if Jay hadn¡¯t disrupted, it would have been five.

    [105 Exp]

    [Soulstone] (empty) x 3

    Jay gathered the loot and continued along the ck highway towards the second pyramid.

    Eleven more of the huge twin pirs remained along the highway, each with their sets of 3 spearmen statues.

    In between each group of spearmen were another 2 swordsmen statues.

    The skeletons employed the same strategy, easily defeating the statues as they progressed along the highway, of course the swordsmen statues were easy pickings since there was only two of them. Jay didn¡¯t even bother to stop walking towards them.<sub></sub>

    At some points, Jay got bored and helped out a few times which helped things to go slightly faster.

    All in all, it was one hour and twenty minutes before he reached the front of the pyramid, providing Jay with 1560 exp.

    Jay stopped before the second pyramid, it wasrger and more majestic than the first.

    ¡°Damn¡­¡± he shook his head as he stood at the entrance, unable to find the words.

    He peered into the darkness through the pyramid gateway; just as dark as the first one except forrge circles of light leading to arge simple throne with a statue sitting on it.

    ¡°Huh, this one is a bit more simple.¡±

    Therge circles of light came from holes in the ceiling, and after looking upwards Jay found there was bright sunlighting from above; though from the outside of the pyramid, there was no sunlight in the sky or skylights on the pyramid.

    Jay had a strange feeling when he looked up at the fake sun through the ceiling, it looked far too real.

    Threerge circles of light were between him and the throne, each of them about 50 meters across, as well as another circle shining on the throne.

    Between each circle was a group of three spearmen statues, waiting in the darkness.

    ¡°I wonder why they aren¡¯t waiting in the light?¡± Jay thought.

    It wasn¡¯t dark enough to tell that they were just spearmen, and he was close enough to the first group to see that they were also level three ¨C It wouldn¡¯t be hard to get through them.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ what¡¯s the trap going to be..¡± Jay expected a trap as he now knew the motives behind the creation of these pyramids since he talked with Sedulus.

    Every pyramid was designed as a trap to lure in their centuries-old enemies.

    On the throne sat arge female statue with golden glowing eyes; it had a simr female figure to Sedulus, slender and tall.

    Above the throne was a kite-shaped glowing stone which looked enticing to Jay.

    ¡°Another fake treasure I¡¯m guessing.¡± Jay thought as he restrained his greed.

    Jay wasn¡¯t close enough to analyse therge statue, but he couldn¡¯t see any weapon so he could only guess what kind of a threat it may be.

    ¡°Well, no point waiting.¡±

    Jay pulled out his shield and hammer, and began walking into the light, crossing the circle to start the battle with the statues in the shadows.

    Suddenly the statue on the throne began moving and was standing up. It was still far away so Jay wasn¡¯t too concerned, but he watched it anyway.

    Jay squinted suspiciously as he walked slowly towards it.

    The spearmen soldiers in the darkness didn¡¯t move, it seemed like they were waiting for Jay toe to them.

    ¡°Fine.¡± he though, having his skeletons charge forward and encircle them.

    Suddenly a bright light from the throne, the statue at the throne was holding what appeared to be a long glowing golden stick.

    However, it only took a moment before Jay realised what it was as it pulled back a golden string ¨C it was a bow. Arge golden bow.

    It was seemingly made from magic, though Jay couldn¡¯t sense it at all.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Jay suddenly realised the predicament he was in as the statue continued to draw back its first shot.

    Immediately, he ran forward to the first three statues that stood in the darkness.

    Each of them prepared for his charge with their spears pointed forward, it seemed like they were trying to stop him from making it to the next circle, of course this was in vein as they soon had to turn to face each of the skeletons, their defensive formation made useless.

    Seeing that the archer was about to fire, Jay charged as he was going to use the spear statues as a shield.

    ¡°Hopefully the archer statue will hit its own troops in their backs.¡± he red with one eye on the spearman statue before him, and another eye on the archer much further behind.

 Chapter 96 Vanishing 1

    The golden bow was finally stretched all the way back.

    *THROOSH~* The arrow released with a deep boom sound from the bow, creating an echo in the room.

    A golden arrow of light was released, flying across the room at such a high speed that it almost had no arch.

    Strangely, it stopped glowing as it passed through the darkness, though it was flying so fast that it seemed to make the arrow sh.

    Finally, it was about to hit the spearman statue in front of Jay.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how powerful this thing is¡­¡± Jay thought as this was all happening.

    The statue was still in the darkness, and the arrow stopped glowing as it was about to hit the statue.

    *Vrrrr~*

    The arrow suddenly reappeared with its intense glow right before Jay, making a humming noise as it flowed with energy.

    Jay instinctively side-stepped and raised his shield.

    He did manage to move to the side but it seemed like the arrow was somehow maised towards him, changing its course in mid air.

    ¡°F~¡± he couldn¡¯t even finish the thought as it hit his shield.

    *DWOOSH~*

    [-3]

    ¡°ARGH!¡± he gritted his teeth as the force of the hit sent him flying backwards. He almost lost bnce as he fell to his knees.

    ¡°Shit.¡± he almost didn¡¯t have time to raise his shield.<sub>.</sub>

    It did three damage to Jay after much of the damage was negated by his shield ¨C though the shield was not looking very healthy at this moment. All the green veins that coursed across it were gone and there were no traces of green necromancer mana flowing through it anymore.

    ¡°Dammit, it might break after the next attack¡± Jay thought, seeing the sorry state of his shield.

    Since the skeletons had circled around, they were now fighting the statues in the darkness from either side.

    Red and Sweeper were fighting the statue on the left, while Blue and Lamp worked on the right one, leaving the middle one for Jay.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t the arrow hit the statue?¡± he wondered as he was forced to get back into the fight and keep the statue busy.

    [-6][-6]

    Jay got some hits in with the hammer, but the archer statue was already pulling back another shot.

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡±

    [-6]

    Jay got another hit in, but it would be bad to be fighting while another arrow wasing towards him, so he backed off and prepared.

    *THROOSH~* Another arrow released.

    Again, the zing golden arrow flew across the room, shing as it went in and out of the shadows.

    Jay ced himself between a statue and the arrow again, but backed up much further into the light circle.

    ¡°This time, I will see what happens¡­¡±

    The arrow was zing with light as it passed through the circle behind the statue, then suddenly it entered the shadow and stopped glowing again.<sub></sub>

    Jay was sure it was on a perfect trajectory towards the statue, but nothing happened.

    *VRRrrr~* it began glowing again as it left the shadow and entered Jay¡¯s circle,ing straight towards him.

    ¡°Asklin!¡± Jay activated his boots as he ducked sideways, dashing to the right. This time he was well out of the way of the arrow so he dodged it.

    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s too hard to see in the dark when it enters the shadows, my eyes don¡¯t adjust quickly enough¡­¡±

    ¡°Why does it stop glowing anyway?¡± he raised a brow.

    It didn¡¯t make too much sense to Jay, realising it should have also hit the statues.

    ¡°It should have hit the soldiers though¡­ is it simply disappearing? Orpletely bing intangible?¡±

    There was no more time for thinking. Already the statue was pulling the golden bow back again, priming another attack.

    Jay connected the dots after the first two attacks and dashed out of the light circle into the shadows on the right.

    The middle spearman statue went to fight Blue and Lamp because Jay disengaged; now there was a 2 versus 2, a 2 versus 1, along with the archer statue firing at Jay.

    The spearman statue Jay had been fighting wasn¡¯t the only one to act differently.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Jay gazed at the archer statue in the back. It was no longer pulling an arrow back.

    Suddenly, its golden bow disappeared after bursting into particles of light.

    The statue stood for a moment, staring at Jay. It somehow seemed like it was annoyed.

    Nevertheless, it began to move again. The golden bow was gone ¨C now reced by a sickly dark-red one.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think I can guess what will happen next.¡± Jay decided to let the archer statue fire while he waited.

    *THROOSH~¡±

    The dark red arrow crackled with energy as it sped across the room, only reappearing in the shadows now and disappearing in the light.

    Jay suddenly jumped into the light with a mischievous grin, he seemed like a kid ying a childrens game.

    The statue had already knocked another red arrow, but paused while pulling back on the second arrow of dark-red light. Jay was in the light again.

    The red arrow dispersed and the statue seemed dissatisfied. Jay thought he saw its shoulders slouch a little, which only made him grin more devilishly.

    The red bow disappeared next, and out came the golden one once more.

    Jay smiled seeing this, almost chuckling. He realised that the golden bow would only shoot arrows that would disappear in the darkness, while the red bow would shoot red arrows that would disappear in the light.

    ¡°Seems like I¡¯ve found your weakness.¡± he cunningly red at the statue which was no longer a threat.

    The archer statue had a massive advantage before Jay figured it out, but now it was like child¡¯s y.

    The archer statue was as good as defeated, it could only wait patiently for its death ¨C though of course it still fired arrows anyway.

    Now the fight would be easy, all Jay had to do was stand in and out of the light to screw with the archer statue while his minions killed the spearmen. It was as easy as a walk in the park.

    [35 Exp]

    Red and Sweeper had finished off their statue, joining Blue and Lamp in the fight against the two remaining spearmen.

    The skeletons could easily damage them now that it was 4 on 2, and the statues were destroyed in no time.

    [35 Exp][35 Exp]

    Meanwhile the archer statue was still trying to fire at Jay, albeit unsessfully.

    There were still two more light circles to cross before Jay would get to the throne circle, along with two more sets of three spearmen statues.

    Only 6 statues stood before him and the archer.

    Jay stepped into the light and back into the shadow again, stopping the archer statue from sessfully firing as he looked across the room.

    ¡°Dammit, I will have to cross another light circle. If I run, it will probably only be able to shoot one arrow¡±.

    He made sure his boots had enough time to cool down before attempting the dash across the field. The boots would allow him to dodge at least one arrow, though they had a cooldown period before Jay could activate them again.

    ¡°Well, no point in wasting time.¡± Jay shrugged, he was confident he could reach the darkness on the other side of the circle without getting hit.

    He would have just walked around, stepping in and out of the light to mess with the archer¡¯s rhythm, but he noticed there were walls on each side of the circles after the first one. He simply had no choice but to walk across therge light area.

    Jay waited in the shadows for the archer to draw another red arrow.

    Just as it was about to fire, he dashed across the circle in a mad sprint.

    Seeing him enter the circle, the archer had its chance, and it knew it; it wouldn¡¯t let such an opportunity go.

    It quickly dispersed the red bow and reformed the golden one, drawing back an arrow of an intense gold light.

    It was clear that it put more energy into this arrow, it wanted to make it really count.

    *THROOOSHH~~* The huge arrow was released, the noise alone created a small shockwave that caused dust to fly into the air around the archer statue.

    Its eyes gleamed with ferocity as it watched the massive arrow leave, heading straight towards Jay.

    Surely this would end Jay in one hit?

    Of course, Jay immediately dropped to the side.

    ¡°Asklin!¡± he boots propelled him far to the right, and the powerful arrow couldn¡¯t change its trajectory enough to stay locked onto him ¨C though it did swerve slightly.

    *VRRRRRR~*

    The arrows were already the size of ballista spears, but this arrow was more like a tree trunk. As it passed, it caused a primal fear, a sense of death to creep up Jay¡¯s spine.

    *SSSS~* Jay was about a meter away from the arrow, but the intensity of the power behind it caused his shield and coat to make a sizzling noise. Any moisture on them instantly evaporated.

    Jay gulped seeing this, his eyes bulging a little ¡°Isn¡¯t this a little too strong for a level 3 dungeon?¡±

    There was one other thing that Jay noticed seeing the arrow travel past. The lighting from the arrow dispelled the darkness.

    It no longer disappeared when it passed through the shadows, it was simply too powerful; creating its own light.

    ¡°Dammit, things just gotplicated¡­¡±

    Jay felt like he was out of options, and may have to retreat, though he was still running towards the next patch of shadows with three more spearmen statues waiting.

    He was over half-way across the light and his boots were on cooldown.

    A feeling of uneasiness crept upon his mind as he ran towards the spearmen; his skeletons alongside him.

    Since the arrow didn¡¯t vanish, the whole fight was changed back around; the archer was a massive threat again.

    If he turned back now, he would probably end up taking a few arrows to the back; he had no choice but to keep running forward, and in the heat of the moment he didn¡¯t let himself hesitate.

 Chapter 97 Vanishing 2

    Jay noticed the archer statue was creating another arrow, though this was normal sized one again.

    ¡°Hmm.. I guess for such a powerful spell it must need a cooldown.¡±

    Jay certainly didn¡¯t want to get hit by a tree-trunk sized arrow, so he made a mental note to save his boots for that.

    Finally, he was now close enough to analyse the archer statue.

    [Treasure Guard ¨C Level 1]

    [??? HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [???]

    [???]

    [???]

    [???]

    [???]

    [???]

    [???]

    <Description>

    [???]

    ¡°What the hell? I can¡¯t see any of its skills? ¡­And it¡¯s level one?¡± Jay scoffed, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that for a second¡­¡± he pursed his lips, frustrated.<sub>.</sub>

    Something weird was definitely going on, and while there was an element of danger, Jay now believed he could still win.

    His skeletons wasted no time in engaging their targets, and Jay wasted no time either as he jumped right into the battle.

    He pounced on the statues with the cold and diligent focus of a veteran assassin; keeping one eye on the archer as he punished the spearmen with his hammer.

    The middle spearmen seemed to be a little more fearsome this time as it seemed to have better reflexes, and Jay squinted at it in suspicion, analysing it.

    ¡°It¡¯s level four.¡± he realised beforemanding his skeletons.

    ¡°Finish the level three ones first, boys!¡±

    *VRRR~* another arrow hummed towards Jay, but he stepped into the darkness just in time. The arrow dematerialised right before him, threatening to bore right into his chest; Jay unconsciously exhaled seeing it.

    Jay was fighting with one foot in the light and one foot in the darkness, allowing him to easily evade the arrows now.

    The archer statue had no expression as its face was stone, but Jay was sure that it would be grinding its teeth with a vein bursting in its forehead if it could.

    This only encouraged Jay to hammer faster, dodging spear thrusts and smashing stone helmets.

    [35 Exp][35 Exp]

    With the two level three spearmen dead, the level final one had no hope against four skeletons and Jay.

    It frantically thrusted and did sweeping spear attacks, along with a few different defensive twirls that Jay hadn¡¯t seen before, but it was all for nothing.

    [100 Exp]

    Not only was the archer getting more threatening, but the spearmen statues were getting tougher.

    Jay looked across the light circle to find that two of the statues were level four while the middle one was much bigger, its armour thicker and heavier ¨C it was level ten.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Damn, what, level ten? That¡¯s way too high..¡± Jay furrowed his brows in anger.

    ¡°How am I supposed to get past it?¡±

    The archer statue was about to release another red arrow; Jay stepped into the light to avoid it, and an idea suddenly popped into his head.

    ¡°Surely it¡¯s not that simple¡­¡± he began to smile.

    Jay went back into the darkness and waited for the archer statue to release another red arrow, then he proceeded to dash across thest circle of light.

    This time, something was different ¨C The level 10 spearman statue had a double-ended spear and stepped out of the darkness to meet Jay in the middle of the light circle.

    ¡°Well, this just keeps getting better¡± Jay sarcastically said as he shook his head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll distract the level 10, you guys work on the level four¡¯s!¡± Jay yelled orders to his skeletons.

    Jay analysed the level 10 statue before him.

    <[Helvetian Soldier ¨C Level 10]>

    [200 HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Heavy Brittle Armour]

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage.

    ¨C 20% less movement speed.<sub></sub>

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Magic damage immune.

    ¨C Any wielded weapons be cursed.

    [Double Strike]

    ¨C Does two attacks in rapid session. Each attack is 75% as strong as a normal one.

    ¨C 10 Second cooldown.

    [Full Counter] (Unique)

    ¨C 100% melee damage reflection

    <Description>

    [Protector of Mern]

    ¡°100% damage reflection¡­ how the hell am I supposed to kill you?¡± Jay thought, taking a step back to dodge a spear sh.

    ¡°It¡¯s faster too, much faster¡­ dammit.¡±

    Jay realised he had to be extra careful now, but suddenly he heard the familiar sound of dangering from the archer statue.

    *THROOSH~*

    Jay only had one option ¨C to hide behind thisrge spearman statue, and he hoped this would be the answer.

    So far, none of the arrows had hit any statues as they had either missed or were intangible, so he wasn¡¯t sure if they could even hit the stone soldiers.

    This was a risk, but Jay was confident he could still escape if things went south.

    *VRRRrr~~ BOOM!~*

    The golden arrow exploded on the back of the bulky statue, causing it to stagger for a moment while chips of rocks flung off and whizzed away at high speeds.

    The level 10 statue was not seemingly defenceless as it kneeled down.

    This was Jay¡¯s opportunity, he smashed down on the head of the statue with his hammer.

    [Critical hit][12]

    Jay struck again with his hammer, trying to do the most damage possible; the statue was kneeling on one knee and couldn¡¯t see Jay, but suddenly it¡¯s double ended spear came up above its head and perfectly blocked Jay¡¯s attack.

    The momentum caused the spear to twirl around and the other end struck back at Jay.

    [-6]

    ¡°Argh!¡± Jay gritted his teeth, the spear pierced him right in the leg.

    Jay took a few steps back, almost falling over as his upper leg muscle, the tensor fasciaetae, was almostpletely severed.

    It quickly healed up as his health bar dropped by six, his leg movement restored.

    ¡°Dangerous.¡± thought Jay, squinting at the double-ended spear.

    The full counter skill was nothing to mess around with.

    The statue stepped forward again, thrusting its spear. Jay narrowly evaded, but the statue used its double strike.

    The resulting second pierce of the spear came much too quickly for Jay to dodge.

    ¡°Shi~¡± Jay braced himself for the pain and raised his shield.

    *BROONGGGggg~* The force of the hit caused the shield to vibrate, and Jay was sent flying five meters backwards. He was turned around, and forced to ce his hand on the ground to stop himself from falling over.

    [-3]

    The statue gave him no rest or respite; clearly it was a seasoned fighter, still retaining itsbat sense from itsst life as if it was now a core part of its being.

    Jay only took three damage, but that was after the 80% damage reduction from his shield; it would have done 15 damage otherwise.

    Bits of bone had chipped off deathwalkers sentry now, and Jay could tell it may not survive the next hit.

    The level 10 statue was rushing over to Jay while he was still recovering from thest spear hit, it was not letting any opportunity escape.

    ¡°Dammit¡± Jay gritted his teeth, preparing for the next hit; about to get pierced by the double-ended spear once again.

    *VRrrr~* a golden arrow came flying, and thankfully, Jay was still behind the level 10 statue.

    A mischievous grin appeared on Jay¡¯s face as he looked up, realising the statue was about to get struck again ¨C and right before he would be hit; he was about to escape the attack.

    *BOOM!~*

    The level 10 statue went down to one knee again, pausing in its tracks, it didn¡¯t get a hit on Jay.

    Jay pounced up like a little hungry goblin, ceasing the opportunity and smashing his hammer at the level 10 statue again.

    [Critical Hit][12]

    A new crack began to form on the stone soldiers helmet now ¨C but it was nothingpared to the gashes across its back.

    Jay smirked seeing the damage, and quickly took a step back. He wasn¡¯t going to let the statue counter him again.

 Chapter 98 Vanishing 3

    Just like he thought, the statue stood up and retaliated with a spear thrust.

    Since Jay pre-empted its attack, he was already out of range, a mocking smile stered across his face.

    Jay took this moment to check its health.

    [146/200]

    ¡°Nice¡­ This shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡±

    [100 Exp][100 Exp]

    The skeletons had finished killing the statues and wereing over to help Jay.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Jay¡¯s eyes bulged for a moment seeing the skeletons dash over.

    The [Full counter] skill of the statue was no joke. They skeletons would only end up killing themselves if they tried to help.

    Jay inhaled deeply, mentally ordering the skeletons to fall back into the shadows behind him.

    He would have had the skeletons attack the archer statue, but he realised he needed the archer to kill the level 10 spearman statue; without the archer, this fight was lost ¨C the spearman statue would be undefeatable. Jay would probably have to get Anya to help him if the archer died, and he didn¡¯t want to get tied down any more than he already was by the guild master ¨C of course, it would be hard to be more ckmailed than he already was.

    ¡°Dammit..¡± Jay¡¯s hands were tied. He simply had to do this himself, without the help of the skeletons.

    *VRRR~BOOM!~*

    Another arrow came, smashing into the statue again.

    Jay smiled, the fight wasn¡¯t too hard without the skeletons anyway.

    Without waiting, Jay jumped forward and smashed the hammer down on the statues head once more.

    [Critical Hit][12]

    Jumping back after doing his damage, Jay had an idea.

    ¡°Hmm, it makes no sense that the skeletons can¡¯t help me¡±

    He had his skeletons stand close by as he waited for the right moment.

    He dodged more spear swipes, sweeps and thrusts as he waited for the next arrow, and like clockwork it came buzzing again.

    *VRRR~*<sub>.</sub>

    *BOOM!~*

    ¡°NOW!¡± Jay yelled at his minions as he jumped forward and smashed his hammer ¨C yet this time, all his skeletons copied him.

    The strikes all rained down in perfect unity. Maximum damage.

    [Critical Hit][12]

    [Critical Hit][12]

    [Critical Hit][12]

    [Critical Hit][12]

    [Critical Hit][12]

    Damage numbers floated above the level 10 statues head as it lost over 25% of its health all at once.

    Its thick helmet had cracked in lots of ces and a few chunks of the statue had fallen off and were strewn about.

    ¡°Back!¡± he called to his skeletons.

    The skeletons ran back behind Jay again as he stepped back too.

    Jay leapt backwards but found himself in the darkness. After all the back-stepping he realised he finally went too far. This would not be good.

    The archer started knocking a red arrow since Jay was in the shadows now.

    If it could release the red shadow arrow, it would not hit the statue who was in the light.

    Jay decided to run to the right and enter the light circle again; the red arrow dispersed and a golden one was being pulled back, but this time, it was one of the powerful ones.

    Since Jay was no longer hiding behind any statues, the archer finally found another opportunity to use its most powerful attack.

    Jay didn¡¯t seem to care; he knew what he was doing as he ran further into the circle. His boots were ready again and he had a n.

    He made his skeletons wait in the darkness however, he wasn¡¯t going to need them for now.

    The archer statue saw that Jay was fully exposed now, a sitting duck in the middle of the light circle; it finally had a chance.

    A golden arrow was pulled back in the bow as it hummed with energy, channelling its most powerful attack.<sub></sub>

    Jay almost smirked seeing this, but he decided to hide it. He didn¡¯t want the statue to know that he was nning something.

    In a short moment, Jay looked back, making sure that the level 10 statue was behind him, then he heard the familiar sound.

    *THROOMMM!~*

    The massive tree-trunk sized projectile was released with the intense heat of a small sun.

    Finally, Jay let his smile show as the arrow drew nearer; he ducked to the side.

    ¡°ASKLIN!¡±

    *Pshhht* the boots propelled him to the side.

    *VRRRRRR~ SSSSS~* the huge arrow passed by harmlessly with a hum, steaming more of Jay¡¯s clothes.

    This arrow almost seemed bigger than thest.

    *BOOOOOOMMM!!!~~*

    The ground seemed to shake, and Jay knew what happened before he even looked back.

    [One of your perennial creatures has fallen]

    The level 10 statue was ended in one hit; turned to unidentifiable chunks of rock and dust in an instant.

    Even its weapon had shattered, turned to rubble and stones. The arrow continued and even wiped out one of Jay¡¯s skeletons.

    [2300 Exp]

    [Level up]

    Seeing the level up notification, a big grin appeared on Jay¡¯s face.

    For a moment, hepletely forgot that one of his creatures died, but he stopped himself from getting too excited; they were still in the midst of battle after all.

    ¡°Attack!¡± Jay thought as he rushed along with his skeletons over to finish off the archer statue.

    As Jay and his skeletons drew closer, they bared down on it like a pack of hungry wolves.

    In close range, the archer statue was defenceless.<sub></sub>

    Even though they were all in thest light circle, the statue pulled back a red arrow.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Jay raised a brow, ¡°That isn¡¯t right¡­¡±

    He stopped running forward but let his minions continue to press the attack.

    ¡°It seems like it still had one trick up its sleeve.¡±

    Just before the skeletons could reach it, the archer statues right leg armour glowed.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Jay squinted seeing this, suspicious.

    Suddenly the archer stomped forward, and a circr pulse of golden light exploded outwards ¨C suddenly, all of the skeletons were sent flying off out of the circle.

    Jay too was sent flying, it was like a wall hit him and pushed him out; a growing shield that pushed away everything.

    Everyone except the archer was in the shadows now.

    Suddenly, Jay understood why it was charging a red arrow. His boots were still on cooldown, and so he could only try to run back into the circle ¨C but it was toote.

    *THROOSH~*

    Jay had regretful eyes as he raised his deathwalkers sentry shield to block the hit. The shield would definitely crumble after this.

    He didn¡¯t want to have to reform it, but it was better than taking a hit ¨C and this is what shields were for.

    *BOOM!~*

    The st from the red arrow sent Jay flying backwards further into the shadows, and the shield crumbled into three pieces.

    [-3]

    Of course, this was not the end for the shield, as it still had the [Remnants] skill:

    [When life reaches zero, the shield breaks into three pieces. Can be restored using necrotic mana. Each piece can track the other pieces.]

    With an angry look, Jay rushed forward. The archer was already preparing its next red arrow, but it would be too slow.

    Jay stepped into the light, slightly beating his skeletons into it; they were flung further into the darkness since they were lighter ¨C of course, they caught up quite quickly due to their sheer speed.

    Three skeletons and Jay were now once more bearing down on the archer like wild beasts.

    Another golden arrow was released toward Jay, but he used his [Asklin] skill from his boots to dodge it easily, and kept running forward with a renewed vigour.

    Jay got the first hit in, smashing it right in the head; a fitting punishment.

    The skeletons followed up Jay¡¯s attack with their own hits.

    [Critical Hit][12]

    [6][6][6]

    The archer tried to knock more arrows, but it kept getting disrupted by the endless hits of the minions and Jay.

    [Critical Hit][12]

    [6][6][12]

    ¡°Dammit, how much health does this thing have?¡±

    Jay wanted to end it before it recovered and used that stomp-shield skill again; he still couldn¡¯t see how much health it had, as its information all came up with question marks.

    He was starting to feel the effects of having low energy now as his breathing got heavier and he started to sweat.

    ¡°I gotta end this quickly.¡± he thought.

    ¡°Aim for the head!¡± he barked orders at his skeletons.

    [Critical Hit][12]

    [Critical Hit][12]

    [Critical Hit][12]

    [Critical Hit][12]

    48 damage was done in an instant, and cracks were beginning to form in the statue ¨C a tell-tale sign that it was close to death.

    The statues helmet armour crumbled off, and Jay found that it was another female statue.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t have a moment to pause as he kept smashing it with his hammer, and the group did 42 damage as one skeleton missed a critical hit.

    More cracks formed, and it seemed like the statue had no hope now ¨C It was beaten fair and square.

    Another series of hitsnded, causing heavy deep cracks to form on its head and expressionless stone face.

    Just as Jay was about to do the final hit, the statue dropped to its knees.

    ¡°Forgive me brother¡­ Helvetia.¡± its bow dispersed into particles of light as a solemn and sad voice came from the statue, and Jay felt his heart stir.

    Jay breathed in deeply and exhaled, letting his anger cool off.

    ¡°Be free.¡± Jay said in amanding tone.

    He felt a mix of emotion as the statue had clearly retained some parts of its mind, and Jay really didn¡¯t think of it as an enemy, but a victim.

    With a final hit, its head was smashed apart.

    [2300 Exp]

    Jay panted for a moment, his energy low.

    ¡°Damn. I wanted to destroy it so badly but I don¡¯t feel any satisfaction¡­¡±

    A sense of sadness dawned on him, but he was also happy with therge amount of experience he was rewarded with.

    Jay looked around for a moment, he had things to do.

    ¡°First thing¡¯s first.¡± he pointed to each skeleton, giving each of them an order.

    ¡°Bring me the bones of the destroyed skeleton.¡±

    ¡°Loot the statues.¡±

    ¡°And you¡­¡± he squinted ¡°bring me my shield.¡±

    Jay then looked around for a moment, checking the room.

    There was nothing at the back of the room except the throne with the glowing rock above it.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he wanted to reach up and grab it, but remembered what happened in Sedulus¡¯s tomb.

    Jay decided it was probably a trap, so he waited until the skeletons collected all the soul stones before he would try to grab it.

 Chapter 99 Blood Bone Spirit 1

    Jay was almost going to sit on the throne, but realised this could also be another trap. There were just too many hidden twists in this pyramid, and the innocuous throne looked eerily dangerous.

    Even what seemed like a straight-forward fight to get to the archer statue turned into a dangerous battle.

    Thankfully, he remembered he brought some items from his home.

    He pulled out a chair and a stool to put his legs on as he rxed for a moment.

    ¡°Ah, this is nice.¡± he smiled as he waited under the warm lighting from above. A chair was a simple thing, but at this moment, simply sitting down and rxing made him feel incredibly content.

    Before sitting down, Jay pocketed the soul stone from the archer statue since it was the close by.

    [Large Soulstone] (empty)

    ¡°Oh, arge one? I thought one would be here.¡±

    Jay sat in his chair and gazed at it. It was spindle-shaped and about the size of a short sword. It was now big enough to see that the centre was translucent, it even seemed hollow inside.

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder if that¡¯s where the soul goes?¡± he thought, gazing at the less-opaque part of the crystal. A part of him wanted to smash it and see what was inside but he resisted the urge.

    It was not an easy thing to get, and Jay finally felt like he was making progress on his quest.

    Sure, he was well into the process of gathering the hundreds of normal soul stones, but those were easy to getpared to the fewrge and greater ones he needed.

    The skeletons were periodicallying back, one slowly made a pile of soul stones, another bones, and the other brought back pieces of Jay¡¯s shield.

    Jay decided to open up his level up notification as he rxed with a warm smile in his chair; he could pick up that other stuffter.

    [Level 10 ¨C Skill Acquired]

    [Level 10 ¨C Choose your path]

    [5 Free attribute points]<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Hmm, new skill first?¡±

    <[Summon ???? Helminth]>

    [Choose your path before acquiring this skill]

    ¡°I have to choose my path? Sure.¡±

    Jay opened his next notification with a sense of anticipation building up in him ¨C though he was still quite exhausted from the battle.

    <[Choose your path]>

    [Bone]

    [Blood]

    [Spirit]

    [Warning: This cannot be undone.]

    ¡°Blood, bone and spirit? Would that mean I be blood necromancer.. or a bloodmancer? ¡­or a spirit necromancer?¡±

    ¡°What would happen to my minions¡­¡± Jay looked at his undead loyal servants.

    This took Jay by surprise, and it was thest thing he expected: a specialisation choice.

    Nevertheless, he entertained the ideas.

    Jay could only imagine since he had only ever heard of the normal bone-type necromancers, which were simply called necromancers.

    With the blood choice, he pictured grotesque hulking masses of flesh, squirting blood and puss everywhere,rge flesh golems that pierced their enemies with protruding bones and ate them to grow the flesh bigger. Large and slow, vulnerable to fire.<sub></sub>

    He even imagined multiple faces of people that had been absorbed into the back of the flesh golems, speaking to him as one voice; a shiver went up his spine.

    ¡°Eugh, no.. not blood¡­¡± he quickly shot down the first option, rubbing his neck.

    Next he tried to picture a spirit necromancer; imagining wisps, spirits, wraiths and wailing ethereal ghosts that could drain the life of anything they touched; cursing and terrorising thends, leaving only mummified corpses and shrivelled nts in their wake; unstoppable when faced with physical weapons.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ but what if Ie across magic immune enemies? Or if I need protecting? They would probably be weak to magic too¡­¡±

    While Jay pondered these things, he could only guess at what would happen. After all, the world has never seen either a blood or a spirit necromancer. There was spirit-type magic, but practitioners were usually executed as it was quite simr to soul-type magic, which was a threat.

    ¡°Perhaps I would be the first of either type of necromancer¡­ maybe monsters aren¡¯t given the option to choose?¡± he pursed his lips. These choices didn¡¯t appeal to him, but being the first had its own sort of appeal.

    ¡°Hmm. Bone seems to be somewhere in between flesh and spirit¡­ it¡¯s either the best of both worlds, or the weakest of both¡­ I suppose though that it is its own thing.¡±

    Jay looked at his skeletons, working frantically to bring him his things.

    ¡°Spirits probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do that¡­ and bloody flesh creatures probably wouldn¡¯t be that fast¡­ these guys are strong enough at the moment anyway;pared to other adventurers I¡¯m leaps and bounds ahead of them.¡±

    Jay felt like the decision was obvious, but it was a huge choice.

    He sat silently thinking over everything for the next thirty minutes, and his skeletons had finished gathering by now.

    Deep down, he knew what the right choice was ¨C he was just stalling.

    Soon, he shook his head at his own indecision, as he knew what he wanted.

    Jay knew that if he picked either blood or spirit, he would have a yearning regret in his heart, and as he was about to lock in his choice, he felt a wave of excitement rise in his heart, and he knew this choice was right.

    ¡°Bone. I will choose bone. It¡¯s obvious.¡± he smiled.

    Jay opened his notifications and selected [Bone]<sub></sub>

    [Choice epted]

    [ss Evolved ¨C Pure Necromancer]

    [ss Item Acquired]

    [ss Quest Acquired]

    [ss Passive Acquired]

    ¡°Pure? I like the sound of that.¡± Jay smiled with a nod.

    ¡°Ok, so¡­ that skill.¡± he checked it quickly.

    <[Summon Bone Helminth]>

    Imbue bones with necrotic energy, raising a cunning creature to fight for you.

    [Requires at least two spines and one skull]

    [Bone Helminth Level 1]

    [0/1 Summoned]

    [20 mana(+1 per level of creature)]

    ¡°Hmm¡­ the summon skill doesn¡¯t have a level. I guess I can¡¯t level it up?¡±

    Jay then analysed the [Bone Helminth Level 1] part of the skill for extra details.

    <[Bone Helminth Level 1]>

    [HP 10/10]

    [MP 10/10]

    <[Skills]>

    -[Sentinel Form]-

    ¨C The helminth coils around its master, bing an un-targetable piece of their armour.

    ¨C Periodicallyshes out at attackers and fires spectral bolts at foes.

    ¨C When its master is attacked, the helminth loses health instead (down to 1 HP).

    -[Natural Form]-

    ¨C Allows HP and MP regeneration.

    ¨C +200% HP and MP regeneration.

    ¨C The helminth detaches from its master and acts as an individual construct.

    [Spectral Bolt]

    ¨C Its jaw unhinges and slowly winds open before quickly snapping shut, a bolt of necrotic energy firing out through its closing jaws.

    ¨C 5 magic damage (necrotic)

    ¨C Can only hold 5 bolts; new bolt produced every 300 seconds.

    ¨C 1 mana

    [Symbiotic] (Passive)

    ¨C Starts at level 1. Levels up with its creator.

    (Eg. If creator is level 30, the helminth will be level 21.)

    [Grave Visitor] (Passive)

    ¨C Can travel freely and silently through the soil and ground

    ¨C Can covertly collect a nest of bones underground

    ¨C Max of (2) bones carried at current level.

    [Ensnare]

    ¨C Can ensnare enemies and root them to the ground, making them unable to move.

    ¨C 3 second snare.

    ¨C 1 minute cooldown.

    ¨C 5 mana

    ¡°Awesome. I suppose it would have either been spirit or blood helminth if I went with the others which is why it made me pick a path¡± Jay wanted to jump up from his chair and summon it, but he decided to check out the item he got, and the passive he got from picking the pure necromancer ss ¨C not to mention the ss quest.

    ¡°Ok, so, passive skill first¡­¡± he tried to remain calm but his eyes betrayed him, he felt like he found a treasure chest specifically designed for him here in the dungeon.

    He opened the notification, and suddenly, his ring tightened around his finger.

    ¡°Ah shit¡± he tried to take it off but he couldn¡¯t. It felt like a wasp was stinging him over and over again.

    ¡°Come on¡­ what the hell¡­¡± he was getting frustrated as he waited, trying to pull his necrotic ring off.

 Chapter 100 Blood Bone Spirit 2

    Jay¡¯s necrotic ring seemed to be draining blood from his finger.

    Finally it stopped, and a red band appeared around the ring; now it was like a piece of him had be a part of it.

    He took the ring off after the process wasplete and found a ck band now around his finger too; it appeared to be like a tattoo.

    Jay sighed looking at his ring, and he got a notification.

    [Necrotic Sense Acquired]

    [Necrotic Sense ¨C Level 1]

    ¨C You are able to sense in which direction and how far away your constructs are.

    ¨C You are able to give more detailedmands over longer distances.

    ¡°Oh, good. That was worth the pain I guess¡± Jay shrugged with a smile.

    It was a great passive to get. He knew it was not too useful now, butter on when he had more skeletons, this ability would be invaluable.

    Not to mention, he also kind of liked the look of the red band on the ck ring too.

    With a stretch, Jay got up and stashed his stool and chair away in his inventory.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Time to summon this thing¡­¡± he prepared to test out his new [Summon Bone Helminth] skill.

    Jay shifted his ring, causing a flying curtain of bones to orbit around him like usual and chanted.

    ¡°Come forwards, helminth¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± he raised a brow, confused as nothing had happened..

    ¡°Hmm? Did I miss something?¡± Jay had to re-read the skill.

    ¡°Oh, it needs spines¡­ Right¡­ I wonder if this is why it stored them in my inventory instead of the ring? Hmm. I guess they weren¡¯t an weapon ingredient of some sort after all.¡±

    Jay had collected 11 spines from the silt wolves, so he took two out from his inventory.

    ¡°d I collected extra soap rat skeletons too¡­ Ok, here we go.¡± he smiled.

    Jay held out his hand over the spines while his bones levitated around him.

    ¡°Come forwards, helminth¡± he chanted again, thinking he sounded cool.

    Green gas left his hand, and the creature wasn¡¯t constructed as he thought it would be.<sub></sub>

    Jay assumed that each spine would simply be connected from end to end, but instead, every single vertebrae was pulled out and disconnected; it floated for a moment before being rearranged from thergest to the smallest.

    A soap rat skull was pulled from the floating wall of bones and attached to the top of the spine. The core body of the creature was formed ¨C but it kept floating as more was constructed.

    Next, some smaller finger and rib bones were also pulled from the ring, attaching to each side of the 4 meter spine.

    ¡°interesting¡­¡±

    After that wasplete, it stopped floating and dropped harmlessly to the ground.

    Suddenly the creature twitched, then began to move.

    Jay had used two different creatures to form the undead creature, so he got another notification.

    [Chimera Research 10%]

    The creature had dark-green eyes that didn¡¯t glow, and each of them were like a solid ball of ss; quite different to the skeletons which had gaseous non-physical eyes that slightly illuminated their wolf skulls.

    The spine of the snake-like creature was blue with white ribs that ran along each side of its body; the head was a soap rat skill that was now modified and warped.

    The necrotic gases warped and stretched it longer, making its jaw much skinnier. It more closely resembled the skull of a small crocodile.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Interesting¡­ I guess it prefers a smaller skull?¡±

    After seeing how long and slender the skull was now, Jay doubted that it would even want to use a wolf skull; The silt-wolves had much wider and bigger headspared to the soap rats.

    The helminth coiled its body and raised its head up, staring at Jay; it seemed like a dancing cobra as it gazed at him with its dark-green eyes.

    Jay only gazed back, wondering what it was going to do.

    It seemed like it wasn¡¯t waiting for orders, but was analysing its master. It was like it was trying to work out Jay¡¯s intentions.

    Suddenly, it dived underground.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Jay was confused why it did this, but he could sense it now that he had the necrotic sense passive skill.

    He looked in its direction as it seemed to swim through the earth; it was heading towards the bone pile that was being gathered from one of Jay¡¯s skeletons.

    Jay decided to wait and see what would happen rauther than to stop it.

    Suddenly, a bone was pulled underground. It happened quickly and quietly. Jay wouldn¡¯t have noticed unless he was looking directly at it. Not even a sound was made.

    Next, he sensed that the snake-like creature wasing back to him.

    It was right under his feet when suddenly it¡¯s pointy skull poked out of the ground. In between its jaws was a bone.

    The creature looked at Jay, seemingly with anticipation as it held the bone.

    ¡°Oh? This is for me?¡± Jay reached down and grabbed it. ¡°Thankyou¡­?¡± he raised a brow.

    The serpent then squirmed for a moment, and another bone appeared in its mouth. It had regurgitated a second bone.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Jay hesitated for a moment, but after closer inspection, the bone didn¡¯t have any goo or bile on it, so he grabbed it with a smile too.

    ¡°Thankyou.¡±

    The helminth snapped its jaws a few times which made a noise, and dived back underground.

    It repeated the process of bringing nearby bones to its master, but Jay decided to just walk over to the bone pile and re-summon his perennial skeleton.

    The bone worm could only carry two bones at a time, so this would have taken too much time otherwise.

    It was clear that the powerful glowing golden arrow had dealt massive damage to theponents of its skeleton, as the skeleton seemed quite skinny after being summoned again, so Jay gave it ess to his soap-rat bone stockpile, which it proceeded to munch down on.

    The bone worm periodically stuck its head out of the ground as it analysed its master once more. Jay was d that he had a little bone gathering machine now, but he realised that he would not want it bringing him human bones in the middle of the night while he was trying to sleep, so he gave it its first orders.

    ¡°Helminth? Come here.¡±

    After a moment the spindly creature poked its head out of the ground; the rest of its body followed and it curled up, waiting for its master¡¯s orders.

    ¡°I have some rules for you. Never bring me human bones, and never show yourself to anyone.¡± Jay said with a nod.

    The helminth chomped its jaw in the air twice and then dove back underground.

    ¡°Strange little thing¡­¡± Jay thought with a warm smile.

    ¡°Now¡­ what was next¡­ oh yeah, the item. How did I get an item anyway?¡±

    ¡°It must have to do with the pure necromancer path too, as I got the notification after choosing it.¡±

    Surely an item cannot just appear out of nowhere, but soon enough, Jay got his answer.

    ***Hooray, chapter 100! Thanks for joining me on this journey, I hope you¡¯re enjoying it! I know some parts have been slow, but sometimes it¡¯s just ¡®the calm before the storm¡¯¡­ other times, it¡¯s character/world building. Jay is finally level 10 after 100 chapters; hehe, he¡¯s a bit of a noob but he¡¯s getting there! We¡¯re still in the beginning part of the story so rest assured, there are plenty more chaptersing. If you don¡¯t mind, please keep sending me those delicious power stones, and also thanks for the gifts! Very encouraging ?? ¨C Aero182***

 Chapter 101 Blood Bone Spirit 3

    Jay opened the notification [ss Item Acquired].

    Quickly, he checked his inventory scanning through everything but there was nothing new there. Nothing out of the ordinary.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Huh? Where¡¯s my new item??¡±

    Nothing happened at first which caused some agitation, but the next second, some green gas left Jay¡¯s hand; some of his necrotic mana was pulled from his body, and before him it floated; coalescing into a small cloud.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± he looked at his hand ¨C of course, it was still under his control.

    Jay had wide eyes, uneasy as he watched this phenomenon ¨C he could sense that it was his necrotic energy but he was not controlling it ¨C it was like it had its own mind.

    Suddenly, more wisps of the green gaseous mana came from the pyramid walls; some came from the ground too. It was like they were everywhere all along, much like the ambient mana in the atmosphere which permeated all things.

    Jay subconsciously stepped back, and it wasing from all directions now, and was all heading towards the mana that was released from his hand. It was like it had a gravitational pull.<sub>.</sub>

    Soon, the green wispsing gotrger, turning into clouds. They were bing even more dense now too.

    All of them gathered and mixed with the necrotic cloud that formed from Jay¡¯s mana.

    The whole pyramid was glowing green inside now, it looked like a thousand floatingnterns had been lit and left inside.

    Suddenly, a sound began to fill the pyramid; ghostly whispers of undead souls.

    Jay felt like instinctively ducking for cover, but soon he realised the sound wasing from everywhere as he looked around.

    Hundreds of head-shaped green glowing clouds floated in seemingly through every wall.

    ¡°Aaaaa~~¡± they made soft exhaling sounds as they floated past.

    Jay looked more closely at them. Their eyes were zed over and fixated on the ball of necrotic energy that left Jay¡¯s hand; they all had their mouths open as if they wanted to consume it ¨C but after getting too close, they only became part of it and made it bigger.<sub></sub>

    These ethereal faces made whispering sounds as they passed by. One of them even flew through Jay¡¯s chest towards the gathering thick cloud; it was like he was invisible to them.

    Jay decided to remain quiet, he felt a strange sense of ceremony surrounding it, that it was better to keep quiet ¨C but he still had a single thought the whole time.

    ¡°What the fuck¡­ what the fuck¡­ what the¡­ ¨C what the fuck?¡± his eyes were wide open now.

    He had a rtively calm expressionpared to his inner thoughts.

    ¡°Why do they have faces¡­ shouldn¡¯t they be skulls? What the hell¡­ that one has flowing hair¡­¡±

    These floating heads entered the orb and swirled around it for a moment; at one point some of them poked their faces out with looks of fear on their faces. It was like they were trying to escape now.

    After being lured in like bugs to the light, they were now like moths in the me; utterly consumed by it.

    The whispering sound was slowly dying down now as the fewst ethereal heads entered the massive ball of luminous green gas.<sub></sub>

    It was swirling and spinning, but suddenly, it froze as if it paused in time.

    ¡°AHHHH!!~ RAAAA!!~ AAAA!!~¡± what sounded like hundreds of screaming voices suddenly came from it as the massive cloud of necrotic mana contracted for a moment.

    The orb then released a pulse of green light and the voices were gone.

    Jay didn¡¯t have time to react and would have tried to block, but his shield was in pieces ¨C thankfully the green pulse didn¡¯t harm him, and after realising he was unharmed he continued to watch.

    After the luminous green light left, all that was left was a ck floating orb of gas which started to move again. Jay still felt like it was his own mana even though it was no longer green, and he continued to remain silent as he watched the ck cloud before him.

    It began to condense and contract, getting smaller and smaller. It went from being the size of Jay¡¯s butcher shop to being the size of one of his skeletons ¨C and it was getting smaller still.

    Jay could walk closer now that it was shrinking in size, but out of his cautiousness he didn¡¯t get too close; what was happening was aplete unknown.

    After a while it began to slow down as it became solid, finally it was about the size of a child¡¯s fist.

    After being shaped into an oval it grew some small tendrils all over it; they almost seemed like hairs except that they were rhythmically moving, each one of them as long as a finger and as skinny as an arrow.

    Slowly, it began to float towards Jay.

    ¡°Oh.. shit. Wait¡­¡± Jay backed up and quickly pulled out a luminous orb. He wanted to look at it before he would touch it.

    To Jay, it seemed like as soon as it touched him it would burrow under his skin and start eating him from the inside out.

    The light from his luminous orb revealed a wrinkled ck seed-like object covered in tiny long hair-like tentacles.

    ¡°Eugh¡­¡± Jay¡¯s face grimaced seeing it.

    It continued to float towards him, but he could also sense his own mana in it, and somehow he felt like it was a desirable treasure at the same time.

    ¡°I suppose I have no choice.¡±

    It continued to float towards him, and he held his hand out as it gently floated into it.

    ¡°It feels slimy and wrinkly¡­¡± he thought as he held it.

    The small tentacle-like threadsing from it seemed to be in zero-gravity as they waved about in the air.

    ¡°I suppose it could be worse. At least it hasn¡¯t burrowed into my stomach andid eggs.¡±

    After getting used to it, Jay wasted no time in analysing it.

    <[Necrotic Wyrd Seed]> (Unique)

    [Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces a bountiful harvest]

    [Sowing Requirements: Life. Death.]

    ¡°Hmm ok¡­ cool. A lot of ceremony for a seed, I¡¯ll have to figure it outter.¡± Jay didn¡¯t give it much more thought, storing it away in his inventory.

 Chapter 102 Blood Bone Spirit 4

    ¡°Now¡­ what¡¯s left¡­ oh, right. The quest and the attribute points.¡±

    ¡°Well, since I decided to put them into strength I will just dump them all in. I want to be at least as strong as a level one¡± Jay shook his head to himself.

    ¡°Oh, that feels nice.¡± Jay felt like his body warmed up for a moment after raising his strength to 20.

    ¡°Ok, now the quest.¡± he smiled, content with all the benefits that reaching level 10 gave him.

    [ss Quest Acquired]

    <[Necromancer¡¯s Wyrd Garden]>

    [Construct your tree]

    [Tree constructed 0/1]

    [Rewards ¨C Chalice, Request]

    ¡°Wyrd garden? Interesting¡­ that must be what the seed was for. Hmm¡­ Now I get a chalice and a ¡®request¡¯? Request of what? And to whom? What would I even ask for?¡±

    Jay considered nting it but realised a dungeon was obviously not a good ce to do so.

    ¡°If I nt it, I probably won¡¯t be able to move it since it¡¯s a tree. Why does it say ¡®construct¡¯ anyway?¡± Jay raised a brow, hoping he wouldn¡¯t need to craft some sort of bone branches himself. Up until now, most of what he did was guess, test and experiment. This was his only option.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°I wish I had a guide of some sort¡­ There¡¯s just so much I don¡¯t know. I was only a butcher about one month ago. I guess now I¡¯m a gardener too?¡± he shook his head and chuckled to himself.

    ¡°Ok, I better get serious¡­ I would need to nt it somewhere secret in the real world. But where?¡±

    Jay scratched his chin in thought for a moment.

    ¡°I will not be staying in Lo forever, it¡¯s a low level town so I won¡¯t be staying here for long. Hmm. I don¡¯t want to make any foolish decisions again either.¡± Jay pursed his lips, remembering how weak he was without his minions.

    ¡°I will give it much more thought, It would be smarter to wait till I find a suitable ce and know a little more about the world.¡±

    With a nod, Jay removed the notifications and finally finished his upgrade to level 10.

    He looked around the room for a moment and even felt a sense of pride as his found skeletons stood before him. He really did just conquer this pyramid and hit level 10 all on his own.

    ¡°I feel like I just got so much stronger¡­¡± Jay smiled before recapping what he got.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, I got a quest, a passive, a path, another creature, and a seed.¡± he shook his head, still smiling.

    He almost couldn¡¯t believe how much he had gained simply by levelling up.

    Next, Jay began looking around the room as he still grinned, he picked up the pile of soulstones and the three pieces of his shield.<sub></sub>

    [Large Soulstone] (Empty)

    [Soulstone] (Empty) x 8

    [Deathwalker¡¯s Sentry Piece] x 3

    ¡°Now all that remains is the throne with the obvious trap above it.¡±

    ¡°You,¡± Jay pointed at Sweeper. ¡°Bring me that stone.¡±

    Without hesitation, the skeleton ran towards the throne, nting a foot on it and jumping.

    ¡°Well I guess the throne wasn¡¯t a trap,¡± Jay shrugged, ¡°but maybe the stone is.¡±

    After the skeleton leapt into the air it tried to grab a hold of the massive floating glowing stone.

    The skeleton¡¯s w-like hands reached out, but as they touched the stone, they simply went right through it; it was like a projection of light. An illusion.

    Jay took a step back, thinking it was definitely a trap now.

    Sweeper fell down andnded on its back; it clearly didn¡¯t expect the stone to be non-physical.<sub></sub>

    The stone wasrge and kite-shaped. It glimmered for a moment and disappeared, and inside was a smaller version about the size of an egg.

    It gently floated down andnded on the throne.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay squinted, he didn¡¯t trust it.

    He expected arge spherical boulder to fall from the ceiling and chase him out of the tomb.

    ¡°Go, Sweeper.¡±

    The skeleton went over to the throne and grabbed it this time. Jay still had a look of suspicion on his face, but to his surprise nothing happened.

    ¡°Huh, I guess I was wrong.¡± he shrugged beforemanding his skeleton.

    ¡°Ok, bring it over.¡±

    Sweeper slowly crept backwards away from the throne before jumping back, and then ran towards Jay at its usual speed with the stone. Jay smiled lightly seeing its human-like behaviour.

    The stone was still kite-shaped but much smaller, and would fitfortably in Jay¡¯s hand, however It was not glowing anymore. It was a strange yellow rock.

    Jay held out his hand to ept it, but again, just before Sweeper went to hand it to Jay, it dropped it on the ground before him.

    ¡°Dammit Sweeper¡­¡± Jay was a little dissatisfied, but this was still due to his own orders which he still hadn¡¯t changed, though for some reason he felt like Sweeper enjoyed doing this.

    Suddenly, a small skull popped out of the ground, grabbed the stone and held it up for its master.

    Jay smiled, already appreciative of his new minion.

    ¡°Good, thank you.¡± he said, grabbing the strange stone and looking at his skeletons. He was going to reprimand Sweeper but decided not to say anything.

    ¡°I guess I did name him Sweeper after all¡­¡± he thought with a cheeky smile.

    The skeleton worm-parasite snapped its jaws and went back underground, seemingly happy that it pleased its master.

    Jay analysed the stone.

    <[Status Concealer]>

    [Input Name][-]

    [Input Level][-]

    [Off]

    ¡°Status concealer? So this is why that archer was level one!¡±

    Jay realised quickly this was why it had [???] on all its skills. It had been bugging him since he saw the archers stats.

    ¡°So it¡¯s like a disguise for stats. I¡¯m guessing it wasn¡¯t really called a treasure guard or whatever it was called.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I bet thises in handy someday. It would be good to change my name¡­ and people won¡¯t suspect a thing since they aren¡¯t allowed to see other people¡¯s skills¡­ I could even keep myself at level 9¡± a big grin appeared to form on Jay¡¯s face.

    ¡°Oh¡­ maybe I could even escape the mage hunters by simply changing my name?¡± Jay looked up in thought ¡°But¡­ I would have to hide my face too. I guess it could work.¡±

    ¡°Wow,¡± a big grin began to form on Jay¡¯s face as he realised other possibilities, his thoughts even drifted to things such as assassination.

    ¡°This is probably even better than the treasure that the statue was pretending to guard.¡±

    Immediately, Jay decided to activate the stone and input his details ¨C of course, he changed his level to 9.

    <[Status Concealer]>

    [Input Name][Jay]

    [Input Level][9]

    [On]

    The yellow stone suddenly turned ck, and a yellow glow appeared over Jay¡¯s body for a moment before disappearing.

    Jay stored the stone in his inventory, still grinning to himself.

    ¡°Well, with the second pyramid down, I better go and see if Vdore¡¯s ready for my lesson.¡±

 Chapter 103 Necrotic Bolts

    Jay decided to leave his skeletons to hunt more soul stones. He had all his minions stand before him, double-checked that all his skeletons were back to full health before leaving the dungeon, but as he turned to his bone helminth, he paused.

    ¡°Hmm, I recall you have a second form¡­ Sentinel form was it? Let¡¯s give it a try.¡±

    The necrotic worm parasite snapped its jaws a few times before it coiled its body into a threatening spring shape and diving at Jay.

    Jay didn¡¯t expect it to pounce at him, it was suddenly like a spear that someone threw and it was heading right towards his neck.

    ¡°Oh~¡± he took a step back, trying to supress his urge to block it.

    The creature coiled around his neck and the familiar necrotic gas formed around its body as it began to glow green.

    The necrotic mana of its body mostly left each of its bones, separating from them as it formed an ethereal-snake which wrapped around Jay¡¯s neck and suddenly disappeared ¨C though Jay could still feel its presence.

    ¡°Huh¡­ but what about the bones¡±

    As for its physical bone body, each of the bones were then separated and dispersed on different parts of Jay¡¯s clothes, forming a rough sort of armour across the fabric.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay pursed his lips as he looked at the flimsy bones.

    ¡°It seems kind of pathetic,¡± he thought.

    He looked like he had covered his clothes in random bits of fish bone, like some kind of crazy homeless man that lived under a bridge.

    It was obvious to Jay now that he needed some armour, as it made the bones look a bit pathetic clinging onto his tunic, however with armour they would act as reinforcement.

    Suddenly, as if responding to his thoughts, the bones all floated once more and gathered around the front of his chest. The bones morphed, squeezed, melded and coalesced, forming arge round dark-blue amulet with a white chain.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it¡­ hmm, did it read my thoughts?¡± he smiled, then realised he may have offended his unique minion.

    ¡°Oh¡­ sorry. I¡¯m sure it will be good if I got more armour¡­ or if you got more bones. We¡¯ll get you big and strong in no time.¡± Jay encouraged his new creature. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was responding to his thoughts or if this was more like amand from his will.

    Little did Jay realise, he was beginning to talk to these inanimate constructs as if they were his friends.<sub></sub>

    The dark cobalt-blue amulet had the image of a green crossbow bolt on it, and he felt like it was much better looking.

    ¡°Nice¡± he smiled.

    ¡°Now¡­ how are you supposed to attack in this form?¡±

    Suddenly, the ethereal head of the snake reappeared just above his shoulder. Slowly its jaw winded back open to almost a 180-degree angle, and then snapped shut.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    A crossbow bolt made purely from necrotic energy shot out towards a nearby wall of the pyramid at high speed.

    ¡°Wow..¡± Jay raised a brow before grinning, shocked with the speed of the projectile. It even left after-images, though that may be due to the necrotic magic which formed the bolt.

    Seeing the speed, Jay felt like he could kill anything that would try to run from him now. With a shoulder-mounted weapon he felt like some sort of predator.<sub></sub>

    Jay watched with anticipation as the bolt was about to hit the other side of the room, but at it hit the wall, it didn¡¯t affect it at all ¨C It simply passed through it.

    ¡°What? Where¡¯s the damage?¡± he re-read the helminth skill, confirming that it would do 5 damage ¨C but he found that it specified ¡®necrotic¡¯ damage, and quickly he realised that necrotic magic energy probably won¡¯t do much against stone ¨C not to mention that this was a helvetian pyramid; a cursednd where even the stone statues were immune to magic.

    ¡°I suppose we should test you outside¡­¡± Jay said to his ghostly helminth ¡°Still, I¡¯m d I can have you with me secretly¡­ but definitely don¡¯t go firing any bolts unless I tell you to.¡±

    The ethereal skull snapped its jaw, lowered its head and disappeared.

    Jay felt its energy-form snuggle itself back into a ring around his neck. It was weightless, but he could still sense it.

    He tried to touch it but his hand simply went through it and he physically felt nothing.

    ¡°Huh, must be my necromancer senses I guess.¡± he shrugged, knowing the helminth was there even though he couldn¡¯t touch it.

    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s good that no one can touch you.¡±

    With nothing left for him in the dungeon, Jay decided to leave.

    Jay could have remained here longer and aplished a few various tasks, but decided he should attend Vdore¡¯s lesson.

    ¡°I¡¯ll fix the shieldter tonight.¡± he thought.

    Jay knew he wouldn¡¯t need the shield in the meantime, and besides, he should be saving at least some of his mana for Vdore¡¯s lesson.

    Jay willed to leave the dungeon, and the familiar obelisk rose with a door in it.

    As Jay left, more adventurers were waiting outside, but Jay ignored them as usual.

    ¡°If people knew I was level 10, they would probably being to me for lessons¡­¡± Jay stopped a proud smirk from forming on his face as he walked through the adventurers.

    Of course, Jay still had the disguise stone activated making him appear as if he were level 9. Nevertheless, being level 9 at this stage still made him a sort of infamous idol among the low level adventurers of Lo. The sense of superiority that was created around him even made it hard for some adventurers to approach him, they simply watched in admiration.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I wonder if the disguise stone works in parties.¡± Jay just realised he may be able to party up with other adventurers now, and a fire began to rise in his heart ¨C however, it was quickly stifled.

    ¡°Well, I think the skeletons would probably give it away¡­ besides, at this point they will just slow me down and leech my exp.¡±

    Jay had no reason to party up other thanpanionship, and he was a loner anyway so he really saw no advantage to running a dungeon with low level people. He received his first exp notification since leaving the dungeon, but he decided to ignore it until he came backter.

    Now the only reason to party up would be for a harder dungeon that required more people, he would still need his skeletons; without them, he would be useless in a party, making this option self-defeating.

    The average adventurer level was around level 6 at this point. More were showing up to the mist keep dungeon to test themselves after having levelled up at the various level two dungeons around Lo. A few were even going in solo now simr to Jay, but they would return quite quickly.

    Most groups had been broken down into pairs of two or three now. Initially, there wererge groups of 5 to 7, but many realised that the exp was not that good, and neither were they getting muchbat experience, and Jay had unknowingly taught the adventurers of Lo a lesson ¨C sometimes less is more.

    A few adventurers were even selling charged crystals which they kept from the Carter¡¯s Demise dungeon, though not many people were buying them as the statue soldiers of mist keep were magic-immune.

    Jay proceeded up the mountain, past the quarry.

    ¡°I wonder what Vdore will teach me today.¡±

 Chapter 104 Lessons 1

    ¡°Hello Margaret¡± Jay entered the adventurer association with a smile.

    ¡°Oh hello. I¡¯ll go tell Vdore you¡¯re back. He should be ready by now.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Jay waited patiently in the lobby.

    ¨C

    *Knock knock*

    ¡°Vdore? Hello? Your star pupil is here.¡± Margaret joked as she entered Vdore¡¯s office.

    As she looked towards Vdore, he shook his head, pursing his lips while he stared at the ck cube on his desk.

    ¡°Mh, can hee backter?¡± he asked with a frustrated voice.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already asked him toe back. I can¡¯t send him away again ok? You¡¯re going to get in there and teach him.¡± she said with amanding yet encouraging voice.

    Vdore sighed. He couldn¡¯t argue with the sweet olddy, even though he wanted to.

    ¡°Ok¡­ I¡¯ll be there in a moment.¡± he waved his hand and Margaret left the room.

    ¡°Damn¡­ this kid has toe right when my cube detects mana again.¡± Vdore thought as he watched his cube begin to grow once more.

    A strange thought came across his mind but he dismissed it.

    ¡°Hm¡­ no. Surely it couldn¡¯t be.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    A strange feeling crept over him though as he thought that perhaps there was a corrtion between Jay and the ck cube.

    He shook his head trying to dismiss the thought again, still staring at his cube.

    ¡°Surely not¡­¡±

    ¡°How far is limb growth?¡±

    ¡°Appendage growth 71%plete.¡±

    ¡°Good.. keep it up.¡± Vdore said with a smile as he stood up from his desk. He really didn¡¯t want to leave, but Sullivan had ordered him to specifically teach Jay and he simply couldn¡¯t refuse.

    After all, it was Sullivan who allowed Vdore to do his experiments without much oversight. Sullivan would only have a problem if there was property damage or injury.

    No one except Sullivan knew that Vdore was conducting dangerous research here, and Vdore wished to keep it that way, lest he be hunted down.

    Vdore went into the lobby, finding Jay. He was in quite a hurry because he wanted to get back to his desk to keep analysing his cube.

    ¡°Jay? Let¡¯s go.¡± he gestured to the hallway.

    Jay promptly got up with a nod., deciding not to say anything as it seemed like Vdore seemed quite flustered today.

    ¡°Is he annoyed with me?¡± Jay could only wonder. ¡°Maybe he was mad that I didn¡¯t show up yesterday?¡±

    Jay could only guess, already assuming it was his fault; a mix of insecurity and narcissism.<sub></sub>

    He decided he would try to learn from Vdore as quickly as he could today as perhaps it would improve his teachers mood.

    They entered the training yard at the back of thepound, and a new set of target-rocks had reced the old ones.

    ¡°Have a seat.¡± Vdore said as he began to float cross-legged.

    ¡°I¡¯m busy so I¡¯ll try and make this quick. Two lessons today ¨C detect and medium channelling.¡±

    Vdore checked his notebook before putting them back into his pocket.¡°Medium channelling is simr to spell channelling, so we will leave that tillst. First up is mana sense.¡±

    He looked at Jay with a bored expression, clearly not wanting to be here.

    ¡°Mana sense is not sensing mana, but it¡¯s using mana to sense other things. It¡¯s quite easy to do but requires concentration to keep it active ¨C though if you train hard and persevere at it, you will be able to keep it active, even while you sleep.¡±

    He continued ¡°Think of it like another sense.¡±

    ¡°This seems useful,¡± Jay thought, slowly nodding as he listened more attentively.

    ¡°First, I will increase the ambient mana here.¡± he said.

    Suddenly the mana in the air was dense. To Jay it felt like a small pressure was applied to his mind, though it was a good feeling; like wearing a thick hood on a cold day.

    ¡°Now try to funnel your mana into your mind and outwards, and use that to feel the ambient mana.¡±

    Jay did as he instructed and soon he felt it, a strange feeling like there was water around him; he could tell where it was and where it was flowing.<sub></sub>

    It was like a small sphere of water that he could sense, though it didn¡¯t go too far from him. The water-feeling extended about two meters away from him.

    ¡°Now, you probably won¡¯t be able to sense very far, and that will get better with practice, but the way to sense things is simple ¨C you look for the void. The absence of the feeling. Since mana can pass through inanimate objects, it will only tell you the presence of things that are circting either their own mana or blocking mana, which can be anything from mana crystals, certain trees, and of course other adventurers.¡±

    ¡°Now, try to sense me.¡± Vdore floated forward towards Jay.

    After a few minutes Jay finally felt like he stabilised the feeling, and could now try to analyse his surroundings.

    To Jay, it seemed like there was a hollow gap in the water-feeling, and he slowly pointed at Vdore.

    ¡°Good. Remember to keep practising this, even while you¡¯re walking home. Soon you will be able to sense further and will start to do it naturally.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Jay decided to keep concentrating while Vdore continued his lesson.

    ¡°Now, I know you¡¯re going to want to keep using your mana sense, but I don¡¯t want the next lesson to be slow, so just don¡¯t.¡± Vdore said with a slight smile, knowing exactly what Jay was thinking. He then dispersed the ambient mana so that it would be ever harder for Jay to sense.

    Jay internally sighed and stopped trying.

    ¡°Now..¡± Vdore pulled out a red stick from his inventory and handed it to Jay.

    Jay analysed the stick as he grabbed it.

    <[Vibrance Wand]>

    [Spell channel Tier 1]

    ¡°This stick is simr to the green crystals you will have found in the Carter¡¯s Demise dungeonst week. We use it to channel spells.¡±

    ¡°Simr to the spell you learntst time, you channel your mana into it ¨C except instead ofunching the tooth, the mana exists on the other side, creating the spell effect.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t use spells that require ingredients with these, but you can increase a spell¡¯s potency.¡±

    Vdore began to channel a small spell in his bare hand, a blueish-white arrowhead shape was formed from his mana, which heunched at a target-rock.

    *shh ¨C DOON~*

    The spell created a small shockwave around it as it hit the rock, and a few of the smaller pebbles around the rock¡¯s base were pushed away.

    Next, he took out a second red wand and began channelling the exact same spell.

    ¡°I¡¯m using the same amount of mana for this.¡± he nced at Jay.

    The blueish-white arrowhead shaped spell appeared, but this time it seemed to have more defined edges, as if it was more in focus somehow. Jay could tell with a single look that it was much more threatening now.

    With a flick of his wrist, Vdore released the spell.

    *SHH ¨C DOOONNM~*

    The spell smashed against the rock and a small gust of wind was kicked up from it. The pebbles around the base of the rock were all pushed away and therge target-rock was also moved a few centimetres.

    Jay¡¯s mouth was agape from the shocking difference before a smile began to form on his face. He was excited to try this.

    ¡°Now you try¡± Vdore still seemed bored byparison, he had done this countless times. It was like he was following a script at this point.

    Jay was about to channel a spell but realised his only spell is the unstable tooth spell, which requires ingredients. The ingredients being a tooth.

    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t have any spells that -¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok. Just try to push your mana through the wand. When you learn a spell, the same concept will apply.¡± Vdore cut him off.

    Jay lightly frowned, as he wanted to learn a spell that only used mana. With a nod, he continued following the instructions.

    Pushing the mana in his body, he moved it to his hand and then began trying to push it into the wand, but for whatever reason, the mana was not going in.

    ¡°Come on¡­¡± he thought, trying to push harder as he clenched his teeth.

    His hand started to shake, his body and mind was telling him to drop the wand but he kept fighting it, though it was like an invisible barrier was around the wand, it really did not want anything to do with Jay¡¯s mana.

    ¡°Stop.¡± Vdore said, seeing Jay struggle.

    Jay stopped immediately and looked up at Vdore who had a confused expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s not letting me push mana into it. It¡¯s like a shield is blocking me.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Vdore took the wand from Jay¡¯s hand and repeated his spell.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ there¡¯s nothing wrong with the wand.¡± he thought, before turning to Jay to exin.

    ¡°Usually, the wands pull your mana into itself. Mana actually prefers to travel through these objects.¡± he looked puzzled ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­¡±

 Chapter 105 Lessons 2

    Jay couldn¡¯t use spell channels, and Vdore realised Jay¡¯s mana was different. He decided he would test something.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he scratched his chin, staring at Jay. It was quite a long stare so Jay looked away after feeling a little awkward.

    ¡°Show me that spell you did. The one with the tooth.¡±

    Jay nodded, taking out a tooth.

    He channelled it like usual and aimed at a rock, all while Vdore continued to stare at Jay and his hand.

    *BOOM~ ¨C flit flit flit flit*

    A crack formed on the rock as the unstable tooth spell exploded, and little bits of its shrapnel were sent everywhere, creating more gashes on other nearby rocks.

    Jay looked up, expecting some praise since his spell was clearly much stronger now that it was level 2, but he saw Vdore staring at his hand with a creepy look.

    Obviously, Vdore was deep in thought. Jay couldn¡¯t tell, but Vdore was still analysing Jay¡¯s spell hand.

    ¡°Vdore?¡±

    ¡°Mmh¡­¡± he didn¡¯t respond with more than a grunt, only rolling his tongue in his cheek and squinting as he thought about what to do.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I sense his mana¡­¡± he thought to himself with a furrowed brow, ¡°Usually there is some residual mana after a person makes it their own¡­ but with him, there is none at all¡­¡±

    Usually when someone activates a spell, there would be some ambient mana mixed in too.

    ¡°¡­Could it be due to his monster ss?¡±

    Suddenly, Vdore had an idea. He put away the red wands and pulled out something quite different.

    The wand was some sort of stone. It was ck, thin, and had a hoop at one end; It looked like a stone spoon with a hole in it,pletely useless for soup.

    Half-way down the shaft, numerous tiny bones and feathers were tied around in one spot with a single leather binding, forming a band which made Jay think it was used for some sort of dark, barbaric woond magic.

    At the very bottom was a crude-looking metal hook. ¡°Probably used to rip out more of those tiny bones¡± thought Jay. He was unable to identify the bones, but guessed that they probably came from bat wings or rat legs; simply too skinny to be something like finger bones.

    Vdore held it in his hand and gazed at it for a moment. It was like he was suspicious of it, but after a moment he held it out to Jay.

    ¡°Here, try this¡­¡± he looked at it mysteriously as he handed it to Jay.

    Jay reached out and grabbed it, immediately analysing it.<sub></sub>

    <[Goblin Wand]>

    [Taken from a goblin shaman. Often kept as trophies as they serve no purpose to humans and alike.]

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t say spell channel though?¡±

    ¡°Just try it.¡± Vdore said bluntly.

    Jay closed his eyes and began the process again ¨C gathering mana into his hand and pushing it into the wand.

    This time, it felt much different. As the mana coursed towards his hand, the wand seemed to suck it from his hand into itself. It was like the wand was maised, and greedily gobbled up Jay¡¯s mana; he didn¡¯t even need to try.

    After a moment, a small ck orb began to appear in the centre of the hoop.

    In the middle of the wand, more feathers began to grow under the tiny bones, pushing out the old ones. The new feathers were ck, while the old ones were a mix of yellow and rustic red.

    Jay continued to push his mana into his hand until he felt that the wand finally stopped absorbing it.

    Vdore stood idly by, but as soon as the ck orb appeared his eyes widened.<sub></sub>

    Jay looked up at him, raising a brow at Vdore¡¯s expression ¨C who quickly changed his face back to his usual expression of detached aloofness and cleared his throat.

    ¡°It seems like you can only channel through monster wands¡­¡±

    ¡°Monster wands?¡±

    ¡°The spell channels that monsters use, they¡¯re different to ours since monster mana is different also ¨C monsters convert mana into a different form. It results in them casting spells without much effort, but they also require different tools. As you know, monsters aren¡¯t the smartest, so their spells are more instinctive, as is their mana. Their spells are more powerful, and they never need to practice to get stronger¡­ or at least they never think to practice.¡±

    He continued ¡°We can get stronger than them and evolve our spells through practice and testing however, giving us an advantage in the long term.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why the red wand didn¡¯t work? That¡¯s why I can use a goblin wand even though it doesn¡¯t say it can be used as a spell channel?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ I think so. The goblins use those wands as spell channels, but it doesn¡¯t actually tell us it¡¯s a spell channel because we simply can¡¯t use them as such¡­ or at least other humans cannot. The system assumes we don¡¯t receive monster sses.¡± Vdore shrugged.

    A mischievous smile appeared on Jay¡¯s face as he realised something.

    ¡°So¡­ I both have the stronger instinctive mana and can also practise and test spells?¡±

    Vdore now realised the implications of this too.

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± he smiled helplessly as he shook his head.

    ¡°You can keep the goblin wand,¡± he added. ¡°It¡¯s useless to me¡­ in fact, you can probably purchase much better ones for a much cheaper price since they¡¯re useless to¡­ normal people.¡±

    ¡°Awesome. I¡¯ll have to stop by Lillian.¡± Jay smiled.

    To anyone else, this would have been quite a shocking discovery, but Vdore still had his cube sitting on his desk, it was growing while he was teaching and it made everything else fade into the background, irrelevant.

    ¡°Well, those are the lessons for today. See you in a week.¡± he walked towards the door in the back of the association.

    ¡°Oh, ande back tomorrow. I want to test something.¡± he said just before he slipped inside through the door.

    Jay nodded while he was still sitting there, looking at his new toy with a grin.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to learn a spell¡­. Hmm¡­ My helminth has a spell. Maybe I can copy it?¡± he wondered as he gazed at the tiny ck orb.

    After a moment, the orb dissipated into tiny ripples in the air as it disappeared.

    Jay was about to bring out his bone helminth but first he looked around cautiously, then decided it may not be the safest ce to bring out the parasitic undead worm creature ¨C especially without Vdore who would be able to sense if people wereing.

    ¡°I wonder if Vdore can sense it when it¡¯s underground¡­¡± Jay thought, wondering how far someone like Vdore could extend his mana sense ability.

    ¡°Perhaps if it¡¯s deep underground he will just think it¡¯s some sort of natural creature.¡±

    Vdore had already left by now, so Jay decided to check next time.

    The [Sentinel form] of the worm summon skill said it was undetectable while it was hiding as an amulet around his neck, and Jay had sessfully confirmed this ¨C Vdore and Margaret didn¡¯t say anything while he walked into the association with it, so it was clear that its presence waspletely erased.

    Now that Jay had some time to think, he addressed another matter that he had left tillter.

    ¡°Now¡­ I was saving a skill point until I got to level 10. I can¡¯t use it for any of my new passive skills or the helminth, so I guess I will put it into either undead mastery or the raise skill.¡±

    *rrrRRrr*

    Suddenly, his stomach grumbled.

    ¡°Hmm. I will consider where to put it after visiting Lillian and getting some lunch.¡±

    Jay stood up and stretched his legs before heading back inside.

    ¡°Hopefully Lillian has some monster wands here at Lo, otherwise I will have to wait for them to be delivered.¡±

    Jay headed straight to the trading area.

 Chapter 106 Search

    ~ Human kingdom of Astrata, City of Redfall, The Royal Castle ~

    Somewhere in thebyrinth of tunnels under the royal castle, a cry incessantly wailed out. Screams of pain echoed out that seemed to make the air colder.

    ¡°The prophet said the necromancer woulde from inside our own kingdom.¡± a man in thick segmented dark-grey stone armour said to eight others wearing the same type of armour.

    ¡°Division one, you will search north, division two, north-east¡­¡± he continued until he sent division eight to the north-west of the kingdom.

    One of themanders stepped forward, he had something to say.

    ¡°You, what is it?¡± the burly man pointed at the one who stepped out of line, questioning him with the rough gravelly voice of a war-torn veteran.

    ¡°Colonel,¡± he saluted ¡°The north-east is in a state of war. Any traces of a necromancer will be found by the army.¡± he then lowered his head and stepped back into line.

    Therge colonel squinted at the division twomander for a moment before he thought to himself.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°He just doesn¡¯t want to deploy. I won¡¯t let him get out of it that easily¡­¡±

    The colonel thought for a moment and decided to change a few orders around.

    ¡°Division four, you will search the south-west of the kingdom with division five. Division two, you will instead search the south. The south-west isrge, consisting of farnd, forests, rivers and mountains so two divisions is ideal.¡± he smiled, knowing that themander of division two will now have the whole south area to search and monitor.

    The division twomander nodded without a word. He had his orders, it was his duty to follow them.

    ¡°Look for any reports of peasants being killed, and search for anything odd. A necromancer is a powerful being, it won¡¯t take long to see vigesid to waste. Hopefully we can kill it before it grows too strong.¡±

    Eight divisions of the mage hunters were being dispatched from the capital, a huge move as this consisted of most of the mage hunters, leaving only two divisions to defend the capital.

    Of course, the military would still be there ¨C the mage hunters were more of an elite secret intelligence service byparison.<sub></sub>

    After the prophecy, the prophet was tortured for any more information he may secretly be withholding out of spite, and now the search for the necromancer had started ¨C of course, none of them realised yet that the necromancer in question is indeed a human; an S-ss variant.

    Each division of mage hunters were 400-strong, and every single soldier in their ranks were a force to be reckoned with; each one of them well-equipped to deal with mages of all sorts.

    Their dark-grey armour had anti-magic properties which could be activated or deactivated, and each of them purpose-made to deal with the most troublesome of magic variants.

    The armour featured support systems such as vital, psych, hex and mana monitors which would inject the wearer with a variety of cocktails to either simply heal them, or even to counter the psychoactive-mana effects of sickly love magic. There was even an elixir made to block dimension practitioners from forming portals around the mage hunter.

    An internal emergency air supply was recently added after an elite dimerkin assassin named Kreegeid waste to an entire scouting party of the mage hunters without much effort whatsoever. Their magic was air-based however, not even one of the illegal types.

    All of these armours came inbuilt with an auto-destruct mechanism which upon death of its user would trigger. After all, it would be a disaster if an enemy of the kingdom got hold of one of these armours and extracted its many secrets, learning of its mana-support system capabilities or its anti-magic properties.

    Many times, these armours were employed in the ongoing war, and they regrly turned the tides of battle. The only way to deal with these was with proficient melee-ss troops, and even then, most of their powerful abilities would simply not work against these dark-grey suits.<sub></sub>

    Due to the material they were made from they could not be repaired, and most of the armours had dents, chips and scratches that had built up over time, making each one of their wearers seem like rugged, dangerous veterans of unending wars.

    ¡°Any questions?¡± the burly man asked, but it seemed more like a statement that one should not answer.

    None of themanders said anything.

    ¡°You¡¯re dismissed.¡± his figure instantly blurred and disappeared from the room, teleported away.

    With their ordersid out for them, each of them went off to their divisions, finding their captains to make their respective battalions ready to move out.

    Within each 400-strong batallion there were twopanies, and in eachpany were four toons. Within the toons were five squads, consisting for 10 hunters each.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°This is a recruitment mission. The primary target is a necromancer who could have massive implications for our future. You¡¯reing for security and nothing else.¡± Lannister said as he put emphasis on the words ¡®nothing else.¡¯

    ¡°Can¡¯t we just grab the targets and leave?¡± Lara asked in a bored tone.

    ¡°No. We have orders to convince, not coerce. We will need him as an ally. Besides, he¡¯s going to be a student here, not a prisoner¡­ Now if there¡¯s no more questions then get ready, the portal is going to open soon.¡± Lannister said abruptly and to-the-point. He was not going to let Larae along for a good time.

    South of Lo, a glowing blue dot suddenly appeared in the quiet of the forest.

    From a single point, it began to grow as it was filled with vtile energy and shed; quickly turning into a vertical line while air began to swirl around it.

    Dancing leaves rustled on the forest floor as they began to get caught up in the small whirlwind being created.

    Faster and faster the line of energy swirled and crackled, until a bulge formed in the centre of it.

    Blue zaps of energy radiated and shed from it as the bulge gotrger and pushed as it turned, slowly forming into a spindle shape of menacing energy before suddenly it burst into a circle shape with a t mirror at the centre inside. The coursing blue energy was pushed to the outside, forming a threatening crackling circle around it.

    Suddenly, the mirror rippled as a man¡¯s head poked through.

    He turned and looked around, scanning the environment for any threats or witnesses before retreating into the mirror again. The portal floated silently for a moment in the middle of the quiet forest.

    After a moment, the mirror rippled again as a man stepped throughpletely, followed by a woman, Lara.

    Both of them were wearing typical civilian clothes, though each had matching green capes with hoods.

    ¡°This is it. That must be the dungeon over there.¡± Lannister pointed to the stink-rat marsh.

    ¡°I¡¯m not looking forward to travelling back through that.¡± Lara said, pursing her lips as she looked at the swamp water puddle.

    ¡°Don¡¯tin.¡± Lannister said coldly, ¡°Lo should be north of here. Let¡¯s do some scouting and make sure this isn¡¯t a trap before we find Sullivan.¡±

    Lara nodded, suddenly bing professional as they both began to creep north through the quiet forest.

    The portal copsed behind them, turning back into a single dot and then disintegrating into a ripple in the air. Residual, visible blue particles of concentrated mana dispersed into nothingness, as if they were never there to begin with.

 Chapter 107 Testing, Practice, Spells

    Jay touched the wall-mounted trade crystal with arge grin, excited to see what he could find on the market.

    Perhaps he could find the most powerful monster wand for only a few gold? Maybe they would be seen as trash that weren¡¯t even worth picking up? Who knows.

    [Trade tform essed]

    [29 Minutes remaining]

    Jay sat down on a nearby bench before he began to search through the items. There were a few other adventurers around now that they could start selling their loot and buying things, though many of them did not look as cheery as Jay did; they didn¡¯t have a monster ss, so at this point, they were stressing over every single gold coin.

    One even had to get up from the bench and touch the trade crystal again.

    Jay shook his head, pitying them before he opened the trade window.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll start with searching ¡®wand¡¯¡­ but how will I know it¡¯s a monster wand?¡±

    ¡°What if I buy some expensive crap I can¡¯t even use?¡±

    Jay found his first problem, but hoped that the monster wands would have obvious names, such as the goblin wand.

    A long list of wands came up, and soon he found the one he used in Vdores¡¯ ss.

    [Vibrance Wand]<sub>.</sub>

    [Spell Channel Tier 1]

    [110 gold]

    ¡°Wow, that was an expensive wand. I had no clue spell channels were so expensive?¡±

    Jay searched for his green crystals that he previously harvested from the carters demise dungeon, only to find that the price was still around 0.7 gold.

    ¡°What? Why? But it¡¯s a spell channel too??¡± he was confused, he felt like he got ripped off ¨C but this was the price avable to everyone, so how could hein? What he now wanted to know was why was a tier 1 spell channel item priced differently?

    He decided to not let this one go, immediately he wanted an answer.

    Jay got up from his seat and knocked on the window-door to Lillian¡¯s office.

    He heard a sighe from behind the door as she sluggishly got up before walking across and opening the window in the door.

    ¡°Hello again, how can I help you today?¡± she said with a sarcastic tone.

    ¡°I was wondering why a tier 1 spell channel is priced differently from another? Shouldn¡¯t they be the same?¡±

    ¡°A tier 1 spell channel? Can you give me more information?¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°A virbance wand is 110 gold, while a minor green crystal is 0.7 gold. They¡¯re both tier 1 spell channels so I was won-¡±

    ¡°Ohh,¡± Lillian cut Jay off with a smile, ¡°minor crystals shatter after some use. Their shape also results in only slightly stronger spells. Most only use them for alchemy ingredients.¡±

    ¡°Oh.. I see. Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Lillian smiled as she shut the window, not even listening to Jays answer.

    ¡°N-¡­¡± he turned around as the window shut and walked back to the bench ¡°No thanks¡±.

    He went back into the trade tform, doing a ¡®wand¡¯ search again, he found the goblin wand.

    [Goblin Wand]

    [Trophy]

    [46 gold]

    ¡°Oh, this is actually¡­ pretty expensive.¡± Jay thought, ¡°Vdore¡¯s pretty generous I guess.¡± he was starting to appreciate Vdore now, despite his frustrated attitude from his ss.

    ¡°Huh, it¡¯s in a trophy category, so I guess most monster drops like this would be there?¡±<sub></sub>

    Jay browsed the other wands for a moment that came up in the search, but he really was out of his depth, and none of them really peaked his interest.

    There were hundreds of wands, most of them expensive and with strange names that he had never heard of.

    [Glomscach Wand] [Heinous Screamer Wand] [Abathess Wand] [Charmer¡¯s Wand] [Hatecraft Wand]

    Jay did scroll past a few that had [trophy] and sounded like they belonged to monsters, but they were either cheaper than Jays or incredibly expensive.

    This was when Jay realised a second problem.

    Checking the prices, he realised that these would have their value determined by how good they were to look at. The price had no bearing on if they worked well or not; no human could test them.

    ¡°Perhaps a rare but beautiful wand may belong to an illusive low level creature, making the wand a collectors item and raising its value. Practically though, the wand could be useless¡­ it seems like trophies are something only the nobles would buy too.¡±

    ¡°Dammit¡­ this just gets moreplicated.¡± he frowned slightly, his grin long gone.

    Jay then decided to search by category and brought up the trophy listings.

    Simr to the wands, there were hundreds, maybe thousands. The list seemed to go on and on.

    Jay had to scroll through for 5 minutes before finding a wand, [Water Hoplite Wand], though it was incredibly expensive.

    This is when he realised another problem too: a spell channel doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be a wand. The crystal he had was a spell channel, and it wasn¡¯t a wand.

    Surely there were other monster drops that no one knew were spell channels.

    Frustrated, Jay let out a long sigh.

    ¡°Seems like I have wasted this trip.¡± he thought as he closed the trade window, a defeated frown on his face. There were simply too many unknowns.

    Besides, Jay doesn¡¯t want to risk his hard-earned money on something that will make spell-casting deadlier, especially since he doesn¡¯t have any spells in the first ce.

    Not to mention he already had the expensive goblin wand.

    With a defeated frown he shut the trade window, d that he had at least one monster wand.

    ¡°It will be enough for now¡± he pursed his lips as he got up and left the trade area.

    ¡°Bye Margaret¡± Jay smiled as he left the association, and a warm smile returned back to him as he passed by.

    Jay paused for a moment as he watched a few adventurers run in and out of the association. Most of them had sold the overpriced weapons they bought from Bertram by now, as they discovered the trade room in the guild.

    Of course, some were bitter since no one told them about the trade area. They brought their sour attitudes to the trade area too now, which had made Lillian fairly bothered, but it was not her job to babysit them. It was quite a harsh lesson to learn at such a low level, but it would help in the long term after all. It was almost like a rite of passage now; a tradition.

    Jay watched some train in the courtyard, testing their new purchases. Some wielded spears with scales and jagged edges, others carried bows with feathers and spikes. Slowly but surely the adventurers of Lo were getting stronger.

    While the average adventurer level was still 6, many were now hitting level 7, and some of the hardest working adventurers were even level 8.

    Compared to most of the other viges in the region, Lo was an anomaly ¨C other viges were still averaging around level four.

    It didn¡¯t stand out too much now, but if this continued, it would attract attention, and not necessarily the good kind.

    Unbeknownst to Jay, this was because of him.

    His incessant rushing around, leaving dungeons early in the mornings, being high level,bined with going into dungeons solo had an impact on the local adventurermunity which made them push themselves harder.

    Anya was one of the few who touched on level 8 now, and she only worked harder seeing that she was one level behind Jay, who was level 9 ¨C as the guild master¡¯s daughter, she was not isted from the gossip going around.

    Anya was even copying Jay and going into dungeons solo, though sometimes she would form a duo team with various tank-ss adventurers; a few people she trusted ¨C they could block the damage while she would deal it.

    Of course, Jay is level 10; his disguise stone doing the perfect job of hiding this fact.

    ¡°Now¡­ that ability point I was saving from level 9¡­ Do I want another level 3 skeleton, or all of them to be level 4?¡± he thought as he watched the training dummies and wooden target birds being decimated by their new weapons.

 Chapter 108 Limp

    Jay was deciding where to put his skill point as he watched adventurers training in the association courtyard.

    ¡°GRAAAA!¡±

    *DUNGGggg~*

    Two tanks charged and bashed against each other with their new shields, the sturdy iron walls making a deep ringing sound after the impact. It seemed like they were getting some sort of enjoyment out of it which Jay didn¡¯t seem to understand.

    ¡°Fuck yeah!¡± one shouted jubntly.

    *flet flet flet*

    Another adventurer unleashed an ultra-rapid volley of tiny bolts from a wrist-mounted crossbow, hitting three of the magic wooden birds as they pped about.

    ¡°I wonder how much damage those do¡­ seems like a waste of bolts. Perhaps if they aimed it at a creature¡¯s eyes it would be good.¡± thought Jay as he watched before going back to his own business.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I suppose it will take even more time for the skeletons to hit level four since you need more experience per level. I guess It would be better to get them started now. Besides, I¡¯m already at a much higher level than them¡­¡±

    ¡°..And I do have another undeadpanion now.¡± Jay smiled to himself as he touched the amulet on his chest.

    ¡°It also seems like most of the adventurers have a party size of at most 5 too, so I probably have a good amount of skeletons for now.¡± he thought, watching the adventurers going in and out of the association; he still didn¡¯t realise that the unspoken limit of 5 was because of him.

    Going solo into dungeons and being high level changed the mindset of the other adventurers. Clearly he was doing something right, right?

    With a nod, he wasted no more time, putting another skill point into undead mastery.<sub>.</sub>

    [Undead Mastery Level 3] (Passive)

    [Your undead can reach a max level of (4). Level up is permanent]

    [Current levels: 3]

    ¡°Now all I have to do is wait,¡± Jay smiled gleefully. ¡°I wonder if they will need more food.¡±

    Next, Jay was going to decide if he should head home or travel back to the mist keep dungeon, however as he looked up there was a young girl standing in front of him.

    ¡°Naria?¡± he smiled.

    She didn¡¯t say anything but smiled back slightly, staring into his eyes, full of wonderment.

    Jay wasn¡¯t experienced with kids so he couldn¡¯t think of what to say, especially since she wasn¡¯t saying anything either.

    ¡°You look healthy.¡± he patted her head. ¡°I hope you¡¯re taking good care of Margaret and the other adventurers.¡± he smiled, and soon received a toothy grin back.

    Jay was d she was smiling now at least. When she first saw Jay, he seemed like a monster, and to Jay, she seemed helpless as she shivered in the back of that cupboard; her only defence was clinging more lightly to her water bottle.

    ¡°Alright. I have monsters to y and people to save, so I need you to stay here and protect the association.¡± he smiled warmly at her as he crouched down.

    Naria made a serious face and nodded as she held her tiny fist up, epting her role as the protector of the guild.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Good girl.¡± Jay smiled, almost chuckling at her antics. He gave her one more head pat before leaving.

    He felt ufortable around children as he didn¡¯t know what to say, so he made himself scarce.

    As a lone butcher, he was all business. Usually he only talked to others about what he practically did, which would probably not be very relevant to a young child.

    ¡°Now, home or dungeon.¡± Jay considered his next steps for a moment.

    He would still be levelling if he went home, but he wanted to explore more of the dungeon and reach the next pyramid ¨C perhaps even clear it.

    Unfortunately, his new creature¡¯s necrotic bolts would be useless against the statues, but this only spurred another idea of Jay¡¯s.

    He would not let the bone helminth be idle ¨C it would be a waste after all.

    After some thought, Jay decided to head to the Wolf¡¯s Quarry dungeon.

    While it was a level 5 dungeon, it would of course be much harder to navigate and have a higher max level of monsters in it ¨C however, Jay had only just yed around on the tip of the iceberg of this dungeon and had only faced monsters around level 5.

    There were still many more secrets to unlock in wolf¡¯s quarry, but Jay decided he would clear the Mist keep dungeon first. He thought it was even a little pathetic that he had only cleared one dungeonpletely at this point ¨C the level one stink-rat marsh.

    Compared to the stink-rat marsh and the mist keep, the quarry was moreplex; it was like a bitter, dark, ravenous hole filled with winding branching passages andplete with sneak-attacks.

    It was like the dungeon itself wanted its tresspassers to suffer in its bowels, their screams leaving behind only soft echoes on the wind.<sub></sub>

    Jay now had one advantage ¨C a creature which could travel underground.

    It could easily pop out of the ground, attack a silt-wolf and hide in the earth again, shielded from any retaliation. The helminth would have free reign of the dungeon ¨C the only limiting factor to its sess would be that its necrotic bolts take time to recharge.

    But why would Jay care about that? The parasitic worm was not doing much at the moment anyway, as itzily wrapped around Jay¡¯s neck.

    Each silt-wolf had 40 health, while the worm carried 5 bolts, each doing 5 damage a piece. 25 damage total.

    After a wolf is brought down to 15 health, it would need three more bolts to finish it, though each new bolt needed 300 seconds to generate.

    In total, 15 minutes to regenerate the required three bolts, along with the time it takes to attack a wolf.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think it would be about twenty to thirty minutes for the worm to kill one. Not bad for a level 1 creature¡± he smiled, ¡°Not bad at all.¡±

    It was overpowered for level one, but it was a specialpanion skill for a necromancer; naturally, it would be deadly.

    ¡°Then it can gather the blue bones for me too. It¡¯s always good having more.¡± he shrugged.

    Jay proceeded to the wolf¡¯s quarry dungeon with a light jog, he wanted the hunting to get started as soon as possible.

    Finally he made it to the fake mining site. Getting inside the dungeon, he floated down once more. Into the darkness, he soon found the mining campsite with the singlemp, though he didn¡¯t bother to pick it up.

    ¡°Now¡­ natural form.¡± he said to his helminth.

    The ethereal creature glowed and detached from Jay¡¯s neck, seemingly squirming through the air. It became visible again, next his amulet floated and began breaking apart, growing and unwrapping, popping and snapping. The bones slowly emerged from it one by one, somehow in perfect condition even after the transformation.

    The bones floated and lined up with the floating ghostly helminth before clicking and sucking into ce; sure enough, its skeletal body wriggled and began to move.

    After itspletion it stopped floating and plopped on the ground, coiling into a circle and lifting its head up to its master, trying to guess Jay¡¯s motives.

    Jay crouched down to talk to it, staring into its solid green eyes.

    ¡°I want silf-wolf bones.¡± he said quietly.

    The creature snapped its jaws and dived into the earth, swimming through the dirt covertly as it approached its first target.

    ¡°Just as enthusiastic as the skeletons¡± smiled Jay, happy with its performance.

    He willed to leave the dungeon, and just before he exited he heard the wailing howl of a wolf; a whimper of pain.

    ¡°It must be pretty fast underground.¡± He chuckled as he found himself on the surface again.

    ¡°I wonder if I should name it¡­ But what would I even call it? ¡­ What to call an undead parasitic worm?¡±

    ¡°Snakey? Wormey? Squiggly-boi? Sir Noodle? Limp dick?¡± He suddenly had a cheeky grin on his face.

    ¡°Anya would definitely kill me if she found out that I called it Limp dick. Perhaps most people would.¡± he chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s probably a bigger offence than what being a necromancer is.¡±

    A part of him wanted to call it ¡®Mr. Wiggle¡¯ but he decided he should actually give it a decent name this time.

    The parasitic worm was one of a kind after all, and while it would be hrious to Jay, it seemed like the worm was much more intuitive than his skeletons, much more lifelike, almost like it had a personality.

    It also was a great little helper and was physically close to Jay; nursing itself around his neck to protect its master. Jay valued its sense of love mixed in with its undying loyalty.

    Yes, he valued it and a strange part of him wanted to pet it even though its head was a smooth, slender bone of a warped soap rat skull.

    He shook his head, getting rid of his smile. ¡°I¡¯ll give it more thought. It deserves a good name.¡±

    Next Jay headed back to the mist keep dungeon.

    He decided to start practising the mana sense ability as he walked.

    At first he had to stand still to activate it, but after a while he was able to slowly take a step forward. After a while he got more used to the feeling and soon walked forward slowly while keeping it activated.

    Soon enough, he was walking nearly at normal pace again ¨C though he did feel himself getting mentally drained as his mana was being depleted. It was like arge weight on his concentration.

    Unfortunately, Jay still had not gotten a notification from the system that he has learnt the mana sense skill, so it seemed like it would require much more practice from him.

    ¡°Oh well¡­¡± he stopped trying and started a light jog to the mist keep dungeon.

    ¡°I wonder what the third pyramid has in store for me.¡±

 Chapter 109 Duo

    As Jay arrived at the mist keep dungeon there were adventurers out the front like usual, but Jay still didn¡¯t see Stephen this time. This caused him to smile, and the atmosphere even seemed more positive without that guy here.

    Most adventures didn¡¯t approach Jay now, they realised it was pointless to try and recruit him into their parties, but many still looked with gawking expressions; still shocked that Jay was level 9.

    Jay passed by them as usual without saying a word, but he noticed that the group sizes were much smaller now, with the majority of adventurers in parties of two or three.

    There were not even any parties of 5 anymore.

    ¡°Huh, I guess three must be the ideal number?¡± thought Jay as he walked past quietly.

    This party size served the adventurers of Lo well, because now the more experienced duo¡¯s were taking in lower level people and helping them to level up as a trio.

    The majority had melee-based sses too, and they were finding that the ideal party structure consisted of two melee with either one ranged or one mana.

    At least for now it was ideal anyway, as the higher level dungeons sometimes required small armies of men; cksmiths, hospitals, mess halls inside fortified base camps were constructed in such dungeons, being necessary to conquer them.

    Of course, the rewards would simrly reflect such grand efforts.

    Just before Jay entered the level three dungeon, he saw a familiar face ¨C Anya. He simply nodded and was going to walk past, not desiring to talk with her.

    ¡°Hey Jay.¡± she said cidly, he wasn¡¯t sure if it was a greeting or a question.

    ¡°Hi Anya.¡± he said as he continued to walk by here.

    Some other adventurers began to watch the exchange. The level nine Jay was actually talking to someone?

    ¡°Wow, he just acknowledged her? Look¡± someone said quietly from the crowd.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°It¡¯s the guild masters daughter. He basically has to.¡± Another whispered back.

    Anya wanted to ask Jay something, and the next thing Anya said seemed like it was hard to say, but she squeezed it out nheless.

    ¡°I¡¯m level eight now, want to party up?¡±

    Jay finally stopped walking, and a mischievous smile formed on his face as he turned to her.

    ¡°With me? Are you sure this is what Sullivan wants?¡± he teased her.

    Anya said bluntly ¡°No, I would just like to see how far we can get.¡± she pursed her lips.

    As the guild master¡¯s daughter, she was supposed to be the highest level adventurer, people were supposed to be asking her to party with them.

    She had trained diligently in the guild all her life, and now some butcher was easily a higher level. She had to restrain her pride as she asked Jay.

    Of course he had a monster ss, but this didn¡¯t factor into Anya¡¯s thought pattern.

    ¡°Hmm. Ok. But this isn¡¯t a free ride.¡± Jay slightly smiled, he had tested her pride and she came out humble.

    Anya rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m quite capable, you¡¯ll see.¡±

    Jay was actually happy to have her helping. The third pyramid was next, and he wouldn¡¯t mind some help. The second pyramid would have gone much more smoothly with her there.

    ¡°I forget how to invite someone¡­¡± thought Jay, feeling a little awkward ¨C but thankfully he received a notification before anyone realised.<sub></sub>

    [Party Invitation ¨C Anya]

    [ept / Decline]

    Jay decided to collect his experience points before partying up ¨C just in case he had to share it.

    [620 Exp]

    ¡°Good¡± he thought; his productive minions were diligent as always.

    ¡°ept¡± thought Jay, as he formed a party with her once more.

    [You are now the party leader]

    Anya made him the leader, meaning he would now be the only one able to invite others; it was practically pointless, but among adventurers it was an unspoken sign of respect.

    ¡°Thanks. Let¡¯s quickly enter the dungeon.¡± he said, before she had a chance to check anything.

    Jay wasn¡¯t sure if the disguise stone worked while in a party, and if she knew that he was level 10, there was a small chance she would blurt it out in surprise, so he wanted to quickly enter.

    ¡°Wow, he actually partied up with someone, did you see that?¡± one of the lower level adventurers spoke loudly enough for others to hear.

    ¡°I guess he isn¡¯t always solo,¡± another said, slightly surprised.

    In Lo, most people thought that perhaps Jay was going solo for poprity or fame, so after some adventurers saw this, it made him seem like he was being fake.<sub></sub>

    People built up an idea about Jay in their heads that bear no resemnce to reality, it was purely assumption.

    Anya would get more popr after this, as she was the only one Jay had partied up with so far.

    Of course, Jay had no idea about any of this, and neither would he care about it. He was solely focused on getting stronger and learning his respective craft ¨C necromancy.

    Anya obliged with a serious nod and quickly walked to the dungeon behind Jay. Clearly what Jay said about her pulling her weight had brought out her professional side, and she was not going to be a burden.

    To any adventurer this would be a massive opportunity, to party up with the one who was the highest level.

    Entering the dungeon, Jay found himself at the second pyramid.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he wondered.

    Last time he came here, he would always end up at the start of the dungeon.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because I conquered the pyramid?¡­ but¡­ hmm¡­ I guess I didn¡¯t technically conquer the first pyramid as Sedulus is still alive.¡±

    Anya looked around, gasping as her eyes widened.

    ¡°Where are we? How much of this dungeon have you done?¡± she quickly whispered.

    ¡°This is the second pyramid.¡± Jay said leisurely, as he seemed a little distracted.

    ¡°¡­I need the skeletons to bring the soul stones back here if there are any.¡± he willed through his mental connection to his skeletons, ignoring Anya who was still looking around gawking.

    Jay still needed a little under 300 regr soul stones toplete his quest, as well as the two greater ones.

    He could sense that his minions weren¡¯t too far away now because of [Necrotic Sense], and one of them had been tasked by Blue to bring the soulstones back to him.

    ¡°The second pyramid?¡± Anya finally said, shocked.

    No one had even conquered the first pyramid yet, even withrger parties. It was simply abyrinth with too many traps.

    ¡°Let me guess, you walked around the first one?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Jay smiled smugly.

    ¡°Seriously?¡± she had a look of disbelief on her face, ¡°You did it solo too?¡±

    Technically he didn¡¯t conquer the first pyramid, but he didn¡¯t let the truth ruin a good story.

    Jay only nodded in response as he looked towards the entrance of the pyramid ¨C He already answered her question, there was no point saying yes again.

    No exit opened up behind the stone throne so they would need to backtrack.

    Anya read his bodynguage and took out her crossbow, clearing the shock out of her system and getting ready.

    She decided in her mind that she would not be a hindrance to Jay.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± Jay said, heading back towards the entrance of the pyramid through the circles of light.

    Anya tried to hide her smile as she stepped over therge toppled statues, a sign of a fierce past battle.

    One statue waspletely unidentifiable but she could tell that it was huge, even though all that remained now was dust, pebbles and rubble.

    She hadn¡¯t stepped foot inside this pyramid yet, so she was trying to study everything.

    It seemed like a simple pyramid by the looks of it; there were no trap doors or winding twists and turns, so she didn¡¯t bother to ask Jay for any tips about it ¨C of course, this was a huge mistake.

    As Jay exited the pyramid, the ck highway came into view ¨C filled with more rubble of past battles.

    A fire was slowly rising inside Anya¡¯s belly as she could only imagine fighting through these blockades of stone statues.

    The giant pirs on each side only made it seem like the battle was that much more glorious; just the sight made her feel energised, roaring for battle.

    Suddenly, Anya crouched on one knee and aimed at something approaching them; it wasing at high speed, she had to act fast.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Jay held his hand up, knowing what she was aiming at.

    Jay¡¯s skeleton, Sweeper, was bringing him a soul stone as it dashed through the ruined city and over destroyed buildings.

    [17.5 Exp][17.5 Exp]

    The other three skeletons killed two more statues as they waited.

    Jay was only getting half as much exp now that Anya was here, he didn¡¯t mind it too much as he got plenty of exp while he slept anyway. The real problem for Jay was when it came to the boss fights; Jay would need more firepower, and the skeletons just didn¡¯t quite cut it.

    Anya however had a different reaction to the free experience.

    She had only been in this dungeon for 10 minutes and already it was like they killed two statues ¨C though neither had done so much as lift a finger in battle.

    She was trying to hide her shock, and a small part of her felt like she owed Jay something.

 Chapter 110 Repair

    Since the second pyramid had no passage through it, they now had to walk around.

    ¡°Alright. We¡¯re going to head to the third pyramid. I¡¯ll bring the skeletons back so we can push safely together.¡± Jay said leisurely.

    ¡°Sounds like a n.¡± Anya followed his lead.

    Jaymanded his skeletons toe back to him, but he kept Sweeper out there, collecting the soulstones of the statues the skeletons yed while he was in lessons with Vdore.

    Thankfully, the skeletons had cleared most of the statues this way so there was not much of a hindrance to their journey ¨C apart from the odd piece of rubble on the ruined city roads.

    The skeletons sprinted back as a group, and Anya hadn¡¯t seen them for a while so she stopped for a moment to watch them.

    As the skeletons had returned back, they began walking ahead of Jay and Anya, functioning as the vanguard of the party.

    ¡°Wow¡­ they¡¯re all as big as Blue now?¡± Anyamented as the three skeletons returned.

    ¡°Yeah, and they¡¯re only level three¡­¡± Jay smiled, knowing that soon enough they will be level four and probably look even more threatening.

    Anya remembered the power that Blue exhibited by itself during the leech incident. She shook her head, speechless. Jay¡¯s personal bodyguards were simply too strong.

    As they walked, the silence started to feel awkward so Jay made some more conversation.

    ¡°By the way, you can see my level in the party right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, level 9 necromancer..?¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Ok. Just checking.¡± Jay tried to sound casual, stopping himself from smiling as he was level 10.

    ¡°The disguise stone even works in parties¡­¡± he shook his head in disbelief ¡°¡­and Sedulus said there were no treasures here.¡± he thought as he walked along silently, internally though he was cheering.

    Jay began to notice a difference between himself and Anya as they walked. He travelled much more casually than Anya, and much more loudly too. Sometimes he even got bored and kicked a rock or two.

    Anya however was constantly scanning the environment, she was quite tense byparison. Her eyes darted left and right, while each of her steps were silent, not making a sound.

    Jay appreciated her professional attitude, but felt like she was being way too serious. All they were doing was walking after all.

    ¡°Rx a bit, you¡¯re making me nervous.¡± Jay chuckled with a light smile.

    Anya pursed her lips for a moment and nodded as she lowered her crossbow a little.

    ¡°Sorry. This is all new territory for me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok, me too. Don¡¯t worry though, the skeletons will do most of the fighting. I¡¯ll tell you when they need some help. At the moment, they can all keep one preupied without taking damage, or take a statue down but suffer a few hits in return.

    Anya rolled her tongue in her cheek as she thought for a moment.

    ¡°So you can keep four preupied at once? Since it seems like you have four skeletons now? Or do you have more?¡±

    ¡°Yep, four. I only have four for now.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°I see¡­¡± she looked at the skeletons with their hammers.

    ¡°I wonder how powerful Jay is now.¡± she thought silently as she walked, realising he could probably take on a group of five statues without much effort.

    Soon enough they made it around the second pyramid without incident and were well on their way to the third.

    Another ck highway stretched out before them yet there were no pirs on either side, and no military blockades either ¨C though there was a rhythmic thumping sound that steadily grew louder as they approached.

    Finally, they saw their first group of enemies, a party of five stone soldiers marched in unison; three of them were spearmen while two were swordsmen.

    These were not the only group however, as further behind them another group marched endlessly; in total there were five groups of enemies, all marching in unison as if they were perfectly disciplined soldiers.

    As Jay and Anya stepped onto the highway, they received a message.

    <[Entrance Challenge]>

    [Reset Area]

    ¨C If you leave the area, enemies will be reset.

    ¡°A reset area? Huh¡­¡± he watched the soldiers march up and down the highway for a moment.

    ¡°What if I just decide to skip it¡­?¡± Jay mischievously smiled as he gazed into the distance and looked at the pyramid.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Damn¡­ seems like the door is shut. I guess that¡¯s why it¡¯s called an entrance challenge.¡±

    Instead of military blockages, these groups of the powerful stone statues marched back and forward along the highway, each stern and threatening as each heavy footstep made a thudding sound while they marched in perfect harmony.

    Jay watched for a moment before realising the difficulty of this challenge.

    While each group of statues consisted of three spearmen and two swordsmen, that wasn¡¯t what necessarily made it difficult ¨C in fact, to Jay this was a piece of cake.

    What made it hard was the marching ¨C If they didn¡¯t kill a group of five statues fast enough, another one would show up.

    For instance, if they only killed four statues, and five more showed up, they would then be dealing with six statues.

    Dealing with six would be much harder too as it would then be a 6 vs 6 battle, slowing down their killing speed. If they killed three, then five more showed up, they would then be facing eight.

    Soon another group of five would show up and slowly they would be overwhelmed.

    Everything depended on the first battle, otherwise it would get exponentially harder.

    If they retreated from the area they would live, but the statues would be ¡®reset¡¯ ande back to life, meaning they would have to try again.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ it¡¯s almost like a miniature dungeon.¡± he thought as he scratched his chin before turning to Anya.

    ¡°We will have to kill them fast, otherwise we will need to retreat and try again.¡± Jay urately analysed the situation.

    ¡°Mm..¡± Anya nodded in agreement, already understanding the gist of the situation.

    ¡°Let¡¯s back off for a bit. I need to repair my shield before I¡¯ll be ready, then as soon as Sweeper returns we can start. Are you prepared?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.. Yes.¡± Anya said as she looked over her crossbow and checked some things in her inventory and her waist. She was ready since they entered.

    Since theyst met, Anya had upgraded her crossbow to one which wasrger and more sturdy now. It had two light-blue rails that the bolt slipped in between as well as a foot handle on the front.

    The crossbow was thicker and packed a bigger punch, and the foot handle was necessary from the sheer power of the crossbow. It also allowed faster reloading, as now too hands could be used to pull the drawstring back.

    Anya¡¯s bolts received an upgrade as well, each of them were longer to fit therger bow, and had thicker tips made from a type of hardened steel.

    On various parts of her light leather armour were small throwing knives for easy ess and situational use.

    Jay had looked at it a few times, he wondered what the light-blue rails were for.

    ¡°Perhaps they are some kind of charging or imbuing mechanism?¡± he thought as he looked at it.

    Obviously it was one of those powerful items that Sullivan would have gifted her.

    Jay and Anya stepped off the highway so that they didn¡¯t start the first battle and hid safely in some nearby ruins.

    Jay took out the three pieces of his shield, he wasn¡¯t sure how to fix it so it was really a guessing game at this point; sitting down, he began the repair process.

    He pushed the three parts together and added some necrotic mana to it; green gas swirled around it for a moment but nothing happened, though the mana didn¡¯t dissipate or linger, so it had to be going somewhere.

    ¡°Hmm.¡±

    He just decided to add even more of his swirling sickly-green mana, concentrating it. This seemed like it did the trick as the pieces began to float and the eyes on the shield glowed with resurrected life once more.

    The three pieces floated around each other, and soon some thin ethereal arteries began connecting each piece together, pulling them closer.

    Jay continued to add mana until the process was over, and he could feel the shield still absorbing everything around it.

    The three pieces pulled each other closer and glowed as mana was funnelled into them, soon the tear between them was healed and the shield was whole again.

    The veins and arteries on the shield were once more brimming with the necrotic glowing mana again as the eyes on the shield gazed at Jay, its master.

    ¡°Wee back¡± Jay thought as he grabbed it while it was still floating in mid air.

    [Death Walkers Sentry Repaired]

    Immediately he equipped it, and it squeezed his arm once.

    ¡°I guess it missed me too?¡± he almost chuckled; Anya was watching so he kept these thoughts and chuckles to himself.

    Sweeper finally got back with another soul stone, and Jay willed it to stop its collection duty. In total it had collected 6 more for Jay.

    There were still some more stones out there but they didn¡¯t really matter too much to Jay, after all, he could simply reset the dungeon, go to sleep, and wake up the next day to arge batch of them.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m ready and the skeletons are looking healthy. Let¡¯s move¡± he said, standing up from the stone b he was sitting on.

 Chapter 111 DPS Check

    *Doon doon doon*

    It was like a deep slow war drum, building up an anxious pressure for battle within the hearts of anyone who would hear it.

    *Doon doon¡­*

    The first group of heavy soldiers approached as they marched in unison, causing small pebbles to shift on the highway.

    While each group of soldiers was separate, they all marched in perfect harmony.

    ¡°Get ready.¡± Jay said, grasping his sword tightly as he stared ahead.

    Anya nodded and squinted, ready for battle. She held her crossbow up, aiming to fire as soon as the soldiers came within aggro range of the skeleton vanguard.

    The soldier statues suddenly got into range and began to charge. This was not their usual tactic, as they would usually either fight defensively or slowly push forward.

    ¡°Somethings different.¡± Jay said to Anya as he charged into the battle.

    Each skeleton kept a statue busy, leaving the fifth one left over for Jay to fight.

    *Swoosh~*

    *Thwonk~*

    [9.7]

    Jay dodged a sword sh and retaliated with a hammer smash.

    His hammer did more damage now that his strength was higher, but he didn¡¯t have any time to think about it as they had to kill these statues as quickly as they could.

    Anya wasn¡¯t idle either, unleashing a stream of heavy bolts at the statue Jay was fighting.

    *Shring¡­ shring¡­*

    Each bolt shuddered and cracked off bits of the statue as its health plummeted.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Nice damage¡± thought Jay as he finished his enemy off with a final wallop of his hammer.

    It seemed like Anya still did more damage despite him raising his strength to 20.

    The swordsman statues were level three and only had 35hp, while the spearmen statues were level four with 50hp.

    Without pause, Jay dashed over to a nearby statue, smashing its head with the back of his hammer while it was distracted.

    Anya dealt massive damage too; soon enough the second statue fell, returning to the rubble from which it was hewn.

    The fight was then a five versus three, and thest statues were quickly culled.

    *Doon doon doon*

    The next set of marching statues wasing, and they barely had any breathing room.

    ¡°Keep fighting!¡± Jay yelled as the skeletons returned to formation.

    The first fight set the pace, and since they could kill five statues before the next group would arrive, it meant they could beat this challenge.

    *Swoosh~ thwonk~ ching~ clink~*

    Hammers chipped off cracking stone while bolts sheared offrge chunks as each statue was destroyed.

    The second group of five was culled even more quickly than the first, but the third group of statues arrived earlier than expected.

    *Doon doon doon*

    Like clockwork, the third group of enemies charged at them.

    ¡°Did theye a little too quickly?¡± Jay thought as he dashed at the first statue.

    ¡°What if theye a little more quickly each time?¡± he wondered as he smashed a hammer against the statue.<sub></sub>

    ¡°I will need to end this quickly and see.¡± he thought as he yelled back to Anya.

    ¡°Finish the other swordsman so we can free up a skeleton! I can finish this one by myself!¡±

    *Shring~* a bolt immediately hit the other swordsman statue and caused it to stagger, giving the skeleton a perfect opportunity to strike.

    *¡­doon doon doon* more statues wereing.

    *Swoosh~ thwonk~ ching~ clink~*

    ¡°Dammit, I hate being right.¡± Jay shook his head, hearing the next group of statuesing.

    He quickly finished the swordsman statue off at the same time that Anya finished the other one.

    The group quickly turned on the three remaining spearmen statues and finished them off as fast as they could, but the fresh group of statues was already on them.

    Two spearmen went down as thetest group of soldier statues began to charge.

    Jay had to dodge a spear thrust from behind right as he finished off thest statue; Jay and his skeletons had circled it and whaled on it like a group of kids would whale on a pinata.

    *Swoosh*

    ¡°Dammit, shit¡± he almost didn¡¯t dodge the spear thrust.

    This was the fourth group, so there was on more after this. The challenge wasing to an end, but Jay realise that the veryst fights would be harder than the first three battlesbined.

    He had to do something to increase their damage output, so he made the call.

    ¡°Change up tactics, skeletons go all out!¡±

    The skeletons¡¯ eyes seemed to twinkle as Jay barked out his order, like berserkers they were made for fights like this. None of them felt any pain, they simply wanted to savagely attack with a relentless assault.

    Immediately the skeletons jumped forward into dangerous positions; they were dealing much more damage as they span and smashed to their hearts content, but now they were taking damage in return too.<sub></sub>

    The swordsman statue that Anya was attacking went down to rubble first, quickly destroyed by thebined attacks of the skeleton and Anya¡¯s bolts.

    Next, Jays skeleton went down to the dirt as it cracked and crumbled.

    Jay immediately pounced on the spearman statue near him while Anya and the free skeleton went after another.

    *Doon doon doon*

    ¡°Shit.¡± Jay clenched his jaw in heated frustration, hearing the sounds of the next group marching.

    The next group of five statues were already charging them while the three spearmen statues from thest group were still alive and well ¨C though they were around half health.

    ¡°Dammit¡­ What can I do. The skeletons are already damaged¡­ we can¡¯t fight more than five¡­ We might have to retreat?¡±

    Anya saw Jay¡¯s conflicted expression, even in the heat of battle she could see that he was different; it was like a piece of him was no longer in the battle, and his fighting showed it.

    Some of his attacks were slightly dyed and he no longer looked around as much; his awareness seemed to drop.

    Immediately, Anya knew what to do as she rushed forward.

    ¡°What the fuck is she doing¡­¡± Jay thought as he smashed his hammer down on a spearman statue while dodging the thrust from another. His concentration was dropping and now Anya was charging into battle?

    Then, he realised what was about to happen.

    ¡°Skeletons, step back!¡± he got them to safety so they wouldn¡¯t take more unnecessary damage.

    Anya kept running forward, and just before she was within attack range, she used her ability.

    ¡°PROSTRATE!~~~¡±

    The deathly majestic voice of an ancient eldritch king rang out, shivering the very souls of all who heard it.

    Filled with unquestionable authority, all had to obey.

    *DOOON~* each statue smashed their faces to the ground, kowtowing as if their lives depended on it.

    Jay was still running back while his body automatically knelt; he skidded to a halt on his knees.

    Each skeleton simrly bowed down, dropping their hammers before them.

    ¡°Rise,¡± Anya said to Jay and the skeletons, mimicking the way Jay said it with a mischievous smile.

    Jay and the skeletons didn¡¯t need a second order, as each of them grabbed their hammers and began to smashed in the heads of the defenceless statues.

    Three spearmen statues went down quickly, and then two more swordsmen, leaving three more spearmen statues.

    ¡°Jay, step back¡­ it¡¯s almost over.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re about to get up!¡±

    Jay was in the attack range of one of them, and he didn¡¯t take any chances as he immediately jumped back.

    *Swoosh~*

    Just in time as a spear pierced right where his head just was. A skeleton wasn¡¯t so lucky as it was struck, it went flying and skittled across the highway.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± he shook his head.

    ¡°I thought that abilitysted longer?¡± Jay asked.

    ¡°They¡¯re stronger somehow. I don¡¯t know?¡± Anya shrugged as she aimed another bolt.

    *Shring~*

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°At least there¡¯s only three left,¡± he said. ¡°You can finish them off.¡± he waved his hand as he stepped back further and began to catch his breath.

    The skeleton that was hit away returned to the fight with just as much vigour and ferocity as it always had.

    ¡°I guess Anya¡¯s ability doesn¡¯t count as magic since they¡¯re magic immune? I wonder why it didn¡¯tst as long though¡­¡±

    Jay remembered previously when fighting the leeches; even inside the leech queen¡¯s stomach he kowtowed ¨C There was plenty of time to get out of the stomach and fight back.

    ¡°Oh well.¡± he thought, ¡°I don¡¯t rely on others anyway. If I wanted, I still could have activated my boots and got out of the fight safely.¡±

    Finally, thest three statues went down, and the group received some notifications.

    [Entrance Challenge ¨C Complete]

    [990 Exp]

    ¡°Not a bad amount of exp I guess. Pretty decent for a short amount of time.¡± Jay thought as he checked over the notifications ¨C before turning to Anya who had quite a different reaction.

    Anya¡¯s eyes were bulging and she had a wide smile on her face ¨C the first time Jay had seen her smile this widely.

    ¡°So much exp¡± she was ecstatic,pletely joyful for a moment. Gone was the icy cold indifference she usually exhibited.

    It would have taken a group of at least five to conquer this challenge, diluting the experience points gained ¨C however, with Jay, they each received fifty perfect of the exp.

    Suddenly, she noticed Jay looking at her.

    Immediately she turned away and coughed, ¡°Good job.¡± she said before turning back again with her usual cold stare.

    *GURRRRRRR~*

    Jay looked towards the pyramid ¨C the doors were moving. Each of them groaned as they opened outwards; both doors were as thick as a road and as tall as giants.

    Next, six spearman statues marched out and formed into a defensive position at the entrance.

    ¡°Looks like there¡¯s a weing party.¡± Jay said as he gazed at them.

    ¡°Ready?¡± he nced at Anya with a slight smile.

 Chapter 112 All Gather All

    *Shring shring ng shring*

    Matheon¡¯s sword made a ringing noise as it sliced and bounced off the stone statues.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he frowned slightly before jumping back and staying at a safe distance.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t working¡­ and my fire gem has no effect on their stone bodies.¡±

    ¡°¡­ perhaps the mist keep dungeon isn¡¯t right for me¡­ but the silt wolf one is a little too advanced.¡±

    Matheson decided to leave the dungeon and do some thinking, he needed to find a dungeon that was somewhere inbetween.

    ¡°Hmm. The soap rat dungeon is a little too low level now, it¡¯s not worth my time¡­ perhaps I will try one of those non-instanced dungeons. I know there¡¯s a level three one somewhere in the south.¡±

    Matheson decided to head back to the association to find the level three dungeon he vaguely remembered seeing.

    The non-instanced dungeons were not as popr, as peoplepeted over enemies to kill.

    Since these dungeons were non-instanced, if people in two different parties went into one, they would see each other. No one would be alone or separate in these dungeons.

    Enemies would respawn quickly, and these dungeons were more like basic hunting grounds than lucrative adventures. They generally didn¡¯t have progression, and the bosses were not as threatening as an instanced level three dungeon would be.<sub>.</sub>

    Overall, the non-instanced dungeons were much easier than their instanced counterparts.

    Leaving mist keep, Matheson ran up the hill past the quarry and headed into the association.

    After having his clothes shredded by silt wolves, he had since bought some ck close-fitting clothes with a dark hide tunic,plete with shoulder pauldrons.

    The guards no longer mocked him either, as his running stride seemed more professional and his new clothes were no longer billowing around; they matched the focused hungry me within his eyes.

    Entering the association, he found the map location.

    [Feral ins ¨C Level 3 Dungeon]

    [Non-instanced] [Unlocked]

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty close to the stink-rat marsh. Good.¡± Matheson thought as he looked at it.

    There was added information about the dungeon too, a simple note which said ¡®swarm tactics¡¯.

    ¡°Swarm tactics? Sounds stupid.¡± he thought as he turned and left the association.<sub></sub>

    Matheson decided he would head home for a quick meal and drop his new trophies off before continuing on his mission to get stronger and be independent.

    So far, he was slowly acquiring these things ¨C but was also finding that he was gaining so much more; his thoughts changing as he learnt discipline and drive. Realisations about what power and strength truly meant were beginning to shape his mind, slowly turning him into a different person.

    As he ran down the hill like he usually did, his eyes drifted on someone lurking in the bushes below the path. He slowed down his jog for a moment out of curiosity, but soon he regained his focus, picking up his speed with a renewed spirit.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°What are those?¡± Anya asked as she watched the skeletons gather some strange looking crystals.

    ¡°Huh? Oh, they¡¯re for a quest. Soul stones.¡±

    ¡°You got a quest?¡± she was surprised, never having heard of someone getting a quest for this dungeon.

    ¡°Yep¡­ hmm. I wonder if you can loot the soul stones off their corpses now that we¡¯re in the same party?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± she said as she walked over to one of the recently deceased stone soldiers.

    ¡°Nope. Nothing. It must not let me since I don¡¯t have the quest.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Yeah¡­ probably¡± Jay said, but he had his own theories about why only he could loot the soul stones.

    Anya proceeded to move to other corpses and loot them, making Jay confused.

    ¡°What are you doing? I thought you couldn¡¯t get soul stones?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m getting the rings? Duh.¡±

    ¡°The rings¡­¡±

    Suddenly, Jay felt like his heart stopped beating as he realised a crucial mistake he had made.

    All this time, he only had his skeletons collecting the soul stones and ignoring the rings. Not all the statues had them, but he would have lost hundreds of rings probably.

    Anya was still gathering the helvetian rings so she didn¡¯t see Jay turning pale.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± he stood still, not blinking as his eyebrows creased ¡°Ipletely forgot¡­ I could have had the skeletons gather the rings this whole time..¡± he thought to himself.

    ¡°And I reset the dungeon too so those are all gone..¡± he clenched his teeth as the realisation dawned on him.

    He could no longer hold in his anger.

    ¡°FUCK! ¡­FUUUCK!¡± he yelled out loud as a wave of frustration rolled over him.

    ¡°Woah, what?¡± Anya turned and looked at him, worried they might be under attack.

    Jay was red, an angry expression on his face as he looked at the rubble on the ground clenching his fists.

    ¡°Nothing¡± he snapped and exhaled angrily, ¡°Never mind.¡± he said softly and turned away.

    ¡°O¡­kay¡­¡± Anya said, a little confused before she went back to gathering.

    Meanwhile Jay wasmanding his skeletons mentally.

    ¡°ALWAYS gather ALL loot from creatures. ALWAYS!¡± he enforced a new rule on his skeletons, yelling through his thoughts to them as he gritted his teeth.

    Jay got so caught up with the soul stone quest he received that it was like he got tunnel vision.

    The skeletons happily obliged, following their master¡¯s new order, which was more like a rule now as they started to get helvetian rings from the corpses too.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even want to calcte how much gold I¡¯ve lost.¡± He shook his head, still frustrated.

    Anya was still collecting the loot with hungry eyes and a tiny smile, not missing a single statue as she ignored Jay¡¯s weirdness and went about her business.

    ¡°Anya, half of those are mine.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± she said, d that Jay didn¡¯t demand more since he technically did most of the work.

    After looting all 25 corpses, they both took a break. Anya retrieved what crossbow bolts she could while Jay healed his skeletons.

    Thankfully the skeletons didn¡¯t suffer too much damage, so after restoring them Jay¡¯s mana was still rtively high; his mind still sharp.

    Now that they were ready, they began to march closer to the pyramid entrance.

    The open doors of the pyramid still had six spearmen statues guarding the front, ever vignt.

    ¡°Six statues, shouldn¡¯t be too hard.¡± Jay said as he squinted at them, looking for traps.

    ¡°Hopefully.¡± Anya said, trying not to sound too doubtful.

    ¡°I¡¯ll distract two of them, leaving a skeleton to fight each of the statues. You can attack one of the statues the skeletons are fighting so they can help the others before helping me.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Anya nodded, readying her crossbow.

 Chapter 113 The 5th Servant

    ¡°Go.¡± Jay said, sending his skeletons in to fight.

    He quickly then ran to the side and started smashing his hammer against two statues, sessfully grabbing their attention and causing them to focus on him.

    The n was working perfectly so far.

    With the two statues now shing at him, he focusedpletely on dodging.

    *pshew~*

    Anya began sting one of the other statues with her crossbow as chips and chunks of stone began to fly off and break away.

    Jay was still focused on dodging as the two spearmen thrusting at him ceaselessly. The endless barrage of attacks keeping him busy.

    Thankfully it didn¡¯t take too long before the first statue was in.

    [50 Exp]

    Six versus five.

    Each of them got half of the exp from the first crumbling level four spearman.

    ¡°Nice¡± Jay thought, dodging under another spear swing then sidestepping a thrust.

    *clung~*

    [-4.2]

    His shield took a hit as the spearman used its double-strike ability.

    Jay sidestepped another follow-up thrust, raising his shield up again just in case it was a double-strike.

    Anya and the skeletons were just as busy, as the skeletons¡¯ hammers and her bolts continued to ring out as they pumelled against the statues.

    [50 Exp]<sub>.</sub>

    Another statue went down as its knees buckled, bing ruins with the rest of Helvetia.

    Now that it was six versus four, the speed of statue deaths increased exponentially; the battle would end soon.

    Jay had the next free skeletone over and attack one of the two statues he was fighting, giving himself some breathing room

    The skeleton gained the attention of one of them, so now Jay could start fighting back too.

    *Thwunk~ smash~ dringgg~*

    Finally, now he could attack. After all the thrusts and swipes he dodged he was raring for battle.

    He walloped the statue without mercy as he quickly shattered its helmet.

    [14.4] [14.4] [14.4]

    His hammers were doing much more damage now that he put more points into strength and levelled up.

    [50 Exp]

    [50 Exp]

    The group ended two statues at once, and Jay decided to step back from the fight.

    The skeletons could handle thest two statues, so Jay stretched as he stood next to Anya.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder you¡¯re levelling up so fast, It¡¯s like you¡¯re in a party of five but you get all the exp.¡± Anyamented as they watched thest two statues being ravaged by hammers.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Jay smiled slyly, knowing they even fought for him while he was sleeping.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head inside,¡± he added.

    The cavernous mouth of the pyramid was opened wide to them. After standing silently for countless centuries it was finally unlocked, waiting for its first victims.<sub></sub>

    Of course in other instances of this dungeon people had conquered this pyramid, but this was a new instance. As far as this dungeon was concerned, Jay and Anya were the first ones here.

    As Jay and Anya approached the darkness, a stale, thick wave of foul air assaulted them.

    ¡°Eugh, disgusting.¡± Anya said as her face crinkled.

    ¡°Smells like death.¡± Jay simrly was frowning from the putrid smell.

    They pulled out luminous orbs as they walked into the darkness of the pyramid.

    On each side, giant pairs of statues of different soldier types were on each side, like massive columns.

    Jay analysed each of them before proceeding, but they had no level ¨C thankfully these were just scenery otherwise each of them could crush Jay and Anya simply by stepping down from each of the pedestals they stood on.

    The first in the series of statues were quite different, they had no weapons or even legs ¨C they seemed to float somehow, though they had wed metal gauntlets.

    There was no mana signature or anything, they were like rocks frozen in the air.

    After those were two-handed swordsmen, archer, spearmen andstly sword statues.

    It seemed backwards to Jay because he would expect the swordsmen to be at the front, followed by the spearmen. This was the general structure of the dungeon thus far too.

    On each side of the walls that the statues were ced in front of were more murals.

    The murals showed mountains of crystals, lines of soldiers leading to a circr altar, and lines of soldier statues.

    Near the altar was arge pit.

    ¡°Perhaps this is what the pyramid was built on?¡± Anya guessed.

    Anya had already ventured closer to the murals behind the statues, looking across them as she tried to find any clues about this pyramid while she was trying to decipher what they were depicting.

    ¡°Seems like some sort of ritual?¡± she whispered, though her voice still travelled through the silent structure, echoing off the t walls.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Anya,¡± Jay whispered, ¡°you can look at thoseter.¡±

    ¡°Sure, sorry.¡± she hopped back near Jay.

    Jay had already given his luminous orb to one of his minions and was squeezing his nose with his hand, the stench was many times worse than all the other things he had smelt thus far.

    They walked silently past the statues with the skeletons ahead of them.

    Unfortunately, the skeletons made light tapping noises as they crept ahead, decreasing their chances of staying undiscovered.

    The hall split off into three passageways, each path descending downwards into the earth.

    ¡°Let¡¯s clear left first?¡± Jay whispered.

    Anya nodded back silently under the warm light from the luminous orb.

    They were already a few hundred meters down the passageway, and they began passing through some sections of blue glowing crystal.

    The crystals were seamlessly built into the walls, the floor and the roof forming a rectangr ring.

    Each time they passed through, the crystal rings glowed green as they responded to their presence; however the skeletons made them glow yellow.

    Jay and Anya only had confused expressions as they went through cautiously.

    They turned back to blue after passing through. It seemed like they were a scanner of some sort.

    *urarRRrr*

    A distant whimper, a lonely moan echoed and reverberated through the darkness.

    Jay, Anya and all the skeletons paused as they listened to the sound. It wasing from further down the passage below.

    The sound made Jay cautious while he held his shield up to see down the passage, but nothing, there was no response.

    He looked towards Anya ¨C tiny hairs were visibly raised on her arms.

    For some reason the single sound scared her much more than Jay.

    Without saying a word, Jay decided to have a skeleton walk behind them as well, protecting them from either side.

    They eventually came to an iron door. It had no door handle, instead it had arge iron bar with inscriptions covering it, and a message.

    *click click click click click click~*

    Before they approached the door to read the message, a series of sounds came from behind it.

    Sounds of many lightly tapping footsteps came from the other side. They must have been made from stone too, but much lighter as their feet made gentle tapping sounds against the floor ¨C rauther than heavy plodding thumps like the soldier statues did.

    The inscriptions were undecipherable as it was written in with some sort of advanced helvetian hex magic, but the message apanying it was still partly readable.

    ¡°For crimes¡­ (unreadable) forever sealed. (unreadable) Certain death.¡±

    A faint green light came from under the door, but both Jay and Anya couldn¡¯t make anything else out.

    Jay tapped Anya on the shoulder, beckoning her toe back further up the passageway so they could talk without whatever was in the room hearing.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Jay whispered.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s dangerous. Certain death?¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­ but.. I want to know.¡± Jay shrugged. ¡°And this is a level three dungeon. How bad could it be? I¡¯m level t¡­ nine. Ten almost.¡± he quickly corrected himself.

    ¡°I¡¯m curious too¡­ Plus, I¡¯ve just about recovered from myst use of prostrate. About ten more minutes and I should be ready.¡±

    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s just do it. If anything happens, just leave the dungeon while I have the skeletons hold them off¡­ I¡¯ll get the skeletons to open the door too in case it¡¯s some kind of trap. Just tell me when you¡¯re ready.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Anya nodded.

    She was as curious as Jay about what was behind the door.

    Jay decided to go back to the door. He got on his knees and peeked under.

    In the room there was what looked like arge cylinder of ss, filled with some sort of purple translucent fluid.

    It seemed like it went further down into the room, making Jay think there were probably stairs on the other side of the door.

    Suddenly five sharp dark-brown daggers tapped across the door entrance, skittering across swiftly.

    Jay recoiled his head back quickly, startled as he tried to not make a sound.

    ¡°What the fuck was that¡­¡± he thought, holding his breath.

    ***Author here.

    I¡¯m anticipating people asking why Jay is doing 14.4 damage with a 6 damage bone hammer. New weapon damage calction for anyone interested:

    [Weapon damage*((str*char level)/100)] * modifiers = damage dealt.

    E.g. 6*((15*9)/100)]*1.2 = 9.7 damage

    E.g. 6*((20*10)/100)]*1.2 = 14.4 damage

    The first example is from when Jay was level 9 with 15 strength.

    +1 level up and 5 more strength has given him 4.7 more dmg.

    The *1.2 is the modifier. Jay does an 20% extra damage to the statues when using the hammer (due to their brittle armour passive).

    Hopefully this scales well into the future and I won¡¯t need to adjust it¡­.

    Sometimes I don¡¯t write the damage numbers for smaller fights as they be irrelevant and can take away from the fight scene (in my opinion anyway. Always happy to hear what you think though).

    ¨C Aero182

    ***

 Chapter 114 Threat 1

    After one skeleton approached the door, the metal bar wouldn¡¯t budge.

    Jay ced his hand on it to move it to help, but it started heating up. Jay had to remove his hand before it started burning.

    ¡°Hm, I guess no humans can enter?¡±

    Thankfully, the inscribed metal bar didn¡¯t react to Jay¡¯s skeletons, so he stood back and had his other threee to help lift it.

    The bar was enormous, enough to keep a giant out; even the four skeletons could barely lift it.

    *Clong~*

    The bar thudded as it hit the ground and the heavy metal door could be opened.

    Two skeletons were now required to pull it open, and it groaned lightly due to its immense weight; the thickness of door itself was as wide as Jay¡¯s sword.

    Their element of surprise was now gone.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay pursed his lips as he cautiously walked past the door; on the other side of the door were numerouscerations and deep cuts over the metal.

    Jay had his skeletons wait a moment at the entrance, forming a wall. He knew there was something out there in the darkness as he saw something moving below the door.

    Unfortunately, after waiting for a few minutes ¨C nothing.

    With a quiet sigh, he began to move in.

    Entering the next room, he found himself on the upper level with some stairs leading down to the right.

    ¡°Careful, there¡¯s no railing.¡± he whispered to Anya who was slightly behind him.

    Looking around he found the source of the purple light. Twelverge ss cylinders were filled with a glowing purple liquid.

    Each cylinder was huge, like massive industrial storage tanks each of them were two stories high.<sub></sub>

    The purple fluid didn¡¯t glow too brightly, only illuminating the floor around their bases; the rest of the room was still pitch-ck.

    The small party of six cautiously creeped down the stairs, slowly so that they could watch out for any threat and retreat in a moment¡¯s notice ¨C but still, nothing attacked.

    Jay put his skeletons into a box formation as they got to the ground level, his shield raised to peer out into the darkness. Their shade vision didn¡¯t care about theck of light.

    Jay first approached one of the cylinders, at the bottom was what seemed like a small mound, but he had to take a second look. Stepping closer, he peered inside.

    Inside was some unnatural, sickly pure-white flesh at the bottom of the tank; a few soul stones meshed in with it.

    It was hard to tell what it was originally, but it seemed that the outside was preserved by the fluid even though the inside had long since rotted.

    Different bones and soul stones poked out of the decayed flesh as it turned to a gtinous blob over time.

    ¡°Perhaps the soul stones were imnted into it while it was alive?¡± he guessed, moving to the next tank to find something simr.<sub></sub>

    ¡°What the hell is this ce?¡± Anya quickly whispered, sounding scared.

    ¡°Some sort of experimental chamber by the looks of it.¡± Jay said, trying not to sound rude as it was obvious.

    On nearby walls were a series of empty sockets, though some had empty soul stones in them.

    Jay quickly stashed the soul stones from the wall sockets, adding them to his inventory while Anya remained cautious as she looked around, hoping to see something in the quiet darkness around them. She was still tense from whatever sound they heard.

    As they walked deeper into the chamber, they found somerge perfectly t stone tables around the room; some between the ss tanks and others pushed up against the walls.

    Some tables were covered with strangely shaped ssware, while others had carved inscriptions and engravings.

    Tools of various kinds were on the tables too, and to Jay, some of them looked like they might be spell channels.

    Jay analysed some of them, but it seemed that they were cursed with [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge] ¨C they either crumbled to rubble or turned to ashes at his touch.

    He was a little defeated as he wanted another spell channel; surely the ones used for these hidden experiments would be of the highest quality.

    Some small luminous orbs were on the tables which Jay quickly grabbed, unfortunately after adding mana he found that they were not as bright as his own budget-friendly orb so he simply stored them in his inventory.

    [Faded Orb] x 3

    The stench was getting worse as they walked, but they could almost see the far the end of the room as there were two morerge glowing ss vats ¨C however these were muchrger than the previous twelve, each being about the size of Jay¡¯s house.

    Jay squinted, seeing something different about them ¨C arge and spiral-shaped life form was inside each of them, tempting Jay toe and look.

    Unlike the smaller ss tubes, whatever was inside had at least remained intact, though this didn¡¯t mean it was alive.

    Jay stopped himself from rushing, as he still kept his guard up while he moved closer to these massive ss tanks.

    After getting closer, he found that there were actually three of these tanks ¨C the third one wasn¡¯t glowing at all however, since the luminous fluid had drained out through arge shattered hole.

    It must have shattered a long time ago, as the fluid had all dried up and disappeared.

    As they walked closer to the three huge tanks, the smell was getting worse.

    They walked by a broken-down sliding wall; one of the ones that the statues would hide behind to ambush; clearly, something was not patient enough for it to open.

    Inside were the remains of two dual-dagger statues, and behind them another passage. Jay instantly realised this was where the smell wasing from as a wave of stench assaulted his nose as he passed by; both Jay and Anya¡¯s faces were scrunched up in disgust.

    Unfortunately, neither of them could hold their nose as they had their weapons drawn.

    *EIIIIIIICH!~*

    Suddenly a loud deathly screeching sound rang out from behind them.

    Jay turned around to see a massive dark-brown creature with leathery skin climbing up the side of the stairs that they just walked down, easily walking up the side of the wall.

 Chapter 115 Threat 2

    As soon as Jayid his eyes on its unholy, twisted form he got a notification.

    [Chimera Research 15%]

    [Hidden Quest Acquired]

    Jay ignored the notification, temporarily stunned at the sight of the creature as his mind raced with thoughts.

    ¡°It¡¯s so huge, how did it get behind us without us noticing? How is it so quiet? Why didn¡¯t it attack?¡±

    Jay had no answers as his eyes drifted over its hideous body.

    Much of its torso and back was made of many human spines, twisted, welded and moulded together in some wicked ritual to form its thick, long body; like some unholy mixture of flesh and magic, soul stones were scattered across its body, randomly poking through its leathery brown flesh.

    Each of the soul stones glowed slightly, seemingly still upied by souls.

    Its long body was still going off into the darkness so it was hard to tell howrge it actually was.

    Multiple spiny sword-like legs with knees poked out from each side of its segmented body.

    The creature¡¯s human head was looking at Jay, gazing at him with its toothless mouth slinged open; it seemed that only the eyes were still functional.

    Shivers went up Jay¡¯s spine as the creature gazed at him, it felt like it was looking at his soul, and could find him wherever he went.

    Before Jay could even respond, his skeletons moved to the front, protecting their master.

    The room went silent for a moment as the creature was still staring at Jay.

    Was it sizing him up? Preparing to fight?<sub>.</sub>

    Jay snapped out of it and started analysing.

    <[Dihexapede Soul Eater ¨C Level 133]>

    Jay froze after seeing its level, he had to re-read it a few times.

    It¡¯s level was unimaginable to Jay, they were less than ants before it,pletely at its mercy. The creature could kill both of them with a single attack.

    It was clear now that it definitely was not sizing them up, it could wipe them all out with a flick of one of its many legs.

    *EIIIIIIICH!~*

    Suddenly it screeched again before turning to the open gate, without warning it scurried through the open doorway, it was fast but its body was long, causing it to look like a blur as it all skittered through ¨C though not before Jay analysed it, reading the rest of its stats.

    <[Dihexapede Soul Eater ¨C Level 133]>

    [HP 755/755]

    <[Skills]>

    [Congenital Linking ¨C 3/3]

    ¨C Shares its strength with other creatures

    [Amalgamation] (Soul stones)

    ¨C Consumes (soul stones) to grow stronger<sub></sub>

    ¨C Has be immortal due to the nature of it¡¯s prey

    [Dire des]

    ¨C The dihexapede shes its target with its sabre talons

    ¨C 141 damage per sessful leg sh.

    [Brittle Armour]

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage.

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Magic damage immune.

    ¨C Any wielded weapons be cursed.

    <[Description]>

    [A soldier of the Helvetian kingdom, turned to stone. It stands guard, waiting for its chance to exact revenge on those who would harm its kingdom.]

    Noises of its tapping sword-like feet got quieter as Jay and Anya stood there silently; it was moving at a high speed up the passageway.

    A few red lights came from the passageway ¨C the creature caused the crystal rings to turn red as it went through.<sub></sub>

    Suddenly a deep grinding sound came from the passageway, it seemed that the creature had triggered something.

    They both breathed a quiet sigh of relief as it clearly wasn¡¯t interested in them.

    ¡°What¡­¡± Anya asked, unblinking with her eyes wide open.

    ¡°It could have killed us in one hit.¡± Jay shook his head, he had no answers.

    Anya bit her lip as she shook her head, she almost couldn¡¯t believe what she just saw; much more scared than Jay who still appeared almost normal.

    Jay continued ¡°My analysis said it¡¯s a helvetian soldier¡­ but it definitely wasn¡¯t¡­ That much is clear. It didn¡¯t attack us either, which I think is more strange.¡±

    ¡°Just what the hell was that thing?¡± Jay wondered to himself, still a little shocked ¨C though a part of him was also curious. He wanted to see it again.

    He could have just met his death, but all he was thinking about was the interesting monster.

    The creature¡¯s skills made it seem like a mix of a failed experiment and a helvetian soldier. Simr to his skeletons, it too had retained some skills from whatever ¨C or whoever ¨C it was made out of.

    A shiver went over Jay as he realised he could have just been killed.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± he shook his head, pulling out some water to drink.

    Anya and Jay stood silently for a moment, they needed it.

    *DOON, DOON DOOOOON~*

    A series of deep sounds rolled through the pyramid along with a shudder, it seemed toe from above. It sounded like mountain-sized boulders were being tossed and toppled.

    The ssware on the tables began to lightly shift and clinker from the vibrations.

    Jay and Anya had to act, no time for any respite.

    ¡°Should we move back up or stay here? It actually seems safer here now. I think that metal door was what was keeping this thing inside here.¡± Anya said.

    Jay was looking up at the ceiling ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s gonna copse¡­¡±

    *DOOON*

    ¡°Let¡¯s just finish searching this chamber. If it gets worse we can just leave and reset the dungeon.¡± Jay suggested, speaking normally again now that the whole pyramid would have woken up.

    *DOON*

    Jay had two of his skeletons walk with Anya while he had two guards for himself.

    There was probably nothing else here, but it was better to be safe.

    They began their search. Maybe there would be loot here since it was sealed off?

    Anya walked towards the broken-wall passageway where the foul smell wasing from, while Jay headed straight for the threerge tanks.

    Jay was like a kid opening presents, his eyes almost sparkling as he got closer, seeing the specimens inside.

    His eyes were wide with wonder as he approached the specimens in the tanks, they seemed like works of art to Jay.

    Even though these grotesque things had been dead for centuries, he gleaned some knowledge from them as he studied their parts and bodies.

    [Chimera Research 16%]

    [Chimera Research 17%]

    ¡°So cool¡­¡± he thought, looking at the mixture of flesh and inanimate materials melded together; he felt like all it made sense somehow. Jay would have really liked to meet whoever put these strange things together ¨C though, he was conflicted as there was human parts mixed into the creature. It just felt wrong.

    He wondered if his skeletons counted as inanimate.

    Bones were once living like flesh, filled with osteosts and stem cells ¨C but now were inanimate, dead. Structures of calcium deposits.

    With Jay¡¯s magic, it was like they were now something in between.

    Jay looked over his soldiers and went back to the description.

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death ¨C and they spit back. Flee if possible. Execute with extreme prejudice; burn the bones.]

    ¡°Burn the bones? Hmm¡­¡± Jay wondered why the description would say such a thing. Maybe there was some living material inside? Perhaps it was simply to expel the necrotic mana.

    After seeing the dihexapede soul eater along with the degrading life forms in the tanks, he finally agreed ¨C his skeletons were abominations.

    However, they were his abominations; his own little horrors.

    Jay found a bench near them with a journal. He went to touch it but stopped just before ¨C he knew it would turn to ash. He analysed it to at least know the title of the journal.

    [Estobars Journal]

    Jay raised a brow, ¡°Estobar huh? I¡¯ll have to ask Sedulus to get any real answers.¡±

    *DOON*

    Another sound interrupted his train of thoughts.

    More deep sounds came from above, but were getting less regr. Whatever was happening above them wasing to an end.

 Chapter 116 Over Supply

    Jay wondered what the dihexapede was doing up there, and then he remembered the other notification he got after gazing at it.

    [Hidden Quest Acquired]

    He opened it, hoping that it wouldn¡¯t ask him to y a level 133 monster.

    <[Hidden Quest ¨C y The assistant]>

    [y the Assistant]

    [Progress]

    [0/2 yed]

    ¡°Assistant, singr? But it says I need to y two of them.¡±

    ¡°Probably some more mysterious bullshit, typical.¡± he thought, nothing about helvetia or its pyramids were straight-forward and simple.

    Jay looked through more notes and other loot but found nothing except more ssware, tools and inscriptions. All of them were useless as they crumbled at his touch.

    This was fine though, as to Jay, getting the chimera experience was enough to satisfy him. Besides, the pyramid was still undefeated, maybe there was still loot waiting for him.

    Anyway, it wasn¡¯t like there would be some ultra-powerful, mystical magic item that suited Jay perfectly waiting in every room.

    With the room searched and the specimen tanks all oogled enough, it was time to find Anya.

    Jay could sense the two skeletons he had to escort her so he knew she wasing back through the passageway.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay waited at the corner of the passage and put his orb in his inventory, silent as he waited in the darkness.

    Anyas light wasing closer, along with the skeletons which he was sensing, and finally she exited the passage.

    ¡°Hi!¡± Jay smiled.

    Anya jumped back and held her hands up,pletely startled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± she pouted.

    ¡°Heh, sorry. Find anything interesting?¡± He took out his orb again.

    ¡°Ah.. I found the pit, the one from the murals? I think¡­ It¡¯s filled with skeletons.¡± she said, hesitantly. Her face was a little pale ¨C perhaps it was from the smell, the skeletons in the pit, or from Jay scaring her. Maybe a mixture of all three.

    Of course, Jay only heard ¡®pit full of skeletons¡¯. He didn¡¯t need to know anything else as he turned to go into the passageway.

    ¡°Awesome, I¡¯m going in.¡±

    ¡°Ok.. and did you find anything interesting?¡±

    ¡°Nope. Just a bunch of junk that crumbles when you touch it.¡±

    ¡°Aw ok.¡± Anya said, she headed towards therge tanks to see the life forms inside.

    Jay walked with a spring in his step towards the pit, it seemed that he was going to be ok on skeletons for a while.<sub></sub>

    His mind was more focused on the skeletons now, so it seemed like the smell was getting less powerful.

    Neither Jay or Anya couldpare the smell to anything, but the closest description of the smell was like a mix of ammonia and rotting eggs with some rotting fruit undertones.

    It seems that centuries had passed, and whatever was used to preserve the bodies had long since dposed and evaporated. The rotting process began and the smell had only concentrated over time as it was locked away in this dark underground chamber.

    Jay had no hesitation as he walked through the passage towards the pit, undeterred by the smell.

    Finally he arrived in the room, walking out onto a semi-circle tform that overlooked everything.

    ¡°Woah¡­¡± he said, shocked at howrge this chamber was.

    The pit was gigantic, and Jay had to pause for a moment as he gazed at a sea of pale white bones below him.

    Unfortunately, his light was not doing justice to what he saw, and most of the skeletons in the pit were still hidden in the darkness.

    The pit must have been huge, because he couldn¡¯t see any other walls in this room.

    Jay was curious, and he had an idea, finding a use for one of the faded orbs.

    He took the small orb from his inventory and added as much mana as he could into it.

    The orb only responded by slightly glowing like arge firefly, but this was enough for Jay¡¯s purposes.

    ¡°Ok, here it goes.¡± he grasped the orb and stood back.<sub></sub>

    Jay had each of his skeletons stand to the side as he backed up, then he ran forward towards the pit and threw it as far as he could with all the strength he could muster.

    The glowing orb went extremely far across the room, making a whistling noise as it coursed through the wind. Jay¡¯s adventurer strength gave his body arge boost, which even surprised himself.

    What was more surprising though, was that the orb was still going. Soon its trajectory ttened out and began to fall.

    It eventually went down behind something in the darkness, and Jay waited patiently as he waited for the noise of it hitting the ground.

    ¡­

    *Crack!*

    A loud sound and a sh of light rang out, echoing off the walls.

    Jay didn¡¯t realise that when an orb shatters it releases arge amount of light, simr to a lightning strike.

    The sh of light briefly lit up arge part of the room, as well as causing a silhouette of what it went behind.

    It was a mountain of corpses, skeletons, filling up this deep ravine.

    This was more than simply a mass grave ¨C this was the entire burial site of Helvetia.

    Countless skeletons were piled up; the ones at the bottom of the pile were probably ground to dust from the pressure of the ones on top.

    Even in Jay¡¯s peripherals, he didn¡¯t see the walls on either side during the intense sh of light, somehow the room was even wider than it was long.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± he was speechless, the room really was enormous, and he was stilling to terms with all the skeletons in here.

    Jay realised he had to get down there somehow, to a necromancer this was like a wondend, a dream. One man¡¯s corpse was another man¡¯s treasure after all.

    He did feel a strange sense of remorse for wanting to take these skeletons, but he knew that these had merely be empty vessels ¨C the souls of the helvetians were all transferred into soul stones by now.

    Even the helvetians had not given these real graves, as no one had died. This is why they were discarded here like trash, so Jay quickly stifled any remorse he had.

    ¡°Hmm.. ¡° Jay walked around one side of the tform, finding nothing.

    The other side however had a path ¨C and it was going downwards.

    Jay had arge grin as soon as he discovered it.

    ¡°And Sedulus said there was no treasure here¡­¡± he shook his head with a smile.

    Jay walked down the path, of course with a skeleton in front ¨C who knows what could still be alive down here after all these centuries? Or what could have grown and evolved?

    After walking for some time, he finally came to the shoreline of the sea of bones.

    ¡°Finally¡± he smiled, approaching a skeleton and raising a hand.

    The ring responded to his thoughts, shifting into its second form as his beloved bones floated around him ¨C it then began to slowly pick up bones from the skeletal sea, it was like they were maised by him.

    ¡°Oh yes, fuck yeah!!¡± Jay was ecstatic, a wide smile on his face. He hit the motherload.

    At first, he had some doubts ¨C thinking that maybe the skeletons would be part of the dungeon environment, or perhaps they would simply be too old to even be recognised as bones anymore ¨C but that was not the case, making this prize all the more sweeter.

    The bones waved, floated and clinked around him gently while more and more bones were added to the swirling mass.

    ¡°Shit,¡± he said excitedly ¡°just how many can I have in this ring?¡±

    The swirling mass of bones was starting to get huge, turning into a cyclone ¨C and Jay had only taken a few steps forward, there was still a whole room left that he couldn¡¯t even see the walls of.

    Just how many can go into my ring?

    The breeze was starting to blow now, the light wind created because of the twirling mass all around and above Jay.

    He took a few more steps forward, slowly carving a path in the sea of bones.

    Even Jay was now starting to feel a little tense as he looked up at the swirling bones all around him, blocking nearly all his vision. There were simply too many. If his powers suddenly gave up, he would probably even be crushed.

    Still, he took another step forward, and another, and another. Something in him, deep in his subconscious, was driving him forward, enticing him to take just one more step.

    ¡°So many bones¡­¡± he smiled, shaking his head.

    Suddenly, after taking more steps forward, he stepped on something ¨C a femur. He then got a notification.

    ¡°Huh? I guess the ring got full?¡±

    [Criteria met ¨C 100/100 Skeletons]

    [Necrotic Ring ¨C Evolution Avable]

    ¡°What?¡± he said, shocked that it could even do such a thing.

    ***Felt like being nice, so have a free chapter, on me ?? -Aero182***

 Chapter 117 Harder to Hide 1

    [Criteria met ¨C 100/100 Skeletons]

    [Necrotic Ring ¨C Evolution Avable]

    Jay opened the notification, full of expectation.

    [Consume all stored skeletons to evolve the necrotic ring?]

    [Yes / No]

    Without a second thought Jay hit ¡®yes¡¯.

    Unfortunately for Jay, he didn¡¯t realise that this would include all the silt-wolf corpses he had gathered. He was simply too excited to have his ring evolved, and the next moment he realised ¨C it was already toote.

    ¡°Oh wait, dammit. Shit¡­¡± the blue bones were gone as soon as he epted.

    ¡°Oh well. I¡¯ll just get more¡­¡± he thought.

    The blue bones weren¡¯t that important anyway, so it was likely that he would forget about them in a moment like this.

    All the bones floating around Jay suddenly stopped, freezing in mid-air. Next, they changed direction and converged in front of Jay, gathering into arge massive ball.<sub>.</sub>

    After thest bone touched the ball, there was silence for a moment.

    Suddenly, the ball contracted like it was imploding, pulling itself into the middle as if there was a ck hole there.

    All of the bones cracked and turned to dust under the immense force.

    Jay grimaced as he watched and heard them all snapping and squeezing together, hoping a piece wouldn¡¯t fly out and hit him in the face at warp speed.

    The orb got smaller and smaller as it tried to form into a ring shape, though it was much bigger because of all the bone mass, currently resembling a thick bracelet or a bangle.

    Soon it seemed like the pale white ring gave up on actually bing a ring and it began to morph. It seemed almost like a white liquid as it formed a sort of w-like finger.

    Instead of being a ring, it now appeared more like the chopped off finger of a gothic crusader knights gauntlet, though it still had a single red band going around it.

    The necrotic sense ability was what caused the ring to have a red band in the first ce, so it was still the same size.

    Finally, after all the squeezing and snapping, moulding and melding, the process was over.

    The single finger-piece of what looked like an impressive jagged gothic gauntlet floated over gently to Jay.<sub></sub>

    He held his hand out as it found its ce snuggly on his finger.

    ¡°Awesome¡­¡± he turned his hand and looked over it; it cameplete with joints so he could still move his finger ¨C it would have sucked otherwise.

    The first thing he did of course was analyse the ring¡­ well¡­ the finger piece.

    <[Necrotic Finger]>

    0% Full

    <[Functions]>

    [Transnt]

    ¨C Bones are extracted from the surroundings and added to the ring

    ¨C Bones are extracted from the ring, floating around the wielder.

    [Amputation] (Finger form)<sub></sub>

    ¨C Only the desired amount of bones are extracted. Do not float.

    [Shift] (Finger form)

    ¨C The ring changes form, storing the bones in a different form

    ¨C No mana cost

    <[Description]>

    [Bone storage]

    ¡°Awesome, a new skill. Amputation?¡± Jay checked over the new function.

    ¡°Hmm, so I don¡¯t have to summon a swirling cyclone of bones to extract some bones from the ring? I guess that will make it useful when I have a lot of bones and only want to summon one skeleton.¡± he thought as he looked up ¡°Better than having a whirlpool of bones rattling and tapping around.¡±

    Jay realised that this would also help to conceal his presence, stopping it from being given away if he had to summon quietly.

    ¡°Maybe now I could even sneak into cities and summon an army of skeletons ¨C and before anyone realised it was me, it would be toote.¡± he slyly smiled, ¡°But for now I only have four.¡±

    Jay looked at his own perennial skeletons before looking back at the sea of skeletons around him.

    ¡°Well, I better get this levelled up.¡± he flexed his new finger armour a few times.

    He shifted his necrotic finger again into the orbital ring form, and it turned into an empty circle of green luminous gas, with only the dust of bones floating through it ¨C it was empty now, though not for long.

    Without warning, bones started floating into it once more, automatically plucked from the mass grave, being added to the ring more quickly than it previously did.

    The bones once again formed a ring around him, slowly bing a curtain as more were pulled into its domain.

    Jay noticed something was a little different this time ¨C the bones floated slightly further away; the ring had gotten bigger and now more bones could float in it ¨C but just how many?

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Jay would need to keep adding bones until the ring could level up again. Thankfully, all he had to do was walk forward, into the mass burial.

    Realising this, he picked up the pace and began taking steps more quickly; he was no longer going to wait till every single bone was sucked off the ground or pulled from the tangled mass of skeletons.

    The spinning ring of bones tapped against the sea of bones, helping to loosen some of them ¨C only to be a part of the storm.

    Jay walked right up to the wall of bones and waited as they were drawn into his orbit.

    After a few minutes, another notification finally appeared, and another massive cyclone of skeletons were floating in the air around him.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost too easy,¡± he smiled, opening the notification.

    [Criteria met ¨C 200/200 Skeletons]

    [Necrotic Finger ¨C Evolution Avable]

    [Consume all stored skeletons to evolve the necrotic ring?]

    [Yes / No]

    ¡°Yes, obviously yes!¡± he nodded with a grin ¨C there was still a mountain of skeletons to collect after this.

    Again, the same process happened ¨C though a little different of course.

    The bones all condensed into a small orb and began to try forming the finger, but to no avail. After giving up, it gently took the shape of two of these gothic gauntlet fingers.

    ¡°Two fingers now?¡± he raised a brow ¨C though was still smiling.

    It seemed that it was slowly forming a gauntlet.

    ¡°I wonder, if I get enough skeletons, would I find myself in a full suit of armour?¡± he thought as he looked at the sea of skeletons around him.

    ¡°Only one way to find out I guess.¡± he chuckled as the two finger pieces floated towards him, nestling themselves on his fingers.

    ***5 chapter release tomorrow :)***

 Chapter 118 Harder to Hide 2

    He analysed the new armour before he began gathering more bones.

    <[Necrotic Fingers]>

    0% Full

    <[Functions]>

    [Transnt]

    ¨C Bones are automatically extracted from the surroundings and added to the ring

    ¨C Bones are extracted from the ring, float around the wielder.

    [Amputation] (Fingers form)

    ¨C Only the desired amount of bones are extracted. Do not float.

    ¨C Bones can be extracted from the surroundings and added to the ring.

    [Shift] (2 Fingers)

    ¨C The ring changes form, storing the bones in a different form

    ¨C No mana cost

    <[Description]><sub>.</sub>

    [Bone storage]

    ¡°Oh, not much is different¡­ oh hang on, amputation changed¡­ so I can now extract bones without having to shift the ring?¡±

    Another useful change was added, and Jay immediately tried it of course.

    Approaching the wall of bones, he held out his hand like he was going to use some sort of powerful force on it. He held his hand at the wrist and braced himself.

    Any onlooker would have thought he was about to release a powerful spell capable of wiping out a city.

    ¡°Amputation?¡± he thought, desiring a bone to enter his dual-finger armour.

    The bone he targeted rattled for a moment and then began to float gently towards him. Not as dramatic as Jay wanted.

    As the bone came within reaching distance, Jay lost control of his hand as it grasped the bone.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he thought, wondering what was happening.

    Suddenly the two finger pieces of armour squeezed with unnatural strength, crushing the bone as if it were nothing more than a dried out leaf.

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± the bone turned into two separate pieces with only dust and fragments left in the middle.

    The two pieces had splits and cracks in them, and now the necrotic gas had caught them from falling to the ground, like flies in honey their fate was sealed.

    The gas entered the cracks and they were then split into smaller pieces before being stuck onto the finger armour.<sub></sub>

    Somehow, the bone fragments began to dissolve and disappear; They melted like ice sitting on a bench, turning to liquid before disappearingpletely.

    Jay couldn¡¯t stop smiling seeing this weird trick. He did it again a few more times with different sized bones; to him, it was simply too amazing. There was also a feeling of contentment welling up in him each time he snapped a bone like it was a twig.

    After satisfying himself enough, he finally stopped; realising that Anya would be getting bored too.

    ¡°Ok, time to get back to business.¡±

    Jay shifted his ring to the orbital form again and began carving another path through the skeleton sea.

    Some timeter, he got the notification again.

    [Criteria met ¨C 400/400 Skeletons]

    [Necrotic Fingers ¨C Evolution Avable]

    [Consume all stored skeletons to evolve the necrotic ring?]

    [Yes / No]

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not going up by one hundred, it¡¯s doubling¡­ damn.¡± he pursed his lips.

    The first evolution needed 100 skeletons, the next was 200, and now 400.

    Jay hoped that it would stick to only needing an extra 100, but it seemed that fate had already given him enough today, at least he thought so anyway.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Well, even having 100 skeletons is crazy.¡± he shrugged, allowing the evolution.

    After the processpleted once more, there were now three fingers ¨C but no new skills or changes to the item.

    Jay continued anyway, gathering even more bones.

    The swirling mass of bones around him was truly gettingrge now, as he needed 800 skeletons to satisfy the next evolution.

    It was simple enough ¨C he just kept walking down the ramp, deeper into the sea of skeletons.

    Before long, he had his next notification.

    [Criteria met ¨C 800/800 Skeletons]

    [Necrotic Fingers ¨C Evolution Avable]

    [Consume all stored skeletons to evolve the necrotic ring?]

    [Yes / No]

    ¡°Yes¡± he thought, getting the fourth finger of his hand and then gathering more bones.

    [Criteria met ¨C 1600/1600 Skeletons]

    [Necrotic Fingers ¨C Evolution Avable]

    [Consume all stored skeletons to evolve the necrotic ring?]

    [Yes / No]

    ¡°Yep.¡± Some thumb armour appeared, all four fingers and his thumb were now covered.

    The skeletons swirling above were also like a threatening storm, as the ring could hold more and more bones in the air.

    Jay hardly had to move as it seemed that the storm of bones pulling the skeletons into itself was getting stronger.

    By now, he made it to the bottom of the ramp and was on the ground level; the bottom of the pit.

    Still, he kept moving as he had skeletons to gather. The necrotic gauntlet was still iplete, as the pieces of finger armour only slightly connected at the sides. His palm and the top of his hand were still bare.

    He went to gather more skeletons ¨C but he heard a faint yell through the storm of bones; Anya was calling.

    ¡°Jay!¡± Anya yelled out through the masses of swirling bones.

    Jay shifted the ring back into the 5-finger armour.

    The swirling storm of bones above and around Jay all suddenly flew into a single point; it was like they were all a swarm of birds which suddenly dived on a single target.

    The bones gathered, condensed and became the 5-finger armour and found its rightful ce on Jay¡¯s hand. With all of their rattles and tapping disappearing the room suddenly went quiet again.

    It was like a hurricane had vanished before their eyes.

    How long had he been here anyway? Hepletely lost track.

    ¡°Anya? Hello?¡± He saw her waving her luminous orb.

    She was standing much further up the path with Jay¡¯s skeletons, looking a little concerned as all the flying bones disappeared.

    ¡°Uh, I was just wondering, how long do you think this is gonna take?¡± she asked, trying not to sound rude.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. There¡¯s a lot of bones here, but it seems like I¡¯m getting faster at collecting them, so maybe not too long? Did you want to leave? You can leave the dungeon ande backter maybe?¡± Jay suggested, feeling a little bad about making her wait.

    ¡°Oh, no. It¡¯s ok. I¡¯ll wait. You continue.¡± Anya said quickly.

    She didn¡¯t want to miss the opportunity to keep running through the dungeon with Jay.

    After all, Jay was hard to get a hold of. Even Vdore had problems trying to get some time with Jay.

    Plus, even after waiting she would still have more exp than if she partied with someone who didn¡¯t have skeletons.

    Anya sat down cross legged, putting her elbow on her knee and leaning her chin on her hand.

    Jay smiled seeing her sitting in the darkness of the dungeon patiently, and he felt bad for making her wait. He walked over and pulled out his trusty chair.

    ¡°Here you go, have a rest.¡± he patted the chair.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± she smiled softly.

    Jay then went back to the massive wall of bones and shifted his ring, continuing his gathering process.

 Chapter 119 Harder to Hide 3

    [Criteria met ¨C 3200/3200 Skeletons]

    [Criteria met ¨C 6400/6400 Skeletons]

    [Criteria met ¨C 12800/12800 Skeletons]

    [Criteria met ¨C 25600/25600 Skeletons]

    [Criteria met ¨C 51200/51200 Skeletons]

    ¡­

    [Criteria met ¨C 100,000/100,000 Skeletons]

    [Criteria met ¨C 500,000/500,000 Skeletons]

    The number of skeletons being consumed was astronomical. An hour had passed, and finally Jay¡¯s gauntlet wasplete.

    There was even some armour which was starting to travel up towards his elbow, though it simply looked like an extension of the gauntlet.

    The gathering process had be exponential too, as the ring of bones which floated around him got muchrger. From afar, it looked like a deathly hurricane, a storm which could threaten to blow away anything that would dare to stand before it ¨C however, they were just gently floating bones.

    No damage would be done if someone stood in it.

    Above him now floated the remaining skeletons from within the pit. Jay recognised that it was well over half a million, as he had just used that many to evolve the gauntlet ¨C but it wasn¡¯t enough to hit the next evolution.

    Still, having over half a million skeletons was just ridiculous, he wondered if he would ever need all of them.

    Since the skeletons had run out and its evolution fuel had run out, he analysed it finally.

    <[Necrotic Gauntlet]>

    67% Full

    <[Skills]>

    [Uncaring Rip]

    ¨C Only useable in gauntlet form<sub>.</sub>

    ¨C Rip out a random bone from the living

    ¨C Scales with level. Higher level = more vital bone acquired

    ¨C 0.001% chance to execute

    ¨C 2 hour cooldown

    [Pitiful Mortal]

    ¨C Only useable in gauntlet form

    ¨C Swat away a pitiful spell as if it were a bug

    ¨C Skeletons within storage take the damage instead

    ¨C 10 second cooldown.

    <[Functions]>

    [Transnt]

    ¨C Bones are automatically extracted from the surroundings and added to the ring

    ¨C Bones are extracted from the ring, floating around the wielder.

    [Amputation] (Gauntlet form)

    ¨C Only the desired amount of bones are extracted. Do not float.

    ¨C Bones can be extracted from the surroundings and added to the ring.

    [Living Blueprints]

    ¨C Can store pre-assembled parts

    [Shift] (Gauntlet)<sub></sub>

    ¨C The ring changes form, storing the bones in a different form

    ¨C No mana cost

    <[Description]>

    [Bone storage]

    ¡°Wow, uncaring rip? Pitiful mortal?¡±

    Suddenly, as soon as he said ¡®pitiful mortal¡¯, Jay¡¯s hand automatically sprung up in front of him.

    ¡°Wow¡­ so it does it for me?¡± he smiled, looking at his gauntlet. It seemed that Jay wouldn¡¯t even have to look at an iing spell to swat it away.

    Not to mention the fear factor that would be induced in someone who had their spell swatted away while they were called ¡®pitiful mortal¡¯ ¨C That is if they made it through the skeletons to evenunch a spell at Jay anyway.

    After absorbing nearly nine hundred thousand skeletons, he received these twopletely overpowered skills ¨C obviously this was meant to be gained muchter when he was an extremely high level.

    Excited about the skills, he didn¡¯t even notice the new function ¨C living blueprints.

    Jay had probably not even killed one thousand creatures yet, and this gauntlet was clearly meant for a powerful creature which did; It was way beyond Jay¡¯s level.

    Not including the skeletons, he had maybe not even killed one hundred creatures himself.

    What he possessed now was probably even beyond the levels of everyone he knew too.

    The gauntlet itself had a lot of jagged edges and points, particrly at the finger joints. If someone tried to rip it off his hand, they would have their own handspletely shredded. Each finger ended in a sharp tip, almost like ws.

    On the inside however, it felt almost like he was wearing nothing.

    The gauntlet felt light, barely noticeable; it wasn¡¯t muggy or hot either, so his hands wouldn¡¯t get sweaty. It was almost like it wasn¡¯t there.

    ¡°Amazing¡­¡± he turned his hand around and gazed at it.

    There was an engraving on the palm, but it was hard to make out what it was. It looked like hundreds of thousands of tiny circles.

    ¡°But now, how am I going to hide it?¡± he pursed his lips.<sub></sub>

    Would people believe he found such a finely crafted gothic knight¡¯s gauntlet in some low level dungeon?

    ¡°Hmm¡­ all I can say is that I found it here¡­ I have no choice. Technically I did find it here I guess, so it¡¯s not really a lie?¡± he smiled mischievously ¡°Oh well, lying is kinda fun anyway.¡±

    While walking back to Anya though, a part of him felt wrong for thinking that lying was fun. Was it the immortal book perhaps, influencing his thoughts? He wasn¡¯t sure. It did seem to be somehow changing both his mind and his heart. Previously, he had no problem with lying.

    ¡°Hmm, well, It¡¯s not a lie anyway so whatever.¡± he shrugged with a nod.

    Jay walked back to Anya, holding his shield with his gauntlet hand so that she wouldn¡¯t be able to see it.

    ¡°Back already?¡± Anya slightly smiled.

    ¡°Yep. Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Ready as ever.¡± she said, standing up with her crossbow. Both of them were in a better mood now that much of the smell had gone ¨C or perhaps they had been here long enough to get used to it.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± Jay said as he grabbed his chair, excited to just finish the pyramid already.

    The quicker he conquered it, the faster he would be able to find a different dungeon and try out his new gauntlet skills.

    He really wanted to try the uncaring rip skill on some unwary monster, wanting to see the damage that having a bone ripped out would cause.

    ¡°Eugh,¡± Jay suddenly shuddered

    For some reason he imagined it happening to himself. Perhaps the immortal book wasn¡¯t the only thing influencing his mind.

    There was nothing else in the room after all the skeletons had disappeared. It was just a pit after all, so Jay and Anya walked up the ramp, then back through the passageway.

    ¡°Did you find anything else in here when you had a look?¡± Jay asked.

    ¡°Yes. Some more rings.¡±

    ¡°No gauntlets?¡± Jay smiled mischievously.

    ¡°What? No. Just the normal helvetian rings?¡±

    ¡°Heh, never mind¡­ you wouldn¡¯t get it¡­¡± he shook his head, ¡°remember half of those are mine.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Anya only raised a brow, wondering what he was on about.

    Jay continued, ¡°Good job with the search, we can split the loot after we leave.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good.¡± she nodded.

    Before walking back up the stairs to the main entrance, Jay was going to try one more thing.

    He walked towards the tworge storage tanks.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Anya said.

    ¡°Just get ready to run.¡± Jay said as he pulled out a tooth.

    ¡°Run?¡±

    The tooth was vibrating and floating in Jay¡¯s hand now.

    ¡°Yeah, run.¡± he said casually as he then sent off the tooth flying towards the one of the cylinders filled with the purple fluid and began running to the stairs.

    Anya¡¯s eyes bulged, realising what he did.

    *BOOOM!~*

    The tooth exploded against the massive ss storage tank, shattering the outside and causing cracks to course through it.

    ¡°JAY!¡± she screamed as she started running.

    ¡°Hahaha¡± Jay smiled as the tank cracked more and a small torrent of the purple liquid began gushing out.

    *Crack!~ Boom~ Whoosh~*

    Suddenly arge chunk of ss broke away. The storage tank couldn¡¯t take it any the whole thing ruptured, the fluid made a wave through the chamber.

    A wave of purple glowing liquid began pushing through the whole room, quickly approaching them ¨C however they had reached the stairs in time.

    The skeletons were already at the top of the stairs, much faster than their living counterparts.

    After scurrying to the top and taking a moment to breathe, Anya looked at Jay with a mix of anger and concern.

    ¡°Jay, why? Just.. why?¡± Anya looked worried.

    ¡°I dunno, I thought it would be fun¡­.¡± he smiled and shrugged ¡°And it was.¡±

    Anya only shook her head, she couldn¡¯t think of anything to say.

    Jay ignored her and turned around, watching the whole floor of the room being covered with the purple glowing ooze.

    ¡°¡­I did warn you to run anyway.¡± he said, still smiling as he gazed at the beautiful destruction.

    The room looked quite magical after all of it was coated in the glowing purple liquid ¨C at least until the remainder of the grotesque lifeform which was previously in the tank floated by anyway.

    Jay¡¯s face scrunched a little seeing it, ¡°Eugh, shall we leave?¡±

    ¡°Y¡­ yeah.¡± Anya was simrly taking in the view, though she hadn¡¯t noticed the long-dead abomination corpse.

    Just after Anya turned and continued up the stairs, Jay held his hand out to the grotesque floating corpse.

    ¡°Amputation?¡± he whispered to himself.

    ¡­ Nothing happened.

    ¡°Dammit¡­ maybe I did it wrong?¡± he thought.

    Unfortunately, it was toote now. The corpse had continued to float by and was too far away.

    Jay pursed his lips, following Anya up the stairs.

    They both headed through the metal door and began walking up the passage again.

    ¡°We need to be stealthy again,¡± Jay whispered, ¡°those deep sounds wereing from up here and that creature could be anywhere. Be ready to leave at a moment¡¯s notice.¡±

    Anya nodded, her expression serious as she became professional again.

 Chapter 120 Fear

    The duo crept up the passage with the skeletons in front.

    Passing the rings of crystals, each of them caused the crystal detectors to light up both green and yellow respectively.

    Jay remembered that the dihexapede soul eater caused a red light toe from the passage, so it must have lit up red; right before he heard the deep booming sounds.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I wonder why it lights up yellow for me and the skeletons.¡± Jay wondered.

    Anya was the only one who made it green.

    ¡°Strange..¡± he thought as he walked through another, the yellow light reflecting in his eyes.

    They silently reached the top, the only sound the small party made came from the taping of the skeleton bones.

    Finally theyid their eyes upon the dihexapede soul eater once more.

    ¡°What¡­¡± Jay¡¯s brows were creased, seeing what was in the entrance, he stopped himself from speaking.

    Before them was a battlefield ¨C the remnants of one anyway.<sub>.</sub>

    The massive statues were still standing on their pedestals, however not all of them¡­

    The two swordsman giants had been turned to rubble, along with one of the spearmen statues.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t just statues?¡± Anya whispered.

    Jay was still gazing up at them, nodding slowly with fearful eyes.

    Between the giant broken statues, the recently in body of the dihexapede soul eatery, oozing red blood from its corpse; the human head had blood still pouring from its mouth and eyes, the jaw was still ck.

    A spear the size of a tree was pinning its body to the ground, along with some giant arrows sticking from its hide, each of themrger than javelins. Giant holes, perforations and shes riddled its body.

    ¡°No fucking way¡­¡± was Jay¡¯s only thought as he looked over the battle scene.

    The dihexapede was still partly wrapped around the broken legs of the destroyed statues, it clearly didn¡¯t go down without a fight.

    Jay looked over the statues next.<sub></sub>

    Blood was dripping from the spear of the remaining giant spearman statue.

    The two legless floating statues were both turned, facing towards the dihexapede ¨C but unmoving, as if they were frozen in mid-air again.

    Jay felt it was safe enough to talk quietly since none of them moved.

    Jay began to ponder over what was going on ¨C why the statues were arranged the way they were, why there were crystal scanners in the passage, why the dungeon was sealed, why the monster didn¡¯t attack them¡­ Piece by piece it all fell into ce.

    ¡°Anya, I think I understand what this ce is¡­¡± he said, still looking at the blood dripping off the remaining spearmen statue.

    Anya was still looking at the broken giant statues with the pierced creature wrapped around and through the rubble of the destroyed swordsmen statues.

    Jay continued, ¡°I think it¡¯s some kind of failed research facility¡­ The statues aren¡¯t arranged backwards because they¡¯re not there to keep us out¡­ they¡¯re here to keep something in.¡±

    Anya had a fearful look. She nced at Jay before looking back at the rubble.

    Everything fell into ce.<sub></sub>

    ¡°The creature grew stronger by eating soul stones, obviously it was a threat to any of the statues. I think those green and yellow glowing rings were scanning us, turning red when the creature ran through. That must be when the giant statues got activated.¡±

    Anya was staring at the giant statues for a moment before she slowly nodded; finally she was ready to talk.

    ¡°I see¡­ Should we leave? Do you want to keep going?¡± Anya whispered, clearly she didn¡¯t think the risk was worth the reward.

    Jay thought for a moment in silence, rolling his tongue in his cheek.

    It was incredibly dangerous, but It didn¡¯t make much sense for a level three dungeon to have something that could kill them both in one hit.

    Furthermore, the creature didn¡¯t attack them at all.

    It seemed that the soul eater could only consume filled soul stones, and perhaps that was all it was interested in?

    Maybe in the centuries it was down here, it learnt to conserve what little energy it had to achieve its goal to consume ¨C killing some ants like Jay and Anya would be a waste of energy.

    Meanwhile, the giant statues only came to life after the scanners turned red, so while they were deactivated, they were not a threat.

    ¡°Could this simply be a sort of puzzle¡­¡± he raised a brow, piecing everything together before answering.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna keep going. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s as dangerous as it appears to be.¡± he nodded, walking over to the dead soul eater; the statues could have squashed him easily if they were still active.

    Jay watched the giant statues for any signs of movement as he walked. This was a test.

    He of course was ready to use the [Asklin] skill of his boots in a split second ¨C not as dangerous as Anya thought it was.

    Finally reaching the soul eater, he found that he was right ¨C the statues didn¡¯t activate.

    Jay waved his hand and looted the soul eater, pocketing all its soul stones.

    [Soul stone] (empty) x 132

    ¡°Wow. Greedy little thing.¡± he smiled at the corpse, not seeing the irony that he was now doing the same thing.

    Anya still hadn¡¯t moved forward, still watching the statues. Some sort of fear had gripped her since she entered this ce.

    ¡°I see¡­ well, maybe you should look at the murals before going on¡­¡± Anya suggested, still whispering, ¡°I think I need some time.. Maybee get me when you finish this pyramid?¡±

    Jay raised a brow, surprised how she was acting. It wasn¡¯t like her to be afraid, but there was nothing Jay could do.

    ¡°Oh.. ok. Well thanks for the help. I¡¯ll find you when I¡¯m done¡­ don¡¯t forget about my rings.¡±

    Anya nodded and willed to leave, exiting the dungeon and leaving the party.

    [Party Disbanded]

    ¡°She seemed way more scared than usual¡­ actually, it¡¯s not like her to be scared at all.¡± Jay thought, ¡°I wonder if this pyramid makes people afraid somehow? Maybe it doesn¡¯t work on me since I have a monster ss?¡± he guessed.

    It seemed like Anya got more and more fearful the longer they spent in the pyramid. Seeing the in level 133 soul eater was probably what finally pushed her over the edge, she was at her limit.

    ¡°Perhaps this was some kind of fear effect to stop people from solving the pyramid?¡± Jay guessed, but there was no way of knowing.

    Jay could only wonder, but he was more surprised that he wasn¡¯t scared at all. If there was a fear effect, it was obviously not working on him ¨C perhaps even having the opposite effect.

    After figuring out the trick, the pyramid now seemed like a walk in the park to Jay. It seemed that this dungeon wasn¡¯t only just about blindly killing everything in sight to get stronger.

    All he had to do now was open the next room in the passageway to the right, open the prison gate before getting out of the way of whatever was down there, waiting in the darkness as the giant statues did all the work.

    ¡°Well, it sucks not having the extra damage without Anya, but it seems like I won¡¯t need it for the rest of the pyramid anyway. I already did a damage challenge to get inside after all.¡±

    Jay decided to take Anya¡¯s advice before heading down the passage and began looking over the murals behind the giant statues.

 Chapter 121 Failed Experiments, Speech

    The murals were not as impressive as the ones in Sedulus¡¯s tomb.

    Jay could tell they had been hastily carved, and it seemed like many of the smaller details had been left out. Whoever made these was clearly in a rush.

    Unfortunately, part of them had been destroyed during the battle, so Jay now regretted telling Anya to check themter on when they first entered this pyramid.

    Looking over them, he found the one Anya was talking about ¨C the one with the pit.

    A line of soldiers lead to it, while a line of stone statues lead away. Next to the pit was an altar with a single human and a single statue lying on it.

    The next mural showed the same circr altar with multiple humans and statues on it. Next to that, within the same mural, was the altar again ¨C yet there was arge crab-like creature with two human faces. It was surrounded by statues pointing theirrge spears at it.

    The murals continued to form a semnce of a story.

    Differentbinations of humans and statues were ced on the altar.

    The spell or ritual wasn¡¯t revealed by the murals ¨C perhaps this knowledge was too dangerous, but at least the results were shown; it was always some grotesque atrocity when more than one human and statue was used.

    The vague picture story continued.

    Arge destructive-looking spell was descending on the altar, and Jay could tell that this would have been powerful as the spell was the only thing that had any colour on all of the murals.

    After that, the altar still wasn¡¯t destroyed.<sub>.</sub>

    The construction of the pyramid began around the altar and the pit ¨C and this is where the murals ended; the rest had been destroyed.

    Thankfully, it was enough for Jay to get an idea of what happened here. Combined with what he saw in this pyramid, he could mostly fill in the missing parts of the story.

    Helvetia, invented some hastily-crafted, advanced, untested ritual to turn themselves into stone soldiers ¨C this was when they made a discovery, which was adding more than one human and one statue.

    Driven by blind hatred and revenge, they continued, attempting to create obscene horrors to hunt down their enemies; the cult who cursed theirnds.

    After realising these beasts couldn¡¯t be controlled, and that this instrument could cause their own downfall, they tried to destroy the altar ¨C but to no avail.

    Thest option was to seal away the altar in the pyramid.

    That was where the murals ended ¨C but Jay had an idea of what happened next, or at least a theory.

    Based on what he had seen so far, he guessed that Helvetia had not given up on its unchecked desire for revenge, so in this prison they continued their experiments.

    A select few master hexamists and manacrafters, along with some guards, were sealed away here. If their enemies ever broke in, they would hopefully be met with creatures that tore them to pieces. The idea was still to lure their enemies back here, in hopes of power and riches.

    The hexamists perhaps could control and y the abominations they created at first, using cages and sleeping anaesthetic fluids ¨C but over time, as the centuries passed and melded into one another, their minds slowly left them. This only resulted in them bing more reckless.

    With their judgement wed and their impatience mounting, they soon created beasts beyond their control ¨C the same abominations that would soon consume their creators.<sub></sub>

    Of course, the fail safe was the giant statues ¨C there to stop any creation from escaping and reaping havoc on what was left of the helvetian stone military.

    Jay took this as a lesson, he would not make the same mistakes when he made his first chimera.

    Jay wondered if he would find the same chimera, another dihexapede, in the passageway to the right or some other failed experiment ¨C of course, there was only one way to find out.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°The new students should being soon.. hopefully. Are their rooms prepared?¡± Norgrim, the head of the 3rd academy, sat behind his desk leisurely eyeing a document as he enjoyed the sunlighting through the window.

    He knew that the mage hunters were already on the march to find a necromancer, so time was of the essence, and Jay still had to be convinced to leave with Lannister and Lara. Thankfully, they were proactive about it and everything was ahead of schedule.

    ¡°Yes. As per your request, I¡¯ve looked over the details about both of them being ce into the Azure dorms¡­ but I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s a good fit for them.¡± Evelyn pursed her lips.

    ¡°Oh?¡± he smiled, stroking his beard.

    The azure dorms were luxurious, reserved for the best students who contributed the most to the academy. Only the top students could apply for one, even then there was only a chance of getting a room.

    ¡°Well, these dorms have to be earnt¡­ I think the other students will have a problem with it.¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­ yes. I suppose so¡­¡± Norgrim leaned back in his chair and looked out the window, watching some red leaves gently falling from the trees.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Well, perhaps we can just put him in Wisteria?¡±

    ¡°Put them in Wisteria?¡± Evelyn raised a brow, stressing the word ¡®them¡¯.

    Norgrim cleared his throat, ¡°Mh, yes. Them.¡±

    In Norgrims view, Jaypletely overshadowed Anya; he was wholly focused on Jay.

    Wisteria was one of the mid-ss dorms; its quality was in between the Azure and the Tawny dorm which was reserved for the trouble makers.

    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll make some arrangements. Thankfully we have a few spare rooms in Wisteria. Peter was also wanting to know if they would begin lessons?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I think we¡¯ll wait till next year so they can get a fresh start with other students¡­ how does Peter even know about them?¡±

    Evelyn smiled, ¡°Words get around.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I suppose they do¡­¡± Norgrim smiled defeatedly, ¡°well, if that is all.¡± he gestured to the door.

    Evelyn stood up and turned around to go to the door before pausing for a moment.

    ¡°Norgrim, is he really a necromancer?¡± she asked casually, but Norgrim could tell a glimmer of hope was somewhere in her voice.

    Norgrim looked up from some notes on his desk ¡°We will just have to see.¡± he smiled.

    Rumours were already floating around the school about a powerful studenting. Thankfully, none of them knew his name yet as not all of them were positive.

    The rumours had be quite detached from the truth, as the only real detail they knew was that the new student had a powerful monster ss.

    Even among these variant-ss students, some of them sneered and many doubted. Despite some of them having a monster ss, most of them were weak and unthreatening.

    ¡°Pff, a ¡®powerful¡¯ monster ss? Wait till it eats us all in our sleep.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, or maybe It¡¯ll probably make us all fall in love with it or¡­¡±

    ¡°Make us turn on each other and eat each other¡¯s brains¡­¡±

    ¡°Steal our abilities¡­¡±

    ¡°Rece us with clones that it controls¡­¡±

    ¡°Curses us with permanent mana burn¡±

    All kinds of wild things were floating about theing adventurer with a monster ss, though there were of course some more different rumours, and some positive ones.

    ¡°I wonder what they¡¯re like¡­¡±

    ¡°Maybe they will power level us?¡±

    ¡°They will lead us to victory,¡±

    ¡°Pfft, have you seen the other monster sses at this school? That guy with the golem ss? He¡¯s useless hahaha¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and what about that shade ss. All he can do is mana burn. So useless. He won¡¯t be a threat¡±

    ¡°Oo, maybe he will make us some micro magic weapons¡­ if we ask nicely. Heh.¡±

    These rumours didn¡¯t slip by the headmaster either ¨C he knew Jay had to be protected from some of the other students, so he had to make a decision.

    Would he have Jay keep his ss a secret? Who knows.

    Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

    ¡°Hmm, they won¡¯t like it¡­but, perhaps things will be better this way.¡±

    Norgrim began drafting a speech which would be announced to the whole school assembly in theing days.

 Chapter 122 Passage

    Jay walked alone down the passage to the right, silently contemting, wondering how passionate the helvetians must have been for revenge, to even give up their own lives and be abominable monsters.

    He still had his skeletons with him, but technically he was alone. It was a little darker without Anya¡¯s brighter luminous orb.

    He crossed another ring of crystals, and it turned yellow as he passed through.

    The scanners only meant one thing.

    ¡°Mm, thought so. Must be anotherboratory down here¡­¡±

    Jay proceeded down to the gate, finding another heavy iron bar. He got the four skeletons to lift it once more.

    Apparently, the living were prevented from opening it as it heated up and stopped moving whenever Jay touched it ¨C even when he was too close it wouldn¡¯t budge, causing him to step back further.

    *Clung!~~*

    The heavy bar dropped, and the skeletons pulled the door open.

    Jay carefully sneaked in, but he knew that whatever was here was probably in hiding, watching him. It would not be found unless it wanted to be, and Jay¡¯s sneaking was only to keep up appearances ¨C perhaps it would slice him into two halves if it thought he was mocking it.

    He began exploring the room for anything that he might be able to use ¨C but he doubted there would be another pit of nearly two million skeletons, so he didn¡¯t get his hopes up.

    Maybe only one million this time.

    Compared to the other room, this one was quite different. If the other one was used to grow specimens, this one was used to dissect them.

    Four different sized tables were in the room, each of them for different sized creatures. Many thick chains and various hooks of different sizes wereying around the room and near the tables, ready to pin down whatever was brought to the cutting b.

    Along the tablesid all kinds of cutting instruments ¨C saws, picks, crowbars, axes, hammers, and knives of all shapes and sizes.

    Perhaps the hexamists were trying to salvage any little piece of research or insight they could.

    Due to all the chains, it seemed that live dissection happened quite regrly here.<sub>.</sub>

    The dihexapede definitely would not have fitted on any of the stone tables, but that was probably because it had grown to an enormous size after it turned on its captors, consuming them centuries ago.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ if there were dissections, then there are probably skeletons?¡± Jay began to smile mischievously, his hopes for finding skeletons were now growing.

    Moving deeper into the room, he found some small chambers built into the walls with bars, like prison cells. Some of them had much thicker bars, while others had an interweaving mesh.

    ¡°I wonder what could have been in here¡± Jay thought, he tried to stick his finger through the mesh but the mesh holes were simply too small.

    *EIIIIICH!~~*

    ¡°Finally.¡± Jay thought as he turned around, his eyes meeting the atrocity as a shiver went up his spine and he received a notification.

    [Chimera Research 22%]

    His research went up another five perfect just fromying his eyes on the monstrosity before him.

    He paused as soon as he turned around when heid his eyes on the creature, it wasn¡¯t like he imagined it at all ¨C it definitely wasn¡¯t a dihexapede soul eater.

    Five human heads were melded together, it was like they were all melted wax that had been hatefully squashed together.

    *REIIIII~~~~~~~~~~~*

    The screeching heads were expressionless as they made a high pitched squeal that seemed to never stop, causing Jay to cover his ears.

    They all stared at Jay, it felt like they were looking into his heart which only sent a chill up his spine.

    The five heads were coated by some sort of thick clear slime. They sat in the middle of a great winding mass of long segmented tendrils, which seemed to be most of what its body consisted of. Jay couldn¡¯t see behind the heads so he wasn¡¯t sure how they attached exactly.

    Each of the numerous ck stone tendrils had the familiar soul stone at the end.

    ¡°Fuck, just leave already!¡± Jay yelled as he looked at the door, sick of its unending screeching..<sub></sub>

    Thankfully, the creature didn¡¯t take this as a challenge. Following Jay¡¯s eyes with its own glossy pupils it found that the door was open ¨C it was finally free.

    Immediately its long ck-stone tentacles began carrying it through the exit. Somehow it was much faster than the dihexapede. The cloud of tentacle-like arms suddenly disappeared ¨C though Jay analysed it just before it slipped away.

    Still, it screeched all the way up the passage as it triggered red light to sh from the sensors.

    Was this a screech for joy? Did it always screech? Jay wasn¡¯t sure.

    [Mannaton Soul Eater ¨C Level 62]

    [HP 392/392]

    <[Skills]>

    [Congenital Linking ¨C 2/3]

    ¨C Shares its strength with other creatures

    [Amalgamation] (Soulstones)

    ¨C Consumes (Soul stones) to grow stronger

    ¨C Has be immortal

    [Dire des]

    ¨C The mannaton strangles and whips its target with its sabre tendrils

    ¨C 76 damage per sessful hit.

    [Acidic Shards] (Passive)<sub></sub>

    ¨C Each tendril is coated in numerous tiny shards filled with burning acid. pH -0.3.

    ¨C 20 damage per second per shard broken for three seconds.

    [Brittle Armour]

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage.

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Magic damage immune.

    ¨C Any wielded weapons be cursed.

    <[Description]>

    [A soldier of the Helvetian kingdom, turned to stone. It stands guard, waiting for its chance to exact revenge on those who would harm its kingdom.]

    ¡°Acidic shards? Must be like poison I¡¯m guessing.¡± Jay had never heard of acid before ¨C he was a butcher in a rural vige after all.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see what I can find in here.¡± he thought as he began looking around.

    *DOON~ DOON~ DOON~*

    The deep rolling sounds from above began to shake the pyramid once more. The giant statue guardians were activated.

    ¡°I wonder if that¡¯s what they sound like when they step down from their pedestals.¡± Jay thought as he looked through more of the cages.

    Finally, he found what he was looking for ¨C another specimen.

    ¡°Awesome, maybe I can get its bones this time.¡±

    [Chimera Research 23%]

    He smiled as he looked into the cage and got the notification. It had long since died, but it still had value to Jay.

    Jay held out his hand, trying the new function of his ring once more.

    ¡°Now¡­ what was that function called again?¡± Jay hadn¡¯t used it enough to remember so he checked the stats of his new gauntlet again.

    ¡°Oh right, ampu- ¡­wait, living blueprints? How did I miss that?¡± Jay shook his head.

    Somehow hepletely missed out on reading this new function when he analysed his gauntlet.

    He checked the skill and wondered what exactly it meant, of course, he had to try it.

    Jay pointed his hand at Sweeper.

    Sweeper looked at Jay, tilting its blue wolf skull cautiously as if it were curious about what its master was doing.

    ¡°Living blueprints?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Nothing happened.

    ¡°Hm¡­ amputation?¡±

    Sweepers skeleton body suddenly all broke apart and floated in mid air.

    ¡°Oh shit, sweeper fucking exploded¡± Jay chuckled.

    The bones then gathered, forming a cocoon shape with the wolf skull on the front. It was like a bow on top of a present.

    Sweeper was now like some self-assembled furniture, a t pack wardrobe. For some reason it brought Jay a little sadistic happiness seeing his most obnoxious skeleton being folded up like origami.

    Green necrotic mana then left Jay¡¯s gauntlet hand and wrapped around all the bones, covering thempletely.

    Next, the cloud of green then began to seep into Jay¡¯s hand and disappear.

    ¡°Awesome¡­ now, to get Sweeper out again.¡±

    Jay held up his hand, hoping it would be just as simple.

    ¡°Amputation¡­¡±

    Nothing happened again. Of course it wouldn¡¯t be simple.

    Jay then willed for Sweeper toe back, imagining the skeleton in his head; closing his eyes, he held out his hand once more.

    ¡°Amputation¡± he said, keeping the image of the blue wolf skull clear in his mind.

    This time, it worked.

    A slither of gas poured out from Jay¡¯s gauntlet, forming a cloud again ¨C the necrotic mana then went back into the gauntlet, leaving the package of bones behind floating in mid-air.

    Before Jay¡¯s eyes, Sweeper was reassembled, and in a moment, Sweeper stood before him once more.

    Sweeper looked at its skeletal hands, it was like it was wondering what just happened to it.

    Jay watched for a moment before looking at his gauntlet.

    ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s still conscious while it¡¯s in there¡± Jay raised a brow, stroking his hand over the pale-grey necrotic gauntlet.

    Finally, Sweeper bent down, grabbed its hammer and went back to normal.

    ¡°Weird¡­ anyway.¡± Jay turned to the cage, ready to try this new function once more.

    Poor Sweeper.

 Chapter 123 Deconverted

    *DOON~ DOOOOON DOON~*

    The giants were still fighting upstairs; meanwhile Jay was sneaking around, looting the pyramid unhindered, right under their noses.

    Thankfully, Jay didn¡¯t trigger the activation sensors, so the giant helvetian soldiers were none the wiser.

    Jay turned to the experiment cage, peering inside at the centuries old corpse.

    The bones inside were ckened, perhaps by time ¨C or possibly due to the altar experiments; Jay couldn¡¯t be sure either way, but no flesh remained at least.

    ¡°Amputation¡± he said as he held out his hand.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Nothing happened.

    ¡°What? Why?¡± he pursed his lips.

    Out of stubbornness, he tried a few more times ¨C yet nothing.

    ¡°Dammit, get in my gauntlet already¡± he pushed up against the bars and reached for it, though it was in the very back of the cage.

    ¡°Ok, have it your way.¡± he shrugged.

    The solution was simple, but bothersome.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay turned to Sweeper again, ¡°Amputation.¡±

    The poor skeleton seemed to have no clue what was happening as it got folded like a t-shirt once more; entering Jay¡¯s ring.

    Jay then stuck his gauntlet hand into the cage and thought about Sweeper.

    ¡°Amputation.¡±

    The skeleton reassembled inside the cage.

    As the skeleton came to terms with existence again, Jay was already barking orders at it.

    ¡°Sweeper, the bones¡­¡± Sweeper needed a moment, as it turned around, looking at the room around it.

    ¡°SWEEPER, THE BONES!¡± Jay was getting impatient.

    Finally the confused skeleton kicked into action. It picked up bones from the pile and just before cing them in Jay¡¯s hand, it dropped them in front of Jay.

    ¡°Dammit Sweeper¡­¡± the skeleton still didn¡¯t hand them to him.

    Jay knelt down and grabbed the bones, trying to use his analyse skill as he held it.

    ¡°Hmm..¡± nothing appeared.<sub></sub>

    The bone was way too heavy to be a bone, and upon closer inspection it had a glossy sheen to it.

    It seemed to Jay that whatever the altar experiment did, it somehow reced the bone with the ck stone material of the pyramids.

    ¡°Damn¡­¡± he pursed his lips, putting his gauntlet hand back into the cage.

    ¡°Amputation.¡± He pulled Sweeper back into the gauntlet before rebuilding the skeleton outside the cage again.

    Jay thought about the strange bone in his hand for a moment. It actually made sense to him that if the body was made from the heavy ck stone, it would need a strong support structure.

    [Chimera Research 24%]

    A little smile appeared on his face as he received the notification. He managed to glean some more knowledge after all. Thankfully the effort was worth it.

    ¡°Well done Sweeper¡± Jay tossed the ck fake bone back into the cage.

    Jay searched the rest of the chamber, unfortunately it wasn¡¯t as lucrative as the other one. The only skeletons here were not even made from bone,pletely useless to Jay.

    It urred to Jay that maybe he didn¡¯t get the bones from the specimen in the tank because its body was simrly transformed into stone.

    Jay soon found another one of Estobar¡¯s journals, but it likewise turned to ashes as soon as he touched it.

    ¡°Hmm, I had better find out who he is.¡± he made another mental note before moving on.<sub></sub>

    Jay finally got to the far corner of the room, and he found something that may have made the trip worth it.

    A series of wooden crates were stacked up, and he began searching them.

    The first crate was empty, the second, empty ¨C the third, empty.

    Jay checked through thirteen crates, and all except two were empty.

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡± he frowned slightly.

    The two crates were filled with trash ¨C only some whetstones, which were probably used to sharpen the dissection instruments as well as some more of the useless ck bones, which technically weren¡¯t real bones.

    With thest part of the room searched, Jay kicked a crate and began to leave ¨C but he stopped after only taking a few steps.

    ¡°Wait a second¡­ shouldn¡¯t wooden crates have turned to ashes with everything else?¡±

    Jay quickly turned around, grabbing one of the crates.

    Even the nails were corroded and barely hanging on, but the wood was fine, as if it had been cut from a tree yesterday. A curious smile slowly began forming on Jay¡¯s face.

    Sinceing to Helvetia, it was perhaps the only normal organic thing he found ¨C not that it was normal anyway.

    Jay pulled a crate apart and analysed the wood.

    <[Life¡¯s Wood]>

    ¨C Life has touched the tree this wood came from, permanently blessing it.

    ¨C Time resistance 100%

    ¨C Curse resistance 100%

    ¨C Resurgence. Can grow back to its former self.

    ¡°Wow¡­ so that¡¯s why it didn¡¯t turn to ash¡­ Did the helvetians even realise this wood was blessed?¡± Jay wondered as he began adding all of the wood to his inventory.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing not since they made them into storage boxes¡­ I wonder what I can do with this.¡± Jay held a piece up.

    The Helvetians, with their city once covered in beautiful trees and vegetation perhaps did not think twice about cutting down some innocuous tree, turning it into usable lumber.

    The wood still had a yellowish glow to it. Some pieces even had some sap on them, but it seemed like that was the best they could do since they sat quietly in the darkness for centuries.

    ¡°Huh, brimming with life. I wonder if I nt it, can I harvest more of the wood?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­e to think of it, I also have that weird seed to nt. I guess I can try then as well.¡±

    Jay was yet to find a suitable location for his wyrd seed ¨C he only had one of these and he doubted he would get another so he had to be careful, selective about where to grow it.

    The quest that went along with it also said he had to ¡®construct¡¯ his tree, so he might as well try to nt some of these weird life-wood nks then too.

    After having his skeletons break apart the 13 boxes, he got a total of 156 small nks.

    ¡°Awesome.¡± Jay was pleased with this random treasure.

    He wondered if he should sell it or hold onto it.

    The downside of selling it was that if it actually could grow back, it would be selling everywhere and he wouldn¡¯t make as much money in the long run.

    Plus, he considered the possibilities of using it as a sort of counter against time mages if he ever ran into someone like Kel again.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll just hold onto it. I¡¯m sure it¡¯lle in handy some day, especially if I can grow my own ¨C and if it doesn¡¯t, then I can just sell it anyway.¡± he shrugged.

    With even the wooden boxes taken, Jay saw nothing left in this room of value. He considered grabbing the iron chains with hooks, but he even had those at his butchery to hang meat; really, not worth taking.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ but¡­ in the hands of the skeletons they might be effective. Someday.¡± Jay stroked his chin, imagining a giant being strung up by chains with hooks, every movement it made would tear its own flesh.

    ¡°Yep, I¡¯ll take some of those too.¡± he grinned.

    [Duresome Chain] x 8

    [Duresome Sickle] x 12

    Satisfied with his odd haul of loot, Jay headed back up the passage with a spring in his step, content because he had gained the most from this pyramid without even lifting a finger.

    There were no more soundsing from above so he proceeded up the passage without sneaking.

    The scanners shed yellow again as he passed though, but Jay didn¡¯t care.

    All he was thinking about now was the bonus loot from what remained of the mannaton soul eater.

 Chapter 124 Acid Pools

    Jay arrived in the main chamber. It was just as quiet asst time ¨C yet now another unidentifiable corpseid below the giant statues.

    The creature failed to im any lives of the statues this time ¨C but they still were not unscathed; thest spearman had strange corroded parts all over it while it¡¯s grand tower shield was basically only a small buckler now.

    ¡°Eh, I guess it was a much lower level.¡±

    Jay looked at the statues, making sure they were inactive once more before heading over to gather his loot.

    *clink~*

    Suddenly, one of Jay¡¯s skeletons suddenly copsed.

    What? Jay froze, wondering what attacked his skeleton. He instantly looked up at the statues ¨C nope, none of them were moving.

    He walked over to the copsed pile of bones.

    Parts of the skeleton were now bubbling in a puddle of clear ooze.

    ¡°¡­the hell is that?¡±

    Apart from the puddle, there was a clear crystalline shard which was crushed ¨C and it seemed to be crushed by the skeleton as some clear liquid was slowly dripping out and causing a vapour when each dropletnded on the ground.

    ¡°Hmm, it must be shards from the mannaton¡¯s tentacles?¡±

    Jay got one of the bones from the copsed skeleton and prodded it.

    The bone began to bubble and cause a gas to rise as soon as it made contact. Soon it had disappearedpletely.

    ¡°Cool¡­¡± he thought, not caring too much about his deceased skeleton.

    Around the room there were even some deep holes in the ground, created by the strong acid as it bore holes into the earth.

    ¡°Huh, so acid must hurt the stone statues? I guess it¡¯s not like a poison at all. Seems more like a fire which burns everything¡­ except a liquid.¡±

    Jay retrieved what was left of the blue bones from the bubbling blue acid.

    It was initially a clear liquid, but it seems that the cobalt-blue bones had coloured it after melting into them.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay re-summoned his skeleton; it was sickly skinny since it had lost bone mass, so he pulled some bones from his gauntlet, creating a small pile and letting the skeleton feast to its heart¡¯s content.

    The skeleton happily began to munch away at them while Jay was still putting stuff into the puddle, seeing how much would melt into it.

    ¡°This is some serious shit.¡±

    He began to look around the room for more of the shards and soon found one ¨C still unbroken.

    A small smile appeared on his face as he tried to pick it up.

    [Acid-filled shard]

    ¨C pH -0.3.]

    ¨C 20 damage per second per shard broken for three seconds.

    ¡°Jack-fucking-pot!¡± Jay grinned.

    This prize was way stronger than any of the charged crystals he got from the bayring dungeon.

    Even by itself, this shard was like a hidden trump card ¨C but Jay saw more around the room.

    Jay scoured the room, avoiding many of the small puddles created while finding mostly only broken shards ¨C but it was worth it, as he found two more.

    ¡°Awesome¡± he smiled.

    ¡°Anything that tries to fuck with me is gonna get its face melted off¡±

    The skeleton was still munching, so Jay idly began tossing some stones into one of the acid puddles.

    ¡°It¡¯s weird, it¡¯s kinda like a bottomless pit¡± he thought as he kept dropping stones into it, watching them disappear, realising he had to rephrase what he previously said.

    ¡°Anything that fucks with me is gunna get it¡¯s whole upper body melted off.¡± he chuckled.

    Jay carefully walked around the broken shards and puddles as he looted the mannaton soul eater.<sub></sub>

    [Soul Stones] (Empty) x 132

    Unfortunately there was no helvetian ring.

    The skeleton had finished snacking and reimed its former glory.

    ¡°Time to check thest passage¡± Jay grabbed the rest of the bones before leaving the battle scene.

    The middle passage was dark and dormant, daring anyone to enter.

    Jay walked through the middle passageway ready to fight.

    Unlike the other two which went downhill, this one went upwards. It seemed like he may actually need to do something other than listen to the giants fight.

    Well, the skeletons would do something at least.

    It was eerily quiet as they walked along the pitch-ck passage, but soon Jay heard a soft buzzing sound. A resonance of energy.

    ¡°Must be getting close, whatever is up there sounds powerful¡­¡± Jay thought, the humming sound getting louder.

    As he walked he came to another iron door, this room was simrly sealed off like the others, but the metal bar had no inscriptions; Jay could lift the bar if he wanted to.

    Unlike the other passages, there weren¡¯t any scanners in the passage.

    Something didn¡¯t feel right to Jay as he got his skeletons to open the door anyway.

    A blue light came from behind the door, radiating outwards as the skeletons pulled it open.

    The first thing Jay noticed in the room was a throne, empty.

    On the wall behind it was the source of the light; tworge glowing circles filled with glowing blue inscriptions which lit up the room. These inscriptions were what were making the humming noise, it seemed that they were filled with magnitudes of power.

    There was a third circle filled with inscriptions, but no glow. It seemed deactivated.

    ¡°There¡¯s usually some stupid trick or puzzle. The pyramid can¡¯t be this easy.¡± Jay thought as he waited at the doorway, not stepping a single foot into the room until he knew it was safe and had properly analysed everything he could from there.<sub></sub>

    On one side of the room there were small cages, and on the other were more small ss tanks filled with more of the purple liquid.

    Various pirs were around the room, holding up the ceiling; each with their own set of distinct w marks. It was like a different beast was unleashed on each pir.

    Near the cages was an incredibly long table; it had various talons, ws, cleavers, arms, legs and appendages on it. It seemed to be another dissection area.

    ¡°Hmm, this must be like miniature versions of thebs downstairs?¡±

    *tat tap tat tap tap~*

    Jay still hadn¡¯t stepped foot into the room, but Aa fast tapping noise came from somewhere in the room, causing Jay to step backwards and raise his shield, preparing for whatever wasing.

    Jay sent three skeletons into the room to secure the entrance while he had the third stay by his side.

    *HISSSS~*

    Something responded as the skeletons marched in. Entering the territory of another hostile failed experiment, they were clearly not wee.

    Suddenly, something dropped from the roof, knocking the three skeletons down.

    ¡°Fuck¡± Jay said as he crouched a little lower, waiting for it to bowl him over, anticipating that it would made a mad dash for the exit.

    Suddenly it hissed a little more deeply and ran off, back into the room somewhere.

    It happened so fast that Jay couldn¡¯t tell what the creature was, and he had no time to analyse it. All he could see was a Helvetiian T-visor helmet, one of those long tentacles simr to the mannaton soul eater, and a long segmented body with multiple legs, simr to the dihexapede ¨C yet with no soulstones were poking out of its body, at least from what Jay could tell.

    Whatever it was seemed to be an ungodly mixture of all three: a mannaton, a dihexapede and a stone statue.

    The skeletons stood up again, this time one of them watched the ceiling, making sure that this wouldn¡¯t happen again.

    Jay noticed one of the skeletons¡¯ hammers had a stter of red blood on it, somehow it must have injured the beast when it went down during the struggle.

    This gave Jay a sign that it in fact could be injured, it definitely wasn¡¯t level 133 like the dihexapede.

    ¡°If it bleeds, we can kill it.¡± he said as he gripped his shield and hammer a little more tightly.

    With some assurance, he cautiously entered the room. If the skeleton could injure it, he surely could too.

    The skeletons were all standing, but as Jay got closer to them he noticed a difference ¨C one of the skeletons had half of its rib cage missing ¨C it had been ripped right out.

    Looking around, Jay couldn¡¯t find any bones or ribs on the ground.

    ¡°DId the creature take the ribs with it? What the hell does it want with half a rib cage?¡±

    Jay decided not to feed the skeleton, he wanted all hands on deck until he knew how powerful the monster was.

    Thankfully the blue lighting from the tworge circr glyphs on the wall were illuminating most of the room, so he could at least see if it was anywhere on the roof.

    There were a few pirs in the room that the creature could have been hiding behind, but he soon found that there was a small room off to the right, shielded from the light, it was inplete darkness.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he squinted as he gazed suspiciously into the darkness.

    Jay sent one skeleton to peer into the room, looking for anything moving.

    Slowly, Jay was learning to delegate orders to his skeletons rauther than do it himself. It was a skill that came natural to some, but to others it had to be practised.

    The skeleton silently crept over, it wasn¡¯t in sprinting mode at the moment as it went to inspect. Its undead shade vision allowed it to see in the dark perfectly.

    The skeleton peered around the corner into the darkness of the room, and once more was met with hostility.

    *Hisss!~*

    The skeleton stepped back but it wasn¡¯t quick enough ¨C a long spindly twig-like hand with incredibly long fingers appeared from the darkness and grasped the skeleton¡¯s neck, quickly snatching it into the darkness. It happened so fast that the skeleton dropped its hammer, unable to even swing once.

    Of course, it still had its natural weapons, its ws.

    *Sciii!~*

    [Your Perennial creature level 3 has been in.]

    Jay got a notification as he guessed that the skeleton at least did some damage before it died since the creature let out a different sound.

    It sucked to lose a skeleton, but at least he now knew that it was in that room.

    Before moving in, Jay pulled some bones from his ring and re-summoned the level three skeleton. This time, he was forced to use the bones from the pit; these were all he had.

    The skeleton took its form once more, but this time it had a human skull.

    A weird feeling of aplishment came over Jay despite it being just another summoning. For some reason, the skeleton just made more sense. Its form was no longer a warped skeleton of an animal that was cruelly forced into a humanoid shape, but it was a literal human skeleton.

    ¡°Hm. Peak performance?¡± Jay wondered.

    *Hiss~ clink~**

    The creature seemed to still be attacking the bones as clinking sounds came from the room. Jay realised this wasn¡¯t time to ponder over strange details, so he promptly sent two more blue skeletons in, along with the new human skeleton.

    ¡°It killed one of our own. No mercy. Go,¡± he waved his hand as if shewing away a stray animal.

    The skeletons all sprinted in, the human one grabbing the hammer as it ran into the darkness.

    *HISsSS~* the creature once more hissed deeply, wondering why these puny skeletons thought they could just march into its territory. What despicable insects.

    Jay idly stood near the exit, ready to summon more skeletons if need be as he listened to the fight.

    *doong~ cling~ HISS!~~ Shatter~ Doong~ Sciiii!~*

    [Your skeleton level 3 has been in.]

    ¡°Again?¡±

    Jay hastily summoned another skeleton and sent it off into the room as he waited.

    As he cleaned some dirt from under his fingernails he noticed something different, raising a brow.

    ¡°Wait a second, ¡®skeleton¡¯ has been in? Didn¡¯t it say perennial creature before?¡±

    *Slower chapters, studying for exam. Hope you enjoyed this beefy longer chapter :)*

 Chapter 125 Slender Grasp

    ¡°Wait a second, ¡®skeleton¡¯ has been in? Didn¡¯t it say perennial creature before?¡±

    Jay quickly re-summoned the skeleton, analysing it.

    <[Skeleton Level 3 ¨C Blue]>

    [Type ¨C Undead]

    HP ¨C 40/40

    MP ¨C 7/7

    <[Skills]>

    [Bone Eater]

    [Scrimshaw Level 1] (Passive)

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    [Fear] (Weak) (Passive)

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death ¨C and they spit back. Flee if possible. Execute with extreme prejudice.]

    ¡°Hmm, no corundum bite since that came from the wolf skull, no corundum ws either. I guess the only difference is the name and five less health?¡±

    ¡°Oh wait, fear?¡±

    Jay analysed the strange new skill.

    <[Fear]>

    [A gentle tapping in the back of one¡¯s mind. A cold breath on the neck. A gazing shadow on the very edge of one¡¯s vision. You can run, but not forever; You can kill it, but not forever.]

    ¨C The human skeleton creates an unnatural sense of fear in humans, reducing morale and concentration.

    ¨C 1% less strength.<sub>.</sub>

    ¨C 0.03% Chance of fleeing, higher chance if more skeletons than humans, higher chance if higher level than human.

    ¡°Huh¡­ Cool. Weird that it would make such a change though.¡± Jay scratched his head, thinking that the wolf skull skeletons were much more menacing.

    ¡°I wonder if the fear effect would be better than the extra damage.. It seems like if I had a high level army of them, then they would cause everyone to flee? Hmm, I guess it depends if the fear effect stacks.¡±

    ¡°It seems like it¡¯s a true skeleton now. Quite fitting for a pure necromancer. Good thing I have arge stockpile of human remains.¡± Jay smiled to himself as he imagined his future army.

    Jay sent the skeleton off once more to die in the glorious battle taking ce in the next room.

    He waited patiently as he heard the asional hiss sound, with the crunching noise of the hammers mixed in. It seemed that the pace of battle had been set now, so he decided to investigate.

    It wasn¡¯t as safe as waiting near the door, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. Besides, the skeletons were mostly fine, so it couldn¡¯t be too dangerous, and Jay wanted to at least analyse it before they killed it anyway.

    Still keeping his guard up, Jay went to peer around the corner, to look at the shrieking, hissing beast.

    Finally, heid his eyes upon the monster.

    [Chimera Research 28%]

    Another notification sounded but Jay ignored it, he was too shocked by what he saw ¨C somehow his skeletons were fighting this thing without dying?

    Well, without gettingpletely demolished anyway, since one of them was dying.

    Most of its long, insect-like body was like a wall of des yet somehow the skeletons were damaging it.

    This abomination was a mix of everything he had seen in this dungeon so far ¨C a dihexapede, a mannaton, and a stone soldier.

    It¡¯s long body with skittering legs resembled the segmented fleshy body of the dihexapede from the waist down, while the upper body was that of an upleted stone soldier; it seemed like an anorexic version. Whoever this person once was would have been starving, maybe even on theirst breath right before they were turned to stone.

    Under its T-visor helmet a ck jaw slung, endlessly hissing, so it seemed that not all of it had been turned to stone.

    Two long tendrils hung over its shoulder, threatening to coil around any unsuspecting prey; each of theming from the back of the creature¡¯s neck.

    Thankfully all the shards on them had already been cracked open and harmless; it seemed like they would need a long time to grow back.

    Its arms were not like normal stone soldiers; they were long and thin, like a spindly dead branch. It seemed that their bones had turned to the strange ck rock, but the flesh and muscles hadn¡¯t, leaving them victims to time.

    The flesh had either turned ck or fallen off, revealing most of the crude mineral skeleton underneath ¨C still only held together by some ancient, twisted magic that even the Helvetians couldn¡¯t destroy.<sub></sub>

    After staring for a moment, Jay wasn¡¯t sure if he was fearful or impressed by the strange creation. Simply put, he was in awe.

    Finally, he analysed it.

    <[The Assistant ¨C Level 8]>

    [HP 67/121]

    [Congenital Linking ¨C 1/3]

    ¨C Shares its strength with other creatures

    [Slender Hands]

    ¨C Has a specialised arm that rips parts from its enemies, adding them to itself if it favours the part.

    ¨C Chance to execute ¨C 12% Higher chance vs lower level.

    ¨C Three minute cooldown

    [Amalgamation] (Body Parts)

    ¨C Consumes (Body Parts) to grow stronger

    ¨C Has be immortal

    [Dire des] (Tendrils) (Legs)

    ¨C The Assistant strangles and whips its target with its sabre tendrils

    ¨C The Assistant shes its target with its sabre talons

    ¨C 4.8 damage per sessful hit.

    [Semi-aphrodite Degradation]

    ¨C Un-whole; it has given up a piece of itself

    ¨C Nesting<sub></sub>

    [Acidic Shards] (Passive)

    ¨C Each tendril is coated in numerous tiny shards filled with burning acid. pH -0.3.

    ¨C 2.5 damage per second per shard broken for three seconds.

    [Brittle Armour]

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage.

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Magic damage immune.

    ¨C Any wielded weapons be cursed.

    <[Description]>

    [A researcher of the Helvetian kingdom, turned to stone. It works tirelessly, waiting for its chance to exact revenge on those who would harm its kingdom.]

    ¡°Oh, it basically has its own uncaring rip skill?¡± Jay shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder the skeletons are suffering.¡±

    Fortunately, only one of the long spindly arms remained ¨C the other had been severed at the elbow. It was a wee advantage, but not much of one.

    Thebat prowess of the creature seemed to mostly rely on its ded legs and the two tentacle-like appendagesing from its neck.

    The skeletons were having a hard time injuring it, as the creature swiped and thrashed whenever a hitnded, knocking them away and damaging them with its sword-like legs or simply shing their skulls.

    Nevertheless, it was still outnumbered three to one, and it seemed to be going pretty even ¨C at least until Jay had decided to send in his fourth skeleton. Now there was only one oue for the battle, and Jay was waiting patiently.

    *Scriii!~ HISS!~*

    The creature knew it was fighting a losing battle, but it wasn¡¯t going to go down without a fight, and neither would it leave its home.

    This was its chamber, its own piece of the world which it had carved out for itself. It was enjoying the darkness here for hundreds of years ¨C then suddenly these strange bipedal wolf-undead show up, waving their hammers? Nope. Not today. Only it would remain here, finding peace in its solitude with itself ¨C like it always had been since it could remember.

    These intruders would only be consumed; perhaps it would find a new arm today.

    *Crunch!~*

    Another hammer swing smashed against its blue ribs, shattering them off.

    Instead of reacting in pain, it suddenly leant forward, reaching with its long spindly arm.

    It ignored the pain, taking another heavy hit from a hammer which destroyed one of its 16 legs.

    Instead of thrashing about, it dashed closer to the skeleton, quickly reaching out with its huge long fingers.

    The ck hand wrappedpletely around the skeleton¡¯s skull; the skeleton could only respond with awkward upward swings of its hammer, but the hammer only missed this time. It seemed helpless, as if its fate was sealed; it was pushed down for just a slight moment before ¨C

    *Crrr¡­ crunch~*

    The creature suddenly twisted the skull, then tilted it to the side, and with a fast motion ripped it right off the spine.

    Without a head, the body of the skeleton copsed into a useless inanimate bone pile.

    Before Jay¡¯s eyes, the execution happened so quickly and almost without any warning. The skull was then tossed somewhere into the back of the room.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Jay¡¯s eyes bulged as he watched silently.

    The monster¡¯s execution skill must have had a much higher chance against his level three skeletons.

    Jay decided he would definitely not be joining this fight as he subconsciously took a step back ¨C instead, he resummoned another skeleton and continued to watch from the side lines.

    *Crrr¡­ crunch~*

    A few more minutes into the battle, the creature ripped another skull off a skeleton, prompting Jay to summon another.

    Thankfully, it had only killed an individual skeleton so far: Blue.

    The other three wolf-skull skeletons were doing fine; they had some damage but it was nothing that Jay couldn¡¯t fix, though it would take some time.

    Since Jay had summoned a level 3 skeleton multiple times, he was beginning to feel the effects of having low mana, as it seemed like the fight appeared more dangerous than what it actually was ¨C that it was speeding up.

    Technically, the creature was fighting with more ferocity as its life was now beginning to dwindle, but the skeletons always fought with 100% of their might; their aggression in battle was always turned up to the maximum.

    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll need to sit down soon.¡± he thought, hoping the creature would just ept its fate and die already.

    As its health was nearing zero the creature suddenly let out another screeching noise, what seemed like the final heroic cry of a dying warrior.

    *SCREEEEEE!~~*

    It then twirled, knocking all the skeletons back with its tail and immediately started dashing straight towards Jay.

    ¡°¡­Oh? ..OH! Oh shit!¡± He immediately turned to run.

    Jay ran towards the exit as fast as his feet could carry him, but he was simply too slow. His only choice was to fight it.

    But how could he fight while his reflexes were so slow now that his mana was low?

    And how long had it been since the creature had grabbed a skeleton skull and ripped it off?

    At this point, it didn¡¯t matter. What mattered now was the fight.

    Jay hastily took out his hammer and prepared for the knockback, assuming a low position as he braced himself for the charge.

    He didn¡¯t have to fight it, he only had to survive. The skeletons would catch up in no time, being just a little slower than the creature.

    ¡°Here ites¡± Jay gritted his teeth as he braced for impact.

    *THWOOSH!~*

    The creature smashed against Jay¡¯s shield like a charging war horse.

    Against its massive size, he simply had no hope to stand against it.

    His shield had blocked the damage, but not the force of the hit.

    Jay was tossed away like he was a leaf in a storm ¨C but even as he was helpless in mid air, he wasn¡¯t done.

    ¡°Uncaring rip!¡±

    *SCREEE!!!~*

    It squealed in pain as Jay was sent flying into a pir, and that was all he remembered.

    ckness.

 Chapter 126 Alive?

    *scree~~*

    A distant cry of the beast sounded from the exit passage, causing Jay to wake up.

    The skeletons were nowhere to be found ¨C probably still chasing after it.

    It seemed that only a few seconds had passed since he was knocked unconscious.

    ¡°Mmhhh¡­¡± Jay murmured lightly from a sense of pain and nausea.

    Jay sat up, it was hard to think. He felt a strange pressure behind his nose.

    The first thing he realised was that the light in here was too bright, it actually hurt his eyes. It felt like rubber bands were snapping in his head the longer he looked.

    He fixed his eyes on the dark room that the creature was originally in, staring for a moment. He knew he wanted to go there but not how to; his mind seemed to be different.

    Since it was hard to think, he paused for a moment before slowly standing up, heading into the dark room where the creature was.

    Some of the light from the glyphs behind the throne were still getting in and somehow it felt painful, so he turned around, staring into the dark corners of the room.<sub>.</sub>

    As he sat, he began to hear a strange sound. A quiet, consistent tapping. He wouldn¡¯t have noticed it if he wasn¡¯t sitting here quietly.

    Despite it being quiet, each time it tapped it felt like a wave rolled across his brain from each ear.

    Jay then felt something cold on his face. He wiped his face and some of it went into his mouth; the taste of iron travelled through his mouth. It was a nosebleed.

    Jay couldn¡¯t think of what to do about his nose, each time the tap sound came it disrupted any thought patterns he had ¨C and soon he forgot about it.

    For now, he just sat there, staring into the darkness.

    It was like he was daydreaming, yet with no thoughts. Doing nothing had never felt so good. He felt a sense of sleepiness, but he decided to resist it ¨C he was in a dungeon after all.

    After some time he somehow came to his senses, it was like he woke up.

    Time had passed. Maybe minutes or maybe hours, there was no way to tell.

    Despite sitting there staring into the darkness, it seemed like he was sleeping, though he was awake ¨C the lights were on and no one was home.<sub></sub>

    Jay turned to look at the light, thankfully it no longer hurt his eyes ¨C though the feeling of turning his head felt like it made his brain rattle in his skull; it was painful to move too quickly.

    ¡°MMmhh¡± he let out a pained, tired groan as he rubbed his head.

    ¡°My.. shield. My shield and hammer.¡± he slowly went back to the room

    Scratching the back of his head, there was something crusty there.

    ¡°What the?¡± he grabbed some and looked at it ¡°Oh, more blood. Great.¡±

    He could stand the light now, but he wouldn¡¯t look directly at it.

    He found his shield and hammer lying near the pir that he crashed into. The pir itself had some blood on it from where he connected.

    ¡°Damn¡­ I guess that the creature was going for the exit, not for me.¡±

    Jay felt a little silly as he checked his health.<sub></sub>

    [HP: 87/93]

    ¡°Not as much damage as I thought¡­ I must have taken it all to the head though¡±

    Jay looked towards the exit.

    ¡°It must have escaped since there were no scanners to activate the giant statues¡­ damn. It¡¯s still out there somewhere.¡±

    Jay willed two of the skeletons toe back to him, while leaving two out there to hunt for it. The creature was low health, especially after the uncaring rip skill, so two could surely finish it off.

    The problem was that the creature was faster than the skeletons ¨C it would eventually get away.

    ¡°Now¡­¡± Jay looked around the room. It was finally safe for him to search.

    Well, safe enough anyway.

    ¡°That damn tapping noise.¡± Jay headed back to the dark room, he was as annoyed at the sound as he was curious.

    He had to shield his eyes as he pulled out his luminous orb, his head and eyes were still not quite right.

    For a moment he stood there quietly as his ears adjusted once more, he listened attentively.

    *tap tap Tap*

    ¡°Over there¡± he turned his head and walked towards it.

    Slowly, he came to a pile of rubble on the ground, but it wasn¡¯t just any rubble, it was helvetian statue parts.

    ¡°Hmm..¡±

    It seemed to form a circle and he walked close to the centre, his light slowly revealing more.

    Inside the centre were more helvetian body parts along with some various bones and other parts.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a stockpile for the creature? But what the hell was that tapping sound?¡±

    As Jay got to the centre, there was a small depression. The pile of different creature parts was a donut shape ¨C it was a nest.

    He found the source of the sound.

    A ck human head looked up at him, its jaw also ck. It¡¯s attached to its neck was a slug-like body which had two arms with long des sticking out from where the forearm would be attached.

    It seemed that it used these des to crawl around ¨C but not only that.

    *Tap tap tap*

    Slowly, it was chipping away at the dead stone soldiers in front of it, sliding tiny pieces down its throat.

    ¡°The fuck¡­ So that¡¯s why their jaws must be ck¡­ they were destroyed by the ck stone maybe? Perhaps it¡¯s just decay though.¡±

    Jay looked at its every-decaying face; even parts of the cheeks had rotted through.

    ¡°It seems like that ck stone has to get into the system to make it immortal¡­ or at least slow the decay process?¡± he figured, watching the little horror clink away at more of the stones and body parts around it.

    ¡°Now¡­ what do I do with you¡­¡±

    Jay wasn¡¯t sure if he should kill it or keep it as a pet ¨C could he even train it though? And what would it be?

    ***Author here. I have decided to release two free chapters every a month, around the 15th and 25th, until we get to around 40-50 free chapters total (not including the immortal book).

    I still feel bad about, out of my ignorance, setting the paywall at ch.17, so this will be my way of making things right. Thanks for taking a chance with my book :)***

 Chapter 127 Bait

    *tap.. tap¡­ tat¡­ tap*

    ¡°Weird little creature¡­¡± Jay thought, still watching it shovel broken bits of stone and bone into its swaying jaw.

    He didn¡¯t dare to move closer and touch it, lest it suddenly do something wild like jump up and suck onto his face ¨C Jay would let his skeletons do the dirty work, naturally.

    Of course, he could still analyse it.

    <[Half-bred Mannadipede Level 1]>

    [HP 5/5]

    <[Skills]>

    [Amalgamation] (Body Parts)

    ¨C Consumes (Body Parts) to grow stronger

    [Dire des] (Arms)

    ¨C The creature shes its target with its sabre talons

    ¨C 0.3 damage per sessful hit.

    [Semi-aphrodite Degradation]

    ¨C Un-whole; it¡¯s soul split in two, forever yearning to be made whole

    ¨C Nesting

    <[Description]>

    [The result of unchecked, twisted magical experiments;bined with a yearning for offspring.]<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Such low health¡­pletely defenceless¡­¡± he felt sorry for the pathetic creature. It could barely crawl away, in fact, it didn¡¯t even bother as it went back to eating rocks.

    ¡°What a cursed existence.. Oh?¡± Jay smiled as he kept reading its skill, finally seeing its semi-aphrodite degradation ability.

    ¡°So you¡¯re like its baby¡­¡± his grin turned a little more sly, a glint of murderous intent in his eyes as he realised the ¡®parent¡¯ would probably not abandon half its soul.

    ¡°It seems like your ¡®parent¡¯ gave you half of its soul. That¡¯s pretty messed up.¡± he almost felt sorry for it.

    ¡°¡­wait, that means it was technically your own choice to do this¡­ what kind of bat shit crazy scientist lets themselves be a monster that splits its own soul up to reproduce?¡± Jay shook his head in disgust.

    Over time, it seemed that chaos reigned supreme as the scientist mutated themself and lost their minds ¨C and the more twisted they became, the more twisted their ideas. It was like a feedback loop of semi-magical mutation.

    He looked at the creature, still desperately clinking away at its nest; trying to consume more to get stronger ¨C this was all it knew.

    ¡°Poor little bastard¡­ If I ever be like that, I hope someone will kill me.¡±

    A ferocious smile then appeared on Jay¡¯s face.

    ¡°Good thing I¡¯m here to kill you. What a blessing I am to you¡± he smugly grinned, though his eyes looked like a predator.

    The assistant-creature having offspring meant that there was a good chance it woulde back. This was great news for Jay as now he would have another chance to kill it.

    ¡°Now¡­ I suppose daddy¡­ or mommy? ¡­whatever. ¡®It¡¯ wille back for you, so all I have to do is wait¡­¡±

    Two of the skeletons returned just as Jay nned his trap.

    He walked towards the other room, having a strange feeling as he nned the pyramid trap since it seemed backwards ¨C shouldn¡¯t the dungeon be making the trap for him?

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m not locked in here with the monsters, they¡¯re locked in here with me¡± he shrugged.

    Jay had his skeletons pick up the little baby-sized creature and shove it into one of the cages.<sub></sub>

    The little fiend responded with screechy little cries, but Jay totally ignored it.

    ¡°It will be better if you cry, go ahead, call for help,¡± he smiled.

    Jay went back to the main room as he nned his trap.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ how am I going to keep the assistant in here when ites back¡­¡±

    A series of thoughts ran through Jay¡¯s mind as he thought about what to do.

    ¡°Copse a pir to block off the assistant?¡±

    ¡°Hold a knife to the baby¡¯s throat?¡±

    ¡°Just try to kill it really quickly?¡±

    As he looked at the passage, the solution hit him like a truck.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s so obvious! I just need to close the door and seal it again. Duh!¡±

    It was the simple, elegant solution, and it should work too; the door was keeping this thing in, standing the test of time over the centuries, so it easily passed the durability test.

    Jay willed his other two skeletons to return as well as he thought about how his trap would work practically.

    He would keep one skeleton in the room with the half-bred, while himself and the other three skeletons would hide behind the pirs in the main throne room.

    Jay also extracted bones from his gauntlet, making a small pile of bones next to the entrance.

    When the creature returned, Jay would sneak into the exit passage, close the door and ce the heavy iron bar across it.

    However, he first needed to test something.<sub></sub>

    Jay unsummoned Blue and closed the door ¨C then he tried to raise the skeleton from the other side of the door.

    ¡°Arise¡­¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Dammit.. Come on¡­¡± he crouched down, holding his gauntlet to the bottom of the door; he closed his eyes and pictured the pile of bones in front of him.

    ¡°Arise¡­¡±

    This time, the necrotic green mana left his gauntlet and slipped itself under the door like it was searching for something ¨C then arger amount of it left the gauntlet.

    *Clink~ ck~*

    Hearing a few noises from behind the door, Jay confirmed it was a sessful summoning.

    ¡°Good.¡± he thought, opening the door again and stepping back into the room.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he looked at his shield, ¡°I guess I won¡¯t be needing this since I won¡¯t be fighting.¡±

    ¡°Blue, here ya go.¡± he handed his precious deathwalkers¡¯s sentry to the human skeleton.

    After giving his shield to the skeleton, it seemed that holding the hammer in one hand and the shield in the other was just a little too much for the skeleton to handle; they were too heavy.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe next level then?¡± he consoled his skeleton, hoping it would level up soon.

    All the skeletons were level three, but they could currently all reach a max level of four thanks to Jay¡¯s necrotic mastery.

    They would only gain more strength as they levelled up, but for now it was quite low.

    Instead, the skeletons were incredibly dextrous; daggers and spears were more suited to them at the moment.

    Perhaps they would get more bulky and could handle heavier weaponster, but in the meantime, their ideal weapons were light. The heavy hammers only worked out since they dual-wielded them.

    ¡°Soon¡­¡± he thought.

    Jay assumed a crouched position behind the pir, now all he had to do was wait¡­.

    ¡­

    And wait¡­.

    And wait.

    ¡­

    ¡°Hm¡­ maybe it abandoned its kid?¡± Jay thought, ¡°Not a very good role model¡­ hopefully it only went out for a pouch of tobo.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I can entice it toe home.¡±

    Jay took out his trusty 1 damage cooking knife, which had since blunted, chipped and rusted¡­ and no, he was not going to cook a meal to entice it toe back, he had something far more sinister nned.

    ¡°I suppose I¡¯m not a very good role model either.¡± he shrugged, handing the low damage knife to one of his skeletons.

    ¡°Only cut it once. I don¡¯t want it dead¡­ Not yet anyway.¡± The skeleton then sped off into the room ¨C its target was the half-bred abomination.

    The creature, despite only taking one damage, began to squeal incessantly.

    Jay waited and waited as he suffered through the mind-numbing squeals. It seemed that this was taking forever ¨C he slowly got frustrated.

    Jay walked slowly to the passageway, ignoring the shrill screechinging from the next room as he stared into the tunnel for a moment.

    ¡°Where the hell are you¡­¡±

    Suddenly, Jay¡¯s shield lightly squeezed his arm. He looked down at it, eyes bulging for a moment as he realised it had seen something in the darkness.

    Immediately, he rushed behind the pir while mentallymanding his skeletons to get into position and hide.

    Then, he listened.

    ¡­

    *tap¡­ tap¡­ tap tap¡­ tap*

    It seemed that the creature was sneaking back slowly, cautiously.

    Seeing the bone pile near the doorway, it seemed like that gave it some reassurance ¨C perhaps the undead skeletons assaulting it had all died somehow?

    It was no longer as intelligent as it once was, so it didn¡¯t question how they would have died.

    Unfortunately for the assistant, the skeletons were still there waiting silently, brandishing their hammers behind the pirs. Time did not matter to the undead.

    Each one of them was ready to strike; a single thought from Jay and they would enter battle, bing the berserk, unmerciful skeletal warriors they are.

    *Shhriiii~ ¡­ click click click*

    It made some strange hissing and clicking sounds, very different to the hissing previously.

    ¡°Is it trying to lure out the skeletons?¡± Jay wondered, shaking his head with a smug smile.

    ¡°It won¡¯t work with me controlling them.¡± he shrugged, ¡°try all you want.¡±

    *arrchh~ arr~*

    The half-bred cooed, replying back in its own way from the other room.

    ¡°Oh, it was calling its offspring?¡±

    *tap tap tap tap-tap tap*

    The creature fully entered the throne room, ignoring the bone pile as it began to head into the dark room.

    Jay only smiled hearing this, with each of the tapping steps of its sword-like legs, the trap was closing. Slowly, its fate was being sealed.

 Chapter 128 Vile Execution

    Jay crouched and snuck low across the room.

    He gazed over at the assistant; half of its body was in the dark room and half was out.

    This was good enough for Jay¡¯s trap.

    Jay checked it¡¯s health while he sneaked by. It had been almost an hour so it would have regenerated somewhat.

    <[The Assistant ¨C Level 8]>

    [HP 36.5/121]

    ¡°Hmm, it was around 17 before. That¡¯s quite fast¡­ Could it have found more body parts?¡±

    Surely the creature would have found the dead dihexapede, mannaton and six spearmen statues near the entrance of the pyramid.

    He crept into the passage and began to close the heavy door, thankfully it didn¡¯t squeak as it closed slowly.

    Next, the iron bar. It was so heavy that he could only lift one end at a time.

    *Doong~*

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Jay thought, hoping the assistant didn¡¯t notice the sound from the iron bar bracing the door. Hopefully the bar would hold if only half of it was slotted into ce.

    *SCRREEEE!~ HISSS!!!~*

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Jay thought as he ordered all the skeletons to attack.

    *BOOOOM!~~* The creature rammed into the door with full force, probably not even realising it was shut as it created a deep heavy thud noise.

    *SCREEEEE!!~*

    It wailed, either from pain or anger as it realised it was now trapped in here once more.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay sensed that the skeletons had moved in and were about tounch a synchronised strike while the creature had its back turned. The necrotic sense ability sure was handy.

    ¡°Huh, I wonder if you can even sneak attack with hammers?¡±

    *Squash¨Csmack-DOONGG!~ HISSSSS!~*

    ¡°Well, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter ¨C if it dies, it dies.¡± he smiled.

    The skeletons struck; the beast recoiled and began striking back with its neck-mounted whips and reached out its hand once more to execute one of the skeletons.

    [Your Perennial creature level 3 has been in.]

    ¡°Damn, another blue one down.¡±

    Jay didn¡¯t bother to put the iron bar into the other slot of the door ¨C it seemed that one side was enough to keep it in.

    He crouched down as he raised another skeleton.

    ¡°Arise.¡±

    Unknown to the creature, a skeleton popped up right behind it.

    The skeleton still needed to reach its hammer to do decent damage, but since there were three others attacking, it was not very hard to simply sprint around and retrieve it.

    If the assistant¡¯s face still could perform emotions, it would lookpletely confused.

    There were four undead attacking it¡­ then it killed one¡­ now there were only four remaining?

    What the hell was happening?

    Surely it was going insane ¨C well, more insane¡­ but there was not much more time to think about this during battle; its health was dropping fast and it had to focus.<sub></sub>

    [26/121]

    [20/121]

    Only a few more hits and it was dead.

    Already its natural armour and ck hide was smashed and ripping; its life slowly leaving its body as its dark red blood oozed out.

    It looked around to retreat, but it was already at the door which was somehow closed again. Its only option was to go back into the room, getting some distance from the skeletons.

    [14/121]

    Out of desperation, it jumped up onto a pir and coiled around it up high ¨C out of range of the fearsome level three skeletons.

    It wasn¡¯t a hard task with its many legs ¨C though it was heavy, it wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for long. The sword-like legs were already making deep gashes and grazes in the pills, small pebbles and cracks forming as it tried to hold itself up.

    *HISSS!~*

    It let out its frustration at the skeletons, deeply hissing, threatening to pounce one of the skeletons and end them in one hit.

    This of course had no effect on the skeletons; there was no such thing as fear to the undead. For a moment however they paused, not from the hiss but because they were considering how to attack.

    Master¡¯s order has to be fulfilled. Master¡¯s order has to be fulfilled.

    The next thing they did would have made Jay proud.

    One of them held its hammer by the end and began spinning, swirling around.

    The creature turned its head to the side, confused.

    *Swoosh~ CRUNCH!~*<sub></sub>

    The skeleton suddenly released its hammer and sent it flying at the assistant, doing just as much damage as a normal attack.

    [10/121]

    The creature would have sweated stressfully if it had any skin left, these undead were doing fucking hammer throws at it!

    And without warning, two more hammers came flying.

    Immediately the creature dropped to the ground again and ran throughout the room, avoiding the two flying hammers.

    It was clear now that nowhere was safe. Neither high nor low.

    It attempted to thrash about and speed past the skeletons ¨C maybe if it was quick enough it could kill them all without taking anymore hits?

    The ck hand ripped another skull off its socket once more as it sped by; another skeleton was shed at by the dire de legs.

    Good, two down¡­ only four skeletons left now.

    [4/121]

    Unfortunately it took another hit. It¡¯s time was almost up, it was not long for this world and its time was short.

    If there was any hope for it to live, even just a sliver¡­ it would cease it with all it had, even giving up thest half of its soul.

    Suddenly, the door opened ¨C but how?! It didn¡¯t matter, it was hope.

    The creature twisted and sped through the skeletons without taking a single hit, and just as it was about to exit through the door, something stood in its way. Something which made its whole body tense up in fear.

    The human was somehow still alive despite being left alone in a room with these undead? The human which somehow ripped its bottom jaw bone off, causing it so much pain before.

    Unlike before, the human now looked like the only monster here; while a gentle smile was on its face, its eyes looked hungry, like it would consume whatever would stand before it.

    *HISSSSS!!!~~*

    The creature was going too fast to stop, and it couldn¡¯t retreat either ¨C it simply would have to charge through¡­ it let out a warning, but this human didn¡¯t move.

    Why did it feel threatened from this humans gaze?

    Seeing the creature charge towards him, Jay lifted his gauntlet.

    ¡°Uncaring rip.¡± he whispered.

    The gauntlet activated ¨C suddenly, the creature paused in its tracks as it writhed in pain. It was like it hit an invisible wall and was now being held up somehow.

    Then the pain began¡­ The pain was so great that it couldn¡¯t even howl.

    It had never felt so much pain even after all these experiments; even the splitting of its soul was less painful than this.

    Why was it not dying? Why couldn¡¯t it just die? What unnatural force was keeping it alive through this pain and suffering?

    Suddenly, the remainder of its rib cage split outwards; all its organs along with its two dark beating hearts were disyed ¨C but soon they too were ripped and pushed out as bones poked through the back of them.

    Finally, the spine revealed itself, pushing everything else aside.

    Why couldn¡¯t it just have fucking died? Why did it have to live through this?

    Its intestines, dder and stomach burst out. The stomach was punctured, and acid began burning holes into the rest of its insides.

    More and more of the spine pushed through its flesh; nothing could stop it.

    What kind of sick, abominable magic was this?

    Finally, all of its body went limp as the nerves were severed from the head. Before that however, its eyes were deeply sunken as the brain was pulled downwards.

    ¡°Fuck, this is pretty gruesome¡± Jay thought, almost looking away from the horrific disy before him ¨C and he was the one doing it ¨C and without any mercy.

    Even this seemed a bit too harsh for Jay¡¯s liking; he did mildly torture its offspring aswell which was pretty evil. If this thing coulde back as a spirit it would definitely haunt him.

    Perhaps even this disy would haunt him for the next few days.

    Finally, the spine was ripped out from its body and flew into the grasp of Jay¡¯s gauntlet.

    The gauntlet began crushing and absorbing it automatically.

    The execution was sessful.

    [1501 exp]

    The assistant crashed harmlessly to the ground, still corroding in its own stomach juices.

    Jay harvested the rest of the bones from its body, yet there were not many to gain as most of them had either been reced or had mutated into the ck stone.

    ¡°Huh, I guess only the most vital bones are the ones that weren¡¯t converted¡­¡±

    Jay took note of which bones were extracted from its body: the spine, the skull, the scap, and the cor bones.

    Either these were too important to rece, or the creature simply didn¡¯t bother ¨C he couldn¡¯t be sure. Jay felt like he gained some insight into necromancy, though unfortunately he got no new notifications.

    ¡°Hmm.. nice work skeletons.¡± Jay went to collect the bone pile as well as the bones from the dead skeletons.

    ¡°Now¡­ what do I do with the half-bred.¡±

    ***8+62+62+1=?***

 Chapter 129 Three Seals

    After looting the beast, there was nothing left except a soul stone ¨C Jay had already taken the remaining bones of course.

    [Soul Stone] (Empty) x 1

    ¡°Hmm, not very lucrative¡­¡± Jay pursed his lips and went into the dark room.

    Something seemed different as he walked towards the cage with the half-bred.

    The creature no longer cried, screeched or wailed. Was it sleeping?

    Jay retrieved his trusty butcher knife that his skeleton dropped next to the cage before he checked inside the cage ¨C it was silent because it was dead.

    On first nce it appeared to only be resting, as if the little abomination had screeched itself to sleep, but after poking it Jay confirmed it was dead.

    ¡°What? But the skeleton only would have done 1 damage to it? ¡­and it screeched after it was stabbed so.. How?¡±

    There was no pool of blood around it, so it definitely didn¡¯t bleed out,

    ¡°¡­I wonder how it died?¡± Jay had his skeletons check the room for any other life forms that could have killed it ¨C nothing.

    ¡°Oh well.¡± he shrugged, attempting to loot it, ¡°not all mysteries have to be solved.¡±

    [Soul Stone] (Empty) x 1

    ¡°Weird¡­¡±

    With the assistant dead, Jay checked his hidden quest.

    <[Hidden Quest ¨C y The assistant]>

    [y the Assistant]

    [Progress]<sub>.</sub>

    [2/2 yed]

    [Complete! Collect Rewards?]

    ¡°Two yed? I guess that half-bred thing counted as the assistant too, since its soul was in it? Huh.¡± he shrugged.

    Jay wasn¡¯t too concerned with the ambiguous quest, he was just d toplete it as he ¡®collected rewards¡¯ ¨C not that there were rewards other than ¡®progress¡¯.

    It seemed like a prettyme reward to Jay, but he didn¡¯t care too much anyway ¨C this pyramid had already given him a massive power boost. Besides, perhaps there was more loot after he made more ¡®progress¡¯.

    After a quick search of the room he didn¡¯t find anything of much interest, though the nest the creature had made contained some bones so he added those to his gauntlet.

    Jay returned to the main chamber, it was brighter now as a third glowing circle was now lit up.

    On the throne, somehow, a small stone effigy of the assistant had appeared.

    It was strange to say the least, who would make a miniature statue of that monster?

    Jay obviously went ahead and tried to ce it in his inventory, thinking it was some sort of trophy, but it seemed it was part of the dungeon; he frowned lightly.

    ¡°Aw¡­ it looks so cool too¡­¡±

    He tried to pick it up, but it wouldn¡¯t budge either, it was like it was glued to the throne.

    ¡°Oh well¡± he smashed it with his hammer, at least he would get some enjoyment out of it¡­

    Thankfully, it seemed that this was meant to happen as the three glyph circles began to slowly rotate, and soon, each of them stopped. It was like they were locking into ce.

    A red wave of energy suddenly travelled across the glyphs and they all disappeared.

    Jay and his undead team were embraced by the darkness once more.<sub></sub>

    *Gurrrrrrr~*

    All around them, deep groaning sounds came from stone grinding on stone within the pyramid walls as they listened in the darkness. It sounded like the whole thing was about to copse.

    This probably would have induced even more fear if Jay didn¡¯t have a monster ss, resisting the seemingly passive fear effect of the pyramid.

    With a bored expression, Jay pulled out his luminous orb to see what was happening. The only thing that was different was some dusting from the ceiling.

    *DOON~*

    A heavy noise reverberated through the room.

    Suddenly arge stone block slid down across the exit; Jay was trapped.

    Groaning stone sounds were stilling from the walls, and finally behind the throne, a stone wall lifted up as more of the blueish glyph light came from under it as it raised upwards, finally reflecting in Jay¡¯s eyes as he was in awe at what he saw.

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± the light of course came from another glyph, but this one was very different.

    Jay walked slowly into the hidden room behind the throne as he looked upwards to see how big this glyph was.

    The glyph was huge and rectangr, perhaps nearly half the size of the pyramid ¨C the pyramid itself almost touched the clouds above.

    ¡°Hmm, if those three small circr glyphs caused the rooms to open, then what the hell does this one do?¡± Jay raised a brow. Surely it would be powerful.

    In front of the glyph was another throne ¨C more majestic andrger than the assistant¡¯s throne in the previous room.

    A series of tubes, cords, wires, magic circles, glowing cylinders and other strange instruments were in an array around the throne, all feeding into one life form; this time, the throne was upied¡­

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~3rd Academy, Mirror Reality 34~<sub></sub>

    ¡°Students of the third academy, things are going to be quite different next year¡­ Some restructuring is taking ce. We hope it will make you more cohesive and team-work oriented¡­¡± he cleared his throat.

    ¡°I know we¡¯re better than the other academies; while we didn¡¯t win the war games this year, you made the academy proud and lived up to our motto ¨C ¡®He who stands with me shall be my brother.¡¯¡±

    Some of the students looked inspired, but some looked bitter. Their academy cedst in the war games ¨C they were the weakest; they felt pathetic.

    ¡°I have always treated you as professionals, and I won¡¯t take up more of your time, so I will make this short and sweet.¡± Norgrim gazed across the cohort as his tone and demeanour changed to one of an old hunter.

    ¡°The rumours of a powerful monster ssing to join us are true.¡±

    The crowd murmured and began to chatter, as Norgrim expected they would. After allowing it for a moment he raised his hands to hush the audience.

    ¡°Now, in light of this, we are opening new higher level dungeons to the first years¡­¡±

    The crowd grew loud again, with differing reactions:

    ¨C ¡°So unfair¡­ I had to wait till second year. This damn shitty academy.¡±

    ¨C ¡°Fuck yeah, we can run the higher level dungeons, finally! Better now than waiting a few more months!¡±

    ¨C ¡°¡­All those hot heads are gunna get themselves killed. Did they really think this through?¡±

    ¨C ¡°Meh, all I do is craft and forge, I never go into dungeons anyway.¡±

    ¡°Yeah? All I do is workout, no need to fight anything¡±

    ¡°Pff, you¡¯re still level three after a year. Stop being a baby and go kill some shit.¡±

    ¨C ¡°Aw, I hope I don¡¯t get left behind.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t leave you behind. He who stands with me shall be my brother, remember?¡±

    Norgrim waved his hands, hushing the audience once more.

    ¡°With the increased risk, we have added a protective measure which will only apply to first years, which are as follows:

    Parties will now be formed at the start of the year. You have to stick with your team until the very end of the year¡­ If one of them perishes, you will all repeat the first year.

    Again, this will only apply to first years starting next year.¡±

    Despite it not affecting any of the current students, many were shocked. How the hell were they meant to assemble cohesive teams now? What about the guys who don¡¯t even go into dungeons?

    Of course, Norgrim already had ns for this.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Feral ins ¨C Level 3 Dungeon, south of Lo~

    *Huf huf huf~*

    Matheson¡¯s clothes were sticking to him with sweat; he was surrounded by a ring of corpses on a grassy hill after he had just killed another swarm of yellow grobs; monsters which were essentially one-eyed, two-footed, round jumping balls of teeth.

    While this was a level three dungeon, it was not instanced and hence was not bound by the conventional rules ¨C the lowest level of the enemies in this non-instanced dungeon was level 1.

    This didn¡¯t mean it would be easy though; the sheer number of enemies here made up for their individual weakness.

    Meanwhile the weather was summer within this dungeon,bine that with the vigorous battles, some would even suffer heat stroke and have to either leave or die.

    All around, many other groups of adventurers were on different hills, each fighting their own brutal battles.

    These types of monsters had to be dealt with on a hill, otherwise they could simply roll right after you, the swarm surrounding you as theytched onto your flesh with their razor sharp spiny teeth.

    The hill would force them to crawl upwards, slowing down their swarming speed ¨C though even then it was still a challenge.

    ¡°Thanks for saving me,¡± a manacrafter behind Matheson called out.

    Matheson squinted with disdain, remembering how he was weak¡­ in fact, he still felt weak.

    The manacrafter had no hope here as he only had a high damage single target attack; it was quite foolish for his party toe here.

    ¡°Next time save yourself.¡± Matheson bitterly said; he despised weakness ¨C though more so in himself than others.

    ¡°Uh¡­ right¡­¡± the manacrafter awkwardly scratched his head.

    He thought about asking to party with Matheson, but quickly shot down the idea as soon as he heard Matheson¡¯s harsh reply.

    Now that they weren¡¯t within the aggression range of any monsters, the manacrafter promptly left the dungeon. Next time, he would find a party that didn¡¯t leave him behind as they desperately rushed to another hill.

    Matheson began looting the hundreds of tiny corpses around him; some of their bodies rolled back down the hill before he could reach them, only to be consumed by a smaller swarm of them.

    Matheson easily made short work of them since he was now level 8, not to mention his dexterity-based swordsman ss. It was like a perfect match, he was like a demon to the grobs.

    He was a little high level for this dungeon, but he was solo too; to him, this was a decent workout plus a way to get easy exp ¨C thest battle giving him 600.

    The grob¡¯s didn¡¯t always drop loot, but it was enough for most adventurers to save some money for better weapons.

    [Yellow grob eye] x 63

    Who used these? And for what purposes? Meh, who cares? As long as they paid for them¡­ This was the mindset of most adventurers here¡­ most¡­

    Matheson was different, he had other nspared to other adventurers who were simply trying to get by. He had zero thoughts about the low level loot since he had plenty of money after all ¨C what he was trying to do was build the act of looting into his muscle memory, making it like a natural instinct.

    He would be relying on selling loot when he eventually got cut off from his fathers wealth, but for now it was all as good as trash to him.

    For him, battles were not really about loot, they were just another stepping stone to his strength; each one making him stronger than thest.

    ¡°Only strength ensures freedom¡± he thought, gazing into one of the yellow grob eyes before crushing it in his hand, the juices coating the grass; He imagined that crushed eye as himself in the hands of someone more powerful.

    Other adventures would think he was mad if they could see him crushing some precious loot, but Matheson only gained from doing this since he imagined himself being crushed ¨C it created a drive in him, a hunger, and so he continued onwards, towards the next hill.

 Chapter 130 Estobar 1

    Jay gazed at the being on the throne; it was old, wrinkled and seemed like it was on the verge of decaying.

    Parts of its skin were ck but somehow seemed to retain its life ¨C of course, its life force was driven by intense hate as well as all the strange chemicals and magic surrounding its chair.

    ¡°Is this a hexamist?¡± Jay raised a brow, he couldn¡¯t be sure.

    Whatever it was, it was nothing like the soldiers or theb experiments, there was not a single piece of the ck stone on its body. It seemed that this one didn¡¯t go through with the altar conversion ritual.

    Despite living on somehow, it was still filled with just as much hate as when it sat down, its face locked in a constant grimace of bitter anger.

    Thankfully there was a trespasser to let out some anger onto ¨C Jay.

    The decrepit old thing in the throne slowly lifted its head, gazing at Jay.

    Jay analysed it as soon as he made eye contact. Surely something on such an impressive throne would be strong, right?

    <[Estobar the Heximist ¨C Level 2]>

    HP 10/10

    <[Skills]>

    [Reconstitute]

    ¨C Brings soul and matter together

    <[Description]><sub>.</sub>

    [One of the five grand hexamists of Helvetia, he guided others to a treasure he could not possess¡­ Someone had to perform the conversion ritual, and it was him. His only tool to be immortal and join his fellow soldiers was with his own research andboratory materials¡­ Unfortunately, time has not been kind to Estobar.]

    ¡°Hm, pretty dumb¡­ just find an immortality book like I did. It¡¯s not that hard.¡± Jay chuckled, mocking what once was a brilliant mind ¨C now it only had one skill left and as much health as a level 1 soap rat.

    Slowly, its weak old hand moved off its leg¡­

    ¡°Hmm? It can still move? Ok, what¡¯s it gonna do? Call a nurse?¡±

    Slowly, still, it was raising its old hand up off its leg. It was on a mission that was a test of both its strength and undying will power ¨C but it was much too slow for Jay.

    ¡°Ok, you¡¯re getting there.. Come on. You can do it old man.¡± Jay encouraged it.

    It raised its hand a little higher, ever so slowly.

    ¡°Oh fuck me,e on. We¡¯re waiting. I haven¡¯t got all day.¡±

    It seemed that its hand was high enough, and it slowly moved its hand to the right now.

    ¡°Ohh. Sorry, we¡¯re closed. Pleasee back tomorrow.¡± Jay smiled with a shitty, condescending grin.

    Suddenly the ancient hand smashed down on a tiny glyph on the arm of the throne with the force of a mighty butterfly.

    Two strange tubes suddenly rose up next to the throne. One was small and the otherrge.

    ¡°Oh, is this where you get your soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner?¡± Jay continued to mock while something began floating through the tubes as if in zero gravity.<sub></sub>

    ¡°What the¡­? Well, at least something is happening.¡±

    One was filled with soul stones while the other tube had skeleton bones.

    ¡°Huh? Is this a reward? Well now I feel bad¡­ Hey I¡¯m sorry Estobar¡­ actually now that I think of it, that stuff I said was pretty harsh¡­ I don¡¯t know what got into me, I¡¯m sorr-¡± Jay put his apology on pause for a moment as Estobar¡¯s eyes began glowing.

    Suddenly, they glowed a bright blue as they were filled with mana.

    It seemed that while Estobar¡¯s level and health had dropped, and his skills had disappeared, he was still filled with his original mana capacity; a tidal wave of energy ¨C yet it was using it to activate its only skill ¨C reconstitute.

    Each soul stone mixed with the bonesing from the tube, blue wisps of mana mixed with them as they floated together, creating cheap imitations of Jay¡¯s undead powers.

    The first thing made was a teepee of bones with a skull on top. The eyes of the skull glowed a pale blue as it came to life and a slightly translucent orb of blue expanded out and stopped around itself and Estobar. It was some sort of magical energy shield.

    ¡°Huh?!¡± Jay¡¯s mouth was open in shock, ¡°You can make that from bones?¡±

    Estobar had Jay¡¯s full attention now, as he created some insane energy barrier with bones and a soul stone. It didn¡¯t even ur to Jay that this was within the possibility of skeletal creation.

    Jay would definitely try to copy thister, but for now he analysed it.

    <[Skull-shield projector ¨C Level 3]>

    [HP 1/1]

    <[Skills]><sub></sub>

    [Physical Projection]

    ¨C 50/50 HP energy barrier.

    ¨C 1HP per second projection regeneration

    ¨C 50% melee damage mitigation

    ¨C Cannot block slow moving objects

    ¨C Requires power source (Soul stone ¨C 408 seconds left)

    <[Description]>

    [-]

    ¡°Amazing¡­¡± Jay gazed at the shield aura. He was starting to gain respect for the decrepit old husk of a man.

    Next, more bones floated through the tube, and this time, it didn¡¯t make a barrier projector.

    After having seen it countless times, it was clear to Jay what this was.

    ¡°Pff, Let¡¯s see which is stronger, the real version or the knock off.¡± Jay smiled, but soon he wiped his grin off his face.

    <[Helvetian Skeletal Golem ¨C Level 5]>

    [50 HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Golem Strength]

    ¨C 20% Extra damage

    [Golem Endurance]

    ¨C Regenerates 1HP per second

    [Unarmed Combat]

    ¨C 4.5 damage

    <[Description]>

    [-]

    ¡°Oh shit, not bad? You¡¯re level two and are summoning a level five minion?¡± Jay wasn¡¯t even mad, he was impressed.

    ¡°Thankfully they don¡¯t have any weapons.¡± Jay wasn¡¯t worried ¨C until he noticed that the two tubes were still filled with many bones and soul stones. There would be more of these things to fight.

    ¡°Shit, this could get messy.¡± Jay got serious now as the enemy skeleton ran out of the energy shield.

    Jay didn¡¯t even need to tell his skeletons to attack ¨C the helvetian skeletal golem was already in the midst of battle with his own troops; there was no need for it to defend Estobar as the energy shield stood strong.

    Thankfully, it was a 1 vs 4, so the golem was not really a threat, and the level 5 skeletal golem died before it could do any significant damage.

    ¡°¡­¡± Jay smiled, waiting for something¡­

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Ohe on, no exp? It¡¯s level five! ¡­bastard.¡± he pursed his lips, frowning.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ would this mean my skeletons don¡¯t give exp? That¡¯s handy to know¡­¡± he smirked.

    ¡°I suppose I could farm exp if it allowed me to get some from this guy¡¯s minions, so¡­ it could be just him. I suppose I would have to test it some time.¡±

    Another helvetian skeletal golem was formed and engaged with Jay¡¯s skeletons. Blue did rush over to the barrier with its goal to y Estobar, but the next enemy skeleton formed just before it could even begin attacking the barrier.

    It seemed that perhaps Jay should have stopped Estobar while the decrepit old man was raising his hand ¨C but if he didn¡¯t he would not have learnt of the cool skeletal energy shield.

    Jay considered this for a moment, if he let the current level 5 skeletal golem live, would Estobar summon another contraption, simr to the skull-shield projector, for Jay to try and copy?

    This was perhaps the culmination of the efforts of a genius from the Helvetian empire.

    Unknown to Estobar, he was now like a teacher to Jay ¨C the first one Jay had ever found that would give him some ideas about his necromancer ss.

    ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot to try¡­ Keep it busy.¡± Jaymanded, as his skeletons began running around therge room with the massive glowing glyph.

    Jay squinted as another skeleton was formed; now Estobar had two level 5 skeletal golems running around the room.

    This was still manageable, so Jay gave it another chance before having them in.

    ¡°Come on you old prick¡­¡± Jay squinted, ¡°¡­make another skeletal contraption¡­¡±

 Chapter 131 Estobar 2

    ¡°Come on you old prick¡­¡± Jay squinted, ¡°Make another cool skeletal contraption¡­¡±

    Suddenly, something different was being ¡®reconstituted¡¯.

    Four bones made a cross-shape which were ced t on the ground as the base of the structure, while some long femur bones made a tall column with a skull on top.

    It appeared that the skull had grown some thick bone hair, simr to dreadlocks ¨C but upon closer inspection, these were all tiny finger bones connected to each other, attached at the back of the skull.

    Jay watched silently as he was taking everything he could in,mitting everything to memory.

    The skull then turned its head at one of the skeletons and opened its mouth.

    *Trok¡­ trok¡­ trok*

    ¡°Aw shit, it¡¯s a turret! It¡¯s a damn turret!¡± Jay was as shocked as he was excited.

    Each finger bone that made up the turret¡¯s ¡®hair¡¯ was pulled into the back of the skull, converted into what looked like a tiny throwing knife and quickly shot out.

    Each of these strange knives made a ghostly wailing noise as they travelled through the air to meet their targets.

    Jay was figuratively drooling at the mouth. It was a simple-looking design but there was an elegance to it; having only the bare-bones needed to function ¨C literally and figuratively.

    Jay didn¡¯t even care that his skeleton was being attacked by it, but he wasted no time and quickly analysed it.<sub>.</sub>

    <Dreadmourn Turret ¨C Level 3]>

    HP 5/5

    <[Weeping Kunai]>

    ¨C Causes fear (weak) while airborne

    ¨C 4 piercing damage

    ¨C Requires ammunition (Bone, fingers)

    ¡°Amazing. I could probably make my own ammunition with my scrimshaw skill, so that won¡¯t be a problem for me¡± he grinned.

    Jay would definitely try to make a turret and an energy shield creature now, he didn¡¯t care how long he would have to experiment, it was simply too cool in his eyes.

    Estobar obviously didn¡¯t care what Jay thought, he didn¡¯t give Jay any rest as another level 5 skeletal golem was being crafted.

    ¡°Shit, give me a break. I was only joking before when I said the pipes were for soup¡± Jay finally had to be a bit more aggressive during the fight ¨C he couldn¡¯t just have his skeletons running around, being chased by a growing swarm of skeletal golems.

    He took out some bones from his gauntlet, making a pile as he got prepared to summon for when his skeletons fell in battle.<sub></sub>

    Meanwhile, he had his skeletons begin to attack the level five golems instead of run from them.

    Two level five skeletons went down, but so did two of his own skeletons.

    Jay quickly summoned them and made them retrieve their weapons. A third skeleton went down and Jay hastily resummoned it too.

    [-4]

    ¡°Ah fu~¡± A small knife was embedded in his leg.

    [-4]

    ¡°Shit, it still hurts even though they¡¯re tiny¡±

    Jay raised his shield, causing it to take most of the damage instead of him while he pulled these weird daggers out of his leg and abdomen.

    [-0.8] [-0.8]

    ¡°One.. two..three¡­¡± he gritted his teeth and held his breath as he yanked it out, causing even more damage.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± he screamed through his gritted teeth as it made a bigger hole when it was ripped out.<sub></sub>

    [-2]

    Three skeletons were now working on taking down the shield; another had died to a level 5 while Jay was distracted.

    Things were not looking good.

    After ripping out both of the knives, his skin quickly healed back up, though more of his HP drained from the extra damage he inflicted when he ripped the second one.

    [-2]

    It was purely by chance that hammers happened to work really well against other skeletons, and Jay quickly re-summoned another skeleton to go attack the new level 5 skeletal golem before joining the others to help take down the energy shield.

    *trok¡­ trok¡­ trok¡­*

    The skull turret continued to fire, but Jay made his skeletons ignore it and keep wearing down the shield.

    Jay could easily keep the fight up as long as he had mana ¨C however, he had already summoned his skeletons four times, and while it was still fairly high, it was being drained far too quickly.

    The pressure was on.

    Another level 5 skeleton stepped out of the energy barrier, entering battle with his skeletons once more.

    ¡°Dammit, this can¡¯t go on for much longer¡­¡±

    Jay decided to enter the fight; if he ran out of mana before this shield went down it was game over.

    Swinging his hammer at the shield, he was disappointed by the damage number.

    [6]

    ¡°What? Aren¡¯t I supposed to be doing at least 12 now??¡±

    Jay analysed the shield again, realising it had 50% melee mitigation.

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡±

    Jay began bashing away at the shield. If he was doing only 6, then his skeletons would be doing much less.

    The strength of the skeletons was only 13, having gained one per level since level 1. Each of them dealing a whopping 3.5 damage to this shield per hit.

    It really wasn¡¯t much, but at least when the four of them were hitting it, the damage added up.

    For now though, two of the skeletons were off dealing with another level 5 imitation skeleton, while a skeleton next to Jay was just about to crumble after having ten of those knives embedded in its body.

    Meanwhile, Estobar was pumping out even more of the level 5 skeletons.

    ¡°Dammit, I take back my apology you old bastard!¡±

    [6]

    Jay smashed his hammer against the shield, causing it to flicker off for a moment.

    It would only take a single love tap to kill the shield-projector, since it only had one HP, but Jay decided to try and preserve it so he could study itter.

    He made it clear in his mind that it was off-limits, forcing the skeletons to avoid it too.

    Instead, Jay and his skeleton targeted the deathmourn turret; it was doing too much damage to be left alive.

    [5]

    Despite its high damage, it went down in a single hit, having simrly low HP to the skull-shield.

    In this time, another level five skeleton had formed¡­. then another.

    ¡°Dammit, the pipes are speeding up?¡± It seemed that Estobar had managed to raise his other hand during this long fight to ce it on another glyph, causing the pipes to speed up ¨C this allowed more of his bones and soul stones to be ¡®reconstituted¡¯.

    ¡°You dirty fucker Esotobar!¡± Jay barked.

    Meanwhile the ancient Helvetian Estobar, still having a permanently angry face with furrowed brows, seemed to have an ever so small condescending smile on its face as his two new skeletal golems stood before him ¨C though only oneshed out.

    One had to guard Estobar since the shield was down, so Jay and his skeleton only had to deal with one for now.

    Thankfully, Jay¡¯s other two skeletons had killed their target, but only one returned to Jay since the other had died.

 Chapter 132 Estobar 3

    *DOONGg~~*

    Jay swung his hammer with one hand while raising a skeleton with the other; he was turning out to be a fearsome necromancer on the battlefield, despite hiszy start to this battle.

    Technically it was only a 1 vs 1 fight between Jay and Estobar, as without them the skeletons wouldn¡¯t exist ¨C though anyone watching would think it was an intense fight worthy of writing down somewhere¡­ not grand enough for the history books, but somewhere at least.

    Another level 5 skeletal golem rose at the same time Jay¡¯s fresh summon did.

    Slowly, Jay was being overwhelmed, his mana pool couldn¡¯t keep up if this continued.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ maybe I should run? My mana is getting dangerously low¡­¡± Jay thought, but remembered that the room he was in was currently sealed.

    There were no exits, he simply had to press on.

    Jay had to get more aggressive, so he took a risk and dashed forward ¨C right before Estobar summoned another golem.

    Jay paid for this, took a critical hit from one of Estobar¡¯s skeletons.

    ¡°GRAAAH!¡± the pain was immense as the skeleton ripped its knife hand out of his abdomen.

    It didn¡¯t matter now though.

    Jay was resolute in his attack n, he smashed his hammer against the old man¡¯s arm.

    *Crunch!*

    It caused the ancient being¡¯s body to quiver from pain for a moment as its armpletely fell off; its eyes were wide open now.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay thought that if his hand moved off the glyph, it would perhaps slow down or stop the pies.

    Suddenly, some bubbles floated up from a cylinder attached to the throne, and Estobar went back to his normal cid self.

    He was nicely sedated by his eloborate automatic drug supply.

    Jay¡¯s abdomen healed at the same time. He attempted another hit but was pushed away by the defending skeleton.

    Unfortunately, this brazen attack did nothing to slow down the speed of the pipes, it only disrupted a single summoning ¨C even Estobar¡¯s health was the same as before.

    Before the old man could start the summoning again, Jay grinned mischievously.

    ¡°Try next time bitch.¡± he blocked another attack from the skeleton as he reached out with his hand.

    [Soul Stone] (Full) x 1

    He pocketed the soul stone which came from the smaller pipe.

    ¡°Shit, it has a soul in it?¡± Jay didn¡¯t have time to think about this as the next skeletal golem was being summoned.

    Jay decided to add all the bones nearby into his gauntlet too. The less resources Estobar had, the better.

    Meanwhile, another one of his skeletons went down, which Jay quickly brought right back.

    It was a confusing sight to the golems, as Jay¡¯s skeleton would turn into a useless pile of bones before springing back up into a skeleton again and smashing their skulls inwards.<sub></sub>

    Jay checked his mana, it was truly dwindling now. There was some mana regen during the fighting, but now it was at dangerous levels ¨C he only had one more summon left, and that was it.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Jay realised he needed more mana. Perhaps it was even more important than vitality and strength.

    ¡°Uncaring rip¡± a femur (upper leg) bone was ripped from an enemy skeleton and crushed in his hands ¨C the enemy skeleton fell over, seemingly confused as what the hell just happened.

    Two more of the skeletal golems went down as Jay crushed one of their necks under his foot ¨C along with two of Jay¡¯s skeletons.

    Jay insta-summoned hisst one.

    Three skeletons and Jay vs one skeletal golem and Estobar.

    Immediately, the single golem got ganged up on. Jay was feeling a little slow now since his mana was so low that he only just now realised something.

    ¡°Estobar¡­ he stopped summoning golems?¡±

    Suddenly, the Skull-shield reactivated.

    Inside the mana barrier was Estobar and Jay¡¯s three skeletons. Estobar was truly done now, he had no more defences.

    Jay still didn¡¯t understand why it got so easy all of a sudden, he looked around for a moment¡­

    ¡°The skeleton pipe¡­ there¡¯s no more skeletons?¡± Jay was puzzled.

    ¡°Perhaps his stockpile of skeletons ran out?¡± he wondered, before shrugging.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Oh well. Sucks to be him¡­ If he had more skeletons, maybe he would¡¯ve won, or at least made me use some of my trump cards.¡± Jay nodded, d he could hold onto his newly found acid shards.

    ¡°Still, he nearly had me in the first half, not gonna lie.¡±

    Jay had his skeletons attack the throne Estobar was sitting on. There was no point attacking him directly otherwise the strange throne would just heal him somehow ¨C though it would be good if Jay wanted to torture the old man.

    However, Jay felt like he should give him at least a little mercy for all the rude things he said, so instead of smashing him to death, he went for his life support.

    As each jar and cylinder were smashed, each wire ripped out, each magic circle broken, the light slowly dwindled in Estobar¡¯s eyes¡­ he knew his time was short.

    Slowly however, he was raising his hand once more¡­

    ¡°Oh not this again¡­e on¡­¡± Jay rolled his eyes.

    Slowly, his hand was going higher and higher¡­. Jay checked the throne quickly; there were no more glyphs left so he was sure nothing dangerous would happen.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t got all day.¡± Jay allowed it to happen; the ancient hexamist surely had no other tricks up his sleeve.

    Higher and higher it went, until it seemed like he was going to point at Jay.

    ¡°Eugh, any time now old man¡­ What is it? Hmm? What? Is there something on my face?¡±

    Suddenly, his hand turned upside down; each of his fingers crunched up except for one ¨C with his dying bit of strength he was¡­

    ¡°Hey, fuck you too!¡± Jay finally realised what he was doing and gave him the rude finger right back. Right to his face.

    ¡°Decrepit old fuck. You should be thanking me for giving you a painless death.¡±

    Suddenly he dropped his hand, his blue eyes went dark, never to glow again.

    ¡°Cheeky old bastard¡­¡± Jay smiled, ¡°.. to be fair, I probably would¡¯ve done the same thing.¡±

    Despite Estobar¡¯sst action, Jay still felt a hint of sadness; a great mind was lost to death, a grand hexamist of helvetia. It was nothing to celebrate about.

    [1000 Exp]

    ¡°Now¡­¡± Jay snapped his fingers ¨C the skeletons began hammering at the energy shield.

    Suddenly, it went down without any warning.

    ¡°Hm? Has it been 5 minutes already?¡± Jay wondered, guessing that the power source which was a soul stone must have run out.

    ¡°Oh well.¡± he shrugged, going over to loot Estobar before looting the throne. He decided to study the weird little shield-projectorter.

    [Escobar¡¯s Journal]

    ¡°Oh, another journal¡­ wait, it doesn¡¯t crumble?¡± Jay smiled, flipping through the pages.

    The writing was unidentifiable, it may have well been scribbled ¨C however, there were a few pictures. Jay only looked at a few strange contraptions before closing the book ¨C everything was faded and the pages were delicate so he decided to have a look through itter when he got to a quieter ce.

    Jay then went to see what he could look from the chair ¨C as he walked around the back of it he had a sly smile on his face.

    Gripping his fingers around arger crystal, it popped out with a click though it had a strange, thick ck wire attached; easily ripped off.

    [Greater Soulstone] (Empty) x 1

    ¡°Finally, a greater one.¡± Jay shook his head with a sigh, ¡°I earned this.¡± he looked around the room at all the carnage left behind ¨C yet there wasn¡¯t much left as Jay had already added all the fallen skeletons to his gauntlet.

    Jay checked his quest.

    <[Hidden Quest ¨C Soul Liberation]>

    [Gather soulstones and bring them to Sedulus]

    [Progress]

    ¨C Soulstone: 364/500

    ¨C Large Soulstone: 2/2

    ¨C Greater Soulstone: 1/3

    [Rewards]

    ¨C 3 Skills: Mind, Mark, Host.

    ¨C Weapon: Sedulus¡¯s war spear.

    ¡°Two left¡­¡± he smiled.

    Suddenly, therge glyph flickered behind Jay ¨C the one which was giving light to the whole room.

    The familiar red wave of energy then travelled across it, seemingly consuming its raw power.

    Once again, Jay was in darkness.

 Chapter 133 Split

    *GRROOOOOOOAAARRRRRRRRR*

    Jay crouched down to keep his bnce, as the whole pyramid started shaking.

    Stones, dust and pebbles fell from somewhere high above, creating loud cracking sounds as they exploded against the ground.

    Whatever was happening was big.

    Jay immediately pulled out his luminous orb, looking around for somewhere safe to go, out of the way of the falling rocks.

    He knew the exit had been blocked in the assistant¡¯s room so he didn¡¯t see the point in running towards it. It would just be a dead end after all, and there was no guarantee that it was safer than where he was right now.

    The only feature in this empty room was the throne estobar sat in with the two pipes next to it.

    ¡°That may be the only safe spot here.¡± Jay guessed, thinking the maker of the pyramid would have protected the throne.

    *GRRRRRR-BRRRRRR~*

    The pyramid groaned more loudly and a light came from above Jay; a sliver of light turning into a long rectangle which was slowly getting wider.

    It was the sky, being revealed as the roof opened up.

    ¡°No way¡­ the whole pyramid is opening?¡±

    Jay weed the dark, gloomy sky with a whimsical smile. Despite it being overcast and dreary, it was truly refreshing to see after being in the pitch-ckness of this dark, quiet pyramid.

    Well¡­ mostly quiet anyway.<sub>.</sub>

    *GRRRRR~~~~ DOONNNN!~¡­..*

    With a final, deep booming noise the pyramid came to a stop.

    ¡°Finally¡­¡± Jay sighed, still looking up at the dark clouds as a light breeze flowed through the pyramid; he was thankful that no building-sized boulder came crashing down to crush him into a red paste.

    A gentle path downhill led from behind the throne, exiting out the back of the pyramid.

    In the distance was another ck highway to the next pyramid. It seemed that this whole pyramid was split in half with the immense power from the glyph.

    *Scree~* *Hiss~* Eiiiii!~*

    Jay noticed some small escaping dihexapedes, exiting from somewhere in the recesses of the freshly opened and cracked pyramid.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Jay watched helplessly as the long leathery creatures sneaked through the ruins of the city and began their sneak attacks on helvetian soldiers, devouring the soulstones with zero remorse.

    Was it by design that these were here? He couldn¡¯t be sure.

    Perhaps it was just another part of the dungeon, another twist to hinder his progress. What he could be sure about was that he would have to face them now too.

    Thankfully, it seemed that they were quite low level, as the soldiers they preyed upon were only swordsmen, while the dihexapedes were only barely winning their fights.

    They were definitely not the level 133 nightmares Jay had previously encountered.

    ¡°Seems like we have an intense battle ahead¡­¡± Jay said to his three remaining skeletons.<sub></sub>

    With a sigh, Jay finally went to the skull-shield projector.

    Finally he could study it; he smiled, d that it wasn¡¯t hit by a high-speed falling pebble and died ¨C It only had 1HP after all.

    He crouched down on his knees, looking closer as he tried to gain some understanding of it as he tried to figure out its parts.

    Unlike the turret, it had no moving parts ¨C it was quite literally a teepee of bones around a soul stone with a skull on top.

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely not that simple¡­¡± Jay thought as he inched closer.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay gazed into the skull¡¯s eyes. There were more smaller bones inside, so small that they seemed like hairs. They seemed to make the form of a tree within the skull.

    Looking at where the skull was connected to the teepee, he found that these branch-like bone structures came from under the skull, going down through the teepee support and touching the soul stone on the top.

    ¡°Ok, so it must be channelling the energy into the skull¡­ somehow¡­¡±

    Jay made a mental note with a yawn; he was getting sleepy. That battle had taken much of his energy, not to mention that he had been here for hours.

    ¡°But the power source¡­ what do I use.¡± he looked at the soul stone, pursing his lips while thinking about what he could use to power its barrier.

    The only thing Jay had for a power source would be his sickly green necrotic mana. He put the shield on the ground and traced his fingers across the glowing arteries on the shield ¨C it¡¯s the closest thing he could think of which used his mana like a power source.

    ¡°Maybe I can make something like my shield, with necrotic mana arteries?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll also need some kind of container for my mana to keep powering it¡­¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Soul stones are not an option ¨C I only have ess to empty ones¡­ well, I have a single full one now but then I would be back to square one.¡±

    ¡°Some sort of dder holding my mana is not an option, I can only manipte bone.¡± he scratched his chin as he tried toe up with solutions.

    Jay crouched and looked around the other side of it.

    ¡°Somehow it must use the energy of an escaping soul to power the shield¡­ damn this is advanced¡­¡± he furrowed his brows, looking at the numerous tiny connections.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll understand it one day.¡± he shrugged, ¡°But not today.¡±

    After gaining at least some understanding of the concept, all he could do now was try, persevering in experimentation until he got it right.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t the time or ce, and he wasn¡¯t in the right state of mind.

    With no more analysis to do, the only way to get any more knowledge about the skull now was to destroy it and look at its parts.

    Gently cing his hand on the skull, he took out his trusty butcher knife and lightly tapped it.

    [1]

    ¡°Phew. d I kept this.¡±

    Thankfully, he was gentle enough and the teepee structure didn¡¯t even copse. Pulling the skull off, there was a strange structure underneath, it was like a honeb, having a hexagonal structure.

    Some tiny hair-like bones were snapped off as he lifted the skull up, breaking the connection between the skull and the hexagonal honeb structure.

    Jay shook his head, ¡°There¡¯s no way I can scrimshaw something this technical¡­¡± he thought as he looked inside the skull.

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely need to level that skill up.¡±

    The honeb structure was filled with the many tiny hair-like bones. They were almost like hair but incredibly brittle.

    Holding the skull in his hand, he looked into the eyes more closely.

    ¡°It seems that the honeb structure is merely for support of the delicate bone-hairs¡­ The hair-like bones pass through it and connect to the inside of the skull.¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± he nodded.

    Finally, Jay cracked the skull open. He didn¡¯t see much else ¨C just the hair connecting to the inside of the skull.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he set it aside, turning his attention to the teepee.

    The bone-like hairs wrapped around a hexagonal sphere sitting at the top of the teepee, while more hairs flowed out from the inside of the sphere and went downwards to attach to the soul stone.

    Each face of the hexagons on the sphere was like an empty window going into the middle, it was more like a scaffolding, or a ball of chicken wire.

    ¡°Everything seems pretty straightforward except for that strange angr sphere.¡±

    Jay gently put his hand on it, while slowly cutting the hairs on the top and bottom sides.

    During the cutting process, he found that the hairs from the bottom attached to the inside of the sphere, while the hairs wrapping around the outside all went upwards to the skull.

    ¡°Strange¡­ I wonder if this is how the soul gets converted to energy?¡± he guessed, pulling little hairs off.

    Jay decided to put the hexagonal sphere in his inventory to studyter, in case there was something he was missing.

    With another yawn, Jay knew it was time to leave; his body was begging him to go home and get into bed.

    He analysed the bones of the teepee but they didn¡¯t seem to be connected in any meaningful way ¨C they were merely support.

    ¡°Ok, time to head out I think¡­ Hopefully I¡¯ll teleport back here when I enter the dungeon tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder if Anya will want toe fight some dihexapedes¡­¡±

    Jay willed to leave the dungeon, and as the exit sprung up next to him he sent his skeletons out on a killing mission for soul stones ¨C as well as to gather any helvetian rings.

    He would definitely not let them forget to loot the helvetian rings again.

    Unfortunately, he still didn¡¯t have enough mana to summon the fourth one, but he didn¡¯t really care, he was too tired to wait around anyway.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to study Estobar¡¯s journal tomorrow and practise my scrimshaw skill.¡±

    ¡°I definitely have enough bone to practise crafting with.¡± he thought as he stepped through the exit portal with a proud smile.

    ***One of you requested a power stone goal, nice idea ¨C here it is: If we reach power stone ranking #3 (on the 91-180 day scale) I¡¯ll release 5 bonus chapters.

    I made the goal sorta-kinda hard since I am in an exam period, but if you manage to pull it off, I¡¯ll deliver.

    Not really sure what golden tickets are good for though?; I¡¯m not Willy Wonka***

 Chapter 134 New Direction

    [2000 Exp]

    ¡°Huh? Where¡¯d that extra expe from?¡± Jay had a confused smile as he stepped out of the dungeon.

    ¡°Oh yeah, the helminth¡­ I guess exp doesn¡¯t transfer through two dungeons?¡± he shrugged, d the parasitic worm was still at work in the other dungeon; he made a mental note to visit it tomorrow and collect some new blue bones.

    ¡°I guess Anya went home.¡± Jay looked around the exit area, looking for her. It seemed that the other adventurers did too.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll see her tomorrow.¡± he shrugged, not forgetting about the rings she still has for him.

    While walking home, Jay began thinking about thest fight, analysing it.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ things would¡¯ve been bad if I couldn¡¯t keep summoning skeletons¡­ if I run out of mana it seems that I am as good as dead ¨C even if I do have high strength, it wouldn¡¯t really matter¡­¡± Jay was beginning to rethink everything once more as he was shaking his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s way too convenient to summon a skeleton; way more so than having a few extra damage¡­¡± with a slow nod, he realised that he didn¡¯t really even need strength.

    ¡°Hmm.. another mistake. At least I only put five points into strength¡­¡±

    Jay checked his strength, sitting on 20; he was regretful but d he learnt his lesson this early.

    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ I¡¯m a necromancer. Why should I have to fight? It¡¯s below me.¡± a proud smile began to form on his face.

    ¡°My strength is good enough to defend myself anyway¡­ From now on, all attribute points will go into energy. I won¡¯t even need to worry about fighting if I can keep getting another skeleton to spring up; they will take damage for me, and they will swing their weapons in my stead.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°They will be as endless as my mana pool and my bone collection¡­¡± Jay gazed at his gauntlet containing approximately 670,000 skeletons.

    ¡°And I definitely won¡¯t run out of skeletons.¡± he chuckled with a skip in his step, finally making it to the north bridge of Lo.

    [75 Exp]

    ¡°Seventy five?¡± Jay raised a brow, wondering what that came from. The statues were worth either 35 and 40 or 90 and 100 exp for the sword and spear variants respectively. The silt-wolves were worth 200 exp, so it couldn¡¯t have been them either.

    That¡¯s when Jay remembered the dihexapedes he set loose in the dungeon.

    ¡°Hmm, perhaps they killed one of those experiments¡­¡± he guessed, realising now that they must definitely be lower level if three skeletons could take one down.

    Jay arrived at his butchery; Trenly had already cleaned up and went home, so Jay promptly went to freshen up before sleeping.

    ¡°Big day tomorrow¡± he thought as he got into bed, ¡°going to try to copy my helminth¡¯s spell, collect the blue bones, visit Vdore, get the rings off Anya, and craft so much shit,¡± he looked at his gauntlet, thinking about all the bones it contained before trying to getfortable.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡± he shifted ufortably, the gauntlet was kind of hard to sleep with on his hand.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C<sub></sub>

    ~Lo, Adventurer Association~

    The guards of Lo had all been into the dungeons here at least once. Some were not from Lo and had levelled up in other parts of the country, so many didn¡¯t have too much experience with these local low-level dungeons. They would primarily enter them for the adventure or out of boredom, but this was a rare urrence.

    Lo was not a high level area after all ¨C why would they go into a low level dungeon without much to gain?

    Anya was sitting across from an adventurer association guard as she had dinner, discussing hertest adventure.

    ¡°What do you mean under the third pyramid? You do some digging or something?¡± one of the association guards asked Anya as he chewed on some steak.

    ¡°Uh, you know how you go down the left passage and -¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, there¡¯s that door you can¡¯t get through.¡±

    ¡°Wh- Can¡¯t get through?¡± she tilted her head to the side.

    ¡°Yeah, you know, that door with the magical bar. Even with my high level strength I couldn¡¯t lift it¡± he shrugged ¡°I guess it¡¯s not meant to be opened.¡±

    Anya sat quietly and sipped her drink, not wanting to raise suspicion as she was about to give something away.

    ¡°So¡­ how do you conquer that pyramid?¡± Anya said as she put her drink down.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Well, long story short ¨C you can¡¯t. If it lets you conquer it, we would be able to teleport back to it when entering the dungeon¡­¡± he ate a roasted vegetable off his te, ¡°did you make it to the boss yet? You want some tips?¡± He raised a brow.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Anya usually liked to figure things out on her own, but this time, she made a concession ¨C she hoped to be more helpful to Jay.

    ¡°Sure.¡± she nodded, eating some more.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s this monster up there with a single offspring ¨C all you have to do is kill the smaller one and therge one will die. They¡¯re soul-linked or something so it¡¯s really easy¡± he shrugged.

    ¡°Oh¡­ thanks¡± she smiled, ¡°did you have to fight any of the giant statues by any chance?¡±

    ¡°The six guards at the entrance? Yeah? Of course?¡±

    ¡°No, I mean the giant statues¡± she pointed upwards ¡°the ones taller than trees.¡±

    He raised a brow, confused.

    ¡°Oh, you mean the statue-statues¡­? They are actually just statues.¡± he chuckled, ¡°Just statues, they¡¯re not gonna do anything.¡±

    Anya pursed her lips in thought, ¡°Ok, I see. So you can¡¯t get through the door in the passage and the giant statues don¡¯t move¡­?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± he seemed to go deeper into thought as he stared at his food for a moment.

    Anya smiled and got up after it seemed like he was thinking about it too much. She didn¡¯t want him getting suspicious or anything.

    ¡°Thanks for the tips. Kill the small one right?¡± she smiled.

    ¡°Hm? Oh. Yeah, the small one. You¡¯re wee.¡± he went back to eating his dinner.

    Anya promptly took her te to the dish area and went upstairs to her room.

    ¡°So¡­ somehow we got into that room because of Jay and his skeletons. The door must not let humans enter¡­ or at least the living?¡±

    She sighed, ¡°Even the dungeons treat him differently it seems¡­¡± she shook her head.

    Anya was beyond disbelief at this point ¨C when it came to Jay, it would be unusual if something weird didn¡¯t happen. All she could think was ¡®of course¡¯ and ept whatever happened next.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to find him tomorrow, nice and early¡± she nodded as she closed the door to her room before getting ready for bed.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Somewhere south of Lo, deep in the forest~

    Lara and Lannister had made a small camp in between somerge boulders hidden away in the forest; as enemies of the mage hunters they had to be extra careful, and since they arrived here they had been scouting and analysing Lo.

    ¡°Nothing out of the ordinary¡­¡± Lara reported after getting back from a night-time patrol, ¡°there seems to be more guard patrols near the south side, but other than that ¨C nothing.¡± she shrugged.

    ¡°Good. We¡¯ll contact Sullivan tomorrow and hopefully meet the new recruits.¡± Lannister said, stoking the small camp fire once more.

    They had made their camp in the midst a small rocky outcrop, hidden deep within the forest. They were far from the patrol range of the Lo guards ¨C even hunters wouldn¡¯te this far south. They werepletely safe ¨C perhaps even too safe.

    Of course, they had to be this safe ¨C getting caught by the mage hunters wouldn¡¯t mean death, it would mean an endless torture using vile magics to extract every piece of information from their minds.

    Lannister expected Lara to sit down by the fire, but she began to leave the campsite again.

    ¡°Wait, where are you going?¡± Lannister stared at her.

    ¡°I found a bandit camp. I think the bandits all died though because it doesn¡¯t look abandoned. It was like they all just got up and left a few weeks ago.¡±

    Lannister smiled, regretting that he had to bring her along. Apparently she was here for his protection.

    ¡°So you¡¯re going to loot it while we¡¯re on mission?¡±

    ¡°Hey, what I do in my spare time is my business. I¡¯ll be backter.¡± she said precisely, not letting him argue.

    ¡°Fine,¡± he shook his head, ¡°just don¡¯t stay out too long. There¡¯s work to do tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Work, work.¡± She said with a cheeky smile, hopping on arge rock as it began to levitate and soon was speeding off across the treeline of the forest; skimming past treetops as she passed by.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± she closed her eyes and smiled as she embraced the cool air flowing over her face.

    ¡°Somehow the air feels fresher in the real world.¡± She peacefully flew over the forest under the moonlight.

 Chapter 135 Custom Made

    Jay woke up to some chopping noises,ing from downstairs ¨C clearly he overslept since Trenly was already here preparing for the day.

    [2900 Exp]

    ¡°Heh, good.¡± Jay smiled as he woke up, pleased to see that both his skeletons and employee were hard at work even while he was sleeping.

    After freshening up he made his way downstairs.

    ¡°Morning Jay¡± Trenly nodded, still hard at work.

    He seemed as focused as ever, and Jay could tell he was putting his entire focus into the job. It seemed like his discipline for training as an adventurer and hunting were transferring to other parts of his life.

    ¡°Morning¡± Jay began cooking his breakfast while letting Trenly work.

    ¡°How¡¯s business? Are you getting the hang of it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Meat has also been easier to purchasetely, I think the forest is recovering from whatever happened.¡± Trenly said as he cleaved some flesh.

    ¡°Oh, good¡­¡± Jay scratched his eyebrow, hiding his face.

    ¡°Got any gold for me?¡± He sat down and began eating his breakfast.

    ¡°Oh, yeah. Fifty percent right?¡± Trenly checked his inventory.

    ¡°Yeah, the profit after buying the meat and things. Not the actual revenue.¡±

    ¡°Here you are.¡± Trenly pulled the gold from his inventory.

    [130 gold]

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Jay smiled. It was a little less than expected, but Trenly was still new ¨C besides, the butchery had been closed for a while so customers were bound to be lower than usual.

    ¡°Hmm I wonder if I should buy something new with this¡­ hmm.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll just wait and see how my bone crafting does today.¡± Jay thought as he cleaned his te before heading back upstairs.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Trenly, I¡¯ll be busy upstairs; don¡¯t let anyonee up.¡± Jay looked him in the eye, adding a little more weight to his words.

    ¡°Do not disturb, sure.¡± Trenly stopped chopping for a moment and nodded.

    As soon as Jay got into his room he closed the door and braced it with a chair.

    Next, a cloud of the dark green mana appeared before disappearing again ¨C a pile of bones being revealed in its ce.

    ¡°Now¡­ I need to level my scrimshaw up.¡± Jay thought as he sat on his bed, looking at the bone pile.

    ¡°It would be a waste to just create multiple copies of the same thing. I should at least try to make some useful stuff.¡± He nodded, a thought drifted across his mind.

    ¡°They have weapons for offence, they would need defence too¡­¡±

    ¡°Skeleton armour?¡± He wondered, ¡°¡­can they even wear armour?¡±

    The first thing Jay did was summon one of his skeletons. It tapped about on his floorboards before he ordered it to stand still.

    There were only three skeletons left alive in the dungeonst night, so this didn¡¯t hurt any of their progress. The question was which skeleton was this one?

    Thankfully, now that it was level three, it has its name against its level ¨C it was Sweeper.

    Jay pursed his lips, ¡°Of course it¡¯s fucking Sweeper.¡± he shook his head.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get on with it.¡± Jay shook his head more as he went over to his skeleton.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I need to make something simple that can easily attach to your body.¡±

    A necrotic breastte was currently a bit too beyond Jay¡¯s level. There was simply too much material to focus on, so he had to craft something smaller.

    As Jay looked over the features of his skeleton he found that there were some gaps in its forearm and lower legs; unlike some of the animals Jay had butchered, humans have two bones between the elbow and the wrist, with a gap between them.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he held Sweepers arm out, ¡°I can totally exploit this gap to attach armour to.¡± A smile began to appear on his face.<sub></sub>

    ¡°So it seems like I¡¯ll be creating vambrace¡¯s and greaves first.¡±

    Jay immediately got to work, he grabbed a small amount of bones from the pile and began to channel his necrotic mana into it.

    The bones all responded in kind, levitating and turning into lightly glowing, viscous blobs.

    In the quiet of Jay¡¯s room under the sunlighting from the window, Jay noticed something new.

    ¡°Huh, there¡¯s a kind of dusting out?¡± he squinted at it.

    It just urred to Jay that there were impurities in the bones ¨C he simply didn¡¯t see it before since he was either in a darkbyrinth or an overcast sky.

    The only solution Jay thought of to bring out more of these impurities was to add more ¡®heat¡¯, or in this case, more necrotic mana.

    Jay happily indulged the process as he forced more mana into it, separating the particles of bone from one another.

    Slowly the blob of viscous, sticky bones became more fluid-like while letting out a stronger glow.

    Containing this water-like orb took more concentration from Jay, along with more of his mana.

    Initially, Jay was only using about 0.1 mana per second, barely noticeable ¨C now it was all the way up to 0.5 mana per second.

    Thankfully, as the fluid bones swirled, less and less impurities were falling out.

    After burning through 25 mana, Jay decided it was enough.

    He began extracting his necrotic mana out of the bones, which served to slowly turn it solid again.

    It was at this point in the process where Jay realised he should stockpile these pure bones before using them for crafting.

    He didn¡¯t just want a weird hard ball of bone, so before it solidified too much he formed it into a rectangr bar, simr to a cksmith¡¯s ingot.

    Just like that, he had used half of his mana. It was a taxing process.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Damn,¡± He rubbed his temples to soothe his mind while chewing on some bondtussle root.

    [Mana Regen buff 1%] ¨Csts for 1 hour(s).

    Slowly, a very light-grey ingot floated down before him.

    Unlike other bones, there were no stains of red, yellow or ck spots in them. The colour was uniform.

    In Jay¡¯s eyes, they were perfect ¨C of course, a notification revealed it not to be.

    [Ossein Ingot ¨C 96% purity] x 1

    ¡°Damn. These are way too good to craft with¡­¡± he thought as he looked at the glossy sheen. They seemed to be quite high quality.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll hold onto these until I learn how to craft better.¡± he thought before storing it away.

    It would be wasteful to give high quality materials to a novice crafter after all.

    ¡°Ok, now to craft some armour.¡± he looked at his skeleton once more before proceeding.

    Jay repeated the process, sending his mana into bones to make a viscous blob before forming a hollow cylinder shape.

    Next, he removed some mana to harden it slightly while forcing the material to form a thick trim around the edges for durability, as well as making a bar going through the centre.

    The difference between this and a normal vambrace was that it had a bar going through the middle, which would slot between the skeletons¡¯ arm bones (radius and ulna), ensuring they wouldn¡¯te off.

    It wasn¡¯t needed, but Jay didn¡¯t trust his skeletons not to lose them.

    After moulding it into its form he slowly pulled his mana out of it, solidifying it more.

    Finally, he had a finished product.

    <[Spectral Vambrace]>

    [Common]

    [5 armour]

    [5 health when equipped by undead]

    ¡°Oh, a bonus for undead? I guess it¡¯s because I specifically made it for them? Cool¡­¡± he nodded.

    Sweeper gazed at the gauntlet curiously as it stood there silently.

    Jay wanted to see what the skeleton would do if given armour ¨C would it even understand what it was?

    ¡°Here you go Sweeper¡± Jay casually tossed it to the skeleton.

    Immediately the skeleton snatched it out of the air and equipped it on its arm.

    ¡°I guess it understands,¡± Jay chuckled.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll make seven more of these and then eight greaves.¡± Jay nodded as he got into crafting mode.

    With a keen focus Jay got to work, steadily making them ¨C as he went, he finally levelled up his scrimshaw skill.

    [Ability level up]

    <[Scrimshaw Level 3]>

    [Can use bone to create basic objects]

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a nice surprise.¡± Jay smiled while reading over the level up notification.

    ¡°Huh, I think the description is the same. I guess these are considered basic?¡± he pursed his lips ¡°Oh well, my crafting skill is only level three anyway¡­ I wonder if those skull-shield projectors are considered intermediate?¡± he looked up in thought.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just have to find out.¡±

    It turns out that after crafting all the swords, hammers and his shield that he was incredibly close to levelling up his scrimshaw to three ¨C achieving it before he even started crafting the eight greaves.

    Two more vambrace¡¯s and eight greavester, he was finally done making some armour for his skeletons. The greaves had slightly better stats than the vambrace¡¯s, as he crafted them while being level three.

    <[Spectral Greave]>

    [Common]

    [6 armour]

    [5 health when equipped by undead]

    Jay decided he wouldn¡¯t bother remaking the vambrace¡¯s for one extra armour, it simply wasn¡¯t worth it. He would wait till he got better at crafting or until they needed recing.

    Two of the vambrace¡¯s had the extra armour point, but Jay decided to save those for Blue, his favourite skeleton.

    The n next was to try and craft some armour for himself ¨C then extra armour pieces for the skeletons.

    However, he was rudely interrupted.

    *knock knock knock*

    Suddenly, a knock came from the door.

    ¡°Damn, what the hell? I told Trenly to not let anyone up¡­¡± Jay furrowed his brow in frustration, immediately unsummoning Sweeper and storing it in his ring along with the bone pile; then finally storing away the armour pieces.

    *¡­knock knock~*

    ¡°Just a sec!¡±

    [Spectral Vambrace] x 6

    [Spectral Greave] x 6

    Next, he silently took away the chair before opening the door.

    ***Author here. Brought back the armour (or armor) stat. It was originally called defence. Armour provides a % melee damage reduction.

    Calction: %Mitigated = (0.05*(Armour*0.8)+(0.04*Armour))*((Char.Level/100)+1)

    Level 3 skeletons with 24 armour will be getting 1.97% reduction (I will round it to 2% in this case). This is why I kept ¡®piercing¡¯ damage, as it ignores this reduction. Piercing will be much more threatening atter levels.

 Chapter 136 Wanted

    Jay opened the door, the hint of a scowl on his face as he was interrupted from crafting; right in the middle of something.

    ¡°Anya?¡±

    ¡°Hi. Vdore wanted me to remind you to visit him today, and I owe you these rings so I thought I¡¯d bring them over.¡± she shrugged, holding out the rings.

    With a sigh, Jay took them.

    [Helvetian Ring] x 14

    ¡°Thanks,¡± he looked down the stairs to see Trenly standing there with a light frown, ¡°Trenly let you up?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I said it would be ok and rushed up here before he could stop me.¡± she shrugged with a smile.

    Jay shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s alright Trenly.¡±

    Trenly nodded and went back to work.

    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s all, I have some stuff to do.¡± Jay gestured down the stairs.

    Of course, Anya had an ulterior motive toing here.

    ¡°Uh, oh.. I was wondering if you were nning on going back into mist keep? I have some useful tips for the third pyramid?¡± she smiled.

    ¡°Oh, well yeah ¨C butter today¡­ Also, I already conquered the third pyramid so that¡¯s ok. You can help with the fourth if you¡¯d like.¡± he shrugged.

    ¡°You conquered it!?¡± Anya raised her voice, before ncing down the stairs and lowering it again.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°So you beat the two creatures alone?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and then the room after that too.¡±

    ¡°The room after? What? There¡¯s a room after?¡±

    Jay shook his head, Anya was wasting his time with silly questions; he wasn¡¯t going to repeat himself.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± he said with a sigh, ¡°I¡¯lle to the association when I¡¯m ready ok? Maybe in an hour or so.¡±

    ¡°Mm.. Thanks¡­¡± Anya looked down the stairs before turning back.

    ¡°What are you doing now?¡± she smiled.

    Jay squinted at her, checking the stairs himself before whispering.

    ¡°You know how I was making that dagger? That time you startled the shit out of me when I thought you were unconscious in Carter¡¯s Demise?¡±

    ¡°¡­yeah¡± she smiled slyly.

    ¡°Well, now I¡¯m making armour¡­ and here you are interrupting me again.¡± Jay shook his head with a smile.

    ¡°Oh, sorry¡­¡± she shrugged; it wasn¡¯t really something that interested her, ¡°In that case, I¡¯m going to go kill some mobs. I¡¯ll head over to the guild in an hour and wait for you.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good, see you then.¡± Jay said, watching her leave before closing the door.<sub></sub>

    With a sigh, he propped up the chair again.

    ¡°Ok, where was I¡­ oh yeah, armour for myself.¡±

    Jay took out some bones and began to channel his mana into them once more.

    He crafted himself some vambraces and greaves simr to the skeletons ¨C except without the bar going through the middle.

    <[Necrotic Vambrace]>

    [Common]

    [6 Armour]

    ¡°Nice.¡± he smiled, analysing one of his finished products.

    ¡°Huh, it¡¯s called necrotic instead of spectral? I guess it¡¯s since I made it for a human?¡± he thought, looking at them.

    ¡°¡­too bad there¡¯s no health bonus ¨C but it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± he shrugged before finally trying them on.

    They were a snug fit around his Molodus coat, but that was not necessarily a bad thing. It would be better in battle so that they wouldn¡¯t slip ¨C though Jay did encounter one problem.

    ¡°Oh, my gauntlet¡­¡± part of the gauntlet had excess armour travelling partly up Jay¡¯s arm, stopping the vambrace from fitting on it.

    ¡°Damn, oh well..¡± he stored the second vambrace into his inventory; it would be a backup. Just in case.<sub></sub>

    ¡°It¡¯s nice that the armour doesn¡¯t need mana to maintain its form. I wonder why it¡¯s different?¡± Jay thought for a moment, ¡°Perhaps weapons simply need more maintenance.¡± he scratched his chin.

    Unlike the armour, all the weapons he had made so far, including his shield had a [Lifespan] passive ability, which made them require necromancer mana to ¡®maintain their form¡¯.

    ¡°Hmm, what else can I make¡­¡±

    Jay thought about the armour that the helvetian statues wore for inspiration, and in an instant he had an idea.

    It was immediately clear that a helmet was a most crucial part of the armour ¨C it would be what Jay targeted first during a fight after all.

    Jay decided to create one simr to those T-visor helmets that the statues wore.

    Immediately, he got to work, forming another green blob of glowing bones.

    Next he decided to form half a sphere, forming it into a bowl shape.

    After that, he elongated two parts of it downwards, which would eventually be the cheek tes.

    Jay decided to solidify the shape he had made before continuing the crafting process, as he had an idea while forming it ¨C perhapsing from his level three insight.

    The idea was to target a specific part to mould while stopping his mana from travelling through the rest of it; this meant he would only need to focus on a single part.

    After the pseudo-helmet was set into its shape, Jay began to funnel mana into it again ¨C but he kept it localised to a certain part, making a T-shape with his mana.

    The T part of the visor was now liquid, and Jay forced it to each side which created the T-shaped gap. As the molten bone was pushed to each side, it effectively reinforced the edges of the T-visor with a slightly thicker rim.

    It was a pretty simple design, but it was the best Jay could do for now.

    Happy with how it was looking, he let it solidify.

    <[Necrotic Barbute Helmet]>

    [Common]

    [9 Armour]

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay looked at his new armour, happy with the bigger armour bonus ¨Cpared to his vambraces and greaves anyway.

    The final step was to try it on.

    ¡°Awesome, perfect fit¡± he smiled, d that he wouldn¡¯t have to make another.

    Before making some helmets for his skeletons too, he decided to see what else he could make.

    Pauldrons, which were like shoulder armour, would not work because they would have to be strapped on with some sort of leather bindings ¨C and that would requiretches to be made into them, which Jay wasn¡¯t confident with yet.

    Still, he decided to have a go anyway. The basic cup-shape of the shoulder armour was made ¨C next, he made a long strand of bone and attached it at two points.

    For whatever reason, it simply wouldn¡¯t attach. Jay tried adding more mana to the pauldron and the strand to make them more liquid-like and mix, but then some of the strand became so skinny that it would have snapped.

    ¡°Damn¡­ It¡¯s simply beyond my level right now.¡± Jay lightly frowned.

    ¡°Oh well, I¡¯ll get there,¡± he encouraged himself.

    Jay summoned Sweeper once again ¨C he needed a head to test a skeletal helmet on after all.

    Immediately he got to work, crafting a slightly smaller helmet. The first turned out to be a little too small, and nearly got stuck on Sweeper¡¯s head while it was half-on.

    Thankfully, the second one fit perfectly.

    Next, Jay crafted three more of the T-visor helmets for his skeletons.

    Even though he made them slightly smaller to fit their fleshless skulls, they still ended up having the ¡®necrotic¡¯ prefix in their names ¨C same as Jay¡¯s.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s since they weren¡¯t specifically made for the undead?¡± he shrugged.

    ¡°Oh well, I think that¡¯s enough crafting for now.. My mana is pretty low.¡±

    Jay ate another bondtussle root, refreshing his mana regen buff to one hour before collecting all his bones and armour pieces.

    Walking to the door of his room, he took out Estobar¡¯s journal and gazed at it for a moment.

    ¡°Hmm,ter¡­ I¡¯m too busy today.¡± Jay stashed the book away as fast as he took it out.

    ¡°Now, time to see how many bones my helminth has for me¡± he turned to de-summon Sweeper again, but paused¡­

    This was when Jay noticed something different about Sweeper, for some reason it caused a shiver to go up Jay¡¯s spine.

    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re still wearing the greaves and vambraces¡­ even after I re-summoned you?¡±

 Chapter 137 Spectral Equipment

    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re still wearing the greaves and vambraces¡­ even after I re-summoned you?¡± Jay red at Sweeper with his eyes bulging.

    He was simply too intrigued to leave his room now.

    Immediately he de-summoned Sweeper; its skeletal body copsed with a clink on Jay¡¯s wooden floor.

    Jay got on his hands and knees, digging through the bone pile; he was looking over the bones with expectation, but he didn¡¯t find any of the armour he made for it.

    ¡°So¡­ where the hell did it go?¡± he furrowed his brow in confusion as he resummoned the skeleton again.

    There it was again ¨C all the armour Jay made for it, including its new helmet too.

    ¡°Give me your helmet.¡± Jaymanded, holding out his hand.

    Of course, Sweeper dropped it on the floor.

    Jay shook his head and de-summoned Sweeper once more, ignoring the helmet on the ground.

    Even though Sweeper was summoned, the helmet was still there; Jay re-summoned Sweeper again.

    This time, it came back with all its other armour except the helmet.

    ¡°So¡­ is the armour being stored somewhere or turning back to bones¡­?¡±<sub>.</sub>

    It was Jay¡¯sst test ¨C but he was low on mana; too low to summon Sweeper again.

    Of course, Jay didn¡¯t want to wait to find out tonight or tomorrow, and with a sigh, he put all his other ns on hold and sat cross-legged on his bed, beginning to meditate.

    It was a skill he had not used for a while, not since he was in the Stink-rat Marsh dungeon, but as he started, it was like muscle memory.

    Once again, he felt energised as the ambient mana flowed into his body.

    MP: 7/68

    MP:12/68

    MP: 17/68

    Jay took a break, checking his mana gains.

    ¡°Wow, five every ten minutes, looks like I¡¯m much faster now too¡± he smiled. Last time it was only three every ten minutes.

    Since Jay was now level 10, had practised with Vdore, and had gained a better feel for ambient mana it was flowing into his body more freely; he could easily pull it in and make it his own.

    Jay kept going until he had 30 mana, which would be enough to raise his level three skeleton twice.<sub></sub>

    He only nned to raise it once more though, as the second time would be for an emergency. It didn¡¯t hurt to be cautious.

    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s see¡­¡± Jay unsummoned Sweeper, and it clinked onto the floor once more.

    Next, he pulled out some of the bones from its corpse ¨C he guessed the approximate amount of what he used to craft the armour and pulled them out.

    ¡°Ok, here it goes.¡± Jay held his hand out as his necrotic, sickly-green, glowing mana made the bones float and clink around once more.

    Before his eyes, Sweeper formed once more with its glowing green eyes staring back at him.

    Jay immediately looked over its arms and legs ¨C no armour.

    ¡°Huh¡­¡± Jay pursed his lips for a moment.

    Jay suddenly thought of another test ¨C could Sweeper remake the armour using its [Bone Eater] skill?

    ¡°Well¡­ sorry to keep you waiting Anya, but this is more important to me¡± he thought with a shrug. Jay really didn¡¯t need her, she was just a helpful benefit to clearing dungeons in his eyes.

    Pulling out some bones from his gauntlet, he waved them at Sweeper.

    ¡°Here you go, you hungry boy?¡± Jay treated Sweeper like a dog.<sub></sub>

    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°Huh, I guess not.¡± Jay clicked his fingers and unsummoned it once more.

    ¡°Okay, final test ¨C will the armoure back?¡±

    Since he removed the bones, the armour didn¡¯t return ¨C would adding more somehow bring the armour back?

    Jay took out somepletely different bones from his gauntlet, adding them to the skeleton pile ¨C in fact, he went the extra mile and added enough bones to make a pile up to his hip.

    Trenly looked up as he heard all the strange noisesing from upstairs; it sounded like Jay was throwing handfuls of rocks around the room like a psychopath.

    After making a concerned look for a moment, he shrugged and got back to work. It wasn¡¯t his business after all.

    ¡°Arise¡± Jay said as he summoned Sweeper once more.

    A grin appeared on Jay¡¯s face as it sprung up back to life.

    ¡°No fucking way¡­¡± he shook his head with a bright smile.

    The armour had reappeared.

    Jay gave Sweeper its helmet back now too, he was finally smiling with pride at Sweeper.

    After all the unsummoning and re-summoning, he ended up with only one reasonable conclusion.

    ¡°While the armour is on them, it effectively bes a part of them¡­? That must be why it can be resummoned with the armour if there¡¯s enough bone mass ¨C and also why it gives them health?¡± he nodded.

    Slowly Jay began to realise what this means.

    ¡°I only need to make armour for them once and they¡¯ll have it forever?¡± he smiled.

    ¡°If they fall in battle, I can just resummon them and they¡¯lle back with full armour¡­¡± he began chuckling¡­

    ¡°Hm, but what if the armour breaks?¡± he looked up in thought,

    ¡°Well, I will just have to test it. Hopefully ites back when I resummon them, simr to how their bodiese back fully repaired every time¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that the bone eater skill doesn¡¯t work to recover the armour though. Well¡­ technically it didn¡¯t have any armour to fix, since I took it off it.¡±

    ¡°I wonder ¨C if the armour is broken, will [bone eater] allow repairs? It won¡¯t allow armour creation obviously¡­ but repairs?¡± Jay gazed at his skeleton ¨C it was still watching him as it waited for orders.

    Jay stared back at it for a minute before sighing.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to test it¡­¡± he mischievously smiled, tempted to attack his skeleton before deciding against it ¨C it would be a waste of time.

    Jay held out his gauntlet, unsummoned Sweeper and collected the small mountain of bones before sitting on his bed again.

    He meditated on the bed once more, bringing his mana up to his preferred minimum of 14.

    Nearly two hours had passed since Anya left, so Jay decided to simply head to the guild.

    He decided to pick Anya up and then check on his helminth.

    Jay could¡¯ve easily just checked on the helminth before going to meet her, but he figured Anya would rathere than sit around the guild.

    ***So, we made it to #3. Do you know what that means?

    Well, let me be the first to say congrattions ¨C you get a mass release of 5 chapters¡­ during my exam weeks. Lol.

    It turns out, the book above mine left the 90-180 days scale, what great timing.

    I¡¯m thinking of *trying* to release them next week on Monday (life is busy at the moment); Monday¡¯s suck so let¡¯s make them a little better ??

    I¡¯ll make a new challenge for you all once the mass release is done; I don¡¯t want to get burnt out by doing another challenge this instant.***

 Chapter 138 Moving In

    [275 exp]

    Jay opened another notification as he casually strolled to the adventurer association.

    It was a pleasant, sunny morning outside so Jay was simply taking in the view as he began walking up the hill.

    The coldness of winter had mostly gone, and it seemed like the forest wasing back to life again as it woke up from its winter slumber.

    ¡°Not many days left to hunt those de deer¡± he thought as he gazed at the evergreens.

    ¡°Well¡­ unless you¡¯re me anyway.¡± he grinned.

    The de deer¡¯s, which had infra-red vision, would not be able to see his skeletonsing since they didn¡¯t give off any body heat ¨C in fact, most of the forest creatures never saw Jay¡¯s skeletonsing, only realising they were there after a skeletal knife-hand was already imnted into their throats with precision; this rogue medical operation was a sess nearly every time.

    Most of the time, they couldn¡¯t even warn other animals as the only sounds they made were covered up by a gargling red froth.

    Jay¡¯s face turned sour as he soon came to a stop at the edge of the road, noticing the ce where he slid down the side of the hill on that fateful day ¨C and then remembering everything that went along with it.

    ¡°Bastard¡­ little smirking prick¡± he thought as he remembered when Matheson passed by in the carriage; Jay was still wanting revenge.

    The anger had died down a little in Jay¡¯s heart by now, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered to go out and actually seek revenge ¨C but he would probably still take it if given the opportunity; unfortunately, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted it.

    The thought of revenge was like a fire being kindled, it would only want more and more fuel as it zed wildly ¨C eventually consuming its maker.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay had a bitter expression as he continued walking, and for quite some time too; it was like the pleasant, sunny day around him no longer existed.

    Thankfully it passed, and soon enough he snapped out of it.

    ¡°At least I have started to enjoy dungeons¡­ they couldn¡¯t take that from me.¡± he nodded with a small half-smile.

    ¡°And I¡¯m basically the strongest novice adventurer in Lo, maybe I should be thanking the smug prick¡± he chuckled.

    Jay entered the floating mana-stone gate with a gentle smile, satisfied with how far he hade as he looked for Anya.

    Of course, other adventurers immediately started chatting as soon as they saw the local celebrity.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s him. Looks like he slept in?¡± one adventurer said off to the side.

    ¡°Nah, he probably just got back from a dungeon. Most people his level start ying before the sun evenes up¡­¡±

    ¡°Yikes¡­ I barely even get up before lunch time, heh¡± he shrugged.

    Jay ignored their chatter as he went past, heading towards the association ¨C though he didn¡¯t walk too far before he noticed Anya, shooting targets at the archery range.

    Jay had a sly smile as he tried to sneak up on her. Other adventurers¡¯ eyes bulged as they saw this ¨C who tries to sneak up on the guild master¡¯s daughter?<sub></sub>

    Many gave disapproving looks as they watched him, shaking their fingers and their heads ¨C but none said anything.

    Jay was getting closer and closer, taking a deep breath as he prepared to screech at her ¨C simr to how the dihexapede squealed.

    ¡°Closer¡­ closer¡­¡± Jay thought, his mischievous smile getting bigger and bigger.

    Until finally he was ready to pounce¡­

    ¡°Hi, Jay.¡± Anya said casually.

    She didn¡¯t even turn around as she released another bolt, hitting a moving target like it was nothing.

    Jay immediately stopped crouching, and scratched his head with a slight daze of wonder.

    ¡°Hi. Ready to go?¡±

    Anya turned to Jay with a knowing smile, and was now reloading her crossbow.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you gonna talk to Vdore?¡± she put a bolt in before picking up her crossbow.

    ¡°Oh yeah¡­ Uh, just give me a sec. He didn¡¯t say it was training so it will probably be quick.¡± he shrugged.<sub></sub>

    Jay quickly headed into the association and greeted Margaret with a smile.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± he smiled.

    ¡°Morning dear, how can I help?¡± she returned his smile.

    ¡°Vdore wanted to see me.¡±

    ¡°Sure, take a seat honey.¡± She went into the room behind her with a wave.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long till she came back out again.

    ¡°He won¡¯t be lon-¡± she looked down the hallway as she heard some steps, ¡°Oh, here he is now.¡±

    ¡°That was quick¡± she nced at Vdore as he arrived.

    ¡°Oh. Yes.¡± Vdore shrugged, ¡°Good morning Jay,e with me.¡±

    ¡°Sure, and good morning.¡± Jay hopped up.

    Vdore quickly led Jay to his office, opening the door for him with a smile as he quickly ushered him in. It seemed that he was in a hurry.

    ¡°Please, take a seat,¡± he pointed to an empty seat in front of his desk.

    Jay nodded and sat down.

    ¡°Vdore seems to really be in a rush today¡­¡± he thought, trying to hide his concern with a good-enough poker face.

    Vdore darted around Jay and sat behind his desk, opening his drawer and staring at something for a moment before closing it again.

    ¡°So, Jay¡­ I have some good news ¨C great news even. An opportunity¡± he grinned with the toothy smile of an old wizard.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Jay tilted his head.

    ¡°I have decided to take you under my wing as my star pupil. Isn¡¯t that great? I¡¯ve arranged a room for you here at the guild, and I¡¯ll be able to give you lessons whenever you would like them.¡± he smiled, as he put his elbows on his desk and inteced his fingers.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Jay was still wearing his poker face, not showing any emotion at all.

    Vdore lightly exhaled, wondering why Jay wasn¡¯t praising his name right now. Jay really didn¡¯t react how Vdore thought he would.

    ¡°Well, I guess staying here won¡¯t be so bad. Is the room free?¡± Jay questioned.

    Vdore had to stop his eyes from bulging at Jay, why wasn¡¯t Jay jumping at the opportunity? Many would perhaps even kill for this.

    ¡°It¡¯s 30 gold per night.¡± Vdore said as his fingers seemed to tighten on his hands.

    ¡°Ah, well,¡± Jay leaned back in the chair, ¡°It¡¯s too bad¡­¡± he pursed his lips. Jay really was going to reject the offer ¨C why would he stay there when he could sleep at home for free?

    Vdore quickly added as a cold sweat came across him, ¡°B- but for you it¡¯s free, obviously!¡± heughed ¨C perhaps a little too loudly.

    ¡°Hmm, well ok then¡­ but don¡¯t force me to have lessons, I have lots of things to do.¡± Jay shrugged.

    ¡°What the fuck¡­ what the absolute fuck¡­¡± Vdore thought, but continued to smile. Jay was the first adventurer to treat Vdore like a disposable object; he didn¡¯t know how to feel.

    After a slight pause, Vdore was ready to speak again.

    ¡°Sure,¡± he said with a shit-eating grin, ¡°just speak to Margaret and she¡¯ll bring you to your room.¡±

    ¡°Awesome. Thanks.¡± Jay got up with a smile, ¡°Getting to dungeons near here will be way quicker now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to¡­. Never mind.¡± Vdore shook his head, ¡°Wee.¡± he nodded while pursing his lips, and politely gestured for Jay to leave.

    Vdore was oddly clenching his jaw, but Jay didn¡¯t put too much thought into it as he left.

    ¡°What the fuck¡­ I wonder if he was hit on the head as a child? Dammit¡­ now I have to pay for two rooms.¡± Vdore wore a defeated smile across his face as he opened his drawer once more, staring at his growing ck cube.

 Chapter 139 Existing to fight

    Jay left the room, feeling strange. For some reason he felt like he was being taken advantage of, even though logically, on paper, he had won out.

    ¡°Weird old man¡­ that seemed a little forced¡­¡± he thought as he began walking back to Margaret.

    ¡°I should definitely check my room for hidden magic moving-image recorders¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying Vdore is that kinda man¡­ but just in case.¡±

    Jay could only guess at what Vdore¡¯s strange over-enthusiasm was about.

    From Jay¡¯s perspective, Vdore didn¡¯t even seem to care that he may not attend lessons, but was oddly passionate about him staying there.

    It didn¡¯t really make sense.

    Margaret came out of the back room with a key for Jay.

    ¡°Here you go dear. You¡¯re actually going to be in the room next to Naria.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Well¡­ don¡¯t tell her. We¡¯ll let it be a surprise.¡± Jay smiled, though his thoughts were different.

    ¡°Damn¡­ I don¡¯t want some little girl distracting me¡­ at least she doesn¡¯t talk.¡± he thought, as he turned to the exit.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll see youter Margaret. If there¡¯s any trouble I¡¯ll let you know.¡±

    ¡°Bye now.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    Heading out of the association, Anya was now standing near some other ranged-base adventurers, giving tips and feedback to them as they attacked, while judging their weapons too.

    As Jay stepped out of the building, Anyaa looked up, waving bye to the others and joining Jay¡¯s side.

    ¡°Hey.¡± Jay nodded as he kept walking towards the floating mana-stone gate.

    ¡°Hi. So, you ¡®defeated¡¯ the third pyramid huh?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Jay shrugged.

    ¡°Ok, we¡¯ll see.¡± she nodded as if she knew something.

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that, I just think you might be mistaken¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± she shrugged, not giving away any more.

    ¡°Ok then, keep your secrets¡± he shrugged.

    ¡°She¡¯s acting weird¡± Jay thought, but decided not to say anything.<sub></sub>

    As they passed through the mana stone gate, Jay continued walking down the normal path towards Lo.

    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t we going to the mist keep?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I just have to stop off at another dungeon first.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve been doing other dungeons? Which ones? Leaf cliff? Howling Stand? Verene¡¯s Sisters?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ I only do instanced dungeons¡­ you know why. It¡¯s the wolf quarry dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Oooh, that¡¯s a bit risky alone ¨C but I suppose someone like you would be fine.¡± she shrugged and nced at Jay, hinting that he would never be alone because of all his skeletons.

    Jay looked back with a serious gaze, not smiling, not showing any emotion at all.

    ¡°We¡¯re alone on the path but she should probably keep her mouth shut.¡± he thought as he tried to stop the conversation continuing by being silent.

    Thankfully, it seemed like she got the message as she quieted down.

    Jay and Anya shortly arrived at the wolf quarry dungeon.

    ¡°Wait here a moment.¡± Jay said before diving into the ck hole, the dungeon entrance.

    As he floated to the ground in the dark pit, he nearly stumbled as hended on a pile of bones.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Looks like it has had no problems killing the wolves¡± he stepped off the pile of bones.

    ¡°Huh¡­ it seems the helminth can extract bones too¡­¡± he looked around, noting theck of flesh and viscera ¨C this was until the helminth raised its skull from out of the ground, bits of the silt-wolf flesh lodged in its skull.

    ¡°Well hello there¡± Jay smiled, but not patting it.

    *snap snap*

    The helminth snapped its jaw twice, it seemed to be like its greeting.

    ¡°Did you do this?¡± Jay pointed at the bones.

    *snap snap*

    ¡°Good job, aren¡¯t you a good little parasite?¡± he smiled, praising the undead creature.

    *snap snap*

    It then happily dived back underground.

    Using his necrotic sense, Jay felt it slithering away under the ground, heading back to collect more bones.

    Looking around, Jay guessed there were about 20 corpses of the wolves.

    It was hard to tell how many wolves were in, as there were no skulls. They were simply too big for the little parasitic helminth to store inside itself, but the individual bones were fair game.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I do.¡± Jay slyly smiled, scooping all the bones into his ring with a single wave of his gauntlet.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Eevulen City~

    A small crowd began to gather at the central square of the city. Looks of fear, excitement and hope were across the faces of the people that had gathered.

    None of them knew why such arge force of mage hunters was here, and it meant that both danger wasing while safety had arrived.

    ¡°What the hell are the mage hunters doing here?¡± a hide merchant whispered to Bertram.

    ¡°Hmmh..¡± Bertram gave nothing but a grunt, deciding not to say anything. He knew better than to trust an authority which promised safety in exchange for power ¨C though he still had to keep up appearances.

    With a bitter taste in his mouth, he took out tiny ck signs and put them in front of the various stalls he owned.

    [50% off to our valiant heroes]

    ¡°Hopefully they don¡¯t see my signs¡± he thought as he strategically ced them around, nearly out of view ¨C just not enough to raise suspicion.

    To Bertrams delight, it seemed that the mage hunters were just passing through as none of them went to any inns or set up any shelters. They were simply resting here for a moment before moving on.

    A submander of the mage hunters was looking over a detailed map of the region.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting closer to the wilds. Only a few more noteworthy viges left.¡± he looked over the map while another submander watched.

    ¡°Send a toon to Tolgard, then send one squad to Lo.¡±

    The othermander nodded, epting his orders with a salute before marching off to find one of his toon leaders ¨C lieutenant Marsh.

    After spending a few hours resting, the mage hunters were already on the march again.

    Therge group of armour-d troops broke off into smaller ones as they each left in different directions from the city, while only a few squads remained behind to protect Eevulen.

    Lieutenant Marsh is known as ¡®the inquisitor¡¯ among division four. He is not just apetitive man, but has an over-scrupulous attention to detail; one that would put an archaeologist to shame ¨C this quality would only be matched by his hunger for battle; he deserved his toon-leadermand position over the four squads under him ¨C but it wasn¡¯t enough for him, he desired to fight.

    Each of his heavy steps was ced with purpose.

    He may be marching quietly behind his troops, but on the inside he is like a hungry wolf.

    After idly training in the castle and its nearby dungeons for so long, he was finally being deployed again. His blood was quietly roiling under his skin as he looked forward to his next battle.

    The dungeon monsters were not exciting enough for him, they didn¡¯t satiate his desire for intense battle; most of them simply weren¡¯tplex or cunning enough. After discovering a way to defeat them, the excitement of battle would be over, and sadly, the monsters would never adapt.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t there be a peasant uprising¡± he sometimes sadistically thought.

    Thanks to all the mana conduits, people rarely got powerful or dangerous sses anymore.

    In recent decades, the ¡®safety bearers¡¯ were turning into a smaller force. It was getting rarer and rarer to see them in public anymore. They may have been like a shell of their former selves, but at the same time had be a more elite force.

 Chapter 140 The call

    DROOOOOooo!~~

    A loud war horn resounded from the adventurer association, echoing through all of Lo from the hill.

    Jay and Anya were already close to the mist keep dungeon entrance when they heard it, but it caused them to stop in their steps, cancelling their ns.

    ¡°What¡¯s the horn about?¡± Jay casually asked, assuming it was some kind of drill.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we should go to the guild.¡± Anya said with a worried look.

    ¡°Hmm, alright¡­ I just need one second, wait here!¡±

    ¡°B-¡± All she could do was frown as Jay ran off.

    Jay sprinted to the entrance of the mist keep dungeon and entered before Anya could even protest.

    Getting into the dungeon, Jay immediately summoned Sweeper and took out all the armour he had for his skeletons ¨C the helmets, greaves and vambraces along with a hammer for Sweeper.

    Like usual, he tossed them all on the ground.

    ¡°Make sure the others get their armour, then follow Blue¡¯smand.¡± Jay barked out an order as fast as he could.

    He then quickly looked around, finding a pile of soul stones and helvetian rings.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Nicely done.¡± he smiled, adding them to his inventory.

    [Soul stone] (Empty) x 24

    [Helvetian Ring] x6

    ¡°Huh, a little low on rings¡­ or maybe we¡¯re high on soul stones?¡± Jay thought as he gazed towards the fourth pyramid, seeing traces of the dihexapedes having free reign over the stone soldiers.

    Jay didn¡¯t really mind that there were now dihexapedes everywhere though. As a necromancer, he basically still has the same battle strategy. He simply had to let his skeletons kill them so he could rx at home, letting everything fall into hisp.

    ¡°It will be an easy life for me,¡± he smiled.

    Seeing that everything was in order, he quickly left the dungeon, finding a frustrated-looking Anya waiting outside.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± she said as she beckoned Jay to start running up the hill with her.

    ¡°Sorry, it didn¡¯t take long at least?¡± He followed her.

    Anya said nothing as she continued to run up the hill.

    Further up were groups of other adventurers running to the guild, it was like every adventurer was being summoned ¨C this was when Jay saw a familiar person, slowly scrambling up the hill, much slowerpared to the rest.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Stephen¡­¡± Jay thought, quinting at him.

    Jay realised he could totally do somethingpletely malicious right now ¨C but for some reason, seeing the sorry state that Stephen was in, he pitied him.

    *DROOOOOooooo~*

    With a sigh, Jay went up behind him, grabbed his arm and put it around his neck. He didn¡¯t say anything and Stephen didn¡¯t even look at who was helping him, both went as quickly as they could while the horn sounded.

    Jay had already helped him scramble up a few rocks before Stephen even looked at him.

    Seeing that it was Jay helping him, he almost misstepped and face-nted as this was thest person he expected to help, but he didn¡¯t say a word. Neither of them said anything.

    As they got to the top of the hill they stood up straight again and Jay took Stephen¡¯s arm off his neck, ignoring him as he walked to the mana stone gate.

    Stephen was more confused than Jay about why he did this ¨C wasn¡¯t this the guy he attacked? Shouldn¡¯t he be kicking dirt in his face? Spitting on him as he ran by?

    There was no one else around, so it was clear that Jay didn¡¯t do this for his personal image either.

    Next was paranoia, maybe it was some kind of mind game meant to mess with his head. Why the fuck did he just help him?

    Stephen wasn¡¯t willing to let his guard down, and internally he was holding back a sense of respect from building towards Jay.<sub></sub>

    It was at this point he realised he would actually rather have been spat on. It would make more sense; the good deed didn¡¯t make him grateful but grit his teeth in confusion.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay that asshole back with my own kind gesture.¡± he squinted at Jay, thinking this was some sort of game.

    Jay walked away, deciding not to say anything. Perhaps it was his subconscious telling him to help, but he didn¡¯t think much of it. It was a small thing to him, but a huge thing to Stephen.

    As they got to the floating mana-stone gate, a small crowd had formed, a bottleneck of people as adventurers slowly went through.

    The crowd didn¡¯t just consist of the adventurers who turned 18 this year, but even a few stragglers left over fromst year were here too.

    They were higher level, around level 17 ¨C but this was not a very high level considering they had a year head startpared to the current adventurers.

    ying monsters in dungeons was just a hobby for them, a casual thing to do. If they were higher level they would have left Lo already in search of higher level areas.

    ¡°Filthy casuals.¡± Jay whispered to Anya as he passed by some of them.

    She nodded, agreeing with Jay¡¯s verdict.

    As they entered the courtyard, only about one hundred adventurers were there ¨C howeverpared to the first training day they all looked much more menacing.

    People with swords, maces,nces, axes, shields and armour were on the left, while spears, javelins, bows, daggers, crossbows and even some rapiers were on the right.

    One guy even had a scythe. It seemed awkward to carry, but he had a confident, rxed look on his face. He was waiting for something exciting to happen, as if this wasn¡¯t exciting enough.

    A few of the guards were standing in front of the association with their arms folded, stopping people from entering the building ¨C at least until Anya walked up.

    ¡°Come on, Jay.¡± she said, gesturing to him.

    ¡°Staff and residents only.¡± a guard said as he saw Anya trying to bring Jay inside.

    A few adventurers snickered behind them as they went silent, waiting for the look of disappointment of Jay and Anya¡¯s face as they were turned around; they were like proud little goblins that wanted to see others be embarrassed and made to look stupid.

    In everyrge crowd there were always a few people like this ¨C mocking those who would speak up but never having an opinion of their own.

    Thankfully, their smirks were quickly removed from their faces as Anya spoke up.

    ¡°He¡¯s a resident. He just moved in today actually.¡± Anya said as if it were a matter of fact, as she opened the door and called to Margaret who was at reception before the guard could even say anything.

    ¡°Jay¡¯s a resident, right!?¡± she called out while pointing at the guard.

    Margaret looked back and gave a thumbs up with a smile to the guard.

    The guard nodded in recognition; who was he to defy Margaret¡¯s orders? There were times when she even ordered Sullivan around. It wasn¡¯t like she had much authority, but more that no one wanted to get on the bad side of such a sweet person.

    The guard turned to Jay and nodded his head to the side, as if to say ¡®off you go¡¯.

    Jay obliged with a smile and happily went inside; it felt good to receive a sort of VIP treatment while the crowd of adventurers in the courtyard looked on with jealous nces.

    *DROOOOOOOOooooooo!~~*

    The horn continued to sound as they went inside.

    It was rtively quieter inside, but now they could still hear sounds of feet rushing about upstairs. It was like the old building had woken up.

    ¡°Hello dear¡± Margaret said, as calm as ever.

    ¡°Hi, so what¡¯s happening?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll see soon dear¡­ it hasn¡¯t happened in a long time¡­ but we¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me?¡± Anya was slightly shocked, Margaret had been like a mother to her.

    Margaret only smiled gently, ¡°You¡¯ll see soon enough.¡±

    Jay stood by idly, listening to the conversation. It seemed they would have to find out what was happening along with the other adventurers.

 Chapter 141 Wood Elementals 1

    After failing to get any additional information out of Margaret, Jay and Anya went outside, standing in the midst of the crowd with other adventurers.

    Stepping into the crowd, Jay felt a strange coldness on his neck ¨C turning around, he saw Sullivan ring at him through the window.

    Was this a warning to protect Anya? Perhaps not to use necromancy? Jay couldn¡¯t be sure.

    Jay awkwardly gave a thumbs up, but Sullivan turned and went away from the window without giving any clues.

    Jay and Anya both stood out from other adventurers ¨C Jay being level nine with Anya being the guild master¡¯s daughter; thankfully they did not stand out as much as previously ¨C other adventurers were level eight now, and it seemed that Jay¡¯s progress had stagnated, and less people looked at him like an idol now.

    Little did they know that Jay was actually level ten, and was only 3,000 exp away from hitting level 11.

    Still, it was enough for no one to approach them out of reverence.

    The crowd finally hushed down as a muscr, athletic man with familiar blue bux-beetle pauldrons exited the association ¨C It was Michael, the guard captain.

    ¡°Hn-ahm.¡± he cleared his throat before he began a small speech.

    ¡°Adventurers, a threat approaches from the west. We will need your help¡­an enve of wood elementals approaches.¡±<sub>.</sub>

    The crowd slowly broke out with chatter for a moment.

    ¡°What the hell is a wood elemental?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t the higher ups deal with it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, can¡¯t they just cast one spell and wipe them all out?¡±

    Michael hushed the crowd and continued.

    ¡°We need you to defend the farnd to the north-west. The rest of the guards will deal with the brunt of the attacks from the south-west, where the forest meets the vige,¡± Michael continued before letting any of them talk.

    ¡°We expect them to be from anywhere between level one to sixty, but mostly in the south-west. You should only encounter ones from level one to twenty.¡±

    The crowd began to talk again,

    ¡°Level twenty, what the fuck? We¡¯re going to be ughtered!¡± many looked around with fear.<sub></sub>

    Michael spoke up before things got out of hand,

    ¡°Rest assured, we will send some level twenty-five and higher guards with you. They will focus on the higher level elementals while you will need to stop the smaller ones. There are many of them, which is why we need your help.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see a single one of them getting into the vige.¡± he gazed at them as if it were a threat.

    ¡°Move out!¡± he yelled.

    Slowly, the adventurers began to March as they followed some guards to the western fields.

    The adventurers were all quiet as they marched, a mix of fear and adrenaline coursing through them.

    While there were nearly 150 of them, many were still low level. Most of them were level 6 or 7; they wouldn¡¯t pose much of a threat to some level 20 wood elementals.

    This wasn¡¯t the full force of the Lo adventurers either ¨C some were stillpletely oblivious as they were ying monsters in dungeons.

    The crowd was much quieter than usual too ¨C gone were the ones who showed off their weapons and skills to other adventurers, gone were the braggers and the boastful. No one wanted to be put somewhere that was beyond their capability.<sub></sub>

    Unlike most of the young adventurers, Jay and Anya didn¡¯t show any fear, both having serious, focused expressions instead.

    ¡°What is this? What¡¯s going on?¡± a bow-wielding adventurer noticed Anya and asked quietly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Apparently it¡¯s happened before, but it must be rare since I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡±

    ¡°O-oh, okay. Thanks.¡± The bow-wielder nced at Jay for a moment before mixing back into the rest of the crowd.

    As Jay and Anya walked silently, Jay realised that this wouldn¡¯t be so simple for him.

    Based on the looks he was getting from other adventurers, he was expected to be one of the best at killing the mobs ¨C they would finally see the skills which got him to level nine so quickly. Every move of his would be keenly scrutinised; not good for someone with a monster ss.

    Obviously he was not going to perform well without his minions around him, and he couldn¡¯t just summon them in the event of an emergency.

    A tension started building in his chest as they walked closer and closer to the west side of Lo.

    Suddenly he had an idea. With a rxed smile on his face, he casually turned to Anya.

    ¡°Want to party up? I¡¯ll tank and you can focus on dealing damage?¡± He made it sound as natural as saying ¡®good morning¡¯ to someone; at the same time, he said it so that anyone nearby could hear.

    ¡°Sure¡± Anya smiled.

    As she said that, a glimmer of excitement seemed to disappear from the adventurers¡¯ eyes around him.

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to see his skills and abilities? Dammit¡­¡± one frowned to themselves.

    ¡°Ah, I guess we¡¯ll just be clearing some mobs today.¡± another thought as they pursed their lips.

    As they were walking, a guard came up to Jay ¨C it was Paul, though he didn¡¯t say anything as he gestured to Jay and Anya to walk along the side of the group.

    ¡°Hey mate, good to see the butchery is up and running again¡± he smiled.

    ¡°Heh, yeah, I got a new guy working there. Are the sausages alright?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re still good,¡± he nodded before whispering quietly, ¡°anyway, I¡¯ve been given instructions to protect you and Anya.¡± he said while raising a brow. It was like he was almost asking a question.

    ¡°Huh, perhaps that¡¯s why Sullivan was looking oddly at me.¡± Jay wondered.

    Jay simply shrugged, not giving anything away.

    Paul was confused because it was clear that Jay and Anya were the strongest adventurers here ¨C not including the ones fromst year who hadzily loitered around Lo.

    ¡°Hm, Sullivan probably has his reasons ¨C but I¡¯m trying to keep my sword skills secret from other adventurers so maybe that¡¯s why.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Paul nodded knowingly with a sly smile ¡°I understand mate, no worries.¡± he winked.

    Paul just assumed that Jay had some unique swordsman ss and didn¡¯t want to be harassed by party recruiters or forced to enlist in the military.

    The group of adventurers finally arrived west of Lo; it was mostly farnd here, with mist-sheep grazing quietly.

    Thankfully, nting season hadn¡¯t started and the crop fields were barren, no significant loss to the farmers would happen today.

    They walked along a path by the fields. Every now and then, some adventurers would split off from the group and go into a field under the instruction of both soldiers and farmers.

    They entered each field in groups of ten along with a guard in case there were some higher level wood elementals they couldn¡¯t handle.

    Finally it was Jay and Anya¡¯s turn; they went into a grassy field along with eight other adventurers, a guard, and Paul.

    Fortunately not many seemed to notice that Jay and Any had two guards following them, being too focused on theing battle.

 Chapter 142 Wood elementals 2

    Entering the field, they could find no real terrain advantage ¨C thend was all t.

    Jay questioned the strategy of the association and the formation of the adventurers. It all seemed quite makeshift and not very well thought-out.

    Technically it was, but surely they coulde up with something better than this ¨C plotting 10 fresh adventurers in each field with one guard. Zero other instructions given ¨C they weren¡¯t even sorted into teams.

    Of course, it couldn¡¯t be helped. There simply aren¡¯t enough people, Lo was too small and the guards were mostly there to run the association, along with a secondary security role.

    The two guards didn¡¯t seem to worry too much as they stood idly behind them.

    ¡°Dammit. Well, since they won¡¯t organise us, it seems I will have to.¡±

    Perhaps it was Jay¡¯s necromancer ss, or basicmon sense that made his negative critique of everything growrger ¨C but a negative critique would not fix anything; he had to step up andmand them himself. What good was pointing out a problem without an intention to fix it?

    Standing amidst the clueless-looking adventurers, he clenched his fist to get any stage-fright away and spoke.

    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s ten of us so this shouldn¡¯t be too hard. I want melee sses on my left and ranged sses on my right.¡±

    They all stood there silently and simply looked at him for a moment, some wondering if they should follow his orders or not.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay felt the awkwardness rising as they stared at him as if they were zombies, so with a sigh he pointed at one.

    ¡°You, what¡¯s your ss?¡± Jay spoke with a slight sense of urgency.

    ¡°..uh, I¡¯m a shield-sword.¡± he held up his ultra-wide sword.

    ¡°Ok, you¡¯re melee, stand here.¡± Jay pointed to his left.

    ¡°You?¡± he pointed at another.

    ¡°Ranged.¡±

    With an eye roll, Jay pointed to his right side.

    Jay then only had to stare at another one and they moved to Jay¡¯s left. Soon enough, the whole group was diving into two.

    ¡°Okay, six melee, three ranged. Another melee including myself. Gather around.¡±<sub></sub>

    Next, Jay crouched down and began to write something in the dirt with his gauntlet. It was a simple symbol, causing some to exchange confused nces.

    The symbol looked like a V with two dots on either side.

    .V.

    Next, he drew an arrow which pointed into the V from the top ¨C this would be where the enemies will be attacking from.

    Taking into ount the high level mobs that would being, along with this assortment of troops, Jay formed this basic formation in his head.

    It wasn¡¯t some hyper-intelligent battle strategy, but it would be better than nothing.

    ¡°Okay, the dots will be where the rangers will stand, while the V will be melee. Just focus on trying to keep the mobs off the rangers and that will be good enough.¡±

    ¡°When a powerful enemyes, we will funnel it into the middle of the V and then let it through for the guards to finish it off. I will be at the bottom of the V. Using a spell I will damage any high levels thate through so they aggro on me, running past all of you.¡±

    ¡°After the guards y it I will rejoin the formation. Simple right?¡±<sub></sub>

    Jay then looked at the guards, ¡°and hopefully they can finish off anything that gets past us.¡±

    They nodded in response, epting his n.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get into formation.¡±

    The adventurers quickly got into a V shape with Jay at the centre. On his left and right were the ranged units, including Anya.

    Each of them were spaced about four meters from one another ¨C enough to back each other up, but far enough to freely swing their weapons.

    Jay¡¯s assortment of human troops was quite varied. One had a two handed ive, another carried a mace and shield, one guy just had a big axe, and a girl carried a sabre with a buckler.

    Jay was d that at least one of them had a standard sword and shieldbo, simr to himself; being different was fine and everything, but it made for a shitty battle formation.

    Thankfully they were up against wood-based creatures, so the axe guy would have an advantage.

    Jay had to look out for the dagger wielding girl, guessing that she would not do so well when shing against wood.

    He had the dagger-girle to his left side so he could take some of the burden off her during the fight if need be.

    Anya rolled her eyes seeing Jay do this, but he simply ignored it.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with my battle tactics,¡± he thought, guessing that¡¯s what the eye roll was about. On the other side was the sabre girl; thankfully both of the girls by Jay¡¯s side didn¡¯t seem to notice Anya¡¯s disapproval.

    Next, Jay had the highest level melee sses at the two top points of the V-shape formation; they would be taking the brunt of the attack after all, so they should be the strongest.

    The two at the top weren¡¯t in too much danger though, as they also had the advantage of the rangers firing from either side, stopping them from being nked.

    Speaking of rangers, it consisted of Anya with her crossbow, a tallnky guy with a bow, and another girl with aposite bow.

    ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s better¡± Jay smiled, feeling like an itch had been scratched as his troop formation n came together nicely. There was an odd satisfaction about it.

    A part of him wanted them to line up perfectly, but he decided not to push them too hard; this wasn¡¯t their job, and they were human after all.

    ¡°They probably won¡¯t be as good as my skeletons, but maybe they¡¯ll have some decent abilities to make up for it.¡± Jay silently thought.

    ¡°Hm.¡± he frowned as he looked over at another field.

    Most adventurers were in groups of two or three; some were solo and not even talking to each other,pletely excluded. It seemed like there was no cooperation at all. It was in to see that their defence would not work very well.

    Tactically, it would be like they were getting ambushed ¨C despite knowing enemies wereing. There was no organisation at all.

    In fact, even a troop of new soldiers would have a better formation while being ambushed than these young adventurers did.

    ¡°Damn¡­¡± Jay pitied them. ¡°Why don¡¯t people ever step up and take some responsibility? Even if people don¡¯t listen to you, at least you tried; at least you had put in some effort.¡± he thought while looking at them.

    Some even seemed to have bitter expressions, it was like they were wondering why no one would step up and lead them ¨C however they themselves still did nothing about it. They would only hurt themselves in the long run.

    Jay wanted to go over and help ¨C if not to organise them, then to at least get them talking to one another; it would be better than nothing.

    They seemed to look like a group of hypno-goats, ignoring each other and wandering aimlessly as they pointlessly looked around at the dirt in the field.

    ¡°Hmm, I can only hope they don¡¯t die. Perhaps this will be a lesson to them.¡± he shrugged.

    Next, he checked the other field and a slight smile came on Jay¡¯s face.

    ¡°Nice.¡± he thought, checking out their formation, ¡°At least some others are stepping up.¡±

 Chapter 143 Wood elementals 3

    Jay was checking out the adventurers in the other nearby fields.

    In the other field was Stephen. While he had a limp, it seemed that he maintained some leadership ability within himself ¨C and now without being a dick about it either.

    The limp seemed to benefit him more than it hurt him; it made him wake up and realise he needed people ¨C despite having turrets to defend himself.

    His formation was a little different to Jay¡¯s.

    Three rock turrets slowly turned left and right, as if scanning for threats. They were evenly spaced in a line facing the forest.

    Stephen¡¯s team consisted of eight melee users with one ranger. He simply had the turrets inteced between a wall of melee troops, while the ranger stood behind them with himself.

    He casually nced back across to Jay¡¯s field, but had no expression on his face while doing so ¨C it was like he was studying Jay.

    ¡°Good to see he¡¯s changed¡± Jay quietly mumbled to himself, d to see that he was seemingly a better person now.

    Some people would respond poorly to a thorn in their side, sinking into despair ¨C others would be changed and be stronger.

    The figurative thorn in Stephen¡¯s side was of course what Jay did to his achilles tendon. Soon he would learn how to heal it, but for now he had a painful limp.

    Either way, Jay didn¡¯t care. Stephen would sink into despair or be a better person, either way it was a win-win to Jay. The old sneering know-it-all version of Stephen was slowly dying, reced with a more reserved person.

    As Jay and his new troops waited, they all began to talk quietly while still roughly standing in formation, remaining prepared for battle.

    ¡°Nice axe. You must have high strength.¡± one nodded approvingly.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Thanks, yeah. Nice mace¡­ got any passives?¡±

    ¡°It causes bleeding¡± He cheekily smiled back.

    The dagger girl turned to Jay, ¡°So, you¡¯re a one-handed swordsman huh?¡± she smiled.

    ¡°Oh, how did you guess?¡± Jay said yfully as he raised his sword-wielding hand and scratched his head with a single finger.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll trust you to have my back.¡± The girl chuckled, ncing at the gauntlet Jay had before turning to chat with the others.

    Jay didn¡¯t have his shield out for obvious reasons ¨C it would scare the shit out of everyone and probably raise far too much suspicion.

    After all, what kind of level 9 adventurer would have a semi-sentient bone shield that made people feel anxious when it stared at them with its hollow beady eyes?

    Jay only nned to take it out when absolutely necessary, and stash it away before people would even notice a greyish-white spot appearing in their peripheral vision.

    Thankfully Jay had also learnt the passive parry ability which had a 2.25% chance to activate ¨C however, this didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t actively try to parry too. For now this was a preferable alternative to using the shield.

    The dagger girl turned back to talk more, but Jay heard something.

    ¡°Hang on a second,¡± he held his hand up, silencing her as he stared into the forest.

    A few leaves shifted, blowing out of the forest on the edge of the farnd. It appeared normal but he was sure he heard something.<sub></sub>

    ¡°They¡¯reing.¡± Anya said, gazing down the sights of her crossbow while pointing it at the forest.

    The sounds were now getting louder, and soon enough they could all hear it.

    *crrrr~ ¡­. Squeak!~ Burrr~*

    It sounded like wood rubbing against wood,rge branches twisting against each other, groaning sounds of bending tree trunks in heavy winds.

    Next, it sounded like rain. Heavy rain ¨C despite the bright sunny day.

    Millions of tiny pattering sounds of leaves and twigs on the forest floor all soon creating a crescendo of white noise.

    That¡¯s when they saw the first enemy emerge from a woodline, then the second, then there were hundreds of them all swarming out.

    ¡°Get ready.¡± Paul smiled from behind the group, not sounding very serious at all as he stood casually with his hands in his pockets. It seemed to be entertaining for him.

    Jayid his eyes on the knee-high creatures, though they were just out of the analyse skill range.

    The wood-based elementals almost didn¡¯t seem real.

    They were spherical rolling balls of brown sticks; each of the sticks pointing outwards like tiny spears ¨C perhaps distant cousins of sea urchins.

    Floating around each of them were pieces of brown or yellow bark which looked like razor sharp leaves.<sub></sub>

    Periodically, the ball would stop rolling as pieces of the flying bark would clump together above the ball and form an eye-shape before turning back into flying bits of shrapnel again. The ball would then readjust its direction and continue on its journey.

    ¡°Such a strange creature¡­¡± one of the girls mumbled to themselves.

    Jay ignored theirment and gave onest instruction.

    ¡°Call out if you need any help, we¡¯re in this together.¡±

    With that, he got into a crouched position, raised his ossein arming sword and prepared.

    Unbeknownst to everyone else, Jay had some teeth clenched in his hand. Slowly and silently, he was covertly pumping necrotic mana into them.

    Doing it this way wouldn¡¯t let any of his glowing necrotic mana escape ¨C while the spell itself would simply look like an exploding rock spell of some sort when heunched it.

    Besides, if anyone asks about his spell, he could just shrug and say ¡®privileges of being vdore¡¯s student¡¯ with a haughty smile.

    The wood elementals rolled over; they weren¡¯t very fast. They didn¡¯t travel at a high running speed, but more at a brisk walking pace. It seemed manageable for now, so Jay took the time to analyse one of them.

    <[Wood Elemental ¨C Level 1]>

    [HP 10/10]

    [Damage]

    ¨C 3 (Spikes, Piercing)

    -1 (Spirit-Bark)

    <[Skills]>

    [Observe]

    ¨C The wood elemental takes a moment to observe its surroundings and plot its course through the forest.

    ¨C Allows vision

    ¨C Immobile

    [Helical Frenzy]

    ¨C Each of its three pieces of spirit-bark respond to danger, swiftly spinning around its weak wooden body.

    ¨C 1 damage per hit

    ¨C 4 second duration

    ¨C 900 degrees per second spin speed

    ¨C 10 second cooldown

    <[Description]>

    [A magical entity that has found it can interact with a specific material, granting itself a pseudo body. There are many bodies like this, but this one is mine.]

    The creature itself wasn¡¯t that threatening. Jay could easily end it with one swing of his sword ¨C the problem was how many there were.

    It was like a sea of these balls of sticks.

    All the way from the stream running along the north-west side of the farnd to as far as Jay could see south, little spike balls were appearing out of the forest like a brown tide threatening to wash over Lo.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Jay thought, seeing the magnitude of the number of these creatures. It was nothingpared to a real war, but this was thergest battle that these young adventurers had seen; it would be a long battle.

    *Crack!~ Doon~*

    Despite there being no clouds in the sky, the rolling sounds of thunder and snaps of lightning reverberated from somewhere south of them.

    Jay recalled that the adventurers had been sent to the north-west side where the battle would be low level and easy, while the south-west side was where the brunt of the attack would be.

    He could only imagine what the south-west side of Lo was like right now, where the battle was the most intense.

    DROoooooo!~~

    The deep horn at the association had continued to sound out this whole time, summoning more adventurers; hoping more would answer the call after leaving the dungeons.

 Chapter 144 Wood Elementals 4

    The entire treeline had these little balls rolling out, only to stop for a moment when they used their observe skill before moving forward once more ¨C towards the fleshy beings.

    The crossbow and archers on either side of Jay¡¯s V-formation were already firing as mobs came out of the woodline. They thinned down the numbers of enemies on the sides to take pressure off the axeman and the maceman.

    Anya found that if she crouched and fired low, the bolt would keep travelling and could take four enemies out before losing momentum and getting lost in a pile of sticks.

    Finally the wave of wood elementals reached the two adventurers standing at the top of the V formation.

    *Swoosh!~*

    With a giant cleave, the axe guy took out three of them at once; meanwhile the mace guy crushed one with his shield before swinging his mace, taking out two with a single swipe.

    Pointy sticks were flying everywhere.

    ¡°Make sure you save your skills forter,¡± Jay instructed.

    Anyone trying to show off while killing these level one mobs would simply be wasting their mana, they weren¡¯t worth it.

    For a moment, Jay regretted bringing the dagger girl back near him, she would probably be much more efficient at dealing with the smallfry.

    ¡°Oh well.¡± he shrugged, it was toote to change things up now anyway.

    The ive-guy was behind the mace and shield guy, while the sword and shield guy was behind the axeman. Both sides made effectivebos.

    It was good to have two people with shields on their sides along with two 2-handed weapon wielders.<sub>.</sub>

    All four of them were now putting in the work, slicing, snapping and cleaving sticks in half with ease.

    So far, Jay didn¡¯t even have to lift a finger, being at the back of the formation. They were all dying before they even reached him.

    Slowly though, a barrier of the dead sticks formed on the side of his allies, causing the wood elementals to roll into a channel towards him.

    Looking over at the field to the side, he peered at the 10 adventurers who weren¡¯t in any formation ¨C for a moment he thought that perhaps they even had it better; each one of them was getting a little piece of the action.

    As Jay shed at oing elementals, he thought this was much better than simply standing around being bored, so he quickly pushed that thought aside.

    So far, no one had even taken a hit ¨C it seemed that the wood elementals would only activate their frenzy ability after taking some damage, but they were simply getting obliterated in one hit. They had no chance.

    Each of them rolled forward, waiting to sense the enemy with their spiky bodies ¨C only to suddenly die and retreat back to the elemental-spirit realm.

    Meanwhile the broken sticks piled up, acting as a barrier of sorts and stopping them from taking any damage ¨C it would be hard for the balls to even roll over their fellow inpanions.

    ¡°I guess I should be d it¡¯s not that dangerous.¡± Jay pursed his lips, watching the battle. It was all feeling pretty casual so far.

    Anya was reloading her crossbow while she noticed Jay; he seemed to even looked a little sad, a little regretful. She could tell that he was bored and wanted to fight, a challenge. This was simply a waste of time.

    Focusing back on the battle, she noticed movement ¨Crge shifting shapes in the forest, getting bigger as they rushed forwards.

    ¡°Jay, look!¡± Anya said, pointing to the forest.<sub></sub>

    Something different to the stick balls slowly marched out of the forest now.

    It was about the size of a wolf. Its body looked like arge cockroach while its head was like a deer (without antlers); bothpletely made from thousands of tiny twigs, somehow all interwoven and working together to form these creatures.

    As it got closer, Jay noticed a strange tormented-looking wooden hook under its head, it seemed that it was there instead of a lower jaw bone.

    ¡°That can¡¯t be good,¡± he thought, squinting at it. The hook was spined, sharp and menacing.

    It was much faster than the stick-balls, travelling to them at the running speed of a human.

    In a matter of seconds it was close enough to analyse ¨C but before, he decided to give some orders for the protection of his team.

    He did analyse both the axeman (Dan) and the swordsman (Conroy) before barking out orders at them ¨C lest they get confused.

    ¡°Dan, switch out with Conroy!¡± Jay yelled before analysing the new enemy ¨C it was a little safer with the swordsman in front as he had his own shield; hopefully it would provide some safety from whatever the mouth-hook was.

    <[Nestling Gatherer (Wood Elemental) ¨C Level 5]>

    [HP 32/32]

    [Damage]

    ¨C 5 (Hook)<sub></sub>

    ¨C 10 (Pincers)

    <[Skills]>

    [Lofty Collector]

    ¨C The nestlingunches its hook high up into the treetops to gather that one perfect, pristine stick. It reels it back into its internal pincers for either consumption or storage.

    ¨C 5 piercing damage

    ¨C 10 crushing damage after reel-in

    ¨C The nest must grow

    <[Description]>

    [The worker of an elemental nest. Its heades in many varieties depending on the elemental type, but all of them have the same bug-like body.]

    ¡°Careful of its ranged hook attack from the bigger ones, don¡¯t let them pull you away!¡± Jay warned the others, having to yell over sounds of nging metal, rolling balls and snapping sticks. For a moment he was tempted to step out of formation and help them ¨C in case this new enemy was too much.

    Fortunately, they were doing just fine. They didn¡¯t need help at all. Jay simply underestimated them.

    *Twangg~*

    The mace guy deflected a hook, his shield vibrating while sending it flying ¨C coincidentally the hooknded right next to Jay ¨C a segmented-vine connected the hook back to the throat of the creature.

    With a menacing grin, Jay shed with all his might, chopping the strange segmented wooden cord between the hook and the creature¡¯s maws.

    Jay hoped to hear it squeal in pain, but it seemed these creatures didn¡¯t have the capability to feel. Instead, it seemed confused.

    ¡°Nice one.¡± the sabre girl added, seeing Jay¡¯s decisive attack.

    *Dwoosh~*

    Anya released a powerful bolt, ending the creature¡¯s silent suffering with a single hit.

    Jay ignored the exp notification, it would be a long battle so that would just be an annoying distraction.

    He was getting a slice of the exp from each monster killed since both he and Anya were in the same party ¨C though the other adventurers syphoned some if theynded an attack on the same creatures.

    The swordsman, Conroy, was about to be attacked by one of these hooks flying straight towards him, however his sword suddenly glowed a faint yellow as it filled with energy.

    Jay was a little disappointed seeing him use an ability so early, but he didn¡¯t mind ¨C he was curious about his ability.

    ¡°Full counter!¡± he groaned as an immense amount of power coursed through his sword, shing at the iing hook.

    *Crack!~*

    It was sent back at a frightening speed, travelling twice as fast as the hook initial attack of the nestling gatherer.

    ¡°Well damn¡­¡± Jay had to pause for a moment, seeing his powerful ability.

    He took zero damage and instead dealt even more back to the attacker ¨C despite being a swordsman it was like he used a ranged ability. Technically he didn¡¯t, but still.

    The hook whistled through the wind and imnted right into the creature¡¯s own head.

    Naturally, the creature began to reel in its ¡®prize¡¯, only to start ripping twigs and stick out of its own body. It was its own worst enemy.

    Everyone grimaced slightly while seeing this; it seemed these elementals truly didn¡¯t feel pain.

    It then began chewing on the sticks pulled from its own head; quite a grotesque sight ¨C it wasn¡¯t just cannibalism, it was self-muttion.

    The tallnky guy with the bow frowned before sending an arrow its way, finally ending its life.

    Unknown to the self-mutting wood elemental, it had engaged in psychological warfare. All of them were thrown off for a moment.

    The distraction of the Nestling gatherers has allowed the smaller stick-ball elementals to do some damage now ¨C though not much.

    It was only one damage, but if it was allowed to go on, it would add up after some time.

    ¡°AHHH!¡± an adventurer screamed in the field nearby.

    A hook was pierced in his shoulder, and he was slowly being dragged towards the sea of spiky stick balls. The more he tried to resist, the more the hook painfully dug into his flesh.

    ¡°Hm, probably should have made a formation huh.¡± Jay shrugged with a head shake before focusing on the battle in his own field once more.

 Chapter 145 Wood Elementals 5

    ¡°AHHH!¡± an adventurer screamed in the field nearby.

    The guard in their field immediately severed the segmented wooden cord; the guard moved so fast that it caused a shockwave of air that even pushed the stick-ball elementals back for a moment, sending them temporarily rolling away.

    ¡°The power of a level thirty¡­¡± the sabre girl next to Jay gasped.

    Neither Jay nor the sabre girl could tell if it was an ability or the results of really high dexterity ¨C they were leaning towards ability though, as most people wouldn¡¯t dump all their attribute points into dexterity, and neither had they seen any other high levels moving that fast.

    Of course, this simply was spection. It could even have been the guards equipment giving him a speed boost or extra ability.

    Jay nced back at Paul and the other guard to check their reaction ¨C they weren¡¯t even watching.

    Apparently they were already familiar with the speed of that other guard. They were chatting to each other as if it was any other day on guard duty.

    ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± Jay pursed his lips, shaking his head at Paul before focusing on the fight.

    *Fwoosh!~*

    The blue rails on Anya¡¯s crossbow glowed as another heavy bolt was released, piercing deeply into the body of a Nestling Gatherer, ending it in one hit; Jay nodded in approval.

    Anya had taken one out with every single bolt, significantly taking pressure off the mace-shield guy and the ive-guy on the right.

    The rangers on the left were theposite bow girl and the tallnky guy. They were doing well too, but were simply not as proficient as Anya ¨C they had even missed a few times.<sub>.</sub>

    Perhaps it was Anya¡¯s easy ess to the ranger training ground, perhaps it was the crossbow weapon. Either way, she never missed.

    The nine people under Jay¡¯smand were working well as a team, but the truth is, the real battle had only just begun.

    ¡°Shit, what the fuck is that thing!¡± The guy with the ive just finished off a nestling gatherer as he looked up at somethingrgering out of the treeline.

    ¡°Just focus on what you¡¯re doing. I¡¯ll handle it.¡± Jay calmly said.

    In truth, he hadn¡¯t seen therge thing emerging from the forest yet, but he had to calm down the ive guy.

    His calm voice brought a sense of safety in the midst of battle, a sense of security over the group. Each of them nodded and focused on what they were doing.

    The creature emerging didn¡¯t stop its charge out of the forest though. It was fast andrge. The front part of its body was about the size of a horse.

    First its head poked out of the trees, but in an instant its whole body was out.

    Like all other wood elementals, its whole body was made from wood, the difference was though that its wood seemed much older, being a dark colour.

    The wood was dark, mossy, and even had bugs running through it. Various spiny sticks as well as the odd leaf dotted its long body.

    Speaking of the body, it was also bug-like. The body was long and slender with many segmented spiny legs running along each side, simr to a centipede.<sub></sub>

    Like the rest of its body, its upper torso was also made of wood ¨C the only difference was that it resembled a humans¡¯. Almost like the centipede version of a centaur.

    Its torso cameplete with a dark, wooden deer head which was covered in more moss and dirt, crowned with arge pair of antlers.

    A bright green glow radiated from somewhere in its throat, onlying out at its empty eye sockets.

    It had two long, slender arms which seemed like sinisterly twisted roots, ready to suffocate a victim with the creeping tendrils it was made from.

    Some of the other adventurers thought that Jay was probably just putting on a show, trying to seem like he wasn¡¯t scared.

    However, nothing could be further from the truth. Oddly enough, it reminded Jay of a dihexapede soul eater ¨C except this one wasn¡¯t level 133. In Jay¡¯s experienced eyes, it was like a baby.

    A baby which was much stronger than him, but still, a baby.

    Paul had already taken a few steps closer to Jay, ready to back him up in a moment¡¯s notice ¨C but Jay held his hand up.

    ¡°Wait a second. We got this.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean we got this? We haven¡¯t got this!¡± The sabre girl saw Jay stopping Paul from intervening.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine, and if not, we have two guards here. Let¡¯s just give it a try.¡± Jay shrugged, ¡°There¡¯s never going to be a safer opportunity to fight something above our levels anyway.¡± He said as he shed some more stick-balls into pieces.<sub></sub>

    ¡°We¡¯ll just lure it into the middle of the V formation and then all attack it, sound good?¡± Jay called out.

    Axeman and shield-sword looked back with a smile and a nod ¨C both of them were on board. So far for these two, the battle was going smoothly¡­ Perhaps even boring.

    After ying another nestling, the shield-mace guy looked back, ¡°Sounds good.¡± he said excitedly.

    ¡°I guess we don¡¯t have much of a choice.¡± the sabre girl finally capitted.

    ¡°Heh, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯ll be fine.¡± The dagger-girl said, then gave Jay a trusting nce before quickly going back to fighting.

    The guy with the ive however didn¡¯t say anything, it was like he was having tunnel vision and only seeing the enemies in front of him; It seemed that fear had taken root in his heart.

    ¡°Oh well.¡± Jay thought uncaringly; they wouldn¡¯t need him anyway.

    The wooden abomination was already well on its way to attack the group, its speed was perhaps as fast as the skeletons.

    Each time one of its many feetnded, it crushed one of its own brethren. It seemed that all it cared about was crushing those who were stopping their nest expansion ¨C these strange fleshy creatures.

    Jay quickly analysed it, checking its level and health before engaging. If it was too strong, he would just send Paul in.

    <[Treant Hectopede ¨C Level 13]>

    [HP 182/182]

    [Damage]

    ¨C 17 (Raw strength)

    ¨C 6 (Antlers)

    ¨C 10 (Appendages)

    [Armour 120]

    <[Skills]>

    [Drain]

    ¨C 5 damage per second

    ¨C 5HP regeneration per second

    ¨C Sucks the moisture from its enemies with its root-hands

    [nted] (Passive)

    ¨C Requires 12 seconds to activate

    ¨C 5HP regeneration per second

    ¨C Its legs pierce the sooil, growing downwards into the ground, absorbing nutrients for itself.

    [Endless Growth] (Passive)

    ¨C Immortal

    ¨C Limitless size

    <[Description]>

    [Renouncing its ties to the spirit realm, the elemental has be one with its element, giving itself a more powerful form ¨C turning both the wood and itself into something in between either of them. However, if its body dies, so will its spirit.]

    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s actually pretty high level, so much regeneration too. Maybe we can¡¯t pull it off?¡± Jay carefully thought to himself, squinting as he gripped his sword a little more tightly.

    All in all, he didn¡¯t care that much about fighting it. After all, if he wanted exp all he had to do was wait while his skeletons roamed about in dungeons.

    To Jay, this was all just good practice, and finally it was getting interesting.

    ***The first of 5 bonus chapters (1/5) forpleting my mission :)***

 Chapter 146 Wood elementals 6

    The treant hectopede charged aggressively.

    In his hand, Jay had readied multiple unstable teeth spells to throw in order to aggro it.

    The wooden beast had already started charging at Dan the axeman with its antlers down ¨C he was the closest after all.

    Needless to say, Dan was figuratively shitting himself.

    *BOOM!~ tat tat tat tat*

    [10]

    Suddenly a chunk of the treant¡¯s chest disappeared, bits of wood and dirt flew everywhere, leaving only a melon-sized crater behind.

    Jay¡¯s first unstable tooth spell hadnded.

    Some of the other adventurers look back at him with bulging eyes for a moment ¨C ¡°He can use fucking magic?¡± some of them were thinking.

    Seeing Jay¡¯s unfazed, focused gaze on the creature though, they each returned to focusing on the battle too.

    The creature stopped its chargepletely as it responded to the massive damage.

    ¡°Oh, maybe it can feel pain?¡± Jay smiled, ¡°I guess that¡¯s what happens when you merge with your element.¡±

    The creature was charging at Jay now. Jay always had the option to run back to Paul, the high level guard ¨C but he remained still, not too worried about the wooden antlered creature bearing down on him.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°I might not even need my shield for this one¡­ If I do, well, it will be a painful lesson¡­¡± he thought, rolling a tooth around between his fingers. He was counting on the spell stopping the treant in its tracks again.

    Jay stared down the treant, looking into its hollow eyes with a sly smile as if he was a hungry wolf, taunting it, challenging it.

    Both sabre girl and dagger girl took a few steps back as therge creature rushed into the midst of their V-shaped formation ¨C and just before the antlers impaled Jay, another explosion rang out across the battlefield.

    *BOOOOM! Tat tat tat~*

    [9]

    Just like before, the creature¡¯s body seemed to freeze up in pain, its threatening chargeing to aplete stop. Jay slyly smiled seeing his n work.

    *Shring swing shring~*

    Immediately, he began shing his sword at it.

    [14.4] [14.4] [14.4]

    The creature¡¯s natural armour had reduced his damage slightly, but it was still plenty. In only a few moments and already it had lost 62.2 HP from Jay¡¯s spells and sword attacks alone.

    [HP 119.8/182]

    Suddenly, the creature shed with one of its spindly twisting hands ¨C Jay quickly ducked it.<sub></sub>

    Next, it leant forward while its hand unwrapped into a plethora of squirming, writhing roots.

    ¡°Fuck¡± Jay shed his sword at its hand to no effect. It was toote however before he realised it was using its drain ability.

    *Dwoosh~*

    ¡­*PHOONK*

    A heavy bolt pierced right through its arm, sessfully cancelling its drain skill as its hand reformed into the normal shape.

    Jay smiled, seeing that Anya had his back.

    *Ting ting ting, ting-ting*

    The dagger girl joined the battle. She wasn¡¯t going to let Jay have all the fun.

    From the pain of Anya¡¯s bolt, the treant shed its hand randomly in anger ¨C sessfullynding a hit on one of the fleshy sacks.

    ¡°AH!¡± the dagger girl squealed for a moment.

    The spiny hand of the treant had seized a chunk of flesh; it had shed right across her face, dealing massive damage.

    Her right cheek skin had been ripped off ¨C along with part of her nose. As for her eye, well there was no eye ¨C it was non-existent. The same went for her ear.<sub></sub>

    She dropped her twin daggers and fell on the ground, writing in pain as she waited for her health pool to fix her up; trying not to touch her face and just focus on breathing.

    Obviously she didn¡¯t invest many points in vitality, or she would have been fine by now.

    Perhaps if her dexterity was higher, she would have been able to dodge its attack too. Despite putting most attribute points into dexterity she was still too slow, it seems she was simply too low level for this fight.

    Jay would¡¯ve helped her, but had his hands full as he had the full attention of the woond best ¨C she was merely coteral damage.

    Suddenly its attack pattern changed from iling its arms randomly in frustration to mming its root-like hands down as if a giant hammer.

    ¡°Get back!¡± Jay quickly pushed the sabre girl onto some of the level 1 elementals, she fell right on top of them.

    She winced from the pain, but was d Jay pushed her as she saw the treant bring its erged hand down where she was just standing, cratering the ground.

    *DOON!~*

    The ground shuddered.

    Immediately Jay shed at its hand a few more times while it was recovering from its own attack.

    *Shringg~ sh~*

    ¡°Argh, surely it¡¯s getting low now?¡± Jay checked its health.

    [HP 21/182]

    [HP 26/182]

    ¡°Dammit, regeneration.¡± he said, noticing its legs had grown root systems into the ground, ¡°We have to end it, it¡¯s almost down!¡±

    Jay went to sh once more but the creature had already leaned in for him while he was distracted by its roots sprouting.

    Its hands unfolded once more, forming a writhing of vines and roots. Each of its root-like hands grasped Jay; it was like a swarm of snakes as it quickly wrapped around his head and engulfed his face.

    It wasn¡¯t just one attack either. It used its brute strength to crush his chest while at the same time it activated its drain skill.

    Now it was healing 10 health per second while Jay couldn¡¯t even call for help.

    [-17] [-5] [-5]

    The sabre girl only just got back up off the ground after shing away the stick-balls around her. She took both spike damage as well as spirit-leaf damage, but the attacks were only skin deep so she was still battle-ready.

    Seeing Jay¡¯s head had disappeared into a system of roots, her eyes bulged ¨C immediately she began shing at the treant.

    The dagger girl was only just recovering; it was made harder by all the level one stick-balls around her constantly poking at her sides.

    She was doing much worse than the sabre-girl as she had loads of tiny wounds all over her body.

    The treant was still draining Jay of all fluids from his body.

    For a moment however, Jay summoned some willpower from somewhere and fought back; he managed to slice at the hand grasping him ¨C though he was simply not strong enough. It wasn¡¯t anywhere near enough to sever it.

    [58/182]

    His sword attack only made it pause its drain for a moment before its body made a deep croaking noise and then continued to drain Jay.

    One of the guards went to step forward ¨C it seemed that things were getting out of hand.

    ¡°Just wait a moment¡­give them a chance¡± Paul said, holding the other guard by the shoulder who wanted to rush in and save them all.

    ¡°Dan, we could use some help over here!¡± the sabre girl called out to the axeman.

    Dan and Conroy were keeping the smaller enemies at bay while the three of them (Jay, dagger and sabre) dealt with the treant.

    Just as he ripped his axe from the head of another in nestling gatherer, he turned around, his eyes bulging at how badly they were doing.

    ¡°Well shit.¡±

    ***Bonus Chapter 2/5. Also it¡¯s free-chap-15th. Other three bonus chapters will be released when I can manage it. Enjoy :)***

 Chapter 147 Wood Elementals 7

    The dagger girl only had one dagger as she searched for the other on the ground; while she appeared to be drunk, she was actually just heavily injured and healing way too slowly.

    The sabre-girl was hopelessly shing at one of the treant¡¯s legs, but despite her shing the treant¡¯s health was still going up by 2HP per second.

    A cold sweat and a sense of urgent fear began building in her.

    Meanwhile Anya couldn¡¯t help for now as she had to focus on clearing the nestlings for a moment; if the ive guy or the mace-shield guy were hooked and pulled out of formation it would be all over.

    Half of Jay¡¯s body was engulfed in the dark twisting vines, spreading from the treant¡¯s hand. As the vines and roots searched for entrances into Jay¡¯s body he was desperately iling his sword though.

    Thankfully, the axeman was now helping too.

    Immediately, Dan raised his two handed axe above his head, his mind suddenly sharpened as his eyes focused keenly on his target.

    A red glow appeared around the axe, while some red runic symbols appeared on his arms ¨C he was finally going to use an ability in this battle. The head of the axe glowed with a sickly blood red power as it hungered to decimate all that would dare to stand before it.

    The treant immediately sensed immense danger behind itself; unfortunately it couldn¡¯t simply avoid the menacing red axe since each of its legs were nted deep into the ground, greedily absorbing nutrients. All it could do was look on in fear and wait as it braced for impact.

    *BOOM!*

    The two handed axe descended in a sh, causing a long red arc of the after image.

    It hungrily plunged itself deep into the treant¡¯s wooden segmented hectopede body; for a moment it seemed like it caused ripples to go across the wood.<sub>.</sub>

    The power behind the hungering red axe kept pushing however, forcing the body of the creature to the ground despite all its legs. Some of its knee joints twisted and snapped as they gave way to the force of the blow.

    For a second the creature couldn¡¯t move, its body shaken and stunned for a moment.

    With a menacing grin, Dan stepped heroically on the creature¡¯s back and ripped hisrge axe back out. He made it seem like he was merely retrieving his axe from a chopping block, though pieces of bark and dirt were ripped out along with it.

    As he ripped it out, some of the treant¡¯s legs shuddered in response, it was like he had cut across its nerves since they temporarily spasmed uncontrobly before the treant could get them under control again.

    Feeling its life threatened, the creature¡¯s eyes pulsed brighter, and some more croaking noises of twisting wood came from deep within its body.

    *CROOOoooOO¡ªCriii!~*

    One by one its legs began to move, then soon another, and another. It was retracting its roots from the ground.

    It was clear to see that Dan did massive damage as the creature was moving more sluggishly now, it was like it could barely maintain its form.

    It had to get mobile ¨C but was it nning to retreat? Or was it now going to go after the powerful axeman?

    *Dwoosh~*

    ¡­*PHOONK*<sub></sub>

    A heavy bolt suddenly pierced right through its chest. Anya finally had enough room to turn her focus onto the treant.

    The treant suddenly froze from the damage; its hollow eyes shing out a bright green light.

    This was its final moment, itsst spark of life ¨C and then the light disappeared, itsrge dark-wood body copsing to the ground with a final thud.

    The sabre-girl immediately went and sliced off the treant hand that was still around Jay¡¯s head and upper body.

    *Crh, chh ahh*

    Jay coughed on the ground for a moment while he had to rip a long root out of his mouth; small hair root structures had found their way into his lungs.

    Another part of the roots had travelled all the way down his throat and into his stomach, and with only a few gags it was out.

    The axeman and sabre-girl each went back to clearing the stick-balls and the nestlings; the battle was still raging on around them after all.

    The dagger-girl was under half HP but physically fine now, and so stood next to Jay, defending him while he recovered.

    Jay wasn¡¯t ok, he couldn¡¯t stand up as his torso was still healing while his head felt like it was spinning; he had a red notification too ¨C a debuff.

    [Dehydration]<sub></sub>

    [50% Less Strength, 50% less Dexterity]

    [-1HP per 5 seconds]

    Jay looked like shit, his eyes were sunken and his skin was pale.

    Blood drenched part of his green coat as parts of his stomach were pierced and his ribs were cracked.

    Immediately he pulled out his water skin and downed it as quickly as he could. It was a shame though as he ran out after only a few mouthfuls, he hadn¡¯t refilled it for a while.

    Dagger-girl was the closest, so he rolled onto his stomach and grabbed her ankle.

    ¡°Ah!?¡± she jumped slightly.

    Feeling something grab her ankle she was startled for a moment.

    On the ground was a pale looking man with cracked lips and sunken eyes. If she didn¡¯t know any better she would think he was some type of undead.

    All she could do was stare ¨C a mix of both confusion and fright.

    ¡°Huh?¡± she said.

    ¡°..waterrr..¡± he was quiet, his voice raspy and his throat bone dry.

    She could barely hear much more than a zombie-like groan, a strained breath. Perhaps he was an undead?

    ¡°What was that?¡± She leant closer.

    He looked straight into her eyes with his dead-looking eyes.

    ¡°Water.¡±

    ¡°Water?¡±

    Jay nodded weakly, holding out his hand.

    His body could heal from HP but it seemed it still required food and water. Plus, it seemed that his broken ribs were still healing, he needed more time before he could stand again.

    The girlplied, pulling out a plump, fat, juicy-looking water skin; beads of glistening droplets covering it.

    ¡°Here you go,¡± she smiled, popping the cork out as she went back to fighting.

    Jay¡¯s eyes beamed with joy, lighting up as he saw the glistening sack of fresh stream water.

    For a moment he was like a baby, suckling on the water skin ¨C but slowly, his strength returned.

    Sitting up, he leant against the treant body with a pained groan.

    He began sucking it in deeply ¨C instead of a baby, he was now more like a vampire, smiling as he gripped it and squeezing it down his throat.

    His eyes were looking at it like a hungry wolf as he sucked it dry.

    As the water level decreased, the water bag sagged and made it harder to squeeze water out ¨C of course, Jay was not having any of this.

    It was either his life or the water bags, and Jay was taking no prisoners.

    He heroically lifted it up as if he was Dan lifting up his battle axe, then continued to chug.

    This battle for water was more glorious than ying some boring treant hectopede, and Jay would be victorious.

    The dagger-girl gave Jay a weird look as he was being weird with her water skin; she decided she would get a new one after seeing this.

    The dehydration debuff finally left, but Jay took a few more sips to stay extra hydrated as he drained the water; it was like he was double-tapping the water bag corpse for good measure.

    ¡°I told you they could do it.¡± Paul smiled as he put his hands back into his pockets and went back to idly chatting with the other guard.

    Yet this was only one treant in massive swarming sea of wood; the battle was far from over, so Jay recovered as quickly as he could.

 Chapter 148 Wood Elementals 8

    Jay and his little group of humans had sessfully defeated a treant hectopede, all while holding off the level one and level five wood elementals constantly swarming them.

    ¡°I told you they could do it.¡± Paul smiled as he put his hands back into his pockets and went back to idly chatting with the other guard.

    Jay stood up, his ribs finally healed. He didn¡¯t really care that he looked weak, was caught by the treant and had to be helped ¨C but the dagger girl looked at him with sorrowful eyes.

    She could already imagine the foolish chatter that would soon follow:

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be level 9? Pff, strongest adventurer my ass.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he was probably just getting power levelled this whole time. Talented my ass.¡±

    Still, Jay stood up without a glimpse of worry, handing the water skin back to her.

    ¡°Thanks for that, that drain ability is no joke¡± he gave her a sunny smile. It seemed he truly didn¡¯t even care that he needed help. There was no shame at all. Why didn¡¯t he care about how pathetic he just looked?

    ¡°O-oh, no problem¡± she smiled back.

    ¡°Sorry I couldn¡¯t help you while you were knocked down, that treant was a real pain.¡± Jay said as he shed three more stick-balls in half.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok. I could see it was intense¡­ with my one eye¡± sheughed.

    ¡°Jay, another one!¡± Anya called out.

    She just yed a nestling with a throwing knife beforeunching another heavy bolt at the new treant emerging from the forest.

    *Dwoosh~*

    Taking heavy damage from her bolt, the treant began charging at Anya around the side of their V-formation,pletely out of their killing box.

    ¡°Fuck..¡± Jay only had a few seconds to think ¨C but their problems were only just beginning.

    ¡°Another one!¡± Anya pointed to the forest again. A second treant was emerging.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Shit.¡± Jay pursed his lips.

    He was bing flustered, only just recovering from fighting one treant hectopede and now there were two of them ¨C and to make matters worse, the first one hadpletely avoided their formation.

    Jay nced back at Paul who was watching them back; he was tempted to call for help but in a split second he made a decision.

    He quickly looked at the tallnky bow-wielding guy, analysing him to find his name.

    [Peter ¨C Level 6]

    [HP 100%]

    [MP 100%]

    ¡°Peter! Take my spot and fire at the new treant! Keep it busy!¡± Jay barked orders out as he ran over to Anya.

    The treant had already passed by the mace-shield guy and was bearing down on Anya, its antlers lowered into a charge.

    ¡°Ah shit, sorry Anya¡­¡± he gritted his teeth as he dashed at her.

    Jay knew he wouldn¡¯t make it in time, but still, he flung an unstable tooth at the treant just as it was about to skewer her.

    However instead of impaling Anya, the confused elemental kept charging. Where was the thud it was expecting from hitting her? Was she extremely light? Did it miss somehow?

    *BOOM! Tat tat~*

    The unstable tooth exploded against the creature¡¯s body, a chunk of wood missing from its side instantly causing it to stop its charge.

    Meanwhile, Anya had simply disappeared ¨C reced by a ck swirling mist.

    It seemed that the mist was spinning chaotically in a strong storm, even though there was not so much as a light breeze around today.<sub></sub>

    The ck mist itself had no effect on any of the flowers or grass, none of them swaying in the slightest. It was like the mist wasn¡¯t even there, either an illusion or simply unable to interact with the physical world.

    The only thing that seemed to be affected by the ck mist were tiny little grey bits of ash ¨C but it seemed that they were part of the corporeal mist itself.

    Suddenly the ball of mist moved to a new position; It was fast ¨C even faster than the treant, maybe three times as fast as Jay¡¯s skeletons. If Jay blinked he would have missed it.

    Next, the dark mist suddenly burst and dissipated into nothingness; Anya reappeared with her crossbow ready to fire.

    It all happened in a matter of moments: Treant charging Anya ¨C Anya disappearing into mist ¨C Anya suddenly reappearing further away and firing her crossbow.

    Somehow she became an untouchable shadow, avoiding all damage and getting into a safer position in the very back of the field.

    Jay looked at the stunned creature, it seemed to be as confused as he was.

    *Dwoosh~*

    ¡­*PHOONK*

    Unfortunately for the wood elemental, it was given no time to think as another heavy bolt pierced the creature ¨C this timending right in the centre of itsrge deer-shaped ckwood head.

    ¡°Nice,¡± Jay smiled, jumping into battle as well.

    ¡°Damn, a head-shot wasn¡¯t a critical hit¡­¡± Anya said, a little frustrated as she went to reload her crossbow.

    All this time she had been trying to find the creature¡¯s weak spot ¨C the critical hit area where she could do double damage.

    ¡°Not the head¡­ not the chest¡­ not the body. Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± Her eyes travelled over the lower parts of the creature.

    There were only two more ces she hadn¡¯t attacked¡­ though it may cause everyone to grimace a little.

    Jay had no time to think about Anya¡¯s ck mist ability as he dashed in to deal damage. He had to get the monster¡¯s attention so Anya could continue to freely attack.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Asklin!¡±

    A burst of air and dirt exploded from Jay¡¯s boots as he dashed across the field, almost matching the speed that Anya was going while in her ck mist form.

    Before, the creature ignored Jay and had prepared to charge again ¨C but now Jay was already in front of it.

    *Shring, Swing, ng!~*

    [14.4][14.4][14.4]

    Jay took itpletely by surprise as he opened up wounds across its chest; some glowing green sap tainting his ossein de.

    Jay didn¡¯t outdamage Anya by any means, but the creature would have to deal with him if it wanted to move towards the main target.

    ¡°AAHHHH!¡± a shrieking squeal came from behind Jay.

    ¡°Oh no! Stop!¡± the sabre-girl called out.

    *DOON!~*

    The squeals from both girls was followed by a deep booming sound. Jay had his back to the V-formation so it came behind him ¨C followed by a gust of wind.

    Jay quickly stepped back from the fight and nced behind him in case he was in danger. Something was definitely wrong.

    A string of organs and blood were strewn across the second treant hectopedes antlers, they had fallen out of Peter as it lifted him up into the air as if he were a trophy.

    The antlers weren¡¯t just inanimate either ¨C each of them could move around, slicing up whatever was caught on them, digging around in Peter¡¯s flesh.

    ¡°¡­¡± Jay had no thoughts, he was only d that wasn¡¯t him; the drain ability was much more preferable to whatever this barbaric brutal torture was.

    Peter¡¯s eyes had rolled back into his head from the pain, his body spasming on the antlers, only causing more damage. It seemed the higher level a monster was, the more brutal it could be.

    This was just before Paul had intervened, pulling out arge ive and ending the creature swiftly in one precise attack. This was the ¡®doon¡¯ sound they all heard.

    Paul had instinctively pulled out his own weapon to help ¨C not one of the flimy metal spears given to all the guards, but the one he personally used in dungeons.

    The ive de was a deep glinting blue colour with white clouds that gently travelled across its surface. The shaft was a pure white polished stone of some sort.

    It was clearly a magical weapon found in some high level dungeon; an older adventurer would eventually find one if they persevered enough.

    The other adventurers were simrly all standing around watching for a moment as the spike-balls were about to prod them ¨C the glorious disy of viscera interrupting the flow of battle.

    Paul cut off the head of the treant and brought Peter down from the antlers. He wasn¡¯t too worried as Peter still had 32% of his HP left, and would just need some time to heal before rejoining the battle. That was if he wasn¡¯t psychologically damaged anyway.

    Unfortunately, Jay didn¡¯t have time to keep looking ¨C the treant was right behind him and about to sh.

    Jay had no time to dodge ¨C he quickly pulled out deathwalker¡¯s sentry;

    *THUD! scrr~*

    As the heavy root hands connected, Jay was pushed to one side. Bone dust scraped away as the sentry shield took most of the damage.

    [-4]

    Jay quickly stored it in his inventory again before anyone noticed ¨C everyone except Anya of course.

    *Dwoosh~*

    ¡­*PHOONK*

    Another arrow flew in, connecting with its target ¨C this time aimed a little lower.

    Jay looked back, giving her a confused look, as if to say ¡®Why? Just why?¡¯

    Anya only frowned, ¡°The rear then?¡± she guessed as she pursed her lips, already feeling out of her depth.

    ¡°It would be better if it just has no weak point¡­ then I wouldn¡¯t have to do what I¡¯m about to do.¡± she mumbled to herself as she reloaded another bolt.

    Thankfully, the treant hectopede went down before she could fire again. It only needed a few more hits from Jay and it copsed as if it were an oversized puppet.

    ¡°Not bad,¡± Jay smiled.

    He and Anya had killed it without anyone else attacking it; they would get all the exp for this one.

    Both of the two new treant hectopedes were in, so they slowly returned to Jay¡¯s V-formation.

    Of course, Peter was still recovering.

    *Br ¨C CUR- CRRrrrr-oooo!*

    More thundering noises came from the south, soon followed by some deep earthly groaning noises.

    ¡°Seems like they¡¯re winning.¡± Jay thought as he returned to his position at the bottom of the V.

    The adventurers of Lo all had roles to y. While they were not as strong as the guards in the south-west, what they did was just as important.

    More of the small stick-orbs rolled over and were easily culled; the barrier made of their dead bodies gettingrger.

    It wasn¡¯t hard to kill them, but fatigue was starting to set in. The energy levels of the party were dropping slowly.

    The only ones who seemed to be doing okay were the rangers along with the other ones with high dexterity: the dagger girl, the ive guy and the sabre girl.

    To the adventurers, it seemed like the battle was almost over as less of the stick-balls were leaving the forest now. Everyone just wanted to sigh in relief.

    ¡°No way¡­¡± Dan said, raising his axe.

    ¡°What the? What even is that?¡±

    They were all wrong, that battle wasn¡¯t over; a powerful enemy made its way onto the battlefield.

 Chapter 149 Southern Front 1

    Vdore gently floated above the wooden town houses on the southside of Lo.

    As a telekine with strong telekic power, he could make whatever he wanted into a weapon; today, his choice of weapon was a tree he ripped up from the ground. He thought it was quite fitting to use wood against wood.

    ¡°What was that old saying again? You can¡¯t fight wood with wood? Something like that.. Oh, who cares.¡± Vdore shrugged, today he would prove it wrong.

    For him, the battle seemed pretty boring, as he was a much higher level than the wood elementals.

    With a flick of his wrist, his floating tree thrashed, bludgeoned, squashed and punctured all the treant¡¯s charging out of the forest.

    They were fast but he was faster ¨C he didn¡¯t even have to look as he could just sense them with his high level mana sense ability.

    Slowly, his weapon¡¯s branches were being snapped or ripped off in battle, and soon enough it was nothing more than a bare log with many indentations travelling all over it.

    The trunk-weapon could barely hold together under the pressure Vdore was exerting on it, and the battle here was many times more dangerouspared with the north-west.

    Instead of the level 1 wood elementals the weakest monsters here were the treant hectopedes ¨C and there were just as many, swarming out of the tree-line.

    Sometimes somerger wooden creatures hade through the forest but he didn¡¯t so much as nce at them before smashing them into the ground with his log.<sub>.</sub>

    Treant hectopedes, nest spores, cellulose arbiters ¨C it was all the same to him: just weak enemies that needed crushing.

    Some of the treant¡¯s had survived being pounded into the earth, climbing out to continue their wooden crusade ¨C only to be squashed again for good.

    It was an easy thing for Vdore, and most of his focus was on his ck cube back at the association.

    However, unlike usual, some of his thoughts were about Sullivan.

    ¡°How do I ask him to make Jay stay¡­¡± he thought.

    ¡°Money? Hmm no. Sullivan is doing fine¡­ Should I say Jay is dangerous? Maybe¡­ well¡­ we already know him too well. He¡¯s clearly no threat.¡± he pursed his lips, crushing another treant with the end of the log.

    He was getting annoyed now as he thought of ways to keep Jay at the association. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he crushed another before it even left the forest.

    ¡°What other choice do I have¡­ a threat seems like the only way.¡± he shook his head, annoyed there was no other way ¨C in his mind he had no choice.

    Of course, he could just give up and walk away ¨C but that would be like dying to him. The cube had be his purpose; his reason.<sub></sub>

    His eyes glowed blue with resoluteness as he crushed another treant into firewood, twisting the end of the log on its body as if he was putting out a cigar.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ but¡­ how do I threaten someone more powerful than me¡­¡± he thought as he squinted, staring atrger wood elementalsing through the forest.

    Gone was any allegiance he had for Sullivan. He only thought about the cube.

    He lived for the cube. He would die for the cube. He would worship the cube. Everything was for the cube.

    Of course, it was a potato-shaped lump now as it had more opportunities to absorb Jay¡¯s ambient necrotic mana. It was more urate to say that Vdore lived for the potato. He would die for the potato. He would worship the potato. Everything was for the potato.

    Seeing some worthy enemiesing, he prepared himself.

    Vdore snapped his weapon, the log, into two pieces to prepare for the higher level elementals now moving in.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    *Huff huff huff*<sub></sub>

    Matheson breathed heavily as he exited the feral ins dungeon, dripping with sweat. He was on the verge of getting a heat stroke from that hot summer dungeon.

    Today it was a sunny day in Lo, but it was quite cool outside being another early Spring day so it was a refreshing relief for Matheson.

    *DROOOoooo!*

    The war horn at the association continued to bellow out across Lo and its surrounding forests.

    ¡°Hm.¡± he squinted, ¡°I better go back.¡± He furrowed his brows, looking up in the direction of the guild.

    Putting his rapier away, he began to walk as he was still catching his breath; soon enough he began to run again.

    Unfortunately for Matheson, the feral ins dungeon was located south of Lo in the forest ¨C close to where the elemental attack wasing from.

    Soon enough, Matheson came face to face with a treant hectopede; something he couldn¡¯t even hope to kill. Not alone at least.

    Before he could react it was already charging at him.

    ¡°Hmh¡± he exhaled in frustration, annoyed at the inconvenience.

    He dashed to the side, easily dodging the hectopede and ignored it as he sprinted back along the path.

    Thankfully he caught his breath, so now he could dodge and run at his normal speed ¨C a swift sprint wherever he went.

    The hectopede looked around in confusion after it slowed down from the charge ¨C where the hell did that weird non-wood life form go? ¨C It had the moisture that it wanted.

    Matheson was sprinting away, guessing that the forest monster would have something to do with the horn that was sting.

    As he got closer to Lo, sounds of power rolled through the forest.

    *CRACK!~ CRUU.. BRRRR¡­*

    A bolt of lightning struck somewhere nearby as thunder rumbled out. Matheson couldn¡¯t sense mana very well, but despite that, he easily felt it wash over him.

    It was obviously a magical spell; the sky was clear and sunny today, not a single cloud was in the sky, so along with the feeling of powerful magic this pretty much confirmed it was magic.

    As he closed in on Lo, he finally saw the sheer destruction caused by the magic lightning.

    Burnt and charred wood elementals piled on top of each other; the bodies of many treant hectopedes among otherrger wooden elementals which were now unidentifiable.

    Above the mountain of elemental corpses, a thick dark cloud hung, humming with menacing power.

    Matheson didn¡¯t see the magic cloud before since it wasn¡¯t high in the sky. It hung lowly, a little lower than the tree tops.

    He immediately stopped running, just outside of the wall of charred corpses. They would have definitely caught on fire from the lightning, but it seemed the wood was filled with too much moisture to catch alight.

    Matheson heard heavy stamping footsteps behind him. Sensing danger closing in, he didn¡¯t have to guess to know what it was ¨C he quickly dodged to the side without even turning around.

    He didn¡¯t have to guess what it was, he already knew it was still chasing him.

    ***Bonus Chapter 3/5.***

 Chapter 150 Southern Front 2

    Matheson critically dodged the treant as it charged into the mound of smouldering corpses.

    Almost like a choreographed dance, he dipped to the side at thest second as the treant came charging past, its menacing antlers pointing forward as they searched for his flesh.

    He sneered at it with a sly smile as it charged harmlessly by, directly into the pile of corpses ¨C of course, he did tap it with his sword as dashed by.

    *CRACK!!!~*

    For a moment Mathesons ears were ringing, his vision all white as power from the spell-storm descended before him.

    Right in front of him, lightning had suddenly crashed down onto the treant, a pure white sh crackled through its body for a moment as it was stopped in its tracks before copsing helplessly onto its own kind.

    ¡°Only a few more steps forward and that would have been me,¡± he thought as he looked whimsically at the steaming wood.

    He was d that he got some easy exp from simply tapping his rapier on its ass as it passed by.

    The small cloud spread out left and right, it was long and slender, wrapping around the edge of the vige.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Surely it doesn¡¯t wrap around the whole vige?¡± he thought as he gazed at the strange long cloud.

    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t see past the ever-growing mound of charred wood bodies, so he couldn¡¯t wave at anyone on the other side of the cloud for help, while the rumbling crackles of energy stopped and chance of them hearing. He would simply have to walk around.

    After hearing some deep booming soundsing from the left, he simply turned right and began running.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point wasting time thinking about which way to go. Just make a decision and go with it.¡± he nodded to himself.

    Simr to the cloud, the wall of charred wood elemental corpses continued around the south side of Lo, trailing under the crackling cloud.

    Since there was no path here, Matheson had to periodically sh down small nts and young trees to keep running at a reasonable pace. Eventually he found the end of the cloud, it stretched to the very south-west corner of Lo.

    The first person he saw was a lone guard, standing near two corpses of the treant¡¯s ¨C butpared to the pile of dead treants Matheson saw before, this was nothing.

    It seemed that the guard was simply here to kill the odd wandering treant that made it around the defensive storm; he immediately looked up at Matheson.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hey, what are you doing? You¡¯re not supposed to be here!¡± a guard yelled, seeing the young adventurer run around the side of the dark cloud.

    ¡°I was in the feral ins dungeon. What¡¯s happening? Why the monsters? Why the death cloud?¡± Matheson pointed up.

    ¡°Ah shit, the feral ins dungeon¡­¡± the guard looked down in frustration, ¡°I knew we had forgotten one!¡±

    Immediately, the guard pulled out a short rangemunication crystal, ignoring Matheson as he channelled some mana and spoke into it.

    ¡°Michael, south east corner here. No one was sent to the feral ins dungeon.¡±

    The guard held a single finger up at Matheson, gesturing to him to be quiet.

    ¡­

    It waspletely silent for a moment as the guard stared at the crystal.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Go. Now.¡± A gruff voice finally answered him.

    Without hesitation, the guard stashed his crystal and began charging off into the forest.

    ¡°Hey! What about me?!¡± Matheson called out ¨C only to deaf ears.

    The guardpletely ignored him and kept running. He was on a mission.

    ¡°¡­well, I guess someone has to watch this part of the town.¡± he pursed his lips with a shrug.

    This was how Matheson came to be where he was now ¨C guarding the south east side of Lo.

    Every now and then, a treant hectopede woulde charging, but Matheson would simply stand in front of the spell storm before dodging to the side.

    The treants would continue charging recklessly; confusion was theirst thought before their existence was ended by a fearful blinding sh.

    Of course, Matheson would always give them a light tap with his rapier as they charged past.

    ¡°Mmm.¡± he nodded ¡°Easy exp.¡± he smiled as another treant was filled with crackling shes of energy and executed by the unrelenting storm.

    Despite the easy exp, a part of him was annoyed that he had to do this, since the guard just ran off without anyone else toe and rece him.

    ¡°Just how stupid was this guard?¡± He wondered.

    Countless rumbles and cracks of lightning sounded out from somewhere else on the battlefield; the storm seemed to be iming the lives of many helpless treants that dared to pass under it.

    But this was when he noticed something, something that caused a tight feeling in his chest: Each time a rumble or a cracking sound rang out, the cloud would shrink slightly.

    Matheson only noticed it after he baited another treant into the cloud ¨C he literally was standing on some charred wood remains ¨C somewhere that the cloud was covering earlier.

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely shrinking,¡± he thought.

    For the first time in a while, a sense of fear gripped his heart.

    Matheson¡¯s response to fear? ¨C He clenched his sword tightly and controlled his breathing.

    ¡°This is nothing but a fleeting feeling. What matters is strength.¡± he told himself, repeating it a few times until his heart and breathing were both under control. Any emotions at a time like this would only cause problems; he had to think clearly.

    As time went by and the battle raged on, Matheson still had no clue what was happening.

    It was clear that the storm was a defensive spell, that the adventurers had been evacuated from the dungeons, and that they were under attack from some strange wooden creatures.

    For all he knew, the vige was being evacuated right now and he was foolishly standing here defending alone.

    What made matters worse was that the storm was shrinking even faster now ¨C either the spell was wearing off or the mana in it was close to running out. He couldn¡¯t be sure.

    At first he had to move at a few steps every few minutes to stay next to it, then a few steps every few seconds ¨C soon a slow walk, and now it was a brisk walk.

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll be running soon enough.¡± he gave a concerned look at the quickly-shrinking cloud.

 Chapter 151 Southern Front 3

    Matheson was guarding the south-east side of the vige, baiting much stronger enemies into a spell-storm to kill them ¨C but this would only go on for so long: the magical storm was shrinking.

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll be running soon enough.¡± he gave a concerned look at the quickly-shrinking cloud.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± he exhaled as he saw something dangerous.

    Amongst some deep groans of wood, there was a lot of movement in the forest ¨C a force of five treants were wandering through it slowly, and that was when they saw Matheson; to the treant¡¯s he was merely a fluid-filled snack during their nest-expansion conquest.

    Easy pickings.

    Matheson froze, hoping his movement wouldn¡¯t attract them, but he was only grasping at straws ¨C they immediately charged.

    Five treant hectopede¡¯s were bearing down on him, each of them as fast as skeletons.

    As part of his training, Matheson had been running all this time ¨C sprinting up the hill to the adventurer association, running through Lo to dungeons, running around inside the dungeons. His dexterity stat was also quite high too, it¡¯s where he put most of his points due to his rapier ss, but he was still nowhere near as fast as these creatures. They would catch him, it was only a matter of time.

    Meanwhile, the storm was shrinking rapidly. He simply couldn¡¯t rely on it any longer.

    Against five of them he only had one choice ¨C to run.

    There was no wall around Lo, and no fences either. Matheson could simply run right in between the houses and let the treant¡¯s smash and destroy the peasant houses to their heart¡¯s content, while he easily escaped.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he considered it for a moment. He truly didn¡¯t care about some weak peasants ¨C but he remembered what his father was like.

    ¡°I would definitely be med for that, and my father would find out eventually. He would find a way to punish me, perhaps take away my weapons just to slow down my development¡­ Tch. Seems like I have no choice.¡± he gritted his teeth and sprinted off ¨C but not between the houses to safety.

    Matheson wouldn¡¯t have minded if the creatures did smash up the dirty-looking houses of the peasants, but it seemed for now that he would have to run between the spell storm and the south side of Lo¡¯s houses, heading back west.

    As he passed by the houses, he noticed some faces in the windows, gazing at him in awe. They looked at him like he was their hero.

    ¡°What the hell are they looking at? Their faces¡­ look so different.¡± he thought as he ran.

    Since he didn¡¯t understand their hopeful gazes, their looks only made him angrier.

    A strange feeling went over Matheson as he ran, each time he passed a house, he saw some hopeful eyes gazing at him.

    The people he considered peasants were looking at him as if they loved him, he had never felt such a strange feeling.

    It was different from every other smile he had seen: the shit-eating grin of a political enemy, the proud smile of other nobles, the fake smile of people trying to please him, the disdainful smile of a maniptive friend, the mocking smiles of the guards, the demanding stares from his own father.

    He then noticed himself slowing down, caught up in his thoughts ¨C this definitely wasn¡¯t optimal while he was running for his life.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Argh! Foolish fleeting feelings! Strength is all that matters!¡± he reminded himself, gritting his teeth in anger as he picked up the pace and sprinted faster.

    This seemed to do the trick ¨C thebination of anger, pain and focus made the ufortable feelings go away.

    Thankfully, the south path wasing into sight, and there were guards there too.

    ¡°HEY!¡± he yelled, but due to his rapid breathing, all that came out was a ¡®HA!¡¯.

    The guards were all quietly preparing for battle. The storm spell would be over soon and they would have to fight.

    Some checked their weapons, others chatted, while some simplyy down.

    Still, it was enough for them to turn their heads to the weird yelling sound.

    Each of their eyes bulged as they saw Matheson ¨C a young adventurer with five treants bearing down on him.

    ¡°Shit, get up!¡± one yelled, he went to wake up another who was lying down.

    ¡°Huh?¡± The one lying down opened one eye before raising his head up slightly, seeing the fear on the guard¡¯s face.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Why is he rmed?¡± he wondered.

    The group of guards were much higher levels than the treant¡¯s, spore nests, and other things that charged out of the woods.

    Meanwhile the spell-storm was still active, so it didn¡¯t really make sense to be so rmed ¨C he even looked panicked, which was odd.

    He looked to where he was pointing, only one eye still open.

    That¡¯s when he saw a young adventurer ¨C quite a muscr one too. Oddly, he didn¡¯t have a look of fear on his face, but one of solemn seriousness; his expression was like a mighty boulder, unphased by the world around him.

    Next, he saw the charging elementals behind him, and the panic of the other guard made sense.

    *FWOOSH!*

    The guard lying down suddenly disappeared, leaving behind only a faint dark blue glow of mana which quickly dispersed.

    *FWOOSH! ¨C SHRING!*

    He reappeared in the air behind a treant, slicing off its head in one hit.

    *FWOOSH! ~ FWOOSH!*

    He quickly disappeared and reappeared in between two other treants, slicing at their many legs.

    Unfortunately it didn¡¯t count as a sneak attack this time, so it didn¡¯t critically strike ¨C the treants stopped charging after they slowed down at least, and thankfully he grabbed their attention.

    ¡°It¡¯s in your hands now.¡± The teleporting guard said quietly as he helplessly shrugged, reaching his limit for teleporting for today.

    This left two more treants charging at Matheson, but it wasn¡¯t looking good for him ¨C the guards were fast but not fast enough.

    As Matheson heard one getting close he immediately pulled out his rapier and dodged to the side.

    Had he not dodged, he would have been pierced by two pairs of antlers, so instead he opted for one pair. There was no way he was dodging both of them.

    The sharp brach-like tendrils pierced into his side.

    ¡°URRRRGH!!!!¡± he tried not to scream, only gritting his teeth and growling as blood poured from his body ¨C screaming was for the weak.

    Of course, he was not done yet.

    *Shring shring shring shring!*

    Even while pierced heshed out.

    Just like that, parts of the antlers were cut off and fell to the ground ¨C but to Mathesons surprise, the pain was just beginning.

    Each antler that pierced him was moving around like wriggling worms, tearing his flesh and organs apart. Soon, his own organs had started drooping and hanging out of his stomach as he was lifted into the sky.

    ¡°F- fuh¡± he could barely breathe, barely able to even scream as his right lung waspletely punctured and was filling with blood. His eyelids were getting heavy as he struggled to hold onto consciousness, lightly shing at the treant.

    At this point, the me rune in his rapier was doing more damage than his pitiful shes.

    *Shhrrrrr! ¨C BOOM!*

    A golden javelin suddenly came whistling through the air, perfectly hitting the treant in the chest ¨C the same treant that had Matheson suspended in its antlers. One of the guards must have used a spell to send it so far and so fast.

    The power behind the javelin was so immense that the treant split into two, the middle of the treant simply exploding into dust and wood kes as each side of it fell helplessly to the ground.

    The tendrils digging around in Matheons abdominal cavity all suddenly stopped as he dropped to the ground with them still inside his abdomen.

    All this time he had been fighting ¨C not to kill the treant, but fighting to hold onto consciousness, trying to stop his eyes from rolling back into his head.

    A green sh of light was thest thing Matheson saw as he hit the ground, unable to hold onto his weak strand of consciousness.

    ***Bonus Chapter 4/5.***

 Chapter 152 Perfect Opportunity

    Lannister and Lara calmly walked through Lo, rxed expressions on their faces.

    ¡°Okay, fine. We¡¯ll get some better supplies.¡± Lannister finally gave in.

    Lara was sick of the rations they had, and had been working on him all morning, slowly grinding him down to allow her to go on a small shopping spree.

    ¡°Finally, thank you!¡± Lara said un-thankfully with a sigh.

    Today was a pleasant day for them, they both feltfortable enough ¨C well, safe enough ¨C to leisurely walk through Lo.

    After scouting for a few days, it seemed that this wasn¡¯t some borate trap to capture, torture and punsh them after all.

    Both of them were not the slightest bit surprised by the wood elementals; they knew everything that was happening in Lo as well as in the surrounding forests ¨C who do you think were the ones who warned the guards of the elementalsing in the first ce?

    Today they nned to meet with Sullivan, who would hopefully be expecting them as the note they warned the guards with about the elementals was written on the exact same paper that Sullivan had sent to the mirror reality.

    There was no hidden message or magical mark on the paper ¨C that would be too obvious. It wouldn¡¯t take a genius to detect some slightly concentrated manaing from the paper, in fact it¡¯s usually one of the first things they check for.

    The elite duo began to walk to a few different shops in the town.

    Despite the attack happening, most of the shops were still open, it seemed the localspletely trusted the Lo guards.

    Herbs, coal chunks, needles, bee wax, tinder and various other things were on the long list of Lara¡¯s ¡®small¡¯ shopping spree.

    ¡°Oh, a butcher?¡± Lara smiled.

    She didn¡¯t so much as nce at Lannister before walking in.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Hello, how can I help?¡± Trenly greeted them.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Laras eyes looked over the products they had, surprised by the variety.

    ¡°Those sausages look good, I¡¯ll take¡­ eight please.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing.¡± Trenly smiled, happily wrapping them up with some paper and twine.

    He was d that there was at least some business today, it had been pretty slow because of the battle ¨C but he expected a rush of guardster in the day though.

    Lara paid and left as quickly as she came.

    ¡°Now¡­ the pub.¡± she thought, secretly ncing at Lannister as she led them towards it.

    Thankfully, it was mostly on the way towards the adventurer association so it wasn¡¯t too suspicious.

    ¡°Hey¡­ I¡¯ve got to use the washroom¡­ hm. Oh, a pub¡­ give me a moment.¡± Lara said as innocently as possible.

    ¡°Uh, ok, I¡¯ll wait out here.¡± Lannister sighed, leaning on a tree.

    Lara nodded and began walking inside, her crafty smile growingrger with each step.

    ¡°Well hello there youngdy¡± A bald moustached man smiled warmly.

    He greeted her as soon as she opened the door, immediately putting down the ss and moving closer to the middle of the counter, keen to serve the pretty youngdy.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Wow, what great hospitality you have here.¡± She smiled and approached the counter.

    ¡°Of course, of course. Now, how can I serve you?¡± his eyes sparkled as he looked at the beautiful young woman before him.

    ¡°I would like a beer please. Anything you have will be fine, I¡¯m sure.¡± she smiled back with a wink.

    ¡°Sure, and since you¡¯re new here, I¡¯ll give it to you for free, on the house!¡± he chuckled, pouring the beer as he continued to smile and stare at her.

    ¡°Wow, what a kind and caring man.¡± She yed along, ¡°won¡¯t you join me for a beer?¡±

    Devin smiled even more broadly at this, quickling pouring himself a drink ¨C but before he could even take a sip, the youngdy had already finished hers.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he wondered, seeing her frown.

    ¡°Aw, sorry. I drank it too fast¡­¡± she sat silently for a moment making puppy dog eyes.

    Devin was ready to have a beer with her and share some conversation ¨C maybe it would lead somewhere. That¡¯s what he thought anyway.

    ¡°Oh.. well. I suppose I can get you another.¡± he smiled, though a little reluctantly.

    ¡°Hook, line and sinker.¡± thought Lara, having manipted him into giving her two free beers so far.

    ¡°Thank you so much!¡± She looked at him lovingly, her puppy dog eyes turning to a bright sunny smile.

    After some more lies woven into some general conversation, some precise ¡®bodynguage¡¯ hinting at something, she had already finished her second beer.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Aww no¡­ wait, let me pay for another¡­ hey I have an idea, I¡¯ll buy you one too!¡± she cutely chuckled.

    Devin happily went to pour another two beers.

    After a moment, she pulled out some random items from her inventory, frowning each time.

    Devin was smiling but it slowly faded, looking at her sorrowfully as he put the fresh beers on the counter.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± her eyes got watery, ¡°It seems I have left my purse at home¡­ I¡¯m so sorry¡­ It looks like I¡¯ll have to enjoy yourpany some other time.¡± She looked like she was about to cry.

    ¡°Oh.. uh. Well¡­¡± he pursed his lips, ¡°I guess I could give you another.¡± he chuckled awkwardly with a light smile.

    ¡°R-really? Are you sure?¡± she asked hesitatingly, though was already reaching for it.

    ¡°Go ahead¡± he smiled, ¡°So¡­ tell me about yourself? How does an angel find themselves here in Lo?¡± He tried to flirt, but was incredibly rusty. He was a middle-aged single dad after all.

    Lara smiled and went to sip her beer before she asnwered ¨C though it wasn¡¯t a sip. It turned into a long drink ¨C then a chug. The ss didn¡¯t leave her lips as she downed the whole thing in one breath.

    Devin raised a brow seeing this, shocked.

    She mmed it down, ¡°Ahh!¡± she smiled, ¡°delicious!¡± she exhaled.

    ¡°Uh¡­ so..¡± Devin began to speak.

    Lara was already wiping her lips and standing up, her face now neutral and uncaring.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± she simply nodded.

    Her eyes weren¡¯t even watery from when she pretended to cry. Lara¡¯s face suddenly turned emotionless as she stood up and quickly left the pub.

    Devin was shocked, he couldn¡¯t say anything as he watched her leave.

    ¡°Wh¡­ what? ¡­what the?¡± his chest felt hollow as he looked at the empty ss before him.

    He stared at the closed door for a moment longer before starting to shake his head in disbelief.

    ¡°Monster¡­ what a monster¡­¡± he shivered, feeling like he had been vited.

    *tap tap tap*

    He quickly looked up the hallway, hearing familiar footsteps ¨C Tamara wasing.

    Devin grabbed the sses with the speed of a snakeraven and quickly rinsed them before cleaning them; he was breathing heavily now, not wanting to get caught.

    He thrusted them into some water to wash out the beer foam.

    ¡°Eh, good enough¡± he thought as he began wiping them with his dish towel.

    *tap tap tap*

    He was still polishing one cup, but he froze as he heard her voice.

    ¡°Dad, you¡¯re drinking on the job! You¡¯re on cleaning duty now!¡± Tamara smiled

    ¡°I ¨C I was not¡­ I was just washing them, I¡­¡± he kept polishing the ss, pressing a little more firmly now.

    ¡°Hm¡± she dashed at her dad with a smile, stepping behind the bar and leaning in close to him.

    ¡°Stop it.¡± He tried not to smile.

    ¡°Ah, I can smell it! Cleaning duty!¡± she grinned.

    With a sigh and a defeated smile, Devin gave in.

    ¡°Fine¡­¡± he sighed, he knew he was beat, polishing slowly now.

    ¡°¡­That maniptive monster¡­¡± he thought, shaking his head.

    Lara casually stepped outside, trying to seem casual.

    ¡°Ahem.¡± she covered up a burp by clearing her throat, approaching Lannister.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± she gestured.

    Lannister got up and they began walking without talking much at all, not noticing that Lara was trying to cover up tiny burps as they went.

    ***Bonus Chapter 5/5. We did it :). I¡¯ll make up a new challenge on Monday***

 Chapter 153 Nest Spore 1

    ¡°No way¡­¡± Dan said, slowly raising his axe as he gazed at the treeline.

    A new monster was emerging.

    ¡°What the-? What even is that?¡±

    ¡°Huh, didn¡¯t expect to see one of those here.¡± Paul brandished his cloud spear once more.

    The creature was as tall as most of the trees. Its body was kite-shaped;rge logs made a teepee shape around a glowing green core, with smaller branches and sticks filling the gaps in between.

    Four thick tree trunk legs attached on each side of it, each of them thumping into the ground, every step slowly driving it forwards.

    There was an opening at the front of its body, allowing green light to wash out from the glowing green core inside.

    Its body was like a walking wooden furnace ¨C of course, there was no fire inside, only the green ball of a sma-like energy.

    Jay was not reacting to it like the other adventurers; he was quietly analysing it, trying to figure out its weak spots and nning an attack strategy for his human troops ¨C he didn¡¯t picture himself attacking the creature, but others working together to bring it down.

    A necromancer was a natural leader and strategist, and it seemed that his mind was bing more like that.

    Of course, there was some conflict in his subconscious human thoughts ¨C a human-necromancer both wanted to work together with others, but remain elusive and solitary.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay could think of a decent strategy in his mind, but verbalising it and getting the human troops to perform it was another thing. Skeletons were much more efficient in this regard ¨C they would respond directly to his thoughts, carry out the tasks Jay wanted, and would not question them at all. They would only ever disregard one of Jay¡¯s thoughtmands if Jay had verballymanded them ¨C his words held more weight.

    ¡°Wait here. We¡¯ll finish the nest spore¡± Paul said confidently as he walked past the adventurers with the other guard in tow.

    ¡°Nest spore huh¡­¡± one of the girls mumbled.

    The other guard followed him, they knew this was something only they could deal with ¨C it was the whole reason they were here, waiting behind the young adventurers.

    Technically they were meant to deal with the treant¡¯s too, but if the young adventurers wanted to test their mettle, they had no objection.

    Jay wanted to analyse the nest spore, but he was simply too far away.

    Paul and the other guard marched towards it, shing leisurely at the stick-balls and nestling gatherers as they went.

    The nest spore reacted to the approaching threat, stopping its march forward as the green ball of chaotic mana in its belly began to glow brighter, filling with energy.

    Paul and the other guard paused their march for a moment.

    ¡°It¡¯s harmless.¡± Paul said as they kept marching ¨C it seemed they were analysing its skills, checking that it wasn¡¯t a threatening spell.<sub></sub>

    *Bdooooo~*

    A pulse of bright green energy suddenly rippled out across the battlefield ¨C all the wood elementals froze. The nestlings stopped skittering and the stick-balls stopped rolling.

    Paul didn¡¯t seem to worry too much, he kept clearing a path right to therge wood furnace.

    Next, the whole battlefield changed ¨C the balls and nestlings all suddenly began moving towards therge furnace, at first they moved slowly and orderly but it wasn¡¯t long before it turned into a mad rush, trampling and rolling over each other.

    Everyone could guess what would happen next ¨C they tossed themselves straight in.

    As their bodies entered into the furnace they immediately disintegrated. Their bodies turned into floating bits of sticks and twigs before dissolving in the green energy.

    The green ball of energy inside raged chaotically as it hungrily ate all the elementals that rushed in. The more that entered, the more it hungered and glowed.

    Suddenly, the furnace structure closed as multiple branches covered the front, stopping anymore elementals from entering.

    Still, the nestlings and stick-balls were trying to get in, it was like they were maised to whatever was happening inside.

    Paul didn¡¯t look too worried as they continued to approach it, though they were forced to walk a little more slowly as the swarm of elementals had grown thicker around the nest spore.<sub></sub>

    *DOON!*

    With a deep thud, the nest spore¡¯s four legs suddenly dropped its body to the ground, crushing other elementals beneath it.

    Finally, the branches across the front opened. Its internal green-fire had died down back to normal.

    From out of the mouth of the furnace, arge tear-drop shaped seed grasped at the edges, wing its way out. It had four of its own legs supporting it, though these were much more spindly and skinny, like young saplings. It seemed that it wasn¡¯t meant to walk very far before its legs would be redundant.

    As it exited the furnace it had to push back against and even crush some of the stick-balls so it could leave ¨C it was the only elemental that was moving away from the belly of the nest spore.

    It fought against the elemental tide as it walked away from the next spore. Finding a nice piece of earth it thrust itself into the ground. Each of its skinny legs then poked up into the sky, sprouting small leaves.

    ¡°Quick, before it grows¡± Paul pointed, gesturing to the other guard.

    The other guard nodded, quickly slicing through the tide of wood as he made his way towards it.

    He reached it just as the leaves began to grow from its upwards-pointing legs.

    The guard didn¡¯t use his personal weapon for this, it was below him ¨C he merely relied on his strength as he swatted and shed at the elementals with his heavily-abused metal spear that all the guards were given.

    *DOON!~*

    A vertical sh made arge dent in it, pushing therge seed deeper into the ground.

    Next, a piercing thrust ¨C he easily bore a hole straight through it.

    This seemed to do the trick, as all the leafy legs which were pointing into the sky fell to the ground and wilted. The seed was killed before it could even grow.

    Paul was already casually shing at the outside of the nest spore, chunks of wood were cleaved off with every hit ¨C only to be reced a momentter.

    Paul didn¡¯t panic though, he simply kept shing.

    ¡°Another one,¡± he called to the guard as another 4-legged seed exited the furnace, while more stick-balls and nestlings hopped right in as if on queue.

    The guard intercepted the second seed before it even nted itself, ending it in one hit.

    It seemed like he knew what to do as the guard made it to the mouth of the elemental furnace ¨C the next seed was pierced and destroyed before it could even leave.

    Next, he began to kill the stick-balls and nestlings before they could even dive into the chaotic swirling green energy inside.

    Paul only nodded, continuing to hack, stab and sh at the outside.

    Chunks of wood continued to rain off the creature, though they still healed right back.

    The nest spore was dying though, as the energy inside it got less chaotic and less bright. The more Paul hacked at it, the smaller it got too.

    Soon enough, its wooden body stopped healing. All four of its legs were hacked off and the light inside it dwindled.

    With a few final shes, parts of the furnace wall opened up, allowing some nestings to jump in.

    Finally getting to consume more wood, the green light at the centre of the furnace grew brighter for a moment, but healed the walls of its body up.

    Paul looked somewhat dissatisfied seeing this, realising he had to use more power.

    He didn¡¯t want to use an ability on such a weak creature, but it seemed he had no choice; It simply regenerated too fast.

    ***K, my holidays have just started. Let¡¯s do a new challenge: 3k power stones = 5 bonus chapters. 1 Bonus chapter for every 100 golden tickets over 500.

    Alternative smaller goals = 1 bonus chapter for reaching 750 golden tickets or 1 for reaching 2.7k power stones.***

 Chapter 154 Nest Spore 2

    Looking a little displeased, Paul was forced to use an ability on a nest spore.

    The ability was far too powerful for such a low level creature, it felt even a little embarrassing to use it, it felt wrong. It would be like Jay using an unstable tooth spell against an ant.

    Energy coursed through his hands and into his weapon.

    His deep blue cloud spear began to radiate with energy, appearing like it was fuzzy for a moment ¨C then suddenly four other copies of it appeared in the air, floating around it.

    The spears all seemed to be possessed, having minds of their own as they all began to wreak havoc on the poor wooden furnace. shing and thrusting recklessly, each of them were chaotic, as chaotic as the green energy within the helpless elemental they were destroying.

    For the nest spore, it was simply too much damage to cope with ¨C and much too fast.

    The logs which formed its body began to tremble and copse as its light flickered for a moment. This continued until it just couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and after holding on for so long, it suddenly imploded with a final sh.

    Life left the wood creature, never to return again.

    ¡°Nice work mate.¡± Paul nodded to the other guard as they began to walk back behind Jay¡¯s V-formation. It was a casual thing for them.<sub>.</sub>

    This whole time, the adventurers were simply standing around watching ¨C the swarm of elementals had all crowded around the nest spore so they had no enemies to fight. Temporarily anyway.

    Some of them were even surprised at how casual the whole thing had been. The veteran guards made it look entirely too simple.

    Some were even sad at how pathetic the nest spore looked under their sheer power; they expected some kind of valiant life and death battle ¨C but no, it was simply over with a sh.

    Jay, along with the other adventurers, had analysed the whole fight ¨C not just the boss, but the guards too.

    Paul and the other guard didn¡¯t panic. One of them gave simple orders as the other followed them. They had remained calm during the whole fight, quickly dealing with any problems that sprung up during the battle.

    For some of them more novice adventurers, it was an eye opening experience. Typically they would panic as soon as one unforeseen event happened during a dungeon ¨C the worst of them acting like Peter who would turn a simple situation to shit.

    Jay and his human troops now had to deal with the fallout. The nest spore had not only drawn the elementals in Jay¡¯s field towards it, but also from the two fields on each side of them.

    The other fields were barely left with anything to fight ¨C some of the adventurers from the field on the right (the disorganised bunch) even looked on with sneering nces.<sub></sub>

    To the field on the right, it was a good thing, as each of them had been struggling desperately since the beginning.

    ¡°Ignore them.¡± Jay said, seeing Conroy who was being distracted by their nces.

    ¡°Pf, yeah. They couldn¡¯t even bring down a treant. What do they know.¡± he chuckled as he readied himself for battle.

    It was sadly true, their guard even had to kill all the treant hectopedes that came charging out of the forest. Just by looking at their faces during the battle, Jay could tell they felt a mix of desperation, frustration and shame ¨C though this was now reced by looks of jealousy and bitterness.

    The field with Stephen¡¯s adventurers on the left was doing just fine though. With the battle nearly over most of them look cheerfully rxed. They had even managed to kill a treant hectopede themselves.

    Some of the melee troops even looked longingly at Jay¡¯s field, it seemed they still wanted to fight, their thirst for battle was not quenched. Fighting side by side in an intense battle had made some of them invigorated, like extroverts of the fighting world.

    It was easy to tell what some of them were thinking: ¡®More¡­ more! MORE!¡¯.

    The wood elementals had almost formed a small mountain. Balls rolled over each other while the skittering nestlings ran across the tops.<sub></sub>

    The final wave of the wood elementals had gathered ¨C and it would be focused on Jay and his human troops.

    There were still more waves of wood elementals moving against other parts of Lo, but it seemed that the weak ones of the north-west had been sessfully crushed.

    All that was left to deal with was this singlerge wave of enemies.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Mist Keep, Level 3 Dungeon, Lo~

    *SCRIIIiii!*

    Pain. Intense pain. It was thest thing the dihexapede soul eater felt before it died.

    Perhaps it was a good thing ¨C the only other things it felt were loneliness, hunger and an empty feeling in their souls; their hearts cried out for something that they couldn¡¯tprehend.

    Consuming their own kind¡¯s soul stones, found at the centre of the stone statues, would at least make two of these feelings go away, for a moment at least. It was a torturous existence.

    The dihexapedes sensed a familiarity in the stone soldiers, and a sense of longing and sadness moved through them each time.

    Still, it didn¡¯t matter now; they had be monsters as they lost their minds to time, waiting in the darkness ¨C meanwhile the stone soldiers had be their enemy, their own minds simrly broken. Perhaps they were not so different.

    However, whatever familiarity they had and whatever bond they held was broken, lost to time. All that remained was emptiness and hunger.

    One thing had changed in these unchanging cursednds: there was a new enemy ¨C the undead.

    The undead in this dungeon didn¡¯t discriminate, ruthlessly hunting both the soldiers and dihexapedes alike. It was like they were slowly carving out their own territory which would be a no-go zone.

    What was odd was that it made no sense why the undead hunted them ¨C they barely had any bones or flesh left; meanwhile the stone soldiers had none, nothing the undead could want ¨C yet they were all culled.

    It was like they were purely driven by hate. Intense, cold, uncaring hatred.

    The four skeletons were ying them with brutal efficiency ¨C it seemed like they were even made for this, perhaps some higher intelligence had even trained them.

    First, the carapace of ck stone would be shattered by their iron-bone hammers. Despite there being four skeletons they would always hammer at the exact same spot, like they were being guided.

    If the dihexapedes could still think properly, they would have a single thought when fighting them: ¡®where did the undead get fucking hammers and armour from anyway?¡¯

    After a big enough hole was made in the carapace, the skeletons would give up the hammers and use their w-covered hands, plunging them deep inside their weak ck flesh to shred, destroy and extract whatever they could.

    Somehow, the skeletons knew exactly where to grab, every time they would coincidentally find one of its ck hearts.

    As they ripped, tore and sliced one of their ck hearts with ease, the dihexapede would take massive damage; the ws on the ends of their skeletal hands were as sharp as their killing instinct.

    It was like they knew their anatomy. Just how many dihexapedes had fallen victim to these skeletons?

    As the creature would fall to the ground, three of the skeletons would scramble to higher ground on the ruins ¨C looking for their next target.

    Without so much as a breath, the soul stones were extracted by a single skeleton and the hunt would begin again.

    Every vessel of consciousness was a target in this dungeon, and soon those vessels would be broken. There was no such thing as rest to the undead.

 Chapter 155 Panic

    The elementals now had one motive, one drive left in them ¨C revenge.

    They didn¡¯t care too much about their physical bodies, they could just get another ¨C but the treants in would never rise again, they were bound to the wood.

    The nest spore was also something that took a lot of time and a lot of cooperation to construct.

    The elementals weren¡¯t foolish beings, but when they inhabited their wooden bodies, they became limited.

    It was not like they were half-wood and half-elemental; in their wooden bodies, they were still 100% elemental, and at the same time, they were 100% wood ¨C they simply didn¡¯t have all the capabilities they would normally have while in their spirit forms, such as higher intelligence.

    Still, their emotions would respond the same, and right now they felt rage.

    Without warning, the elementals went for the closest targets they could find.

    The wave of elementals crashed against the small group of young adventurers, tossing aside any self-preservation as they smashed against them.

    ¡°GRAAA!¡± Dan the axeman weed the wave of enemies with a roar.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Uh, let¡¯s switch out again¡± the ive guy said, ruining the glorious atmosphere by hiding behind the mace-shield guy.

    Anya had returned to her position on the right of Jay by now, and was already sending bolts across the field, ending the nestlings in one hit.

    As for Peter thenky bow guy¡­ well¡­ needless to say, he was out of the battle now.

    The pain must have been too immense, as all he could do was shake helplessly after his body recovered. The traumatic stress event had ruined him, and he was out of action for now ¨C perhaps even for the next few days, maybe even weeks¡­ Well, who knows how long.

    The guards expected him to start fighting again after a moment of shaking on the ground, but it turns out he simply couldn¡¯t, so they brought him to the back of the field with them. Peter would just get in the way otherwise.

    Thankfully there were no more treant hectopedes to deal with ¨C just a massive swarm.

    The real battle started with wooden barbed hooks, flying viciously across the battlefield. Most were blocked or parried ¨C as for the ones which didnd, they were immediately cut at the segmented vine cord.

    Much more of these hooks wereing at them now since the nestling gatherers had all grouped up. They also seemed to be attacking faster ¨C some of the adventurers watching correctly guessed that the elementals wanted revenge.<sub></sub>

    *ngg~* *Thwong~* *Dung~*

    The shields were doing an excellent job at blocking them before, but now, there were simply too many.

    Many elementals were being in but the battle only got more intense.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± The ive guy grabbed his shoulder in pain, a hook prating deep into it.

    ¡°F-fuck, help!¡± he was slowly pulled into the swarm as he grabbed at the mace-shield guy in front of him.

    ¡°Hey, stop panicking!¡± the sabre girl yelled.

    The ive guy grabbed at the mace-shield guy, trying to push him into the swarm in a panic.

    The mace-guy couldn¡¯t turn around as he was busy blocking hooks left and right ¨C and this was only made harder with the ive-guy pushing him forward into the swarm.<sub></sub>

    He was like someone who couldn¡¯t swim trying to push someone else under water so they could keep themselves afloat ¨C it would only serve to drown both of them. Of course, the simple solution would be to trust the person who could swim, but panic had gotten the better of him, he couldn¡¯t think clearly at all as he continued to push the mace-shield guy forward, and they were beginning to separate from the group.

    Jay watched this and began to feel furious; it was a stressful situation made worse.

    ¡°Just let go of him so he can cut the cord!¡± he yelled out.

    The ive guy had no answer, his eyes were fixated on the hook in his shoulder and the nestling slowly reeling him in.

    Jay decided that he had enough. He could have dashed in, he could have resolved the situation and bore the cost of this fool¡¯s mistakes, taking pain and damage.

    Of course, the sabre-girl and the dagger girl will have paid a small price too, taking some extra damage without Jay there.

    Jay pitied the mace-wielder, but made a decision.

    ¡°Leave them, let them perish. They¡¯re as good as dead!¡± he said loudly to the whole team ¨C loud enough so that the mace guy could hear.

    Paul watched on from behind with a sly smile.

    Next, the mace guy stopped attacking and turned around ¨C he took a few hits from the stick-balls for this, but it would be worth it. The mace-guy immediately shield-bashed the panickey ive guy.

    The ive guys loose grasp on the mace-guy was released ¨C of course, he still tried to w onto him.

    ¡°Wh- what!?! HELP!¡± he ive guy yelled. He looked at the mace-guy with utter terror and disbelief.

    The mace guy gave him a bitter look as he calmly spartan-kicked him away.

    ¡°I could¡¯ve helped if you cooperated.¡± He said coldly as he then proceeded to get back into formation.

    Seeing this, Jay nodded with a sly smile ¡°At least one of them will be saved¡± he thought.

    The ive guy couldn¡¯t do anything but shriek as he pulled on the hook ¨C only causing it to dig deeper into his flesh. The smaller elementals all had opportunities to pierce and poke him now too, he was now figuratively shitting himself.

    ¡°Heh. I see what you did there, good decision mate.¡± Paul said with an approving smile as he rushed past Jay to save the struggling adventurer.

    Just to teach the ive guy one final lesson, Paul stood next to him.

    The ive guy responded immediately trying to cling to Paul, still panicked even though Paul was as calm as ever.

    ¡°Just rx.¡± he calmly said, patting his shoulder.

    ¡°HELP! AH! HELP!¡± he shrieked.

    The ive guy was aplete mess, still pulling at the hook and now he was clinging onto Paul too.

    Paul just stood there like an unmoving rock, he was too strong to let the ive guy push or pull him.

    Slowly, the ive guy was pulled past him and soon lost his grip, all while Paul didn¡¯t move at all.

    Paul looked disappointed as he shook his head, bitterly watching the panicked adventurer being dragged deeper into the swarm.

 Chapter 156 Standard Procedure

    With a sigh, Paul dashed in, trampling and crushing elementals around the screaming adventurer and finally cut the vine-cord between the hook and the nestling.

    He grabbed the ive guy and put him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and then brought him to the back of the shield.

    ¡°Th-thanks. Thank you.¡± he breathed for a moment and caught his breath.

    Seeing the battle rage on without him, the ive guy finally got up and went to re-join the formation ¨C but he was stopped in his tracks, a hand grasping his shoulder firmly. It was the other guard.

    ¡°Huh?¡± ive guy said.

    ¡°Nope. You had your chance.¡±

    ¡°B-but, they let me freaking die!!¡±

    ¡°No, they didn¡¯t. You¡¯re dismissed.¡±

    ¡°Dismissed? What do you mean dismissed?¡± he angrily questioned, not believing it.

    ¡°Dismissed as in go home, you¡¯re done for today.¡± the guard said sternly.<sub>.</sub>

    The ive guy looked at Paul, hoping he would change his mind.

    Paul only smiled, ¡°Go home mate.¡± he pointed to the back of the field.

    The ive guy grumbled angrily as he went to the back of the field, kicking sticks and rocks as he went.

    The mace-shield guy returned to formation with a grateful smile ¨C he nodded at Jay, realising what he did for him. Jay¡¯s simple, decisive words had made him realise that he had to abandon the ive guy.

    Truly, Jay didn¡¯t do anything but help the mace-guy to open his eyes to the situation he was in; either he would cut loose the weak link, or perish with it.

    This is what would have happened in a real dungeon, and both of them realised it.

    Jay didn¡¯t expect a reward or anything, he was just d to still have his battle formation.

    ¡°Think you can switch out with him for a while?¡± Jay asked sabre-girl as the mace-shield guy came back.

    ¡°Sure.¡± she nodded. The sabre girl had her own shield so she could deflect the flying hooks as well.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Ah shit, I need a hand!¡± Conroy (sword-shield guy) said, trying to stay calm, however you could tell there was some urgency in his voice.

    A hook had dug into his leg, causing him to stumble for a moment as he was pulled.

    ¡°Just a sec.¡± Dan said, deflecting a hook with his axe.

    *Shwoonk~*

    He stepped forward with a quick swing, and the cord was severed. Conroy and Dan hastily moved back into formation.

    ¡°That¡¯s what should have happened before.¡± the dagger girl nodded approvingly.

    Jay was just d that at least a few people on his team werepetent. The mace-shield guy wasn¡¯t even that bad, he just had a bad team mate.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ It¡¯s interesting how one idiot can turn a simple problem into a life threatening situation.¡± Jay thought, casually shing the stick-balls.

    Throughout this whole fight, Jay had kept his cool. Even when he was being drained and he couldn¡¯t see anything he stayed calm, still shing away.<sub></sub>

    Jay had even gained Paul¡¯s recognition during the fight ¨C taking a leadership role, making a formation, checking on members, and allowing the ive guy to perish in order to preserve the rest of the party.

    The dagger girl realised she was wrong before, when she was thinking about the negative things adventurers would say about Jay when he looked weak.

    She now realised it wasn¡¯t the disy of weakness that mattered, but it was how one responded to it ¨C and Jay responded with a calm attitude, getting himself back into top condition so he could fight as quickly as possible.

    After all, everyone would show weakness from time to time, even she did during this fight when the treant shed her face off.

    It seemed the qualities of a good leader were resilience.

    Together they continued to cull the elementals, hundreds of them ¨C but soon enough they were beginning to tire; each of their weapons feeling much heavier.

    Seeing that the other fields had no enemies left, Jay made a decision.

    ¡°Paul, we could use some backup.¡± he pointed at the other fields.

    With a nod, Paul went to grab some adventurers from the other fields.

    Four adventurers followed him back ¨C he brought enough to take some pressure off but not to make it boring.

    With him, Stephen tagged along, following them was a ranger to rece Peter and three more melee¡¯s.

    Approaching the group, Jay had the three new melees rece himself, the axeman and the mace-man. The fresh ferocity of the new adventurers gave them all some breathing room.

    Now that the team wasrger, Jay had control of over 11 people, so he decided to make a new formation.

    Jay moved safely behind the formation and began to organise them all.

    For a moment he considered a triangle formation pointing into the swarm, opposite to his V formation. It would break the tide of elementals easily ¨C but that would only be effective for strong enemies that wouldn¡¯t die in one hit. What they needed was simply to increase their killing area.

    With Stephen, Dan, Conroy, the mace-shield guy, the new ranger around him, he started to tell them the new battle formation.

    He expected Stephen to challenge him, but to his surprise, Stephen stayed quiet and simply went along with it, nodding each time.

    ¡°Huh¡­¡± Jay thought, surprised at how different he seemed.

    The .V. formation turned into a .-.-. formation with Stephen and his turrets in the middle.

    Jay, Dan and Conroy would be in the left melee group, while the maceman and the three new melee guys would be on the right.

    The sabre-girl and dagger girl would act as support to them ¨C either cutting off hooks or filling in for exhaustion. The rangers would be divided evenly on either side.

    Jay switched out the others who were still in the V-formation so they could learn the n. After that, it was time to execute.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Jay called out.

    ¡°Yep¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Yep¡± ¡°Sure¡± they all responded.

    ¡°Alright, now!¡± Jay ordered.

    There was a little confusion as they moved between each other, but in a matter of moments the new formation took shape.

    The adventurers seemed to have small, proud smiles as they moved themselves into a different formation in a matter of moments, but Jay seemed unimpressed.

    ¡°Hmm. Good enough.¡± Jay thought, knowing his skeletons would have made them look like bumbling toddlers.

    ***I forgot that golden tickets refresh monthly, so instead, we¡¯re going to do a bonus chapter for every 100 golden tickets over 500. Bonus G.T. Chapter 1/3***

 Chapter 157 Treant Antlers

    Just like that, their killing efficiency skyrocketed.

    More of the elementals could be culled now that they were facing a wall of six melee adventurers, turrets in the middle with rangers on either side.

    Anya was busy picking off nestlings, while using the asional throwing knife on the stray stick-ball.

    Jay was leisurely shing and throwing the odd unstable tooth, causing a few nestlings to miss their targetspletely.

    The extra help made the battle go much more smoothly, and without any people like the ive guy, there were no issues.

    Unknown to Jay and his human troops, adventurers in the other fields were watching them, some with jealousy and others simply wanting to learn.

    ¡°They still fighting? Yikes.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Jay¡¯s not really that strong?¡±

    ¡°They all look so bored.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not bored, they¡¯re focused¡±

    Adventurers gathered at the back of the field too, Paul having to hush them a few times.

    The once-threatening wave of elementals was easy to deal with using the right formation, and their numbers plummeted.

    Thest stick-ball rolled towards the fearsome adventurers over many of the corpses of its own brethren.<sub>.</sub>

    *Shring~*

    Finished with a single hit.

    Jay and his formation looked around for a moment, waiting to see if there were any more enemies, not expecting the battle to be over so¡­quietly.

    It was surprisingly easy.

    ¡°Hey, we did it¡­¡± the dagger girl said with a smile.

    ¡°GRAAAAAHHH!¡± Dan yelled, holding his axe in the sky.

    Other adventurers simply caught their breath.

    ¡°Finally, I can go back to the dungeon.¡± Jay thought, not saying it out loud ¨C he didn¡¯t want to discourage anyone who thought this was some huge aplishment.

    ¡°Thanks for trusting my orders¡± Jay said as he went over to look at the remains of the nest spore.

    Some of the adventurers gave thankful smiles as he left them, a deep feeling of gratitude ¨C It was because of Jay that they not only got more exp, but learnt some adventurer fundamentals: never panic, always n, check on your team, be decisive, and don¡¯t mind about looking weak.

    Anya followed along, seeing what Jay was looking at.

    Jay began to loot, leisurely casting his hand over the elementals, not really expecting much since no other adventurers were out there gathering loot.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Thought so, nothing but exp.¡± he pursed his lips, approaching the nest spore.

    Jay intended to learn from the in creature ¨C simr to his skeletons, it was a sort of inanimate creation. It was also in Jay¡¯s nature to learn ¨C at least now that he was a necromancer anyway.

    Approaching the nest spore corpse, he crouched down and picked up some of the wood chunks.

    ¡°Hm. Can¡¯t learn anything from this.¡± he nced at the pile of hacked up wood.

    Kicking some of the wood, he went back to the entrance of the field.

    As he walked, he noticed the farmers in other fields had already started to gather the dead wood.

    Jay watched for a moment as they formed it intorge pyramid-shaped piles and then covered the outside with dirt.

    ¡°Hmm.. what are they doing..¡±

    The farmers weren¡¯t the only ones after the wood elemental corpses.

    Simr to Jay, other adventurers were also checking over the treant hectopede¡¯s dead bodies, looking at their antlers and strange jointed wooden legs.

    Thankfully Paul was hanging around for a while, still looking after Peter and deciding if he should take him back to the association.

    ¡°Nice job mate. Probably the best group here today.¡± Paul nodded with a smile.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Thanks, all in a day¡¯s work.¡± Jay said casually, shrugging with a slight smile.

    ¡°Heh. Here, I saved this for you before other adventurers could get to it. You deserve it.¡± Paul pulled out arge pair of wooden antlers from his inventory.

    ¡°They¡¯re not worth much, but they look kinda cool.¡± he said as he held them out.

    ¡°Oh cool, thanks.¡± Jay had a look at them before stashing them in his inventory.

    The antlers wererge and majestic, ending in threatening spikes. They were made from the incredibly dark brown wood like the rest of the treant.

    Jay guessed they would probably take up the whole wall in his butchery, but he was uncertain though ¨C perhaps the ceiling would be too low.

    Such were the majestic antlers of a treant hectopede, which could lift a person in the sky as they gutted them.

    Many adventurers were heading back to Lo now, and a few jealous adventurers nced at Jay after receiving the gift from the guard ¨C but they could say nothing; Jay and Anya had killed one of the treant¡¯s by themselves, while their team worked together to kill the other two.

    The extra adventurers in Jay¡¯s field only came for the final wave of lesser elementals, so even they couldn¡¯t say anything either.

    As for the in treant¡¯s in other fields, adventurers began to squabble over who got the antlers, while others shook their heads ¨C had they learnt nothing?

    ¡°Tch- who would want to party with someone who argues over such arge but cheap loot?¡± Jay thought as he watched them fight.

    Many didn¡¯t realise that life was not about winning one prize, but it was a series of prizes, and how you conducted yourself with one would determine if you were worthy to im another.

    Sure, most of the wingiest, childish adventurers would get some antlers today ¨C but who would want to fight monsters with them after that? No one. They didn¡¯t realise that less people would want to fight with them, resulting in less dungeon opportunities, and hence, less prizes.

    Sadly, they were thest to realise, and by the time they did it would be toote ¨C they would be far too underleveled to be of any use in a dungeon.

    The adventurers in the right field were the best example of this attitude:

    ¡°Stop grabbing it!!¡±

    ¡°Give it to me, It¡¯s mine!¡±

    Another one just kept tugging at it senselessly.

    Since they were all pulling on the treant antlers they were stopping anyone from even being able to cut them off. This was despite their guard being the one who killed all the treants.

    Thankfully, it was about toe to an end as their guard¡¯s expression grew more and more bitter.

    Soon enough, their guard let out arge sigh and walked towards them angrily. He was disgusted by their disy, perhaps even ashamed.

    ¡°Back up.¡± he ordered, his voice filled with killing intent and threatening.

    Like a pack of hyenas, they each stepped away from the corpse as a hungry lion approached.

    *Shw-sh-shr-shw-shring!*

    The guard¡¯s sword made shes of light as it danced through the treant antlers.

    In a split second, the antlers were turned into wood chips before their eyes and their open mouths.

    ¡°Wh-WHY?!¡±

    ¡°My antlers¡­¡±

    ¡°You should¡¯ve just given them to me!¡±

    The guard did this to all the treant corpses in their field, and the adventurers looked as if they were babies that had their toys taken away. Some of their eyes turned red and watery, or full of bitter anger.

    Adventurers looking on were chuckling at them.

    ¡°Heh. Good¡±

    ¡°ssic.¡±

    ¡°They should¡¯ve learnt to share¡±

    Everyone except those childish adventurers were smiling broadly. Despite no crime happening, it felt like justice had been carried out.

    Finally the fussy arguing was over.

    Even Jay shook his head with a smile seeking this, agreeing that they deserved it; their actions brought a sense of shame to all the adventurer¡¯s there ¨C whether they liked it or not, they were a reflection of all the adventurers in Lo.

    The best part was that they couldn¡¯tin. They had zero im on any of the monsters.

    Meanwhile, the farmers didn¡¯t seem to care. They were all working diligently to create more and more piles of wood, and covering them in mud.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay looked more closely as he watched.

 Chapter 158 Harsh Lesson

    ¡°Say, what are the farmers doing?¡± Jay asked Paul, pointing at therge teepee structures.

    ¡°¡­and why are they covering them with dirt?¡±

    ¡°Oh. That¡¯s how they make charcoal. Burning the wood with less air creates charcoal. I¡¯m not really sure how it works though.¡± Paul shrugged, finally deciding to just pick Peter up and carry him to the guild.

    ¡°Oh okay, thanks¡­ Thanks for today.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee mate, and again, nice work. You kept your mind clear and focused out there¡­¡± Paul looked at some more adventurers fighting over the antlers, ¡°¡­it¡¯s a shame more aren¡¯t like that.¡±

    With a nod, Paul marched off, chatting to the other guard as he carried Peter.

    ¡°Charcoal huh¡­¡± Jay scratched his chin, watching the whole process.

    ¡°I suppose it must be for forges or alchemy,¡± he guessed.

    Anya had been quietly following Jay the whole time ¨C they were meant to be running into the mist keep dungeon today after all.

    ¡°You really did do well today.¡± Anya encouraged, still standing around him.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Jay shrugged, he didn¡¯t feel like he was that impressive.

    ¡°Anyway¡­ I was wondering ¨C are you nning to go back to mist keep today?¡± she questioned.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Yeah of course, there¡¯s still plenty of time left in the day.¡± Jay nodded, ¡°Youing?¡±

    Anya smiled, ¡°Yes please.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Jay nodded and he went back to watching the charcoal burning process ¨C it was nearly over.

    Slowly, the adventurers in Jay¡¯s field, the ones who were under hismand, had gathered up. They were talking and looking at Jay asionally.

    Jay simply tried to ignore them, thinking they were like the gossiping adventurers that would wait outside of the dungeons and murmur whenever he passed by.

    After they had a discussion, Dan left the group and approached Jay.

    ¡°Hey, Jay? We were talking and decided that you should get the other set of antlers.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Jay said, raising a brow. He wanted an exnation.

    ¡°Well, we only yed them because of you. Besides, you were literally drained by this one and did the most to y it, so it¡¯s yours. Rightfully.¡±

    ¡°Well sure then.¡± Jay smiled, he wasn¡¯t going to turn down some extra loot.

    After grabbing them off Dan, Jay now had two sets of therge treant antlers.<sub></sub>

    [Treant Antlers (Wooden Elemental)] x 2

    ¡°Also¡­ do you need any party members for a dungeon?¡± Dan raised a brow, his eyes full of hope.

    ¡°Ah, not for now. Thanks though.¡± Jay let him down softly.

    ¡°I see¡­ Well, I wouldn¡¯t know if I didn¡¯t ask. It¡¯s a shame you go solo all the time though, you¡¯re a good leader. Anyway, let me know if you change your mind.¡± Dan nodded.

    Dan walked back to the group, smiling at them with a thumbs up. The rest of them smiled lightly and they went back to discussing who should get thest pair of antlers.

    Anya was looking at Jay with a sly smile as she listened to the whole conversation, seeing him turn down another adventurer almost made herugh.

    ¡°What? I don¡¯t need anyone for now. I wasn¡¯t lying¡± Jay smiled, ¡°Besides, it was weird that he noticed how I usually go alone.¡± he shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s a little stalkerish.¡±

    Anya shook her head, ¡°Literally everyone notices that¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    This was the first Jay was hearing about it. He had no clue he was a topic of conversation among the young adventurers.

    Anya sighed, not wanting to make too much of it.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Basically no one but you goes into dungeons alone¡­ Well¡­ there is another guy doing it now too, but people notice stuff like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ huh. I guess it is a bit strange ¨C but I do go with you sometimes¡± Jay shrugged with a smile.

    The piles of wood were now alight and soon to be charcoal; simply from his curious nature, Jay decided to remember it. It wasn¡¯t every day one would see such an interesting process after all.

    With that, he began to walk through the farnd, back to Lo.

    There were still some rumbles and cracks of lightning sounding from somewhere south, but they were getting less and lessmon. The elemental incident wasing to a close and all the adventurers were heading back to Lo.

    A few guards were left in the fields in case any more elementals came through, but most of them now headed south to support any others who were still fighting.

    Jay and Anya walked in a scattered line of other adventurers heading back to Lo, getting the asional nce ¨C but no one approached them.

    ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m level nine now¡± Anya gave Jay a mischievous nce, ¡°You must be close to levelling up to ten by now?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah. Yep, very close.¡± he chuckled, remembering to check his exp after the long battle.

    Jay quickly opened his notifications, trying to hide his grin as he opened it.

    [4625 Exp]

    [Level Up!]

    [5 Free Attribute Points]

    [1 Free Skill Point]

    ¡°No one knows I¡¯m now level 11¡± he thought, stifling a chuckle.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s see¡­ I already decided to put 5 points into energy so I can summon skeletons endlessly. Well¡­ for a longer time anyway.¡±

    Jay quickly dumped them into energy without a second thought, it was still clear in his mind how close he came to losing a battle with Estobar. If he ran out of mana slightly earlier, it may have been over.

    Jay and Anya walked back quietly, most would think they were bored, however Jay was considering where to put his ability point.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I could have 5 level four skeletons, or 4 level five skeletons¡­ four times five is still twenty either way. Hmm¡­¡±

    ¡°The skeletons are all still level three though. I shouldn¡¯t have waited to spend that other skill point. I think it¡¯ll be better to have an extra skeleton until they¡¯re all level four, otherwise it will just be a waste ¨C why raise their max level to five if they¡¯re not even four yet.¡±

    With a nod, Jay added another point into his raise skill.

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 4] -> [Raise Feeble Creature level 5]

    <[Raise Feeble Creature level 5]>

    ¨C Imbue a small skeleton with necrotic energy, raising it to fight for you.

    [4/5 Raised]

    [Costs 5 mana+3/level of creature]

    ¡°Awesome¡­¡±

    Still, he was trying not to smile all while realising he could now summon up to five skeletons. The new one would need time to level up, but every addition of a skeleton would make dungeons exponentially easier.

    Needless to say, he was now walking a little faster towards the mist keep dungeon. Perhaps if the new one killed high level creatures, it would level up faster?

    Unfortunately, he did not have ess to their exp pool information ¨C Jay also got 100% of exp when they killed something, so it seemed that they gained a different sort of hidden experience.

    As they walked through Lo, other adventurers began splitting off ¨C some went to other dungeons, some went south to watch the battle, others went to the guild, but most went to lunch.

    The horn at the guild was no longer sounding, and the adventurers were no longer needed ¨C but still, the powerful battle in the south could still be heard, and it naturally drew adventurers towards it.

    Jay and Anya ignored everyone else as they proceeded with their ns, heading straight into the mist keep dungeon.

 Chapter 159 Mist Keep

    Out of the hundred or so adventurers, only a handful of only the most dedicated were going to mist keep to continue fighting.

    As they arrived, it seems that Dan, Conroy, the mace-guy and theposite-bow girl were there, having formed a party after today.

    Jay and Anya only nodded at them as they went in themselves.

    Stepping into the dungeon, they found themselves next to Estobar¡¯s throne. The pyramid was still opened up, split into two halves, and the dark inside seemed to almost wee the dreary light from the sky, along with the warm adventurers.

    ¡°Okay, so -¡± Jay was cut off.

    ¡°What did you do?!¡± Anya was shocked, ¡°we¡¯re at the third pyramid right?!¡±

    She then talked to herself for a moment as she looked around.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way this is the fourth. No one is that quick. So it has to be the third¡­ but it can¡¯t be¡­ you¡¯re not supposed to be able to enter back here, it¡¯s not meant to be conquered¡­?¡±

    Anya remembered the conversation she hadst night in the guild mess hall with a guard. She remembered what the man said: you can¡¯t teleport to the third pyramid because you can¡¯t conquer it.

    She had nned to exin it to Jay with a hint of satisfaction ¨C but no, instead she was the one who was shocked.

    Here they were ¨C teleported to the third pyramid, a ramp leading downwards in the ruined city heading to the fourth pyramid.

    ¡°Are you done? We¡¯ve got monsters to kill.¡± Jay said, walking over to a pile of soul stones and helvetian rings.

    [Soul Stones] (Empty) x 15

    [Helvetian Rings x 2]

    ¡°Huh, wonder why the rings are so low.¡± Jay raised a brow, ¡°Oh well, at least they¡¯re collecting them now.¡±

    Next, Jay took out some bones from his gauntlet as he summoned his fifth skeleton.

    Slowly but surely, his undead army was gettingrger and more powerful.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Arise.¡± he said, necrotic mana leaving the same hand his gauntlet was on.

    Strangely, the mana seemed to travel through the gauntlet¡¯s fingertips and exit through the w tips, making it seem like Jay was a puppet master.

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± he thought as the bones began to move.

    For a moment, the bones lifted and floated up before klinking down again. Nothing happened.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡± Anya asked with a cheeky smile.

    It seemed she had recovered from the shock and she simply epted it was another crazy thing Jay had done.

    ¡°Just¡­ give me a sec.¡± Jay gestured her off.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Anya said as she went to look around in this massive open pyramid.

    Sadly, none of the walls had anything on them. After a small search she simply gazed into the ruins towards the fourth pyramid.

    Jay began checking his skill, trying to find out why the skeleton wasn¡¯t summoning properly.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ what¡¯s the problem¡­ is it the raise feeble creature skill again?¡±

    Jay tried again, and again the bones harmlessly clinked on the ground.

    Re-reading the skill, he realised the problem and felt a little silly ¨C he had this problem before when he tried to raise a skeleton using a wolf corpse: ¡®must be cast on a small corpse¡¯.

    It seemed that so far, only the street rat and soap rat corpses counted as small corpses.

    ¡°Well, thankfully I have a bunch of soap rat corpses.¡± He smiled dly.

    Jay took out some rat bones and a skull, repeating the raising process. This time, the summoning was a sess.<sub></sub>

    ¡°There we go¡± he smiled, ¡°It¡¯s good not having to waste my time running around, chasing after bullshit¡± he thought, d he decided to stockpile some rat corpses.

    The new level 1 feeble creature stood there, gazing at its master.

    ¡°Huh, It¡¯s smaller than I remember.¡± he thought as he gazed back into its hungry eyes.

    Just like the other skeletons, it was keenly ready to sink its ws into some flesh.

    Anya usually would watch the summoning, but at the moment she was looking at the weird throne with all its strange instruments dotted around it.

    The young feeble creature looked at her, ready to y her as soon as it was given the order. It seemed like it was wondering why there was a human around that wasn¡¯t dead yet.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch her.¡± Jay squinted at it, sending a powerful thought.

    The creature immediately turned and looked at its master, waiting for orders.

    Jay had already summoned his other skeletons back to him as soon as he entered the dungeon. Like usual, he wasn¡¯t going to progress further without them around.

    ¡°Here we are.¡± Jay smiled, seeing all four of them return, ¡°Why are their arms and hands ck? Weird¡­¡±

    Anya freaked out once more, seeing the mob of undead return.

    ¡°Wow, you got them armour? Freaking armour? I don¡¯t even have any armour¡­. Even you don¡¯t have any and you gave them some.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a shame ¨C but not entirely true.¡± Jay smiled mischievously and immediately donned his new armour.

    [Necrotic Greaves] x 2

    [Necrotic Vambrance] x 1

    [Necrotic Barbute Helmet] x 1<sub></sub>

    ¡°No way, you have armour now too? That¡¯s so unfair.¡± Anya shook her head.

    ¡°It is what it is.¡± Jay shrugged as he noticed something on the skeletons.

    ¡°Oh, they have a few scratches on their armour¡­ good. I¡¯ve been wanting to test this.¡±

    Jay took out some bones from his gauntlet, making a tidy little pile on the ground.

    ¡°Feast.¡± he gestured to his skeletons, and each of them began happily munching away.

    Anya¡¯s face grimaced a little as she watched this, It was simply too unnatural.

    ¡°Say Jay, have you seen this?¡± she pointed at the throne with Estobar¡¯s corpse still lying on it.

    ¡°Seen what?¡±

    ¡°This old guy? He had a note in his pocket.¡±

    ¡°Huh? No? I mean, I used my loot skill on him but¡­ I guess the note didn¡¯t count as loot?¡± Jay raised a brow, ¡°What¡¯s it say?¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± she said, handing it to him.

    It seemed to be some sort of personal diary entries. Each of them began a little less legible as they went.

    [~ I¡¯m d Heidi volunteered to be here. She really makes thispound a little less dark.

    [~ I worry for Heidi, my assistant. Each passing day, I see the light fade from her eyes, reced by desperation.

    [~ Heidi always wanted children, and even after she turned part of her body to the cursed stone, it seems that she didn¡¯t give up. She has already created some different creatures using her own blood ¨C but she assures me that it¡¯s purely for experimentation.

    [~ Heidi is changing herself¡­ She says it¡¯s for the revenge pact, but I think the motives are obvious.

    [~ Her ¨C no. It. Its drive for offspring has only magnified as we have both aged. Perhaps our life-scaling chemicals are warping our minds. It gave up pieces of itself as time went by. Amputating itself, imnting different parts from other creatures, and conducting small-scale experiments on its own flesh.

    [~ It released some specimens from containment and tried to leave in the chaos. I sealed the facility; we can only be opened from the outside now.

    [~ Even parts of its own soul were not spared from the mad experiments, and the more pieces of itself it ripped away, the madder it got.

    [~ Slowly it began adding parts of its experiments back into itself, eventually bing the abominable beast that it is today. It¡¯s hard to tell if it¡¯s still alive, and I don¡¯t think Heidi is still with us.

    [~ It released more specimens¡­ then killed some soldiers. It¡¯s truly not human anymore. I have locked down the facility. No more experiments ¨C we have failed.

    [~ I will sit here on my immortal throne and will keep the pyramid locked down until the end of time, or until the stone guard saves me. If any of these creatures get free, our chance of revenge is lost. Perhaps everything will be lost ¨C not that we had much left anyway.

    [~ The pact must live on. Long live Helvetia¡¯s revenge.

    [~ Its making me mad, the constant scratching

    [~ Chemicals I love chemicals feel good good

    ¡­

    Jay took a big breath in after reading this.

    ¡°Fuck, so that¡¯s what it was¡­ also why it was mad enough to give half its soul up.¡± he thought.

    ¡°Pretty damn tragic¡­ I suppose even emptiness can turn some people into monsters. While they don¡¯t start out that way, it doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re not currently monsters. Pity is not reserved for monsters.¡± he shrugged, scrunching up the note and tossing it away.

    Anya looked at him as if expecting some emotional response ¨C he was the one who dealt with the creature anyway.

    ¡°Oh, thanks by the way. That was enlightening.¡± Jay nodded and turned back to his new level 1 feeble creature.

    Anya shook her head as Jay prepared his little minion.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll have to make you some armour at some point¡­ I guess it¡¯d be a waste to make it now while you¡¯re so little though.¡± he looked at the small skeleton, it was barely up to his waist.

    ¡°Hm, you¡¯re probably too small to wield a hammer too¡­ I guess a bone dagger would be better than nothing though.¡± Jay nodded before calling to Anya.

    ¡°Just give me a couple minutes, sorry.¡± he said.

    Anya didn¡¯t seem to mind, she was still looking around the ¡®immortal throne¡¯ as he pulled out some bones and sat down, preparing to make a dagger for his new minion.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ now that I have level three scrimshaw I wonder if the dagger will be different?¡±

    ***Hello ?? I have some exciting news! There may be aicing ¨C we¡¯re still working out the details though, but it should be great.

    Who knows, maybe one day I may just be a full-time writer. That¡¯d be a real dream.

    Anyway, if you¡¯d like to support me, there¡¯s going to be a patreon-discord (with art, mechanics, hidden stats, monsters, ideas, uncut material, and QNA.)

    So if you¡¯d like to support me directly, here are the options:

    buymeacoffee/MyNecromancer

    *******/MyNecromancerss

    ko-fi/aero182

    Ourmunity strength is up to you. If we get enough support then we can run exciting events, and bing a full-time writer may not just be a dream. For the ******* I¡¯m nning to provide QNA discord chats,mission artists, host art/monster-ideapetitions (which could end up in the book¡­?).

    The discord is still in construction-phase but it¡¯s looking pretty good so far ??

    These links will be in the book description/synopsis too.***

 Chapter 160 Where are all the guards?

    Jay sat cross-legged as a new instrument floated down before him.

    A fresh bone dagger with a dark-grey streak through it floated down before him as he received a notification.

    [Sess ¨C Recipe Upgraded]

    ¡°Oh?¡± Jay smiled, ¡°Well then, let¡¯s see the new dagger.¡±

    <[Bone Dagger Level 3]>

    [5 damage] (shing) (Piercing)

    [1 stamina damage] (Drain)

    [+50% damage from back-stab attacks]

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires essence to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 20 hours]<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Stamina drain? Cool¡­ might be more useful against living enemies, but still useful. I¡¯ll take it.¡± he nodded.

    Jay crafted a few more to see if any stats were different, but they were all the same, so he simply stashed them in his inventory; they would turn back to raw bone after 20 hours, and then he would just add them back to his gauntlet.

    ¡°Alright, here¡¯s your weapon¡± Jay handed it to his skeleton, ¡°give it to Blue when its lifespan gets low.¡±

    The skeleton grabbed the dagger, looked closely at the weapon and then gripped it firmly. It seemed quite content with its new tool.

    ¡°Off you go¡± Jay pointed at the other four skeletons waiting by the side.

    He smiled seeing it slink over to join the formation and immediately incorporate into the group of skeletons ¨Cpared to the adventurers outside the dungeon, the skeletons made teamwork seem way too simple. It was like it had been fighting with them all along.

    ¡°I definitely prefer the undead,¡± Jay slowly nodded, scratching his chin.

    With the skeletons ready there was nothing left to do now except to move on.

    ¡°Ready to go?¡± He turned to Anya. She was still fiddling around with the broken immortal throne.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Oh ¨C yep, so we¡¯re going to the fourth pyramid today? Since you conquered this one¡± Anya asked as she walked over to the group.

    ¡°You guessed it.¡± Jay nodded as he took out his hammer.

    ¡°Awesome. Hopefully it will be better than the third¡­¡±

    ¡°Mm, hopefully.¡± he nodded.

    It seemed that whatever passive fear effect was no longer guing Anya¡¯s mind, she was normal again and back to her usual self.

    They both began walking down the ramp out the back of the pyramid and Jay thought he should probably warn Anya about what happened.

    ¡°So, I should probably tell you ¨C you know that level 133 centipede thing? Well you see¡­ I identally let a whole bunch of them loose..¡± Jay chuckled, scratching his head.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t¡­.¡± Anya gasped, ¡°How are we going to deal with them?¡±

    ¡°Well, I did¡­ But don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re around our level and the skeletons can easily deal with them, so we should be fine.¡± Jay shrugged with a cheeky grin.<sub></sub>

    Anya could only sigh and shake her head as they descended into the city ruins once more.

    As they walked closer to the pyramid, it seemed that the weather began to change. The overcast clouds above were getting harder to see as a thick mist rolled in out of nowhere.

    ¡°A heavy fog is moving in. I can¡¯t see anything..¡± Anya said, sounding a little worried.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the skeletons can see through the fog. Just try not to identally hit them.¡±

    ¡°No promises.¡± she shrugged, returning Jay¡¯s cheeky grin back to him.

    Distant cries, shrieks and echoes of pain filled the dungeon as they walked through the thick fog,ing from some other ces in the ruined city. It was a cursednd that had somehow be more dangerous now; it was tense now, as the dihexapedes were roaming around ¨C quite different to the predictable behaviour of the stone soldiers.

    It was hard to tell how many dihexapede¡¯s were released, but they both felt like they were walking around in a nest of them ¨C some cries were evening from behind them now.

    There was a chance they were somehow breeding or levelling themselves up by ying the helvetian soldiers, fighting each other over the soul stones. Perhaps they were even eating each other.

    Jay was only concerned about one thing: were they lone hunters, or did they work together and hunt as packs?

    If thetter was true, things could get difficult. It would be troublesome to deal with many of them rather than one powerful one.

    He still had to protect Anya too, and in this fog it was even getting hard to see her as she walked only a few meters alongside the party.

    Sometimes Jay would still remember the tense feeling when Sullivan ordered him to protect her. It wasn¡¯t explicitly a death threat, but it sure felt like one.

    ¡°Anya, stay close, within reaching distance.¡± Jay said as he pulled out the deathwalker¡¯s sentry.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    The deathwalkers sentry was a useful addition; it was another pair of eyes that would be handy ¨C especially one that could see through fog.

    *scrii~~~*

    Distant cries continued to sound out,ing from somewhere deep in the fog.

    Soon enough, they came across some crumbled stone soldiers. Their bodies were decimated andpletely broken down into small chunks.

    ¡°Was this in by the skeletons?¡± Anya asked.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. They wouldn¡¯t waste time breaking them down like this.¡±

    Jay crouched down as he looked at more of the stone bodies hidden in the fog, and he soon found some dark slime-like substance on part of a stone gauntlet. Four of the fingers were chewed off already.

    ¡°Hmm, seems like they¡¯re not only eating soul stones¡­ this could get troublesome.¡± Jay squinted into the fog as he stood up, waving his shield around in case this was a trap.

    Thankfully, the shield gave no response.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Anya whispered.

    ¡°The normal ones eat soul stones to get stronger, but there was another type which could eat body parts to get stronger¡­¡± he whispered back.

    Anya suddenly became more vignt and didn¡¯t say anything, only gripping her crossbow a little more tightly as she stared into the fog and listened to more of the shrieking sounds; she immediately realised the implications of this.

    ¡°We should hurry and finish this dungeon, before they get too strong.¡± Jay suggested.

    Anya nodded, and Jaymanded the skeletons to march a little faster. They made some extra noise now, but it would be worth getting to the fourth pyramid faster. It seemed like only a matter of time before this part of the dungeon would be off-limits.

    ***Hey, so we reached 1127 golden tickets, that means 6 bonus chapters ?? Nice work everyone. I already delivered one, so there¡¯s 5 bonus chapters left to do. I¡¯ll get those out asap! 1 week left of my holidays, sigh.

    +Sorry there were no updates over the weekend, I¡¯ve beenzy and I needed a break.

 Chapter 161 Mist, Keep.

    Jay and Anya continued to sneak through the mist behind the skeletons while the dihexapedes continued to shriek and call out through the dungeon. After walking for some time, a tall ck tower slowly emerged from the heavy fog. It was made from heavy blocks of the same dark stone as the rest of the dungeon.

    The entrance had no door, and was extended outwards from the structure like a tunnel. After sending in a skeleton to make sure it wasn¡¯t a trap, Jay quickly stuck his head in to take a look around ¨C on the inside, it was just an empty room. There were no windows or stairs going to the top of the tower; there wasn¡¯t even a gate.

    ¡°Weird. I didn¡¯t see any other structures before we started walking¡­ It¡¯s like this tower just appeared somehow.¡± Jay whispered.

    ¡°Me either.¡± Anya shrugged.

    After looking around and finding nothing of use, the two left again. Jay couldn¡¯t help but wonder why the strange tower had appeared in the mist though. He could only guess that it raised from the ground and was simply another weird part of the dungeon.

    They continued in roughly the direction of the pyramid, leaving the empty tower in the mists behind them.

    Suddenly, Jay stopped in his tracks and looked around while having the skeletons form a circle around them.

    ¡°hm?¡± Anya gave him a questioning nce.

    ¡°Do you hear that?¡± he whispered.

    ¡°Hear what?¡±

    ¡°Exactly¡­ they¡¯re all quiet.¡±

    The only sound was a gentle breeze travelling through the ruins, as the calling dihexapedes were now silent ¨C but not for long.

    Sounds of multiple shrieks bellowed out, a crescendo of wailing voices sounded out all around Jay and Anya.

    ¡°Fuck, we¡¯re surrounded¡­ looks like they¡¯re pack hunters¡± Jay said, raising his shield.

    *Skriiiii!~*

    The first dihexapede appeared from the mist with a slicing attack against one of the skeletons ¨C the skeleton saw iting at thest moment and was ready, bracing itself before taking a hit.

    The two skeletons near it all got to work, smashing their hammers against the creature.

    The dihexapede was much shorter than the level 133 they initially came across, and its speed was simrly slower; about the same speed as one of the skeletons, though this was still incredibly fast by human standards.<sub>.</sub>

    With no time to rest, another dihexapede appeared from the other side of the defensive circle.

    Anya already began tounch bolts at them, causing them to stagger for a moment and allowing the skeletons to get some easy hits in.

    Meanwhile, Jay hadn¡¯t acted yet. He looked conflicted as he was still listening to the screeching sounds; despite there being numerous voices they were only being attacked by two. Perhaps these two dihexapedes were merely the tip of the iceberg.

    Suddenly, the dihexapedes both looked at each other and scurried off, climbing back into the ruins and hid in the mist.

    ¡°That was weird¡­¡± Anya said, ¡°maybe they were scared of each other?¡±

    Anya¡¯s attitude was pretty casualpared to Jay. Jay was not responding as his thoughts were racing about what to do.

    He thought about the possible defensive formations they could take against multiple dihexapedes, but it seemed that fighting as many as three of them would be a life and death battle.

    One thing was clear to Jay: they were in imminent danger.

    ¡°Those two were just to test us.¡± Jay whispered, ¡°We might have to leave the dungeon.¡±

    Anya now looked conflicted too ¨C she definitely didn¡¯t want to leave, and fighting with Jay was a rare opportunity only afforded to her.

    The attack hadn¡¯t begun, and perhaps it was a good thing that Jay didn¡¯t attack. The dihexapedes wouldn¡¯t know his power and would possibly hold off attacking. Even for a moment it would be an advantage.

    Jay was stressing slightly, clenching his jaw while trying to think up any possible formation ¨C but he realised that wasn¡¯t the answer.

    This was when he remembered the silk woods dungeon. Against an overwhelming force of ethereal spiders, he used a chokepoint.

    ¡°We have to get back to the tower.¡± he was still whispering, but a little more loudly.

    ¡°O- ok.¡± Anya was surprised at how tense Jay seemed; he was usually much more rxed.

    *SCRRRIIIIIIII!~~~*

    The attack signal sounded as they started moving back to the tower. It seemed that the dihexapedes noticed their change of direction, and responded immediately.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Run!¡± Jay yelled.

    He had three skeletons protect them from behind, while two ran at either side.

    *Scriii!~*

    One was really close, screeching from somewhere behind them, but no one looked back.

    [Your feeble creature has been in]

    The small skeleton was grabbed and executed immediately, though Jay ignored the notification. He was just d that the new skeleton served a purpose, even if it was to slow down a group of dihexapedes, if only for a moment.

    Jay¡¯s shield squeezed his arm right before another dihexapede appeared from the mist in front of them.

    *Clung!~*

    [-3.3]

    He raised it just in time, blocking a sh from its w while he had the two skeletons on either side jump on it and keep it busy. They couldn¡¯t afford to slow down.

    ¡°Uncaring Rip!¡±

    Jay stashed his shield and reached out with his gauntlet ¨C the creature shuddered for a moment while its cor bone was ripped out, causing it immense pain.

    *Schrriiiii!~*

    Despite the tense situation, a sly grin appeared on Jay¡¯s face, though only for a moment.

    Jay and Anya slipped past it as it was beaten by the skeletons¡¯ hammers. Jay made them throw caution to the wind and take damage so they could deal as much as possible. The dihexapede clearly didn¡¯t expect such resistant yet careless enemies as it let Jay and Anya dash by.

    Only two skeletons were left guarding them now, bringing up the rear of the party.

    Jay and Anya kept running, only hoping they were going in the right direction ¨C the tower was still nowhere in sight, while it was hard to tell if they were even going the right way.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Damn, how many skeletons will I have to sacrifice?¡± Jay wondered.

    Losing skeletons wasn¡¯t so bad, but each of them carried the bone hammers which took blocks of metal to craft; Jay had no more metal chunks or hammers in his inventory, so equipping the skeletons after resummoning was not possible ¨C they would have to find the hammers again.

    With enough distance, Jay had the skeletons disengage from the dihexapede, but one didn¡¯t make it.

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    The lone skeleton caught up to them quickly ¨C however, another dihexapede soon emerged from the fog too, and hence another skeleton had to be sacrificed.

    ¡°It might as well be the weak one.¡± Jay thought,manding it to jump at the new enemy.

    A few shriekster and the third skeleton died.

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    It did the trick, buying them some time.

    As they ran, it sounded like a stampede wasing for them, but thankfully the tower emerged from the mist once more. It was like a breath of fresh air, and each of them felt a rise of hope in their hearts.

    ¡°There!¡± Anya yelled.

    The two dashed in quickly, followed by the two remaining skeletons.

    ¡°Get ready.¡± Jay said as he stood in the entrance.

    A dihexapede came charging in straight after them ¨C only to be met with the blunt strikes of the hammers.

    Bits of its body chipped off and cracked as it cried in pain. Immediately it regretted its foolish charge, yet it couldn¡¯t stop.

    The sheer speed of it managed to push back the skeletons and get close to Jay, but he braced himself and got his shield out, letting it take all the damage. Smashing it with his shield and it was brought to a halt.

    Jay smiled as it came to a stop. He was d these dihexapedes were smaller, remembering how the assistant sent him flying.

    *Shring~*

    [14.4]

    Immediately he retaliated, shing his sword across its decaying human face.

    The two skeletons got to work now, hitting its sides while Jay shed in its face, it was forced to back up.

    The dihexapede was in a horrible position; each hit of the skeletons against its legs and the twisted ck spines across its back, causing it to shudder in pain and slow its movement. Meanwhile the sword attacks on its face were stopping it from urately shing its talons at anything.

    Jay smiled slyly, its retreat was pathetic and this was all he needed: time.

    A pile of bones suddenly appeared near him and was suddenly covered with the dark green necrotic mana.

    Bones began floating in the cloud of mana, and one by one, skeletons marched out with a glint of revenge in their eyes; thest one summoned was the level one feeble creature.

    The higher level skeletons were summoned with their armour on, it became a part of them, ¨C though after dying it was cracked all over with chunks missing.

    Seeing their poor armour, Jay decided to remain defending with the other skeletons while letting them eat their fill of the bone pile.

    The two skeletons were holding it off, but without Jay there, they were taking a few hits too. Before entering the fight again, Jay took a moment to analyse it.

    <[Dihexapede Soul Eater ¨C Level 3]>

    [HP 103/103]

    [Damage]

    ¨C 6 shing (upper body appendages)

    ¨C 4 shing (legs)

    <[Skills]>

    [Congenital Linking ¨C 31/58]

    ¨C Shares its strength with other creatures

    [Amalgamation] (Body Parts)

    ¨C Consumes to grow stronger

    ¨C Has be immortal

    [Dire des]

    ¨C The dihexapede shes its target with its sabre talons

    ¨C 4 damage per sessful leg sh.

    [Brittle Armour]

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage.

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Magic damage immune.

    ¨C Any wielded weapons be cursed.

    <[Description]>

    [A soldier of¡­ Hunger. Pain. Empty. Hunger. Pain. Empty. Hunger. Pain. Empty. Hunger. Pain. Empty.]

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s only level three? I guess it¡¯s strong because of the soul linking¡­Damn, so there¡¯s thirty-one of them? I wonder what happened to the other twenty-seven¡­¡± Jay rolled his tongue in his cheek.

    ¡°I wonder if there are bigger packs than this.¡±

 Chapter 162 Blue

    The treant shed at the skeletons as Jay jumped closer.

    None of its abilities took Jay by surprise, so he fearlessly went in and began shing again, supporting the skeletons and blocking a few hits.

    *Clong~ ¨C Shring~*

    He blocked a swipe with deathwalkers sentry and retaliated with a sh.

    *Fwoosh~

    A heavy bolt flew past and pierce the creature right in the centre of its chest.

    *Scriii!~*

    Seizing the opportunity, one of the skeletons suddenly dropped its hammer and pierced its w-covered hand right into the dihexapede¡¯s abdomen.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    Jay could only guess what was happening as he looked on. It seemed that the creature was in immense pain as the skeletons hand carved up its insides, searching for one of its hearts.

    The pale sunken eyes of the creature began to roll back into its skull as the skeleton found its target; a lump of ck flesh was ripped out and the creature fell to the ground.

    [65 Exp]

    The skeleton dropped the heart of the creature on the ground, while the other one searched it, bringing back three soul stones for Jay.

    ¡°Oh, maybe they don¡¯t drop helvetian rings? ¡­that must be why there¡¯s so many soul stones to collect.¡± Jay thought as he added them all to his inventory.

    [Soul stone] (Empty) x 3

    There was only a short breather from the fight, as more dihexapedes were outside, trying to w their way in as they fought over who got to enter the tower next.

    Jay and Anya could hear them crawling all over the walls and the roof; their bug-like stone legs tapping and thudding against the outside.

    Thankfully, the tower stood strong. It seems that it was another invincible part of the dungeon¡¯s core structure.

    *Scriiii!*

    Another dihexapede charged in, carelessly trampling over its fallen brother and piercing its corpse to no end.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ how many are there?¡± Anya reloaded another bolt; the rails of her weapon still glowing slightly from thest one.

    ¡°Just keep shooting them.¡± Jay ordered as he stood between the skeletons once more.

    The duo continued to fight, stopping any dihexapedes from getting further in ¨C they have no other option. The tower was both like a trap and a perfect defence, and they would hold their ground.<sub>.</sub>

    A few more shrieks and scratchester and the second one was dead.

    [65 Exp]

    [Soul Stone] (Empty) x 2

    Jay blocked many times during the fighting, and Deathwalker¡¯s sentry lost its green necrotic glow as its energy dwindled, though it wasn¡¯t much of a problem now that Jay had put more points into his energy, easily recharging it.

    The freshly summoned skeletons had finally recovered their armour and re-joined the fighting. They didn¡¯t have any of their hammers so Jay just gave them the daggers he crafted in the third pyramid. They weren¡¯t very effective against the petrified bones of the creature¡¯s exoskeleton or its thick leathery flesh, but it was better than nothing.

    The level one feeble creature was by Jay¡¯s side all this time. It seemed to want to attack but so far, it found no openings.

    Jay really couldn¡¯t me it though, the dihexapdes were a much higher level, and it was much slower and smaller than the other skeletons.

    Another dihexapede ventured into the tower entrance, though it had a tougher time trying to get in because of the other two corpses.

    After taking a few hits from the skeletons and having hardly any room to move around in, it retreated.

    ¡°Huh, I guess they¡¯re notpletely stupid.¡± Jay shrugged.

    The attack was finally over.

    ¡°Phew, that was a little intense.¡± Anya sighed.

    ¡°Yeah. Good thing this tower was here.¡±

    ¡°So what now?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll send out some skeletons to see if there¡¯s any enemies left in the area. Then we can move to the fourth pyramid.¡± Jay said, as two skeletons immediately ran out of the tower and into the mist.

    ¡°Okay, sounds good. I still have my skill if we need it.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Jay nodded, ¡°just save it for an emergency.¡±

    Anya nodded as she watched two of the skeletons leave. Her eyes then drifted to a different skeleton. It was acting strangely.

    ¡°Hey, that one is being weird.¡± Anya pointed.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    Jay watched the skeleton for a moment, it was periodically looking at the bone pile. Jay analysed it, and a grin began to form on his face.

    ¡°You already levelled up?¡± he smiled.<sub></sub>

    <[Germinating Skeleton Level 4 ¨C Blue]>

    [Type ¨C Undead]

    [Role ¨C Unclear]

    HP ¨C 75/75 (+20 ¨C equipment)

    MP ¨C 10/10

    Armour ¨C 29

    <[Skills]>

    [Bone Eater]

    [Scrimshaw Level 1] (Passive)

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    [Fear] (Weak) (Passive)

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death ¨C and they spit back. Stop it before it¡¯s toote. Execute with extreme prejudice. Burn the bones.]

    This was followed by another notification which lit a fire in Jay¡¯s heart.

    [Please choose a role from avable categories ¨C Avable categories are based on the skeleton¡¯s qualitative experience. If no choice is made, a random role will be assigned once the skeleton levels up.]

    [Commander]

    [Warrior]

    [Guard]

    ¡°Fuck yeah, they have roles?¡± he looked at Blue with a smile.

    ¡°Guard and warrior makes sense, and I¡¯m guessing you got themander because I put you in charge of the other skeletons.¡±

    ¡°¡­Obviously we¡¯re going to go with themander role.¡± Jay grinned.<sub></sub>

    [Choice: Commander]

    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s only a choice for now? Right¡­ the level up part. I guess we will have to wait till you hit level five.¡± Jay shook his head with a smile.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I bet if I gave you all shields or bows we could find some other roles.¡±

    Blue kept looking at the bone pile, and Jay nodded while mentally giving it the green light to eat as much as it wanted.

    Jay suddenly had an idea ¨C he immediately got another dagger and turned to his new level 1 feeble creature.

    ¡°Here.¡± he forced it to dual-wield daggers.

    ¡°It might be toote for the others, it might not be, but you¡¯re definitely going to be something cool.¡± he smiled.

    ¡°I wonder what else I can do¡­ maybe if I abuse and beat up a skeleton regrly it will get some sort of masochist ss.¡± he scratched his chin as he looked at his skeletons.

    ¡°Nah¡­ I can¡¯t do that to them. I like them too much.¡± He pursed his lips and watched the level 1 feeble creature.

    The creature seemed content with whatever weapon it was given, it went back to the formation as it twisted its wrists and got into a fighting stance with its dual daggers.

    The stance it made was quite strange ¨C one dagger was held low and one was held high.

    Jay thought he would have probably done the same stance if that were him. He wasn¡¯t sure if the skeleton somehow tapped into his subconscious thoughts to find a battle stance, or if it was simply the most obvious stance ¨C at least from Jay¡¯s perspective.

    Blue was finished eating now ¨C it didn¡¯t get much taller, but its bones seemed to get thicker and its chest became wider.

    As Jay looked at Blue¡¯s upgraded body, he guessed that this might be what Michaels skeleton may look like ¨C being the guard captain had given him a sturdy, muscr physique so surely his bones wererger too.

    ¡°Hm, even then, Blue would still probably have a thicker skeleton.¡± he said as he scratched his chin.

    Anya only watched on silently as Jay chatted to his skeletons. It was like he forgot she was here, off in his own little world with his own little friends. Despite the ¡®little friends¡¯ being fearsome skeletons, it actually seemed quite wholesome.

    *Clink clink tap clink~*

    Two skeletons returned from the mist, as healthy and whole as when they left ¨C the coast was clear, the dihexapedes had truly left.

    ¡°Alright, it seems like we¡¯re safe to move on. We should probably jog to the pyramid since the dihexapedes knew where we were even while we were being quiet and sneaking. Are you ready?¡± Jay suggested as he added the remaining pile of bones back into his gauntlet.

    ¡°Sure¡­ back into the mist we go.¡±

    ¡°Mist keep dungeon¡­ it¡¯s a suitable name.¡± Jay said as they left the tower, entering the thick fog once more.

    Neither of them could see the skeletons in front of them ¨C but Jay could sense them, so he had no worries. Anya simply had to trust and follow Jay.

    As they jogged, they soon came across the remains of the other skeletons. Their bodies were shed apart and broken into many smaller fragments, some were even covered with ck slime.

    ¡°It seems that some of the dihexapedes had a little snack.¡± Jay said as he picked up and studied a bone.

    One by one, the skeletons reimed their hammers, while Jay reimed their bones.

    Screeches and shrieks began sounding in the dungeon once more. The dihexapedes were on the move again.

    ¡°Dammit, just how far away are we?¡± Jay wondered as they kept running through the fog.

    ¡°Should we go back? It doesn¡¯t feel right¡­¡± Anya still whispered.

    ¡°No, let¡¯s just run faster. Remember, it¡¯s a level three dungeon. It shouldn¡¯t be that hard.¡±

    They pushed on, and once more the dungeon became eerily quiet again.

    ¡°Keep running, at the very least we can see how far we get. Use your skill if things get bad and we¡¯ll just leave the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡± Anya nodded, simply trying to stick to Jay¡¯s side as they ran. It would be a failure if they were separated in the mist.

    Suddenly, another tower emerged from the mist.

    ¡°There it is¡­ wait, it¡¯s another tower?¡± Anya said.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Yeah¡­ we should¡¯ve been at the next pyramid by now.¡±

    *SCrrriiiiii!~*

    With the advancing dihexapedes, they had no choice but to take refuge in the tower once more.

    As they approached, Jay slowed down his run as he looked at it ¨Cpletely identical to the previous tower, except without the two dead dihexapede corpses inside.

    ¡°Get inside and get ready, it seems like we¡¯re gonna be tower hopping for quite some time.¡± Jay gestured to the entrance.

    Jay followed behind Anya as they quickly went into the shelter of the tower ¨C just in time too as the first dihexapede showed up.

    The five skeletons had already blockaded the entrance. Each of them were determined to get revenge on these creatures for ending their lives previously.

    Immediately they all dashed forward to counter the dihexapede¡¯s charge; their hammers crunched into the dihexapedes body and chipped away their ck stone body parts.

    The dihexapede didn¡¯t know what hit it as it suddenly lost arge chunk of health. Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be the one confounding its enemies?

    Clearly it had be overconfident from its congenital buff. The foolish creature needed to learn its ce as a level three monster.

    ¡°Nicely done,¡± Jay nodded approvingly.

    He was waiting at the back, his arms folded as he watched, nodding in approval whenever a skeleton dodge or got a decent swing in.

    The small feeble creature had managed to get a few hits in too, so hopefully it would level up soon. In not time at all, two of the skeletons were already digging around in the dihexapedes body with their hands, making it cry in pain while dying miserably.

    Without so much as a w attacknding on the undead, it was quickly culled, finished off by a final bolt to the chest.

    [65 Exp]

    [Soul stone] (Empty) x1

    ¡°Hmm, I guess they have be reliant on fighting in the mist. They¡¯re hopeless otherwise.¡± Jay thought, while a skeleton brought a soul stone to him.

    During the fight, Blue proved to be an imposing force on the battlefield.

    The level three skeletons could merely chipped and chunk away at the creature¡¯s carapace, while the level four skeleton could basically shatter parts of it, ripping its hammer out and creating arger hole.

    As for the parts of the creature¡¯s leathery flesh, it was simply ruptured, teared, and broken away.

    ¡°Next level I think I might give it a shield¡± Jay thought as he looked at it.

    It was dual-wielding the hammer effectively now; each of its swings were much faster, and much more powerful. It was clear that it could definitely use it one-handed if Jay so desired.

    Without more time to analyse, the next dihexapede entered with a shriek ¨C another was behind it as well. The one behind it seemed to want revenge; It couldn¡¯t get past either so it simply pushed its ally into the wall of skeletal death.

    ¡°So dumb.¡± Jay shook his head, disappointed in the foolish tactics of the creatures.

    ¡°They truly are just mindless beasts I guess.¡± he shrugged.

    A little disappointed in the poor tactics of his enemies, Jay let Bluemand the other skeletons. It seemed that it was better atmanding the other skeletons now too, as at different points in the fight, some skeletons would move back while others would simultaneously go in to attack.

    The dihexapede would sh at skeletons which were retreating (and miss) while being pounded on from a different side. Turning to the other side, the process would repeat itself.

    The low level dihexapedes were a useful training tool for the skeletons. It wasn¡¯t as cunning as a higher level enemy, but had arger health pool. Right now, it was their punching bag.

    Jay couldn¡¯t actually imagine a better scenario than this to train his minions. A part of him almost wanted to mock the level three dungeon ¨C but he decided not to tempt its wrath.

    ¡°Have the new skeleton attack more¡± Jay ordered through his mind.

    Blue didn¡¯t turn back to Jay, but it turned its bone skull towards the level one feeble creature with its dual-wield daggers.

    Jay didn¡¯t need a clue or a ¡®yes sir¡¯, it was obvious that it was already carrying out Jay¡¯s will.

    The little skeleton dashed into the fray, eagerly plunging its dual daggers into the tough, leathery, skin-like joints of the dihexapede.

    ***Blue needed a bigger chapter. Thanks for saying thanks ?? Enjoy!***

 Chapter 163 Little Swarm 1

    The dihexapede looked ufortable as the small skeleton was running around under it causing mayhem. Each of its legs shuddered when a dagger was pierced into their joints.

    The monster couldn¡¯t even defend itself now, much less attack.

    Hammers smashed down on it repeatedly, and just as it got used to the pace of the battle, a bolt would suddenly pierce into its chest.

    There was nothing it could do, it was outmatched; it was apletely different fightpared to when it was part of a swarm ¨C it had never even been attacked until now.

    A primal fear set in, a stressful panic. It desired to flee, but at this point it didn¡¯t have a choice but to fight ¨C its own kin was behind it, pushing it forward and blocking its retreat.

    After a desperate struggle, the light from its eyes left it while its body copsed.

    The next dihexapede walked over its corpse and soon enough, it met the same fate.

    [130 Exp]

    [Soul stone] (Empty) x 6

    A third charged in, but it died even faster than the second; Jay¡¯s party was getting proficient at ying them, especially with the crafty little dual-dagger skeleton contributing to the fight now too.

    [65 Exp]<sub>.</sub>

    [Soul stone] (Empty) x 2

    Screeching noises came from the mist as the third one died, and the attack was over.

    All the dihexapedes crawling over the tower disappeared and the dungeon wentpletely quiet again.

    ¡°Okay, looks like it¡¯s over. Let¡¯s move.¡± Jay pointed to the mist.

    They had to climb over the piled up corpses to get back outside, but then they were well on their way.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ three dihexapedes¡­¡± Jay thought as they ran through the cloud, beginning to notice a pattern.

    Once more, a crescendo of screeching sounds pierced the silence ¨C right as another tower appeared in the mist.

    Once again they repeated the same strategy: Enter the tower, form a wall of skeletons, exterminate the hopeless creatures.

    After a short battleter in the new tower, three more dihexapedes had died.

    [195 Exp]<sub></sub>

    [Soul stone] (Empty) x 7

    Just likest time the dungeon went quiet after three were in.

    ¡°Ok, I think that pretty much confirms it¡­ They retreat after three die.¡± Jay nodded silently to himself.

    ¡°You alright there?¡± Anya asked, seeing him nod. He looked like he knew something.

    ¡°Yeah. I just have a hunch. Ready to leave?¡± Jay decided not to share in case he was wrong.

    ¡°Yep¡± she smiled, ¡°They¡¯re getting easier to kill. I guess that congenital linking skill makes them weaker as they die.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, I forgot about that ¨C Heh, I just thought we were getting more efficient.¡± Jay chuckled with a shrug.

    Anya smiled back as she ripped a bolt out of a dihexapede.

    ¡°Probably a mix of both.¡± she added.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see if we can make it into the next tower before the next attack.¡±<sub></sub>

    ¡°Just try to keep up¡± Anya curled her lips.

    Jay stashed his weapon and shield away as they both ran through the fog.

    *Scriiiiii!~*

    ¡°Damn, so soon?¡± Anya frowned.

    ¡°No¡­ I think the next tower must just be further away. Let¡¯s just keep running.¡± Jay urged her as he made three skeletons cover them from behind again.

    Without much more warning, the level 1 creature was the first to be snatched.

    [Your feeble creature has been in]

    ¡°Dammit, where the hell is the next tower?¡± Jay thought, clenching his jaw.

    Compared to the distance between thest two towers, they had run about twice as far with no tower in sight.

    ¡°Did we run past it? Or could it be just a little further? What if we were meant to stay at the third tower?¡±

    Thoughts were running through Jay¡¯s head as the dihexapede swarm bore down on them, charging mercilessly.

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    ¡°Hmm¡­ It surely isn¡¯t that simple?¡± Jay thought.

    As the second one died, Jay put his idea into action.

    ¡°Anya, we¡¯re gonna stop running and fight them.¡±

    ¡°What? But we don¡¯t even know how many there are.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine, I think I figured something out.¡± Jay gave a reassuring smile as he had the three skeletons behind them turn around to face the brunt of the swarm.

    Multiple dihexapedes shed against the skeletons, causing them to jump back multiple times. Thankfully the dihexapedes slowed down after some painful hammer strikes.

    The skeletons did take a few hits, but it was worth it to stop the swarm.

    Anya had already startedunching bolts which slowed them down enough for the skeletons to defend themselves.

    Jay had already created arge bone pile on the ground and started summoning skeletons.

    ¡°Just focus on one of them at a time¡± Jay said as he went to join the fight with his undead minions.

    ¡°Focus one? But there¡¯s so many¡­¡± Anya thought to herself as she shook her head.

    Looking at Jay fighting, she was curious why he seemed so calm.

    He was blocking shes and dealing damage with the skeletons, not really standing out very much though; he wasn¡¯t some incredible fighter. Yet he seemed fine as he had a rxed look.

    [Your skeleton has been in] x1 ¡­ x1 ¡­. x1

    Jay resummonded them as quickly as he lost them.

    The fight was mostly one sided, but the dihexapedes were slowly being chipped away at.

    A dihexepede suddenly shuddered as a bone was ripped right out of its body; ck blood and unknown tissue went everywhere, sshing onto other dihexapede faces as the bone flew into Jay¡¯s gauntlet, being crushed and disappearing.

    The wailing dihexapede then went down with a final hit from one of the skeletons.

    [65 Exp]

    The first dihexapede finally went down, along with another skeleton perishing which was quickly resummoned. The semi-circle of dihexapedes surrounding them all paused for a moment as they were weakened.

    ***Hey, this is the free one from the 25th. Enjoy:)***

 Chapter 164 Little Swarm 2

    The semi-circle of dihexapedes surrounding them all paused for a moment as they were weakened.

    *BOOOmmm!~~tat tat tat*

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t rest in battle.¡± Jay smiled after sending an explosive tooth.

    The explosion rang out and for a moment as the mist dispersed around it, temporarily making it easier to see.

    A gaping crater was formed in another dihexapede¡¯s flesh and unfortunately for the poor creature, a bone arm was soon sticking into the deep wound, tearing up its insides.

    [65 Exp]

    The other dihexapede¡¯s seemed to slow down a little after the second one died, it was like they had lost their vigour ¨C though both Jay and Anya knew it was because the less of them there were, the weaker they became.

    While not possessing much intelligence, the creatures slowly made their way around the front line and began attacking at the sides.

    Despite being level three, there were still about 20 of them and they still had the numbers to overrun their enemies.

    ¡°Ah, Jay?¡± Anya looked a little worried.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°I know,¡± Jay leisurely nodded as he sent some more exploding teeth into each side.

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    [Your feeble creature has been in]

    ¡°Dammit¡­ bad time to die guys.¡± Jay thought as he watched them crumble.

    He brought them back as quickly as they went down; d he invested in his mana pool.

    ¡°Only one more¡­¡± he thought as he went back to fighting.

    *Shring!~ BOOOOM!*

    A sword sh was followed by a quick tooth spell, bringing another dihexapede down to the ground as a skeleton hand pierce into its body.

    It could only screech with itsst breath as its insides were pulled out.<sub></sub>

    [65 Exp]

    ¡°Jay, help!¡± Anya yelled as two dihexapedes had made it to her, about to sh her to pieces.

    Jay only looked back at her with a smile ¨C the third dihexapede has just died as she yelled out.

    ¡°Huh?!¡± Anya was about to use her prostrate ability, but then the enemies froze in front of her ¨C no attack came.

    Along with them, the dihexapedes suddenly all froze and screeched before returning back to the mist and hiding once more.

    Anya was still looking confused as Jay was still looking at her with a cheeky grin.

    ¡°Care to exin?¡± Anya said while rubbing a finger between her eyebrows.

    ¡°Well, you only need to kill three of them and they retreat. Killing two seems to weaken them, then a third makes them give up.¡± Jay raised his chin with a slight smile.

    ¡°Oh¡­ so you figured it out. I guess I was too focused on the battle to realise.¡± Anya said as she reloaded her crossbow.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Heh, yeah. Anyway, let¡¯s keep moving¡± Jay said as he added the bone pile back to his ring, along with any fallen skeletons.

    Slowly but surely, Jay was changing. He was beginning to see the broader picture of battles rather than the one versus one fights.

    With his skeletons fighting for him, he could practice tactics and strategy while being able to analyse the battle freely with a calm mind.

    It was a simple skill to have, but for a normal adventurer it would take years to get a feel for it. Many wouldn¡¯t even learn such a skill unless they found themselves in a leadership position, instead just following orders and focusing on their fighting skills.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving. Hopefully the next tower isn¡¯t too far¡± Jay pointed into the mist.

    Once again, the party began running through the mist.

    ¡°Do you hear that?¡± Jay pointed up as they stopped running and listened for a moment. Instead of the odd background screech in the distance, there were new sounds ¨C hearing thudding, crunching and shing sounds.

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Anya narrowed her eyes, gazing into the mist. ¡°It¡¯sing from up ahead.¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­ let¡¯s stop running.¡±

    Jay began walking again as Anya followed. They didn¡¯t want to run right into the middle of an intense battle in the thick mist.

    They could both hear some battle sounds mixed in with a sea of screeching.

    After fighting the dihexapedes all this time, they could now recognise the difference between their normal screeches and the ones they did when they were in pain ¨C and these were definitely thetter.

    As they got closer to the battle, the thick mist began to clear and they could see the majestic fourth pyramid standing in all its glory, silently standing under the overcast sky.

    The mist behind them formed a wall, it was like a barrier was holding it back.

    Jay and his party stood at the very edge of the mist ¨C ready to retreat back into it at the sign of trouble.

    As they looked around they found where all the noisy racket wasing from.

    In front of the pyramid, piles of corpses were littered around, stacking up and forming a small mound of flesh in front of a line of spearman statues.

    Each of their shields had a few scratches on them but it was nothingpared to the damage they dealt to the dihexapedes.

    Each of their dihexapedes lives were snuffed out proficiently while their bodies copsed pathetically in an ever-growing pool of ck blood and organs.

    The line of spearmen formed a phnx which stood at the top of a small ramp. They were aligned between two pirs which connected to the pyramid withrge walls ¨C the only way into the pyramid would be through them.

    In the pyramid behind them, strangely, was a small human-sized entrance. None of the statues could possibly hope to fit through it.

    The most intriguing part was the units backing up the spearman statues.

    Behind the phnx of spearmen were some floating statues. Each of them had no lower torso or weapon ¨C instead they had somerge gauntlets which ended in long ws.

    ¡°Huh¡­ just like the giants at the third pyramid.¡± Jay thought as he recalled the huge statues at the entrance to the third pyramid. It seemed that these weren¡¯t just for show ¨C each of them wereunching spells from their gauntlets.

    ¡°But how are they using magic¡­ aren¡¯t they magic immune?¡± Jay raised a brow as he gazed at them.

    Each of their gauntlets were periodically charging a purple spindle-shaped spell which was sent off into the swarm of dihexapedes. The spell seemed to have no effect though, as the dihexapedes were simrly immune to non-physical magic.

    Jay thought it was quite foolish of them to keep casting ineffective spells, but he guessed that the statues were simply too old, relying on their instincts as they keptunching endless, useless spells. Their minds had left them.

    **Bonus chapter 1/5***

 Chapter 165 Little Swarm 3

    Jay had a regretful, pitying smile but he was soon bothered by something ¨C he wouldn¡¯t know how strong this spell is, or what it did, until he actually experienced it.

    This was the least of their problems for now though, as there was another dilemma facing them: do they wait to see if the dihexapedes can thin out the stone guards before entering the battle ¨C or do they enter now before all the dihexapedes die out, taking some pressure off themselves while fighting the statues?

    It was clearly a different pack of dihexapede¡¯s too, as the one they fought in the mist only had about fifteen left; the number of them fighting this battle were in the mid forties.

    Jay squinted at them for a moment. It seemed like the dihexapede¡¯s were doing well and the battle would be equal ¨C yet there was one problem: each time a dihexapede died, they would all get weaker.

    This would have apounding effect ¨C if one was in, then the next one was easier to kill. It seemed an even battle now but soon it would snowball out of control and the poor twisted creatures would all probably die at once.

    With a resolute decisiveness, Jay made a decision.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got to go in now,¡± Jay made an icy stare at the small entrance of the pyramid.

    ¡°Can¡¯t we just wait and see?¡±

    ¡°No, it will be toote then. We have to break through them while they¡¯re distracted. Let¡¯s move.¡± Jay crept forward with his skeletons into the ruins on the right.<sub>.</sub>

    Anya bit her lip but followed along anyway, deciding to trust Jay. It wasn¡¯t like she had a choice anyway, she was the one following Jay along after all.

    All seven of them ¨C Jay, Anya and the five skeletons ¨C crept quietly around the small mounds of rubble in the ruins. They didn¡¯t want to be noticed by either the dihexapedes or the stone statues.

    Jay had already begun to charge a few unstable teeth spells in his hand while they snuck through.

    Unlike the mysterious purple spells beingunched by the floating statues, these were effective because they created a physical force, which was the explosion followed by the tooth¡¯s enamel shrapnel.

    Jay led them closer to the pir on the right; it would be better to push through the side rather than through the middle ¨C there were also less dihexapede corpses here to jump over too.

    Still, it wouldn¡¯t be easy.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ this probably won¡¯t be enough.¡± Jay thought as he looked at the charged teeth in his hand.

    What Jay did next made Anya look a little confused as the skeletons all began handing their hammers to Jay ¨C but she decided to keep quiet and just wait and see.<sub></sub>

    With the hammers stashed away in Jay¡¯s inventory, he was ready.

    ¡°If one of the floating statues notices us, shoot a bolt at it and keep running.¡± Jay whispered, adding onest order ¡°¡­ and try not to get hit.¡±

    With a serious nod, Anya gripped her crossbow, ready to fire.

    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s move.¡± Jay said.

    Suddenly, two humans and five undead were sprinting out of the ruins across the battlefield. Were they running from the skeletons?

    They went from crouching silently to sprinting madly at the wall of spearmen.

    Jay was initially in the lead, but the skeletons quickly caught up and overtook him. They knew exactly what to do, as Jay wasmanding them with his mind while they charged.

    The stone statues didn¡¯t seem to be taken by surprise as the undead came charging; they reacted almost mechanically as they pointed their spears and raised their shields. To them, it was just another enemy of Helvetia which needed purging.<sub></sub>

    The feeble creature had a spear thrust into its rib cage, but it survived, upying a spearman temporarily ¨C at the same time, one of the higher level skeletons jumped at the statue.

    It wed and grasped onto the statues body and soon wrapped itself around the statues head, blocking whatever vision it had.

    This was something that did take the statue by surprise.

    Its spear was useless against something at such a close range, but it wouldn¡¯t drop its weapon ¨C perhaps its hands had even locked up as they had been holding it for centuries.

    What it did next almost made Jayugh as they continued to sprint towards the stone phnx.

    The statue had no other options than to smash its own shield against its head, trying to deal any damage to the skeleton it could.

    *shhhrew~*

    A purple spell suddenly flew around the head of the statue and ended up hovering inside the rib cage of the skeleton.

    ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Jay thought, ¡°Is it meant to do damage or¡­ hmm¡­¡±

    The spell still had no effect. Jay wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it. Either way, he was just d it wasn¡¯t used on him.

    A second statue received a skeleton to the head. It also couldn¡¯t do anything to shake it off.

    ¡°Here!¡± Jay yelled as he charged between them.

    *Scriiiii!~*

    The dihexapedes noticed something strange was happening now too, and some began to charge over to the side. It seemed that the soldiers had partially broken their formation and this was their opportunity to strike.

    Jay and Anya dashed through the wall of spearman statues. Thankfully, the floating spell-casting statue was still trying to cast its useless spells at the skeleton since it was the first enemy that made it into its attack range.

    The spearman statues on either side of the skeleton-covered statues started thrusting their spears into their allies¡¯ heads.

    This proved quite effective as they skeletons lost grip and were pushed off, though they still damage their own kind.

    The feeble creature had died by this point, and another skeleton was soon to follow ¨C but it didn¡¯t matter to Jay. They had done their jobs quite well.

    It was a crazy tactic but it worked.

    The dihexapedes that had noticed themotion were already attacking the preupied spearman statues, taking advantage of the chaos.

    Jay didn¡¯t want to favour one side over the other, but it seemed that this was all the dihexapedes needed to shift their battle in their favour.

    Two spearman statues perished, followed by the rest of Jay¡¯s skeletons and then two more statues.

    ***Bonus chapter 2/5***

 Chapter 166 Entrance Four

    Jay and Anya had made it to the entrance of the pyramid, andpared to the dihexapedes they were now further away from the floating statues ¨C they wouldn¡¯t be targeted.

    They were safe for now at least.

    For a moment they watched the battle behind them, but after they broke the line of spearmen, they were now being decimated.

    Jay and Anya caused a weakness in their formation which became the helvetians¡¯ soldiers undoing.

    The formation was what made them strong, but the dihexapedes could now go around and attack from behind, while getting too close for the spears to even be effective.

    Before entering the pyramid, Jay quickly brought out a pile of bones and resummoned all his skeletons.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head inside before all the statues die.¡± Jay said as he handed the skeletons their hammers and daggers back.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Anya nodded and followed the skeletons inside with Jay.

    Like the other pyramids, this one was also dark inside, so Anya took out her brighter luminous orb.

    ¡°Lamp.¡± Jay pointed at the luminous orb in Anya¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Anya said as she let the skeleton carry it.

    The small passageway opened up into arge rectangr room with pirs trailing down either side.

    As they cautiously crept between the pirs, two dual-dagger stone statues suddenly stepped out from behind the pirs and shed, taking the skeletons by surprise.<sub>.</sub>

    *Shring-shring~ shring-shring~*

    It was an effective surprise attack, as the skeletons took heavy damage before they could defend themselves.

    The skeletons jumped back and got into a fighting stance.

    Jay raised his shield and got into a defensive stance, checking for any other enemies in the hall about to ambush them, but it seemed like there were only the two dual-dagger statues here.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he squinted around the dark shadowy pirs, not trusting anything.

    Anya was already aiming her crossbow, but just before she fired Jay suddenly stopped her.

    ¡°Save your bolts. Let the skeletons deal with this.¡± he held his hand up.

    Anya lowered her crossbow while the skeletons got to work.

    Blue began to effectivelymand Red, Sweeper and the level one feeble creature.

    First, Red and Sweeper attacked one statue each; Red took the left state and Sweeper took the right statue, taking the aggro and forcing the statues to target them.

    Next, Blue and the level one skeleton went behind the left statue and started smashing their hammers down on its back.

    The poor statue had no choice but to turn to face them. Unfortunately for the statue, its back was now wide open to Red, which made it suffer for turning its back.<sub></sub>

    Between Blue, Red and the level one feeble creature, the statue was basically spinning. What was once a fearsome soldier turned into a useless punching bag.

    The feeble creature got a few shes in, but its damage was minimal, almost not worth mentioning. Soon however, it found that stabbing was more effective than shing against their dark stone bodies; it was a slight difference but was enough for it to continue this strategy, and now it was only stabbing.

    Despite having weapons quite effective to face a swarm, they had no choice but to ept their fate and give up their soul stones. They were simply outnumbered.

    The second statue could do nothing after itsrade died, it still did some damage to Sweeper but it wasn¡¯t enough to create any kind of momentum; the four skeletons made short work of it as they turned its body back to rubble.

    [50 Exp] [50 Exp]

    Since the skeletons didn¡¯t escape unharmed, Jay gave them a small bone pile to munch on while he, Anya and Lamp ventured a little further.

    Looking around on each wall of the room were what seemed to be stone bookshelves and racks of some sort.

    After walking a little deeper into the room they found a stone staircase in the very back; a set of stairs leading down and another leading up.

    ¡°Up or down?¡± Anya asked.

    ¡°Down.¡± Jay immediately made a choice.

    There wasn¡¯t any real difference between either choice, so wasting time thinking about it was just that ¨C a waste of time.

    This is what caused Jay to be so decisive for things like this; he couldn¡¯t imagine how much time would be wasted by adventurers arguing about such meaningless choices.<sub></sub>

    Sure, there would likely be different things either way, but they had zero information, so the choice was the same.

    For these situations, Jay would easily just make a decision and go with it. By the time they clear the bottom level, perhaps other adventurers would still have been arguing.

    ¡°Wait here for a second.¡± Jay said as he went back to collect the remains of the bone pile.

    After the skeletons ate their fill they were all in top condition again, their armour was pristine and they were ready to fight. The skeletons all headed back to the stairs and went down first, shortly followed by Jay and Anya.

    As they looked from the top of the stairs, they couldn¡¯t tell how deeply it would descend into the earth because of the darkness, but it didn¡¯t go down as far as they thought it might, maybe only one or two stories.

    The bottom floor opened into a wide passageway with a triangle ceiling.

    As they walked along the passage, they passed by somerge stone tubs filled with loose rocks and earth, some of which had flecks of gleaming violet colours reflecting in the light.

    Grabbing one, Jay inspected it closely and used his analysis skill ¨C yet no notification appeared.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s useless?¡± he shrugged, putting it back into the storage receptacle.

    He looked at the gleaming rocks once more, and then decided to take one with him, thinking it might look cool in the sunlight.

    [Sparkling Ore] x 1

    ¡°Hmm, so it tells me what it is when I add it to my inventory¡­?¡± he squinted at the stone tub of ore before him.

    ¡°I wonder why the analysis didn¡¯t show anything? Is my analysis skill not good enough?¡± Jay picked up another rock and looked at it, attempting another analysis.

    ¡°Perhaps I need a prospecting ability or something?¡± he wondered, though his thoughts were quickly interrupted.

    *GURRR~*

    A deep groaning sound resounded from somewhere below the floor of the room and suddenly an opening formed in the wall behind the receptacle.

    A thick orange glow came from the wall opening and without warning, the stone container flipped backwards ¨C all the ore was dumped into the wall opening, leaving an empty stone box, right before the wall closed again as if it all had never happened.

    ¡°Uhh¡­ ok then.¡± Jay turned his head to the side, a little confused as he held a chunk of the ore before adding it to his inventory.

    [Sparkling Ore] x1

    ¡°I hope it wasn¡¯t a mistake to let all that stuff go.¡± he thought as he scratched his chin.

    ¡°Hmm, but maybe it is just a useless sparkly rock,¡± he shrugged.

    As they walked, they passed by more and more of these empty stone tubs, all of them empty.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting warmer.¡± Anya said.

    ¡°Yeah. It feels nice.¡± Jay said, keeping the mood positive.

    Soon, they saw a faint glow in the distance at the end of the passage; it was small and appeared as if a floating ember in the wind.

    As they proceeded towards it, they heard some faint rhythmic sounds in the distance.

    *doon¡­ doon¡­ doon¡­ doon¡­*

    As they got closer though it became a bit clearer, sounding like metal banging on metal ¨C Jay didn¡¯t need to guess to know what it was.

    ¡°Why is there a cksmith here¡­ it doesn¡¯t make any sense. All of the soldiers¡¯ weapons are made from stone.¡± he thought, curious as they walked quietly.

    He could clearly hear the distinct sound of metal hitting metal, so Jay could only guess why none of the statues used any metal weapons. Surely they would be better than stone?

    Getting closer to the orange glow, they came to the entrance of the room. Tworge stone twin doors stood before them; each of them ornamental with an engraving of a hammer and anvil on one door and a sword on the other.

    Both were shut closed, and it turned out that the orange glow they were walking towards was a small circr opening above the doors.

    Jay had Lamp give the luminous orb back to Anya; they wouldn¡¯t be needing it because of the orange light, while having another skeleton to fight would be useful.

    Jay calmly and quietly traced his hand over therge doors, taking a moment to appreciate the craftsmanship. The edges were sharp and each line seemed to be perfectly cut.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Jay whispered as he stood next to therge doors.

    Anya raised her crossbow and nodded back.

 Chapter 167 Vengeful Craftsman 1

    The ancient doors groaned open, altering everything nearby; the rhythmic pounding noises of arge metal hammer suddenly stopped.

    Jay and his party entered. The skeletons guarded them with a semi-circr formation and quickly scanned for enemies.

    The room wasrge, but despite its size it was flooded with orange lighting from an opening in the right side of the room. It was like a river of bubblingva was just behind the wall.

    On the very right of the room was arge stone cube with a pool of the molten yellow substance on top. Some of it floated effortlessly above the pool and swirled around, forming a molten cylinder; perfect for inserting a sword into for forging.

    Various engravings, runes and metallic symbols covered the cube, each of them shimmering slowly which is probably what gave the yellow molten fluid its gravity-defying abilities.

    Near it, a metal anvil was sitting. It was muchrger than a normal anvil to suit the giant weapons being hammered with it.

    Some tool racks with various oversized metal instruments and other cksmith equipment were nearby, as well as a thick stone table and a ck pool of oil and stagnated water.

    It was a cksmith forge fit for an expert.

    Despite there being a metal-working forge, the room was littered with stone weapons of all different shapes and sizes, most of which were nothing more than rubble on the ground. It was almost like the cksmith was disappointed in its own work as it didn¡¯t even bother racking them.

    Between all of these stood what they came here for: Arge stone statue stood there with thick engraved armour and arge stone belly.

    Seemingly, it was angered by intruders distracting its work. Its eyes were like zing embers which gazed at them with a tense focus.

    Compared to the other soldiers in helvetia it seemed quite distinguished based on its thicker and ornamental armour. Patterns of trees, magic and towers were all over it.

    What was strange about therge statue was that it wasn¡¯t holding its hammer with its gauntlet; it was holding a pair of metal tongs which held its hammer.<sub>.</sub>

    In its other hand it held a long glowing piece of metal.

    ¡°Odd¡­¡± Jay thought, thinking that it should be using the tongs to hold the hot metal instead of its hammer.

    It seemed that the heat didn¡¯t affect its stone body ¨C but why use tongs to hold a hammer?

    Therge statue turned around and set its metal hammer down next to the anvil with a deep thud and a low ring. Next, it grabbed one of the stone weapons nearby ¨C it was another hammer, the only difference is that it was stone instead of metal.

    ¡°Strange¡­¡± Jay thought, looking for any clues.

    There were no other enemies in the room, so Jay decided to let Blue lead the attack again.

    The skeletons all marched forward with their own hammers, surrounding therge statue as it stomped forward in response; each of its own steps creating deep thudding sounds coursing through the room.

    Anya was ready tounch a bolt as soon as the skeletons attacked and took the enemies¡¯ aggression, meanwhile Jay took this opportunity to analyse the statue.

    <[Hessven ¨C Level 8]>

    HP 700/700

    Armour 500

    <[Skills]><sub></sub>

    [Water spear] (Nullified)

    ¨C This spell is no longer useable

    [Guided Hammer] (Passive)

    ¨C Continuous usage of hammers provides a damage bonus

    ¨C +7% damage with hammers

    [Eternal Forger] (Passive)

    ¨C Many lifetimes spent in the forge has caused a change

    ¨C 100% heat resistance

    [Bulwark¡¯s Vine] (Passive)

    ¨C My armour is an extension of myself, I even sleep in it; I am one with it.

    ¨C 15% of armour converted into bonus health

    [Restless Strength] (Passive)<sub></sub>

    ¨C Unstoppable, unmovable.

    ¨C Crowd control abilities have no effect

    [Tool Bond]

    ¨C A master craftsman has be one with their tools. The bond grows stronger the longer the tools are used.

    ¨C +322% Efficiency

    ¨C 1/2 Tools bound

    [Brittle Armour]

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage.

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Magic damage immune.

    ¨C Any wielded weapons be cursed.

    <[Description]>

    [An honoured servant of the Helvetian King, turned to stone. A once legendary cksmith, now purely relying on instinct to forge. Time passes, but the hammer continues to strike. Hessven works tirelessly, forging weapons for the King¡¯s great revenge.]

    ¡°Huh, no active abilities¡­ well, there is that water one but I guess it lost the ability after it turned to stone.¡± Jay squinted at it, scratching his chin.

    Compared to the spearmen and swordsmen statues, this one seemed very well-fed; at least before it turned to stone anyway. It had thicker limbs and arge stone belly; all covered by its thick gothic ornamental armour.

    Unlike other statues, it had no helmet. It would probably be too cumbersome when crafting, and it was bald with a thick stone beard.

    With the statue surrounded, the skeletons crept closer to begin their attacks, but the statue took the initiative and lunged forward.

    *BOOM!~*

    With a sideways swing, its stone hammer instantly connected. The feeble creature was instantly smashed to pieces, its spine flying into a wall and falling apart.

    ¡°Shit.¡± Jay thought as he quickly resummoned it.

    The level one skeleton had 15 health and no armour, so it was hard to determine how much damage was actually done ¨C until another hammer swing came flying at Sweeper.

    Sweeper dropped its hammer as it was simrly sent flying, though it maintained its form as it mmed against a wall.

    Despite its rib cage being mostly snapped off and one of its hands lying on the ground, it instantly jumped back into the fight.

    Jay smiled seeing how his minions just didn¡¯t care about being wounded. If they were human it would count as being mortally wounded if they were living. No human could ever hope to match their tenacity, or how quickly they could jump right back into a fight.

    The statue had quite a different reaction as it saw that its damage was merely superficial. Shouldn¡¯t they stay down for at least a moment to recover?

    The statue had never fought the undead before, and it definitely didn¡¯t expect them to be entering its forge. What happened to the guards? Surely they wouldn¡¯t have fallen to a small force of undead and two humans. Nevertheless, they were here now and it would fight. The thirst for Helvetia¡¯s revenge still was not quenched.

    Seeing that the skeletons wouldn¡¯t go down so easily, it immediately changed its tactics. It swung again at Red as it dashed to a corner; the swing missed though as it was simply trying to clear a path to a more defensible position.

    Jay analysed Sweeper to check just how hard the statue was hitting.

    HP [38/60]

    ¡°Damn, 22 damage? Good thing it missed Red.¡± Jay nodded, seeing Red dodge-jump to the side.

    The skeletons used to have 5 bonus HP from the silt wolf bones, but now they relied on Jay¡¯s new armour, giving them 20 extra HP. It was a good trade-off once they evolved into fully-formed skeletons.

    Without the armour they would only be able to take two hits, and being able to take an extra hit was a huge difference, especially since collectively they could take an extra four hits.

    The skeletons had managed to get in a few hits of their own ¨C though it was clear this was going to be a long fight after Jay saw their damage numbers.

    [4] [4] [4]

    ¡°Abysmal.¡± he pursed his lips, seeing the pathetic damage.

    ¡°This will be a long fight.¡±

 Chapter 168 Vengeful Craftsman 2

    *Dwoosh~*

    Thankfully, Anya was there and she dealt piercing damage.

    All the armour of the statue counted for nothing, and the [Brittle Armour] passive had no effect on ranged attacks.

    A heavy bolt shot forward and ignored the armour as it punctured right through it, creating a borehole as it struck deeply into the stone cksmith¡¯srge stomach.

    The statue was in a corner now, which was a much more defensible position, though after the bolt pierced its stomach, it looked directly at Anya as if warning her, even daring her to shoot another ¨C before going back to striking at the pesky skeletons with itsrge stone hammer.

    With its back protected it began to fight back, each swing causing heavy damage to the skeletons ¨C but after being ttened they instantly springed back up, retaliating with their own powerful strikes.

    *Boom~Doon!~*

    It would periodically miss, creating tremors throughout the room.

    It definitely had lower dexterity than the skeletons, but it was still a level eight opponent, so its strikes would sometimesnd on the nimble undead skeletons.<sub>.</sub>

    Blue was doing slightly more damage than the other skeletons, chunking off parts of its armour slowly. It was level four now so it was dealing more damage.

    [5.3][5.3]

    Another bolt struck the creature, dealing massive damage and causing it to pause for a moment as it recoiled from the hit; this only served to let the skeletons freely attack, getting in more easy damage.

    It nced at Anya again after taking more damage from her. Once it was done with these skeletons, she would be the next to die, but for now it just had to focus on culling the skeletons.

    Shortly into the fighting, a skeleton had finally been in ¨C but Jay just resummoned it. It rejoined the battle with the same intense vigour it had died with, and only a moment passed between its death and summoning.

    The statue gazed at Jay next, slowly realising that killing the skeletons would be pointless.

    After seeing that taking the skeletons out would not be effective, the statue yed more defensively for a moment while it analysed the battlefield.

    Between a few horizontal swings to keep the skeletons at a distance, it would briefly nce at Anya and Jay ¨C who would it kill first?<sub></sub>

    After the next bolt came flying and piercing its stone chestte, it made its move.

    *Doon, doon, doon~*

    Each of its steps was heavy as it marched forward uncaringly; the skeletons made the most of it as they basically had free reign to attack it.

    *tink tink tink*

    They bashed their hammers against its heavily armoured back and took away more chips of stone along with some of its health points.

    [4][4][4][5.3][2.2 ¨C 2.2]

    ¡°Hm?¡± the statue wasn¡¯t moving towards Jay or Anya ¨C instead it was going to the forge area. Its head was fixated on the metal hammer.

    Jay recalled what happened with Estobar. It might be interesting to see what would happen once it reached its metal hammer, but it was simply too risky.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Nope. Not this time.¡± Jay thought as he instantlymanded a skeleton.

    The skeleton hopped across and made it to the hammer first ¨C it tried to grab it with one hand but it didn¡¯t budge, so it dropped its bone hammer and used two hands.

    Nothing. No movement at all. It may as well have been fixed to the ground.

    The hammer was simply too heavy.

    ¡°How the hell was it lifting it with just a pair of tongs?¡± Jay¡¯s brows creased in confusion.

    The statue wasing, so the skeleton gave up on its prize and grabbed its bone hammer again before dashing away.

    Just before the statue grabbed the hammer, it hesitated for a moment as it gazed at the metal hammer; it was about to dual-wield two hammers.

    As it reached out its hand paused for a moment ¨C though as another hammer strike from the skeletons came down on its back, it shook its head and grabbed it instantly before swinging around behind itself.

    The hammer was instantly coated in a faint golden aura; it was hard to see because of the orange light from the forge, but it was definitely there.

    *BOOM!!!~*

    It smashed right through two skeletons, ending them instantly.

    ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Jay said as he watched two skeletons turning to flying bones in one attack; he instantly resummoned the destroyed skeletons.

    The statue was now looking directly at him.

    As it walked forward, the hammer slowly stopped glowing golden, it became faint before pulsing for a moment and suddenly disappearing.

    Next, the metal shine the hammer was giving off before disappeared.

    Jay looked a little more closely and noticed that it had dark-grey veins now travelling through it. It was turning to stone, and the grey veins now growing through it were beginning to look like the other stone hammer it was dual-wielding.

    *Doon, doon, doon~*

    It walked faster towards Jay, who suddenly realised what would happen.

    The curse of Helvetia¡¯s revenge was changing itsst metal hammer to stone ¨C this was why it used the metal tongs to hold it awkwardly. Due to its cksmith experience, the metal hammer in its hands was much more dangerous than some cursed stone imitation.

    If the hammer connected with him with it was still metal it would end in instant death; if he evaded long enough, it would be a battle of attrition until he wins. It was over once the hammer turned fully to stone.

    Basically, there was a time limit for the statue to y Jay within.

    It decided to go for Jay first, as Anya would be helpless without Jay because she was immobile when she reloaded her bow. How would she do damage if she kept having to run away?

    Once the necromancer was gone it could just walk towards her until she either died or left the dungeon. Of course, it still needed the annoying necromancer to die.

    The statue was like a moving mountain, a wall of death heading right towards him. All Jay could do was flee from it.

    Instead of moving into another part of the room, Jay headed back into the passageway.

    Anya decided to move into another corner of the room and continue to fire. In the event of the cksmith statue turning on her she would be fine, since she had her ck mist ability as well as her unique skill.

    ¡°Just keep shooting it!¡± Jay called as he reached the twin-doors.

    ***Bonus chapter 3/5***

 Chapter 169 Vengeful Craftsman 3

    *Doon doon doon~*

    The cksmith continued to march at Jay with its dual hammers at either sides; it was a bulky statue, but it was still huge nheless, each of its steps was akin to jogging speed.

    The four skeletons continued to chunk away at the statue, and a bolt in the back only served to push it forward towards Jay.

    The metal hammer had veins of rock beginning to grow through it more as it was falling to the curse; it was spreading fast ¨C but Jay and the statue were already in the hallway and heading towards the stairs.

    Still, Jay wasn¡¯t too worried. While it was like a walking mountain, it was still slow.

    He just had to trust Anya and his skeletons while staying out of danger.

    *doon doon doon*

    Jay passed by the empty containers. As he went further from the furnace light, it was getting dark again.

    The statue looked even more sinister in the darkness as all he could see was a giant silhouette of an armoured monster dual-wielding two hammers.

    He only had his small luminous orb to guide him through the darkness, which he quickly took out.

    The statue gripped its pride at joy, itsst metal hammer. It had to sacrifice it to save itself, but unfortunately it realised that it wouldn¡¯t catch the necromancer before they reached the end of the passage. It had to do something or otherwise it would all be for nothing.

    It swung its stone hammer back before taking a heavy step forward, nting its foot into the shattering ground.<sub>.</sub>

    *FWOOOSH~*

    It released the hammer as it swung, sending it flying at Jay. It made a humming sound as it sped through the air at a high speed.

    The statue had high strength but low dexterity so it was powerful but not urate, though against all odds it connected with its target.

    *BOOM!~ Squlech!~*

    ¡°GRRRAAH FUUUCKKK!!!¡± He clenched his jaw so hard that blood dripped out in his spit.

    Jay¡¯s leg instantly exploded and turned to paste. The necrotic vambrace was simrly smashed to brittle bits of bone.

    It happened so fast that it was like his brain didn¡¯t even realise something was wrong as he walked on his exposed leg bone for a moment before copsing helplessly on the ground.

    [-18]

    *doon, doon, doon*

    The statue marched a little more slowly and a little more confidently now that its target was maimed. What could it do? Run?

    Unbeknownst to the cksmith statue, Jay also had high vitality ¨C and that only meant high regeneration.<sub></sub>

    *doon doon doon*

    ¡°Come on, heal you bastard!¡± Jay yelled at his leg.

    *doon doon doon*

    The statue¡¯s march was unstoppable despite all the bolts sticking in its back and the skeletons harassing it.

    Some unstable teeth spells slowed it down for a moment but it simply wasn¡¯t enough.

    Finally, it made it to Jay.

    Slowly it raised its arm to end him as it winded up a powerful swing. In an act of desperation, Jay immediately went all-out.

    First, he summoned a pile of bones on top of himself ¨C maybe it would block some damage?

    Next, he resummoned all the skeletons on top of the bone pile, each of them standing in the way of the hammer strike.

    Finally Deathwalker¡¯s sentry came out. He loosely held it around his head and chest area.

    This was all he could do as he winced from the pain and braced himself for the hit; the bone pile was pushing against his blood stump of a leg but for now he could do nothing about it.<sub></sub>

    To hurt Jay, it would have to make it through the skeletons, the bones, deathwalker¡¯s sentry, his armour, and his 70+ health.

    *BOOM!!!!!!!!!~*

    [Your skeleton has died]

    [Your skeleton has died]

    [Your skeleton has died]

    [Your feeble creature has died]

    [-9]

    Gritting his teeth under the bone pile, he exhaled as he took some mostly superficial damage from the weight of the crushing bones above.

    One skeleton was still left on top after the heavy smash, so there was still a slight buffer for any damage from the hammer.

    He survived the first hit but another would follow.

    Jay immediately resummoned the skeletons as he braced for another hit.

    ¡°PROSTRATE!¡±

    Finally, Anya was here.

    *Doon!~*

    The heavy statue immediately knelt down, bowing to the authority of a higher power.

    Jay and his skeletons had prior permission to move under her unique skill, so he immediately stored the bone pile.

    Much of his leg had re-grown, it was just missing a foot now.

    ¡°Jay, I can¡¯t hold it for long. It has strong loyalty!¡± Anya yelled from somewhere behind the statue.

    Jay didn¡¯t understand what she meant about loyalty, but he didn¡¯t need to ¨C he only had to know that he didn¡¯t have much time.

    He had to move as far away from the statue as possible to buy himself some time to heal.

    After looking at his skeletons around him, a slight grin appeared on his face as he thought of something; his new ordersmunicated immediately through his mind.

    Each of the skeletons grabbed one of his limbs and lifted him up. The feeble creature went underneath and pushed up on his back.

    Jay was basically crowd surfing on his skeletons which proceeded to carry him past the cksmith.

    A smug grin shed at the cksmith statue as he was quickly carried away. At this moment he felt like Matheson, mocking him through his carriage window.

    ¡°Eat shit! *ptoi!*¡± he said with a hint of malice as he spat. The spit coated the statue¡¯s face as he passed by.

    It made a satisfying wet p sound as it sttered onto the cksmith¡¯s stone face.

    For just a moment the cksmith¡¯s body shuddered, but it was still held in ce by Anya¡¯s unique ability.

    Jay had the skeletons carry him behind the cksmith all the way back into the forge room.

    The five skeletons worked together seamlessly, it was like they were part of a perfectly choreographed performance as they carried Jay. He was only moving slightly slower than what he could run at.

    It was ufortable, but right now he would dly tradefort for speed and safety.

    Anya was reloading her crossbow as she watched him being carried. Seeing his face having a cheeky grin on it, she could only shake her head and roll her eyes and follow him back.

    Jay had his skeleton put him down back of the cksmith room near the forge; he kept the feeble skeleton with him for support, leaning on its head with one arm as he sent off the rest of the skeletons to fight.

    They grabbed their hammers and went off to finish the battle.

    ***Bonus chapter 4/5***

 Chapter 170 Last Stand

    Despite always giving one-hundred percent, the skeletons seemed to be filled with even more blood lust than usual.

    Something had dared to hurt their master, and their desire for revenge was even more inmed by their fellow undead joining them for the revenge crusade.

    All four of them charged madly down the hallway, including Blue. It was an all-out attack with zero concern for self-preservation.

    The cksmith statue was free from Anya¡¯s [Prostrate] ability, and prepared as its enemies charged towards it.

    Not that the statue knew, but the first skeletoning was Red.

    Red jumped up high with its hammer raised above its skull, bringing forward a downward swing going right for the statue¡¯s head ¨C yet it nevernded the hit.

    *BOOM!~*

    The cksmith¡¯s stone hammer swung sideways, easily smashing Red into the wall ¨C but Blue followed right after andnded a heavy hit, catching the statuepletely off-guard.

    *Crack!~*

    A critical hit.

    It was like Blue had nned this, using a weaker skeleton to take the hit so it would be free to deal damage.<sub>.</sub>

    Arge chunk of stone bounced off the statue¡¯s shoulder as half of its jaw was shattered away.

    The cksmith¡¯s metal hammer in its other hand was almostpletely stone now, and it swung it back quickly.

    Blue knew the hit wasing from its second hammer but it didn¡¯t care, it had done its job: cause massive damage, protect its master.

    *BOOM!*

    Blue was like a ragdoll as it smashed against the other wall, ending up on the opposite wall to Red.

    Since the hammer was mostly stone now, it only did normal damage and Blue miraculously survived. Since the cksmith superweapon turned to stone, the threat of the cksmith was essentially over.

    The statue continued to march towards Jay, while Sweeper and Lamp were ignored as they hacked away at the statues arms and legs, chipping away some more of its health along with some stone fragments.

    All the damage was taking its toll on the statue. It was on itsst legs and was slowing down. It began to realise the n to kill the necromancer had failed; each of its swings were getting slower and weaker as its life force began to leave its cold stone body.

    Itsst metal hammer had finally turned to stone; the curse wasplete.

    It quickly realised it wasn¡¯t going to make it through this, but this didn¡¯t mean it couldn¡¯t take a few more enemies with it.<sub></sub>

    *BOOOM!!!!*

    Vengeful indignation and bitter hatred almost seemed to create an aura around its body as it suddenly smashed both hammers into the ground, imnting them into the earth.

    The cksmith gave up its hammers.

    Next, it grabbed two of the skeletons. Years or forging made its grip unbreakable.

    Sweeper and Lamp had no choice as they were crushed against its body while it jumped into one of the stone ore containers.

    All the skeletons could do was wriggle against its strength.

    Red and Blue were trying to free theirrades as they stood at the edge of the stone container and smashed away at it, but it was all for nothing.

    The wall suddenly opened and a familiar orange glow flowed out, apanied by heat.

    Slowly but surely, the stone box flipped backwards; the cksmith, two skeletons and two bone-metal hammers all fell into the intense heating from the wall.

    [Your skeleton has been in]<sub></sub>

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    [800 Exp]

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡± Jay thought as he saw the notifications.

    ¡°Prettyme way to die.¡± he pursed his lips.

    Crafting those two bone hammers cost him two metal ingots. Sure, losing two skeletons was annoying but it was now considered a small thing to Jay. Hundreds of thousands of skeletons remained in his gauntlet, but he would have to leave the dungeon again if he wanted more of the hammers.

    Anya was quite pleased with therge experience boost, but she saw Jay only frowning after the notifications. They split the experience, but it was still a lot nheless, so she assumed it was because of all his skeletons suffering.

    ¡°Hmm, he must really care about his skeletons.¡± she thought, deciding to say nothing about it.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay looked at the forge area, an idea crossing his mind.

    The glowingva was mesmerising as it floated up and down on top of the enchanted stone cube.

    ¡°I only need some ingots to make more hammers right? So why not?¡± he thought as he approached it.

    As Jay drew near, the heating from it was intense. His face was immediately dried out and some traces of steam wisps were leaving his clothes.

    Jay grabbed what seemed like an industrialdle from the tool rack near the forge. Pulling out the two chunks of sparkling ore he grabbed, he dropped them in but realised it simply wouldn¡¯t be enough.

    For a moment he frowned, but then he looked at all the tools around him and his lips began to curl. Unlike the stone weapons, these were still made of metal. Jay was d that Helvetia¡¯s curse only affected weapons.

    With a smile he hopped around and grabbed them, adding them to thergedle he was going to melt them all in.

    If the cksmith could see Jay now it would probably forget all about helvetia¡¯s revenge ande back from the dead just to murder him.

    These were his precious tools, his life-long aplices that he took care of, and which took care of him. Now they were being used to make more poorly-crafted hammers for some undead ¨C they wouldn¡¯t even appreciate them. How could someone do this?

    As Jay brought thedle near the floatingva on top of the rune-covered cube, theva all moved as it responded to the approachingdle. It turned into a bowl shape so thedle could sit on the top.

    ¡°Not bad,¡± Jay thought with a nod, ¡°Helvetia sure was advanced.¡±

    He ced it in, and it only took a moment before the contents all became a silvery liquid.

    There was some gunk on the top but he scraped it off; he wasn¡¯t sure what it was, but his instinct told him it was probably trash.

    Jay looked around and found some moulds to pour the liquid into. None of them had hammer shapes but there was something shaped like an ingot so he opted for that.

    Thankfully, Anya waited patiently as she watched. She didn¡¯t have much else to do, but it wasn¡¯t like she had a choice either; without Jay she would definitely not get this far.

    The molten metal flowed into the moulds with ease, it was quite straight-forward.

    A few momentster his ingots were crafted. He had some liquid metal left over but he just left it in thedle.

    [Helvetian Steel Ingot ¨C 84% Purity] x 2

    ¡°Eight-four percent?¡± Jay frowned as he analysed the ingots.

    He could see the tiny kes from the sparkling ore in it, but it seemed that there simply wasn¡¯t enough for any meaningful change. It was probably what made up the other 16% of the ingot, or at least some of it.

    ¡°Perhaps I can¡¯t analyse too much about the ingot, maybe I just need some more cksmithing experience?¡±

    Still, he couldn¡¯tin as these were steel; much stronger than the iron bars he purchased from Lillian at the guild.

    ¡°I wonder what the hammers will be like.¡± he thought as he sat down and prepared to craft his new weapons.

 Chapter 171 Upstairs 1

    Anya waited patiently nearby as Jay sat down next to a pile of bones. He resummoned his dead skeletons and began working on their new hammers.

    It was a faster process since he knew how to craft them and already had the designs in his head, but they both came out as higher quality bone hammers. It seemed that thebination of steel ingot and his level three scrimshaw skill resulted in a better product.

    <[Bone Hammer Level 3]> (Steel Ingot) x 2

    [10 damage ¨C crushing, bludgeoning]

    [0.1 damage ¨C elemental]

    [5% chance to stun or cripple targets ¨C Dependant on point of impact]

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires necrotic essence to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 20 hours]

    ¡°Not bad¡± Jay said as he admired his handiwork.

    The steel part of the makeshift necrotic hammer still gave off little glints of light. It seemed that the residual sparkling ore gave a small elemental damage bonus.

    Still, the 10 damage was a massive boost in powerpared to the other bone hammers which were doing 6 damage. It was even stronger than Jay¡¯s ossein arming sword now.

    Jay decided to make himself a better hammer; using his necrotic mana, he melted away the bone from one of the other ones and saved the iron bar, before using it to craft another.

    <[Bone Hammer Level 2]> (Iron Bar)

    [8 damage ¨C crushing, bludgeoning]

    [5% chance to stun or cripple targets ¨C Dependant on point of impact]

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires necrotic essence to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 10 hours]<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Not too bad.¡± Jay nodded, standing up again.

    He would have re-crafted the others but he decided to save his mana, he was getting low from all the summoning and crafting.

    With onest look around the room, there really was nothing worth taking. All the metal tools would not enter his inventory, and hence could not leave the dungeon. It was almost like the most lucrative rewards were at the start, when he could have taken all the sparkling ore. Basically it was like a reversed dungeon.

    Still, the exp was worth it to fight the boss for. Jay would have done it differently if he knew how powerful it was, but in the end it was worth it.

    ¡°Have you finished crafting your things?¡± Anya asked with a yawn.

    ¡°Yep. Let¡¯s see what¡¯s up the stairs.¡± Jay pointed to the passageway.

    They both walked back down the passage they came down, though Jay gave onest look at the cube-forge. It was an impressive piece of magical technology after all.

    When they made it back to the stairs, they entered stealth-mode again; Jay and Anya cautiously crept up the stone stairs to the top floor this time.

    They didn¡¯t know what to expect but if it was anything like the cksmith statue there would be a possibility of instant death.

    It was pitch ck again, and Jay decided to hand his cheaper luminous orb to the feeble creature. It could do the scouting for them since they couldn¡¯t see very far ahead anyway, a safety precaution of sorts.

    Jay wasn¡¯t exactly sure how the statues had any vision at all, but it seemed that neither light nor darkness made a difference to them, which worked in their favour as seeing a glowing orb across the room would have been like a beacon.

    Reaching the top of the stairs, they looked around and to their fear they entered a room full of weapon racks ¨C all covered with glistening Helvetian steel weapons.

    Most of the swords and spears were the ones they typically saw the soldier statues carrying, but among them were a few daggers and other odd weapons ¨C some looked like fists with spikes on them while others were sickle-shaped attached to long chains.

    One of them was just a metal hat with a sharpened rim. Very edgy.

    Jay was slowly getting ideas for future weapons for his minions, but Anya had other thoughts.

    ¡°Imagine if the cksmith was up here¡­¡± she whispered.<sub></sub>

    Jay didn¡¯t nod or respond to her whisper.

    He knew it would have been fine since the cksmith was bonded with its hammers which is why it was so powerful, but he decided to say nothing.

    It would take too long to exin and it wouldn¡¯t change anything anyway.

    Finally they spotted the first enemies.

    Some stone statues which had no legs or lower torso simply floated around. Each of their T-shaped helmets had distinctive wings pointing upwards from the ears, while their hands came equipped with spindly w armour ¨C though in this case it would be more urate to call them w weapons.

    Two of these floating statues were rushing about busily. Each of their long w gauntlets working with various weapons and tools.

    Jay and Anya hid behind a spear rack as they watched them move about.

    One would grab a metal weapon from the rack, and it would wait a moment as it turned to stone due to the helvetia curse before handing it to the other. The other would sharpen it on a circr grinding stone, attempting to restore some of its former pre-cursed glory.

    A sense of sadness grew in Jay as he saw the lovely weapons being massively downgraded into stone variants.

    It seemed that the curse would make the pristine weapons be blunt and round, so after they turned to stone the sharpening process was necessary.

    Still, much of their quality and damage was lost. The weapons were like shadows of their former selves.

    ¡°This production process would have been implemented after the curse.¡± Jay thought as he patiently watched.

    The floating statue then carried the stone weapons to different weapon racks deeper into the room.

    ¡°Huh, but what¡¯s the point if there¡¯s no new soldiers?¡± Jay scratched his chin as he squinted.

    Looking around at the weapons around him, a mischievous grin appeared on Jay¡¯s face as he attempted to add every single weapon around him into his inventory.

    Unfortunately he couldn¡¯t. These weapons were also part of the dungeon.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± He shrugged, ¡°Bing rich overnight shouldn¡¯t be so easy¡±.

    Before nning anything, Jay diligently analysed the enemies.

    <[Embroidered Truth Guards ¨C Level 5]>

    [HP 70/70]

    [Damage]

    ¨C 5 (w gauntlet)

    <[Skills]>

    [Seeking Toxin]

    ¨C Poisons enemies from afar, weakening them for the guards to finish

    ¨C Ignores armour

    ¨C 4 poison damage per second

    ¨C Can stack (4) times

    ¨C Duration: 4 seconds

    [Rend]

    ¨C Uses its w gauntlets to sh frantically at enemies, cleaving deep into the flesh

    ¨C Ignores armour

    ¨C 5 t damage

    ¨C 5 bleed damage/2 seconds

    ¨C Can stack (4) times

    ¨C Duration: 4 seconds

    <[Description]>

    [Only the most esteemed Helvetian upper mages went through the process to transform into the truth guards. Before the transformation ritual, they will go through another procedure in which their mana pool is ripped out; their mortal bodies tremble endlessly from the pain. Their mana pool is melded with a forbidden metal and is then fused onto their new stone bodies. They are weakened from the process and are merely relics of their former selves, but their desire to keep their mana is almost as strong as their thirst for revenge.]

    ¡°Hmm, forbidden metal huh¡­¡± Jay squinted at them.

    ¡°¡­I will just have to scrape it off their bodies¡± he thought as he smiled fiendishly.

    Jay and Anya crept a little further away so they could n an attack. The enemies had quite low healthpared to some other monsters, so they weren¡¯t very rmed.

    Hiding behind some shield racks, they came up with a n.

    It was a rtively simple strategy: attack the one grinding while the other went to fetch a weapon ¨C let the skeletons do all the attacking until the enemies targeted Jay, then Anya could get to work doing heavy crossbow damage.

    After they were done with their hushed whispering they crept back again and waited till the grinding statue was alone.

    ¡°Now!¡± Jay mentally yelled a thoughtmand to his skeletons.

    Each of the skeletons rushed from behind different weapon racks and mmed their hammers against the statues back.

    Instead of falling forward like one might expect, this was a floating statue ¨C It went spinning helplessly across the room, smashing into some weapon racks and causing destruction to the equipment.

    ¡°Nice.¡± Jay grinned, seeing how his skeletons made it pathetically crumple against their hammers; If it had a spine it would have been shattered.

    However the battle wasn¡¯t over ¨C the statue wasn¡¯t dead, while the banging sounds of the falling weapons alerted everything in the room.

    *¡­Doon¡­ Doon¡­ Doon¡­*

    It turns out that the two floating statues were not the only ones here. Something had been awakened.

    More heavy footsteps sounded, approaching from the back of the room.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay squinted, trying to see anything.

    The second hovering statue was already beginning to cast its poison spells on the skeletons, though they were stillpletely ineffective.

    Would their spells work on the undead? Of course not.

    Like the other stone soldiers in this dungeon, it was clear that they had lost their intelligence with the passage of time.

    Perhaps they had other useful offensive spells before but these would have been long forgotten.

    The purple spells harmlessly floated into the skeleton rib cages before dispersing into nothingness.

    ¡°Tch,¡± Jay shook his head, pitying the floating statues.

    All this time he had a bone pile next to him and was ready to summon skeletons, but it seems that for now he was overprepared.

    Still, this would have been difficult for a normal party of adventurers, as the truth guards could deal as much as 16 damage per second with their poison spell, but for Jay, it was as easy as a walk in the park.

    All he had to do was watch and wait.

    *Doon¡­ Doon¡­ Doon¡­*

 Chapter 172 Upstairs 2

    The statue that was sneak-attacked by the skeletons went flying and was already close to death.

    After doing a few pitiful shing attacks with its ws it died miserably, contributing almost nothing to the fight. The skeletons had a few scratches on their armour but that was it.

    It seems these statues were designed to fight against living targets, causing damage over time effects with their poison and then bleeding them to death.

    There was one thing though which didn¡¯t make sense to Jay: the stone statues were magic resistant, so how could they cast spells?

    Looking a little more closely at the one casting a spell, Jay found the answer.

    They were invisible at first, but as mana was pushed into spells some faint blue veins spread over the statue¡¯s arm. It seemed they were coated in some sort of mana-conducting material.

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Jay sneakily squinted at it.

    His inner necromancer was impressed, however he had no use for such a material as his skeletons already could sense mana, each of them having their own mana pools.

    ¡°So¡­ surely the skeletons could use spells?¡± Jay wondered.

    A mischievous smile grew on his face as he imagined how insanely strong they would be if they started casting magic.

    ¡°But first, I will need to learn a purely mana-based spell myself.¡± He shrugged, reminding himself to copy his necrotic helminth¡¯s spell.<sub>.</sub>

    *Doon Doon doon*

    Arge statue was approaching from the back of the room, but it would be toote ¨C the second floating statue was getting bullied by the four skeletons.

    The spellcaster types were usually much weaker in meleebat and this one in particr looked almost like it was suffering as it shed at whatever it could, but it was all for nothing.

    [85 Exp]

    Suddenly a stone sword came flying powerfully from the darkness, silent until it connected with a skeleton.

    *Crunch!~ Boom!~*

    The sword carried the skeleton and prated deeply into a weapon rack, pinning the skeleton. Sweeper was desperately trying to pull the sword out or its body off but before it could do anything to get free, but there was no hope for it now ¨C

    *Boom-boom~ Crack!~*

    Two more stone swords flew at it like perfectly thrown javelins.

    Sweeper only had one more hit left till it died, but that would probably be a better option as right now it was pinned by three stone swords; if it was resummoned it could at least fight.<sub></sub>

    Jay was watching but remained cool headed and calcting. It was only one skeleton so far, so things were still manageable.

    He had the feeble creature dash further towards wherever the swords came from. It was still carrying Jay¡¯s luminous orb and he wanted to see what wasing.

    *Boom!~*

    A flying sword zoomed right towards the feeble creature, but it nimbly ducked behind the weapon racks, avoiding any damage.

    It wasn¡¯t only quick and agile, but it was a small target too. It would even be hard for Anya to hit it.

    After weaving in and out of the weapon racks, the feeble creature finally brought the light close enough to reveal the statue.

    It was not as bulky as the cksmith statue, but its armour was just as decorative; covered in different patterns of steel-grass, eyes and five swords.

    In each of its hands were long-wed gothic gauntlets, while two floating stone swords were hovering in mid-air next to them.

    *Boom!~*

    Itunched another floating sword at the feeble creature ¨C this time hitting it.<sub></sub>

    The feeble creature was pinned down, a sword sticking into its rib cage.

    It dropped the luminous orb, which thankfully rolled towards the statue, illuminating it even more.

    It seemed the swords didn¡¯t do a lot of damage, and were mostly for immobilising enemies since the feeble creature didn¡¯t die in one hit.

    The small skeleton survived the brutal attack, but only for a moment. With the sword pinning it down another was well on the way. It had zero chance to dodge, and all it could do was ept its fate.

    *Boom!*

    A direct hit right in between its rat-skull eyes ended its desperate struggle.

    [Your feeble creature has died]

    ¡°Damn. Don¡¯t get pinned down¡­¡± Jay thought. A simple lesson.

    Jay had quietly made a bone pile next to him, and he resummoned the feeble creature along with Sweeper.

    Instead of having them rush directly back in, Jay had them run around to other areas in the room before re-joining the fight. This would serve to hide his location as he continued to summon.

    [85 Exp]

    By now, the second floating statue was a pile of expensive rubble on the floor, and the skeletons were dashing towards their next target: the sword-slinging statue.

    *Boom!~ ¨C Boom!~*

    Blue ducked under a sword as it slipped right past its shoulder,nding in a weapon rack somewhere behind it.

    Another sword struck Red, taking it out of the fight for a moment ¨C thankfully there were no weapon racks behind it, so it was only pushed back and took some damage.

    Red was already sprinting towards the statue, but it still went about 10 meters backwards (32 feet) from the raw force.

    After scrambling to get its body off the sword, Red was already running back into the battle again.

    *Swoosh!- Crack!*

    Two floating swords swept across the air in front the statue in a scissor motion.

    Lamp was decapitated but its skeletal body still charged forward.

    Lamps headless body got a hit in, but that statue quickly realised it was still alive so it sent a sword flying at Lamps skull lying on the ground.

    *Boom!~*

    Needless to say it was a critical hit.

    [Your skeleton has died]

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Sullivan gazed at Vdore across his desk, trying to figure out why he was so invested in Jay.

    ¡°Why do you want to go into dungeons with Jay? It¡¯s unusual for you to leave the guild at all. Doesn¡¯t your research take priority?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yes. I am interested in his¡­ abilities. Perhaps it can shed some light on my research.¡± Vdore nodded with a light smile.

    ¡°His abilities.¡± Sullivan leant his hand on his chin.

    ¡°It will be too suspicious. We already registered him as a melee ss.¡± Sullivan nodded.

    ¡°Well, we could just-¡±

    ¡°-No.¡± Sullivan¡¯s voice was soft but filled with power, and Vdore could only clench his jaw.

    ¡°Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?¡± Sullivan red across the desk.

    Vdore only shook his head as he got up and left with a bitter frown.

 Chapter 173 Sword Vow

    Therge statue wasunching sword after sword at the skeletons, keeping them at a distance for the most part.

    More and more swords floated off a nearby weapon rack to rece the ones it lost, but they were quickly sent flying at Blue¡¯s head as well as the other skeletons.

    The skull was a smaller target so it was harder to hit. Blue only tilted its skull to the side to evade, but its necrotic helmet still took a graze.

    Jay was too far away to analyse therge statue, but he already understood the danger of the upper floor: Get pinned down, and the truth guards will make you poisoned and bleed to death.

    Thankfully the truth guards were already in by now.

    Other adventurers would have probably taken their time in dealing with them carefully and tactfully to not take poison or bleed damage, and would end up just giving time for the sword-levitating statue to attack, but this wasn¡¯t true for the undead.

    The statue continued to blend the air around its body with its flying swords. The sword attacks were not as damaging as the truth guards, but it would still be hard to kill this boss as its crowd control skills were advanced.

    *Shhhh~Boom!*

    A skeleton got close, but not close enough. The statue narrowly avoided taking a hammer strike as it swept another skeleton away with one sword before pinning it to the ground with the other.

    Its tactic was quite simple: It would spin two swords around its body to keep the skeletons at bay beforeunching one when it found an opening.

    Jay quickly resummoned his minions whenever they were getting pinned down or dying.

    Multiple skeleton remains decorated the walls, ground and weapon racks of the room, pinned to them by the stone swords. Slowly they began umting in the room, making it seem like an ancient grand battle had happened here.

    Jay grinned as he thought of a solution, realising the weakness of this boss.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°The statue will definitely shit itself¡­¡± he smiled like a devil.

    Lamp was summoned again and Jay quickly put his n into action.

    ¡°Here.¡± Jay handed his own hammer to the skeleton before sending it off with its own special orders.

    It wasn¡¯t long before Lamp was hard at work.

    *nk~* *nk~* *nk~*

    The other skeletons were busy distracting the statue, but after a short pause the statue suddenly released two swords, sending them rocketing towards Lamp.

    *Ka-Boom!~*

    Lamp evaded easily and ignored it as it continued its special mission.

    *nk~*

    It was destroying the stone hammers on the weapon racks.

    Needless to say, the statue went crazy.

    *Bo-Boom!~ Bo-Boom! Bo-Boom!*<sub></sub>

    It beganunching as many floating swords as it could at Lamp,pletely giving up on defence.

    In the meantime it took massive damage but it had to save its precious swords ¨C without them, it wouldn¡¯t be able tounch any more. The annoying skeleton was smashing up its ammunition.

    Suddenly, it stopped taking any damage from the other skeletons and it seemed like its worst fears came to life ¨C all of the skeletons suddenly ignored it and began smashing up the stone swords in the room.

    Jay almostughed and gave away his position as he watched this happening; these weren¡¯t actually his orders, but it was Blue who wasmanding the other skeletons. It basically copied Jay¡¯s idea.

    Jay could only shake his head with a smile as the skeletons each dashed off in different directions in the room and got to work.

    The statue was frantically marching around now,unching whatever swords it could find in the direction of any skeletons it could see. It was practically shitting itself.

    Jay even began to pity it, but he was still smirking, feeling quite superior.

    So far, all he did was summon his skeletons while he and Anya quietly watched, and because the skeletons charged at the enemy from different directions his location was never found.

    The statue probably didn¡¯t even know it was dealing with a necromancer, and was probably thinking it was in some sort of nightmare.

    *Bonk~ nk~ nk~ Bonk~ nk~*

    All around the room, the stone weapons were being destroyed; the skeletons were as proficient at destruction as they were at killing.

    At some point, the statue stoppedunching the swords ¨C it had to maintain two to defend itself efficiently.<sub></sub>

    The sounds of stone swords being broken slowly quieted down, and it was this point in the fight where Jay and Anya began to move closer. Most of them were destroyed.

    Like ghosts of death, the skeletons reappeared from the shadows, surrounding the statue from every side.

    The statue had its two stone swords left, floating just above its shoulders; they were ready to stab and sh at any moment.

    Jay was finally close enough to analyse the enemy.

    <[Dual Sword Whisperer ¨C level 8]>

    HP 431/525

    Armour 0

    <[Skills]>

    [Quint counter]

    ¨C Pay the enemies back, five times over

    ¨C 100% melee damage nullified

    ¨C 500% damage returned

    [Swords Essence] (Passive)

    ¨C Whenever you swing, 4 ethereal swords strike after yours.

    ¨C 5% damage for the first sword, add 5% for every other ether sword which strikes. Thest sword does 30% damage.

    ¨C Ignore armour; can be blocked by manashield.

    [de dash]

    ¨C Sword swings you; Instant repositioning

    ¨C 8 Second cooldown

    [Vow of the Chosen de]

    ¨C Recipient of a sacred vow

    ¨C Soul-bonded with your sword(s)

    ¨C Allows sword telekinesis

    ¨C Can never touch another weapon, otherwise all swords will flee from you

    [Brittle Armour]

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage.

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Magic damage immune

    ¨C Any wielded weapons be cursed.

    <[Description]>

    [A dishonoured servant of the Helvetian King, its title and name removed, it body turned to stone. A once legendary quintde, now cursed to never lift its swords again. At one time, it was one with its swords ¨C but time passes, and the des remain eternally out of reach. It longs to be one with its swords again, but they are no more, turned to stone like everything else. It will never betray its lostpanions by lifting another, and no other weapon will satisfy its soul.]

    ¡°Wow, good thing it was loyal to its weapons, otherwise this wouldn¡¯t end well¡­¡± Jay though, reading through its supreme sword abilities.

    ¡°I wonder if that¡¯s why it was dishonoured? Being more loyal to its swords than its king¡­?¡± Jay scratched his chin.

    ¡°This one is like aplete opposite to Hessven the cksmith. It throws swords away like trash, while Hessven held onto them until his bitter end. It doesn¡¯t end enemies in one hit, but locks them down and kills them slowly.¡±

    *Swoosh!~ Crack!*

    The levitating swords span around its body like a fan, the skeletons couldn¡¯t even get close. Of course, they would keep trying and were slowly taking damage as they became more aggressive.

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s our turn.¡± Jay whispered to Anya.

    Anya nodded back with a smile as she mounted her crossbow onto a weapon rack and took aim.

 Chapter 174 Visualisation

    174 Visualisation

    Anya mounted her crossbow onto the top of a weapon rack and took aim.

    *Pshew!~ Phoonk!~*

    The bolt effortlessly pierced into the side of the statue''s head with a critical hit, cracking its head sideways and almost causing it to stumble.

    All the skeletons took advantage of the statue''s brief state of pain to move in closer and do some easy damage.

    They managed to get a few hits in but the statue quickly recovered, and before its head was even upright, it was lucid enough to defend itself.

    The floating swords started to whirl once again, but not quickly enough as Blue and Sweeper were able to pass through and deal heavy damage.

    The two skeletons within the whirling swords forced the statue to alter its sword technique. It promptly thrusted its stone swords back and pierced Blue and Sweeper, however, this just meant that Red was able to hit it from behind.

    This was the least of the statue''s problems though, as the threat of the heavy crossbow was still present, shooting it from somewhere in the darkness among the weapon racks.

    It seemed annoyed as it suddenly grabbed Red with its gauntlet and tossed it into the path of one of its floating swords before marching towards wherever the crossbow had fired from. The helpless skeleton bounced off andnded in a pile of debris.

    The statue was closing in on their location.

    ¡°Here we go.¡± Jay said, raising his shield.

    Anya nodded, after reloading her crossbow she mounted it on top of a weapon rack and fired again.

    *Pshew!~ Tring~*

    The statue somehow blocked the bolt with one of its floating swords.

    ¡°...was that on purpose?¡± Jay squinted.

    It was hard to tell in the darkness and the chaotically spinning swords, and Jay could only hope the statue wasn¡¯t that much of a sword master.

    Still, they technically outnumbered it seven to one, so master or not, it would not remain in this world much longer.

    As it drew nearer, the weapon racks were more dense, which proved to be an issue - it couldn¡¯t spin its swords around its body anymore. The racks did act as barriers on either side though, so for it now had a sword defending its back from the skeletons while one was at its front.

    ¡°Tell me when you¡¯re about to fire.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    Just before Anya shot, Jay made the decision to charge an unstable tooth spell and cast it.

    ¡°5 seconds¡­ ¡­ 3..2..¡± Anya counted down while taking aim again.

    *Boom!~ tat tat*

    *Pshew!~ Phoonk!~*

    [8]

    The statue didn''t anticipate the small tooth to explode in its face, as it actually just seemed like a small rock. This allowed the second bolt to follow without interception, which it was now pierced through its cracking stone helmet.

    ¡°Nice.¡± Jay smiled and nodded.

    Now that the statue was directly in front of them, Anya pulled out her orb so they could see more clearly throughout the battle.

    The statue finally reached them; it would deal with the biggest threat first, which it believed was Anya - it still hadn¡¯t connected the skeletons to Jay.

    *ng Stab ng!~*

    [-2][-10][-2]

    ¡°Argh!¡± Jay gritted his teeth, he didn¡¯t expect it to attack so ferociously.

    The floating sword knocked Jay¡¯s shield away and stabbed into his shoulder before he could block again.

    ¡°It does piercing damage.¡± he raised his shield as he backed up a bit.

    Jay wondered why the skeletons weren''t assaulted as aggressively as he was, but after observing them, he soon understood the trick.

    He rushed forwards with even greater violence, his zeal only surpassed by the skeletons as he started to strike furiously after taking his final spare hammer from his inventory.

    [-2]

    The foe had to use its swords for both attacking and defending, so Jay would merely force it to defend. Its tactic was like a double-edged sword. He deflected one blow as he charged in, but his n was starting to pay off.

    *Doonk!~* *ng!~* *Dong~*

    Neither the statue nor Jay were scoring any hits at this point, but that¡¯s exactly what Jay wanted.

    The only thing it could do was deflect his hammer away with a hovering sword before it could smash its body up. It remained stuck here as long as Jay swung his hammer at it wildly; at least, it would be a stalemate until Jay became too fatigued.

    However, Jay wasn¡¯t alone.

    *Pshew!~ Phoonk!~*

    Another boltnded on the statue; a critical hit right in its face.

    *Crack!~ Chip~*

    Pebbles and kes of stone broke away.

    The skeletons were attacking from behind, and since there were five of them they were able tond a few asional hits too.

    Unknown to Jay, the statue was actually trying to go for Anya, the highest damage dealer, but he managed to block its path - he just naturally assumed he was the target.

    The statue would probably haveunched a few swords at both of them already if all of them weren¡¯t destroyed by the troublesome skeletons. It was a fearsome opponent before, but now it was just a matter of time before it fell in battle.

    Out of its seven hundred hit points, it had been whittled all the way down to only one hundred and thirty now.

    ¡°Not much longer now¡­¡± Jay smiled, knowing that the enemy''s demise was drawing closer.

    Already, the statue''s armour was crumbling. Deep cracks and missing chips of stone were all over its body - not to mention the three bolts sticking out of its head.

    Jay didn¡¯t need to check its health to know it was almost finished.

    As its health went below one hundred, the statue suddenly changed.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Jay wondered what was happening.

    The feel of the fight suddenly felt different, more surreal. He felt like he sensed something he couldn¡¯t quite grasp.

    The statue shook its body and its stone armour all came off - not that it was helping it much anyway.

    Suddenly its long w-like gauntlet gripped the air; it was like the statue was trying to remember something as its focus was heightened.

    That was Jay¡¯s only thought before it suddenly swung at Jay.

    09:43

    The atmosphere changedpletely, despite the flying des whirring around and the skeletons continuing their attack, the battle wentpletely silent. It was like all the air had been sucked out of the room; no sound could pass.

    *Crack!~*

    For a fraction of a second, a transparent, ghostly sword appeared in the statue¡¯s hand before disappearing again, reced by a strange thickness of air.

    ¡°Sword¡­ visualisation? Sword summoning?¡± Jay guessed. Whatever it was, it felt wrong.

    That was Jay¡¯s only thought before it suddenly swung at Jay.

    *Vrrrr~ Boom! Boom! Boom!*

    There was no sword in its hand, only a strange dense air, almost like a mist or a shadow.

    Jay was knocked into a weapon rack after it shed its arm sideways, while a trail of ethereal swords followed straight after.

    [-5] [-5.3] [-5.5] [-5.7]

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡±

    Jay quickly rolled out of the way, knowing each of the ghostly swords hurt more than thest. Somehow it activated one of its sword skills.

    ¡°It¡¯s not even a real sword and it hurts that much? Fuck.¡± Jay raised his shield, getting back into his natural defensive style again.

    [-2] [-10] [-5] [-5.3]

    ¡°Grah!¡± he yelled as he was stung and pierced.

    Immediately he was punished for going on the defensive, as the floating stone sword could attack freely now - it was Jay¡¯s offence keeping it busy after all.

    *Phoonk!~*

    A bolt from Anyanded right in its chest, causing it to stagger for a moment.

    This gave Jay an idea.

    A mastermind tactical decision, which is what he would call itter.

    The statue was ying checkers while he was ying four-dimensional chess.

    He turned and quickly ran back to Anya.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just fuckin¡¯ run.¡± heughed maniaclly as he dashed towards Anya.

 Chapter 175 One step closer

    Jay gestured to go deeper into the room ¨C he didn¡¯t actually mean to retreat, but to get a little further away and keep shooting at it; unknown to Jay, it was typically called kiting.

    Anya gave him a confused look for a moment but happily grabbed her crossbow and began to run too.

    The statue almost seemed disappointed seeing this, it had made all the effort to materialise a fragment of a distant memory, one of its soul-bound sword ¨C now the enemies simply run from it?

    This was like a p in the face.

    *BOOM!~*

    In its anger it immediatelyunched one of its stone swords at Anya ¨C but unlike Jay, she was simply too fast and agile.

    Immediately she went into the ck mist and re-materialised behind a few weapon shelves with her crossbow ready to fire.

    *Pshew!~ Phoonk!~*

    Needless to say, the statue didn¡¯t expect this at all; after losing its target, another bolt suddenly pierced its chest. It had no time to deflect it at all.

    *BOOM!~* tat tat

    [8]

    Jay flung one of his unstable teeth while it was looking for Anya again. He and the skeletons took advantage of every moment it paused. They were bing quite an efficient killing force.

    The statue was slowing down, and weakness began to spread across its body. Its transparent ghostly sword disappeared as it dropped its arm to the side.<sub>.</sub>

    The floating sword behind it got slower and now the skeletons were taking full advantage of it as they smashed their hammers at it with no remorse or honour.

    Finally the statue dropped to its knees, copsing. Its floating sword dropping to the ground and shattering.

    [800 Exp]

    Jay exhaled, it was finally over, It was in.

    The skeletons were still smashing it and turning its body to chunks, but Jay ordered them to loot it first, bringing him the rewards.

    [Greater Soul stone] (Empty) x 1

    [Helvetian Ring] x 8

    ¡°Finally, another greater soul stone.¡± Jay smiled, ¡°I knew there would be one in this pyramid¡­ Oh, eight rings? Nice.¡± Jay nodded.

    Anya ran back to Jay after she saw the statue fall.

    ¡°Here¡¯s your cut.¡± Jay gave her four of the rings.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± she nodded, looking over the statue.

    Jay looked a little more closely at the statues¡¯ gauntlets as they seemed to be exoticpared to the other statues, but after touching and holding them closer it was clear they were just stone. Purely ornamental.<sub></sub>

    He sent his feeble creature to grab his luminous orb so he could see a little more clearly as he looked around the rest of its body, though there was nothing to grab, and nothing of use.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll see what the others have¡­¡± he looked around the room for the truth guards.

    Jay got two more helvetian rings from them and checked over their bodies, recalling their ability to cast magical spells.

    There was a strange coating on them. It was extremely thin and see-through but it felt smooth to the touch, simr to a varnished table.

    Jay tried to scratch some off, but it was of no use; bringing a dagger out of his inventory he finally managed to scrape a piece away ¨C but it suddenly evaporated into nothingness.

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡± he pursed his lips, ¡°I guess this belongs to the truth guards even in death.¡± he tossed the piece of stone he had scraped it off back to the ground.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see how close I am to finishing this quest.¡±

    <[Hidden Quest ¨C Soul Liberation]>

    [Gather soul stones and bring them to Sedulus]

    [Progress]

    ¨C Soul stone: 420/500

    ¨C Large Soul stone: 2/2<sub></sub>

    ¨C Greater Soul stone: 2/3

    [Rewards]

    ¨C 3 Skills: Mind, Mark, Host.

    ¨C Weapon: Sedulus¡¯s war spear.

    At first the quest rewards seemed really generous, but now it seemed like an appropriate reward for the hard work he put in.

    Jay wondered if it was somehow made harder because he asked for more rewards, but still, he had solo¡¯d most of the dungeon so far so that would have naturally made it harder. Being a necromancer, he didn¡¯t have any idea how hard it would be for normal adventurers; there was no way to gauge it.

    Either way, he was managing it well.

    ¡°One more greater soul stone¡­ hmm. And two more pyramids? Odd¡­¡± Jay scratched his chin.

    ¡°Wait, fuck! Did Hessven drop a greater soul stone? Dammit, he jumped into a fucking furnace!¡± Jay kicked the remains on the truth guard in anger, only causing it to fall apart even more.

    ¡°Come to think of it, why did Hessven have a name and this one didn¡¯t?¡± Jay tilted his head and looked up in thought.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess the sword whisperer was dishonoured, so perhaps that¡¯s part of it?¡±

    ¡°Oh well¡­¡± he frowned with a shrug.

    Walking back to Anya, he was still a little disappointed after realising there was no loot from Hessven.

    Anya saw Jay with a solemn expression again after the battle, but again, she decided not to ask about it.

    After all, the choice to enter battle always came with the potential for personal sacrifice and hardship, but many never realise the choice of inaction alsoes with sacrifice.

    The skeletons were waiting next to the bone pile; some were eating to recover health and armour while Blue stood by and watched over them. Jay thought that he seemed like a worthymander, watching over his troops while they went about their business.

    The pile got smaller so Jay gave them a warm smile and added more bones.

    ¡°Hey¡­ you aren¡¯t injured¡­ Why are you eating?¡± Jay gazed at the small skeleton.

    It neither made any sense that it would eat since it didn¡¯t get the bone eater skill till level three ¨C but that¡¯s when he realised why.

    ¡°Oh, you levelled up. Good.¡± Jay patted it.

    Anya grimaced a little seeing Jay patting the skeleton, there was something diforting about it.

    As it ate, it grew before their eyes as its bones creaked, cracked and reformed. It was still below shoulder height but much taller than it was.

    ¡°Well, I suppose I should name you.¡± Jay looked around, ¡°Dark.¡±

    ¡°Aw, no ceremony?¡± Anya teased with a smile.

    ¡°Nope. You should never dere an assassin. It defeats the purpose¡± Jay said as if it were a matter of fact.

    Anya shook her head with a smile as she looked at the young level two skeleton, twirling its dual daggers.

    ¡°It seems like it¡¯s getting used to them again¡­ now that its body is bigger¡± Anya thought.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be long till Red levels up either¡­¡± Jay said, hoping Red would get an interesting role choice.

    The skeletons had already collected all their weapons, but Jay gave them another order to collect the bones too ¨C he simply couldn¡¯t be bothered to go around and get them himself.

    The skeletons each scurried off into the dark corners of the room, each of them knew exactly where they had died so it didn¡¯t take too long to collect their own remains, bringing them back and adding them to Jay¡¯s bone pile.

    Jay stood by waiting, and considered how he didn¡¯t realise the skeletons had levelled up.

    After all the skeletons were healthy and healed, and had gathered the bones, he gave them a newmand:

    ¡°If any of you need bones,e to me.¡± he squinted at them.

    Jaynded his eyes on Blue for a moment to make sure his order would be ingrained in their skeletal skulls.

    Blue was bing apetent leader, and strangely, Jay felt a sense of trust growing in the skeleton; the trust in its reliability.

    Finally, Jay added the bone pile back into his gauntlet and gave his orb to Lamp, letting Dark continue to dual wield again.

    ¡°Hm, I wonder if Lamp gets a ss from, well, literally being themp carrier¡­¡± he watched it for a moment as they walked to the back of the chamber.

 Chapter 176 Stamina

    ¡°Hm, I wonder if Lamp gets a ss from, well, literally being themp carrier¡­¡± he watched it for a moment as they walked to the back of the chamber.

    ¡°Red will level up soon too, but I haven¡¯t really given it any special treatment. I¡¯m guessing it will be a basic ss since it¡¯s just been using swords and hammers all this time.¡± he thought as they approached the back of the room.

    Jay actually preferred this much more than to how it was with the mana conduit and humans; sometimes you would get a ss which matched your experiences, other times it waspletely random.

    At least Jay could guide the skeletons, or even find ways to raise new sses. It would be better to hand-pick your own armies sses rauther than have it filled with all sorts of strengths and weaknesses arising from randomness. In the grand scale of war, it also allowed a tactician to shine.

    At the back of the room there was arge stone table, about chest-height. Chips and dust of stone covered it, along with small scrapes and cuts all over the surface.

    It seemed to function as part of the swordsmithing area which has its fair share of usage over the years.

    Behind the table, a few broken weapons sat on weapon racks and a small passageway led further into the pyramid.

    ¡°Hm, probably the exit.¡± Jay guessed as he slowly walked around the table and all the other junk. Before departing, he had Sweeper and Red quickly search the area for any items but they came back empty handed.

    Anya patiently followed him, while Sweeper covered the rear of the party, just in case.

    There was always the chance that the walls could drop down and two of the dual-wielding statues would spring to ambush them after all.

    The passageway was smallpared to the rest of the pyramid, butrge enough for a statue to walk through.

    Two skeletons could walk side by side so they would be okay even if there was a statue present.

    Jay assumed this passage was for maintenance as there were no decorations or even simple pirs ¨C just some more pieces of broken sword or snapped spearhead asionally on the path.<sub>.</sub>

    A light at the end of the passage appeared, and soon some distant steps could be heard.

    Jay held his hand up, causing all of the party to stop as he listened.

    ¡°¡­Marching?¡± he whispered as he listened intently.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get closer and see.¡± Anya whispered back as she gazed at the end of the tunnel.

    Jay nodded, but decided to have Dark take the lead and walk further ahead of the party.

    ¡°If it¡¯s going to be an assassin it would need to get better at sneaking, so it might as well start training now.¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°Hmm,e to think of it I haven¡¯t seen many assassin sses¡­.¡± he scratched his chin, ¡°actually, I have seen none. I wonder if they¡¯re forced into the military or something?¡±

    ¡°It might be a dishonourable thing to be an assassin, but it technically isn¡¯t me carrying it out, so I don¡¯t really care.¡±

    ¡°Besides, most people who bring up honour are like that Matheson brat. Just hypocrites using it to manipte people.¡± he frowned slightly. He thought it was quite a sad thing, as the idea of honour would probably be a good thing if people used it correctly.

    The sounds of marching became more apparent as they neared the exit; Jay¡¯s guess was correct.

    Crouched down just before the passageway ended was Dark.

    Jay thought that Dark seemed happy that it made it to the end without being detected, though to Anya, it just looked like all the other undead skeletons.<sub></sub>

    The light greeted them once more as they found themselves in another courtyard.

    Two walls on either side of them led to two pirs which acted as guard towers. There were statues patrolling on the walls while a line of spearmen statues stood between the pirs.

    It was just like a mirror image of the entrance to the pyramid, except this time they would have to escape. The only difference was that there were no dihexapedes attacking or any of the magic-casting floating statues.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay squinted, looking for any weakness or path of least resistance.

    Suddenly, a statue on the wall turned and looked directly towards them.

    Without saying anything it pointed its spear upwards and then mmed it into the ground.

    *DOON!~*

    A deep thud sounded in the whole courtyard, and all the statues suddenly turned to look at the undead and humans standing in the entrance.

    For a moment it was silent. Both parties just watched each other, seeing what the other side would do, until finally the march began.

    The statues were the first to make a move. They all took a step forward as they marched in sync, causing more deep sounds with each step.

    ¡°Shit.¡± Jay pursed his lips.

    ¡°So much for finding a weakness and busting out.¡±<sub></sub>

    He casually turned and walked back into the passageway as the skeletons went past him and made a defensive formation.

    Three skeletons remained just outside the door with two behind them in the passage. Blue was at the centre of course, as it was currently the strongest skeleton.

    Jay realised they would have to slowly retreat back into the passage as they killed statues, but that would work in their favour as it would be two skeletons versus one statue.

    ¡°Feel free to fire your bolts. The quicker we get this over with, the better.¡± Jay said, a tone of boredom in his voice.

    Anya nodded, but looked a little confused. They were going to kill about fifty statues and he seemed bored?

    How? Why? It didn¡¯t make much sense. Most adventurers would be pumping with adrenaline and excitement right now.

    In truth, Jay was a little more disappointed than bored. He had used this tactic before so all he had to do was keep summoning skeletons and wait.

    It seemed that to excite a necromancer, one needed a diverse battlefield with fluid battle tactics; to manage the ebbs and flows of a full-scale war is what he subconsciously desired. While he didn¡¯t have the forces necessary to wage a war, this still felt like child¡¯s y.

    Still, he would at least enjoy seeing his minions crush some enemies.

    *Pshew!~*

    Anya beganunching bolts from behind the group of skeletons.

    The statues simply raised their shields though, so for now she gave up trying. It was a fearsome statue formation; each of them had their spears pointed and their shields raised as they slowly marched forward, forming a semi-circle formation around the passage exit.

    It was like a wall of pointy death with no cracks to get through. A perfect formation which had only been honed after all the centuries.

    ¡°Hmm. Get back.¡± Jay said.

    The skeletons all retreated back into the passageway at his orders. It didn¡¯t make sense to fight them out in the open like that.

    All of them stood about 10 meters deeper in the passage.

    ¡°That¡¯s better.¡± Jay smiled, seeing the first statue have to enter alone.

    Unfortunately for the statue, all it could do was thrust its spear due to the narrow passage.

    It would be a decent attack under normal circumstances, but since that¡¯s all it can do here it became obvious and easy to dodge.

    The skeletons disyed their nimble capabilities once again, easily dodging each thrust that came their way and retaliating with a hammer smash.

    The only disadvantage of the skeletons was that they had to break down the statues shield before they could do any significant damage to the statue behind it.

    The skeletons were already used to its thrusts and even seemed to get better at dodging them so it was only a matter of time.

    *Crack!~**Crack!~**Crack!~**Crack!~*

    Hit after hit they whittled down the first shield and it wasn¡¯t long before it finally crumbled. The statue went down soon after ¨C without its shield, it could only continue to thrust helplessly.

    [100 Exp]

    The enemy statue crumbled, and unlike the statues at the start of the dungeon these ones had no cares about stepping over their deadrades.

    The shield-breaking process started once again, and after a while the second one went down.

    [100 Exp]

    ¡°Hm. Seems like it¡¯s a battle of stamina?¡± Jay raised a brow, ¡°maybe a test of stamina is more urate¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, the undead have unlimited stamina so¡­ I guess we just wait while I pass the test.¡± he shrugged with a slight smile.

    ¡°Yeah. As long as your skeletons don¡¯t die it seems we¡¯ll be fine.¡± Anya smiled, happy with the easy experience. She did a lot of the damage in thest battle so she didn¡¯t feel guilty for taking a rest and letting the exp float in.

    Time passed and the 2 vs 1 battles raged on.

    At first, Jay and Anya watched with their weapons raised, but nothing happened so soon they lowered them ¨C then leant against the walls, then stashed their weapons away, and eventually they were sitting down.

    Jay of course was sitting down on the chair he brought from home, having a small feeling of superiority for being so prepared.

    Anya began sharpening her throwing knives, bolt tips and examining her crossbow as she leant against the wall.

    ¡°Well, I might as well do something productive too.¡± Jay thought as he took out his old familiar book.

    ¡°Oh, a new page?¡± he smiled, opening his immortal book with hungry eyes.

    For some reason, he was craving a new lesson. It was almost like he missed it.

 Chapter 177 Managing Affairs

    [Immortality Research ¨C 5%]

    ¡°Oh? Good.¡± Jay grinned, looking up from his book as he noticed the tunnel went quiet ¨C the fighting had finally stopped.

    During the fighting, the skeletons only had to be resummoned twice, and after meditating a few times Jay¡¯s mana pool was almostpletely full again.

    Over time the skeletons took damage and died, dropping their hammers, but Jay sent Dark in to grab them before the statues could advance any further.

    It would have been a nightmare if he missed this small detail, but thankfully he fixed the issue before any problems came up.

    One by one, the statues moved into the killing tunnel only to slowly get grinded into dust ¨C the only reason Jay and his party would move back would be due to all the debris from the statues¡¯ bodies.

    [2550 Exp]

    A few hourster, Jay and Anya both grinned with excitement as they shared the exp.

    At first they got ready for a long battle and began to rest, but the constant trickle of exp made them smile slightly each time.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t levelled up yet?¡± Anya asked, tilting her head to the side in curiosity.

    ¡°Mm. I need more as a necromancer.¡± Jay said, dismissing her as he packed up his chair and book. Due to his disguise stone, his status still said he was a level nine necromancer after all.

    ¡°Shall we get going?¡± he said, pointing to the end of the tunnel.

    ¡°Sure.¡± she nodded back, packing away her leather-wrapped sharpening kit.

    As they walked out, Jay had his skeletons collect all the soul stones and rings.

    [Soul Stone] (Empty) x 52

    [Helvetian Ring] x 34

    Jay gave Anya her cut of the rings and they continued through the passage, entering the courtyard.

    Jay had a quick check of his ss as they walked.

    <[Necromancer Level 11]> (Pure)

    [Race ¨C Human]

    HP: 93/93<sub>.</sub>

    MP: 68/68

    Strength: 20

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 35

    Energy: 40/40

    Exp: 5330/15000

    [<[Skills]>]

    <~[Necromancy Skills]~>

    [Raise Feeble Creature level 4]

    [Summon Bone Helminth]

    [Shell Restoration Level 1]

    [Unstable Teeth Level 2]

    [Shift]~[Living Blueprints]~[Transnt]~[Amputation]

    [Uncaring Rip]~[Pitiful Mortal]

    [Necrotic Sense ¨C Level 1] (Passive)

    [Scrimshaw Level 3] (Passive)

    [Undead Mastery Level 3] (Passive)

    <[Other Skills]>

    [Asklin] (Equipment)

    [Dagger Proficiency level 1] (Passive)<sub></sub>

    [Poison Resist 11%] (Passive ¨C equipment)

    [Running level 2] (Passive)

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Sword Proficiency Level 1] (Passive)

    [ss Utility] (Passive)

    [<[Research]>]

    [Chimera Research 17%]

    [Immortality Research 5%]

    [Skull-shield Projector Research 32%]

    [Dreadmourn Turret Research 22%]

    ¡°Fuck yeah, one-third of the way to level 12¡­ heh¡± He thought, having to stop himself from grinning suspiciously.

    ¡°Oh¡­ I got some new research too? Huh¡­ I should check my ss more often¡­ I thought I was much closer than thirty-two percent towards learning that energy field.¡± his ecstatic mood calmed as he pursed his lips.

    ¡°I guess I have a lot to learn.¡± he humbly nodded to himself as he walked quietly, following his gang of skeletons through the passage.

    Stepping into the light, he noticed everything was made from the iconic ck te stone: the walls, the pirs, along with the ground.

    ¡°Hm. A simple courtyard.¡± Jay said as they walked.

    Looking around, it was easy to tell there was nothing here since everything was t, angr and smooth.

    ¡°Well, it looks like we sessfullypleted pyramid number four.¡± Jay smiled.

    ¡°That was way better than the third one¡­¡± Anya nodded, smiling back, ¡°though it would¡¯ve been impossible without the skeletons ¨C sacrificing themselves and then fighting endlessly ¨C I don¡¯t see anyone doing that without at least a party of four.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re almost too useful,¡± Jay joked as he looked at his skeletons approvingly.

    ¡°Next pyramid?¡± Anya pointed.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Next pyramid.¡± Jay nodded as they began walking out of the courtyard and down a ramp between the pirs.

    The path to the fifth pyramid this time was a cream-white colour. Compared to the ck stone they had been walking on all this time, it seemed quite regal. It was a wee change.

    Looking ahead, there was arge ck wall around the fourth pyramid with arge white-stone gate.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ve never heard of the gate before¡­?¡± Anya said, looking a little confused.

    For a moment she wondered why no one had told her about the gate when asking around at the guild, but she simply figured that perhaps no one expected her to make it this far yet.

    Perhaps the veterans wanted her to focus on what was in front of her rather than what¡¯s ahead.

    Jay and Anya carefully approached the white gate as they moved along the road ¨C but to their surprise there were no traps, ambushes or even patrolling statues.

    The silence was quite unnerving, and now Jay thought he actually preferred something to fight. It would be better than the haunting, quiet tension.

    Finally, they made it to the gate, and Jay rested his hand on it as he examined it.

    ¡°Huh, It¡¯s bigger than I thought it would be.¡± Jay said as he looked upwards;

    It was so tall that it seemed like it leaned over them.

    The gate itself waspletely smooth, like tworge te bs with a crack in the middle. It had a lip at the top but there was no way anyone was scaling its t surface.

    Now that he was close enough, he could even see his reflection. Jay thought it must have taken years to polish it to make it this shiny; it was simply pristine.

    Unfortunately, the gate didn¡¯t open and there was definitely no way he and his minions would have the strength to push it open ¨C but after a moment of analysing, Jay received a strange notification.

    [!]

    Opening it, it took him to his inventory ¨C there was an item with the same [!] notification next to it.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay looked at it suspiciously.

    He had felt a strange connection to this particr item since he entered the dungeon, but he soon forgot all about it ¨C though now, it seemed to beckon to him more than ever, it was like it wanted him to pull it out of his inventory.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Sullivan stared at Lannister inquisitively across his desk, wondering if he could be trusted to protect his daughter.

    ¡°Your head mage seems to have an attitude.¡± Lara said, breaking the tension while looking absentmindedly across Sullivans book collection.

    Sullivan smiled slightly, ¡°Vdore? He¡¯s an odd man, but he does his job. Did he do something?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s what he didn¡¯t do. He didn¡¯t even look at us as we passed him. It was like he was possessed.¡± Lara shrugged.

    Sullivan gazed at her for a moment before squinting at the door where Vdore just left.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s talk about why you¡¯re here.¡± Sullivan gestured to the other seat in his room; Lara took the message and sat down.

    Next they were bombarded with questions, covering numerous topics:

    ¨C How will I contact you?

    ¨C When? Procedures?

    ¨C Sending letters and other items

    ¨C How will you ensure their safety?

    ¨C How will you meet their levelling needs?

    ¨C How do you deal with¡­ ¡®annoyances¡¯¡­?

    ¨C How do they leave? Will you teach them that?

    ¨C Their responsibilities?

    Lara and Lannister answered patiently.

    They were not typical questions, but then again, there was nothing typical about this situation.

    Generally, people would join them as ast refuge ¨C but this was more like an interview. But what other options did Sullivan have?

    Lara wanted to tell him to ¡®take it or leave it.¡¯, but she knew that there would be severe penalties if they lost their only opportunity to bring a necromancer into their ranks. It was crucial that everything went smoothly.

    After all the questions and the finer details were resolved, Sullivan finally released a satisfied smile.

    ¡°Make sure you take care of them.¡± he slowly spoke with his smooth but powerful voice, his blue eyes seeming to glow ever so faintly for just a moment.

    The power behind it seemed like it was almost like a threat, but Lannister just nervously smiled back.

    ¡°Of course¡­¡± he nodded, ¡°but there is onest thing. We would like to ce some listening devices around the guild, for security purposes.¡± Lannister said, taking a light-purple crystal out and showing it to Sullivan.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t be visible.¡± he said while adding some mana to the crystal.

    The crystal turned a deeper purple, and eventually turned ck. Once it waspletely ck it instantly vanished from sight, though it was easy to tell there was still a physical object in his hand.

    A small smile began to form on Sullivans face as he watched. He had seen these only once before in his military life ¨C though at that time it was presented to him as an assassins tool.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone see you ce them.¡± Sullivan nodded.

    Lara gave a smile and was the first to stand up; she was just d the meeting was over.

    She didn¡¯t contribute much, but her body guard role was just as important.

    ¡°Just a moment.¡± Sullivan raised his arm.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Lara gave him a curious look as Sullivan pulled out amunication crystal.

    ¡°Margie, I have two friends here. Could you give them a tour of the guild? Also, show them Jay¡¯s room and Anya¡¯s room, and let them wait in the guest quarters once you¡¯ve finished.¡±

    Margaret knew exactly who they were, and was d she could be of some help.

    ¡°Absolutely Sully.¡± she smiled.

    Sullivan tried to not look awkward as he put the crystal away. He really wished she wouldn¡¯t call him ¡®Sully¡¯ in front of outsiders.

    ¡°Oh, the guest quarters won¡¯t be necessary, but we appreciate the hospitality.¡± Lannister smiled.

    Lara gave him a look of disapproval, but it would be better that they kept their time here to a minimum so Lannister ignored it.

    A gentle knock on the door and Margaret escorted them out of Sullivan¡¯s office.

    After the door closed, Sullivan got up and looked around his bookshelf, finding an invisible object there.

    He smiled, almost chuckling while shaking his head before putting it back again.

    ***Where is the eternal book chapter? Well, I had an idea for one but I lost it. I¡¯ll upload it when I grasp it again. I¡¯m not just going to write some vague mysterious garbage with no meaning. Also, sorry chapters have been slow this week, I¡¯ve had some life to catch up on.***

 Chapter 178 Alternative Thought

    [!]

    Jay took out the item from his inventory, attempting to inspect it again ¨C but as it sat in his palm it began to vibrate and move around radically before floating upwards.

    ¡°Hey!¡± He tried to grab it but it elerated upwards too quickly.

    Without a second thought he threw his shield upwards at it, as if he was trying to knock a bird out of the sky, but he simply missed.

    The item flying away was the porcin locket which he found in the ruins near the first pyramid when he first entered the dungeon.

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡± he frowned.

    A skeleton sheepishly brought him his shield as he continued to watch the flying locket.

    As it sped upwards, it was releasing some sort of power and left a light blue trail behind it; it flew closely to the white gate as if it was hugging the white gate, but wasn¡¯t quite close enough to touch it.

    Suddenly, like a wisp, it disappeared somewhere over the top of the gate, leaving only a blue trail behind it which quickly disappeared too, going over to the other side of the wall somewhere.

    Jay watched and waited for a moment, but nothing happened.

    ¡°Well shit¡­¡± he continued to stare upwards, hoping for something but he felt like he just got robbed.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°What was that?¡± Anya quizzically asked.

    ¡°Oh, some weird locket I found in the ruins near the start of the dungeon. It gave me a strange feeling a few times, so I held onto it. I can¡¯t really describe it¡­¡±

    ¡°Huh. I guess it was magical.¡±

    ¡°Oh, could it have been magical?¡± Jay retorted sarcastically, ¡°was it the blue trail of light or the flying that gave it away?¡±

    Anya didn¡¯t say anything, but only looked at him with a frown.

    Jay sighed, ¡°Sorry¡­ It¡¯s been a long day and I just lost something¡­ I really just want to get this quest finished.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok. Let¡¯s just try to find a way forward.¡±

    Jay gave her a warm smile back with a nod.

    Jay was going to add that the porcin locket reminded him of a feeling of loneliness, but he decided to leave it at that. While Anya was as close as a friend would be, he considered her as merely an acquaintance ¨C besides, their rtionship was merely situational.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay gazed at therge ck walls on either side of the gate. They seemed to go in either direction forever. It seemed that there was no way around.<sub></sub>

    After backing up from the wall a bit he had a thought.

    ¡°I wonder¡­ can I throw a skeleton over the wall perhaps?¡± he thought, scratching his chin.

    Jay was thinking outside of the box, on a different level ¨C the dungeon wouldn¡¯t have factored in such crazy ideas to its design; the wall was incredibly high, so it would be a stretch to throw a skeleton that far, but who¡¯s to stop Jay from trying?

    He knew he couldn¡¯t do it alone, but surely if every skeleton grabbed a leg of the smaller one, Dark, maybe it would be enough.

    Jay only had twenty strength after all, butbined with the other four skeletons it would reach seventy-one.

    Seventy strength is considered high for someone on Jays level. If someone was level eleven and had invested all their attribute points into strength, it would reach seventy ¨C though they would be the melee equivalent of a ss cannon: high damage, low health.

    Anya noticed Jay looking concentrated so she stood back and gave him some room as she watched patiently.

    The next thing she saw him doing was quite strange, and she wanted to immediately question him but decided to just wait and see. Besides, Jay seemed a little frustrated with this never-ending dungeon.

    Jay had his smallest skeleton lie down while he stood over it and channelled his glowing necrotic mana, sending it over different parts of its body and slowly severing different bits of bone.

    Eventually, the poor creature wasn¡¯t even able to stand up ¨C it lost its feet, hands and ribs, along with its tibia, fib, radius and ulna (forearm and shin bones).<sub></sub>

    ¡°This should work.¡± Jay smiled.

    Oddly enough, Dark didn¡¯t look betrayed ¨C in fact it even looked excited somehow, ready to carry out its mission as it wriggled helplessly on the ground.

    The four other skeletons all grabbed one of its upper leg and arm bones and began to swing the amputated skeletons backwards and forwards, while Jay grabbed its skull.

    ¡°Here we go.¡± Jay smiled.

    After a few more practice swings, the skeleton was released; it rocketed upwards and even whistled through the air. There was little resistance and it folded its elbows into its body and went skull-first.

    From a distance it would have liked a skull and a spine flying upwards, like arge undead ballistic missile.

    Surprisingly, the skeletons didn¡¯t need his help to throw it over as Dark went easily sailing upwards and above the ck wall. Eventually it disappeared over the top, wriggling wildly in the air as it reached the apex.

    It seemed like it was even trying to swim through the air at one point.

    ¡°Huh, that wasn¡¯t so hard.¡± Jay nodded.

    Next he nned to send bones over so Dark could eat and regain its limbs ¨C then it could wander around and hopefully find a way to open the gate.

    [Your feeble creature has died]

    ¡°¡­¡± Jay looked up, confused for a moment. It had lower health after he took some of its limbs away, but he didn¡¯t expect it to simply die.

    Anya was still looking excitedly at him, realising his n. She gave him an approving look as she waited for the gate to open ¨C of course, she didn¡¯t know that Dark just died.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ I guess it took fall damage without its legs to brace the drop.¡± Jay thought, pursing his lips.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s face-nted?¡± He raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡± Anya asked, seeing his expression change.

    ¡°Nope, not at all, why do you ask? Everything¡¯s fine.¡± he bluffed.

    ¡°Oh, good. Never mind.¡± she shrugged, ¡°Pretty awesome idea by the way.¡± she smiled.

    ¡°Thanks. We¡¯ll see how well it works.¡± he shrugged, not revealing anything.

    ¡°Dammit¡­ fall damage. The skeletons are light but I guess they at least need legs tond properly.¡± Jay thought to himself.

    Unknown to Jay, the porcin locket was still flying beyond the other side of the wall, and finally it found its target: A pedestal near the front of the pyramid which had the perfect indentation ¨C Its rightful home which is socketed itself into.

    *DRRRRRRR!~~~*

    A deep vibrating rumbling sounded as traces of dust and pebbles shifted off the walls.

    The heavy ancient white gate began to open inwards, beckoning them in.

    ¡°¡­¡± Jay was confused, since Dark had died on impact.

    ¡°Nice. Looks like your n worked.¡± Anya nodded with a smile as she grasped her crossbow and got it ready for a fight.

    Immediately he re-summoned Dark before Anya could enter and see the dead skeleton body ¨C though this time, Dark was brought back using human bones; no longer was it a feeble creature, but was now a skeleton instead. A bit smaller than the others but a skeleton nheless.

    The five skeletons formed a line in front of Jay and Anya, walking forwards into the gate; the gate was incredibly wide though, and the skeletons standing side by side made up about one-fifth of the gate.

    What greeted them on the other side of the gate though made all of them pause.

    ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± Jay whispered.

    Anya lowered her crossbow as she gazed for a moment.

 Chapter 179 The Dead Legion

    The gate opened slowly, only to cause Jay and Anya to grip their weapon tightly for a moment once they saw what was on the other side.

    Before them, a sprawling legion of stone guards were waiting.

    Thousands of them, all kneeling towards the pyramid, surrounding it from every side. Behind the wall there were no more ruins and no traces of destruction ¨C only a t ne of the ck stone covered with the statues.

    To the left and right there were thousands more statues, stretching as far as the wall went ¨C yet none of them moved at all.

    Surely they would have heard, and even felt, the deep groaning sounds of the white gate opening?

    Jay and Anya only held their breaths. They didn¡¯t dare make a sound.

    As they watched for a moment though, nothing happened. There was no movement on either side of the wall; only the soft cold wind which seemed unending in this dungeon.

    ¡°Surely they would have done something when Dark came flying over the wall?¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°But I heard no statue movement¡­ and why are they all kneeling¡­¡±

    Jay squinted at them, looking a little more closely.

    In front of each of them, small piles of stone rubble formed.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he squinted, trying to see it more clearly.

    Something wasn¡¯t right.

    Jay decided to have Dark move forward and walk closer to the kneeling statues.

    Still no reaction.

    Next, he had Dark move between some of them.<sub>.</sub>

    Still, no reaction and not so much as a tremor.

    Finally, he mentallymanded Dark to attack one of them.

    *Shring~!*

    Darks daggers gashed one of the statue¡¯s heads, leaving a puff of stone dust in its wake and some small pebbles which echoed in the silence.

    Still, there was no reaction.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Jay thought, beginning to move forward slowly.

    Anya remained still but Jay and his skeletons continued to approach the kneeling statues.

    When he was finally close enough he tried to analyse them, but there were no notifications or anything.

    Getting closer, and a little bit more bolder, he marched forward and spartan-kicked one from behind, causing it to facent and crumble.

    No notification, no reaction. Nothing.

    With a sigh, he went to stand in front of one.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± he had a solemn look on his face as he checked over the statue.

    Arge gaping hole was in its chest ¨C the soul stone had been ripped outpletely.

    The Helvetian statues were basically just that ¨C statues.

    It was quite strange as it seemed that the statues did this willingly; each of them in kneeling positions and forming perfect rows and columns, like the orderly troops they were.<sub></sub>

    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± Jay waved, ¡°they¡¯re all dead.¡± He called Anya, who rejoined Jay at his side with a puzzled look.

    ¡°What happened here¡­¡± Anya whispered, feeling like her voice travelled to many of the statues in this massive t area. She didn¡¯t want to take the chance of waking any of them until she knew for sure.

    ¡°No clue¡­ but I guess we¡¯ll find out.¡± Jay said, looking towards the pyramid.

    The party walked across the endless field of helvetian soldiers towards the fifth pyramid, weaving through the dead statues. It was an eerie feeling.

    Each of the kneeling statues were still as tall as them, silent as they eternally sat, and Jay and Anya solemnly navigated past them quietly.

    Jay wondered how such a big army originally could have been sustained with food among other things, but then he remembered a mural he once saw of Helvetia.

    The vibrant green city was thriving with nts and life, making it seem that they were just as in touch with nature as they were magic.

    Losing their living, breathing city must have only fuelled their desire for revenge even more deeply.

    It seemed quite backwards as they went from a city filled with nature and magic to a paved wastnd where the statues were very much anti-magic.

    Up ahead something stood out. It was a strange triangr prism pointing out of the ground; a monolith. Like the path and the gate it was simrly a cream-white colour. It was about five meters tall and as wide as Jay¡¯s shoulders.

    Despite itself being white and imnted into a white path, it stuck out like a sore thumb, like a beacon amongst the endless ck-stone soldiers.

    ¡°Odd¡­¡± Jay thought as he approached it.

    Jay checked the statues around it before getting closer, making sure they were actually deceased like all the others.

    His escape n was rtively simple: run.

    The numerous dead soldiers would block the path of any other pursuing statues, as they wererge and wouldn¡¯t be able to slip through the graveyard as easily as Jay or Anya would.<sub></sub>

    Thankfully, there were no living statues around and Jay concluded that it wasn¡¯t some borate trap, so he approached the white monolith.

    Jay saw his reflection as he drew nearer to the white monolith, and after looking at each side, he found that at the back of it something was socketed into it.

    ¡°Hey, here you are,¡± he smiled, immediately trying to pull it out of the socket; it was the white locket he lost, which had since flown away.

    Unfortunately it wouldn¡¯t budge, and neither could he try to pry it out as the white locket was a perfect fit ¨C there was absolutely no seam.

    Jay funelled some mana towards it but it acted as if it were now just another inanimate object.

    ¡°Mm¡± he frowned lightly. Whatever he had sensed in it before had simrly disappeared, its power all gone.

    As the triangle monolith was halfway between the pyramid and the gate in the middle of the road, it seemed quite obvious this was some sort of automatic gate key ¨C but Jay only had more questions.

    ¨C Why was this one key left outside the gate?

    ¨C If not for Jay, who was it meant for?

    ¨C Whose magic charged the key, and why did he feel a strange connection to it?

    ¨C Why had the gate been shut in the first ce?

    ¨C And what did that have to do with all the guards being mass-executed, or ¡®freed,¡¯ as Sedulus would say?

    There were no obvious clues around, and nothing else on the otherwise smooth monolith, so for now Jay only had one choice: to move forward.

    ¡°I will just have to find my own answers¡± Jay looked towards the fifth pyramid.

    Once again the party crept through the destroyed statues and eventually got to the pyramid entrance.

    A short staircase led to the t entrance area, which was lined by white pirs on either side. The pyramid was made from the ck stone but the floor was made from the upgraded white stone.

    Compared to the rest of the weathered pyramid, the white stone seemed rtively new.

    Jay and his party ventured into therge entrance area, each of their steps making echoing noises. It was akin to a grand cave they stumbled into.

    Soon it became darker and they found themselves at the bottom of another staircase, yet this time there was light at the top peeking down towards them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go slowly.¡± Jay whispered, sending his skeletons up further ahead of them.

    The staircase was long, wide, and the roof was high. It was like scaling a small mountain as they went upwards and even had to stop a few times, taking a rest and eating some travel rations.

    Finally, fifty minutester, they reached the top.

    The room was majestic, massive, and dazzling; streams of light came in from somewhere in the ceiling, lighting up the entire room as it bounced off white pirs and the white polished floor.

    It was an understatement to say the room was massive; at a nce, Jay guessed that it could have fit the whole of Lo in it.

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s bigger on the inside?¡± Jay thought as he looked around.

    While the pyramids were massive, they did just walk up the stairs for a long time, so it was hard to tell if there was some sort of dimension-type magic at y. Each pyramid since the first one only got bigger and bigger, so Jay couldn¡¯t be sure.

    ¡°Oh well.¡± he shrugged, not thinking too deeply about it. It wasn¡¯t like it mattered too much after all.

    Large pirs lined each wall, each as wide as the white gate they just passed through, and each of them engraved with imagery of nts, trees, flowers, horses, de deer and all manner of life; even a snake raven was depicted among some other creatures Jay had never seen.

    Jay and Anya could only look around in awe at the craftsmanship.

    Truly, it seemed that the craftsman had spent hundreds of years on this ¨C and knowing the longevity of the statues, it probably did.

    ¡°Surely they would have told me about this¡­¡± Anya gasped, looking around the room.

    ¡°Eyes forward.¡± Jay whispered, pointing to the middle of the room.

    In the middle of the room were three thrones on an elevated tform, overlooking all things below them.

    Therge throne in the middle which was the size of a house, decorated withplex patterns using the white and ck stone. Even from here they could tell it demanded respect.

    Jay and Anya approached slowly, trying to look out for any traps or tricks. Like everything in this dungeon, nothing was straight-forward.

    They slowed down as they approached, seeing figures in each throne, and thergest one was the easiest to see.

    In therge throne sat a slender, tall statue. It was made from ckstone like all the others ¨C though it seemed that much of its armour had been gently chipped away, reced with some new white stone pieces to cover up the unsightly stone masonry work.

    At first it rmed Jay to see such arge slender statue, but he noticed that like the statues outside, it also had its soul stone missing, taken from its chest and ced gently on the arm on the throne ¨C though it was apparent that it was removed with the utmost gentleness and care.

    Jay sighed, d that therger statue was dead. He was d he wouldn¡¯t have to fight someone like Sedulus.

    The two other thrones were more normal sized ¨C at least normal sized by helvetian soldier standards. However, unlike therge throne, its upants were still moving.

    It seemed that Jay and Anya had ventured a little too closely as the statues simultaneously stood up.

    Two smaller slender statues, each female in origin, and each with their own new white stone armour stepped off their thrones as they noticed the trespassers in their pyramid.

    ¡°Go.¡± Jay said, sending his skeletons in immediately.

    ***Bonus big chapter ?? Do you think the white stone means anything? What do you think it means?***

 Chapter 180 Royal Servants

    ¡°Go.¡± said Jay, not wasting any time as two statues got up from their thrones.

    Thankfully, therger statue in the middle throne was deceased so for now, there were only two enemies.

    The skeletons charged ahead, their hammers and daggers hungry for some action.

    Since fighting their way out of the fourth pyramid they had not served their master very much and were raring for a fight ¨C though they always desired to fight, so there was not much of a noticeable difference.

    Jay had formed a bone pile at his side as he prepared to raise any downed skeletons, while Anya took a knee and aimed her crossbow as she waited for an opening.

    By now they were ustomed to battles together and knew their roles quite well.

    Blue was inmand of the skeletons once again, and made Dark go to distract the statue on the right while all the other skeletons targeted the enemy on the left.

    Once again, Jay was pleased seeing his littlemander skeleton, Blue, make suitable tactical decisions.

    Sure, Jay could make better strategies, but if he is ever going to make an army he would need experiencedmanders, and it seemed like the only way to get them was to train them himself.

    The battle was still quite far away from Jay and Anya, due to the room being sorge, but he was close enough to see what was happening.

    The left statue waspletely surrounded by the undead and getting decimated, while the statue on the right was attacking wildly and unsessfully ¨C Dark was dipping, ducking and dodging around with its high dexterity.

    Jay smiled with an approving nod, d that his assassin-skeleton was having to practice its agility, which was a necessary skill of any assassin.

    Meanwhile the other four skeletons had surrounded the other statue and was making it suffer ¨C though it wasn¡¯t taking damage without giving some in return.

    It shed at the skeletons with a single dagger andnded a few cuts.

    ¡°Strange. Only a dagger?¡± Jay thought.

    The slender statues weren¡¯t heavily armed like Sedulus ¨C not even as much as the soldier variants; each of them simply had stone daggers which they waved around without much precision or power.

    He assumed they would be well equipped, like the dead army of statues outside, but it seemed that all they had was a single dagger each ¨C and they weren¡¯t even using them very well.<sub>.</sub>

    Still, they were attacking and hostile, so Jay continued the attack.

    Seeing that there was no trap or other enemies in the expansive room, Jay began walking closer to the battle.

    The statues were doing minimal damage to the skeletons and it seemed that they were quite weak so he had no fears as he added the bone pile back to his ring.

    As he drew closer, something else stood out to him: they weren¡¯t just any ordinary stone daggers.

    He didn¡¯t see it at first, but each of them released a soft blue shimmer and left a faint dark-green scrape on the skeletons each time they shed against their bones.

    The daggers seemed to be coated with more of that mana-conducting material, coating it in aplex pattern across the de.

    Anya crept forward beside Jay and prepared to fire, but Jay just held his hand up, gesturing to her to wait a moment and save her ammunition.

    Slowly, he continued to walk forward and analysed one of the statues.

    <[Royal Helvetian Maid ¨C Level 6]>

    [80 HP]

    <[Skills]>

    [Brittle Armour]

    ¨C 40% damage reduction to shing, stabbing damage.

    ¨C 20% more damage taken from crushing damage.

    [Helvetia¡¯s Revenge]

    ¨C Magic damage immunity.<sub></sub>

    ¨C Any wielded weapons be cursed.

    [Pristine Cleaning] (Passive)

    [Master Sculpting] (Passive)

    [Master Gem Cutting] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [One of the rare royal servants of the Helvetian Kingdom, turned to stone. Once esteemed, content with serving their queen and happy with their duties ¨C now hopeless, empty, lost.]

    ¡°Huh, only level six and not even any skills? Way too easy¡­ I guess they would have been annoying if the middle statue was still alive. It¡¯s no wonder the skeletons are having such an easy time.¡± Jay shrugged.

    He wanted to know what magical dagger effect the maids were using that caused the green cuts, but it seemed that they were merely channelling mana through their arms into the dagger somehow, and the dagger was doing the rest ¨C so there was nothing on their skill list.

    Unfortunately, the helvetian curse would still affect the daggers, so Jay wouldn¡¯t even be able to find out what affects the daggers were doing after they died; the curse stopped him from using their weapons.

    After pondering for a moment and checking the health of the skeletons, Jay simply assumed it was some sort of toxin or a poison, as the skeletons took no extra damage.

    This theory made the most sense to him, as maids wouldn¡¯t have been particrly good at fighting; they were not warriors. A strong magical poison would therefore be suitable for them.

    Still, he wasn¡¯t willing to test it with his own flesh. Why take unnecessary damage and pain?

    While the battle was going smoothly, Jay imagined that it would actually be quite a hard fight for regr adventurers, having to contend with whatever poison was constantly being applied.

    It seemed to have a very long duration too, as most of the cuts on the skeletons were still coated with a sickly dark-green substance.

    Add the middle statue into the mix and it would have been an absolute nightmare ¨C thankfully it was deceased before Jay even got here.

    It wasn¡¯t long till the left statue fell in battle, sumbing to the relentless skeletons who only took small cuts in return.<sub></sub>

    [215 Exp]

    With the first statue dead, the skeletons all rushed over and bullied thest statue, pummelling it without remorse as they took the pressure off Dark.

    Dark managed to sneak a few hits in as payback, adding deep stab wounds to the back of the statue¡¯s knee joints and causing it to stumble a few times.

    Jay was d he forced it to use the dual daggers against the stone statues, as it seemed that the skeleton had inadvertently learned a form of vital spot targeting.

    ¡°I wonder if I should make Dark some armour¡­ hmm, perhaps?¡± he scratched his chin as he thought, ¡°but perhaps armour would only slow it down. Cloth armour maybe? Hmm, but where would I even start? It¡¯s not like I can just request someone to make some cloth armour for a skeleton, and anything for humans would be too big.¡±

    The statue was about to die as it began to crumble, so Jay put his thoughts of Dark¡¯s armour aside for now.

    [215 Exp]

    With all of the enemies dead, Jay happily went up the ramp and approached therge throne ¨C but before he got to it, one of his skeletons approached him, looking absent minded at him with its hollow eyes.

    It just stood in front of him and gazed.

    ¡°Huh? What?¡± Jay raised a brow, wondering why it was behaving weirdly.

    It took a moment but then it finally clicked.

    ¡°Oh, Red you levelled up?¡± he grinned, ¡°Good, here, eat your fill!¡±

    Jay quickly made a feast of bones fit for a king ¨C an undead king anyway. The skeleton happily obliged as it began to munch away at the bones.

    Anya thought it sounded like it was eating dry rice, so she got used to the unearthly eating noises quite quickly.

    Before checking Red¡¯s role choice, Jay grabbed the soul stone off the throne.

    [Greater Soul Stone] (Empty)

    ¡°Finally.¡± he smiled, looking up at the statue ¨C he paused.

    ¡°Such beauty¡­¡± Jay¡¯s smile left him as he looked over it. He was simply stunned.

    Every detail was pristine and perfect; the lips, the nose, the eyes ¨C even its eyshes survived the petrification process and somehow the passage of time.

    Jay could only imagine how beautiful such a being was before it was changed into a statue.

    ¡°Perhaps it wasn¡¯t hellbent on revenge like the others, maybe it just wanted to be with its people?¡± Jay thought, assuming that such a beauty would never have such bitter thoughts of revenge.

    Still, it was just an assumption after all ¨C perhaps it could have been this one who suggested the revenge pact in the first ce.

    It almost seemed like an offence to turn such a beauty to stone, but it was now the shining centrepiece in this decorated room so at least its beauty still lived on in some form.

    After staring for a moment, Jay snapped back to reality and wasted no time in looting its dead body. No remorse, no hesitation.

    [Helvetian Ring] x 6

    [Highborn Helvetian Ring]

    [Porcin Locket]

    In the statue¡¯s hand was a stone tablet too, but Jay decided to check his loot before investigating further.

    <[Highborn Helvetian Ring]>

    ¨C Protection from a single cmity

    ¨C 0/1 charge

    ¨C Can be recharged

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Jay immediately began to add some mana to it.

    Despite his mana being necrotic, the ring greedily ate it up.

    Jay could tell that the ring wouldn¡¯t be filled for quite some time, so he stashed it away; he decided he would spend time charging itter when he had no use for his mana.

    He may need his mana for more enemies after all.

    The next item Jay brought out was the porcin locket.

    This time, he grasped it tightly in his hand, stopping it from flying away and opening some other gate ¨C or even closing the one they entered through.

    It was simply too dangerous to let it fly away as it could trigger a trap or any other danger. There was no way of knowing until after it was done.

    The porcin locket had the same strange energy within it, and Jay felt an odd connection to it again. It was obvious to him that it was another key ¨C but he still didn¡¯t understand the weird feeling it gave him.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the magic of whoever charged it? Hmm¡­¡± he squinted at it, wanting to know its secrets.

    ¡°All right then. Keep your secrets¡­¡±

    ¡°For now.¡± he stashed it away again.

    Anya made her way back to Jay ¨C just as he was about to look over the stone tablet in the statue¡¯s hand.

    At this moment, two skeletons each brought back a soul stone for Jay along with four more helvetian rings from the maids; eight in total.

    Jay pocketed the soul stones but decided to let Anya have the eight rings; he was quite content with the highborn ring he just found.

    Plus, he just got six rings for himself anyway so he really didn¡¯t mind giving away some charity.

    ¡°Thanks¡± Anya said, grabbing the rings off the skeletons ¡°This throne seems¡­ off.¡± she remarked as she stood on the tform and began looking around.

    Jay shrugged, ¡°Seems okay to me,¡± he said casually, grabbing the tablet from the middle throne and began to read.

 Chapter 181 Hidden Carving

    [My love, read the back of my throne and you will understand everything ¨C Your Queen]

    ¡°Huh, I thought she was the queen.¡± Jay nodded.

    It made sense but he didn¡¯t want to assume until he knew for certain, and it wasn¡¯t like he could analyse the dead statue.

    ¡°Back of the throne.¡± he said as he walked around.

    ¡°Huh, no wonder the throne is so big¡­ I mean, the queen is tall, but not that wide.¡± he thought as he saw engravings covering the whole back of the throne.

    The writing was maderge to help with engraving it, and it almost seemed to be written with a sense of elegance and care ¨C rather than a desperate rush like in other parts of the dungeon.

    Anya was still strangely walking around the throne, looking at its base as she seemed more interested with something else, but Jay just left her be; he had a message to read after all.

    [Words to Helotian, my love. I have received word that the cult is dead. The revenge pact isplete. Our beloved son has dealt with them himself ¨C though unfortunately he has since lost his sanity to another of their curses, and wanders the world. End his torment if he ever returns, but know that I have sent guards for him.

    As for the soldiers, I have begun to free them from these stone shells, and soon I myself will be free. I long to reunite with you. I ask that you end the spinning of the crifex rings and join me; let the attunement fail.

    I will wait for you on the other side. If you ever see our child, don¡¯t be rmed if he attacks. Have mercy by freeing him too. Forever yours, your faithful queen.]

    ¡°Huh, so the pact is done? I guess Sedulus will be happy.¡± Jay chuckled, ¡°and to think she wanted to give up.¡± he shook his head.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Well, there is one more pyramid to do, but I thinkpleting this quest will be better.¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ thest pyramid can wait. I want those quest rewards¡± Jays eyes were filled with anticipation as he thought about the three new skills he would be able to try out.

    Jay went to tell Anya that he was done, but she was crouched down, still looking around the bottom of the throne.

    ¡°Anya?¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± she didn¡¯t look up.

    ¡°What are you doing¡­¡± Jay said, though it almost seemed like he was mocking her.

    ¡°Look, the throne. It doesn¡¯t line up with the room or the other two thrones. It¡¯s different. There¡¯s got to be a secret or something.¡±

    Jay looked a little more closely and he began to notice it too.

    For such delicate and fine craftsmanship, it didn¡¯t make any sense to have a throne off-centred like this.

    ¡°Oh yeah. Weird¡­¡± Jay thought as he looked closer.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Let¡¯s try to push it.¡± he suggested as the skeletons came over the help.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    They all lined up and began to push, but it was simply too heavy.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ we need to make it lighter.¡±

    Jay immediately had the skeletons break down the queen¡¯s statue and move her rock chunks off the throne.

    It felt wrong, but it was necessary. Right now Jay¡¯s curiosity was the stronger force.

    After that, the throne groaned and shifted for a moment, but stopped.

    ¡°Needs more work.¡± Jay said to his skeletons as they began their demolition work again.

    They started smashing their hammers against therge decorative armchair parts of the throne, and soon tworge chunks fell off, each taking two skeletons to move away. He decided to preserve the back of the throne for the engraved message on it.

    ¡°Okay, push!¡± Jaymanded them all at once with a grunt.<sub></sub>

    *DRRRRRRRR*

    Slowly the statue moved back into ce until it seemed perfectly in line with the room.

    It looked fine to Jay, but Anya insisted on moving it slightly a few more times before she was satisfied.

    Jay and Anya looked around the room for a moment, patiently silent as they looked and listened for anything.

    Would a staircase appear in the ground? Would enemiese out of a hidden passage? Perhaps a treasure chest would fall down from the roof?

    It was anyone¡¯s guess.

    Then, to their surprise, nothing happened.

    ¡°Uh..¡± Jay looked at Anya.

    ¡°Just give it a moment.¡± she held her hand up, sure that something was going to happen.

    They both waited longer, but soon enough, Anya gave up.

    ¡°Ugh, damn. I guess it was nothing.¡± she pouted.

    ¡°Hmm, maybe we¡¯re going about this wrong? Maybe we should move it even further off-centre¡± Jay shrugged, and Anya¡¯s face lit up with a smile.

    ¡°Good idea!¡± she got excited as she went back to pushing the statue.

    All of them then repeated the process but pushed from the other side this time.

    *DRRRRRRRR*

    The statue went back to its original position, and then kept going as they continued to push.

    Anya and Jay both smiled as they looked down while pushing ¨C there was something below the statue, a small opening glistening from within.

    It seemed roughly made, but was filled with the same tablets the queen was holding ¨C all nestled in some shining gold coins.

    ¡°Jack-fucking-pot¡± Jay grinned, his eyes shining right back.

    With the statue fully moved, it was time to get the loot. Remembering what happened to the ore, Jay just decided to add it all to his inventory. He wouldn¡¯t let it disappear like the sparkling ore did.

    [500 gold]

    ¡°Only five hundred gold? So stingy¡­¡± Jay pursed his lips.

    Unfortunately, the stone tablets didn¡¯t enter his inventory, so he quickly got on his knees and pulled them all out of the hole, though he soon found it was merely a carved out hole in the white stone tform so he let the skeletons finish grabbing all of them.

    Anya looked at him with puppy dog eyes, and Jay knew what she was waiting for.

    ¡°250 gold, here you go.¡± Jay smiled, ¡°Nice work noticing that.¡± he encouraged her.

    ¡°Thank you very much. Imagine what thest pyramid is hiding¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm, about that. I won¡¯t be doing that today. Two is enough I think. Plus, I have to go back to the start for my quest.¡± Jay said, casually stretching his arms.

    ¡°Oh ok¡­ well, maybe tomorrow?¡± Anya looked a little dejected but had some hope in her eyes.

    ¡°Sure, maybe tomorrow.¡± he nodded back.

    Jay was d she didn¡¯t force him to make any promises as he looked across the stone tablets.

    There were many of the tablets, but Jay was thankful as they were numbered.

    ¡°Hm, I hope it¡¯s a treasure map, but probably not.¡± he thought as he began to nce over them. It seemed that they were all text.

 Chapter 182 The Truth

    [If you are reading this, you wille to know the truth about Helvetia. You will hate the truth, even though the truth will ultimately set you free.]

    [Years before the event, the event which cursed ournd, a building was destroyed in arge spell wave. This was soon med on a cult ¨C though at the time, no such cult existed.]

    [The cult was secretly constructed by our queen; the details were as intricate as the craftsmanship in this chamber.]

    [Truthfully, there was no cult. It was all a lie.]

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Jay passed Anya the tablets he read, and continued reading the others.

    [The cult was made to protect the prince.]<sub>.</sub>

    [The source of the explosion was due to the prince after all. The prince, seeking power, began his own forbidden mana-craft research before ultimately using it for political means: terrorism. He hated his father who gave himself longevity with magic.]

    [For the prince, the idea of ruling started like a pleasant dream. Over time, it turned to a longing, then a passion, and eventually bitter frustration. Anger followed, and year after year, decade after decade, step by step, he changed.]

    [A small stream can cleave mountains when given enough time, and the prince was much less than a mountain. A simr method was used to make our citizens trusting and unwary.]

    [The prince would never ascend the throne as long as our king lived, and it seemed Helotian would live forever ¨C perhaps turmoil would get him ousted.]

    [After the prince¡¯s incidents got worse, the construction of the borate fake cult only grew bigger.]<sub></sub>

    [The forbidden magic was growing stronger than he could have ever imagine, and it only fuelled his desire for more. He began testing it on surrounding nations and this only increased the need for the growth of the cult, causing itswork to be an internationalwork.]

    [Our queen, of course, loves her son and took measures to protect him: she continued to make up the cult propaganda, eventually causing the military to chase the cult around the countryside ¨C ironically, she saved them from the event.]

    [The military had departed to chase the borate cult, yet the cult were able to easily escape the military as they were fed information by the queen.]

    [The prince uncaringly continued his experiments. The sacrifices would count for nothing if he stopped now, so he continued in his madness. He quickly lost control as his forbidden magic grew, and we all know what happened next. The event: Helvetias destruction]

    [The queen, the prince, and the esteemed noble were spared from the cmity through the highborn rings. Still, they chose to turn to stone to avoid suspicion, while others chose it for revenge: the revenge pact.]<sub></sub>

    [Even after turning to stone, the prince was still seeking power. He made himself an enemy of Helvetia and gathered his own troops, promising them immortality for service and rallying them in hidden parts of the country.]

    [Despite there being nothing left, he still wished to rule over a cursed wastnd. It seems that he merely wanted power for the sake of it. He didn¡¯t care how many would suffer along the way.]

    [The queen, still wanting to protect her son even after the disaster, made a move to destroy the military. Eventually, she ripped their soul seals out after dering the cult to be destroyed, freeing them from the pact and allowing them to die. After all these years, it will be a sweet release.]

    [The queen dered that the prince had in the cult and the revenge pact wasplete. Now we could all be free.]

    [It was not mercy to her loyal troops, but this was done to stop them from capturing the prince if this truth was ever revealed. Still, there were fates worse than death, and the anger of Helvetia burned brightly in the hearts of every single soldier. Helvetia was united in this respect as they constructed the pyramids.]

    [Over the years, she began to change the ck pyramid to white, a sign of peace and newness. A deration of change ¨C a signal, beckoning her son¡¯s return.

    [Eventually, she longed for what helvetia once had: all the flora and fauna, nts and animals, which now surround the throne only as carvings.]

    [Time passed, and the prince had not been seen for hundreds of years. Eventually, the queen decided she should move on. After so much time, she realised this immortality they gained was nothing but a trap.]

    [In the end, in her final days, she found herself agreeing with the prince: only a God should rule eternally.]

    [We, her loyal servants, are tasked to protect the message inscribed on her throne, the lie meant to make peace ¨C but if the king, the prince, or whoever reads it are not satisfied, they will hopefully find our tablets; the truth.]

    [We chose to bury these under her throne, as we believe the king or prince would be hesitant to disturb the remains of her stone shell.]

    ¡°Shit. All to protect the prince? A whole empire destroyed on the whims of one selfish child¡­¡± Jay shook his head, clenching his jaw in anger and frustration.

    ¡°The queen should have disciplined her son in the very beginning, perhaps it wouldn¡¯t havee to this ¨C instead she covered up his behaviour which only let it grow.¡±

    ¡°Such a waste¡­ so many lives were affected.¡± Jay pursed his lips.

    ¡°Still, I guess it¡¯s only a dungeon.¡±

    Jay decided that if he ever found the prince, perhaps he wouldn¡¯t kill him ¨C it seems that living as a cold statue forever and slowly losing your mind was a more fitting punishment.

    **Free, enjoy :)**

 Chapter 183 Ever-present Trap

    Jay handed the other tablets to Anya. She didn¡¯t seem to understand them but he didn¡¯t feel like exining it to her, so before she could finish reading them he unsummoned his skeletons and gathered all their hammers, daggers and bones.

    ¡°Thanks for your help. I¡¯ll let you know about tomorrow.¡± he waved as the dungeon exit emerged nearby.

    ¡°O- oh. Okay. Thanks, looking forward to it.¡± Anya said, holding two tablets.

    [Party Disbanded]

    Jay made sure to disband the party before he left the dungeon ¨C he knew there was an exp bonus waiting for him when he left from his necrotic helminth in wolf¡¯s quarry dungeon.

    ~Outside of Mist Keep Dungeon~

    Night time. Few adventurers were around, chatting about how the dungeon went and giving either other pointers and tips ¨C suddenly, the dungeon door opened and out stepped a grinning adventurer wearing a green coat with some strange light-grey armour, but they suddenly the smiling adventurer disappeared right back into the door again, leaving as quickly as they appeared.

    ¡°What the? Who was that? I thought we would be thest ones? Did anyone analyse them?¡±

    ¡°No clue. Weird¡­ where¡¯s the rest of their party?¡±

    Suddenly, the dungeon door opened again and out stepped Anya who was now level nine. Unlike Jay, she had a very cid look on her face as she exited.

    ¡°Hey, she¡¯s level nine now,¡± an adventurer pointed.

    ¡°Wow, someone finally caught up to that loner guy. I wonder if he says anything.¡± another added.

    ¡°Heh, we¡¯ll be level nine soon too. I actually don¡¯t think it¡¯s that impressive anymore.¡± one shrugged.

    ¡°Pff, you¡¯re still level six though.¡± another grinned back.

    ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯m just¡­ having fun.¡± the level six adventurer shrugged.

    Anya ignored them as she headed home, back up the mountain trail.<sub>.</sub>

    ¨C

    [2400 Exp]

    Even as he re-entered the dungeon he was still smiling.

    ¡°Ah, so much exp.¡± Jay grinned broadly, ¡°the helminth is so awesome.¡±

    ¡°Now¡­ here we are again.¡± he looked around, remembering how he first crafted his first bone hammers here.

    Jay was back at the very start of the dungeon since he couldn¡¯t enter into the first pyramid. Technically it wasn¡¯t conquered, so this was the quickest way to get to Sedulus andplete his quest.

    Since he brought his skeletons out, all the enemies had respawned, meaning he could easily get the soul stones from the weaker level three statues at the starting zones.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s do this.¡± he said as he pulled out his bone hammers, daggers, and formed arge bone pile.

    The five skeletons were brought back to their former glory and were quickly rearmed with their bone weapons.

    ¡°Now, Red, you will be staying with me for a moment.¡± Jay said while gesturing for the other skeletons to leave. They sprinted away to hunt more statues ¨C with Blue inmand of course.

    Next, he analysed Red.

    <[Germinating Skeleton Level 4 ¨C Red]>

    [Type ¨C Undead]

    [Role ¨C Unclear]

    HP ¨C 75/75 (+20,equipment)<sub></sub>

    MP ¨C 10/10

    <[Skills]>

    [Bone Eater]

    [Scrimshaw Level 1] (Passive)

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    [Fear] (Weak) (Passive)

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death ¨C and they spit back. Stop it before it¡¯s toote. Execute with extreme prejudice. Burn the bones.]

    [Please choose a role from avable categories ¨C Avable categories are based on the skeleton¡¯s qualitative experience. If no choice is made, a random role will be assigned once the skeleton levels up.]

    [Warrior]

    [Guard]

    [Zweihander]

    [Commander] (1)

    ¡°Hmm, simr to Blue¡­ except with four choices? Huh? And what the hell is a zweihander?¡± Jay wondered, raising a brow.<sub></sub>

    He began retracing all the weapons that Red had used and the roles it had taken, but to his surprise, it really wasn¡¯t given many special assignments or weapons ¨C neither did it evermand other skeletons.

    ¡°Red had used a bone dagger, then an arming sword, and a bone hammer which it¡­ huh¡­ It has been dual-wielding the bone hammer¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing the guard ss would be a standard one-handed soldier with higher health, and the warrior will probably be one-handed with higher strength, so the zweihander must be a two-handed weapon ss with high strength. Like a heavy hitter I¡¯m guessing.¡±

    ¡°It makes no sense that themander role is there though. Perhaps since I already unlocked it with Blue?¡±

    Jay paused for a moment as he considered his options.

    ¡°Do I even need a heavy hitter though?¡± he scratched his chin, ¡°Well, without Anya around it would actually be great, but even with her around I have been attacked and even forced to go on the defensive.¡± he pursed his lips.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ The zweihander role sounds cool, but what I need right now is a guard.¡± Jay nodded.

    ¡°Still, I can always make some zweihander skeletons in the future when I have more of them ¨C as long as the roles I unlock stay unlocked.¡±

    [Choice: Guard]

    With his choice decided, all Jay had to do now was level his skeletons up; he was excited to see what would happen once they hit level five, but he decided to not do anything too drastic; he still didn¡¯t know the mechanism behind the skeleton levelling either.

    ¡°Since the other skeletons are gone, you might as well continue to guard me¡± he said, as Red stood by his side and started looking for any threats.

    ¡°Good old Red.¡± he nodded as he began to walk up the deste hill towards the first pyramid.

    As Jay reached the top of the hill, he was pleased to see his other four skeletons already having engaged the two stone statues at the gate ruins, and as he walked down towards them they were reduced to rubble.

    [35 Exp][35 Exp]

    The enemies here were only level three, so the skeletons made short work of them.

    Jay recalled when he first fought these two statues. Back then, they seemed like powerful, threatening warriors. Each of them was like a veteran and he even was wounded by them.

    At this stage, some adventurers were still having trouble with these two gate guards; few could solo them without taking any damage.

    But now? Well in Jay¡¯s eyes, they were nothing more than a few walking soul stones waiting to be collected; their size didn¡¯t matter either, they would be reduced to rubble whether they were giants or not.

    Dark scrambled back to Jay with two more soul stones while the other skeletons ran off into the city, finding more targets.

    After dropping them off, Dark rushed back into the ruins too.

    [Soul stone] (Empty) x 2

    ¡°This won¡¯t take long.¡± Jay smiled as he casually strolled through the gates towards the pyramid.

    A sense of rxation came over him as he walked and he began to wonder why he received a necromancer ss in the first ce.

    All this time he had been focusing on survival; It was like there was an ever-present background fear driving him forward to learn about dungeons, ying monsters, growing his skeletons, and learning more about his power.

    He thought it made sense to be a necromancer after his life as a butcher, but now that he had a rxed mind with some time to think, he couldn¡¯t help but start to question everything.

    ¨C Why is there a rumour about not getting a ss if you don¡¯t touch a mana conduit? He still got a ss.

    ¨C Why is it aw that you have to touch one? Why enforce it if it¡¯s such a good thing to do? That doesn¡¯t make sense.

    ¨C Did he actually meet anyone who didn¡¯t touch one? He wouldn¡¯t know, analysing others doesn¡¯t show their ss ¨C but he had never heard of anyone he knew who didn¡¯t get one.

    ¨C Why don¡¯t they teach younger people anything about sses or dungeons until they actually get registered at a guild?

    Jay was still strolling slowly through the city as his skeletons did all the work, but despite the rtive calmness of the dungeon his head was starting to swirl, a sense of dread building in his chest.

    ¡°What the fuck is actually going on¡­¡± he stopped walking.

    Jay simply had no answers, but the questions still bothered him as they swirled in his mind.

    Now that he had some time to slow down and let his thoughts drift, he realised something wasn¡¯t right. He felt like he was in a trap designed for him since before he had been born into this world; all that had to happen was for it to spring.

    ¡°Shit¡­ what have I been doing this whole time¡­¡± Jay paused and looked at his hands. He took in a deep breath of air, ¡°I need to get a grip. This isn¡¯t meant to be a fucking stroll in the woods.¡± his hands gripped tightly into fists.

    ¡°My life is in danger and always has been¡­ and what have I been doing? Just running around dungeons at my own leisure.¡±

    ¡°Pathetic.¡± he told himself with a bitter sneer.

    ¡°Even other adventurers with normal sses work harder than me, and their life isn¡¯t even on the line¡­ I need to wake up to myself.¡± he bit his lip.

    ¡°I have to focus on my own strength, then when I am powerful enough, and the time is right, I will reveal my strength to the world.¡±

    ¡°I will find every single answer that I need until I¡¯m satisfied; I will scour the cracks of every mountain, I will walk in the depths, I will ascend into the skies if need be, and I will tear this whole world down if I have to.¡±

    *** ~~~Chapter Mass releases ising on 6/8/22 (Saturday) and 8/8/22 (Monday)~~~

    Each should be 5 chapters long.

    I¡¯m also slowly re-writing earlier chapters in the book too.

    I appreciate all your reviews,ments, tickets and soul stones.

    I will absolutely continue to write the book! I¡¯m writing this book with the people who love it in mind (including myself), so I am going to mostly listen to thements you leave on the chapters ??

    The support you give me is amazing, so sincerely, I thank you ??

    ***

 Chapter 184 Soul

    The skeletons made short work of any statues blocking their journey to the first pyramid. It was a one-sided ughter.

    [35 Exp] [35 Exp] [35 Exp] [35 Exp]

    [Soul stone] (empty) x 4

    [Helvetian Ring] x 2

    The skeletons continued to hunt the weaker level three statues while Jay marched towards the first pyramid with renewed determination.

    Before Jay could even reach the first two sets of guards, the skeletons had already decimated them; they descended on the statues like a shadow of death, leaving a path of rubble in their wake.

    None were spared and there was no mercy. The statues may as well have bowed down and offered their necks on a chopping block.

    Finally they got to the pirs in front of the pyramid with the same three guards. The spear statue in the middle was still wearing its strange ck helmet, but it would be useless against these barbaric skeletons.

    Again it happened: Before Jay even got there the skeletons had killed the two swordsmen statues at the sides and then made short work of the spearman statue. It was like they were clearing a path for their king.

    [35 Exp][35 Exp][40 Exp]

    [Soul stone] (empty) x 3

    [Helvetian Ring] x 1<sub>.</sub>

    Previously, the dungeon had felt like a slow, tiresome grind, but it now felt like a massacre. Jay was pleased seeing how much stronger he and his minions had be.

    The lower level statues simply had no hope; they barely got to swing their weapons before they broke down and crumbled into dust before the assault of the undead.

    As fornding a hit on the skeletons? The statues might as well be dreaming.

    While walking, Jay recalled how there was actually no way to get to Sedulus through the front of the pyramid. The first time, he had escaped a jail cell, walked through a series of passages and passed through moving walls, so he knew he would have to go through the back entrance.

    As he walked around the side of the pyramid, the skeletons continued their rampage with no restraint or hesitation.

    [35 Exp][35 Exp][35 Exp][35 Exp][35 Exp][35 Exp]

    [Soul stone] (empty) x 6

    [Helvetian Ring] x4

    The statues in this part of the dungeon fell one after another with little resistance.

    Jay didn¡¯t mind walking around the side of the pyramid, since he still needed to collect about thirty soul stones, but this was an easy task now, and the quest would be over in no time.

    Finally, he reached the back and found the familiar passageway into Sedulus¡¯s tomb.<sub></sub>

    Before entering, Jay checked how many soul stones he still needed.

    [Soulstone: 489/500]

    ¡°Argh,e on.¡± he said, frowning slightly.

    More exp notifications popped up, and Dark came running back with two more soul stones.

    Jay decided to practice his mana sense ability while he waited, trying to expand it as far as possible. He managed to activate it again, and slowly began walking around.

    It did drain his mana rapidly, but he didn¡¯t care at this moment since he wasn¡¯t going to need it anyway. He simply wanted to train until he actually acquired the skill.

    Meanwhile, Dark continued to return with rings and soul stones until Jay finally had enough.

    Thankfully it didn¡¯t take too long since the skeletons were conducting a one-sided ughter.

    [Soulstone: 501/500]

    ¡°Huh? I have¡­ an extra soul stone? Wait¡­ so I can get more than the quest requires?¡± he raised a brow.

    Jay¡¯s eyes gleamed for a moment, realising this meant that there would probably be extra rewards if he got another one hundred, or even five hundred soul stones.<sub></sub>

    He seriously considered doing it for a moment, but with a sigh, he decided to just take the reward; he was already beginning to feel overwhelmed with everything he needed to do, while there would always be more quests in the future.

    Jay entered Sedulus¡¯sir with resolve, fixated on finishing the quest and getting his rewards: three new skills and an ancient helvetian spear.

    Entering the darkness, he found the tall, slender statue once more, sitting silently at the head of the table.

    It seemed like Sedulus hadn¡¯t moved an inch since thest time Jay was here, and for a moment he feared that she had died somehow.

    Jay didn¡¯t really care if she was in a deep trance or sleep or whatever else a statue could do ¨C he had a quest to turn in and he wanted his rewards,

    ¡°Sedulus?¡± he called.

    No response.

    ¡°Hello, Sedulus?¡± he said a little more loudly.

    Still no response; Jay started to panic.

    ¡°If she reset after I left the dungeon, I am going to lose my fucking mind¡­¡± he thought, gritting his teeth.

    At this point he wanted to start shaking the statue.

    ¡°Young one. Jay. Hello.¡± the old voice sounded once more.

    Jay¡¯s clenched jaw instantly rxed and a smile soon came over his face, he was instantly relieved.

    ¡°I have finished your quest.¡± he smiled, ¡°five-hundred soul stones, tworge soul stones, and three greater soul stones.¡±

    ¡°Also, I have one soul stone with a soul still in it. I¡¯ll throw that in if you can sweeten the deal a little.¡± he winked.

    ¡°A soul¡­ still in a soul stone?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Jay said.

    A moment of silence passed. It seemed the statue was deep in thought.

    The statue still hadn¡¯t moved yet, and to Jay it felt like he was talking to a wall.

    ¡°Break it.¡± the statue said.

    ¡°Oh¡­ and you will add more to my rewards?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Free their soul.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing¡± he nodded.

    Jay took the soul stone out, but before he went to smash it, he had an idea. He used his mana sense ability and concentrated it around the soul stone in his hand.

    Next, he equipped one of his hammers and smashed it down while maintaining his concentration.

    A crack in the stone let something out. It wasn¡¯t visible but he could feel it.

    It was tangible and almost acted like a bubble, trying to push to the surface of Jay¡¯s mana and escape, but Jay just added more mana and pushed it back down.

    ¡°So this is a soul¡­¡± he thought, squinting as if he was trying to see anything.

    Somehow, the soul became stronger as it pushed back against his mana. It seemed that the more mana he added to block it, the stronger it got.

    [Soul Sense level 1 ¨C Acquired]

    Jay ignored the notification and continued to try to trap it, but his mana was burning away like paper at this point, and he couldn¡¯t do anything to keep it contained any longer.

    Jay felt light-headed as his mana got low and lost concentration for a moment. This was the opportunity the soul needed.

    The soul suddenly shot off somewhere out of his mana sense range. All the pressure it built up against Jays mana had suddenly propelled it away at a high speed when the mana-wall went down.

    ¡°Hmm. Well, that won¡¯t happen again for a while, but at least I got something out of it.¡± he thought as he went to check his notification.

 Chapter 185 Rewards

    Jay was surprised how he still didn¡¯t have a mana sense skill after all his practice, yet he picked up this new skill on the first attempt.

    [Soul Sense]

    ¨C Grasp the intangible

    ¨C Offend life and death at your own risk

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I really shouldn¡¯t mess around with this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s odd how it¡¯s called ¡®sense¡¯ even though I literally restrained a soul.¡± Jay thought before Sedulus spoke.

    ¡°Young one, you have done well.¡± Sedulus held out her hand as Jay received a notification.

    [Complete quest?]

    [Yes/No]

    Jay immediately selected ¡®yes.¡¯, his eyes glowing with anticipation.

    <[Quest Complete ¨C Hidden Quest ¨C Soul Liberation]>

    [Gather soulstones and bring them to Sedulus]

    [Progress ¨C Complete]

    [Skill Acquired ¨C Mind]

    [Skill Acquired ¨C Mark]

    [Skill Acquired ¨C Host]

    ¡°Fuck yes.¡± Jay couldn¡¯t help but grin broadly. He didn¡¯t care about the soul sense skill anymore as these are the ones which would help him now.

    Finally all his hard work to do this quest had paid off.

    ¡°Young one, the spear is yours¡­ I removed much of the curse.¡± Sedulus gestured to therge ck-stone spear sitting on the table.

    ¡°To end the curse, you must stop the spinning of the crifex rings in thest pyramid¡­¡±

    Another notification for a quest appeared, but Jay quickly epted it and ignored it ¨C right now he just wanted to check out his new weapon.

    Its design was simplistic and angr with refined, t edges. Jay could tell that it was made by an experienced craftsman, and he guessed it was probably the same craftsman he yed in the fourth pyramid ¨C at least before they lost their minds.

    ¡°Thank you for freeing my people¡­ now, I wish to join them.¡± the old statues voice got softer as she said thest part.

    Jay¡¯s smile disappeared as he knew what he had to do; what he was about to do. He had made a promise, and carrying it out was now his duty.

    He started telling himself it was just a dungeon, and that Sedulus was just a part of it ¨C but his heart wasn¡¯t listening as a feeling of cold loneliness crept into it.

    Jay didn¡¯t possess immortality yet, but there was still a vague connection between them; he felt like she was an older sister or a mother. Perhaps the one he never had.

    Sedulus pointed to her chest as Jay grabbed the ancient¡¯s spear from the table.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°¡­¡± he had no words to say.

    Slowly he thrust the spear into the slender statue¡¯s chest, killing her with her own weapon.

    It seemed that there was a powerful force behind the spear, helping him to push it deeper until he received a notification.

    Sedulus¡¯s final gift became apparent as her cold stone arms dropped to the side. Cracks spread from the spear until she crumbled into pieces.

    [Level Up]

    Jay still would have needed 9,000 experience to level up, and he quickly realised this was a final gift, as it wasn¡¯t promised in the quest rewards at all.

    ¡°Thank you Sedulus.¡± Jay whispered, sensing a presence slowly drifting out of the statue¡¯s remains.

    Instead of trapping it with his mana, he gave it a gentle push upwards and a sense of peace and relief filled his heart; Jay wondered if that was what the soul was feeling, and if he somehow sensed its emotions.

    He couldn¡¯t be sure, but in the end, he was d.

    Now that he could analyse the rewards, he started with the spear.

    <[Knowing War Spear]> (Cursed)

    [Unknown Material]

    [16 Damage] (Two handed)

    [9 Damage] (Single handed)

    [Curse ¨C Weapon is weakened until the curse is removed]

    [Curse ¨C 50% less damage when wielded by non-constructs]

    [Curse ¨C Locked Skill]

    [Curse ¨C Locked Skill]

    ¡°Damn, that curse is strong.¡± Jay pursed his lips.

    Checking over the fifty percent damage decrease, he realised it would still be useful in his skeletons hands, as they technically counted as constructs.

    Jay realised he could still make Red switch to a zweihander role (two hander skeleton), but he decided to save the spear for now and store it away in his inventory. He still needed the extra protection after all.

    As for the skills the spear had, there was no indication if they were passive or active, so he would just have to wait and see.

    ¡°Now, my new skills¡­¡± he smiled as he began to go through them.

    It had been a while so he mostly forgot what they did ¨C he just remembered they were useful.

    <[Mind ¨C Level 1]>

    ¨C Craft a rudimentary sentience. Form a basic mind.<sub></sub>

    ¨C 25 Mana

    <[Mark]>

    ¨C Use your mana to mark an enemy or object. A bond will exist between you and the mark

    ¨C Mark is undetectable(weak) and invisible.

    ¨C Can ce the mark using vision alone

    ¨C You will know exactly where the mark is

    ¨C 0/10 marks used

    ¨C 1 Mana to Mark (Decreases maximum mana by 1 until mark is removed)

    <[Host ¨C Level 1]>

    ¨C Project your mind into your own constructs

    ¨C Control them as if they are your own body

    ¨C 1,000 meters maximum projection distance (0.6 mi)

    ¨C 5 Mana per second. Doubles for every 500 meters projected.

    ¡°Awesome. Pretty heavy mana usage but I¡¯m sure they will all be useful.¡± Jay thought.

    He could already imagine marking a gold coin to find out where a treasury might be hidden, or marking that brat Matheson to one day execute divine justice.

    Sure, it would lower his mana pool, but the benefits outweigh the costs.

    As for mind and host, Jay decided to try thetter immediately as he pictured Red and used the skill.

    Immediately, everything went ck and he felt a sense of weightlessness ¨C then suddenly the world reappeared again from Red¡¯s perspective.

    To his surprise, everything was ck, white and different shades of grey; there was no colour at all.

    The next thing that stood out was that there were no shadows. Instead of the pitch-ck corners of the pyramid, they appeared as simply being dark.

    ¡°Must be the shade vision skill of the skeletons.¡± Jay said ¨C but all that came out was a chattering clicking sound from his skeleton jaw moving.

    Jay turned around to look at his body, and realised he made a mistake. His nose was bleeding and his ass was sticking in the air after he face nted.

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡± he thought as he went to walk over to prop his body up.

    As he took the first step however, he ended up jumping instead, almostnding on his own body.

    It was at this point that he started feeling dizzy ¨C his mana had been draining all this time and suddenly he was sent back into his body.

    ¡°Ouch.¡± Jay wiped some dirt off his face and ignored the pain.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Quite an interesting skill¡­¡± he smiled, ¡°now I can fight with them till death.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely need a muchrger mana pool though.¡±

    Jay immediately opened up his level-up notification and was greeted by five attribute points and one skill point.

    Of course, he proceeded to put all his attribute points into energy, raising it to 80.

    Since Jay checked his ss recently, he now realised that levelling up gave him one HP, two MP, and one point of energy gave him two MP; this resulted in his mana pool jumping from 68 to 80.

    Next, he decided where to put his attribute point ¨C but now that he discovered that the skeletons could have roles, he only wanted to discover more of them, so he opted to add it to his [Raise Feeble Creature] skill.

    He did consider adding it to [Undead Mastery], however the majority of the skeletons weren¡¯t even level four yet, so he would hold off on it for now.

    After adding the point into [Raise feeble creature level 5], he was greeted by another notification.

    <[Skill evolved]>

    [[Raise feeble creature level 5] has evolved into [Raise Lesser Undead level 1]]

    ¡°Huh?¡± Jay raised a brow.

    He had never even heard of a skill evolving. He thought it would probably be a regr thing and not something rted to his special ss, but most of the information rting to adventurers had been kept hidden from younger people so he couldn¡¯t be sure.

    Jay quickly checked the new skill.

    <[Raise Lesser Undead level 1]>

    ¨C Imbue a skeleton with necrotic energy, raising it to fight for you.

    [HP: 30]

    [Damage: 5]

    [5/7 Raised]

    [¡°Raise¡±][¡°Arise¡±]

    [5 mana+3/level of creature]

    ¡°Awesome, two more skeletons?¡± Jay grinned.

    ¡°So I¡¯m guessing the skill evolved when it hit level five?¡± he guessed as he pulled more bones from his inventory.

    Without any hesitation, Jay summoned two new skeletons ¨C unfortunately his mana was still too low to summon two of them, as he did just use most of it using the [Host] skill.

    His mana had only just reached up to 5 when he summoned the first new skeleton, and he was already regretting it as he felt some dizziness.

    The skeleton formed as usual, but Jay immediately realised another aspect which made this evolved spell great: It used human bones.

    The new skeleton was still smaller than the others, but taller than a feeble creature.

    Its human skull came up just below Jay¡¯s shoulder as it stood there, ready for his orders.

    ¡°Finally, I don¡¯t need anymore of those stinking marsh rat bones. That actually works out great because I have an almost unlimited supply of helvetian skeletons.¡± he smiled lightly.

    Jay was d he wouldn¡¯t have to return to the stinking swamp anymore. He still needed teeth for his unstable teeth spell, but he was sure he could find other ways to get them, and he believed he could copy his helminth¡¯s spell eventually, finally putting his goblin wand to use.

    Jay¡¯s mana reached zero and he was feeling slightly dizzy, so finally, he decided it was time to leave; it was already night time in the outside world after all, and all this time he was fighting yawns.

    His skeletons were still culling the stone statues but he quickly recalled them, taking their bones back into his gauntlet and their weapons back into his inventory.

    Before leaving, he did onest check of his status.

    <[Necromancer Level 12]> (Pure)

    [Race ¨C Human]

    HP: 94/94

    MP: 80/80

    Strength: 20

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 35

    Energy: 45/45

    Exp: 70/20,000

    [<[Skills]>]

    <~[Necromancy Skills]~>

    [Raise Lesser Undead (1)]

    [Summon Bone Helminth]

    [Shell Restoration (1)]

    [Unstable Teeth (2)]

    [Host (1)]

    [Mind (1)]

    [Undead Mastery (3)] (Passive)

    [Necrotic Sense (1)] (Passive)

    [Scrimshaw (3)] (Passive)

    [Soul Sense (1)] (Passive)

    [Shift]~[Living Blueprints]~[Transnt]~[Amputation]

    [Uncaring Rip]~[Pitiful Mortal]

    <[Other Skills]>

    [Mark]

    [Asklin] (Equipment)

    [Dagger Proficiency (1)] (Passive)

    [Poison Resist (11%)] (Passive ¨C equipment)

    [Running (2)] (Passive)

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Sword Proficiency (1)] (Passive)

    [ss Utility] (Passive)

    [<[Research]>]

    [Chimera Research (17%)]

    [Immortality Research (5%)]

    [Skull-shield Projector Research (32%)]

    [Dreadmourn Turret Research (22%)]

    As the dungeon exit emerged from the ground, Jay decided tomorrow would be dedicated to training: upgrading skills, crafting equipment and creating minds¡­

    As for Anya, well, she would just have to wait. Besides, Jay wasn¡¯t very interested in storming thest pyramid to remove the remainder of the curse from his new weapon anyway.

    Sure, it would make one skeleton powerful, but in a group of skeletons he couldn¡¯t really picture it making much of a difference. Completing that curse-removing quest, which he didn¡¯t even look at, was just a secondary objective in his mind.

    As Jay walked back home, he considered his next steps.

    ¡°There were better ways to spend my time,¡± he thought, ¡°such as exploring more of the wolf¡¯s quarry dungeon. Using the mark skill, maybe I could create a basic map in that darkbyrinth¡­¡±

    ¡°Though, I am getting sick of the dark.¡± he shrugged.

    As Jay approached the north bridge of Lo, he heard some deep marching sounds in the distance. They were simr to the Helvetian guards, but not as heavy ¨C though they were simrly in sync. Whoever was marching must have been well-trained.

    It sounded like some troops were approaching Lo from the north.

    Looking around, the guards all looked focused, but not like they were ready for battle. It was more like they were getting ready for theirmander to walk by; their uniforms all looked perfect and unwrinkled as if they had never been worn.

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder what¡¯s going on¡­¡± Jay wondered as he walked by the guards casually.

    A little smile formed on his face, and he was d he didn¡¯t have to be so formal like them.

 Chapter 186 Switching Guards, Switching Undead

    [2600 Exp]

    Jay woke up early today, with another smile on his face after he received exp while he slept.

    ¡°The helminth sure is great,¡± he smiled; he was already over 10% of the way to level fourteen. The next highest level adventurer was Anya at level nine.

    Needless to say, Jay was unmatched ¨C of course, his disguise stone still said he was level nine.

    He had nned to pick up the money from his butchery shopst night, but Trenly hadn¡¯t separated it from the rest of the gold used for expenses, and neither was he here this morning, so as Jay left for the wolf¡¯s quarry dungeon he decided toe backter on in the day for gold collection.

    ¡°As for today, I will focus on training and learning,¡± he nodded.

    He decided that learning the bone helminths [Spectral Bolt] spell would be the most useful to him at the moment so today he gave it the utmost priority on his list of objectives.

    It would be ineffective against the helvetian guards, but he already decided he would look for a different dungeon. Wolf¡¯s Quarry dungeon was one option, but he was getting sick of the darkness all the time, and desperately wanted a change.

    As he walked to the Wolf¡¯s quarry, he realised he hadn¡¯t seen his little necrotic parasite in quite some time.

    ¡°I wonder if it has grown bigger. The helminth was level one when I was level ten, so it should be level three now,¡± he thought, as it levelled up along with him.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay already decided to practise and train at the guild, as it was safer than doing it at home where he could be seen through his window or would be distracted by Trenly¡¯s noisy chopping downstairs ¨C though he would need to use the outside target area to practise his helminth¡¯s necrotic bolt spell.

    He had his own private room at the guild and Vdore to help him there too, so he would find a way to make it work.

    Sure, for extra safety he could do it in an instanced dungeon, but they were all either cold, dark, or stinky inside ¨C much more preferable to practice in a warm, quiet, and safe room.

    Jay noticed something strange as he exited Lo ¨C there were new guards around.

    Two heavily armoured men stood vigntly at the bridge as they watched the north.

    Thick and segmented dark-grey stone-like armour covered their bodies from head to toe, covered by a loose ck tabard which had a symbol Jay had never seen before.

    Jay stared at their armour for a moment, getting ideas for his own armour designs as he tried to peek into the sides ¨C though he was soon noticed by one of these new guards.

    The soldier only turned its helmet and nced at Jay through its tiny eye slits. No words were spoken, but Jay understood that he had to leave as he felt a threat of danger, a wave of killing intent surging towards him.

    He quickly looked towards the bridge and went on his way after a slight nervous shudder.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Shit¡­ I should have checked their level.¡± he pursed his lips as he kept walking; he didn¡¯t dare to look back.

    ¡°Why are they here? Who even are they¡­¡± he wondered.

    Being from a small and unimportant vige, Jay had never even heard of the mage hunters, much less their new name, the ¡®safety bearers¡¯.

    Thest time he felt such a dangerous aura was during his first meeting with Sullivan.

    ¡°I¡¯ll find out once I get to the guild. I guess it¡¯s good we have some powerful people protecting Lo anyway. I wonder if it has to do with the wood elementals attacking?¡± he guessed, as he made his way to the wolf¡¯s quarry.

    Jay quickly entered the wolf¡¯s quarry to collect the corpses his helminth had.

    In total, there were forty-two. It seemed that the helminth was still in the process of moving bones back, and it had been focused on killing the helpless wolves.

    Despite eating the soil regrly, and being partly mineral themselves, the silt-wolves were literally being attacked from it randomly. It seemed that paranoia and stress ruled over them now, and they all lived in fear after being terrorised for thest few days.

    Jay sensed the helminth was quite far away as it had pushed them out of their territory and killed them off. He had to wait a moment after hemanded it toe to him, even though it headed straight for him as it dug directly through the earth.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he quickly nned his next steps as he waited near the mining camp¡¯s light.

    The helminth returned, snapping its jaws at its master ¨C its way of saying hello. Jay smiled, but quickly grimaced a little as it regurgitated some bones for him.

    ¡°Good job¡­¡± he praised it, though a little unconvincingly.

    Jay had it attach onto his armour using its [Sentinel Form] and it quickly disappeared; like before, it ended up as the familiar dark-blue amulet with a dark-green crossbow bolt image hanging on his chest, along with the invisible feeling of the helminth around his neck.

    ¡°Good.¡± he smiled as it seemed to getfortable and stop moving.

    Jay quickly exited the dungeon ¨C only to enter again straight after. The whole dungeon reset and all the wolves respawned.

    Next, Jay summoned his seven skeletons:

    ¨C Blue, Red, level 4

    ¨C Sweeper, Lamp, level 3

    ¨C Dark, level 2

    ¨C Unnamed Skeleton, unnamed skeleton, level 1

    The troop of undead looked impressive to Jay, especially the ones with the spectral armour and helmets on. Jay couldn¡¯t help but pause for a moment and smile at their glory.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get you all equipped.¡± he nodded as he stood next to the mining camp¡¯smp as he began to pull out all their weapons.

    Jay only made the bone hammers for the helvetian dungeon as the enemies had the [Brittle armour] passive, but in this dungeon his swords did eight damage while the bone hammers only did six, so he went to give Blue, Red, Sweeper and Lamp an ossein arming sword each; the smaller skeletons would get daggers.

    Jay still had to upgrade their weapons now that his scrimshaw skill was level three, but once again, he decided to leave it for another time. He had other priorities.

    Unfortunately, as he went to check his inventory, he couldn¡¯t find the weapons.

    ¡°Dammit¡­ Looks like I will be making you new weapons after all.¡± he shrugged.

    Jay couldn¡¯t find the swords as they simply didn¡¯t exist anymore ¨C he held onto them for too long, and due to their [Life Span] attribute, the weapons had all disintegrated back into bones.

    The only one who still had weapons now was Dark, who was given the same two daggers it was usingst night.

    Jay checked them while handing them back, and they still had nearly nine hours left; of course, he did add some mana and brought them back up to twenty hours of life.

    Jay formed a bone pile as he began to craft.

    ¡°Defend me.¡± He ordered as he sat down under thentern to begin crafting all the swords and daggers the skeletons would need.

    He didn¡¯t expect to get attacked, but it was better to have precautions.

    Jay decided he would send his band of skeletons to cull the silt-wolves with their new weapons before analysing his helminth. For efficiency.

    The skeletons all formed a defensive circle around their master and his bone pile as the familiar green mana began to glow in the dark depths of the mineshaft dungeon.

    **Some of the uing chapters will be released all on the same day for a better reading experience (There may be a few days without some chapters prior to a mass release)**

 Chapter 187 Heavy Infantry

    Jay started with the swords first, and likest time, he decided to use the silt-wolf bone, as it was stronger than human bones.

    ¡°Ah, my best work yet.¡± Jay gazed at a new ossein arming sword as he analysed it.

    [Ossein Arming Sword Level 3]

    [Silt-wolf bone]

    [12 damage] ¨C shing, piercing.

    [Sharpness +]

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires necrotic essence to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 96 hours]

    Compared to before, the sword was longer and skinnier now. It looked less like a wide-de shortsword and more like a normal sword you would see adventurers using.

    As Jay stared at its edge, it seemed to give off a sense of sharpness, and an ever so faint ringing noise sounded in his ears.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°Eugh,¡± he looked away, ¡°weird.¡±

    Jay didn¡¯t understand the subtle aura he was feeling from the sword but he assumed it was to do with the new [sharpness] stat he saw on it, so he simply epted it with an uncaring shrug before handing it to one of the skeletons.

    Of course, he crafted an extra one for himself before equipping the rest of them as well.

    Next, he crafted some daggers for the level one skeletons, but he only gave one of them a dagger as an idea suddenly popped into his head.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± He made another sword with a longer grip and gave it to the level one skeleton.

    The skeleton happily grabbed the bone sword, but was forced to use two hands to dual-wield it, as it was a little toorge for it.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be my first zweihander.¡± Jay nodded, anticipating its role selection when it would hit level four.

    Since only four of the skeletons had armour, Jay considered making armour for all of them, though after some consideration he decided it would take too much time and too much mana.

    After all, he did have other priorities today¡­ though he paused as he realised something.<sub></sub>

    ¡°What if¡­¡± he scratched his chin as a fire seemed to suddenly light behind his eyes,

    ¡°¡­if there is a ss associated with wearing armour?¡±

    The more he thought about it, the more he smiled, and soon a devilish smile formed on his face, and his curiosity drove him for the next few moments as he immediately began to craft armour for one of the smaller skeletons.

    The new armour was smaller to suit the level one skeleton, but just as thick as the spectral armour of the level four skeletons, which gave it a thicker, heavier look overall.

    As it equipped the armour, the small skeleton began to look more like a skeletal dwarf with hulking armour that it kept from its previous life.

    After crafting greaves, a helmet and vambraces, he still wasn¡¯t pleased, so Jay decided to go the extra step and finish it¡¯s whole armour set, adding a basic chest-te and some upper leg armour.

    Unfortunately for the poor skeleton, Jay had to remove its head to fit the chest armour into ce, but once it was on it was a snug fit.

    Initially, Jay was trying to fit the armour to the skeletons body and didn¡¯t give a single thought about aesthetic, but it ended up having a gothic style about it, and despite its basic structure it looked quite imposing.

    He wanted to craft gauntlets (hand armour) and sabatons (foot armour) but that kind of armour was a bit more advanced, requiring moving parts, and right now it was simply beyond Jay¡¯s scrimshaw skill level.<sub></sub>

    Apart from its feet, hands, and gaps between the armour pieces, everything else was now covered by chunky light-grey armour. It truly looked like a little soldier ready to take on a fearsome beast three times its size.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Jay smiled, ¡°with enough time I could cover itpletely and no one would even know it¡¯s a skeleton¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess it depends on what the analysis skill tells them.¡± he thought.

    ¡°I wonder¡­ if Anya analyses Blue, would it tell her its name and percentage health, or treat it as a monster and tell her everything else¡­¡±

    Jay decided he would ask her when he next saw her ¨C so probably not long as he was headed to the guild anyway.

    After its upgrade, the skeletons¡¯ green, hungry eyes peered out from behind its T-visor as it seemed to want to test out its new armour ¨C perhaps even more than Jay did.

    These level one skeletons had not had the privilege of fighting monsters yet, and that seemed to only add to their ying spirit; their war fervour.

    However, Jay wasn¡¯t quite done with upgrading his heavy infantry skeleton.

    Unlike the zweihander skeleton, this one still had a hand free, so he created onest item for it.

    Before their eyes a kite shield formed. It was slightly toorge for the level one skeleton, but Jay wanted it that way, as he believed it would force it into bing some sort of heavily armoured soldier ss.

    After crafting the shield, Jay thought he was probably close to levelling up his scrimshaw skill, but he remembered that he had to craft multiple daggers to level itst time, so he decided he wouldn¡¯t grind it to the next level. At least not today.

    With a dagger in one hand and its shield in the other, the heavy infantry skeleton was finally ready.

    The skeleton seemed to struggle with the weighty shield, but Jay didn¡¯t care, as it was meant to be heavy, and Jay thought this would only contribute more to its role choice.

    ¡°It will be fine once it levels up anyway¡­ and then I will find out if its armour grows with it too.¡± Jay thought as he watched it.

    He hoped that was the case, but he knew its weapons wouldn¡¯t grow along with it, so he guessed that its shield wouldn¡¯t either, meaning it would soon be afortable size for this undead.

    With a nod towards Blue, the skeletons began to depart, but Jay gave them one final order as he noticed one of them was too slow to keep up.

    ¡°Keep the armoured one at the front.¡± Jaymanded.

    His training style was pretty hands-off but so far it was effective.

    The heavy-armour skeleton was forced to move to the front, and because of that, all the skeletons had to move at jogging speed ¨C rather than at their speedy sprinting speed like usual.

    ¡°Good.¡± Jay nodded, seeing his skeletons leave in an orderly march.

    Jay watched them pass along the silent river and head into the darkened tunnel before venturing deeper into the mine. He had a proud smile on his face as he watched his soldiers carrying out their duties.

    ¡°Alright, no cking.¡± he said to himself as he willed to exit the dungeon.

    Jay decided to leave the bone pile in the dungeon in case any of the skeletons levelled up or needed to heal using their bone eater skill ¨C though he knew he would have toe back at some point as the level one¡¯s didn¡¯te with the recovery skill.

    Still, they were only here to get him experience and possibly some more silt-wolf bones too.

    Jay made his way to the guild, periodically practising his mana sense skill along the way.

    As he got back to the path and walked through the rocky outcrops, he noticed more of those ck guards standing outside the guild entrance.

    ¡°¡­Damn, more of these guys?¡± Jay frowned lightly as he slowed his steps; these guards made him feel like they could almost read his mind.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to adjust my ns.¡±

 Chapter 188 Diluted Intelligence

    ¡°Young master, please reconsider going out today. You only just woke up after what happened¡­¡± Hodley said, standing in the hallway with a concerned look.

    ¡°Ugh. Get out of my way.¡± Matheson pushed him to the side, ignoring him with an angry look.

    Matheson had mostly recovered after being pierced by treant antlers.

    His bones still felt bruised but they were mostly fine and he wanted to get back to training as quickly as possible.

    It seemed that the pain during the attack was so great that he simply forgot the experience; his brain wouldn¡¯t let him remember it.

    For Matheson, that changed nothing anyway. This was just another setback.

    Whether he remembered the painful experience or not, he only cared about getting stronger. He had a better grasp of the world now and knew that strength reigned ¨C even all the political games yed by men he considered cockroaches had one purpose, and that was to gather strength so they could impose their will onto others.

    Simrly to Jay, he wanted freedom too, though admittedly of a different sort.

    As Matheson left the gate of the mansion he noticed a ck guard.

    He immediately turned around and went back to grab Hodley by the cor who was still following him around begging him to rest.

    ¡°Why are the mage hunters here?¡± he red at Hodley like a wolf ready to strike.

    Matheson thought he wasn¡¯t important or strong enough for his father to send a mage hunter to guard or imprison him, but neither did he think he would be exiled to Lo in the first ce.<sub>.</sub>

    It seemed that something big had changed while he was recovering.

    ¡°A-ah, young master. I did some investigating but I shouldn¡¯t tell you here¡­ Please,e inside and have some tea.¡± Hodley let out a nervous smile.

    Matheson red at him with disdain and grunted, letting go of his cor and walking past Hodley back into the mansion.

    Hodley quickly followed after.

    They both entered into a private room and Hodley quickly told Matheson everything he knew from his information gathering efforts ¨C which was actually just asking a mage hunter some questions and providing arge sum of gold.

    It¡¯s probably why there was still a mage hunter loitering around their mansion ¨C to get more gold.

    After listening for a moment, Matheson understood everything ¨C at least everything that Hodley understood.

    ¡°So, they¡¯re looking for something powerful¡­¡± he nodded as if he was deep in thought.

    ¡°Yes! Oh, isn¡¯t it exciting. To deploy the mage hunters even to Lo. It must be an amazing treasure I¡¯m guessing; I heard they were deployed across the whole kingdom. I can only wonder what it could be, I bet it could make anyone¡¯s dreamse true¡± Hodley looked whimsically as he nursed his tea on his stomach.

    Matheson was quiet for a moment before he stood up and he peered out the window at the mage hunter in the street.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem to be looking for anything¡­¡± he said as he stared for a moment.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Well, maybe he¡¯s making sure other people haven¡¯t found it,¡± Hodley replied quickly, and a little nervously.

    ¡°What is the treasure?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I only know that it¡¯s powerful. He wouldn¡¯t say more than that.¡±

    Matheson looked for a moment longer before making a decision.

    ¡°Fine. I will stay until lunch, but no longer.¡± he sighed.

    ¡°Very well. Thank you, young master.¡± Hodley bowed as he left the room, even though Matheson wasn¡¯t even looking at his formal disy anyway.

    Matheson quietly remained at the window, his eyes fixed on the mage hunter outside as another passed by.

    ¡°Seems like they¡¯re creating guard and patrol routes¡­¡± he thought.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Vdores¡¯ lips curled as the mage hunters made their homes inside the guild.

    It seemed that everyone in the guild was tense and high-strung. Even Lillian wasn¡¯t her usual self ¨C she was actually acting sincerely kind, and the only person who felt normal was Vdore.<sub></sub>

    Sure, while Vdore was doing forbidden research, but he could easily hide all that. Even the ck cube would seem like just another strange mana stone, and it wouldn¡¯t move or even make a noise unless Vdore wanted it to.

    Yes, Vdore was rxed for a different reason, a smile forming on his face, though this was the cunning smile of opportunity.

    ¡°Now¡­ How do I make them arrest Jay, but keep him alive while also imprisoning him near me¡­¡±

    ¡°Or even give me custody over him for research?¡± his eyes gleamed as he continued to fiendishly smile.

    Now that Vdore wouldn¡¯t need Sullivan¡¯s help or permission due to the mage hunters being here, he had started thinking of new ways to achieve his goals.

    Suddenly, Vdore got up from his desk and left his room. He then went to another room in the association where he knew some of the higher-ranking mage hunters were having a meeting.

    Two ck-armour guards stood silently outside the door and Vdore quickly stood at attention before them.

    ¡°Ex-research division three, sub-division eight, materials analyst number three-two, requesting a hearing¡±

    The mage hunters didn¡¯t move, but after a moment, its helmet tilted forward and looked directly at Vdore, immediately making him tense.

    ¡°Granted. Twenty Seconds.¡± a husky deep voice came from somewhere within the armour as the helmet looked upwards again.

    Vdore knew what this meant and patiently waited in the hallway.

    After exactly twenty seconds the mage hunter suddenly took a step to the side with a heavy thump as its footnded, revealing the door behind it. Vdore knew this was his queue to enter.

    While focusing on keeping his breathing calm, he slowly turned the handle.

    As he stepped inside, Vdore felt even more tense.

    Despite being a powerful mage, he felt like he walked into a room of wolves; each of them having the power and authority to execute him on the spot ¨C and with rtive ease at that.

    Inside, two more guards stood at either side of the room, while two other mage hunters sat in front of a desk.

    One more sat on the other side of the desk and was looking over files which included maps, recent events, and deaths. Still, none of them had removed their helmets as they looked over documents.

    Vdore thought it was strange information to be looking at, but he ignored it as it was none of his business anyway.

    Vdore saluted, remembering his old training, ¡°Ex-researcher -¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡± He was cut off mid-sentence.

    Clearly, he was no longer recognised as a mage hunter.

    ¡°I- I was just seeing if I could offer my services and help in any way. I was part of the ma¡­ safety bearers after all.¡± he nodded with a shaky smile.

    One of the guards suddenly stepped forward and held out a goblet filled with a silvery liquid.

    ¡°I see.¡± Vdore nodded.

    He knew exactly what he had to do. It was an identification practice, and he plunged his hand into it before slowly bringing it out again.

    Some of the silvery liquid clung to his skin and remained on the top of his hand, forming words.

    [Vdore. Telekine. Materials Research.]

    Vdore held his hand out so that the mage hunter could read it before wiping the silver liquid back into the goblet.

    ¡°Hmph. You¡¯re useless. Fuck off.¡± he grunted.

    Vdore opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out as he feared saying anything may result in his death.

    The pressure the guards were emitting on him only made it worse, and he realised he would probably just waste their time.

    So far, the mage hunter officer only said a total of two sentences and Vdore only dreaded what he may say next; he was not willing to test his patience.

    The door opened behind him and a guard inside the room stood closer to him, pushing him out slowly.

    Vdore didn¡¯t need another clue to leave immediately.

    ¡°Fuck.. how do I manipte such aggressive fucking idiots¡­¡± he gritted his teeth as he walked back to his room. He finally looked as tense as everyone else.

    ¡°Still¡­ I would say my introduction turned out quite well. I didn¡¯t die after all,¡± he shrugged.

    ***Mass release tomorrow (6/8/22) ¨C then another mass release on Monday. (8/8/22) ***

 Chapter 189 Guild Repurposed

    Jay decided not to bring his bone helminth into the guild; If someone grabbed the bone amulet he wasn¡¯t sure what would happen.

    He had nned to take it right into the guild and analyse it now that it was level three; he was even going to have it in its natural form and let it cast spells alongside him at the target rocks.

    But now that these strange ck guards were here? He wasn¡¯t dumb enough to take such a chance, and neither did he have absurdly good luck.

    Worst case scenario: The helminth would automatically attack someone and reveal Jay as a necromancer ¨C he would be executed on the spot.

    This was slightly more likely with all the aggression that the mage hunters were showing him.

    Best case scenario? He would be left alone and possibly copy the necrotic bolt spell from his helminth today.

    Obviously he could just learn it another time.

    The benefits came nowhere near enough to outweigh the risks.

    As he approached the association, he was finally in view of the guards and knew they could see him, but he still needed to ditch his helminth.

    He suddenly grabbed the top of his pants before looking around and walking behind a rocky outcrop, out of sight.

    With no one watching he had the bone helminth reformed into its physical form. As it sat on the ground looking at him it snapped its jaw a few times, as if greeting its master again.

    Jay finally analysed it.

    <[Bone Helminth Level 3]>

    [Type ¨C Undead, Parasite, Spellcaster]<sub>.</sub>

    [HP 50/50]

    [MP 30/30]

    <[Skills]>

    -[Sentinel Form]-

    ¨C The helminth coils around its master, bing an untargetable piece of their armour.

    ¨C Periodicallyshes out at attackers or fires spectral bolts at foes.

    ¨C When its master is attacked, the helminth loses health instead.

    -[Natural Form]-

    ¨C Allows HP and MP regeneration.

    ¨C +200% HP and MP regeneration.

    ¨C The helminth detaches from its master and acts as an individual construct.

    [Spectral Bolt]

    ¨C Its jaw unhinges and slowly winds open before quickly snapping shut, a bolt of deathly energy firing out through its closing jaws.<sub></sub>

    ¨C 5 magic damage (necrotic)

    ¨C Can only hold 15 bolts; new bolt produced every 300 seconds.

    ¨C 1 mana

    [Ensnare]

    ¨C Can ensnare enemies and root them to the ground, making them unable to move.

    ¨C 3 second snare.

    ¨C 1 minute cooldown.

    [Symbiotic] (Passive)

    ¨C Starts at level 1. Levels up with its creator.

    [Grave Visitor] (Passive)

    ¨C Can travel freely and silently through the soil and ground

    ¨C Can covertly collect a nest of bones underground

    [Grave Soil Miasma] (Passive)<sub></sub>

    ¨C Enemies near the bone nest will be distracted by hallucinations

    ¡°Fifty HP? It was only tenst time I checked, what a great bonus.¡± Jay smiled.

    It was especially good since the helminth used its HP to shield him when it was on his body. It was basically a free fifty HP.

    Next, Jay saw its new skill [Grave Soil Miasma].

    ¡°Mi-as-ma?¡± he said slowly, ¡°I wonder how effective it will be¡­¡±

    ¡°I wonder if it can control the hallucinations?¡± he thought, scratching his chin.

    ¡°Ah. I better get back before they get suspicious.¡± he said with a sigh before turning to the helminth.

    ¡°Hide underground and don¡¯te near the guild. Don¡¯t let anyone see you either.¡± he said.

    The helminth lowered its head, and seemed to look sad for a moment as it looked in the direction of the guild.

    Jay watched it with a raised brow, wondering what was going through its hollow skull and its strange behaviour.

    The helminth turned back to Jay and snapped its jaws once before burying itself underground.

    ¡°I guess it really wanted to be with me?¡± Jay thought.

    With a shrug, he partly undid his pants and walked back to the path, doing them uppletely just as he got back to the track.

    ¡°Actually,e to think of it¡­ maybe I do need to pee¡­¡± he shrugged,

    ¡°Oh well. It can wait.¡±

    As Jay approached the guild there was a startling difference: the floating mana stone gate had disappeared.

    The boulders used to form it had all been dumped just outside the gate, no longer floating or even rippling with light-blue veins.

    Jay thought it was a shame, but he guessed that perhaps it was meant to represent something ¨C as to what it represented, he wasn¡¯t sure.

    Perhaps the mage hunters simply didn¡¯t need a gate.

    As he passed by the ck-armour guards, neither of them questioned him, and Jay didn¡¯t look up at them, though he did hear one of their helmets turn with a soft ceramic-grinding sound.

    Still, Jay decided not to look, not after what happenedst time he stared at their armour.

    Behind the ck armoured guards were some of the normal Lo guards, but they didn¡¯t say anything either; they looked even more tense than Jay as they stood at attention like statues. It was like they were about to wee a royal to the humblepound.

    ¡°Huh. I guess I won¡¯t be asking them who these guys are.¡± Jay thought as he kept walking.

    He kept walking past quietly as he went to ask Margaret.

    Beyond the gate, the courtyard feltpletely different.

    There were no adventurers practising, none passing in and out of the guild to trade, and none of the usual lively atmosphere. It was eerily quiet, as if the whole ce had been abandoned.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ¡°Lara, the portal is almost ready. Another hour and I can activate it at any time. Have you heard anything at the guild?¡± Lannister asked as he formed mana into glowing golden glyphs around the stink-rat marsh.

    Lara was holding an invisible crystal, while a blue string of mana went from it into her wrist.

    ¡°Not yet.¡± she frowned.

    Lannister nodded and went back to forming the glyphs and runes.

    ¡°¡­Damn. Why didn¡¯t he return to the guildst night? That would¡¯ve made this so much easier.¡± she thought as she shook her head.

    While monitoring the guild with her ears, she was monitoring the forest with her eyes, but also with her mana too; as a gravity mage, she would be able to detect changes in the gravitational field if any of those mage hunters in the heavy, thick armour ventured closer.

    The heavier they were, the easier they would be to detect.

    Thankfully, the mage hunters hadn¡¯t yet started scouting the surrounding forests; many of them were resting from the journey as well as setting up guard and patrol routes.

    Thankfully there were not many adventurers in the guild today, so there wasn¡¯t too much background noise.

    A few momentster, she narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°I hear someone now. I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s Jay though. I¡¯ll switch over to the one we left in his room.¡±

 Chapter 190 Quiet Indifference

    Walking into the association, Jay nced at Margaret.

    She nced back at Jay without a smile or a hello and quickly went back to her notes.

    Jay was d that she wasn¡¯t reced by a ck-armour guard, but she was acting very differently, and Jay decided to mimic her distant and detached behaviour.

    ¡°Hello. Who are these new guards?¡± Jay approached the desk and asked quietly.

    Margaret didn¡¯t look up for a moment, and Jay thought it was quite rude, but he soon understood why.

    ¡°These are the safety bearers. They protect us from people who be monsters or get dangerous sses. Isn¡¯t it good that they¡¯re here?¡± she said, stressing the words ¡®dangerous sses¡¯, ¡°We¡¯re safer than ever.¡± she added.

    Jay stopped his breathing for a moment as he knew they were both being watched, and that this was a warning; he was one of such monsters which would be hunted by them, and since Jay knew her, it was clear to him that she didn¡¯t believe those words at all.

    He quickly thought of something innocent to say after nodding for a little too long.

    ¡°Oh, good, but doesn¡¯t that mean there will be a monstering?¡±

    ¡°Well, if it does, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be in good hands; anyway, I have work to do, so what do you want, adventurer?¡± a slight smile appeared on her face before it disappeared just as quickly.

    ¡°Ah, nothing else¡­thanks.¡± Jay tried to say as casually as possible.

    ¡°She probably doesn¡¯t want to talk much around them¡­¡± he thought as he walked to the hallway.

    ¡°And showing me any favouritism or friendliness might be suspicious I¡¯m guessing.¡±

    Jay had to pass by another guard as he walked to his room, and as he walked by he tried to keep his breathing as calm as possible.

    Now that he realised these were soldiers specifically equipped and trained to hunt and kill people like him, they had apletely different feel about them.<sub>.</sub>

    If they shed killing intent at him as an innocent civilian, they would definitely not hesitate to execute him on the spot if he was any sort of threat.

    He felt like each of his footsteps were way too loud as he walked down the wooden hallway past the guard.

    Finally he reached his room and after he closed the door he couldn¡¯t stop himself from breathing more quickly and feeling dizzy. He almost felt like his face was red, but there was no way to tell; he was having a mild panic attack.

    He leant against the door for a moment as he got his breathing under control.

    ¡°I need to leave Lo.¡± he whispered to himself.

    ¡°But first, I need to calm down and think.¡± he thought as he sat on his bed and began to try and control his breathing.

    As he calmed himself down, he noticed an envelope on the bedside table.

    ¡°Huh, it¡¯s from Sullivan?¡±

    Without waiting a second longer he tore the envelope open and began to read.

    [Jay. The guild isn¡¯t safe for you, and it never was.]

    ¡°Yeah, no shit.¡± Jay murmured as he kept reading with a frown.

    [I know somewhere that you will be safe, and this is where I am sending you and Anya.]

    [You will soon be contacted by someone named Lannister. Trust them to take you to this safe ce and do everything they say until you get there.]

    [I may or may not see you again, so please take care of Anya. I have risked my life to protect you, so protect her in exchange.]<sub></sub>

    [With that being said, I have left you with onest gift under the bed. I hope it serves you well.]

    Jay checked under the bed and found arge folded up dark-brown leather nket.

    ¡°Huh, a nket? ¡­Is he implying something?¡± Jay was confused for a moment.

    He analysed it.

    <[Noon-leather nket]>

    [Blocks mana flow]

    ¡°Hm.. blocks mana flow? Interesting.¡± Jay gazed at it carefully.

    The nket was leathery on one side and soft on the other, so he was d he had a water-proof warm nket.

    Jay was tempted to test its mana-blocking abilities, but he wasn¡¯t sure if mage hunters could detect his necrotic mana, and didn¡¯t know what capabilities the mage hunters had, so he decided not to; this was his first time learning about noon-leather anding across the mage hunters after all ¨C both of these would rarely evere to such a small and irrelevant town.

    After storing the nket in his inventory he had calmed down and read the rest of the letter, though there wasn¡¯t much more other than a ¡®goodbye¡¯, and a ¡®please destroy this letter after reading it¡¯.

    Still, Jay stashed the letter away.

    ¡°Perhaps it wille in handy someday, or perhaps it will help to light a fire, who knows.¡± he shrugged.

    Jay was realising now that if he left Lo, he would have to survive in the wilderness, but now that he learnt of this ¡®safe ce¡¯ that Sullivan was talking about, he put his ns to buy survival materials aside.

    It wasn¡¯t like he would need much survival gear anyway though, as he did have his swag (small tent), cooking utensils, and otherforts such as his chair which he scavenged from his own house.<sub></sub>

    Either way, he knew he had to leave ¨C and he could only hope this ¡®safe ce¡¯ was very, very far away from these mage hunters.

    Slowly, he realised his whole life was about to get turned upside down. He came here to train today and now all of this was happening.

    Jay still had low mana after all the crafting he did in the cave, so before leaving the guild to plot his next moves he decided to meditate and bring it back to being full.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Vdore was almost chuckling in his room as he saw his cube growing; it meant one thing ¨C Jay was back.

    Now all he needed to do was provide an excuse to have him imprisoned here, or even gifted to him as a research subject.

    While researching on live humans was illegal in this kingdom, Jay would not be considered a human if he was simply too powerful, and Vdore¡¯s first idea for a lie was that Jay was an F-variant ss.

    ¡°But they will check his ss after they arrest him¡­ dammit. How do I get around that.¡± he pursed his lips as he tried toe up with ideas.

    He needed the mage hunters to arrest Jay without killing him or checking his ss.

    Soon however, he was distracted by his cube. To him, watching it grow was mesmerising ¨C though he knew it would soon stop when Jay left, and so he got right back to scheming once more.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Jay was quietly meditating in the room; his heart calm as he nourished his mind with mana.

    ¡°Jay?¡± a woman¡¯s voice broke the peaceful silence from somewhere in the room.

    Jay immediately opened his eyes, startled as he looked around.

    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± he saw the door was still closed, he was sure he was alone.

    ¡°Perhaps I just connected to some spirit?¡± he wondered.

    Again, a female voice sounded from somewhere in the room.

    ¡°Hello, Jay?¡±

    Jay looked around immediately but couldn¡¯t find the source of the sound, though he cautiously replied back.

    ¡°¡­hello?¡± he slowly said.

    ¡°Hello, Jay. Are you enjoying the room? How is your stay going? By the way, what was yourst name?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ Yeah it¡¯s alright? And it¡¯s Hart, Jay Hart.¡± he answered, wondering why he was being asked how his room was.

    Lara was the person behind the womans voice; she had to ask such questions to confirm that it was actually Jay she was talking to ¨C after all, they had never met.

    ¡°Good. I am Lara, Sullivan may have told you about a safe ce and I -¡±

    ¡°Well, he mentioned a Lannister.¡± Jay cut her off.

    ¡°¡­¡± Lara shook her head, disappointed that she wasn¡¯t mentioned.

    ¡°¡­Lannister is my colleague and we are here to recruit you ¨C but time is of the essence. Pleasee to the stink-rat marsh as soon as possible.¡±

    Jay didn¡¯t reply as he thought for a moment.

    He hesitated to trust strangers, but Sullivan¡¯s letter urged him to trust them, and he was without any other options for the moment other than to flee into the wilderness.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be there.¡± he bit his lip and sighed as he replied.

    ¡°Come as soon as you can. Also, grab the items I left under your pillow. You¡¯ll need them.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± he nodded as he tossed his pillow aside.

    He found a strange hexagonal silver ball which had polished sides; each of them were like tiny mirrors.

    The other thing he found was a purple crystal.

    ¡°Add mana to the crystal until it disappears.¡± the voice said.

    ¡°Uh¡­ so¡­ I¡¯ll do it when I leave the guild.¡± Jay said slowly; he was still unsure if his necrotic mana would trigger some sort of advanced mage hunter rm.

    ¡°Ok, well just hurry up and leave, we don¡¯t have much time.¡±

    Jay stashed away the items instead of analysing them; he decided to do it while he walked to Lo to save time.

    ¡°Be quiet, I¡¯m about to open the door.¡± he said quietly to where her voice wasing from.

    Lara disconnected from the crystal and turned to Lannister.

    ¡°He¡¯s on his way.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± he nodded as he stood up, ¡°It¡¯s ready, we just have to trigger it. I¡¯ll set up more minor teleport traps in the forest, just in case.¡±

    ¡°Good. Anya should be here soon too.¡±

 Chapter 191 A Quick Stop

    Vdore watched Jay exit the guild as his ck cube stopped growing again. He overheard the conversation between Lara and Jay as he had his own listening device in the room.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ dammit, fuck¡­ what do I do.¡± he gritted his teeth.

    His future was slowly walking right out of the guild; his mind was running as it looked for ideas.

    Suddenly his lips curled into an evil grin.

    ¡°Well, as it turns out, giving him the goblin wand came with some strings attached.¡± he grinned, ¡°I am so generous¡­ but I¡¯ll need something else to evoke a reaction from the mage hunters¡­¡±

    Vdore began writing a formal letter to Sullivan alleging Jay¡¯s thievery. After dropping off the letter at Sullivan¡¯s door, he nned to inform the mage hunters. He would have told the mage hunters first, but this was part of the current operating procedure.

    Vdore believed that if he quickly told the mage hunters about Sullivan¡¯s inaction, then Sullivan wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything and Jay would be brought back to the guild ¨C made to give him back the goblin wand and then held there for a few days.

    He nned to use Jay of stealing something from the mage hunters too, which would be enough for them to spur into action rather than letting the local guards handle it.

    This wasn¡¯t the end goal of Vdore¡¯s scheme, but he believed it would give himself more time to think of another n to keep Jay there indefinitely.

    ¨C

    [600 Exp]

    The exp from the dying silt-wolves relieved some of the tension Jay was feeling, though it seemed the pace of the skeletons was slow as the heavy-armour skeleton was made to march at the front.

    As Jay walked towards the gate, he unconsciously quickened his pace a little; the slightest shiver travelling down his back ¨C though he had other things on his mind.<sub>.</sub>

    ¡°I want to stop at the wolf¡¯s quarry and pick up the skeletons and all their freshly-crafted weapons, but it¡¯s on the north-west side of town. It¡¯ll take too long¡­¡±

    It was a little disappointing, but he could craft more weapons for them anyway.

    ¡°Besides, that woman sounded urgent, so I¡¯ll only stop at the butchery and pick up the gold. It¡¯s along the way anyway.¡±

    ¡°A quick in and out, then I¡¯ll be gone.¡± he nodded as he went down the hill.

    As Jay looked over Lo and its cobblestone streets for perhaps the veryst time, he felt somewhat mncholic. He was tempted to slow down and start reminiscing about his hometown, but the more he thought about it, the more he realised that he couldn¡¯t really pinpoint many good memories.

    In Lo, his life had just been a constant struggle as he worked by himself as an underage butcher, and then as a dangerous adventure when he received his ss.

    No one had seemed to ever care about him; this realisation however almost felt freeing to his heart.

    ¡°Oh yeah¡­¡± he thought, realising that his life in Lo had kind of sucked.

    ¡°Actually, fuck this town. I can¡¯t remember thest time someone helped me with anything.¡± he sped up even more as he walked.

    ¡°People were buying my meat and never so much as cared that they were buying it from a child. I even gave discounts to those in need¡­¡±

    ¡°And sure, some would smile, fewer still would ask how I¡¯m going ¨C it seems like no one really cared¡­¡±

    ¡°When I became a higher level, people started looking at me but hardly anyone approached¡­ those who did only wanted a favour¡± he pursed his lips.<sub></sub>

    ¡°I think I¡¯m just about done with helping others and receiving nothing in return¡­ I won¡¯t be like that anymore.¡±

    ¡°Besides, now that I¡¯m getting stronger, people need me and I don¡¯t need them,¡± he nodded.

    As Jay walked out of sight of the association he finally checked the items he found under the pillow.

    <[Warp Disruptor]>

    [~Charged~]

    [Prevents warp, teleportation and trans-reality effects]

    [Requires mana to function]

    [Current charge: Can disrupt (7) times]

    ¡°Anti-teleport huh. Strange. Why would they give me this?¡±

    It didn¡¯t really make sense to Jay. Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be leaving today? ¨C If anything, he expected something to help with teleporting rather than to block it.

    With a shrug he stored it away anyway and checked the purple crystal.

    <[Stealth Shard]><sub></sub>

    [~Attuned~]

    [~Uncharged~]

    [Can be attuned to another stealth shard, forming a connection.]

    [Exchanged Senses ¨C activated when charged with mana]

    [Exchanged Senses: no longer visible, but can nowmunicate]

    Next, he began to add mana to the purple crystal.

    ¡°Cool¡­¡± he watched as it became ck and then vanished from sight ¨C though he could still feel its weight in his hand.

    For some reason he almost felt dizzy while holding it but seeing nothing, it was like his brain couldn¡¯t make sense of it so he looked away.

    ¡°Hello?¡± he spoke right into it.

    Thankfully he did everything correctly as Lara responded shortly after.

    ¡°Hey Jay. Store the crystal in your inventory and you should be able to hear my voice in your head. To talk back to me, you will need to take the crystal out again though.¡±

    ¡°Got it. I¡¯m on my way now unless you have any other instructions.¡± he then stashed it away as Lara said nothing in response.

    As Jay approached Lo he saw more of the ck guards.

    There were a few other vigers walking around the streets now, so he felt safe trying one of his new abilities: mark.

    When the guard had their back turned, Jay stared at him and thought ¡°MARK¡± in his mind.

    Suddenly, a long red strand of energy grew out of Jay¡¯s body and attached to the guard.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Jay paused in shock, seeing therge red strand between him and the guard. He thought this was his end.

    How could the skill say ¡®undetectable¡¯ and do something as shy as this?

    As Jay watched though, people seemed to ignore it though; they kept going about their business as if nothing was happening.

    Some of them even walked right through the strand, passing harmlessly through it.

    Jay sighed in relief as he realised only he could see it.

    Thankfully the mage hunter didn¡¯t turn around either, so it seemed that it truly was ¡®undetectable¡¯.

    Slowly, the red strand left Jay and coiled around the guard before disappearing.

    Jay kept walking past as innocently as he could ¨C but now there was a difference: he could sense the guard.

    Simr to his necrotic sense skill, he knew exactly where the guard was even while he wasn¡¯t looking at him.

    While couldn¡¯t sense which direction the guard was looking, he was nevertheless satisfied with the skill.

    Besides, one maximum mana to track an enemy was an excellent trade-off.

    ¡°I guess it would be ten mana if I used all the marks, but that¡¯s fine.¡± he nodded with a sneaky smile.

    As Jay looked over the mark skill it was now at 1/10 marks. He realised the skill didn¡¯t have a level, so unfortunately, he could only have ten active marks at once.

    He had a cheeky smile as he thought about marking every human in sight, but he thought that it was probably best that he couldn¡¯t.

    Still, as he passed through Lo, he saw a few more guards, and added two more marks.

    Jay ducked around a corner and his butchery shop was in sight ¨C but he sensed something wrong: One of the marks was moving towards him, and at a high speed too.

    Beginning to panic a little he looked around for somewhere to hide. A small alleyway on the other side of the street.

    He dashed into the alley; it was some trash piled up on one side, along with a stray cat which quickly scurried away, startled as Jay charged in.

    The mark was already in the street, and Jay thought he was too slow, though to Jay¡¯s surprise the mark passed by the alleyway. A small puff of wind entered the alleyway as the mage hunter passed by at high speed.

    Jay released a heavy breath as he felt like death passed over him.

    He stared back into the street, wondering what the hell was happening to make the mage hunter speed through the streets so quickly¡­ and coincidentally in his direction. He definitely wouldn¡¯t have seen theming if he didn¡¯t use the mark skill, but even with the warning it wasn¡¯t enough to evade; he was simply ignored as it seemed the mage hunter had other priorities.

    He sensed the ck guard speeding down the street, so slowly, he crept to the end of the passage and peeked around the corner. He expected it to be out of sight by the time he got there, though it seemed that it suddenly stopped.

    ¡°¡­¡± Jay hoped it was a mere coincidence the mage hunter stopped right outside of his butchery.

 Chapter 192 Search

    ¡°I have a crime to report, and it seems that the guild leader doesn¡¯t care so I am bringing it to you.¡±

    Vdore gained another audience with the mage hunters ¨C though it cost him gold this time.

    After attempting his persuasion he noticed they simply didn¡¯t care, so he was forced to add a riskier lie.

    ¡°It seems he has stolen one of your gambesons from the guildundry area too.¡±

    It was a reasonable lie, as the guild had been ¡®gifted¡¯ withundry duty for the mage hunters.

    The mage hunter mmed their fist down on the table, causing a shimmer of mana to travel across it as the table was reinforced with magic.

    The mage hunter officer stared at Vdore for a moment; waves of killing intent quickly filled the room and almost made Vdore feel like he was suffocating.

    The mage hunter seemed like they wanted to sentence the thief to death, but now Vdore had to spend the next few minutes trying to diffuse the mage hunter.

    He wanted a strong enough reaction so that they would bother with arresting Jay, but not so strong that they would execute him. It seems that Vdore miscalcted.

    Still, Vdore had the gambeson in his inventory, so he could simply ¡®find¡¯ it again and say it was misced.

    As for the other ¡®stolen¡¯ item, well, Jay still had the goblin wand which was originally a gift.

    Vdore thought that his ex-mage hunter status, along with Jay having ¡®stolen¡¯ his goblin wand, would be enough to gain wardenship of Jay.

    Vdore was then removed from the room ¨C unsure if they were going to act at all. Such was the nature of the mage hunters.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Jay remained staring from the alleyway as the guard suddenly saw Jay¡¯s butcher shop, their boots cracked up parts of the cobblestone street as they stopped their momentum immediately.

    ¡°What is he doing¡­¡±<sub>.</sub>

    *CRASH!*

    ¡°H-!¡± Jay had to stop himself from yelling as he watched on in horror.

    The guard suddenly jumped right through the front window of his shop, his house, shattering the ss and leaving arge hole behind.

    Another mage hunter showed up shortly after and didn¡¯t even need to kick the door open ¨C they simply ran through it like it was paper.

    Screaming and yelling sounded as more things continued to smash within the shop.

    Suddenly a young man¡¯s limp body was effortlessly tossed out of the shop.

    Trenly was thrown through the window, his body scraping across the street before it squirmed from pain.

    Jay stepped back slightly, hiding more of himself in the alleyway. He couldn¡¯t blink as he watched on, powerless to do anything.

    A mage hunter jumped back out through the window and stood over Trenly.

    ¡°Argh! Someone help!¡± he called with no answer.

    Trenly¡¯s arm was broken as he writhed in pain in the street; all the onlookers didn¡¯t make a sound as they feared the mage hunters. All they could do was watch.

    The mage hunter stood over Trenly with a hint of anger in his eyes.

    ¡°Where is Jay?¡± he growled.

    ¡°I ¨C I don¡¯t know!¡± he whimpered.

    The mage hunter nted a foot right onto Trenly¡¯s ankle, twisting his boot on it.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Graah!¡± he yelled in pain.

    ¡°I ¨C I really don¡¯t know, please, please stop!¡±

    Jay couldn¡¯t keep watching, especially now that he knew they were looking for him. The sheer brutality of their tactics was hair-raising.

    He dashed back into the alleyway and took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ they¡¯re looking for me? Have they found out?¡± he gritted his teeth as he looked down the alley.

    He quickly hid behind somerge half-broken barrels.

    ¡°Fuck. I should have just gone straight to meet Lara¡­¡± he thought, but had an idea.

    ¡°¡­ maybe Lara can help?¡±

    Jay quickly pulled out the invisible crystal.

    ¡°Lara, the mage hunters are looking for me. They broke into my house when I wasn¡¯t home. I¡¯m still in Lo.¡±

    No response.

    Jay wasn¡¯t going to just wait to hear her voice, his life was in his own hands; he began to quietly summon his skeletons.

    There weren¡¯t many hiding ces in the alley so he made them hide under some junk and not move, blending into a trash pile.

    They would be his only defence so he wanted them close by and ready to fight ¨C not that they wouldst long against the mage hunters.

    Next, he used the disguise stone to change his name and level, though under such stressful circumstances thinking of a name was harder than it had to be.<sub></sub>

    <[Status Concealer]>

    [Input Name][Bob]

    [Input Level][4]

    [On]

    [Bob ¨C Level 4]

    He believed the average name and low level wouldn¡¯t make people even look twice at him, and that¡¯s what he wanted, however there was still a problem: his face and appearance still wouldn¡¯t change.

    It would only be a matter of time before he was recognised.

    One thing was still true: Jay needed to escape Lo.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Adventurer Association, Lo~

    *BOOM!*

    Vdore¡¯s door was suddenly blown off its hinges and turned into splinters of wood and dust.

    Despite the intense energy, Sullivan entered with a calm demeanour ¨C though a raging savage was hiding behind his eyes.

    ¡°Vdore. I received your letter and I heard the mage hunters are going to arrest Jay. What is the meaning of this?¡± His voice was as smooth and cunning as a vampire.

    Vdore sneered, ¡°He¡¯s a little thief. I requested that they do something about him, since you have done nothing.¡±

    Sullivan didn¡¯t fall for Vdore¡¯s trap. It was clearly a betrayal, and there was no use convincing someone who was lying to your face.

    Sullivan¡¯s eyes glowed brightly, and Vdore¡¯s responded with their own shine, and for just a moment, some objects in the room floated before ¨C

    *BOOM!!!*

    The desk between them was turned into splinters.

    The wall behind Vdore had been blown apart as his body instantly went from being normal to ruptured and bleeding.

    Vdore gritted his teeth as he spat blood in anger. At thest moment, he shielded his ck cube to save it from destruction.

    Sullivan¡¯s eyes narrowed on the cube.

    In a split second, Sullivan decided to take something dear from Vdore. A kind of justice would take ce.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Sullivan spoke ¨C his voice no longer smooth and soft.

    Visible waves of air rippled from his mouth as he yelled.

    A force radiated from Sullivan, and the rest of the objects in Vdore¡¯s office were pushed out of the broken wall, turned to dust or crushed under the pressure.

    Everything was in ruins.

    Vdore froze for a moment, his body told him not to move a single muscle as he froze in fear, obeying the spell-shout.

    Sullivan walked towards him and grabbed the ck cube from his hand.

    Vdore¡¯s eyes bulged in fear and disbelief, his body trembling with anger.

    ¡°This seems important to you.¡± Sullivan said smoothly, looking at the cube.

    Sullivan¡¯s face twisted in a sh of anger, and suddenly, he threw it out the window with such speed that it caused a whistle in the air.

    Vdore¡¯s eyes were red as all he could do was watch.

    Sullivan¡¯s adventurer strength caused it to travel far beyond the walls of the guild.

    Heavy footsteps came from the hallway.

    All of it happened so fast, but now the mage hunters were here.

    The mage hunters didn¡¯t ask any questions as they tried to detain both Sullivan and Vdore.

    The shout-spell ended, Vdore could finally move now.

    ¡°He tried to kill me!¡± he yelled, blood flowing from his mouth.

    The mage hunters already knew Vdore was an ex-researcher who worked for them, while Sullivan on the other hand was exiled here for sheltering a variant.

    They didn¡¯t say anything, but showed favouritism to Vdore.

    While they nned to arrest them both, Sullivan misread the intentions of the mage hunters.

    His eyes glowed with power again.

    Another wave of force pushed everything back.

    The ground cracked under the spell; the walls barely remained standing even though they were reinforced with magic.

    Vdore was smashed into a wall and knocked out.

    The mage hunters were pushed back, but not far. Their armour blocked most of the spell.

    This was considered a direct attack on the mage hunters. Each of them pulled out their ck weapons: this target would not be arrested.

 Chapter 193 Survival

    ~Lo, alleyway~

    A horn starts ring,ing from the guild ¨C a sign that Lo was under attack. It seemed quite odd though, as the mage hunters would have been there to protect them ¨C why summon the feeble adventurers?

    Jay quickly guessed that they were being summoned to search for him, adding pressure to him.

    Jay had moved to another alley as the hunt for him began.

    A mage hunter passed by and red at him but soon left. It seemed they didn¡¯t know what his face looked like yet.

    ¡°It¡¯s only a matter of time before someone recognises me¡­¡± he thought.

    Jay had been a popr adventurer in Lo after all, so most of the younger adventurers would recognise him. He wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they even helped the guards to find him.

    Jay quickly took off his iconic green molodus coat and reced it with the dark hooded cloak he used to wear. He pulled the hood up to hide his face.

    The alley was quiet, but he soon heard rolls of thunder and deep booming soundsing from the guild.

    ¡°What the fuck is happening¡­¡± he tried not to panic.<sub>.</sub>

    It seemed like the whole mountain was beginning to shake.

    Jay wasn¡¯t sure what it was, and there was something ominous about it.

    Slipping between more alleys, Jay continued sneaking to the south side of Lo. He wasn¡¯t worried about the mage hunters rushing through the streets and spotting him, but it was the civilians who may recognise him that he hid from.

    As he reached closer the south side of Lo he saw a mage hunter holding amunication crystal, but before Jay could get past, they put the crystal away and pulled out a sword and shield, facing the town.

    A number of other mage hunters had already formed a perimeter around Lo and they simrly drew their weapons too. A whole perimeter was forming around Lo.

    Jay cautiously approached but sensed killing intenting from the mage hunter as one of them turned to look directly at him.

    ¡°No one leaves.¡± their gravelly voice said slowly.

    Jay didn¡¯t want to look suspicious so he simply nodded and calmly returned to a nearby alleyway.

    He had no clue what to do other than to hide in the alley ¨C but finally, he heard Lara¡¯s voice again.<sub></sub>

    ¡°Jay? We¡­ something¡¯s happening at the guild. You have toe right now.¡±

    Jay was relieved as he heard her voice, he looked around before replying.

    ¡°I¡¯m at the south side of Lo. The mage hunters have surrounded the town, I can¡¯t leave.¡±

    ¡°I see. Wait a second.¡±

    Jay looked up and down the alley way as he checked for people. Some more adventurers were stopped from leaving; most didn¡¯t dare toin to the mage hunters though.

    ¡°Get ready.¡± Lara said.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~South-East Forests of Lo~

    *Huff huff huff*<sub></sub>

    Anya was catching her breath, a tense look on her face. She was focused now more than ever.

    Sullivan told her to leave the guild immediately to meet with Lannister and Lara, but not to enter Lo ¨C so she ventured through the forests.

    Without a second word she followed her fathers instruction to leave.

    Despite him sounding calm, she could tell that something wasn¡¯t right.

    She nimbly dashed down the hill and through the forest, moving as fast as she could through the thick vegetation.

    *Doon¡­*

    Sometimester, a deep rolling boom sound came from the guild. She could tell something major just happened and paused for a moment ¨C but didn¡¯t look back ¨C she knew she may not move again if she started looking.

    Her mind focused on one thing ¨C her orders: reaching the stink-rat marsh.

    Gritting her teeth, carried out her mission and marched forward again before continuing to dash through the forest, but for some reason her eyes began to water.

    ¨C

    Matheson was about to enter the feral ins dungeon, though he paused for a moment as he heard the deep rumbling sounds of thunder from the guild and the horn ring.

    He red back towards the guild for a moment.

    ¡°¡­ what the hell is going on now.¡± he thought, though his mind soon drifted to what Hodley said earlier¡­

    ¡°The powerful treasure¡­?¡± his heart seemed to beat a little faster.

    Suddenly he heard something running through the forest; its steps were careless and they were moving fast as they trampled the vegetation.

    Matheson stood silently and watched; if it was another treant, he would just enter the dungeon for safety.

    However, to his surprise, it was a person ¨C one whom he recognised as the guild master daughter.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be a coincidence.¡± He whispered to himself as his lips curled into a hungry smile; he smelt opportunity.

    ¡°Easy to stalk. She¡¯s making so much damn noise.¡±

    Matheson began to follow Anya as covertly as possible. He had quite high dexterity due to his rapier ss, so he didn¡¯t make much noise.

    Anya simrly had high dexterity, but she was clearly distracted by something and didn¡¯t notice her follower.

    The feral ins dungeon was somewhere south-east of Lo, and soon they crossed the south-road as they kept heading west.

    Suddenly, a powerful wave of mana pulsed through the forest.

    Despite not having any mana-craft proficiency, even Matheson felt it wash over his mind.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± he thought.

    This only confirmed his suspicion: Anya was running right towards that mana pulse, so this was definitely connected to the powerful treasure he was hearing about.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let this opportunity pass me by¡­¡± he red at her, ¡°I will grasp it and hold onto it until my fingernails rip out.¡± he zealously thought.

    Matheson prepared himself mentally to steal whatever powerful treasure could be waiting for him, and he didn¡¯t care who he would have to trample along the way.

 Chapter 194 Stolen Path

    ~A few minutes earlier, Stink-rat Marsh~

    Lara just found out that Lo was surrounded by the mage hunters.

    ¡°I see. Wait a second.¡± Lara said to Jay as she turned to Lannister.

    ¡°The mage hunters have surrounded Lo. They won¡¯t let anyone leave.¡±

    ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll initiate the backup n. Jay has the warp-disruptor so he should be able to make it to us without a problem¡­ Are you ready to do this?¡±

    Lara stood up; all her usual yfulness and casual attitude was gone. She was ready to carry out her part of the mission as she nodded.

    ¡°Alright. Get ready.¡± Lannister said as he turned towards the entrance of the stink-rat marsh.

    ¡°Get ready.¡± Lara said to Jay through the crystal once more.

    Lannister began to trigger the magic symbols hey around the dungeon entrance. Golden runes all appeared and soon began floating, swirling and circling the dungeon before breaking andbining in the centre of the shallow pool entrance.

    Thest symbol broke and entered a floating golden orb that had formed and was radiating a seemingly divine golden energy as it slowly began to pulse. The air around it distorted vision like a gaseous vapour.

    Suddenly, Lannister and Lara turned their faces away and closed their eyes.

    *Fwoosh!~*

    The golden orb suddenly exploded in a sh of light; a thick wave of mana rolled out from it and passed through everything around them before continuing through the forest.

    Once the golden orb has disappeared, a single point was left, a ck dot in reality.

    The ck dot moved upwards and tore apart reality as it cut open a line in space.

    The empty gap began spinning and formed a spindle shape. It crackled with dangerous energy as it built up unimaginable speed ¨C and suddenly, it opened up into a circle.<sub>.</sub>

    The familiar silvery t surface greeted Lannister who smiled back at his own reflection. Another sessful portal to mirror reality thirty-four was established.

    However, for safety precautions, this one would only let a certain number of people through before closing: Lannister, Lara, Anya and Jay.

    Lara pulled out themunication crystal again to contact Jay.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Lo, Alley~

    ¡°What the fuck was that¡­¡± A wave of energy washed over Jay¡¯s mind and he instinctively looked in the direction it came from: the stink-rat marsh.

    Next, he heard Lara¡¯s voice again.

    ¡°Jay, you have toe now. This is your only chance. I¡¯m sorry we can¡¯t do more.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Jay said as he put away the crystal.

    Peering back out of the alleyway, the mage hunters had just put away theirmunication crystals again and were already on the move.

    Suddenly, they all ran off in the direction of the energy signature. Obviously whatever that was took priority over guarding this small town.

    The energy from the mana wave just now was more powerful than whatever was happening at the association.

    Jay remained focused as quickly sprinted out of the alley and followed the mage hunters towards the marsh.

    The mage hunters were much faster than he was, so he could run at full speed without fear of catching up.

    Jay followed along and could see them running further down the south road, but soon enough, they were out of sight.<sub></sub>

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~South forests~

    After the wave of energy passed over Matheson he only followed more closely. He had been to the stink-rat marsh before and guessed she was headed there, and he soon found that he was right.

    Anya entered the clearing while he watched from a distance as she greeted some people, but strangely, for some reason, she dropped to her knees and held her head in her hands.

    ¡°Tears of joy?¡± Matheson wondered ¨C but this wasn¡¯t what caught his attention.

    In front of Anya, above the marsh, a crackling ring of energy buzzed, with a silvery-mirror surface.

    Matheson¡¯s eyes gleamed as he looked at it; to him this was enough to confirm his suspicion: It¡¯s the powerful treasure they were all looking for ¨C or at least a portal to it.

    ¡°I guess the stink-rat marsh holds some secrets after all.¡± he smiled fiendishly.

    As he watched on, the guy helped Anya up to her feet and brought her into the portal ¨C though to Matheson¡¯s annoyance, the woman with them stayed.

    Suddenly, he heard deep thumping soundsing through the forest ¨C and deep voices to match.

    ¡°Stop!¡± he heard a shout,

    ¡°Surrender and your death will be fast!¡± Another yelled ¨C right before a small golden sh of light came from somewhere in the forest.

    *Vroow!~*

    Matheson continued to watch as the woman responded to the sh. The trees began to sway and rock around her; they groaned in pain before being ripped out of the earth.

    The trees turned horizontal as they floated around her; dirt falling off the roots as they floated ¨C suddenly like giant javelins, they were shot off into the forest.<sub></sub>

    *Boom boom boom boom~*

    Therge logs pounded and impaled some other part of the forest where the deep voices and more bright shes of light wereing from.

    However it wasn¡¯t enough.

    A mage hunter rushed through the wood as the woman.

    Simrly to the trees, the helpless mage hunter was quickly floating in the air and was tossed into the sky as easily as the trees were.

    Matheson was shocked at this magic; so far he believed he could take out most magicians, but against something like this we would be powerless.

    ¡°This¡­ I need to get stronger.¡± Matheson looked on in awe.

    He didn¡¯t blink as he watched every moment.

    Next, another mage hunter rushed through, but for some reason the girl ignored them as her lips curled into a cunning smile.

    A part of Matheson wanted to call out to save the girl, but he held his tongue.

    Suddenly, a sh of light happened and the mage hunter disappeared.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he squinted and looked away before looking back again.

    ¡°¡­what happened to the mage hunter?¡±

    ¡°It was there one moment and then gone in a sh of light¡­¡± he raised a brow silently.

    A shiver went up his spine as he imagined that the mage hunter may have been suddenly vaporised.

    Still, there was no time to think about such things.

    The woman seemed distracted and he had a prize to im on the other side of that portal.

    Mage hunters were approaching from the north where the woman was looking, so Matheson crept around to the south side and began to sneak closer ¨C he held out his sword though in case there were more of those light traps.

    As he got closer he noticed that the girl was sweating and panting heavily. Clearly she was exerting herself and running out of time.

    She couldn¡¯t hold them off forever ¨C but why was she holding them off anyway? Matheson didn¡¯t care either way.

    Finally he was close enough to dash to the portal now.

    The woman was distracted by a mage hunter charging through the forest, and this was the perfect moment.

    With a wicked grin he ran out of the forest and sped towards the portal.

    As Matheson got closer to the portal he resolved himself to jump straight in. He didn¡¯t need to think twice about it.

    The treasure would be his, and his alone.

    He was ready to start threatening Anya and anyone else with his nobility once he reached the other side.

    If that didn¡¯t work, the sword was also an option. He would get to the treasure before they could do anything to him.

    As he was only a few steps away from the portal, Lara noticed his presence and she turned around with a relieved smile.

    ¡°Finally¡­. Wh-, who are you?!¡± she yelled.

    Matheson returned her smile with a menacing grin and gave her no opportunity to stop him, as he was already about to slip through the portal.

    The greedy grin on his face only got bigger.

    She just analysed him and his name wasn¡¯t Jay ¨C he was a random adventurer.

    ¡°Wait, stop!¡±

    Lara raised her hands to use her magic but Matheson acted far too decisively. Before it even took effect, he was gone, only leaving behind a gentle ripple on the silver portal.

    Lara almost couldn¡¯t believe her eyes.

    ¡°FUCKER!!¡± she screamed.

    More mage hunters were bearing down on her location, and the portal could only take one more person now ¨C meanwhile Jay was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Grrahh!¡± she gritted her teeth in anger. She had no reason to wait; her only choice was to flee.

    She decisively took out themunication crystal.

    ¡°Don¡¯te to the stink-rat marsh. Flee Lo. We¡¯ll find you¡­ I promise.¡± she sounded as desperate as she was angry.

    She used thest of her energy to send some more trees flying into the forest, trying to do as much damage as possible before jumping into the portal.

    After she went though, the portal swirled more slowly and began to get smaller.

    The energy dissipated quickly as it copsed into a smaller sphere, then a ck dot, before turning back into nothingness again.

    For a moment the forest was silent again.

 Chapter 195 Lost Losla

    Jay could hear deep thumping noises and see shes of light somewhere deep in the forest.

    He almost stopped running and looked in wonder as a mage hunter flew into the sky before crashing down somewhere in another part of the forest.

    Suddenly he heard Lara¡¯s voice again ¨C she sounded desperate and stressed.

    ¡°Don¡¯te to the stink-rat marsh. Flee Lo. We¡¯ll find you¡­ I promise.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jay said, without pulling out his crystal, ¡°What the fuck is happening!?¡±

    Hopelessness gripped him again. The forest suddenly went quiet.

    He stopped running, pulling out the crystal to say something, but he had no words. All he could do was hopelessly grasp at the crystal in his hands.

    He didn¡¯t even get a chance to reply anyway. They simply just left him.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡±

    Humans had abandoned him again, leaving only a promise behind.

    He quickly thought about his options.

    Going back to Lo was not possible, as he would be identified soon enough.

    The stink-rat marsh would be swarming with mage hunters now, and Lara told him not toe, and to flee Lo instead.

    Before he was contacted by Lara, he nned to flee Lo anyway, so he went with that n.

    He turned around and gave Lo onest look. He was tempted to go back, if only for a few supplies, but after making a ¡®quick stop¡¯ at the butchery he cast those thoughts aside.

    If the mage hunters surrounded the town and he got trapped there again then it would probably be over for him.<sub>.</sub>

    The stink-rat marsh was in the south-west, so Jay ran towards the south-east.

    He quickly left the dirt road before anyone would see him. Thankfully there were not many adventurers around as they had been forced to wait in Lo.

    He assumed the mage hunters knew he was a necromancer ¨C why else would they be looking for him?

    Of course, he didn¡¯t know that he was merely wanted as a petty thief; a lie weaved by Vdore to trap him.

    As Jay ran deeper into the forest, he sensed the marks he had put on the soldiers, and it seemed they had reached the marsh and were spreading out now.

    At their speed, it seemed like they may even find him.

    ¡°A search party?¡± he wondered.

    The forest was blooming with life as it came into the spring season; the bushes and foliage had both pros and cons: It slowed him down, but also hid him from sight.

    With all of this running through Jay¡¯s mind, he realised he had to take action: the marks were getting closer ¨C their heavy suits of armour ignored the vegetation as they smashed through it, so he decided it was now a necessity to throw them off his trail.

    Jay re-summoned his level 1 skeletons for protection from forest critters and then found arge tree to lean against.

    The forest floor was still cold from winter, but he ignored it as he leant himself against its roots and began his n, picturing Red in his mind as he used the [Host] skill.

    ¨C

    Back in Lo, the skeletons were still lying still under a trash pile. They were perfectly still as their bodies had no biological functions. Completely dormant.

    Suddenly, one of them began to move from under the pile, and shortly after the other skeletons all jumped off of each other and scrambled out of the trash pile, responding to their master¡¯s mental orders.

    They all lined up ¨C but this time, they lined up in front of Red.<sub></sub>

    *ck ck ck*

    Red¡¯s jaw jiggled and snapped, though no noise came out; however, it seemed that its orders were heeded as the skeletons all began to slowly move to the end of the alleyway.

    A person walked by and then quickly ran off as they saw five skeletons all staring at them silently; their dark-green hungry eyes almost beckoning them to step closer to the alley.

    ¡°No turning back now.¡± Jay thought, peering at people through the eyes of Red.

    Instantly the skeletons all sprinted out of the alleyway and dashed through the streets. They were weaving between buildings as onlookers scratched their heads in confusion.

    It really didn¡¯t make sense ¨C there were skeletons here but they weren¡¯t attacking anyone?

    ?[0)??? Some of the vigers ran or froze in horror as they fell victim to the passive [Fear] effect of the skeletons, while others looked on withughter, assuming it was some kind of prank.

    The skeletons were roughly heading west, towards the farnd where they would continue to charge blindly into the western forests.

    These were Jay¡¯s orders after all, and they would keep going until they either died or were resummoned.

    Jay chose the west direction to run in, as he was running south-east and the mage hunters were searching south-west.

    So far, no one had attacked them, and operation ¡®Don-Don¡¯ began without a hitch.

    The skeletons made it to the very edge of Lo, and to Jay¡¯s surprise, there were no mage hunters on guard.

    It seemed that they left to investigate the stink-rat marsh, but if rumours spread of skeletons running west, it would reach their ears shortly, and would be enough to throw them off his tracks. Hopefully.

    As he ran through the western farnd his n was working perfectly. People were pointing andughing and filling the whole town with gossip at this strange disy.

    Perhaps this was a naive adventurer¡¯s stunt to protest against the guards locking Lo down?<sub></sub>

    They made it halfway through the farnd, but suddenly, the parade of undead was abruptly cut short.

    [Your skeleton has died]

    [Your skeleton has died]

    [Your skeleton has died]

    [Your skeleton has died]

    ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± Jay thought as he kept running in Red¡¯s body for a moment.

    For some reason, the skeleton he was hosting wasn¡¯t dying, even though it was clear that he could be executed at any moment.

    Why hadn¡¯t his skeleton been destroyed?

    He turned around, curious even as an undead.

    A mage hunter was standing there, crushing the bones of the other skeletons as they watched Jay through their ck helmet.

    Waves of unbearable killing intent suddenly washed over Jay¡¯s mind. While skeletons had no fear, he certainly did; he froze in shock as the threat was unbearable. Thankfully, his bone-body didn¡¯t rattle or shiver ¨C that would probably cause too much suspicion.

    The mage hunter simply stood there, curious as they watched him.

    Was he expecting the skeleton to lead him to the necromancer? Probably.

    However, the mage hunters helmet slightly moved to the side. It was like he was confused that the skeleton turned back and watched him ¨C though Jay couldn¡¯t see his face so he couldn¡¯t be sure.

    Simultaneously, both Jay and the mage hunter each realised something wasn¡¯t right ¨C the enemy was acting odd.

    Jay¡¯s body was frozen from fear, but conversely, his mind was running fast. He quickly used [Mark] before the mage hunter could do anything.

    [Your skeleton has died]

    ckness ¨C then Jay found himself back in his own body.

    *huff huff huff*

    Jay woke up leaning against the tree with a cold sweat and rapid breathing.

    The killing intent was one thing, but he just died in the body of a skeleton, and he felt like his chest was caving inwards; this was definitely not something he wished to experience again.

    ¡°Something was wrong with that skeleton¡­¡± the mage hunter officer thought.

    ¡°Something was wrong with that guard¡­¡± Jay thought, gritting his teeth as he tried to get his breath under control.

    Meanwhile a red strand began to leave his body. He was relieved that at least his mark skill activated before he died in his skeleton¡¯s body.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even see him move¡­ It was just instant death¡± he shook his head.

    ¡°I need to keep running. Much, much further away¡­¡±

    Jay slowly stood up, fighting a feeling of nausea.

    Before moving he checked to see if he dropped anything from his pockets but there was nothing but a small imprint on the decaying damp leaves.

    Next, he checked the marks he ced on the mage hunters.

    It seemed that his distraction idea worked as the mage hunters he had marked suddenly formed a line and all moved towards the west.

    ¡°Sessful operation.¡± he nodded, ¡°now let¡¯s head south-east¡± he said to his little skeletons.

    His undead crusade moved west through Lo before being destroyed, but Jay didn¡¯t move in the exact opposite direction (east) ¨C due to his growing paranoid nature, he thought that would simply be too obvious:

    Wouldn¡¯t it be smart to send your undead towards the west while you run east? Of course.

    But wouldn¡¯t the mage hunters assume that too? Probably.

    He guessed that the east would probably be searched next, if not at the same time.

    He decided not to summon the other skeletons just yet, as the less vegetation that was disturbed, the better. He didn¡¯t want to be tracked by hunters or a mage hunter equivalent to a hunter.

    The level one skeletons were lighter and smaller so they would be fine ¨C though one of them was covered with thick armour which made it slow and heavy.

    Jay regretfully decided to unsummon it and add its bones back to his gauntlet, only keeping the one he was training into a zweihander.

    At this moment, Jay decided to name them: Handy, and Heavy ¨C though he realised that he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep naming skeletons as he would not be able to remember all of them. Seven was already a lot to remember.

    Of course, he would never forget Blue, Red and Lamp.

    Sweeper? Meh.

    Dark was a special case.

    Perhaps these two would be thest ones to be named.

    Sure, he could name others but he felt that it would make his already-named one less special.

    As he looked in the distance he plotted his course.

    To the south was the tip of a long mountain range. It was like a natural barrier of sorts, travelling further south-west, and he knew he had to get around it as anything between the natural barrier and Lo would definitely be searched thoroughly. It was a wall trapping everything in, though also keeping many dangerous out of this region.

    Jay decided he would go towards it as quickly as he could, and eventually travel around the tip of the mountain range before continuing south. He could only hope that he would be fast enough.

    The skeleton was much faster so he gave it his sword and had it run ahead, clearing a path through the nts and trees ¨C of course, he made sure to tell it to only cut away vegetation when absolutely necessary. The less signs of someone moving through here, the better.

 Chapter 196 Trapped Noble

    ~Mirror Reality 34, teleport staging area #1~

    A grinning proud smile jumped through the portal with a sword ready to strike ¨C yet the smug smile was soon wiped off of Mathesons face.

    Matheson found himself in arge room with Lannister and Anya ¨C right before everything turned ck.

    Thest thing he saw was a confused look on Lannisters face; thest thing he heard was Anya saying ¡°What the f-¡±.

    Suddenly, reality twisted and bent, the world around him reverberated and waved wildly as he felt weightless for just a single moment.

    Next thing he realised was that everything turned ck and cold. His body was fine, just heavily disorientated.

    He almost fell over as he felt dizzy and was inplete darkness; the ground felt hard and coldpared to the forest.

    After he found his feet, he took out his luminous orb ¨C it was not very bright as he required Hodley to charge it with mana, and it hadn¡¯t been replenished in quite some time, but it was bright enough to see that he was in apletely sealed, cylindrical stone room.

    The roof was higher than he could see with his dismal light. There were no doors and no windows, but there was a faint cold air drifting in from above, so he at least could breathe, though it smelt stale and musky.

    There was nothing in the room except a small round stone which was inbuilt into part of the wall, along with a small hole on the opposite side of the room.<sub>.</sub>

    He furrowed his brows in anger as he looked around.

    He stashed his luminous orb back into his inventory to save its remaining charge and went to sit down on the round stone.

    ¡°Fucking Hodley.¡± he thought as he sat in the darkness.

    ?[0)??? It seems Hodley got some bad information or simply made a mistake. Either way, he med Hodley for his current circumstances.

    His captors didn¡¯t immediately execute him, so that was a good sign, and he decided to just wait ¨C though it wasn¡¯t like he had other options.

    ¡°Clearly they¡¯re not done with me. Not yet at least.¡± he thought.

    He had no bargaining chips other than his wealth and his noble status, but he himself didn¡¯t hold those in high regard as he pursued power instead.

    Slowly his anger was building, but instead of releasing it in a rage, he decided to channel it into a workout as he began doing pushups in the cold darkness.

    He had learnt to build himself up instead of tear everything else down ¨C not that there was anything to tear down in here anyway.<sub></sub>

    ¡°¡­the cold will feel nice soon.¡± he whispered to himself as his chest muscles began to squeeze.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Lo~

    With the signs of skeletons, the mage hunters quickly went to search the west forests of Lo ¨C that was the way the skeletons were heading after all.

    Lieutenant Marsh was wiping blood off his armour as he heard reports of skeletons in Lo, and a cunning smile grew on his face.

    He was already having a good day today, as many of the guards in the adventurer guild decided to rise up against him and his mage hunters, so they were cut down like grass.

    Quelling a revolt was enjoyable, however it was nothingpared to finding traces of the necromancer, and this was his opportunity for advancement through the ranks.

    After the situation was stable at the guild, he dashed down the hill and to the west side of Lo, finding the skeleton corpses as well as the mage hunter who yed them.

    He interviewed the mage hunter, wasting no time, and he soon found out some intriguing, or at least some strange information.<sub></sub>

    ¨C The skeletons were running out of Lo: what were they doing inside Lo anyway? Why would a necromancer put them in there only to have them run out again? Shouldn¡¯t they be attacking Lo if anything?

    ¨C The skeletons didn¡¯t attack anyone. Usually necromancers¡¯ skeletons would cull all the surroundingnds and collect bones for their master without rest.

    ¨C Some of the skeletons appeared to have armour but none of them carried weapons. This was unheard of. Their records stated that necromancer skeletons nearly always had weapons, but never armour.

    ¨C The skeletons were all at such a low level, and there were only five of them. The lowest skeletons ever recorded were in their thirties. It made no sense.

    ¨C The skeletons ran out of Lo shortly after the powerful mana fluctuation, which they were already familiar with: a sign of the variant rebellion. But were these events connected, and if so, how were they connected? Perhaps teleport magic somehow summoned undead?

    ¨C Then the most strange part was that one skeleton which turned around and stared at the mage hunter before it was summarily executed. Not normal undead behaviour at all. Marsh asked the soldier about this multiple times before he epted it.

    After lieutenant Marsh got every single piece of information out of the mage hunter, he sent the mage hunter back to the capital to be punished for not keeping a live specimen.

    Next, he had another soldier gather the bones into a pile and create a magic time-pause barrier around them, to protect them for analysister.

    Using an expensive long-distancemunication crystal, Marsh contacted hismander, who in turn contacted theirs, and eventually he received word that now there were seven thousand mage huntersing to Lo: a whole division.

    There were also two more divisionsing to search the entire region.

    With the standard procedurespleted, Marsh could now start his own investigation.

    He went back to the association and began to go over the facts, along with every other piece of information about Lo, with scrupulous attention to every little detail.

    Marsh was also known as the inquisitor after all, and he nned to live up to that name.

    Under hismand were currently four squads. He did initially send some to Tolgard, but he decided to keep most of his men with him.

    Currently he had one squad searching Lo, another searching the west, and another searching the south-west near the stink rat marsh for any other necromancy signs.

    Since the skeletons came from within Lo, there were likely to be traces of the necromancer somewhere in the small town.

    A fourth squad was with him in the guild, but at the moment they were mostly focused on removing dead bodies and making sure the building wasn¡¯t about to fall down; the revolt had caused serious structural damage.

    Even the timing of the guards¡¯ revolt seemed peculiar, and Marsh didn¡¯t believe that these events were separate or coincidental.

    Three big events happened all within an hour: The Lo guard revolt, the rebel mana signature, and the skeletons running out of town.

    He was sure they were connected somehow, and he believed it was just a matter of time before he found out.

    Suddenly a mage hunter entered the room and stood at attention.

    ¡°Report.¡± Marsh said in an annoyed tone, not even looking up from the paperwork and notes on his desk.

    ¡°The guards which didn¡¯t revolt have been relieved of their duties for the time being. We have control of Lo. Vdore survived the fight and is imprisoned but he wishes to leave urgently. All the other guild staff have been sent home, though there are some who lived here who we have relocated into tents in the courtyard.¡±

    Marsh looked across his notes for a moment and scratched his chin.

    ¡°Vdore¡­ he reported a thief right before this all happened,¡± he thought for a moment before he looked up from his notes.

    ¡°Why did Sullivan attack him?¡± Marsh asked.

    ¡°We will find out.¡± the mage hunter nodded, but before he could turn to leave, Marsh stopped him.

    ¡°Wait. I will find out for myself,¡± he grinned, ¡°I haven¡¯t used my tools in a while anyway.¡±

    Some timeter, screams began to ring out from the ruins of the association; Vdore¡¯s desperate screams.

    It wasn¡¯t long before they became coarse guttural screams that no longer even sounded human.

 Chapter 197 Flee Losla

    Jay was silently following and directing his little two-hander skeleton, Handy, through the forest.

    So far, he sensed the marks he ced on the mage hunters had gone west of Lo as well as back to the guild, but as he went further south it was harder to recognise where they were exactly. He went from knowing their exact location to having a vague sense of which direction they were in.

    Jay travelled as quickly as he could, jumping over logs, dashing across streams and hopping across moss-covered rocks as he came closer and closer to the tip of the mountain range.

    Thankfully, the vegetation was thinning out as he got closer, so his skeleton rarely had to cut open a path anymore.

    Jay was also d as it seemed that there were not many forest animals around to distract him or his skeleton, as they were probably scared off by therge mana wave from the stink-rat marsh.

    This made the journey quite uneventful, but it was perhaps for the best.

    It may not always be like this though, as there was the possibility that some aggressive creatures would be attracted to the mana pulse, so Jay made the most of it as he covered as much ground as he could.

    *huff huff huff*

    Jay''s energy dwindled and signs of fatigue began to show themselves.

    It seemed the mountain range was much further away than he initially thought.

    He sat down for a moment as he waited for his energy to replenish. His new skeleton, Handy, came and stood before him as it waited for new orders.<sub>.</sub>

    Jay waited for his energy to recover for a moment but he soon got an idea.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ the skeletons have infinite energy¡­¡± his lips curled into a mischievous smile.

    Jay immediately began to put his skeleton to work.

    The skeleton responded to Jay''s thoughts as it went away to begin cutting some small trees ¨C though with one requirement: they had to be long and straight, and about the width of a sword handle.

    In the meantime, Jay summoned his other skeletons.

    Blue, Red, Lamp, Dark, Heavy and Sweeper popped up from the pile of bones, ready to serve their master.

    Jay felt a little more at ease now that his skeletons were around. Previously he almost felt like he was being watched, but there was a sense of safety in numbers.

    Somehow, it felt like his skeletons brought a sense of warmth to him.

    As Handy chopped the small trees down, a t cut was left on the remaining part of the tree. It would be much too obvious that this was a human¡¯s work, and this is one reason why the skeletons were summoned.

    Jay felt a little uneasy making his skeletons do this, but one by one, each of them got down onto their knees and, non-sexually, chewed on the cut-marks.<sub></sub>

    The skeletons¡¯ partly tooth filled skulls were perfect as now it simply looked like the trees had been roughly chewed and destroyed by some wild animal.

    The only ones spared from this duty were Heavy and Handy.

    Handy was spared because it was busy chopping, and Heavy because it was collecting the chopped down trees to bring to Jay.

    Jay changed back into his Molodus coat, feeling much morefortable as he slipped it on. The coat seemed to adjust itself as it greeted his body once more; almost like it was d to be home.

    Jay ripped up his old cloak into long strands and created two piles of small trees.

    Soon enough there was enough wood for Jay''s purposes, so he had Handy and Heavye back to assist him; he had them remove the extra branches and leaves until they resembled long sticks.

    Next, he tied the long strands of ripped up cloak around two bundles of sticks, forming what was like two long make-shift beams.

    Finally, Jay pulled out his chair from his inventory and ced it on top of the two long pseudo beams, before sitting in the chair himself.

    For a moment he simply sat there as he waited for his other skeletons to finish gnawing on the wood stems.

    As he waited, he added the extra bones from the summoning pile back into his ring, but he grabbed just enough to craft an ossein sword and held them on hisp for a moment.<sub></sub>

    The skeletons finallypleted their task and they marched back; each of them had wood splinters, twigs and leaves stuck in their teeth; their jaws stained with a green colour.

    Jay felt sort of bad for doing it, but he couldn''t afford to waste anymore time.

    ¡°Quick.¡± Jay said as he gave them more orders mentally.

    Three of them lined up on either side of the chair and picked up the wooden beams, lifting the chair and Jay along with it. This was the second reason why the skeletons were summoned.

    Jay felt quite royal at this moment, sitting on his throne carried by his loyal troops.

    ¡°Go.¡± he smiled.

    Each of them began marching slowly. They had to remain slow because they almost dropped Jay a few times, but after a while it seemed that they got used to it and could travel at walking speed while carrying Jay smoothly.

    Since the skeletons were lighter than Jay, and all six of them were dispersing his weight between them, they actually left weaker imprints in the dirt and leaves on the forest floor ¨C though the same couldn''t be said about Heavy.

    Heavy had reced Handy as the vegetation clearer, as carrying all its armour and Jay would have made things quite difficult.

    As Jay grew more confident in his skeletons and the ride became more stable, he began to craft weapons while sitting in his chair with the bones in hisp.

    After crafting a level three ossein swordst time, it seemed that his ss remembered it and he didn''t have to concentrate as much. This helped a lot due to the slight bouncing motion while he was on the throne.

    ¡°One down¡­¡± he looked around at his skeletons, ¡°four more to go.¡±

    ¡°¡­and three daggers.¡± he nced at Dark and Heavy.

    As Jay watched Heavy, he realised he also had to make another shield for it too. He was a little dissatisfied, as unlike the armour, the shield didn''t stay with its body when it died

    Jay started with a dagger for Heavy next, as he also didn''t want to let the armoured skeleton dual-wield the ossein sword for too long and possibly influence its future role choices.

    During the journey there was some rougher terrain: streams and steep walls of dirt, so Jay was forced to hop off the throne so they could continue their journey smoothly.

    This strategy continued for hours, andpared to other adventurers his level, his speed through the forests was unimaginable.

    Not only would a normal adventurer have to stop to rest, but they would also be losing energy by constantly shing at the vegetation ¨C not to mention, the skeletons were even getting faster while carrying Jay.

    They started at a slow walk, but after repetitive practice in thest few hours, they could travel at jogging speed now.

    Unfortunately, jogging speed was as fast as the heavy armoured skeleton could move, and was simply too slow, so this would be their max speed for now.

    Jay didn''t mind though.

    There was still the option of unsummoning Heavy, but then he would have to cut the vegetation and resummon the skeleton when he was tired. It would be a waste of mana and may not even be much faster.

    Besides, the marks he left on the mage hunters were so far away now that it seemed like they had merged into one.

    The tension of escaping was beginning to wane, and he felt like he had seeded ¨C but still, he kept his skeletons marching forward.

    The sun was setting and in only a few moments it turned dark; the thick leaf canopy above blotted out the remains of sunlight scraping across the sky ¨C but Jay kept his minions marching forward as the darkness didn''t matter to them anyway.

    Due to their [Shade Vision] they could easily spot a root or a rock in daylight or night time, so there was little chance of tripping over.

    Still, Jay felt uneasy as his skeletons continued to jog through the forest since he couldn''t even see the ground anymore. He had to learn to trust them.

    As they got closer to the base of the mountain range, the throne was slowly tilting backwards ¨Cbined with the darkness and gentle bouncing, it only served to make Jay feel more rxed.

    His eyelids were getting heavier and began closing, and he tried to snap out of it a few times but it was a losing battle.

    ¡°Wake me up if something happens or if I need to get off,¡± he said to Blue.

    Jay didn''t n to sleep but this was just a precaution.

    Suddenly, as thest traces of light left the sky and the forest was drowned in pitch ckness, a howl sounded in the forest.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Jay thought as he looked around ¨C yet he couldn''t see anything and he snapped out of his sleepiness.

    More howls sounded out until it became a chorus of howling sounds, almost like they wereing from all around him.

 Chapter 198 Howling in the Night

    Jay wasn¡¯t sure what creatures were in the forest at night, but based on the howling, he assumed he was dealing with wolves. Probably de wolves.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡±

    He didn¡¯t know what level they were, but he was sure there were a lot of them because it sounded like they wereing from all around.

    There were two other problems too: one problem was that he had no clue how they had surrounded him so quickly ¨C it was like he somehow entered right into the middle of their territory.

    The second problem was that it wouldn¡¯t only slow his speed to a halt, but if there was a fight, then there would be traces of it left over for mage hunters in the future.

    Jay jumped off the throne and added the chair to his inventory again. For a moment he considered pulling out his luminous orb ¨C but wouldn¡¯t that be like a beacon for these nocturnal creatures?

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡± He pursed his lips as he thought about what to do.

    Jay remembered his skeletons could see perfectly in the dark, and now, he could use that skill too.

    He sat down on the ground and used his [Host] skill. It used quite a lot of mana but that was the least of his concerns right now.

    He wasn¡¯t looking for enemies, but for a spot to hide ¨C preferably high up in the trees.

    *Awoooo!~*

    The howls seemed to be getting closer as he looked around.

    Jay had to hurry.

    The trees near the mountain were skinny with not many branches, there was not enough time to climb up one. Due to the proximity to the mountain there were many rocks around though.

    ¡°That will have to do.¡± he frowned as he saw a boulder with a t top across the forest.

    It was about up to his shoulder, and a wolf would be able to jump onto it, but it was better than nothing.

    Jay ended his host skill and stood up as he held out his hand. He hadmanded a skeleton to lead him to the rock.

    The howls continued to sound out, and Jay prepared his skeletons, equipping them with their weapons which he re-crafted while on the throne.

    Everything was ready except for Heavy¡¯s shield.

    Reaching the rock, Jay felt around the edges and pulled himself up before he pulled bones out of his ring.

    In no time, hundreds of helvetian skeletons soon formed a rough barricade around the top of the rock, almost making it appear like a giant bird nest.

    If anything, Jay probably went overboard.

    This would at least block any wolves trying to jump up though, at least for a moment.

    Blue, Sweeper and Dark guarded three sides of the bone-nest, while Heavy and Handy, being level one, guarded the fourth side together.

    Jay had Red jump into the bone-nest with him; Red had the guard role after all and if a wolf got in, Jay would be helpless without any vision.

    Jay and his skeletons were ready, and they steeled themselves, quiet as they readied for battle.

    ¡°¡­something is different¡± he thought.

    It was too quiet.

    The howling noises all stopped.

    Suddenly a wave of air blew past Jay¡¯s ears.

    *SHring!~*

    ¡°SCRIII!¡±

    *Shring!~*

    [30 Exp]

    A sword swept right near Jay¡¯s ears as it ringed past; his cheek was sshed by something.

    A screech, and another sword swing, and he got an exp notification.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± he wiped his cheek, smelling iron.

    Blood was sshed on his face.

    ¡°Scriii!¡± Another shrill yell sounded ¨C yet it came from somewhere above.

    Jay panicked for a moment and ducked, holding deathwalkers sentry in the air.

    *Crrr~*

    *Shring!~*

    His shield was scraped, but Red shed back.

    Another pool of blood sshed onto the rock while something crashed into the bone nest.

    ¡°Scr!¡± ¨C *Stab*

    Its life was snuffed out mid-screech.

    [30 Exp]

    ¡°What the fuck is happening?¡±

    Under the shield, Jay got a moment to think.

    Whatever was attacking was dying in two hits, and it was only giving thirty exp.

    The assault continued and only grew more fierce, but it was for nothing as more of them died.

    [30 Exp] x 8

    More of the creatures helplessly died and fell onto the nest. Red was killing them all alone.

    ¡°Perhaps I overreacted a little.¡± Jay smiled to himself; the enemies were weaker than he expected ¨C much weaker.

    ¡°It seems the dungeons have really changed me¡­¡±

    Jay had Sweeper and Blue jump up into the bone nest with him ¨C Blue was there for extra protection.

    As for Sweeper, well, Jay needed a skeleton to [Host] to see what was going on ¨C but more importantly, what the enemies looked like.

    He was still hiding under his shield and protected by two skeletons, so he was safe.

    He used the [Host] skill, and as Jay peered through the skeletons¡¯ eyes, the world was visible again; everything was ck and white, but almost like it was daytime again. The world wasid bare before his gaze.

    Finally he could see the howling screeching beasts which were attacking him.

    ¡°So I was partly right about them being wolves¡­¡± he thought as he looked over a corpse.

    It was the size of a wolf, had a long furry body but no front legs.

    Tworge ck wings on each side of its body; one of them cut off from Red¡¯s attack.

    It was a giant bat with a wolf head, though unlike a bat, it also had a furry tail.

    Jay stopped wasting his mana and entered back into his own body.

    ¡°That exins why I was attacked first without the other skeletons fighting anything. Getting high up on this rock probably only made it easier for these flying bastards.¡±

    Jay ended the host skill and returned to his body. While Jay could have taken out the luminous orb, he reasoned that it might attract something worse, something stronger that he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill, so he opted to just wait it out and let the skeletons y them.

    In the meantime he had all the skeletons mber up the rock and hop into the nest with him.

    With nothing to do, he started to analyse in the direction of the screeches, hoping that his skill would work, and would at least give him the beast information even though he couldn¡¯t see them.

    After multiple tries, the beasts were dying before they could even reach him, but with nothing else to do he persevered and he finally got a notification.

    <[Perreton Wolf ¨C Level 2]>

    [Type ¨C Beast, Pack, Flying]

    [HP 15/15]

    [Damage]

    ¨C 2 (ws, shing)

    ¨C 4 (Jaws, Crushing)

    <[Skills]>

    [Expiration Scent]

    ¨C Smells targets breaths from long distances

    [Honing Call]

    ¨C Coordinates with the pack to find prey

    [Fire Weakness]

    ¨C Takes +25% damage from fire/heat based attacks

    <[Description]>

    [Digs itself into burrows underground, which it sleeps in during the day. At night it takes flight and hunts anything which may have wandered into its territory. Relies mainly on the scent of exhaled breaths to find its prey. ¡°See that shallow soil? We can¡¯t camp here tonight¡­¡±]

    ¡°Hmph, as I thought,¡± Jay smiled, ¡°a weak swarm beast.¡±

    Listening closely, Jay heard the multiple sounds of heavy pping between the screeching sounds; there were many enemies left in the sky.

    They were slow to attack and he even felt like they were wasting his time.

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s a shame the skeletons can¡¯t attack them in the sky. I need Anya here¡­¡±

    ¡°Or skeletons who can use bows¡­?¡± he thought, ¡°¡­ or mana crafting skeletons perhaps?¡± he thought, still hiding under his shield.

    Slowly though he began to smile, thinking of his skeletons using magic.

    After all, they had mana and could naturally craft their own weapons, so it wouldn¡¯t be a stretch for Jay to teach them a spell or two.

    Still he would need to learn a spell first.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ where is my helminth anyway¡­¡± he wondered for a moment,

    ¡°¡­ fuck. I left it outside of the association.¡± he shook his head with a smile, thinking he was quite silly.

    ¡°I guess I was distracted by fleeing Lo though.¡± he shrugged.

    Jay mentallymanded it toe back to him; he didn¡¯t want to resummon it as it used silt-wolf spines which were rare drops from the silt wolves, and he definitely wasn¡¯t going to find many of those out here, outside of the dungeon.

    Having the helminth dig its way to him was the only option.

    ¡°At least the helminth is fast,¡± he shrugged.

    Jay was not useful in this fight, and was feeling exhausted ¨C he could probably sleep standing up at this point, so he decided he may as well try to get some sleep.

    The screeching noises were mostly blocked out as he made some earplugs from crushed bondtussle root covered in more fabric from his torn-up cloak.

    Jaymanded Red to hold his shield over him and to not let anything disturb his sleep as he quickly dozed off, lying on top of his swag, in a bone-nest, amongst the perreton wolf corpses.

 Chapter 199 Decisions Linked

    ¡°Where the fuck is he!?¡± Lara yelled as she jumped through the portal.

    Her hands were ready to strangle someone, her eyes wide with anger.

    Anya didn¡¯t even hear her as she watched the portal close behind Lara with teary eyes ¨C she was cut off from the world; truly alone now.

    ¡°Just calm down. I sent him into a holding cell. We can see what Norgrim wants to do with him once we know what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Lara breathed and exhaled deeply a few times, her face still twisted in anger before marching to the exit and leaving.

    She was fuming with anger after what happened, and the mission was not the sess they nned it to be, but it was stillpleted nheless.

    Her job was done for now, but it was a blemish on her otherwise perfect record.

    Lannister sighed as he turned to Anya who was still teary-eyed and speechless, giving her a soft sympathetic smile.

    He took out amunication crystal and said, ¡°Evelyn, we¡¯re back ¨C earlier than expected. We¡¯re in area one¡­ I could use your help.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be there shortly.¡± a mature woman¡¯s voice sounded.

    Evelyn¡¯s official role at the third academy was to teach and train specifically in defensive techniques, though she also acted as a headmistress ¨C though for situations like these she was neither, instead, she would simply bepassionate and caring.

    Evelyn showed up after a few minutes and immediately looked concerned for the sobbing girl standing near Lannister.

    Looking around for Lara ¨C who was missing ¨C she said ¡°I take it things didn¡¯t go as nned.¡±

    Lannister averted his eyes, clearly disappointed.

    Evelyn walked over and said in a soft voice, ¡°Anya, it¡¯s nice to meet you. Come with me, I¡¯ll find you somewhere more private.¡± She put an arm around Anya¡¯s shoulder.

    Before leaving, Evelyn shed Lannister a serious look ¨C one which beckoned him to follow her.

    Lannister silently followed along. Norgrim¡¯s debriefing and the prisoner could wait.

    Besides, he knew what would happen next: They would have to locate Jay using a certain student¡¯s ability, and make another portal.

    ~Mirror Reality 34, Holding Cell~

    Mathesons body was sweating in the darkness.

    Despite having energy to continue exercising, his thoughts began to distract him from his workout.

    A sense of shame built in his mind that he had never really felt before.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ why did I jump through?¡±

    ¡°¡­one sniff of power and I revert straight back to my old ways.¡± Matheson gritted his teeth.

    ¡°Am I doomed to remain the same?¡±

    Anger built again and Matheson began punching the walls, creating cracking noises and causing his knuckles to bleed slightly.

    Somehow the pain felt good as he let his frustration out.

    After feeling sufficiently exhausted, he stopped punching the wall and whispered to himself, ¡°Did I even change at all? Can people even change themselves¡­?¡±

    He felt hollow inside as he stood silently in the darkness. His thoughts seemed to hold more weight as the cold air and sensory deprivation was therapeutic in a way.

    ¡°Changing myself isn¡¯t enough¡­ I need to die to my old ways¡­ my old self needs to die.¡± Slowly he nodded.

    After grasping this thought it slowly started to take over his mind, and soon enough it was what began to drive him forward.

    Somewhere in his chest, excitement began building and he began to gather his thoughts again.

    ¡°Matheson needs to die. Having noble blood has made me hold onto my weakness, a safety to jump back into¡­ But if Matheson is to die, then who am I?¡±

    Matheson realised that his noble roots were like having a sort of lifeline, and the power of simply being a noble waspeting with his own new self-made power.

    He realised he had to cut the life-line; he had to start anew ¨C to be reborn. At least mentally.

    It wasn¡¯t enough to change his course in life, but he had to seal the path behind him, only then would he rely on his own strength and grow it further.

    He sighed, ¡°Though perhaps it won¡¯t matter anyway¡­ they may just decide to execute me.¡±

    ~Lo Adventurer Guild~

    Marsh had just found out the truth about Jay after spending some ¡®quality time¡¯ with Vdore and his favourite tools.

    The news was shocking to say the least: A human necromancer exists.

    It sounded so far-fetched that he thought it was a lie at first, so he continued his vile practice on Vdore for much longer than it needed to have gone on for.

    ¡°Hested longer than I thought he would have,¡± Lieutenant Marsh said, cleaning the red traces left on his tools; as thorough with cleaning them as he was at extracting the information.

    Marsh had already reported the news to hismander as soon as he believed Vdore¡¯s information ¨C and then came more of his own investigation.

    So far, he had connected a few dots sessfully:

    ¨C Sullivan was sympathetic to variants, allowing a human necromancer to exist and grow.

    ¨C Vdore wanted the human necromancer for an experiment, which is why he reported Jay as a thief.

    ¨C The rebels hade to recruit the necromancer ¨C admittedly, Marsh wasn¡¯t sure how the rebels came to know of a human necromancer.

    While it was troublesome, it did mean that the country-wide search for the necromancer was over, and now it could be focused in the south-west regions of the kingdom.

    As for the news of a human necromancer, it seemed that it must have troubled the upper echelons as they sent another two divisions to the region, totalling five divisions ¨C 35,000 mage hunters.

    Clearly they wanted this problem dealt with before it grew bigger, and perhaps they feared a human holding grudges.

    As Marsh went back to his office he began to calmly go over the details and the timeline he had constructed of Jay.

    ¨C Jay was at the guild, and he left the guild, but Lo was quickly surrounded by mage hunters after the thief report, so how could he have left Lo? There was a possibility he went around Lo ¨C but then how did the skeletons get into the town in the first ce?

    ¨C The mage hunters left their posts ¨C surrounding Lo ¨C to investigate the signs of the variant rebels with his own approval. The rebels were a bigger threat than a petty thief anyway.

    ¨C The portal disappeared, and the skeletons appeared after it had shut. But why would the skeletons suddenly appear if the necromancer made it through the portal?

    There were some possibilities:

    ¨C Perhaps the portal teleported them far-west and the skeletons were running to rejoin their master: but that failed to exin the strange skeleton turning around.

    ¨C The necromancer was fucking with them for the sake of it.

    But in any event, the skeletons would have had to have been ced in the town, and he simply didn¡¯t believe that Jay, a human, had enough foresight to ce the skeletons there before he even visited the guild that day.

    Thest option remained: the necromancer didn¡¯t make it to the portal.

    The other oues seemed too improbable, and if the necromancer didn¡¯t make it to the portal, then Jay was either still in Lo or was running away at this very moment.

    Realising this, Marsh said, ¡°the skeletons were most likely a diversion¡­¡±

    He immediately got onto hismunication crystal.

    ¡°Surround Lo. No one leaves. Search the forest for any signs of life,¡± he quickly said, ¡°I want every building, basement and attic searched and everyone¡¯s ss checked. I want every barrel opened and every rock turned over for a dangerous fugitive: The name is Jay, Level nine ¨C and I want him alive.¡±

    Marsh looked back at his papers, realising there were only two level nine adventurers in this year¡¯s records: Jay and Anya.

    ¡°Such fast growth¡­¡± he red over the records, ¡°only people who are power-levelled are faster than this¡­¡±

    Little did he know that Jay was actually level twelve.

    ¡°Now¡­ if he did manage to escape Lo¡­¡±

    A number of scenarios ran through his head as he tried to ce himself in Jay¡¯s shoes and retrace his steps.

    ¡°The north and east were still surrounded at the time, so Jay either went west or south¡­ but the skeletons went west¡­¡± A devilish smile grew on his face.

    ¡°He may be strong, but he¡¯s not lucky. He failed to realise that only the south and west mage hunters left to investigate the rebels¡­¡±

    This was a theory ¨C but he thought it was more likely that Jay remained in Lo, so he decided not to send a whole squad through the south forests.

    He quickly added orders through hismunication crystal, ¡°Send five men to sweep the southern forests ¨C tell them to keep heading south until they find anything¡­ and post another man on each instantaneous dungeon entrance.¡±

    There was the possibility he was hiding in a dungeon too.

    As his ns were set into motion, Marsh¡¯s eyes gleamed with delight, as if he was looking over a treasure chest filled with skill scrolls that would give him unimaginable power.

    Catching a human necromancer would bring his status to unimaginable levels ¨C perhaps he may even taste the longevity elixir.

    ***Hope you enjoyed the mass release ¨C you can probably understand now why I wanted to release that part of the story at once; a lot of crazy things happened.

    Also I didn¡¯t ruin Matheson¡¯s development, it was intentional. Sometimes you need to take 1 step backwards to take 2 steps forward :).

    Some news: 15-chapter mass releaseing near end of month/start of next month (due to privilege chapters increasing from 5 to 20.)

    + Discord link below ¨C link expires in seven days. Only for privileged readers.

    /MxaPQG4d

 Chapter 200 Dream

    *Awooo!*

    Snarling wolves chased Jay through a ck forest, his heart pounding as he pulled himself through bushes and kept falling over roots and rocks; It was like they were trying to hold him back.

    He felt like the wolves were close to him, and at any moment they could snap their dooling jaws and crush his neck ¨C it would be his doom.

    Soon, the ck trees got thicker and the forest floor turned to mud, which only got slipperier, and the more he gave into this thought, the slower he seemed to be.

    Soon the trees became so thick that they formed a wall. There was no escape, he was done for.

    Turning around, he saw the wolves charging through the forest.

    The wolves were not normal by any means: all of them wererge, blue and translucent.

    Their tails all had blue strings attached to something, and as Jay¡¯s eyes followed these magical blue strings, he soon saw a tall jagged mountain with a giant blue diamond-shaped mana stone of some sort.

    It almost hurt Jay¡¯s eyes to look at it, and as he gazed, it seemed sentient as it shed a blinding blue light back into his eyes and caused him to flinch for a moment.

    Panicked, Jay tried to pull some bones out and summon his skeleton, but as he looked down, fear gripped his heart.

    There was no necrotic gauntlet ¨C not even his necrotic ring. Just his in old hand.

    He tried to release some of his necromancer mana from his hand, but nothing happened.

    ¡°My ss¡­ my power?¡± he looked at his hands in fear, which were beginning to shake.

    He was merely a butcher again. Weak and fragile. A nobody.

    The blue wolves were bounding over the forest with ease and were about to reach him.

    ¡°Blue! Red!¡± he panted, but to no answer. No one wasing to his aide.

    As the blue wolves closed in they opened their jaws on his head and just before snapping down, Jay was shocked awake.

    Jay sat up quickly as he woke up and lightly bumped his head against deathwalker¡¯s sentry, which was still being held over him by Red.

    *Huff huff huff*

    His breathing was rapid as he woke up in darkness.

    *Scr! ¨C Shring!~*

    [30 Exp]

    Another perreton wolf was in by his skeletons.

    His skeletons were still hard at work, and Jay despite the crazy dream, he felt relieved ¨C his skeletons had not abandoned him.

    ¡°What was that dream¡­ it felt so real¡­¡± he took a sip of water and gave himself some time.

    Jay suddenly felt d to be back with his skeletons. It was a horrible dream, but it showed him one thing, perhaps something he hadn¡¯t realised yet: He loved his undead minions, and perhaps even loved being a necromancer.

    As for the blue wolves and the shining blue crystal in his dream, he had no idea. Perhaps it was just a strange dream.

    At the moment it was still night time, and Jay wasn¡¯t sure how much time had actually passed since he went to sleep.

    It was still dark though, so he hadn¡¯t slept all night, but he guessed it may have been a few hours, as the sounds of wings pping from the perreton wolves had grown much quieter.

    Feeling refreshed, Jay decided that it was time to move. The perreton wolves weren¡¯t a threat to them, so he collected the barricade of bones around the top of the rock as he prepared his next steps. He didn¡¯t need to see the bones to collect them, as the necrotic gauntlet did all the work.

    Next he opened the exp notification from all the in perreton wolves, and used the loot skill.

    [2220 Exp]

    [Tooth] x 3

    [Soft Medium hide] x 2

    ¡°Huh?¡± Jay was confused ¨C there was so much exp but only a few drops.

    As he walked to the edge of the rock, his feet made some light ssh sounds as if there were pools of blood.

    Clearly many had been in, so where were all the bodies?

    ¡°Someone help me down.¡± hemanded as he held out his hand.

    Blue answered the call and dashed over to assist its master.

    Jay felt strange holding the skeleton¡¯s bony hand. It was like holding some cold wet sticks, though Jay would soon realise that they felt wet because of all the blood.

    For now though, the skeleton continued to lead him forward, though Jay was sure the rock ended here.

    He was curious, but decided to trust his skeleton anyway and felt around slowly with his foot.

    *Squelch~*

    Despite it being dark, Jay¡¯s eyes bulged as he felt like he took a step right into the stink-rat marsh.

    He connected the dots quickly as he just realised where all the dead wolves were hiding.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened¡± Jay frowned as he was forced to walk down a ramp of mutted wolf corpses.

    ¡°They simply threw the dead bodies over the side¡­ well, I guess I would have done the same.¡± he shrugged.

    *Shr-Shring!~*

    [30 Exp]

    Another perreton wolf was disassembled in mid-air, and by the sounds of it, itnded right on the pile.

    ¡°Excellent,¡± Jay smiled.

    He used his gauntlet and got to work, as he tenderly extracted all the bones from therge corpse pile.

    For a moment, his green mana gently lit up this part of the forest with a soft glow.

    It wasn¡¯t bright enough to attract anything, but Jay could see the outlines of the bones through the wolves flesh and so now he could easily walk himself around the rock and extract all of them without tripping over.

    What stood out to him was the colours of the wolves. He didn¡¯t see it before since the skeleton¡¯s vision had no colour, but their tails were pure white.

    Jay made sure to loot the wolves too, gaining forty more teeth and twenty hides, but it seemed that to get the white tails, he would have to physically remove them.

    Normally he wouldn¡¯t bother, but this time he made an exception.

    ¡°Oh, they look so soft¡­¡± he thought as he kneeled to touch one.

    It was just as he suspected ¨C they were unreasonably soft; so soft that it would have put royalty to shame.

    It would take some time to harvest them, but Jay just woke up from sleeping on his swag and really didn¡¯t want to do this for the next few months, or however long he would be in the wild. The swag wasfortable enough, but this was a better option, a far better option.

    ¡°You know what I want.¡± he said to his skeletons, and they responded to his thoughts.

    By now, each of them had followed Jay down from the rock and were still protecting him, but now only Blue stood next to him ¨C the others were harvesting the wolf tails.

    Now that the bones were extracted from the corpses, the skeletons each picked up the blubbery jelly-like hollow wolf bodies and began removing the tails.

    ¡°Try not to get blood on the tails.¡± Jay added.

    All he could hear were squelching squishing noises as the skeletons processed the corpses.

    Jay ignored the wet sounds though as he scratched his arm. He thought that he must have slept on his arm at an odd angle as it felt strangely itchy and tingly at the same time, so he spent some time scratching it as he waited.

    After a few moments, he heard the skeletons moving and returning to one spot so he assumed that must be the tail pile.

    ¡°Blue, lead me to the tails.¡± he held out his hand.

    Blue obediently brought him over, and Jay smiled as his hand lightly caressed the tails again.

    [Perreton Wolf Tail] x 6

    ¡°Ahh all mine¡± Jay smiled in delight, though wondered why he couldn¡¯t loot it from the wolf himself.

    ¡°It seems that I have to process some things before adding them to my inventory.¡±

    ¡°I wonder¡­ How is ¡®looting¡¯ and adding to inventory different?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±

    While looting and adding things to inventory resulted in the same thing, sometimes a looted item would simply appear as if out of thin air, while something added to the inventory already had to physically exist.

    Jay decided to test something. He got a tooth that he ¡®looted¡¯ and charged it with mana. He released some of his necrotic mana on his other hand and its soft glow helped him to see some of the movements in the sky.

    He was tempted to fling the tooth off into the sky, but decided it would be too loud so he quickly drained the mana back out and added the tooth to his inventory.

    ¡°Rip out a tooth¡± Jay said, pointing at the wolf corpses.

    Unfortunately, Jay had already extracted the skulls from the corpses ¨C the tooths along with them. He simply forgot.

    Blue however would not let its master down, and it decided to have Darke over ¨C Jay could sense it but he couldn¡¯t see anything so out of curiosity he let it continue.

    *Clink¡­ clink¡­ Crack!~*

    ¡°What are they doing¡­¡± he raised a brow, listening.

    Blue used the bottom of its sword and smashed it against Dark¡¯s jaws lightly ¨C then after seeing that it didn¡¯t work, Blue went from using 1% strength to 100% strength.

    The jaw cracked open and many teeth popped out. Jay was oblivious to the whole situation.

    Blue gently ced one tooth in Jay¡¯s open hand.

    ¡°Good.¡± he smiled.

    Jay attempted to charge the tooth with mana ¨C yet instead of the tooth filling up with mana like usual, it acted more like a bone and became soft and malleable.

    ¡°Huh¡­ so I only loot the teeth that are usable in spells¡­? Interesting¡­¡± he flicked the useless tooth away.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s why the tails didn¡¯t get looted ¨C but it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t use them for a future bed.¡±

    With all the looting and bone gatheringplete it was time to leave.

    Jay had another skeleton fetch the two wooden beams for his chair. The perreton wolves were still attacking, but they were more like annoying pests.

    The skeletons easily cut them down, and since most of the flying wolves had died, the attacks became more and more scarce.

    Jay set up his throne again and sat on it once more, feeling strangely euphoric. After the nightmare where he cried out for help from his skeletons, he now had them lifting him as if he were a king, and so now he felt a deeper affection for his skeletons than ever before.

    ¡°Onwards,¡± Jay pointed, a grin on his face.

    He knew which way to go as he still sensed the marks he left on the mage hunters in Lo ¨C he simply needed to head away from them.

    With everything gathered, looted and harvested, Jay left the pile of boneless, blubbering and drooping wolf corpses in his wake.

    After Jay made it some distance away, there were no more wolf attacks: The perreton wolves had a feastid out before them ¨C and with no bones.

    It was a free buffet.

    Jay smiled as he heard their screeches dying out behind him, d their sounds were getting quieter as he was carried harmlessly away.

    After the harvest, he got 73 tails in total, which was more than enough to make into a bed of sorts ¨C though now Jay had other things on his mind.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be getting past the mountain soon¡­ Once I get on the other side I¡¯ll keep going, but I should be rtively safe. I wonder what I¡¯ll find in the deeper forests¡­¡±

 Chapter 201 Committing 1

    As Jay was carried closer to the base of the mountain, he began to think about his next steps.

    He wasn¡¯t sure if he should simply just keep going south or stop by at another vige and try to pick up any supplies he could ¨C not that there were other viges further south of Lo.

    In one sense, Lo was on the very southern outskirts of the south-western region of the kingdom, so it meant that there would be no mage hunters waiting along the way, but on the other hand, any settlements would simply be small hamlets consisting of a handful of houses ¨C they wouldn¡¯t have much to offer anyway, not a name for their micro-viges.

    Jay made a decision, ¡°The safer option is to just keep going south. Besides, the sooner I go south, the faster I can set up some sort of camp or base.¡± he nodded resolutely.

    ¡°With the skeletons working full-time, It shouldn¡¯t take long to create some kind of clearing in the forest.¡±

    The sun was beginning toe up, and as he looked around, Jay realised he was already being carried around the base of the mountain on his throne.

    ¡°Stop.¡± he ordered, before jumping down.

    Looking around, he was now high up enough to see over the trees.

    For a moment he hesitated as he turned around and looked towards Lo.

    He didn¡¯t say anything, he simply looked. Jay expected to feel something as he gave his home onest nce, however, there were no emotions at all. No emotional outburst. Nothing. He was almost disappointed in a sense.

    He could see the small hill that the adventurer guild perched on ¨C though the guild looked so small now that it was like a brown dot on top of the hill.

    As for Lo, he couldn¡¯t even see it; its buildings were hidden beneath the trees and the rolling hills.

    Jay didn¡¯t notice as he journeyed, but the terrain was not t at all. The only signs of Lo were some plumes of smoke slowly trailing above it as people woke up and began to warm themselves by their firece or cooked their breakfast.

    An odd smile came across Jay¡¯s face as he remembered waking up in his warm bed, watching the elusive mist sheep in the field before getting up for the day.

    There may have been no memories of good people, but he still had some pleasant memories, albeit small and fleeting.

    Now, there was no warm bed. Jay was standing in the shadow of the mountain; a chilling wind blowing across his face as he red at Lo as if he were a war general plotting his attacks on the settlement, and he stood there cold for a moment, both physically and in spirit as the tails of his molodus coat lightly waved in the wind.

    With an exhale, he knew it was time to leave.

    He turned his back to Lo and began walking.

    ¡°Move out.¡± hemanded mentally, deciding not to break the silence.

    The skeletons carried the throne and followed their master.

    Jay didn¡¯t board his throne, but walked himself until Lo waspletely out of sight. He didn¡¯t understand why, but he felt like he had to do this part alone.

    As he walked around the mountain, he noticed something strange¡­

    On the other side of the mountain was a desert which seemed to follow along the back of the mountain range, continuing to his left and wrapping half-way around the base of the mountain, while it continued to follow along the side of the mountain range to the right for as far as he could see ¨C and from where he was looking, the mountain range seemed endless.

    It was odd to see though mostly because it only continued for a few hundred meters away from the mountain before the forest suddenly began again; it seemed almost like it was designed, as it was very unnatural to go from a sparse desert to a lush forest.

    Before crossing the desert, Jay decided to sit down and have some breakfast first ¨C thought it was really just some dried meat which he had to slowly chew his way through.

    ¡°Mmm delicious¡± Jay smiled, d that he could make more of it and have at least one creaturefort. He might be living in the wilderness for the time being, but he still knew how to make some good jerky.

    As he ate quietly, something began to happen in the desert sands. Movement.

    Before his eyes, some small ck points began slowly emerging from the desert sands.

    Jay stood up, prepared to flee or attack, but to his surprise, all the small ck points disappeared into the sand again as they responded to his motions, and it looked as if they were quickly sucked back down by something below.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he squinted.

    He waited for a moment, but nothing happened.

    Jay quietly sat back down again and kept watching ¨C he made sure all the skeletons stood still too.

    After a few moments, it began to happen again. The ck tips pushed their way out of the sand slowly.

    This time, Jay didn¡¯t do some much as breath while the ck points rose.

    Slowly as they poked out of the sand, it was only up to Jay¡¯s knee, then his hip, then soon enough it was much taller than him. About twice as tall.

    It was like a whole forest of these little ck points poked out, as they covered every part of the sand without leaving a single gap.

    At first they looked like triangle shapes, but soon enough, they revealed that they were actually arrow shaped. A white shaft with a triangr head.

    Suddenly, they all stopped growing. The next thing they did almost caused Jay to jump and choke on his breakfast.

    In an instant, all of them opened up like umbres and created a puff of wind around their bases, lightly blowing some sand around.

    They were like a field of mushrooms, but this was where the resemnce ended.

    Below them hung some strange tendrils with a thumb-sized red fruit at the bottom, hanging just above the sand but not quite touching it.

    Jay couldn¡¯t help but lick his lips as he saw the red luscious fruits, they seemed to be almost bursting with juices.

    Still, precaution was always necessary, and Jay waited and watched, but it seemed like these strange giant desert mushrooms were just happily absorbing the morning sunlight.

    ¡°Hm, ok then¡­¡± he shrugged, standing up.

    This time, the mushrooms didn¡¯t retreat back into the soil when he moved.

    ¡°Oh?¡± he squinted, ¡°Perhaps they¡¯re only fragile when they¡¯re rising up?¡± he guessed.

    Jay was about to send a skeleton in to investigate, but on the other side of the desert there was more movement. A de deer emerged from the thick, still-dark forest.

    Jay could tell the deer seemed startled and frightened as it panted. It paused for a moment as it saw the strange desert covered in giant mushrooms, but it quickly skipped right into the sand and began weaving through them.

    It nimbly hopped between the mushrooms, and soon, behind it there was movement. The shadows shifted as somethingrge appeared at the edge of a forest ¨C clearly, it was what made the deer so startled.

    Jay ducked behind a rock and kept watching as he saw therge green and red predator emerge ¨C but something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    Therge beast stopped at the edge of the sand, not daring to even step on it. Itsrge head looked down at the sand for a moment before it gazed hungrily at the de deer while glistening drool globbed off its jaws.

    The predator itself wasn¡¯t what caught Jay¡¯s attention though, but it was how it acted as it came to the edge of the forest and watched its prey.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay gazed, ¡°it won¡¯t step onto the sand? But why¡­¡±

    There was something sinister going on that even stopped a savage beast in its tracks.

    Jay could tell it was tempted though as itsrge wed paws thumped around the edge of the sand. It was barely holding itself back from charging into the desert.

    Suddenly, the deer, which was jumping between the mushrooms, was cooing and crying as something tugged on its fur and stopped it from getting further away.

    It¡¯s fatal mistake? It touched one of the red fruits.

    The red fruit didn¡¯t look sticky at a nce, but once it touched the deer¡¯s fur, it seemed like it burst and created a red patch on the fur ¨C though still connected to the hanging tendrils of the mushrooms.

    It pulled and pulled as its own skin was pulled tight, but it seemed like it wasn¡¯ting off no matter how hard it pulled. Jay thought the deers skin was more likely to rip away before its fur was free of the strange, sticky red fruit.

    The deer cooed and cried as it hopelessly tried to get free, but its struggle only made it jump around aimlessly in a panic ¨C but to its demise, it was only tangled up further as more and more red fruits stuck to its fur.

    Soon enough, so many were on its fur that it could barely move around as the tendrils of the mushrooms became like strong ropes anchored to its hide.

 Chapter 202 Committing 2

    Jay watched silently from the other side of the mushroom-covered desert as the helpless de deer was tangled up by the hanging red fruit of the mushrooms ¨C though he was mostly focused on therge grey predator chasing it.

    ¡°It could easily catch the deer now¡­ so why doesn¡¯t it want to touch the sand?¡±

    Jay wondered, but soon had an answer.

    Slowly, the deer was lifted into the air ¨C the tendrils attached to the fruit were being reeled into the mushroom caps.

    The deer whined as it was stretched and pulled tight between two of the mushroom caps, and as its body was pulled it began to make pitiful noises which sent shivers up Jay¡¯s spine, no longer even sounding like a deer.

    Jay watched on in horror as the worst slowly happened before his eyes. Some animals were barbaric but this was something else, it was uncaring brutality.

    Strangely¡­ a part of him, a deep dark part within the depths of his mind¡­ almost seemed to be excited.

    Jay shivered, pushing the strange excited feeling deeper, suppressing it before it grew and could possibly get him to agree with it.

    ¡°This could have been my fate.¡± he clenched his jaw.

    The deer squired as it was pulled tighter, and almost seemed to spasm for a moment, but something suddenly popped and dislocated under its fur.

    Next, the fur was ripped open, slowly and mercilessly. The deer was probably ¨C hopefully ¨C dead by now, so it would have been spared from this pain.

    After each mushroom cap had ripped the deer into two parts, it tucked the flesh under its cap.

    The mushrooms them folded back up and went back under the sand.

    Finally, silence. The beast stared at the side of the forest and Jay just stood there watching from the other side of the desert.

    He could only stand in awe as he looked at the numerous mushrooms covering the whole desert for as far as he could see.

    ¡°How many animals died to make a field this big¡­¡± he had a stern look as he gazed at them.

    Therge grey beast did a small grunt and returned to the forest. It seemed this had happened many times before and was simply used to it.

    ¡°Thankfully it didn¡¯t notice me¡­ though there is always a chance that it pretended not to notice me. It could simply be watching me from the depth of the forest.¡± he thought, still looking for any signs of moment.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just being paranoid¡­¡± he shrugged, ¡°anyway, time to test the red fruit.¡± he added.

    ¡°Well, who wants to go first?¡± Jay looked around at his skeletons.

    Of course, a sly smile came across his face as he looked towards Sweeper.

    Before sending Sweeper off into the mushroom field, Jay made sure to take its weapon from it. He didn¡¯t want to waste another.

    ¡°Go.¡± he smiled.

    After losing it weapon, Sweeper seemed to lower its head as it entered the field ¨C though Jay didn¡¯t leave it without options: he gave it a small stick which he snapped off a small withered bush.

    As Sweeper drew closer to the first mushroom it poked one of the red fruits with the stick it was given.

    Strangely the red fruit bounced harmlessly off the stick.

    ¡°Odd¡­¡± Jay thought, ¡°so maybe it can sense living from non-living?¡±

    Seeing no reaction, Sweeper then poked it with its undead bone finger.

    Jay couldn¡¯t tell before, but the fruit actually wasn¡¯t sticky ¨C it actually seemed to explode and cover whatever touched it in a red ooze which then seemed to grow rapidly grow across the bone finger, travelling up the hand and even reaching to the wrist of the skeleton.

    ¡°Wow, no wonder the deer couldn¡¯t escape.¡± Jay thought as he watched it.

    Jay had Sweeper try to sh at the tendril connecting to the fruit, but every time it swiped, it was like it slid across the tendrils harmlessly.

    Jay pragmatically sent Handy in to chop off Sweeper¡¯s hand. Despite having hundreds of thousands of skeletons, he didn¡¯t want to foolishly waste resources; something felt wrong about it.

    ¡°Ironically, when I was a butcher, I would save the meat and discard the bones¡­¡± Jay thought, as he watched Sweeper¡¯s hand getting chopped off with a smile.

    Soon though, his mind drifted to why he got a ss at all and how he had to flee Lo for his life.

    He silently stared into the wilderness as he looked over the desert, ¡°The wilderness won¡¯t hold me forever. I will be back some day¡­¡± he promised himself.

    Despite the skeleton hand being detached, the mushroom soon vanished under the soil again, iming its worthless prize.

    ¡°Hmm, but sticks are dead and so are bones. I don¡¯t see the difference¡­¡± Jay wondered, ¡°maybe the skeletons have a type of life force?¡±

    For some reason, the mushroom fruit had no interest in the wooden stick.

    ¡°Okay, test number two.¡± Jay said.

    Sweeper didn¡¯t nod, but it epted its orders as it rushed over the the mushrooms and stuck its vambrace onto one of the hanging red fruits.

    Simrly to before, it attached and grew onto the piece of the spectral armour in an erratic burst of life.

    ¡°So armour doesn¡¯t block it¡­? Somehow it senses through the armour.¡±

    Again, Sweeper had more of its arm chopped off, and was now a one-armed skeleton.

    Jay had it pick up a nearby rock and touch a red fruit to it, but there was no reaction.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay couldn¡¯t really make sense of it.

    The desert wrapped around the tip of the mountain range and kept going for a thousand meters, and as he was at the tip, he could have just walked around it as well ¨C however, after seeing therge grey beast he decided to look for some other options.

    As he looked along the mountain range, the mountains seemed to go on forever, as if they were an ancient mega wall designed to keep armies of giants out, and this strange slender desert followed along the side of it, seeming to go on forever too.

    ¡°While the perrton wolves were easy to kill, that didn¡¯t mean that the grey beast would be easy¡­¡±

    ¡°It seems like the mountain range and the desert mushrooms act like natural barriers against whatever beasts are in these forests, and must have been what made Lo safe for so long¡­¡±

    Jay gloomily stared into the dark forest.

    ¡°So basically, there¡¯s no telling what lies on the other side¡­¡± he continued to gaze into the dark forest.

    It seemed rtively calm, even peaceful, but in Jay¡¯s mind it felt like he was standing on the edge of an abyss and was about to jump in; anything could be waiting on the other side.

    Although it was quiet, he now felt like he stood out like a beacon and was probably even being watched by things in the forest at this very moment.

    There was no telling what level the beasts beyond the desert could be¡­ or even if they were simple beasts at all.

    There were other stronger nations which could have wiped Astrata out and made humans extinct, but they had to spend most of their military resources dedicated to holding back wild beasts, among other creatures imbued with dark magic or mana.

    Still, Astrata was not free from the endless assault of unknown creatures, ever wandering out of the wilds. There were even areas within Astrata called dead zones, where creatures imednd, and were either too powerful to remove or simply not worth their time.

    As Jay looked across the desert, he believed that he had until nightfall to make a choice, as it seemed that the mushroom retracted at night time.

    Sure, crossing the desert would be easy but he wanted to test out the strength of the beasts on the other side before making the journey.

    He was stepping into the unknown after all.

    As Jay looked around and thought about what to do, he noticed something under the mushrooms, moving in the sand.

    They were hard to see at first, but it seemed that there were some creatures lurking beneath the surface of the sand.

    Small bumps of sand rolled backwards and forwards between a crack in some rocks near the edge of the desert and the mushrooms.

    Looking closely, Jay saw that a small red fruit would be periodically plucked off and pulled under the sand before whatever it was picking them would slip back under the sand and enter the small crack between some rocks, leaving behind only a slight impression in the sand.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ they can pick the fruit?¡± Jay¡¯s lips curled as he watched these underground creatures, smelling an opportunity.

 Chapter 203 Rear Vanguard 1

    Jay watched the small creatures scutter under the sand and pluck the sticky fruit off the mushrooms.

    For whatever reason, they could safely detach the dangerous red fruits from the giant mushrooms, undoubtedly stashing them away somewhere for their future food source.

    With all of this in mind, Jay began to n his next steps.

    ¡°Weird little creatures¡­ Ok, I¡¯ll walk along the edge of the desert and then cross, sending the skeletons first. Hopefully I can avoid whatever that grey beast was¡­¡± he nodded,

    ¡°I''ll leave one skeleton here so it can alert me if the grey beast actually walks around the desert.¡±

    The skeleton which Jay chose to stay behind? The choice was obvious.

    ¡°Sweeper,¡± Jay pointed to arge rock, ¡°wait there and keep watch.¡±

    The poor skeleton slowly climbed up the rockface, having some trouble with its one arm. Jay decided not to let Sweeper eat bones to heal as it was going to be left behind to watch Jay''s tail. It would simply be a waste.

    ¡°Hmm, maybe I should make this a regr practice¡­ Sweeper can be like a rear-guard of sorts ¨C or at least an early warning system for when it dies¡­¡± he smiled, giving his arm a good scratch as it had been itching since he came closer to the desert.

    Sweeper had mbered on the rock and was looking around like a sentry.

    Jay sat back on his throne and was carried along the rocky slope between the desert and the mountains.

    After travelling for a few hours between the natural narrow passageway between the mountain and the desert, the air became quite dry.

    At this point, Jay''s arm was only getting itchier and he focused on trying not to scratch it through the molodus coat.

    ¡°It will only itch the more I scratch it¡± he thought, as annoyed as he was tempted.

    Thankfully, Jay noticed something to take his mind off it as his eyes drifted over the desert.

    ¡°Oh?¡± he raised a brow.

    The desert sands were shifting frantically as if it were made from water ¨C there was so much movement under the sand as it was thriving with more of these underground creatures.

    Previously there was only a few of them, but here, where the mushrooms were thick, there were seemingly hundreds, maybe even one thousand of the underground animals.

    They darted about erratically, harvesting the red mushroom fruits and even making the sand seem like a turbulent river.

    With so many around to catch, Jay decided it was time for a little hunt as he had the skeletons ce the throne down.

    ¡°Now''s as good as ever¡± he thought as he sent his skeletons off, still sitting casually on his throne.

    Each of them slinked off into the sand once more, their boney feet sinking into it. For a moment the skeletons simply stood there watching ¨C they weren''t sure how to go about catching something underground as they watched the little mounds and waves of moving sand pass by.

    ¡°It¡¯d be easier if the helminth was here¡­¡± Jay thought as he watched the hapless skeletons.

    After a while, the skeletons began shing and stabbing at the sand ¨C unfortunately the daggers simply weren''t long enough while the swords were too wide to prate deeply.

    The underground creatures were also going around the skeletons, avoiding them.

    As for shing through the sand, it went as well as one might expect. No creatures were harmed in the making of these orders.

    Jay was shaking his head as the skeletons continued anyway ¨C they were slowly digging a hole around themselves, only to be avoided even more by the underground creatures.

    Jay ignored them for a moment and pulled out a bone pile as he began crafting.

    His crafting choice? A spear ¨C four of them.

    The two handed weapon with a slender shaft will give themthe much needed pration power.

    Jay began crafting like usual, forming a long slender pice of molten bone.

    Contrary to his expectations, it required a great deal of concentration, as the molten bone kept wanting to form a spindle shape rather than a long cylinder; he also had to keep it straight while doing so.

    These two desirable qualities made it harder than a sword or even a shield to craft.

    After all, he had to keep the molten material suspended in mid air.

    Jay made it straight, but each time he did, the bone would pull back and blob to the centre. It was frustrating to say the least.

    The long shaft of the spear was made, and he held it up to his eyes as he looked along its length. He rotated it slowly and to his annoyance there were some wobbles as it wasn''t perfectly straight.

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡± Jay frowned, it was a small thing but he was a perfectionist when it came to crafting; he would keep trying until he did it right, and he began to channel his mana into it again ¨C though he had an idea to help fix the issue.

    To keep it straight, he kept it floating at eye level while making his mana swirl around it, spinning the spear as he looked down its length.

    Almost naturally the spear shaft began to straighten out on its own, while Jay simply had to squeeze out the centre ¨C using his mind of course.

    In a few moments it solidified and was done, and he had a long spear shaft.

    As for the spear head, he formed a thick triangr point, simr to an arrowhead but stretched longer like a needle.

    Jay didn''t want to simply kill the creatures under the sand, but to pull them out too, so he added some backwards pointing spikes to the bottom of the spearhead, simr to barbed fishing hooks.

    As for attaching the spearhead to the spear shaft, it was as easy as adding some extra bone, some mana, and holding them together. The products fused and became one, and the spear wasplete.

    Jay considered adding some hand grips, but decided it wasn''t worth his time. They would be going back into the forest soon, and the spears simply didn''t suit that cramped environment.

    With the spearplete, Jay analysed his grand design.

    [Bone Spear ¨C Level 1]

    [6 damage ¨C piercing]

    [5% chance to stagger]

    [Anti-charge ¨C 50-200% bonus damage when braced against charge. Depending on the speed of enemies.]

    [Anti-charge ¨C 50kg of stopping power]

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires necrotic essence to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 4 hours]

    As Jay went over the spear, he was surprised it was level one, though it was his first try. Now that he had the blueprint down in his mind, he could quickly improve it ¨C and as he thought, the next three spears he crafted were all level two, dealing seven damage and having a six percent chance to stagger enemies.

    Jay only crafted four spears; one for Blue, Red, Lamp and Handy.

    Sweeper would have received one too if it wasn''t quietly standing by a rock, alone and defenceless, keeping a lookout a few hours behind them.

    Jay handed the spears out and the skeletons soon got to work, stabbing the sand and thrusting their spears violently into it.

    In a matter of minutes, they had their first victim ¨C Right next to the shade of a mushroom, Lamp had managed to stab one of the creatures, violently piercing it in the sand. It squirmed and kicked up sand in pain.

    A muffled cooing sound came from the sand as it died before it was even pulled out.

    [6 Exp]

    Lamp heroically pulled its prize from the sand as it flopped lifelessly on the spear, gazing at it for a moment before bringing it to Jay.

    The creature was like a lizard, though it had no tail, and instead of having scales on its back, it had a leathery soft tortoise shell.

    Its paws had long slender ws which were all parallel and close together, however the most odd part about it was its head.

    The mouth of the creature opened sideways, and instead of having rows of sharp teeth, it simply had a beak. A weird sideways-opening beak.

    Jay thought it even looked like two hooves of a horse had been used to rece its teeth, jammed into its flesh without remorse.

    It¡¯s head had no eyes, and on each side of its head were four small holes which appeared to be its noses.

    Jay couldn''t see any other notable features, and it seemed that the creature relied mostly on smell to find its food.

    [6 Exp]

    Despite Jay having what he came for, the skeletons were as diligent as always as they killed more of the sand lizards.

    A few more cooing sounds resounded before he had mercy on them,

    ¡°¡­Ok, you can stop killing them now¡± Jay said, and the skeletons returned to his side. While it was easy exp, he didn¡¯t want to stop the lizards from removing all the red fruits for him; each mushroom having hundreds of then hanging, ready to trap its next victim. The lizards made a noticeable dent in the red fruits, but it was nowhere near close enough to creating a way across.

    However with a lizards guillotined head, there would be a way.

 Chapter 204 Rear Vanguard 2

    After anothermand, the skeletons retrieved their original weapons again and Jay had them perform another duty. A new one ¨C one they may someday be familiar with.

    Blue stood idly by as the other skeletons stretched the lizard carcass across a rock.

    Blue didn¡¯t do the dirty work itself, but had Dark do the dirty work in cutting off the creature¡¯s head.

    Such was Blue¡¯s nature to delegate tasks to others, and perhaps it would be Dark¡¯s nature to perform executions.

    Contrary to Jay¡¯s expectation, Dark¡¯s daggers were quickly inserted, piercing its skin with ease. A small ssh of blood sttered some of the mountain rocks, and with a circr twisting motion the head was separated.

    A headless tailless lizard body sat on the rock, blood streaming down, making it seem like a cultic ritual.

    With the head chopped off, Dark also carried out the next phase of the n: Use the head to go and pick off some of the red mushroom fruits.

    Jay stood up and walked closer to the sand, watching closely. He was counting on this working to cross the desert ¨C otherwise he would have to backtrack or keep walking along the endless mountain range, living off lizard meat and sending skeletons up the cliffs for ice.

    As the jaws of the dead lizard-like creature were mped onto the red fruit, it coincidentally didn¡¯t explode in an unnatural burst of growth ¨C something in the lizards saliva made the fruit harmlessly pop off.

    Jay nodded with a smile, seeing his ne to fruition, and d that he found a way across.

    Dark easily pulled the fruit off, using the lizards jaws as a sort of mp.

    ¡°Good.¡± Jay smiled.

    With that done, Dark dropped the fruit harmlessly onto the ground.

    ¡°Now¡­¡± Jay gazed closely at it, wondering what it tasted like¡­ tempted for just a moment.

    ¡­ ¡°No, resist the forbidden fruit.¡±

    Jay decided to have Lampe and grab the fruit to see if it was still active. He probably wouldn¡¯t eat it, but was simply curious. Mostly.

    Perhaps he may change his mind depending on what the fruit did.

    Lamp was here to serve its master, so without hesitation it grabbed the fruit.

    Suddenly, the fruit burst with juices, and like before, it had unnatural growth as it covered the skeleton¡¯s hand in a red growing mold which quickly became solid.

    ¡°Eugh¡­¡± Jay grimaced a little, imagining that happening in his throat or mouth.

    Needless to say being suffocated by a fruit would be a pretty pathetic way to die, especially after all the powerful monsters he had in.

    Jay pursed his lips with a shrug, ¡°Oh well.¡± His desire to eat it quickly died. Mostly.

    He then had another skeleton chop off Lamp¡¯s hand and gave it some extra bones to consume, then tried to extract the bones out of the solid red mold ¨C to no avail.

    It seems the fruit somehow grew right into the bones and melded with them.

    The mold-covered bones were as good as trash now, so Jay simply tossed it into the desert.

    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll need more fruit cutters.¡± Jay said as he had the skeletons begin to gather another two heads of the strange lizards and repeat the process ¨C the other lizards they killed previously couldn¡¯t be found, but thankfully there were plenty of these creatures around as they were still shifting the sands, so getting more wasn¡¯t a problem.

    It only took a few moments, and two more headless lizard bodies were covering the rocks with more blood, forming an eerie disy.

    Finding a mauled corpse in the wilderness was one thing but finding three headless bodies was something else ¨C it was either a sign of a dark ritual, or a message, and in both cases it meant one thing: Beware. Do not go this way.

    In the dry mountain air the blood dried quickly after the headless creatures were drained.

    Jay carried on happily however, oblivious to the greusome message he left behind.

    With three of these heads in total, he was ready to start cutting a way across the desert, but he still had one concern: were there enemies waiting for him on the other side, lurking in the forest?

    Feeling a little paranoid as he usually was, Jay decided to send his skeletons across the desert by themselves first while he waited on his throne which was set up on the side of the mountain.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t send Red either as he needed his guard. He also decided not to send Heavy across either as it would have a hard time dodging the red fruits in its thick armour, not to mention trudging through the sand where it would sink more deeply.

    The skeletons entered the desert, and before cutting they made it about thirty percent of the way across, weaving between mushrooms before they had to start cutting away the fruits. The mushrooms were more dense in the middle of the desert, and almost ovepped each other. They formed a curtain of hanging tendrils, each with a red fruit on the end.

    Unlike the mushrooms on the outside, near the forest and the mountain, the ones at the centre were also much taller, about thrice the size of the smallest ones, so Jay couldn¡¯t simply walk on top of them.

    He wouldn¡¯t have trusted them anyway. If they decided to fold up and he touched a fruit, it would either result in a painful amputation or death.

    The hidden carnivorous nature of the mushrooms couldn¡¯t be understated. In the depths of the sands were an untold number of skeletons, and more were added to their number each day. They had imed a multitude of souls, luring creatures in with their sulent-looking fruit, and had covered the desert for as far as Jay could see.

    Cutting away the fruit was a slow process as the skeletons only had three lizard heads, and there were hundreds of the red fruit on each mushroom ¨C though they would only need to remove the ones around the outside of each mushroom and slip by at least.

    Jay would have made more skeletons cut the fruit away, but he wanted some to be lookouts and remain vignt for threats.

    As Jay watched, he began to remember when he first came to the desert, and when the sun rose, the mushrooms slowly rose too, revealing themselves from the sand. When he first saw them, they responded to his movement and hid themselves in the sand, but after they opened they seemed to not care.

    ¡°Maybe the tops are the weak point?¡± he scratched his chin, looking across the desert.

    Testing his theory, he had a skeleton jump onto a mushroom to stab it. He had nothing else to do anyway.

    Red stood next to a mushroom and helped Dark to stand up; a rtively easy process.

    Once Dark was on top, it carried out its mission: stab the mushroom mercilessly.

    *Clink!~*

    After the first strike, all three of them realised it was poontless: the top was as hard as stone ¨C perhaps even harder since the dagger helplessly bounce off.

    ¡°Damn. It was worth a try. I guess it solidified in the sunlight.¡± He shrugged.

    Another thing Jay was curious about was where the underground lizards were taking all the mushroom fruits, and, what were they doing with them?

    Seeing therge quantities of fruit being harvested, he began to doubt it was merely being stored as food.

    Dark jumped off the mushroom and followed the lizard trails back to another rocky burrow.

    The sand was filled with more pebbles here and it seemed that it made it harder to dig through, and once the creatures were inside the burrow, they walked on top of the earth, assuming they were safe.

    Unfortunately, the burrow was too dark to see inside, but it was no problem for the eyes of the undead. Jay used the [Host] skill as Dark crawled onto its knees and peered inside.

    As soon as Jay peered into the darkness he regretted his decision.

    Immediately, Jay wished he hadn¡¯t seen this greusome sight.

    There was arger creature inside, simr to the lizard-like ones except without any arms or legs. It seemed more like a slug. Pulsing along its body were puss-filled sacks of white and red, while it crunched on some vile secretion. This lizard had a tail though; it was pumping as it was in peristalsis, and finally arge egg was squeezed out of its fleshy tail.

    Of course, it still had the side-ways jaws with multiple small noses on either side, so it was rted to the lizards in some way.

    Compared to the others though, it was many timesrger. It probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to leave this rocky burrow. The smaller lizards, if rolled into a ball, were about the size of human babies ¨C though this thing was about the size of a plump cow.

    Itidzily on its bloated belly as its jaws slowly opened and closed with drool as it waited for its next snack.

    But what was it waiting for? The red fruit?

    If only it were that simple.

    Eating the red fruit by themselves was impossible, even for these lizards.

    Before it, as if it was some kind of show or spectacle, or even a barbaric ritual, a smaller lizard waited. Shivering before its maker.

    Meanwhile, many other lizards were bringing the red fruits into the cave, however there was no stockpile here ¨C only the shivering lizard in the middleand the fat queen slug.

    One by one, a red fruit was brought to the smaller lizard, and ced on its body. The red fruits would burst and send a growth of red solid mould over its skin as the creature cooed and twitched helplessly from the pain.

    The other lizards worked quickly as they added more fruit, and in no time, the creature slowly began to resemble a red rock as all of its body was covered.

    The lizard died but the vile fruit was ready to consume, seasoned with blood.

    Jay thought it seemed almost like an evil ritual or perhaps some witches spell, but as he watched on, he realised it was quite different, although just as wretched.

    Therge bloated lizard rolled forward, and after a few sniffs, it began to mp its jaws onto the red rock and break off chunks.

    This was the most grotesque part, as the red fruit rock had a soft inner core: lizard flesh. Sometimes the red rock would tear away chunks of flesh with it; as it shattered, so did the creature it encased.

    While the queen was feeding, the other lizards would covertly crawl up to her with their mouths open ¨C the puss filled sacks on the queen would grow and burst on their faces, their open jaws receiving a snack as well as a thick coating of the disgusting sticky liquid.

    Jay had seen enough. He ended the host skill with a disgusted look on his face, holding back the urge to vomit.

    He folded his arms and looked back at the skeletons in the desert, and said ¡°I should have just sat here and watched the skeletons¡­ some things cannot be unseen¡­¡± he shivered for a moment as he instantly recalled it.

    ¡°I just had to have a damn look¡­¡± He shook his head.

    Shortly after, his eyes drifted back to the skittering movements of sand going in and out of the burrows all along the desert; a shiver trailing up his spine.

    ¡°How many of these fucking things are there?

 Chapter 205 Approaching Threat 1

    ~North of Jay, Southern Lo Forests~

    A mage hunter was standing near a bloody rock, using amunication crystal, he was rying information back to hismander.

    The rock itself seemed to be practically drowned in blood, as if a titan had slit its wrist and drained it¡¯s life out onto it.

    The mage hunter couldn¡¯t help but stare at it as held the crystal.

    This was a lone mage hunter from a group of five, as the others had split off in different directions as they searched the south and south-east areas of the Lo forests.

    As a mage hunter, he had seen his fair share of blood from ying monsters in dungeons himself, some dungeons filled with rivers of blood after armies of soldiers, mage hunters and adventurers worked together to conquer them ¨C but outside of dungeons, it was unusual to see such a greusome disy of death, and to anyone else ¨C anyone but a mage hunter ¨C it would have made them ufortable, to say the least.

    Combined with the eerie quietness of the surrounding woods, it would have made anyone feel a little tense.

    There was something about knowing that you would soon leave a dungeon which left all anxiety about it behind. The horrors within couldn¡¯t leave. You could sleep with a sense of safety.

    Of course the outside world had its fair share of horrors, but were much rarer, and it seemed he had stumbled across one¡­

    ¡°Number two reporting. I found arge t rock surrounded and covered in pools of blood. No corpses or tracks away from it. Just blood. Too much blood. Still liquid.¡±

    Another gruff voice responded a momentter, ¡°Continue scouting. Proceed southward as nned.¡±

    ¡°Acknowledged.¡± he stashed the crystal away and kept heading towards his target: the tip of the mountain range.

    Before leaving however he noticed a strange white stone on the ground; easy to see against the dark grey rocks around.

    Picking it up, it looked almost like it was melted.

    ¡°Strange¡­¡± He thought, flicking it away.

    It was too small to report, so number two continued on his journey.

    As a mage hunger, number two knew they were searching for a necromancer and knew it would require a squad of them to even hold its minions back ¨C however, they now knew it was a human, and only around level nine at that.

    Number two had been sincemanded to only capture Jay, however, idents happened sometimes.

    Unknown to anyone else, perhaps even himself, number two was jealous of Jay.

    Some random peasant in a poor town in the middle of nowhere got a ss so strong that it forced him and the other mage hunters to leave the luxurious capital city of Astrata, and not only that, but now he had to march around aimlessly, alone in the wilderness?

    His pride had never been so damaged.

    He longed to march around the capital where peasants looked at him with both fear, awe, and hope.

    Still, this pride is one of the qualities which made him a good mage hunter, pushing himself to act lofty and mighty, and to be stronger.

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t kill Jay ¨C he had his own neck to look out for, and it seemed they were now intent on capturing him.

    A necromancer had one weakness, and that was when it was separated from its skeletons.

    Apparently the upper ranks hoped to control it ¨C to control Jay.

    There were no other questions orments from hismander, so he kept marching onward. It seems that the other four mage hunters tasked to search the south must have found their own oddities of nature.

    This wasn¡¯t too surprising though, as peculiar things were amon urrence in the untamed, wild parts of the kingdom.

    Little did he know that other mage hunters found more intriguing things such as an abandoned vige covered with slime; another found a small hunter¡¯s shack covered in ws marks, with a hidden basement that was filled with bird skulls and pentagrams among other unknown symbols painted with blood and urine ¨C so number two¡¯s findings were low on the list of priorities.

    With a sigh he kept moving, as it was his duty.

    Compared to the insanely fast running speed with which these ck armoured hunters were running through Lo, he could only travel long distances at a swift walking speed.

    The armour itself was powered by the mage hunter¡¯s own mana, and the faster he travelled the quicker it would burn.

    Sure, he could travel a few hundred meters in seconds, but half of his mana would be used up. A sprightly walking speed was optimal, as it used up as much mana as he regenerated.

    Compared to a normal soldier however, it was still an unimaginable speed to travel at; his energy consumption was also kept to a low level, while he could simply walk right through the vegetation as if it didn¡¯t exist.

    Most variants simply couldn¡¯t escape, not due to their power or skills, but due to their slow travel speed.

    Essentially, they had unimaginable endurance. It was only a matter of time before they caught Jay.

    Or so they thought.

    Jay was no normal variant. Not only did his skeletons carry him, he used no mana or energy doing so. He even travelled while sleeping as he was carried at a jogging speed by his undead escort,fortably sitting on his throne.

    Their only hope of catching him now was if he decided to slow down¡­

    Otherwise, the mage hunters would need to resort to more drastic measures to neutralize this threat.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Eevulen, The Lofty Pig~

    Eevlen, a regional trade hub city north of Tolgard, which was north of Lo.

    The lofty pig was a tavern in the poorer side of Eevulen, a little degraded over time, but it still stood, managing to somehow draw in customers.

    The customers, however, were questionable to say the least, as the lofty pig was unofficially where the miscreants of the city came to drink and plot.

    The pub was favoured by the miscreants for two reasons: the owner kicked out eavesdroppers, hating them for some reason to do with a treasure, and he really didn¡¯t care how drunk people got ¨C as long as they could pay.

    Hushed conversations, gossip and paranoid squinting stares always filled the old tavern, giving in a quiet but tense atmosphere ¨C though it was relieved by the asional drunk who somehow always had enough money to drink, even during the daytime.

    Many would drown their sorrows in drinks, wether they be thest surviving member of their party, rejected from others, tired of fighting, or simply wish to escape some far too vivid memories.

    Three adventurers sat at a table ¨C two of them were fresh, having only touched a mana conduit this year, while the third had be a mentor of sorts, as they had received their ss in the previous year.

    While two of them were fresh, they were considered high level for their age as they were level fifteen ¨C this was thanks to their ¡®mentor¡¯ power levelling them in dungeons.

    So far, it was an easy ride for them, but they also had to repay their monitor by helping with other tasks in exchange: bounty hunting, debt collection, information gathering, and distribution of some questionable substances and items.

    Vanderby, the mentor, was hiding a greedy grin behind a stern expression.

    Vanderby whispered, ¡°Three hundred thousand gold, and for a level nine adventurer. We¡¯d be stupid not to go for it¡­ besides, I heard there are more mage huntersing. We have to move now or forget about it.¡±

    One of the fresh adventurers wore a slight frown, ¡°Van, I don¡¯t know about this one¡­ We¡¯ll have to go through Tolgard¡­¡± his face slightly scrunched up in disgust.

    ¡°Rx, Linc. We can just walk around Tolgard if we get enough supplies.¡± Vanderby said, looking out of the window.

    Gazing further up the street was the vendor area, filled with glistening gold covered merchants buying and selling.

    A certain fat merchant was grinning as he set up multiple booths for the iing divisions of mage hunters, making sure his stores were all well stocked.

    While he did give a fifty percent discount to the mage hunters he had also doubled the prices on everything, making young adventurers like the three of them a little more desperate than they usually were.

    The other fresh adventurer followed his gaze before she spoke up,

    ¡°How about we just hunt along the way. It¡¯ll take more time but we¡¯ll save money at least.¡± a dark-hair girl suggested.

    Vanderby scoffed, ¡°Who cares about money? Once we catch this guy we¡¯ll never have to work again. We could probably even afford a house in the capital ¨C at least on the outskirts anyway.¡±

    The girl, Estra, pursed her lips, shrugging as she went back to her drink. She knew what Vanderby was like ¨C once he had an idea, he stuck to it. There was no talking him out of it.

    ¡°Besides, with your ability, we have a good chance.¡± Van smiled at her, ¡°and if we catch him alive, the reward is double.¡± he added, whispering a little louder.

    Linc looked around, making sure no one else was listening in before whispering again, ¡°What do you think our chances are?¡±

    Vanderby looked at Estra for a moment, and with a cunning smile he leant closer, ¡°Thirty percent.¡± he said with a nod.

    Linc pulled his head back as if he just heard something crazy,

    ¡°Thirty? Only fucking thirty?¡±

    Vanderby shrugged, ¡°Look, it¡¯s still a pretty good chance¡­ almost one in three, and It could change our lives forever. Plus, with her skill I really like our chances.¡± he said, trying to sound reasonable.

    Linc shook his head, though with a sly smile he looked up at Vanderby.

    ¡°You¡¯ll owe us if this doesn¡¯t work out?¡±

    Vanderby smiled, seeing that they were in agreement ¨C at least in his own mind they were.

    ¡°Of course.¡± he shrugged, finishing his drink, ¡°But I won¡¯t need to because it will work out.¡±

 Chapter 206 Approaching Threat 2

    ~Eevulen~

    Vanderby, Linc and Estra set out on their journey towards Lo.

    Their supplies were half-filled so they could maintain a moderate pace, though if they saw any animals crossing their paths it would certainly be their next meal.

    ¡°So what do you think he did? To attract a bounty thisrge?¡± Linc asked.

    Vanderby answered, ¡°No clue. Someone that far out probably has zero chance of offending a royal; most of them have probably never even heard of Eevulen.¡±

    ¡°Whatever it is, I don¡¯t want to know.¡± Estra said.

    As they walked out of Eevulen, they noted many others buying supplies despite the high prices. Obviously, other hopeful young adventurers had the same idea.

    A normal bounty would only be a few thousand gold at most ¨C it depended who they pissed off ¨C but even then, they were to be brought in alive, which raised the difficulty of such missions. The bounty would also, usually, be quite a high level.

    This however was a unique opportunity.

    With three hundred thousand gold on the line for the dead body of a level nine adventurer, it was needless to say that the bounty hunters were now like flies to dog shit as they swarmed towards Lo.

    Even parties of fresh adventurers with no bounty experience were teaming up and taking their chances, and the path towards Tolgard would be more degraded than ever after they all passed through.

    Vanderby¡¯s group had a head start though, as Eevulen was considerably closer to Lo than many of the other cities in Astrata.

    Countless groups departed Eevulen and some of them only had a few meters between the other groups as they marched along the road. Others didn¡¯t bother with walking and simply flew using their magic.

    There was even one group which travelled in a stone house which somehow sat on top of arge, rolling boulder.

    Still, Vanderby was smiling, as he had a better chance than all of them, and that was due to one person: Estra.

    Estra¡¯s ss was unusual to say the least. After it was discovered by the local adventurer guild, she was locked away, but after some discussion and a few interviews, they came to the conclusion that she wasn¡¯t dangerous enough to be ssified as a variant.

    After a few days passed, she left the guild, still as a level one ¨C but by then, she was simply too far behind, and with her unusual abilities no one would bring her into their party; she was dead weight.

    Her only option was to join these two. Coincidentally, her only ability, which was useless in dungeons was quite practical in the real world; of course, she had gained more abilities since levelling up.

    As for the ability which would help them find Jay?

    <[Heart Trace]>

    [- You miss your beloved; you long for their embrace and to listen for their heartbeats once more.]

    [- Requirements not met.]

    As for the requirements, she already found that out the day after receiving the skill ¨C she merely had to sleep in the bed of her ¡®lover¡¯, though this could be any bed at all.

    When she woke up, she would have a list of names to choose from ¨C those whom she could choose to heart trace.

    After that, all she needed was some quiet, and she would be able to hear a gentle heartbeat in whatever direction her ¡®lover¡¯ was in.

    Still, she would need to sleep in Jay¡¯s bed for this to work, and first they would have to get to Lo.

    A few times, this skill revealed some more opportunities as well, such as when a name of a ¡®righteous¡¯ young noble¡¯s name would appear in the bed of an ¡®entertainment¡¯ house.

    This strange skill was their edge over others ¨C others who would have to rely on information gathering, basic tracking skills and either heat, life or blood-based mana pulses.

    All of which were time consuming and tiring.

    The mage hunters used thetter, relying on the variants body warmth, life energy or blood, revealing anything with either of these on a spell-linked map.

    However, it had its drawbacks, as these couldn¡¯t distinguish between human, monster or animal alike, and in the wild Lon forests which were brimming with life, there would be thousands of signals to track.

    This also required a specific magic type, and in Lieutenant Marsh¡¯s small party there were not any men who even had much skill with magic. They were low ranking soldiers who had melee sses. Most of them only used mana to power their armour.

    The mage hunters armour shielded them from such tracking, however the approaching hoards of adventurers and bounty huntersing to search the forests would only make the forests fill up with even more signs of life, making tracking more difficult.

    Thankfully they didn¡¯t have to execute anyone, but could simply mark off a signal from their map once they realized it was a person or harmless animal.

    ~Lo~

    Lo was still locked down as the mage hunters conducted their door to door search.

    No one could stop them ¨C not only due to the authority of the mage hunters, but physically were much stronger, and if anyone tried to resist it would result in an instant execution.

    A few knocks on the door and one would have to open it, otherwise the door would be smashed to pieces; the mage hunters were simply upromising in their duties.

    Plus, many enjoyed the twisted feeling of power that came from frightening the weak.

    The Lo residents were tense and angry, as game hunters weren¡¯t allowed to leave. There was no one bringing fresh food back from the forests.

    It was spring, so there wasn¡¯t much to forage anyway, but having no meat still had an impact. Stored provisions leftover from winter were slowly being eaten away or perishing, so there was some food around, and the mage hunters at least let the farmers leave to till and prepare their fields, however food was only a small source of the stress.

    This was just the beginning.

    Currently, thirty-five thousand mage hunters were heading towards Lo, each with the authority to do as they pleased for the most part, but a bigger problem was the huge poption influx.

    Not only would it cause soaring food prices, but housing would be scarce and expensive ¨C perhaps even some would be ¡®seized¡¯ for the greater good.

    The forests would be cleansed of animals for food, and poptions of precious de deer may never recover.

    The gentle stream which supplied their water? If not polluted, it would be turned into a scarce ration, with the mage hunters given priority. The famers fields which they were not nting would be barren, unless a grand water mage used some rejuvenating spell craft.

    Coincidentally, there were nearly no nt mage¡¯s in the whole of the mage hunter arsenal.

    As for sanitation, there would simply not be enough hay to process all the human waste into manure. It would have to be burnt by fire mages or simply piled up somewhere.

    In essence, to the people living there, Lo was going to be destroyed. It was in itsst days. Each of its residents were packing their belongings while waiting for the knocks of the mage hunters on their doors, waiting for their homes to be searched.

    As soon as the mage hunters let them go, the smarter ones were already nning to give up their houses and leave, finding another vige to build their lives up in once more, and starting again from almost nothing.

    The unfortunate ones were the those who were going to stay in Lo, and there were three types of these people: Those kept their heads down, focused on their daily tasks while they ignored the changing world around them, those who still thought of the mage hunters as their heroes, and the elderly who were too old to travel alone and had not saved a single gold from their younger years.

    The shadow of death was on Lo.

    ~Lo, Adventurer Guild~

    ¡°Sir, the guild workers wish to settle back into the guild. They have promised to cooperate.¡± a mage hunter stood before lieutenant Marsh.

    Marsh scoffed for a moment, but afterwards nodded slowly.

    While there wasn¡¯t much of a need to run the guild right now, the trade tform which Lillian ran was almost a necessity. Plus, in theing days, the guild would have to be a fully functioning administration hub for theing divisions of mage hunters.

    Besides, the guild would also need to function as an area to form bounty hunting groups for thetest bounty ced on Jay¡¯s head ¨C and Marsh certainly wasn¡¯t going to organize all of this himself. It was below him.

    ¡°Let them back ¨C but no guards. Only functional staff.¡±

    ¡°All of them are functional except for one. An orphan girl.¡±

    ¡°No one has adopted her?¡±

    ¡°She cannot speak, she¡¯s a mute¡­ but I see defiance in her eyes.¡±

    Marsh hid a sly smile as he replied, ¡°Then we will im her. Another mage hunter for the saintess division¡­ have the ¡®functional staff¡¯ handle her transfer to the three sisters.¡±

    The mage hunter nodded and left with his orders.

    The saintess division was another crafty name made by the political ss; a most basic example of weaponizednguage which coincidentally fooled most people.

    The division, while named the saintess division, was filled with women who were anything but saints. It was simply another shy, honorable-sounding name used to trick the peasants.

    Sure, they wore shining white armour and said all the right things in public, but during variant, witch, and mage hunts, they were the furthest thing from a saint.

    Nothing was off the table for them, and nothing was immoral: seduction, poison, torture, soul-burning, maniption, human recement ¨C and this was what they did to innocent peasants as they searched for clues to carry out their mission.

    The saintesses who were each like demons when visiting towns, and they even mage hunters would seem like valiant noble knights. Most variants were often more preferable.

    Conversations about the saintess¡¯s ranged from ¡°Oh, they are so beautiful. They¡¯re like angels here to protect us¡­¡± to ¡°If a saintesses to your town, just leave. Abandon everything.¡±

    In another time, in another part of the kingdom, a viger had said, ¡°Oh, all the mage hunters did was break down your door and break your nose? How very kind. A saintess came to my house in the middle of the night while we were asleep. She stole my child and reced them with a humanoid golem. I only found out a few weekster after the spell ended when the mana ran out¡­ My child ¨C at least I thought it was my child ¨C turned to a pile of fucking stones while we were eating breakfast. All because I gave a variant directions one time¡­ The worst part is, if I tell anyone, I¡¯m made to look like aplete fucking lunatic.¡±

    And no one would have listened to such a far-fetched story.

    Suppressing the truth about these white armour-d women, delivering lofty speeches, and using names like ¡®saints¡¯, were all part of the useful propaganda. In the human kingdom of Astrata, even simple speech was made into a powerful weapon, as powerful as any spell.

 Chapter 207 The Parasite Queen

    ~The Third Academy, Mirror Reality Thirty-Four~

    Matheson was sitting in a different room to the dark prison he first found himself in. Functionally it was the exact same: no windows, doors or anything of the sort. The only difference was that this room was square instead of round, and came with a stone table, some wooden chairs, as well as a luminous orb embedded into the ceiling.

    A small upgrade as now he could see better ¨C however he couldn¡¯t move.

    His body was encased in a ck cocoon of some strange silk he had never seen before, and it seemed to be sticking itself to the wooden chair he was currently sitting on.

    ¡°Probably the work of more variants.¡± he thought, as he strained his muscles against the ck silk, each time it dug into his skin and threatened tocerate it.

    After some time to think in the darkness, he had realized that he had been kidnapped by variants as he connected the dots ¨C though to call it a kidnapping was inurate as he had willingly jumped right into their clutches when he entered the portal.

    Still, he had no clue what was going on, only that something grand was happening all around him and it didn¡¯t involve him; it was like he was in the eye of a storm.

    A small part of him still believed there was a powerful treasure to be won, which is why both the variants and the mage hunters were at Lo in the first ce, but as for their sess in finding the treasure, he wasn¡¯t sure.

    Either way, he was caught. There was no way he was getting it. Right now, his life was all that mattered.

    For all he knew, that woman with the gravity magic could still be fighting off mage hunters outside the portal as she waited for something.

    For now though that didn¡¯t matter; he was sitting quietly in the room, silently waiting for wherever would happen next.

    Once again, his fate was in the hands on others.

    ¨C

    Little did Matheson know that he was being watched from another location.

    Norgrim scratched his chin, wondering what he would do as he gazed at a floating projection of Matheson, ¡°So, Anya said he¡¯s an exiled noble¡­ he can¡¯t be worth much then¡­ Did you check his ss?¡±

    ¡°No. He did have an impressive rapier so it¡¯s some kind of melee ss, but we were waiting to see what you would want to do with him.¡± Evelyn said.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Norgrim scratched his bear for a moment, ¡°He¡¯s quite a low level for a noble brat. Seems like they didn¡¯t power-level him¡­¡±

    Evelyn nodded back, ¡°It seems that he has levelled himself up, as there were no guardians or servants with him. Quite a hard worker.¡±

    Norgrim thought silently for a moment more.

    ¡°Alright, leave him with me.¡± he added, ¡°and send Sylvia over.¡±

    Evelyn gave him a concerned look, ¡°Sylvia? Isn¡¯t that a bit¡­¡± she paused, deciding not to say it, ¡°¡­I will send her over shortly.¡± she bowed her head before leaving.

    Sylvia was a micro-type magic user, and her ss specialized in parasite-like constructs. Due to the nature of her parasites, she was feared at the academy.

    Most parasites had a symbiotic rtionship with their hosts, or benefited without affecting their hosts at all ¨C these range from harmless to even beneficial for good health, and most people walk around with these happily living inside them.

    Some of these parasites have a specific host in mind, such as a de deer, and only use other species, such as birds, as a forms of transportation while they wait in either a dormant stage, as an egg, or halt their growth at a certain part of their life cycle while they bide their time under the skin or in the stomachs of what is called an intermediate host ¨C the birds in the example.

    The next type, which most people feared, were those which lived off their host. This type would kill the host to feed themselves and propagate. However, it wasn¡¯t like this type of parasite was trying to kill the host. It simply had to eat.

    Sylvia¡¯s magic was worse than all of the natural varieties of parasites, and she was feared at the academy for it; rarely ever did people request to form a party with her. They even felt sorry for the victims of her magic ¨C despite them being monsters.

    When she was low level, her magic was only able to summon a single flesh-eating beetle. It would find its way into an oblivious monsters body, feed, replicate, and soon enough the monster would burst open with these beetles squirming around ¨C though they would soon die as soon as they left the body, as Sylvia was only able to sustain one beetle with her skill level and mana.

    When Sylvia levelled up though, she¡¯s didn¡¯t only get more beetles to y with¡­ as her powers grew, so did her creativity.

    Flesh-eating was just a start, and eventually she created mana-eating, mind-eating and armour-eating varieties ¨C she could now kill monsters which didn¡¯t even have flesh.

    This only spurred on her imagination, and soon she created parasites which targeted certain parts of the anatomy: nerves.

    After flicking a small handful of these nerve-eating bugs at some monsters, the same monsters would chase her ¨C but only for a little while¡­ soon they would crumple to the ground, crying out in pain as their nerves were chewed away, and as these parasites got to the spine the monsters would lose the ability to run; they would soon have no feeling in their legs at all.

    Helpless, they would spasm from the pain on the ground as Sylvia¡¯s parasites worked their way up the spine, every moment one of intense pain until thankfully they would make it towards two certain nerves which control the heart . Depending on which of these nerves was eaten first, the heart would either speed up until it failed or slow down until it stopped; it was as if the monster hard partied too hard in Vegas.

    Other times, she would simply send one parasite into a vige of goblins ¨C over time, each one would be covertly infected without even realizing it. After a day or two, Sylvia would sense that all the goblins had her bugs inside them, and she would activate phase two. In no time, all of the goblins would helplessly drop to the ground, their lungs would be consumed and they would die without even realizing they were being attacked.

    Either way, it didn¡¯t matter to Sylvia. Causing the pain and suffering of monsters was something she quickly grew used to, and as a third-year student she was quite ustomed to it.

    However, she did it all for her research, and this wasn¡¯t enough.

    She spent months, almost a year creating a new parasite which would disable a monster without killing it. This was her first step ¨C first, she had to disable a monster, and then soon enough, with plenty of research, she would be able to control it.

    Someday she wished to have her first prototype parasite, created to controlled monsters.

    For now though, she only had one to disable.

    This new disabling parasite was a revolutionary step for her ¨C not that anyone gave her any credit or even so much as acknowledged her breakthrough. Most didn¡¯t even know about it since no one talked to her.

    After disabling a monster, she could now study it up close, learning the weaknesses in its flesh so her bug-like constructs could get inside, while live-dissection allowed her to learn more of a monsters anatomy, specifically rting to its nerves. Needless to say, the disabling parasite allowed her research to progress much faster.

    But how did this fit into what Norgrim was going to do?

    *knock*

    Sylvia knocked once on the door.

    Norgrim raised an eyebrow, unsure if the noise was simply the door creaking or not, ¡°e in?¡±

    Sylvia opened the door with a cold re.

    She was short with shoulder-length dark hair, but she created an uneasy pressure whenever she was in a room as if he was a giant.

    While he gaze was cold, it wasn¡¯t that she was angry, this was just how she was. An odd girl, a feared outcast.

    Most of the other adventurers avoided her and gave her plenty of space. They didn¡¯t want to risk catching one of her parasites if they stood too close. Some of the more paranoid students believed that the whole academy had already been infected by her tiny creatures, and if she snapped her fingers they would all be hopelessly massacred.

    However, Sylvia herself was oblivious to the fear she created in others, though she wouldn¡¯t have cared either way, as she was focused on her research.

    She closed the door as she entered the room, and instead of sitting down, she simply stood there right next to it, staring awkwardly at Norgrim from across the room.

    ¡°Hi.¡± she said quietly.

    Even Norgrim felt a little uneasy, but ignored her odd behaviour as he knew what she was like, and that she didn¡¯t mean any harm. She was simply misunderstood, like most of the variants were.

    ¡°Sylvia, good to see you. I have a little job I think you¡¯ll be interested in¡­¡± he leant forward on his desk with a smile.

 Chapter 208 Hunted

    ~Somewhere near Hollow Forest, between a long slender desert and cliffs of a sprawling tall mountain range~

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Jay looked back towards the tip of the mountain range, as Sweeper just died somewhere near there.

    He was about two to three hours away from there, so he was safe for now, however the skeletons death only meant one thing: he was being followed ¨C hunted.

    ¡°Dammit¡­ I bet its that grey beast,¡± Jay pursed his lips, ¡°I guess it noticed me after all.¡±

    At the time when Jay first noticed the beast chasing the deer, he had hid behind a rock, and he didn¡¯t even see the beast look his way, but it seemed that this was simply a ruse to give Jay a false sense of security and let his guard down.

    Fortunately, Jay was a paranoid person.

    Jay summoned Sweeper again. Instead of crafting a new weapons, he made Red give it the bone spear he recently crafted, while Red reimed its sword.

    Originally, Sweeper only had one arm and no weapon when he left it on lookout duty, and Jay didn¡¯t expect it to live for long, but now it was armed ¨C both with a weapon and with literal arms. Jay believed it wouldn¡¯t be long before he received an experience point notification of the pursing beast dying.

    After all, most things outside of the dungeons near human settlements were low level.

    The spear itself would be useful against a charging beast too, as it had the [Anti-charge] ability.

    With a weapon, Jay sent the skeleton away, and Sweeper quickly sprinted off towards the direction of its death, as if wanting to get revenge on its killer.

    The rest of the skeletons were either guarding Jay or using the chopped-off lizard heads to pluck away the dangerous fruits.

    Jay sat down and watched the fruit-picking process, unrmed and unconcerned with the beast on his tail. It was a little over two hours away, so there was plenty of time to deal with it. For now, he rxed and rested from the journey, and despite the undead using bloody lizard heads to pick hazardous fruit, there was something calming about watching the fruit-picking process.

    Two hourster and Jay got another notification.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he raised an eyebrow, stretching a little as he stood up from his chair.

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    Sweeper perish again.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ ok.¡± he shrugged, summoning Sweeper again.

    There were still three spears left, so Jay sent Sweeper away with another one.

    ¡°Surely it will be close to death by now?¡± he thought as he watched Sweeper sprint off across the rocks once more.

    Jay wasn¡¯t sure how powerful the beast stalking him was, but most of the wild creatures out here were below level five ¨C even the weakest natural animals like the de deer didn¡¯t even have levels, meaning they had no ss or powerful skills, while the highest level enemies he came across so far were the level two perreton wolves.

    His guess was that it was around level eight since it could kill a skeleton.

    There was a chance it could have bled out before even reaching him, in which case Jay would just have to wait for an exp notification, hopefully sometime soon.

    For now though, he would just have to wait.

    The fruit-picking skeletons had made it nearly half-way across the desert, slowing down as there were many more of the fruits to pick in the centre, among therger mushrooms.

    Jay leisurely looked at Heavy and Red by his side; all three of them had nothing to do.

    ¡°Well, I might as well try that new skill out. Hopefully it¡¯s as good as mark and host.¡± he nodded with a solemn smile, remembering Sedulus for a moment.

    Jay checked the skill once more before proceeding.

    <[Mind ¨C Level 1]>

    ¨C Craft a rudimentary sentience. Form a basic mind.

    ¨C 25 Mana

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see what a mind looks like.¡±

    First, Jay tested the skill by walking away from the skeletons and trying to activate it without any skeletons around. He believed there was a chance of being able to make a disembodied mind which he would have to imnt into the skeletons, and he didn¡¯t want to miss that opportunity ¨C perhaps it would have opened up new avenues of research.

    Unfortunately, nothing happened.

    With no sess this time, he called a skeleton over.

    ¡°Heavy, you¡¯re up.¡±

    The heavy skeleton trudged over in its thick armour. Jay had it drop it weapon before he got to work.

    Heavy was chosen over Red, as Jay didn¡¯t want to mess up the skill while using a higher level skeleton.

    There was no telling what giving a mind to the undead would do, and if a skeleton were to go crazy and attack him, he would want it to be the slower one, the one he could quickly unsummon before it could hope to harm him or even have Red kill if it were necesarry.

    There an some uncertainty, as if the skeleton had a mind, there was a chance it could have a will of its own and even reject its masters will.

    Nevertheless, Jay proceeded, and removed its helmet before hovering his hands around Heavy¡¯s skull and using the [Mind] skill.

    Suddenly his necrotic mana left his hands and wrapped around its skull.

    To Jay¡¯s surprise, the mana was glowing much more brighter than usual, even causing it to glow in the daytime, while it appeared thicker and more like a turbulent floating liquid, spinning around the skull wildly as if were caught in a storm.

    The spell drained something from Jay ¨C something which wasn¡¯t energy or mana. His arms got heavier and heavier, but he fought against it and kept his arms up as he guided the mana to continue swirling around Heavy¡¯s head. It seemed that his energy was also being drained by the spell somehow, making the process more like a test of endurance. Perhaps even a test of sacrifice ¨C hopefully it would pay off.

    While he wanted to lower his hands, he sensed that if he did, the spell would fail and the resulting mind would be fractured.

    Jay pressed on as the pain grew, and thankfully, the rapidly swirling mana began to slow down; it went from being like a miniature hurricane spinning around its head, to then bing a rushing river, and soon enough it was like a gentle swirling pond ¨C until finally it stopped.

    Instead of pain and tiredness, a strange warmth crept into Jay¡¯s heart and seemed to reinvigorate his tired limbs. Perhaps it was joy, or maybe dness. Whatever it was, it was the opposite of the pain and struggle he initially felt, and even made up for it.

    None of the skeletons skull could be seen during the whole process, and the mana was still wrapped around it ¨C slowly though, it disappeared and ¡®drained¡¯ into the center of the skull, revealing the skull once more.

    Finally Jay lowered his hands as the spellpleted. The skeleton stood there, still gazing at him, almost fixated on him as if he was a single star in the night sky.

    [A new mind is formed.]

    Jay looked back into its eyes; they were still little bead-like dark-green orbs, hovering in its eye sockets fueled somehow by necrotic mana ¨C though as he gazed into them, they seemed brighter somehow, interested in and wondering about the world around them.

    The inside of the skull itself was no longer bone-white on the inside. It seemed more like an infinite darkness now as it was covered by a thick coat of the fluid-like mana, which had since turned ck.

    As Jay looked closer though, his eyes adjusted to the darkness within its skull. He could see tiny little beads of green lights travelling throughout the dark inner coating; thousands of these little green lights moved backwards and forwards like a swarm of tiny beetles running frantically around it skull. Some moved as fast as lightening while others travelled as slowly as snails.

    Jay himself seemed as curious as the skeleton before him. There was something unsettling about its eyes, which seemed more menacing as they were surrounded by darkness now. Its eyes were calcting and gave off a sense of a cold intelligence.

    Without even reading the notification, it was easy to tell that a new mind was born. Or formed.

    Jay preferred formed.

    Suddenly the skeleton¡¯s head moved back from Jay, and Jay stepped back too.

    Its eyes began moving rapidly all over the ce, as if it was having a seizure or was in a deep sleep state.

    Jay waited patiently to see what would happen ¨C but just to be safe he had Red stand by his side.

    After a moment, its eye stopped shifting around and then began to look around slowly. First it looked at its own skeletal hands which it clenched a few times ¨C then at its armour which it caressed almost lovingly.

    It then nced at the helmet by Jay¡¯s side, and Jay held it out for it to grab.

    It took the helmet, slowly rotating it in its hands before putting it on.

    Jay couldn¡¯t help but smile as he watched it learn. Before his was a skeleton he created that was thinking by itself, figuring out its armour by itself, moving without orders.

    While to others it may have not been noteworthy, it made his heart rise with excitement.

    Sure, the other skeletons could equip armour, but they were responding to Jay¡¯s will and orders.

    Jay had a theory back in the mist keep dungeon ¨C that the skeletons copied or mimicked Jay¡¯s thoughts in regards to fighting: that theirbat style and tactics were simply reproduced variations of Jay¡¯s own ideas buried somewhere in his mind, whether conscious or subconscious.

    Therefore, theirbat skills, knowledge, and everything else would only be as good as Jay¡¯s would be.

    This skeleton, however, had its own mind. It could learn. It could get smarter. It could outsmart. It could develop its own fighting style and hone it, gain proficiency with its weapons or in this case its heavy armour.

    For now though, it was like a killing machine with the mind of a child. Even though its threat potential just jumped by leaps and bounds it knew nothing. For now at least.

    Though through endless battles and enough time, it would only improve.

    Finally thinking about his own protection rauther than his aplishment, Jay cut his celebration short.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay squinted suspiciously as he stood up and moved a little further away, as the next thing the skeleton noticed was its weapon ¨C the bone dagger Jay left for it lying on the ground nearby.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see what you can do¡­¡± Jay smiled, preparing to fight it incase it tried anything.

 Chapter 209 Fresh Eyes

    Curious about what it would do, Jay took out all the weapons he had with him and made a neat disy of them on the ground.

    Heavy looked at the weapons before it, its eyesnding on each one and hovering for a moment before it turned to the next.

    The weapons it had to choose from were the three bone spears, an ossein sword with a longer grip, and two bone daggers ¨C one of which was Dark¡¯s.

    Both Dark and Handy couldn¡¯t take their weapons with them as they were still using the lizard heads to cut away the dangerous red fruits, though Dark could still carry one of its dual daggers with it.

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    ¡°Ah shit, Sweeper died again?¡± Jay¡¯s brows creased in frustration. The untimely death distracted him from Heavy.

    About two hours passed since thest time Sweeper died ¨C whatever it was, it was getting closer as each time Sweeper died a little more quickly.

    While keeping his eyes on what Heavy was doing, he leisurely held one hand over the bone pile and began to summon Sweeper again. He barely needed to think when summoning anymore.

    While the dark, sickly green mana left Jay¡¯s hand and mingled with the bones, Heavy suddenly looked up and stared in amazement while another skeleton was assembled before it.

    Leaving the weapons, it quickly hopped over to the bone pile to watch more closely.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re interested?¡± Jay smiled slyly, a sense of pride in his voice.

    Heavy only nced at him before turning back to the floating bones, which assembled into Sweeper before them.

    Sweeper followed Jays nextmand and went to get another spear.

    Heavy followed Sweeper over to the weapons, mimicking its behaviour. Sweeper grabbed a spear, but this was when Heavy hesitated.

    Sweeper was about to sprint off, but Jay stopped before it left.

    Jay was sick of it dying, so he decided to send backup.

    Another skeleton came back from the sand, grabbed a spear and then stood next to Sweeper as well.

    ¡°Go.¡± Jay said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

    Lamp and Sweeper rushed away to deal with whatever was following them, and Jay was convinced that two of them could do the job.

    Heavy curiously watched them leave, but was not curious enough to follow. Instead, it turned to the pile of bones and held its boney hand out over it, copying Jay. Unfortunately for Heavy, a level one skeleton had no mana, so nothing happened.

    Jay was please though that the skeleton was mimicking him instead of the other skeletons.

    ¡°You can try to summonter, just focus on picking your weapon for now,¡± Jay chuckled, pointing at the other bone weapons.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I wonder if it will be able to summon someday¡­¡± he thought as he watched it.

    Heavy went back to looking at the weapons, and it finally selected the dagger ¨C the same one Jay had given it originally.

    The lusterless dagger was suited to its body size. For now anyway.

    It picked it up and looked closely at the de, tracing its boney finger along it before swinging it a few times and following it up with a few stabs.

    After a while, it began to add footwork into its thrusts, stepping forwards with extra speed and striking with extra power.

    ¡°Good, keep practicing.¡± Jay praised it, watching in awe.

    The skeletons first attacks were slow and awkward-looking, but quickly improved.

    The skeletons first instinct when picking up a weapon was to start swinging it and now Jay was feeling a little inspired, so he decided to craft it a small shield for it too.

    He had crafted a shield for it previously, but he felt like it deserved something special, which basically meant something he would put effort into.

    Jay formed another shield-like shape: a triangle with round sides and a t rectangr top. A ssic heater shield shape.

    Its form was slender and stretched, it came up to the skeletons shoulder, while the point at the bottom ended at its knees.

    Jay was about to finish the process, but he made some finishing touches specifically for Heavy ¨C he gave it a thickened trim around the outside of the shield as well ass bulking up its thickness to suit the rest of Heavy¡¯s armour.

    While it was a weighty shield, and was too heavy, it would be suited to the skeletons size once it levelled up, so it would eventually be able to wield it effectively ¨C and giving it a shield now while it was low level and with a young mind would be the best thing he could do for its foundation. Or perhaps the worst.

    After all, Jay was no trainer, he simply thought that the more time it had, the better it would be. Since he had never been trained with a sword, he didn¡¯t know that foundational mistakes would be harder to fixter on.

    Jay analyzed the shield before handing it to the young undead.

    <[Heavy Necrotic Knight Shield ¨C Level 1]> (Small)

    [Shield HP ¨C 25]

    [Armour ¨C 15]

    [Sletlian Counter ¨C Heavy block, stagger enemy, then respond with a devastating strike. 5% chance]

    [Block ¨C Negate 100% damage from an attack. 15% chance. Otherwise take 80% reduced damage.]

    [Lifespan ¨C Requires essence to maintain it¡¯s form]

    [Current lifespan: 20 hours]

    ¡°Sletlian counter? Interesting¡­ it muste from being a heavy shield¡± he nodded, ¡°It¡¯s no deathwalker¡¯s sentry but still pretty good.¡±

    Jay strolled over and held the shield out for Heavy, who had kept practicing with its weapon since Jay ordered it to.

    ¡°Here.¡± Jay held it out rauther than tossing it onto the ground like he usually did.

    The skeleton tenderly grabbed it, seeming to have a brighter glow in its eyes as it gazed at its new shield.

    Jay simply smiled, d that his craftsmanship was now being treasured.

    Heavy went back to practicing and swiped the shield a few times.

    ¡°Not like that¡± Jay smiled, shaking his head.

    Jay grabbed a stick, ¡°block the damage using the shield.¡± he said before lightly tapping the stick against the skeleton.

    He tapped it in the head a few times while the skeleton stood there confused. Next, it tried to dodge the stick, then sh at the stick with its dagger, but still hadn¡¯t used its shield.

    Jay finally tapped the shield with the stick, and it was like the skeleton realized its purpose.

    Before Jay could tap its head again, the skeleton ducked and raised the shield, sessfully blocking it.

    ¡°Good!¡± Jay immediately said with a grin.

    ¡°¡­finally,¡± he thought.

    Heavy did seem quite stupid, but its mind didn¡¯t even exist an hour ago. All things considered, it was actually a fast learner with some sort of residual instinct forbat.

    Now that it understood, Jay practiced with it a few more times before leaving it on its own ¨C a sly smile appearing on his face as he decided that Heavy needed a sparring partner.

    And the quickest way to get a sparring partner? To craft another mind for one of his skeletons of course.

    Since the skeletons with a mind could be trusted, now that he knew they would follow orders too. It was time to give a mind to a higher level skeleton¡­

    ¡°Hmm¡­ who to pick¡­¡± he gazed across his skeletons.

 Chapter 210 Implant

    While Jay realised he could craft a rudimentary mind for each of his skeletons, for the current situation it could turn out bad. Immediately he thought to choose Blue ¨C however, there was a beast hunting him, and when a skeleton gained a fresh mind it seemed like it needed time to learn how to fight again.

    If all of them gained minds right now, he would be like a sitting duck.

    Once they gained a mind they lost part of their connection to Jay and couldn¡¯t copy his, albeit primitive, fighting techniques.

    Mentally, they were more like new babies rauther than clones of Jay¡¯s mind.

    Red and Blue were both level four and currently needed for protection, while Lamp and Sweeper were confronting the beast, so naturally, Jay chose the next in line: Dark.

    He was happy with the choice anyway, as he thought the idea of an assassin skeleton was too cool to pass up; he would do whatever he could to advance this particr skeleton and make it stronger.

    Dark was currently on fruit-picking duty.

    The skeletons clipping away the red desert fruits using the decapitated lizard heads were a little past the half-way point now, and Jay was fine with bringing Dark back for the upgrade.

    Dark scrambled back across the desert, kicking up sand as it sprinted towards its master through the mushroms and all their hanging tendrils. It dropped the lizard head and its other dagger on the ground, then stood before Jay and kneeled, following Jay¡¯smandments precisely.

    Jay was sitting down on his throne this time, with his arms resting on the throne as he began the process.

    The bright glow of the green mana returned, and from a distance he would have looked like lich lord blessing his skeleton with some kind of power while sitting in his throne.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to meditate after this¡± Jay thought, as each time it costed him twenty-five mana.

    The process went much more smoothly this time, and Jay was d he didn¡¯t have to hold his arms up. He felt the energy leaving his body too, but it would recover in due time. Besides, he didn¡¯t need to worry about energy since he was carried around on his throne.

    Finally, the spell finished.

    [A new mind is formed.]

    Simr tost time, the skeleton raised its head and looked deeply into Jay¡¯s eyes. It was like it was imprinting on him, remembering its masters face.

    Jay gave it a moment, and shortly after the rapid eye movement started again. Jay patiently waited, and finally it stopped.

    ¡°Seemed to take a while longer that time. Perhaps because it¡¯s level two?¡± he thought with a shrug.

    ¡°Dark. Wee to the world.¡± Jay smiled.

    Dark lowered its head again as if in submission to a king, epting its name.

    ¡°Your weapons. Two daggers.¡± Jay pointed.

    Dark slowly stood up and grabbed its weapons.

    Heavy was still practicing its swings, shes, and blocks, but couldn¡¯t help but turn to curiously watch the entire process. Jay could tell it was trying to be sneaky, but he didn¡¯t mind.

    Dark, just like Heavy, began shing its weapons. At first it only used one dagger in its right hand, but began to alternate more after Jay told it to use both weapons.

    Unfortunately, Jay didn¡¯t know anybat abilities, fighting style, orbination-attacks which could help Dark. The skeleton would have to figure it out on its own.

    Having a melee ss would give him a range of standard melee abilities, along with making it simple to learn new melee-skills, but for now all he could do was guess.

    As far as Jay could tell, the skeletons didn¡¯t have melee sses either ¨C despite using melee weapons. Sure, they did have roles when they reached level five, which Jay guessed were like sses, but until they got there, he would just have to wait and see.

    ¡°I suppose if I learn a skill I could teach them¡­ I would need to find someone to learn it from first though¡­¡±

    ¡°But I would need to¡­ oh what am I thinking, if I found someone they would probably report me or kill me.¡±

    ¡°I guess the only option would be to capture someone?¡± he shrugged, ¡°the world has left me with no choice.¡± his lips slightly curled, as if he would even enjoy it.

    Jay watched the two skeletons practicing for a moment and made sure everything was in order before he began meditating to recover his mana.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Third Academy, Mirror Reality #34~

    Contrary to her normal behaviour, Sylvia was smiling.

    ¡°Are you sure you want me to do this?¡± Sylvia gave Norgrim an evil smile, she almost seemed excited about what she was about to do. She asked the question as if it wasn¡¯t a question at all.

    ¡°Yes. His only other option is death ¨C he would cause too much trouble alive.¡±

    ¡°It will hurt him a lot¡­¡± Sylvia added.

    ¡°Mhm¡­ I realize that.¡± he nodded, ¡°at least try to not look like you¡¯re enjoying it¡­¡± Norgrim paused for a moment, then slightly leant forward and whispered, ¡°¡­you do realize you¡¯re smiling? I have never seen you smile.¡± he looked concerned.

    ¡°I¡¯m just¡­¡± she looked awkwardly around the room, ¡°¡­excited about today. For unrted reasons.¡± Sylvia said, before she quickly left the room and rushed off somewhere.

    Norgrim exhaled deeply and shook his head, ¡°¡­my students are weirdos.¡± he thought, before tending to his desk nt.

    A few momentster, and someone else was at the door.

    *Knock, knock*

    ¡°Come in ¨C oh, William. Thanks foring.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s ok.¡± he shrugged with a cid stare, seeming a little downcast today.

    ¡°William, I need you to find Jay¡­ again.¡± Norgrim smiled, ¡°you found him before so it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to do it again, right?¡±

    ¡°Uh. oh¡­ Yeah, sure. I mean ¨C no promises, but I can try.¡± he nodded thoughtfully.

    ¡°Well good!¡± Norgrim rubbed his hands together happily, trying to lift the mood a bit.

    ¡°Any other news?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Uh¡­ there¡¯s thousands of mage hunters moving to Lo¡­ thousands¡­ tens of thousands¡­¡± William said, sounding bleak and empty.

    ¡°I¡­ I see¡­¡± Norgrim pursed his lips, ¡°Well, if you can find him, we can save him.¡± he nodded with an unconvincing smile.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± William frowned.

    ¡°Let me know if there¡¯s anything you need ¨C anything. We must save Jay.¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡­ I¡¯ll try¡­ Can I go now?¡± he said, still quite downcast.

    Norgrim gestured to the door and smiled with a nod; he watched him leave and close the door.

    ¡°Weird¡­ Sylvia and William both seem like they¡¯ve body swapped.¡± he shook his head and leaned back in his char, ¡°probably just a coincidence and not one of the students powers.¡±

    ¨C

    A young woman walked into Matheson¡¯s room, despite being twenty she still looked like a teenager.

    Matheson creased his brows in both anger and confusion, and red at her, wondering why she was here at all.

    Truth be told, he expected a toothless tobo-chewing fifty-year old gruffy man to walk in with a bag of creatively dangerous tools, all bent and twisted in different shapes and sizes.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Sylvia.¡± she smiled.

    Matheson didn¡¯t say anything. There was something off about her smile, and something in her which made him feel threatened ¨C despite her short stature.

    Still smiling, she cleared her throat, ¡°I¡¯ll make it short. I¡¯m going to put a parasite into you,¡± she said in a voice which was way too happy, as she held something up to show him.

    In her fingers was a wriggling ck worm which had three sets of insect-like legs at either end of its body, along with some translucent fins running along its back.

    Mathesons eyes widened, ¡°No you fucking won¡¯t.¡± he immediately flexed his muscles, using the fear to drive him to push harder against the cocoon.

    He kept looking at the wriggling worm in her fingers; a tiny mouth lined with teeth let out a tongue which seemed to start tasting the air. She smiled slyly as she brought it closer.

    ¡°NO. YOU. FUCKING. WON¡¯T!¡± he spat, hoping to knock the worm out of her hands.

    Matheson then flexed as hard as he could, and to his surprise there was a snapping noise ¨C well, more of a popping noise, followed by pain.

    ¡°GRAH! Get that FUCKING thing away from me!¡± he angrily screamed after his shoulder was dislocated.

    Next, he leant forward, trying his most desperate tactic: biting the worm out of her fingers and hopefully destroying it with his teeth.

    Of course, he failed. Nothing was ever that easy.

    ¡°Sorry, this might hurt a bit.¡± she pouted for a moment pretending to be sympathetic, but in no time another smile formed on her face as she proceeded with her experiment.

    She walked behind Matheson and pushed his head forward and mming it against the desk; she was much stronger than him as a third year student.

    He was still shifting around as much as he could in a coon of unbreakable silk, but Sylvia didn¡¯t mind ¨C she just needed ess to some bare flesh near the back of his neck.

    Even Matheson¡¯s toe would do, but the closer she got the parasite to the base of Matheson¡¯s skull, the less painful it would be for him. It was like a sort of mercy, in a dark kind of way.

    The parasites tongue kissed his flesh and thentched on, pulling its jaws closer, and soon it began to dig through his flesh.

    For the next hour, all Matheson could do was scream in pain. He screamed till he passed out, wake up, then screamed some more.

    By the end of it, he looked lifelessly at the table in front of him, his eyes bloodshot and drool dripping from his mouth while he shallowly breathed.

    Unknown to his captors, something changed in Matheson¡¯s mind, it was as if a switch had been flicked.

    He realized he was trapped again. First by his father, then himself, and now here.

    Finally, a trap he had no way of escaping: the parasite.

    Weakness had led him to where he was now, and he realized that inly. The truth was that simple.

    Matheson was weak and had to die, and during the torturous worm eating towards his skull, it happened. He didn¡¯t even cry out, saying he was a noble. He said nothing about his father or any nobility. He didn¡¯t even bargain.

    He simply fought defiantly, relying on himself to the bitter end.

    Matheson was finally, figuratively, dead ¨C reborn again. He was now nameless, and ready to start life anew. It was necessary; Matheson was too weak¡­

    And in this painful stupor, the worm finally disabled his body and gave him some relief ¨C under themand of Sylvia of course.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you control of your body after I do some tests.¡± Sylvia smiled and got to work, funneling some more varieties parasites into his body. Diagnostic bugs.

    Matheson ignored her. He couldn¡¯t feel anything, but neither did he care. As long as he was paralyzed, he was now even a prisoner in his own body.

    However, theck of sensation let him feel something else¡­

    Something familiar, but new.

    It was power in its raw form.

    It was gentle.

    It was mana.

 Chapter 211 Smiley

    Sylvia had finished with her tests, she gave Matheson back some bodily control. Not all of it, but some.

    Matheson had sensed mana by himself for the first time, despite all the pain and mental trauma, he couldn¡¯t help but grin madly, his eyes still bloodshot.

    ¡°¡­Why are you smiling?¡± Sylvia asked, seeming genuinely concerned this time.

    Matheson only leant his head back and smiled, holding onto the feeling of mana sense and imprinting it in his mind.

    ¡°¡­Ok smiley. I¡¯ll be backter.¡±

    Matheson ignored her as she left, but couldn¡¯t help but repeat what she said¡­

    ¡°Smiley¡­.¡± he grinned madly, ¡°Smiley.¡±

    Some part of him, deep in his heart was filled with joy.

    It was his new name.

    Smiley sat there, epting his new name and continued to focus on the mana, remembering the teachings that Vdore ruthlessly hammered into him.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    [Your skeleton has died]

    [Your skeleton has died]

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Jay stopped meditating.

    The died so quickly that he couldn¡¯t use the host skill.

    A little under two hours had passed since he sent his skeletons, Sweeper and Lamp, off to y the beast chasing them.

    Thankfully, his mana was high again thanks to his meditating, but some tension was starting to build in his chest.

    ¡°So it has killed Sweeper¡­ three times¡­ and Lamp once.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time I send some extra skeletons.¡± he nodded with a dutiful look.

    He was no longer nonchnt about the situation, and was taking it much more seriously now.

    First, he summoned Sweeper and Lamp again, equipping them with thest spear and an ossein sword.

    Blue rushed out of the desert, responding to an order and dropping the lizard head on the sand before meeting its master.

    Handy was still alone in the desert plucking the red fruit, but it was almost to the other side now, so there wasn¡¯t as much of a need to be on fruit-clipping duty.

    Jay looked around at his skeletons with him:

    Blue, Red, Lamp, Sweeper, Dark, Heavy.

    Jay wanted to keep Dark and Heavy practicing, and since Dark and Heavy could be trusted, he decided to send Red along with Blue for extra backup.

    Compared tost time, the party of undead was more than double the strength, as Blue and Red were one level higher than Lamp and Sweeper.

    Jay also nned to use the host skill to analyze the beast, hopefully learning its level and even weakness before it gets to him, and with four skeletons, he would be able to use the host skill before all of them died at least.

    ¡°One spearman and three swordsmen¡­ Good¡­. Blue, you¡¯re in charge of ying that beast.¡±

    Jay pointed with an officers authority towards the direction of the enemy, and the skeletons all sprinted off once more. Hopefully once more.

    His leisurely attitude was gone. He turned to Dark and Heavy.

    ¡°You two, start sparring with each other.¡± he said, a hint of anger in his voice.

    The skeletons each nodded, and soon the nging of weapons and the shield started sounding out on the edge of the rocky mountain.

    While the encroaching beast was an ever-pressing matter, the sparring skeletons began topete with it for Jay¡¯s attention.

    Besides, it would still be almost an hour before he would receive any notifications, based on the time it took Sweeper to diest time, so it was okay to watch.

    *ng!~*

    Dark parried a sh, and using the momentum returned a thrust with its second de.

    The de dug into the shield and left a small imprint.

    Heavy was the smaller skeleton, but its weighty armour stopped it from moving back as it braced itself.

    Dark jumped back and analyzed its prey as it thought for a moment. It wasn¡¯t happy merely doing damage to the shield, so it was forced toe up with a different strategy.

    Heavy gazed at Dark from behind it¡¯s shield, slowly inching forward like a moving wall ¨C albeit a very small wall as it was short.

    Finally, Dark moved again.

    Dark assumed a battle stance as it crouched low, spinning one knife into a reverse-grip and then dashing back in to the fight.

    Heavy stepped forward with a sh ¨C however it was a feint, it put zero strength into the sh.

    Dark easily deflected the weak strike, but didn¡¯t expect the shield to move so quickly.

    *Boong~*

    Heavy re-directed its strength into the shield.

    With a small thud, Heavy bashed its shield against Dark, using the momentum of both of them to create a bigger impact. It was the lower level skeleton so it had to use its opponents weight against it.

    Jay nodded in approval as he watched closely.

    Dark was thrown off-bnce for a moment; it had never experienced such a feeling before.

    But now, another thrust wasing directly towards it ¨C this time, it was easy to tell that it had as much strength in it as Heavy could muster.

    Dark frantically shed both of its dual daggers upwards at once.

    Even to its own surprise, this was enough to deflect the powerful strike, sending it grazing right past its shoulder.

    Dark jumped back once more, re-analyzing the fight after it nearly took massive damage delivered straight to its spine.

    While it had dual daggers on its side, there was no getting past the shield. Despite being the level two skeleton, it was tactically outmatched. Plus, its mind was technically younger.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ what will Dark do¡­¡±

    Jay believed the fight was pretty one-sided, especially since Heavy had full set of heavy armour and a shield on its side, while Dark only had the two daggers to keep it light and nimble.

    Counter to Jays expectations, Dark jumped back further and turned to the side as it began running through the rocks, weaving in and out of them with tremendous speed. Its light body allowed it to turn at sharp angles without losing any speed.

    Heavy had to keep spinning and repositioning it¡¯s shield, but suddenly a dagger fell down from the sky behind it.

    The dagger was obviously a misdirection and Heavy was only distracted for a fraction of a second, but this was all the assassin needed.

    It quickly sprinted from a concealed crack behind some rocks, dashing with undead speed and pouncing with itsst dagger out.

    Heavy raised the shield but couldn¡¯t brace in time. Dark bashed it¡¯s body against the shield, ignoring the damage as it raised its arm to block a sword sh, taking enough damage to snap its arm.

    With the shield pushed up against its body, Heavy was vulnerable.

    The dagger Dark had saved was thrust into its eyes. Time seemed to show as the dagger shimmered with a bone luster towards its face.

    Heavy tried to lower its head so the helmet would take the hit, but it was simply toote.

    *Donk~*

    The dagger pierced its eye socket, but stopped just before it hit the back of the skull. Dark didn¡¯t want to hurt Heavy in any meaningful way.

    Heavy stopped moving as it stood there with Dark¡¯s de in its face ¨C not because it was dead, but because it was realizing what just happened: it lost.

    Dark wasn¡¯t sure what to do now either. It had won the fight but lost an arm, so it didn¡¯t go to pick up its new dagger.

    They were both caught in a strange embrace, as neither knew the ethics around beating an opponent.

    However, both of them soon heard a sound.

    Looking around, they heard a slow pping sound and saw a smiling human face.

    ¡°Excellent fight.¡± Jay smiled, ¡°now we will do it again, but this time it will be a little different¡­¡±

    The skeletons finally disengaged; Dark pulled its dagger out of Heavy¡¯s eye and stared at Jay for a moment, both wondering what was going to happen.

 Chapter ?212 Train

    Chapter ?212 Train

    ¡°You two will fight again, but now, Dark will be one-handed.¡± Jay said as he picked up Dark''s dropped dagger.

    The skeletons each looked at Jay dumbfounded - their master wanted them to fight again?

    Of course, Jay expected Heavy to win now, and this strategy would also allow Dark to thick more tactically and gain more battle experience.

    After another short battle, Heavy did win, though it lost its shield. Jay could craft another as he had the blueprint down in his mind.

    Dark won the next round, then the next round - until Heavy used its second arm to start grappling, and won again.

    Soon enough, Heavy lost its arm too, and then Dark continued to win for the next few rounds.

    The skeletons didn''t kill each other during the fighting, but would stop just before killing each other, and would mostly only use tactics to disable - however, if any human or animal ever took a dagger to the eye socket, they would perish without enough health, suffering a major critical hit.

    Soon, Jay gave them some respite and healed them, restoring their weapons and crafting a new shield for Heavy.

    The skeletons, despite being level two and one, were each quickly turning into experienced fighters.

    Someday they would be masters of war, able to sway the ebb and flow of any battlefield, but for now they were nothing but novices. Novices who could happily amputate each other and keep fighting to the death.

    A threat was still approaching however - and Jay didn''t think he would need to conserve his mana before the beast would reach them, as he believe it would die this time.

    That was until he got some notifications.

    [Your skeleton has died]

    [Your skeleton has died]

    ¡°Fuck... Train normally again.¡± Jay had a bitter expression on his face.

    Two skeletons perished almost instantly.

    Quickly, he sat down and activated the host skill on Blue and was transported into the body of his minion.

    [Your skeleton has died]

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± his jaws clinked.

    Sweeper stabbed the bear and jumped back from a w attack, but the beast pounced forward with a second sh, ending Sweeper with a single strike of it strange thorn-like ws.

    The spears did absolutely nothing to stop it. The beast shrugged off the hit without even flinching.

    Jay got a nce at the beast before it came charging. Its form was like a bear covered in thorns and thistles, a twisted piece of nature and beast made up of sickly grey vines and thorns.

    The vines seemed to wriggle and twist around its body endlessly, and despite having shade vision, Jay couldn''t tell if there was any fur or flesh underneath.

    Unfortunately, he didn''t analyze it - the beast was already charging and he didn''t want to experience second-hand death again, so he quickly ended the [host] skill.

    [Your skeletons has died]

    Jay exhaled with a heavy breath, only just escaping the feeling of death right before the beast came crashing down on his hosted skeleton.

    ¡°Dammit. What the fuck was that thing...¡±

    For a brief moment, Heavy and Dark looked up at him, but soon went back to shing their swords in the air as they trained themselves, minding their own business.

    Jay added more bones to his pile and began his summoning ritual. In no time, all his skeletons were summoned once again and it wasn''t long before they were equipped too.

    ¡°Try to at least do some damage this time.¡± he shook his head, disappointed in his skeleton as they ran off once more.

    Jay had not been paying enough attention to the time, but it was clear the beast was getting closer, as the skeletons were dying more frequently.

    For the beast though, it would simply be encountering skeletons more regrly as it drew closer to Jay, probably thinking it was getting deeper into enemy territory where there were more patrols.

    Jay went back to meditating, recovering his mana while the skeletons ran back into battle.

    The meditation didn''tst very long, and not even thirty minutes passed before he started receiving the death notifications once more.

    Unfortunately, he responded a little too slowly as he was meditating, and before he coulde to his senses they were all dead again.

    ¡°Shit... thirty minutes away...¡±

    Before he began summoning again, Jay checked the desert progress. It seemed that Handy was almost done with clearing a path across the mushroom field.

    In the back of Jay''s head, he knew his options were to either keep running along the desert, trapped between the cliffs and the mushroom desert until nightfall, y the beast, or cross the mushroom field now while he had a path open and hopefully it wouldn''t follow.

    With a worried look, Jay summoned them all again and remade their weapons.

    He was getting annoyed that they were dying to one single enemy so quickly, and he didn''t care for excuses, but the skeletons didn''t make any either, they simply carried out their task without any hesitation.

    Jay pointed his finger with a quick angry gesture towards where the beast wasing from.

    The skeletons dashed off once more, but Blue lingered for a moment, ncing at Heavy and Dark.

    Blue seemed to be interested in the skeletons strange behavior, almost sensing that they were different, but after a moment Blue dashed away and followed the other skeletons.

    ¡°You''ll get a mind soon too, Blue. Just as soon as we''re safe...¡± Jay nodded.

    ¡°Why is Blue curious anyway... Hmm. Perhaps getting a mind is a natural progress kind of thing. Or perhaps it''s just my own subconscious, interested in my own skeletons...¡± Jay scratched his chin, wondering for a moment before making some preparations.

    Instead of meditating this time, Jay began to craft more weapons instead.

    He made the usual sets of weapons for the skeletons - in this case, ossein swords for Sweeper, Lamp, Blue and Red, and then crafted another set of six daggers along with six spears.

    All of the products were level three except for the spears which Jay needed more practice with, though he was quite happy to see that his swords were now level three even though he didn''t use any silt-wolf bones.

    As Jay crafted, he wondered if he would be able to give his weapons abilities or if it was a random chance that they would get them. Perhaps it was a matter of design, like with the shields.

    He remembered the impressive cloud spear that the guard Paul wielded, and considered his own shield was a unique one with abilities.

    Technically his swords did have abilities, such as their lifespan ability, but those were just passives on all his undead weapons.

    Jay wanted to simply sit down and spend a day, or even a few weeks, simply crafting weapons or working on his spells and research, but between levelling up, and experimenting when he first started, or his current predicament of being on the run, there was simply no time to do anything.

    Plus, he now had to give the skeletons minds and then have them re-train with each other.

    With his to-do list growing he was feeling mentally fatigued, and in this pressing situation of the beast now closer than ever, the signs of stress were beginning to show.

    [Your skeleton has died]

 Chapter ?213 Restless Hunter

    Chapter ?213 Restless Hunter

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    Barely ten minutes had passed when another skeleton had perished, in by the beast.

    Jay quickly sat near a rock and used his host skill to try and get a closer look at the encroaching monster.

    Concentrating on Blue, his mind went to darkness again before entering the ck and white world behind the skeletons eyes.

    Two skeletons were still alive - Red and Lamp stood at either side of the beast and shed at the tentacles covering its whole body.

    ¡°Tentacles? Hmm... actually they seem to be more like vines...¡± Jay thought.

    The shape of the beasts body was like a bear, though its shoulders were much more narrow and each of its front legs sat under its chest instead of at the sides, so while having the size of a bear it was quite slender. Perfect for running through the forest and weaving between trees.

    The whole creature was covered thickly with these ash-grey vines, and Jay would''ve thought that it wasposed entirely of vines if not for therge snout poking out,plete with a set of muscr jaws lined with dagger-like teeth.

    Its sabre-like ws came falling down, threatening to smash Red to pieces, but Red dodged back just in time as the ws descended before it, then with a lunge it pierced the vines and lightly stabbed the flesh hiding underneath.

    Pulling out its de though, it seemed that it didn''t sink very deep as only the very tip had any blood on it.

    Lamp simrly attacked, but shed at the vines instead. The de came cleaving sideways but as it hit the vines it harmlessly rattled off, as if it was trying to cut through steel with a pathetic sh.

    Not so much as a small indentation was left on the vines.

    Peculiarly, the bear responded to Lamp first, immediately spinning left and snapping its jaws.

    ¡°...Protecting the vines?¡± Jay thought.

    Another w attack came flying horizontally, threatening to cut down anything that dared to stand before it.

    Instead of dodging backwards, Lamp dodged further to the side, trying to stay near the creatures side.

    With the creature spun around, Red was right at its back, and a prime opportunity to attack presented itself... but would it take it?

    ¡°Do it...¡± Jay thought mercilessly.

    This attack would be quite shameful to do - not only to carry out but to even mention.

    It would be one of the dark secrets Jay would keep with him till the grave, and beyond.

    For a creature such as this, there was one spot on its anatomy which had no armour or natural defences.

    Jay made sure there was no one around before this vile attack was made.

    Red stepped forward with a powerful thrust, sending the sword deeply into the creatures body.

    A critical hit, but at what cost? A little shame.

    Since the swords had no hand-guard or cross-guard, they were simply just skewers with a sharp edge, andbined with the skeletons slender arm it would easily pierce any... openings.

    The skeleton added so much force to this faithful attack that not only did the sword enter the creature, but its hand did too, going all the way up to its wrist.

    The bear immediately responded with a fearsome raw to such a dangerous provocation; Jay couldn''t see its eyes but he could tell they widened in shock as it clenched its jaws and tried to spin around to fight back.

    Jay felt a sense of shame, but it was his only option. If the beast caught him, it would definitely torture him, and he would ept such a punishment for this inhuman vition.

    Attacking its sacred vines was one thing, but this was something which made it ignore the vines altogether.

    As it spun around, Red did too. It was still gripping the de and cutting open the insides of the creature from behind though it was basically stuck.

    The bear continued to spin though, and eventually Red''s body collided with Lamp.

    It was like the bear was chasing its own tail - if its tail was an undead skeleton anyway.

    Jay would haveughed but it simply looked too painful, and he was grimacing instead.

    The frightening feeling he got from powerful forest creature''s presence was reduced to pity.

    The bear finally realized what it needed to do.

    Speeding to a nearby rock, it smashed Red''s body into it at warp speed - the skeleton copsed in a clinking of broken bones and dust which flew everywhere.

    Lamp was attacking all this time, but would soon be in as well.

    All this time, the skeletons were only dodging its strikes as they learnt that a single hit would end them, or at least take them out of the fight.

    With not much time left, Jay finally analyzed the bear.

    <[Blood-vine Bear - Level 27]>

    [Type - Beast, Blood, Stalker]

    [HP 1631/1,742]

    [Damage]

    - 50 - ws, Bite (sh, Crush)

    - 25 - Blood-drinking Vines (Bleed, 3 seconds, 5 stacks)

    <[Skills]>

    [Blood Rejuvenation]

    - No hunger, no thirst - as long as the vines are fed

    - 84% Health Regen

    - Requires Blood, otherwise all stats are halved

    [Vine Prison]

    - Numerous twisting and spindling vines enclose an enemy

    - Bleeds due to blood-drinking vines

    - Immobilizes

    [Blood Scent] (Passive)

    - 3,200 meter range

    - Targets cannot hide

    - Target does not need to be bleeding, but it helps

    [Restless Hunger] (Passive)

    - The vine''s don''t allow the bear to sleep, but repay it with immortality so long as they are fed.

    - Provides temporary immortality.

    <[Description]>

    [No one can ever tell where the vines end and the bear starts. Commonly called the kings of the jungle, these beasts carve outrge plots of thick forests for themselves - their hunting grounds. A necessity as their vines need a constant supply of fresh blood.]

    ¡°Dammit, no wonder they were having so much trouble...¡± Jay thought, ¡°So it''s smelling my blood? I''m in its territory?¡±

    Right as he analyzed it, the bear suddenly used one of its skills - the vines folded away from the bears body and swallowed Lamp as if it was in a coffin. The bleed effect of the vines did nothing to the skeleton, but the vines themselves were powerful enough to crush its bones into dust.

    Jay quickly ended the host skill, conserving his mana.

    It would only be a few moments until Blue died, and probably not much longer until the beast caught up with Jay after he summoned them all again.

    Jay nced at the desert. Handy was finally finished and the way was mostly clear - there were a few areas where Jay would have to weave between the mushrooms, but there was a path across at least.

    It was his escape path.

    After Jay summoned the skeletons, he hid behind a boulder and gazed across the rocks - after they were summoned he could finally see iting.

    The blood-vine bear was covering ground at a high speed. Slower than the skeletons but still fast. It looked much more fierce in colour.

    It seemed that as it got closer to Jay it even sped up, smelling the scent of his blood in the air as it became more ravenous; its meal was close. It''s vines needed watering.

    Jay began his escape n.

    He quickly had Dark and Heavy dash across the desert, in case there was anything there to attack him on the other side. They still needed some training but it was better than nothing.

    ¡°Don''t touch the mushrooms¡± he added, just in case the young-minded skeletons had not learnt about the dangerous fruits.

    After all, their minds were formed after Jay discovered the carnivorous side of the seemingly cid mushrooms. They had not witnessed the de deer being torn apart.

    Jay handed the other skeletons their weapons oncest time as the beast approached.

    Gathering his bone pile, the extra daggers and spears he created, he was ready to leave.

    The blood-vine bear was closing in, and once more it shed with the skeletons, but finally its spotted its meal and for a moment ignored the undead horrors around it as it stared at him.

    While it could have simply ignored the skeletons and charged right after Jay, it decided to finish the off first, not willing to experience what it did the previous time when its back was turned.

    Somehow it knew this was the being which caused it pain, and an angry roar sounded, shifting rocks and sand as it stared into Jay''s eyes - the source of the skeletons.

    ***Hi. Join the discord through the patre0n to find out about beast-type exp and HP scaling, and more :)***

 Chapter ?214 Do Not Slow Down

    Chapter ?214 Do Not Slow Down

    The mountains echoed as the beast roared when it saw its meal, trying to scare Jay into submission.

    The beast still had over one thousand health, and Jay definitely didn''t have the damage to stop it, neither did he have the mana to sustain his skeletons - especially when each of them were dying in one to two hits.

    Jay had no doubts that his fate would be the same as Lamp''s - encased helplessly in vines as they drained all his blood before twisting the remains of his body into a paste, wringing out every drop of the blood as if he were a damp cloth.

    Fighting a level twenty-seven beast was just too far beyond his skill level.

    Perhaps if it didn''t know exactly where he was and had no health regeneration there would be a way to hide somewhere and send his skeletons in over a few days, whittling it down slowly, but right now the only option was to flee. There was no escaping its blood scent.

    Jay could only hope that the beast wouldn''t follow him across the desert, which would at the very least give him more time.

    Perhaps in the forest he would be able to find a dungeon and take refuge inside one, but even then, the beast would still be somewhere outside, lurking for prey and waiting.

    With the three-thousand metre range of its blood scent ability, there was also not much chance of escaping its maws.

    Jay could only hope that once he crossed the desert, there would be another de deer which the beast would chase instead.

    Sure, it would have to travel around the desert again, but that would only prolong the inevitable as it resumed the hunt.

    What mattered right now though was what was in front of him: the beast, which was already decimating his skeletons.

    With no other options, Jay dashed from behind the boulder and ran straight towards the mushroom desert.

    The beast almost seemed to be shocked as its second meal was about to run into the embrace of the carnivorous mushrooms again.

    It released another frustrated roar, shaking pebbles and shifting the grains of sand, but this time it had undertones of sadness and rm; ironically it was like it was trying to warn Jay, just so that it would be the one to kill him.

    Jay ignored itpletely. Its fearful roars still had no effect on him whatsoever.

    Getting to the edge of the desert he didn''t hesitate as he jumped right onto the sand and began weaving between the hazardous mushrooms.

    Each step was concise and purposeful as he navigated around the field.

    Suddenly an intense burning pain came from Jay''s arm - looking down though, there was no mushroom clinging to it.

    He didn''t have time to worry about it though. The beast was gazing at him coldly, ignoring the skeletons for a moment as it shrugged off the hits. It waited to watched Jay die.

    Its eyes squinted for a moment as it gazed, and finally it saw something which re-ignited a fire in its belly: a skeleton was on the other side of the field, two skeletons were in front of Jay, also crossing the field.

    The beast wasn''t mindless, and after living for so many decades, it''s intelligence grew along with its strength. It was its intelligence that stopped it charging recklessly into the mushrooms in the first ce, but right now it was only thinking one thing: there was a way across.

    The prey was not dead.

    The hunt was not over.

    Finally it would steal a meal back from the damn mushrooms.

    As Jay dashed across the field, there was a change in the sand - instead of shifting constantly by all the wriggling and squirming lizards underneath, it suddenly stopped.

    But only for a moment.

    Suddenly, the small waves of sand were moving in one direction: towards Jay.

    ¡°Oh fuck, oh shit... what are they doing?¡± he thought, dodging another mushroom.

    So many variables and thoughts were running through Jay''s mind at once:

    - where would he run to next after crossing the desert?

    - Will the beast follow him across? How would he outrun it now? The only chance of living would be to miraculously find a dungeon on the other side, somewhere in the forest? Since when did he have such profound luck.

    - Why were the lizards suddenly alling towards him?

    - Oh, stop! Dodge that hanging fruit!

    - Why is my arm burning with a hot itchiness?

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    Now the death notifications were annoying him in the already stressful situation.

    If Jay could put his current situation into words, he would only have three: ¡°I am fucked.¡±

    The gaps between the mushrooms got skinnier to run through, and he wasn''t even half-way across, though he came to the area where the skeletons started cutting away the red fruits - this only made it harder as now he had to push past the hanging tendrils, and if the skeletons missed even one fruit, Jay would only be able to escape via amputation.

    For a moment, he wondered if his situation could get any worse.

    As if responding to his thoughts, a new threat emerged from the sand - the damn lizards.

    Each of them were no real threat to Jay, however they had one ability which set them apart from all other little critters: they could utilize the fruit.

    A little lizard head popped out of the sand with a red fruit on its mouth - right near Jay''s foot.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± he flinched, only missing it slightly.

    He quickly pulled his foot up right before the lizard started waving its head around, trying to attach the fruit to his body.

    One red fruit would not do too much to slow him down, but ten? One hundred? If they were stuck to his body, he would progressively get slower, allowing more fruit to stick to him, and soon enough it would be a death sentence. A painfully slow one.

    Remembering the lizards eating their own kind to consume the fruit, Jay''s blood started pumping and his adrenaline started coursing through his veins; his heart beat elerating and seeming to make time slow as his thoughts became clearer, almost calm, as his current objectives to survive were simple.

    Dodge the red fruit, don''t slow down.

    All his other thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind.

    Jay checked the bottom the the mushroom tendrils, pushing them aside like curtains before dashing through. Thankfully the skeletons carved a straight path through the mushroom field.

    The beast had finally killed the skeletons and was already running towards where Jay entered the desert.

 Chapter 215 Unexpected Swarm

    The vine beast reached the edge of the desert as it followed its lunch.

    Jay made it to the middle of the desert right as the beast entered. He had to do something to slow the beast down, but the damn lizards were almost right underneath him, each having a fruit in their mouths ready to stick to Jay¡¯s flesh.

    He had to either keep moving or die.

    A few of the underground lizards haphazardly poked their heads up right below a mushroom fruit, and became victims themselves, releasing little cooing noises as they were slowly pulled into the air, bing food for the mushrooms, which disappeared shortly after.

    When a mushroom disappeared it made some extra space and even allowed the beast to run faster.

    The mushrooms at the centre of the desert wererger, taller, and one was right in the middle of Jay¡¯s path, so the skeletons mostly trimmed every single one underneath.

    Jay quickly took shelter under it, and thinking fast, he summoned a bone pile around the trunk of the mushroom and stood on top of it, using the trunk for his own support.

    With the bones below him, the lizards wouldn¡¯t be able to reach him now.

    Next, he tossed the spears in the sand and summoned the skeletons again.

    He cast the summoning spell four times before the first skeleton was even summoned, and arge volume of the glowing necrotic mana surrounded a portion of the bone pile, which began to assemble four skeletons at the same time as many bones floated around and were distriubted to where they were needed.

    Looking back, the vine bear was already making its way through the mushrooms, navigating them with deadly precision.

    Contrary to Jay¡¯s expectations, the beast easily dodge through the mushrooms as its body was now, somehow, more long and slender.

    The vines which had been coiled around its body were now piled up on its back and even seemed to squeeze its ribs, making its body even more slender, allowing it to weave between the dangerous mushrooms as nimbly as Jay did.

    Seeing more of its body now, Jay was surprised at how slender it truly was; its bones were protruding from its flesh, and its flesh was loosely clinging to its bones.

    Essentially, it looked like it was starving.

    Jay received a notification but ignored it as he caught his breath for a moment, but before the skeletons even formed he was running again, pushing through the curtains of hanging tendrils.

    He kept running, and as soon as his foot touched the sand again, the lizards were already swarming around him like a school of hungry piranhas.

    As each of the skeletons formed, Jaymanded them to grab the spears and form a spear-wall.

    One spear was not very hazardous to the bear, but a small wall of them with the dangerous mushrooms at their side was another matter.

    What formed was essentially a blockade, and the beast would have to charge right into them.

    This was Jay¡¯s only hope to slow the beast down as his mana dwindled to dangerously low levels ¨C his body was coursing with adrenaline though, but right now it was barely keeping his mind focused.

    Since Jay momentarily stopped on the bone pile, most of the had caught up now that Jay had stopped, and he was like a ma.

    The only good thing about this situation was that some of the lizards had wasted some fruit, attaching them to the bottom of the bone pile Jay was standing on ¨C but the middle of the desert was brimming with these fruit, and they only had to search for a second before plucking another one to chase Jay with.

    Handy, Heavy and Dark had made it to the other side by now. Heavy and Dark guarded the exit of the mushroom path with Handy was running through the trees somewhere deeper in the jungle, scouring it for enemies and looking for hidden threats.

    Thankfully, after scouting for some time, Handy was still alive. There were no threats in the forest.

    It seemed that the blood-vine bear had feasted on every living thing in its territory. Not even birds escaped the insatiable appetite of its blood vines.

    Jay sprinted frantically across the sand, dodging mushroom fruit sometimes only by a hair, while the lizards followed closely behind with their exploding red fruits ready to trap Jay if he ever dared to slow down. The lizards were just as fast underground as Jay was above ground, and only had to stop when they poked their head above the surface to trap him.

    Jay was making good speed across the desert, and was nearly across.

    Despite the dangers, Jay smiled a little when he heard something behind him. It almost sounded like a hissing noise as the spears dug into the sand.

    The beast crashed into the spear wall.

    It took 200% extra damage from every spear, but it already had so much health that it was an eptable trade off to catch its prey ¨C though perhaps even to its own surprise it was stopped by four measly spears.

    The four spears were enough to stop it, as each of them had the anti-charge ability to stop fifty kilograms (110 pounds), and with four of the spearsbined, they had enough stopping power to halt two hundred kilograms ¨C enough to stop the starved beast.

    Jay expected it to weigh more, but it seemed that the bear was severely malnourished. It was no wonder it was hunting with with such endless resoluteness; it was right after winter too, so perhaps it burned through all its fat ¨C or blood storage ¨C while food was scarce.

    It¡¯s really no wonder the vines were grey instead of a blood red.

    The blood vine bear was forced to smash away the spears with a flick of its ws, but as it knocked two away, another two would take its ce.

    With a roar it summoned its vine again.

    The spears didn¡¯t have a chance against the shifting vines, and soon enough another skeleton was entombed in them and crushed to pieces.

    The other spears prodded it, stinging its flesh as if they were little more than ants, but it seemed that only one skeleton had to fall before the others would follow shortly after.

    A single breach in the spear wall was enough to break it, and the skeletons began dodging backwards to hold its attention. It was the only way they could go.

    Jay however was already out of the desert ¨C the pursuing lizards all stopped at the edge¡­ a few still hopelessly waved their heads around as they followed the smell of the human ¨C but it was no use. He had escaped.

    Escaped the lizards and the desert anyway. The beast was still travelling across and Jay was out of mana, and pretty low energy too. There was nowhere to run.

    Jay let out some frustration on the lizards.

    ¡°I should¡¯ve killed you little fuckers when I had the chance¡­¡± he said, spitting right onto the heads of one of the lizards.

    Jay smiled slyly, satisfied that he hit one. There was something satisfying to him about spitting in the faces of his enemies.

    Suddenly, the lizards began moving again.

    They seemed to be smelling something else.

    Something with a stronger scent ¨C the blood-vine bear.

    The lizards had let one meal escape, but now there was another one, and coincidentally they were right in front of it ¨C it was even heading right towards them.

    The blood-vine bear, while observant, did not notice the lizards that were attacking Jay from below. It was more preupied with dodging between the mushrooms and the delicious scent of blooding from Jay.

    Little did it know, it was now the one being hunted.

    Small waves of sand covertly swarmed towards the blood-vine bear.

 Chapter 216 Vine Slave

    For a moment, Jay was distracted as he thought it quite odd: He had hunted the lizards, the lizards hunted the bear, and the bear hunted him.

    ¡°Almost like a circle of life. Or death.¡± he shrugged.

    Jay nned to run as soon as he reached the other side ¨C he didn¡¯t expected the bear to follow him across the mushroom path. Furthermore, he also didn¡¯t expect the lizards to try and kill him either.

    For this reason, he waited for a moment, curious to see what would happen.

    The underground lizards was all swimming towards the unsuspecting blood beast, but he couldn¡¯t help but wonder one thing.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t they attack the skeletons¡­?¡±

    Of course, the lizards relied on their sense of smell, but the skeletons Jay had were ancient, pulled from a mass grave of Helvetians.

    The only smelling from them was death and decay. A putrid rot.

    Suddenly, the skeletons holding off the bear were given some respite as the bear stopped attacking for a single moment.

    It felt some fruit on its flesh ¨C it knew it had to cut it off or a tendril would pull it apart.

    It lifted its paw and gazed as a growth of red fungus that became as hard as stone.

    To the bears surprise, there was no tendril attached to the fruit.

    Suddenly, another one attached to one of its other feet, and below its body more red fruit appeared in the jaws of lizards, all poking up to try and attach one to it.

    The beast didn¡¯t even roar, there was no time to be angry. It knew it had to move.

    It charged forward again, thest spear crumbled and snapped as it pierced the bears skin, though it ignored the remaining skeletons which were nearly dead anyway.

    Jay remained and watched on, and soon his hopelessness disappeared as it was reced with an excited joy.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s not a circle of death. It ends with me.¡± he smiled.

    This was his chance at survival and he was going to make the most of it.

    Seeing that the bear was now rmed, Jay made the remaining skeletons jump and hold onto it, to try and slow it even more.

    Jay quickly created another bone pile and summoned two skeletons which had just died. Thest of his mana left his body, and his mind was now feeling slow and numb.

    Thankfully, he had two more spears left which he had previously crafted.

    If only for a moment they would slow it down, but that would be all the time that the underground lizards would need.

    The mushrooms attached to the bears paws already slowed it down enough so that every now and then a few lizards could attach another fruit, which only slowed it down more.

    The process would be a snowball effect.

    Jay¡¯s skeletons rushed back into the field. The beast had crossed the half-way point but was slowing down.

    In a few moments it already had more fruit attached to its legs; some unfortunate lizards also joined the mass of fruit attached to its legs ¨C though they were quickly pulverized into bloody messes.

    Jay could tell the beasts energy was dwindling; it had been fighting skeletons and pursuing him all this way. Plus, it had already lost a deer after a long chase too.

    Now that the vines were on its back he could see every one of its muscles straining and being pushed to their limits, almost snapping with each step the beast would take. It was like it was walking through thick mud, or even a tar pit. It wouldn¡¯tst long.

    Nevertheless, it maintained a reasonable speed. Even with a skeleton clinging to its body and therge growing balls of hardened red fruit on each of its legs.

    It was slower than before but was still quite fast, all things considered.

    At least until it made it to the fresh spear-wielding skeletons.

    It was stopped again, not even having the strength to push past two spears now.

    The lizards were still working diligently, and even more quickly, as they sensed it slowing down.

    Jay smiled for a moment, thinking he had won, but his smile was shortly wiped away.

    Suddenly, the vines moved again, seeming to get smaller as they moved around the bears body.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Jay couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.

    The vines suddenly pierced the bears skin and coiled around its legs; they quickly gave it a boost of strength to get through the small roadblock.

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡±

    If it got past the skeletons, there would be nothing he could do. His mana dwindled so low that it may as well be zero, and the beast would y him without restraint.

    Both of them had low energy too, so Jay wouldn¡¯t be able to run far ¨C though the beast would still be able to travel further than he could without his skeleton cohort carrying him along.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to have to use these¡­¡± Jay thought, pulling out an acid-filled crystal from his inventory, ¡°But it seems I have no choice.¡±

    The crystal looked as harmless as a jewel resting in his hand, but inside was acid which could melt through giant stone statues and pyramids floors alike.

    The vines re-enforced the beasts muscles and allowed it to push past the spears and crack them in half. Again, it ignored the two skeletons, Red and Sweeper, and it went to dash past quickly.

    Meanwhile Jay looked at the skeleton clinging to its flesh, and suddenly he had a better idea.

    Jay directly send a bunch of thoughtmands to Red, the stress in each thought making the skeleton respond instantly.

    Red grabbed a snapped piece of bone spear. Standing near a mushroom tendril, it found one with a fruit still attached.

    A simple flick was all it took.

    ¡°Can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t do this sooner¡­¡± Jay shook his head.

    Red used the broken spear to push the red fruit towards the bear, and it exploded onto the vines.

    It wouldn¡¯t have worked it the bear was still as fast as it¡¯s original speed, but now each of its paws was covered in a bulky mass of the red fruits, sand, and some dead lizards scattered throughout.

    The bear only noticed after it pulled against the tendril. To Jay¡¯s surprise, the tendrils were stronger than they looked, and refused to give way.

    The bear turned its head. With a pained roar it shook its body, and the vines moved again.

    Some of the vines were ripped off; a necessary sacrifice to keep its life.

    However, this pause allowed even more fruit to attach to its paws and legs, while the dastardly skeleton flung another tendril-attached fruit towards it.

    This time, it stuck right onto its fur, exploding and growing into arge red ster and seeping deep into its skin.

    Jay smiled like a fiend as he watched. His ns wereing to fruition; literally.

    The beast still clung to hope as it tried to pull away, straining its fur against the fruit and attempted to rip itself away, enduring the pain.

    Then, another fruit came flying, attaching to the vines again.

    Then another, to its fur.

    Then another, and another, and another. Red just wouldn¡¯t fucking stop, no matter how much the bear roared.

    Jay was almost beginning to feel sorry for it ¨C with all these attached mushrooms it was about to be ripped apart in many different directions. Unless it could get free.

    Bombarded by fruit from above and below, the beast could do nothing now but copse from exhaustion and hunger.

    Still, its eyes were fixated on Jay.

    Anger, hate, hunger, bitterness, revenge¡­ then after a few moments, gratitude, rest, congrattion.

    Its eyes seemed to say everything that a roar couldn¡¯t.

    A feeling of sorrow mixed in with Jay¡¯s excitement to kill it ¨C he was unknowingly about to snuff out another immortal life; a mind much older than a humans would ever be.

    While it was only level twenty-seven, it had reached these heights hunting in the outside world. Its prey was nothing but the low level forest fauna and the odd monster which it yed mercilessly, neither of which would give abundant experience.

    The vines also sapped its strength until it was used to feed again. In one sense, it was like a ve to the vines.

    The mushrooms responded to the pulling on their tendrils, and they began to retract.

    Red was continuing its orders with blind diligence, adding more and more mushrooms to the monsters flesh.

    The mushroom field seemed to be stronger than the beast; each of its caps pulled the beast without even bending.

    Jay had tried to analyse them, but to no avail.

    The beast continued to gaze at Jay was it was soon dragged across the sand¡­

 Chapter 217 Permanent

    The blood-vine bear had been caught in the mushrooms.

    Just like the de deer, it body was soon suspended in the air; its legs hanging withrge balls of red fruit and dead lizards weaved into the mess.

    Unlike the de deer, the bear was now attached to many mushroom tendrils, more than what was possible for a lone animals. Red was diligent if nothing else.

    Its fur was pulled tight, and the vines were still trying to fight back as they sunk into the beasts skin, but it was for nothing. The bear had already given its all.

    It seemed that the red fruit even prated the flesh and went down to mixing with bone as it grew into every crack, as not only flesh was pulled away.

    The body of the bear was like a rag-doll as it was pulled tight.

    Pieces of flesh were ripped out by the mushroom tendrils in some ces, while others caused its bone to dislocate and soon enough it ripped away limbs.

    Life left the bears eyes, but not a single drop of blood fell from its wounds.

    The vines became red once more; they retracted from the bear, draining thest of its blood.

    Jay ignored any notifications he received as he watched quietly.

    The bear died, and soon the vines would follow.

    Below it though, hundreds of lizards were holding red fruits in the air, and the vine had no eyes of its own so it didn¡¯t event realise its current predicament.

    Jay didn¡¯t really mind the gore, as he was previously a butcher anyway. He was used to it. Besides, all the things he saw as an adventurer built up his tolerance.

    Each piece of the bear separated and pulled under a different mushroom cap, along with ripped off pieces of the blood vines.

    The mushrooms closed, and one of them even seemed like an over-stuff snake as it took the bulk of the bears body and dipped back below the sand.

    Arge patch of the desert was finally free of mushrooms as they hid under the sand and began to process their meals.

    Jay was d that the lizards at least didn¡¯t get a meal either. It seemed that both of these enemies hunted by scent, but it was their own reliance on the smells which were their undoing.

    After a moment of silence, all the lizards went back to gathering fruit, and the desert was quiet once more, as if nothing ever happened. All the tracks were covered up by the shifting sands.

    The only thing remaining was a peculiar pile of bones under arge mushroom in the middle of the desert ¨C And Red, who quickly rejoined its masters side.

    Jay simply stood there watching. Suddenly all his ns of running for a dungeon and hiding were pointless; without the predator chasing him, he was safe again.

    Safe for now anyway.

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be able to run back across the desert; that way was blocked by lizards.

    He turned to the dark forest behind him.

    It was quiet, damp; the air thick and humid. A wall of forest began where the desert ended.

    Jay looked up at the jagged snow-capped mountain onest time; resolute and silent.

    With a sigh, he stepped into the veil of trees, disappearing into the green barrage of flora as if he had never been there at all.

    ¨C

    ~Somewhere North of Jay, end of the mountain range~

    In thest five hours, north of Jay, a mage hunter had made some discoveries.

    ¡°Number three. I found another human skeleton. Long since dead with one arm. Ancient skeleton. No anomalies.¡±

    ¡­

    A moment passed, but an uncaring voice sounded back through hismunication crystal, ¡°Proceed.¡±

    So far nothing much was too far out of the ordinary ¨C this was his second human skeleton, but it was still reasonably within the hunting range of Lo, and even within reasonable expectations.

    Besides, one of the other mage hunters found a human skeleton too, while another found a cave with numerous carcasses stuck to the walls, covered with some sort of blue slime, so it wasn¡¯t like finding a second human skeleton was a rare oddity.

    Besides, the bones were ancient. Since Jay was eighteen it didn¡¯t make sense for him to have such old skeletons.

    Unfortunately, the skeletons they caught at Lo hadn¡¯t been thoroughly analysed yet, and no one really seemed to notice these finer details.

    The mage hunter trudged onwards, diligently carrying out his duty as he remained alert.

    Some timeter however, he made another discovery ¨C one that he was sure would gain attention and hopefully one that would bring him some reinforcement.

    ¡°Number three reporting. I found another skeleton, with a bone-based weapon. A bone spear. Broken into pieces. Both ancient skeletons.¡±

    ¡°Hold.¡± a voice quickly responded, then a momentter, ¡°Number two and four are enroute. Proceed quickly. Find Jay no matter what.¡±

    The voice sounded with both a mix of fanaticism and threat. Perhaps even excitement.

    The threat in the voice, however, was towards number three, pushing him to exert his full potential in the hunt¡­ and warning him note back empty handed.

    Number three gazed across the mountain along the rocks, between the mushroom desert and cliffs, as there were tracks in the soil ¨C it seemed like ropes had been dragged through different parts of dirt which asionally plotted between the rocks.

    He began to follow the strange tracks, also finding a fewrge paw prints mixed in too.

    Some timeter, he found another skeleton with another broken weapon, and he was sure that Jay chose to walk along the mountainside rather than through the desert or the forest, and it made sense to the mage hunter too ¨C the rocky terrain was much easier to cross than the other two.

    What caused concern in the low ranking mage hunter though was the dead skeletons he kept finding along the way.

    Sure, it was good to find them as it was a trail towards Jay, but it was also a sign that the necromancer was fighting something, and based on how some of the bones had been grinded to dust, whatever it was, was powerful.

    Time was of the essence.

    Rauther than a search and secure mission, it was turning into a rescue mission instead.

    ¨C

    ~Third academy, Mirror Reality #34~

    Matheson groaned, waking up with a splitting headache, still having the ability to sense mana.

    ¡°Argh, what the fuck did they do to me¡­¡± he thought, a bitter frown as he sat there. Still dazed and a little confused.

    Matheson, or ¡®Smiley¡¯, was alone again.

    Having passed out a few times from random ps of pain, it seemed like he had stabilized somewhat. For now at least.

    Finally, someone entered the room again.

    ¡°Fuck. That girl again.¡± he thought, staring at her with death in his gaze.

    It was that girl who caused him so much suffering. The one who did something to him¡­ something he would have to undo, if it were even possible.

    Smiley both feared and hated her at the same time, and he deeply desired to pierce her heart with his sword.

    ¡°Well, looks like you¡¯re doing better.¡± she smiled, ¡°don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be paralyzed anymore¡­ unless you misbehave anyway.¡± she shrugged.

    Smiley stared at her with anger, ¡°so¡­ she paralyzed me. Or she has the power to. Somehow¡­¡±

    Due to the intense pain, he hadpletely forgotten about the worm which entered his body ¨C the same parasitical worm which was now coiled around the nerve bundles at the base of his skull.

    All of those painful memories had been stashed away somewhere, buried deep in his subconsciousness.

    Smiley continued to angrily stare, grinding his teeth as another person entered the room.

    An old man with a jolly expression and a long beard greeted him. Both the old man and the young girl were smiling, but Smiley sensed no danger from behind the elders.

    ¡°Hello, and wee to the third academy. Here¡¯s the situation ¨C you¡¯re not supposed to be here, though due to some uncertain events, you are. Plus, I¡¯m told you snuck in here, and we were thinking of executing you, but we have decided to have mercy since you¡¯re so young. But since you are here, and sending you back would be annoying, you will now be working here with us.¡± Norgrim said as if it were already a done deal.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find a way to make use of you, but for now I believe we need some mage assistants.¡± he added, ¡°Also, don¡¯t try to harm anyone or we¡¯ll be forced to execute you.¡±

    He said it so casually, but a shiver went down Smileys spine; something in his voice told him to beware, that many had been executed before and that many more would be toe.

    ¡°By the way, this is a permanent position.¡± he nodded with a smile.

    ***You can join the discord through the patre0n. Link in synopsis/book description ?? ***

 Chapter 218 Mass Summon

    The mage hunter, currently designated as number three, continued tracing the signs of the necromancer along the desert.

    ¡°He must be smart. He didn¡¯t leave any tracks in the sand at all, despite all the tempting red fruit around.¡± he thought, copying Jay and not leaving any tracks of his own.

    Number three was standing over a small pile of skeleton corpses ¨C four in total, each with broken weapons by their side. Their bodies had mostly fallen apart, having lost most of whatever dark energy was holding them together.

    After rying a report back to base, both he and the other mage hunters on the other end of themunication crystal were sure of it: he had found the trail to the necromancer.

    Strangely, there were only rope-like tracks and a few odd skeleton foot-prints which were barely visible, sometimes showing up in the dirt between the rocks.

    Somehow, the young human necromancer didn¡¯t leave any tracks himself, which is what made the mage hunter worry ¨C what if this was all just another diversion?

    Not leaving a single track didn¡¯t make any sense. No one was this good, especially not a level nine adventurer.

    Lieutenant Marsh had since sent another squad towards number three, an additional six men to the two others which were already heading towards him, and number three was d to have reinforcementsing; it meant that responsibility for the necromancer wouldn¡¯t solely be on himself.

    Usually with responsibility came rewards, however, Three knew better than that. He wasn¡¯t an idiot.

    If there were any rewards, a superior would im those ¨C and if not his superior, then the superior of his superior.

    Any merit owed to him would never reach him, and so he knew that there was no point in putting in too much effort.

    Just the bare minimum would do: the lowest amount of effort to stop himself from being punished. It was a sad reality to live in, and he hated it; it was often small things like this which stopped entire nations from prospering.

    Knowing reinforcements wereing, he kept moving, following the strange tracks on the side of the mountain.

    As he walked, he unconsciously sped up, as the skeletons he found were getting more frequent.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Hollow Forest~

    Jay found a small tranquil stream running through the forest.

    ¡°Ah, so refreshing¡± he released a satisfied smile.

    Sitting by quiet stream, he wiped some water on his face, rejuvenating his skin after the strange, dry, desert micro-environment.

    Surrounding him were thick ancient trees that covered the forest floor with interweaving roots, the roots themselves covered in thick moss.

    Small colourful mushroom¡¯s jutted out from decaying leaves and logs, and Jay was already sick of seeing mushrooms, so he casually kicked them over at his own leisure.

    Unfortunately he couldn¡¯t identify them, and after talking to hunters during his time as a butcher, he learnt that usually these bright coloured ones could kill a man with as much as a pea-sized bit of its flesh.

    Still, he was feeling quite rxed in the forest, as he knew there were no other beasts around. It was a quiet moment of safety, and perhaps, rity.

    Since the blood-vine bear had arge hunting area, he knew he was safe, as everything had already been in by the blood beast.

    Basically, the forest here was his to do as he pleased in. There were no dangers and no threats.

    Of course, he still headed south, but he made his skeleton carry him on his throne with a more slow and rxed pace, giving him a morefortable ride on his throne.

    His throne still used the same chair, though instead of cutting down trees for support-carrying poles, he simply crafted more bone spears.

    Lying back on his throne, Jay felt free, in a sense. His eyes werezily half-opened as he lied back on his throne, starting at the sun peeking through rare cracks in the forest canopy above.

    After escaping the beast, he really just wanted to forget about everything for a moment, and he needed some time to dpress after all the events at Lo, but he still had notifications to read.

    Jay nestled his head backzily into his chair as he began to open them.

    [Your skeleton had died] [Your skel¡­]

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Tell me something I didn¡¯t know.¡± he said, but he was even more annoyed with the next notification.

    [3,240 Exp]

    ¡°¡­¡± Jay furrowed his brows, ¡°Only three thousand exp for a level twenty-seven beast? What the fuck?¡±

    His calm mood was turned sour, feeling quite annoyed as he sat in his throne.

    ¡°Surely there must have been more exp¡­ where did the rest go? It doesn¡¯t evenpare to some other monsters I¡¯ve killed ¨C and without any help from¡­¡±

    Just as Jay was about to say it, he realized what happened.

    ¡°I did get help¡­ those damn mushrooms.¡± he frowned bitterly.

    After a few moments, he seemed toe to his senses, ¡°I guess without them, it wouldn¡¯t have died anyway¡­¡± he shook his head.

    ¡°So this is what sharing exp is like.¡± he frowned, ¡°it¡¯s no wonder everyone else is so slow at levelling.¡±

    Since Jay and the mushroom biomass were not in a party, the exp was not shared evenly ¨C the majority of it went to the mushroom field, which did the majority of the damage.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯lle back and kill those damn mushrooms someday¡­ I¡¯ll add it to my conquest list.¡± he nodded, ¡°I guess first I will need to start a list anyway.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I can make some shovels and dig up the whole desert. With the skeletons it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± he smirked.

    With his anger quelled, Jay checked a final notification.

    <[Skill Discovered]>

    [Mass Summoning]

    Immediately his mood brightened up, ¡°Oh?¡± he grinned, opening the skill.

    <[Mass Summoning]>

    ¨C Can summon multiple skeletons at once.

    ¨C Can create a mana well within a pile of bones; skeletons will continue to resurrect until the mana runs dry or the bones run out.

    ¨C Requires free skeleton slots. Does not sub-resurrect.

    ¡°Amazing¡­¡± Jays eyes sparkled with delight, ¡°a mana well. Awesome.¡±

    As he continued to read though, he paused, and couldn¡¯t take his eyes of a specific part of the skill.

    ¡°What does it mean by sub-resurrect?¡­¡±

    ¡°Sub¡­. resurrect¡­. so¡­ my summons can summon too¡­ I¡¯m guessing? ¡­But how?¡±

    Jay looked at his skeletons carrying him, thinking about it some more.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not? I mean, they have mana. Necrotic mana.¡±

    ¡°And I copied the scrimshaw skill from them¡­ hmm¡­¡±

    He read the skill over a few more times ¨C right now, the skill wouldn¡¯t be useful since his skeletons were already alive, but it held exciting implications for his future.

    ¡°We need to get you guys levelled up¡­¡±

    As Jay said that, Lamp and Sweeper gazed up at him, their heads both turning back to look at him at an unnatural angle.

    ¡°¡­¡± Jay simply looked back.

    ¡°What?¡±

    The skeletons went back to looking ahead, carrying their master over roots and between the ancient dark trees.

    ¡°¡­weird.¡± he thought silently.

    As Jay was carried, he chewed on some jerky he had saved, but he made sure to savour every bite ¨C this would be thest he had for a while, at least until he could find some meat and construct a smoker. His other rations were odds and ends he had stashed away ¨C some dried fruit and forest nuts. They wouldn¡¯tst for long.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to send the skeletons hunting soon¡­¡±

    ¡°But we will still need to travel out of the blood-vine bear¡¯s territory, otherwise there probably won¡¯t be much food at all.¡± he shrugged,

    ¡°¡­but if I leave its territory, then there might be other beasts. Stronger beasts.¡±

    Jay frowned, in a predicament ¨C albeit a self-imposed one: he wanted to keep travelling south, but right now he was in the safe territory of the blood-vine bear.

    There could be more dangers, filled with stronger enemies ahead.

    At the same time, there was no food in the blood-vine bear¡¯s territory, as it had used its blood scent skill to pick itsnd clean of any flesh or blood.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll just make a decision when I get to the edge of the vine-bears territory. I can just send the skeletons out of the territory to hunt anyway, and if they die I¡¯ll know it¡¯s not safe.¡± he nodded.

    It was a simple solution, though based in inexperience. Apart from the time he travelled to y leech queen Rosa, he had never done much survival in the wild.

    Back then, he had packed enough food to travel and never did any hunting himself.

    Thankfully, his skeletons were proficient and murderous machines. All along the way he had left a trail of death, the local wildlife decimated by the merciless undead.

    Typically, survival in the elements was hard, and could be just as dangerous as the monsters he fought, however, Jay had his skeletons to do every single thing for him ¨C hunting, gathering, and with minds, he believed he could even teach them to butcher.

    So Jay both underestimated how hard it would be to survive in the wild, and seemingly, would nevere to realize this fact thanks to his tireless helpers.

    With his mind made up, he sunk back into his chair again, trying to rx, if only for a moment.

    ¡°Ah, this damn itch¡­¡± he grimaced as he went to scratch it more.

 Chapter 219 Infestation

    Jay just wanted to rx his eyes, if only for a moment. After spending a few hours at the stream his energy had recovered, but mentally he felt quite drained. The stress had built up, and not knowing what lied ahead only added to it.

    He had only fled from Lo for a little under two days, but to him, it felt like it was never going to end.

    Now there was an itch on his arm, a nagging feeling holding him back from truly rxing, stopping himself from feeling at ease. It would have been akin to sleeping in a bed filled with sand ¨C an impossible task.

    ¡°Dammit. Fuck. This fucking itch!¡± He thought, scratching his arm.

    Finally, he took off his molodus coat, ready to give his arm the scratch of its life, however¡­

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± His eyes widened, staring at his arm.

    On his arm was arge sore, a bubble of flesh which had some green lifeforms in it, each of them looked like pieces of grass, about as long as his fingers.

    Gazing at it closely, he prodded it.

    This only made him panic further as the little green slithers inside began swimming around, responding to the light poking.

    ¡°Oh fuck, oh shit oh fuck,¡± he quickly pulled out his sword and was about to pierce the bubble of fluid filled flesh, but at this very moment he was forced to stop.

    As if responding to the threat, the little green things turned towards his flesh and attempted to burrow into it, causing great pain and trembling in the rest of Jays arm which quickly spread to his body.

    Gritting his teeth, he lowered his sword.

    ¡°They sensed me? Maybe I could just cut my arm off?¡± he thought, ¡°besides, I¡¯ve healed from more threatening injuries.¡±

    Somehow though, the thought of carrying out the task brought even more pain with it, another wave of pain travelling across his body.

    The pain was not just from his imagination, but a response from the creatures living in his arm. Somehow, they sensed that he meant them harm, and as his body shivered again he almost fell off his throne.

    The pain was so great that time seemed to slow down and in that moment he wished for nothing but death, and after giving up the idea to harm them, the pain suddenly stopped as if a switch was flicked off.

    Jay gripped his chair, his nails digging into it, ¡°Fuck¡­¡± he had a cold sweat.

    While he had been stabbed right through his chest before, the pain from these tiny parasites was otherworldly, iparable.

    It made being pierced through the chest with a giant stone sword seem like nothing but an ant bite. Somehow the parasites in his arm ramped up the levels of pain as they responded to the second time he threatened them.

    After some time, Jay got back to his senses, and knew he still had to take them out of his arm. Somehow.

    ¡°Okay. Amputation is not an option.¡± he breathed for a moment, then continued to stare at the bubble of liquid on his arm.

    ¡°Stop.¡± hemanded his skeletons as his throne came to a stop under a more lighted area; he stuck his arm into one of the endless shafts of light peaking through the trees.

    Under the beam of sunlight, Jay watched it for a while.

    The little green things inside went back so sitting calmly under his flesh. Dormant. Inactive again.

    ¡°It¡¯s like they¡¯re waiting for something¡­ it¡¯s like they can sense what I¡¯m thinking. Maybe I can sense what they¡¯re thinking. They at least can sense the outside world, outside of the flesh boil they¡¯re living in. Somehow.¡±

    For a moment, Jay even wanted to learn from them, to take some time to copy their abilities, but he pushed that thought away quickly ¨C in his list of priorities his life came first, then research followed afterwards.

    ¡°¡­but what are they waiting for?¡± he made a thoughtful look at them.

    They didn¡¯t appear to be feeding on him, or growing, or reproducing.

    They were just strangely dormant. For now they weren¡¯t harming Jay ¨C as long as he didn¡¯t harm them anyway.

    It was only part of his skin around it which was slightly inmed and red that made it itch, but after removing the molodus coat it was beginning to stop being red.

    It was almost like the molodus coat sensed a threat and was trying to attack it, to consume it in whatever way it could, but also couldn¡¯t hurt its master.

    After calming himself down, Jay decided to lovingly stash his poisonous coat away in his inventory. He knew it meant him no harm after all.

    Next, he nned for a future operation. One which would be more barbaric rauther than surgical or clinically clean.

    If these things were going to attempt to consume him, his arm would need to be cut off ¨C but he wouldn¡¯t be able to do it, and neither would he be able tomand the skeletons to.

    Not the skeletons without minds, anyway.

    If he didmand them to cut his arm off, then the creatures in his arm would cause him excruciating pain, and he would be forced tomand them to stop.

    The ones with minds could be a different case though, as they could think for themselves. At least to some degree.

    His n? Give one of therger skeletons a mind, have it learn of his parasite, and eventually he wouldmand it to chop off his infested arm no matter what he said afterwards.

    Perhaps not directly to chop off his arm, but along the lines of ¡®protect me from any and all threats¡¯.

    He also thought to give it amand to ignore hismands if his life was in danger if it meant saving his life.

    That way, hopefully, the skeleton would carry out his orders even after he asked it to stop.

    Even if he screamed at it to stop.

    Then, when he asked it to stop, the squirming creatures may not react and cause him pain.

    Meanwhile, the skeleton would carry out its task and remove them. Along with his arm.

    Possibly. It was all just a theory anyway.

    Plus, in Jay¡¯s weird and curious mind it would be an interesting experiment. Would his skeletons override newmands in favour of an older one? Or vice versa?

    As Jay thought about it, he wondered where he could have even acquired this little parasite from in the first ce.

    He remembered it was itching as he walked along the desert, but even before that there was a slight itch.

    There was no itch before he fought with the perreton wolves in the dead of night though.

    ¡°¡­ Perhaps, while I was sleeping?¡± he guessed.

    For a while, he was asleep while perreton wolves descended from the skies around him, being chopped to pieces by his merciless skeletons.

    Thinking about these little green worm-like parasites crawling out of a disemboweled corpse of one of those flying underground wolves and crawling into his skin made him shudder in disgust.

    ¡°Hmm, in the desert it burned¡­ perhaps it hates dry air?¡± he thought.

    ¡°Perhaps¡­ it loves moisture¡­?¡±

    Jay made a thoughtful look at the stream. He was being carried along it, as it too flowed south, and he figured it would be good to have a water source.

    Jumping off the throne, he leant down and ced his arm in the cool gentle waters.

    ¡°Ahh,¡± he smiled.

    As soon as he dipped the boil in, a wave of rxed pleasure washed across his mind.

    It felt good. Too good. Way too good.

    The little green things in his arms curled into little balls as if responding to the cold ¨C though it seemed like they were now releasing something into Jay¡¯s blood to make him feel warm and dazed andpletely euphoric.

    He waited for a while to see if anything else would happen, but there was nothing ¨C nothing except the nice feeling of warmth wrapping around his mind somehow getting stronger.

    ¡°Perhaps I can cut them out now¡­¡± he thought.

    But just as he brought his de closer, he stopped.

    Strangely, there was no pain as he thought about harming them, but he stopped.

    ¡°But if I cut it out, the nice feeling will go away¡­¡± he smiled dumbly, ¡°maybe just a little longer.¡± he nodded.

    Jay slowly dropped from his knee to a morefortable position, and was soon lying on his stomach.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll just¡­ wait a bit longer¡± he smiled.

    Soon enough he was lying down next to the water, looking at the little green worms in his arm.

    ¡°I guess they aren¡¯t so bad. Once you get to know them.¡± he smiled, his eye lids starting to close.

    The little green worms were still curled up into balls, within therge boil on Jay¡¯s arm. Each of them releasing something into Jay¡¯s blood which was making him feel amazing.

    Better than amazing ¨C it was intoxicating.

    The colours of the forest somehow seemed more colourful, the mushrooms especially which seemed to almost glow.

    It was like his eyes had pulled back ayer of reality and was looking at a more vibrant world; each of the ancient interweaving tree roots he was lying on seemed like a grand puzzle made by some renowned architect. A divine tapestry woven for a wood-eldritch lord.

    His eyes were seeing patterns he had never seen before, and somehow he felt like a piece of the puzzle.

    ¡°Amazing¡­¡± he smiled.

    Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a ss smashing somewhere nearby ¨C looking around for a moment he was startled, and thought it must have been the skeletons, but there was no ss anywhere.

    ¡°Did I imagine that?¡± he wondered.

    Then another thought popped into his head, ¡°No. It¡¯s fine. Everything is fine¡­ just rest.¡±

    He agreed with his own thought, ¡°Yes. Just rest¡± he smiled, nodding, agreeing with himself.

    Confused, he told the skeletons to defend him and went back tozily rxing on the edge of the stream.

    The skeletons left the throne and formed a defensive circle around their master as they stared into the forest.

    Slowly, his blinks became more slower. His eyes opening less than they used to.

    Soon, his eyelids grew much too heavy. Heavier than they had ever been.

    Finally they closed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just¡­ mmm¡± he released onest satisfied hum.

    ¡°Sleep. You¡¯re safe. I¡¯m safe.¡± he thought to himself.

    Onest nudge was all it took, and in utter euphoria, he finally fell asleep.

    His arm still floating lightly in the river, bobbing up and down gently as hey there on a bed of roots in hollow forest.

 Chapter 220 Activated Protocol 1

    Number Three was the closest mage hunter to Jay, and felt like he should have found him by now. Even he was surprised a level nine adventurer had this much endurance.

    Number Three trudged through the boulders, dirt, and over the rocky terrain on the side of the supreme mountain range.

    Clouds seemed to pass over it high above, each of them speeding overhead but resoundingly quiet.

    Following the trail of dead skeletons and strange tracks, he finally came to its end.

    He began to analyze it as if it were a crime scene.

    ¡°Four skeletons put up a fight here¡­¡±

    ¡°No more tracks along the mountain¡­¡±

    Finally, he noticed something under the curtains of tendrils hanging from the mushrooms.

    ¡°¡­ Bones in the desert? But why cross here, of all ces?¡± he wondered.

    The desert had no tracks in it as there was movements under the sand, constantly shifting it around.

    The little lizards plucking the fruit were still hard at work and destroying any signs that someone went across the desert.

    Any signs except for the pile of bones under arge mushroom in the center.

    Instead of pursuing immediately, Number Three first took something out of his inventory. Channeling some mana into it, he ced the strange item on a rock.

    It was a fist-sized ck sphere with a red band around it. After a moment it began to hover in the air and a red beam of light shot out of it.

    Number Three turned it to face across the desert, and left it floating there.

    It was a beacon. A marker.

    Nothing special, simply a way for the other mage hunters to follow in his foot steps.

    So far, he had guided the others by telling them he walked along the side of the mountain, between the cliffs and the desert, but now he was going to need his beacons.

    While walking along the desert he was travelling south-west, but his beacon pointed south-east across the desert, which is where he was headed.

    For a moment he simply stood there and gazed into the forest on the other side, wondering.

    Number Three couldn¡¯t help but wonder why Jay crossed here, of all ces. It made more sense to him to keep following along the easy terrain on the edge of the desert.

    Because of this, he was having a hard time trying to get into the mind of the young human necromancer.

    As far as he could tell, Jays behaviour was both calcted and erratic. Blind but mindful.

    A part of him still doubted that he was even following Jay since there were no human-sized shoe prints. Just skeletons and odd markings.

    ¡°Perhaps the bastards hiding in the cliffs,ughing at me. Maybe he¡¯s not being pursued by a beast at all.¡± he started wondering, thinking that perhaps it was all an borate ruse.

    The long journey seemed to be weighing on his mind as well, making him more paranoid than usual.

    Number Three had no just been tracking Jay for thest day and a half, but spent days marching to Lo from the capital too ¨C and without any rest.

    Being awake for nearly a week may have been okay for his level forty-eight body, but his mind still needed rest. The subtle signs of madness were beginning to show.

    After deploying the navigation beacon, he began his trudge through the desert.

    His armour boots sunk deeply into the sand with each step, and the weight of the rest of his armour made them sink half-way up his calve.

    The powered armour suit itself was heavier than any human could bear, heavier than ten humansbined could carry, but with a supply of mana and the adventurer strength of a level forty-eight soldier it was manageable. The mana kept it moving without much effort at all.

    As he trudged through the sand, some small lizards caught his attention as they began to harass him.

    Number Three red at them in disdain through his helmet. The little things were attacking him with something which was leaving hardened red ques on his sacred armour.

    ¡°Pests.¡± he grunted, raising a foot high into the air.

    He chanelled some mana into the suit, and it responded in kind with explosive power.

    He brought hisrge boot down with so much force that it caused a shockwave to travel through the sand, a wave of yellow hot sand shot out from around him like a wall. Even the rocks on the mountain trembled.

    Nearby lizards were crushed and shocked to bits while ones further away were stunned for a moment.

    The sands around him were stained red, with himself at the centre of a shallow hole.

    Number Three kept marching through the desert, but it seemed that his problems weren¡¯t over. The dead lizards attracted even more lizards, smelling the scent of blood.

    Before he could even make it half-way, the dead lizards had already been consumed while arge group of lizards were now charging at him through the sand.

    ¡°I should have just jumped over the whole desert.¡± he thought, though first he had to investigate the bone pile in the middle.

    All the way, the lizards were attaching the hard red que to his armour.

    To even Number Three¡¯s surprise, it was difficult to stomp off and remove these weird chunks of red material. He could remove surface-level chunks of it which were sticking out and not attached very well, but the deeper parts underneath seemed to fuse and harden, solidifying even further, making them impossible to remove.

    Three didn¡¯t swing his sword at it though, since it was obviously, a sword.

    It wasn¡¯t the right tool for the job, and his military training wouldn¡¯t allow him to blunt his weapon on such a thing.

    The harder red ques would be removed after some grinding or chizzled away when he returned back to base, by some lower ranking soldier.

    Perhaps a town guard, or even a peasant would be forced to do such a duty, but not him, and definitely not his sword. It was below him.

    Number Three was smiling slightly, imagining the poor bastard who would have to clean his armour. Every time another small red fruit burst onto his boot, he smiled more.

    After all, this wasn¡¯t a life threatening situation, it was simply an annoyance.

    Unfortunately though, some were even added to the very base of his boot, and soon it was like he was walking with balls attached to his boots, which served to slow him down and throw him off-bnce.

    Finally though, he approached the bones in the centre of the desert where he saw the pile of bones.

    A few more broken bone spears were near the pile, each of them forged somehow into long smooth shafts.

    Each time he saw them he wondered how it was possible that bone was formed into different shapes, or even what creature it could havee from if it wasn¡¯t somehow formed.

    Staring at the bone pile for a moment, he was d that he didn¡¯t find Jay¡¯s body there, so he kept tracking him, looking for clues.

    After tossing through a few of the bones he didn¡¯t find anything of interest.

    More bones were strewn between the forest and where he was standing now too, so there was still a path at least.

    ¡°The others will find this.¡± he thought, leaving the bone pile behind.

    As he pushed through some of the hanging tendrils, he suddenly felt something tugging on him.

    His instincts kicked in as he did a backwards sh with his sword while using a movement-ability to dodge whatever attack wasing. In a matter of seconds even more sand was kicked up into a wild cloud of yellow stinging sand.

    The power from his sword sh alone made a dust cloud, as his movement ability didn¡¯t activate due to there not being any attacker ¨C a requirement for the defensive ability to activate.

    Looking at what was tugging on him, he seemed confused, and even a little foolish for responding with such a threatening attack.

    ¡°Mushroom?¡± he thought, seeing one of its tendrils tugging harmlessly on his shoulder.

 Chapter 221 Activated Protocol 2

    One of the tendrils was tugging Number Three¡¯s shoulder, somehow stopping hisrge war machine-like armour from moving.

    ¡°Must have got caught in the armour.¡± he guessed as he went to sever it with his sword.

    The sword was so fast that it caused a silver sh; sand was blown away from the speed.

    Unfortunately, as he swung his sword, the mushroom tendril strangely slid around the de.

    The tendril waspletely unaffected; It was like it was both rubber and a thick steel wire, holding him in ce.

    Number Three frowned.

    He had seen things impervious to melee attacks in dungeons before, so he guessed this must be something like it.

    Of course, a mage hunter was prepared for such an asion.

    Lifting up one gauntlet, a segment of his armour folded back, revealing a small hiddenpartment behind it holding two small blue beads of gem stone.

    They seemed to shine, almost like a storm was brewing under the surface of them.

    Channeling some mana into his armour, the blue beads floated and left thepartment before they attached to the tip of the thumb and fingertip on his glove.

    Seeing that everything was in order, he closed the armour panel and then channeled mana into them.

    The precious blue stones glowed brighter until finally a blue arc of crackling energy linked between them, releasing a loud crack like a lightening bolt between his fingers.

    After a moment, the arc of energy between them normalized and was ready for use.

    Despite being small, it hummed with power fiercely and sparked brightly, creating shadows of the mushrooms around him, even in the sunlight.

    Slowly, he brought the arc down onto the tendril as it wickedly crackled between his fingers.

    Even then, the tendril resisted for a moment before it sizzled, bloated, and melted all at once.

    The tendril was easily cut, right before it even had the chance to begin to reel in its victim.

    Number Three quickly stored the precious blue arc stones away, stashing them back into the hidden armourpartment before attempting to pull the tendril out from his armour.

    Unfortunately it didn¡¯te loose.

    He guessed it was wedged pretty tightly into some small crack somewhere behind his shoulder, as it simply wouldn¡¯t break free, and soon he stopped pulling as he didn¡¯t want to risk damaging his armour.

    ¡°Hmh. Another job for another peasant.¡± he grunted with a shrug.

    If they made a mistake, they would be the ones to be punished, so if anyone were to damage it then it was better off some worthless peasant suffer for it, so he thought.

    Unbeknownst to Number Three, the tendril wasn¡¯t wedged into his armour at all. As he walked away, he was oblivious to a red patch of the fruit stered right in the middle of his back.

    For now though, he ignored the tendril hanging somewhere off his back and continued his mission.

    ¡°Now¡­¡± he gazed across the desert, as he stood near the bone pile as looked towards the trail of bones leading to the forest.

    ¡°That way.¡± he nodded, stepping towards the forest.

    As he pushed through some more tendrils, he failed to notice the fruit again.

    Why would he be wary of the fruit anyway? So far, the only things attacking him were some strange lizards adding red ques to his legs which were underground for the most part.

    This time, one of them attached to his shoulder and burst, sending the rampant red growth over his armour and solidifying.

    His military training activated again and he swung his sword with a quick spin, ready for whatever was attacking him.

    ¡°Dammit.¡± he thought.

    Sensing no danger, he took a moment to see what was no tugging on him, and as he suspected, another tendril ¨C though this time he realised it was stuck to his armour.

    This was not the only tendril now attached to him either.

    When span and shed his sword, he made a grave mistake. He had turned and shifted his body into even more of the fruit ¨C all of them attached to tendrils, and all of them sticking to his armour.

    ¡°Hm. A minor hindrance.¡± he thought, though more annoyed than anything.

    Without panicking, he calmly opened the hidden armourpartment again and took out the blue arc stones once more.

    These stones had to be mended by the armour after each time they were used, which is why they were in thepartment to begin with. Each of these were engraved gems, and having such tiny engravings gave them tremendous value.

    Usually a gemstone would be socketed into a purpose-made item to give the item various effects, such as me, sharpness or even sense, but these were themselves the item and the gem. The power and the conduit.

    Only the mage hunters had ess to such exquisite and expensive gems.

    Precious as they were, these arc stones were also fragile because of it, and had to rest inside a regenerativepartment built into the mage hunter suit.

    Number Three worked quickly and diligently, hoping he would be able to cut away all these tendrils before his arc stones would need to be repaired by the suit.

    He didn¡¯t want to wait here for hours as they repaired, and it would truly be embarrassing if Number Two and Number Four caught up to him and found him in this sorry state, so he carried out the tedious process as quickly and precisely as he could.

    A few times, he did try to break off the red growths attaching the tendrils, but it seemed that these ques were further enhanced by the mushrooms, which provided them with an unknown nourishment and helped them to further solidify.

    About thirteen of these tendrils were currently attached to his body, and unfortunately, each had to be cut.

    A few times he tried to simply tug at them, hoping that something would snap, but even the mushrooms seemed to be made of something much stronger than even his own armour, as they didn¡¯t so much as budge.

    He was sure now that they had a form of physical damage immunity, so his best option was to cut them.

    ¡°They probably became like this after rock slides.¡± he guessed.

    Suddenly, the tendrils got shorter. He was only half-way through cutting the fifth tendril away when he noticed that they began to pull on him.

    Despite his armour weighing as much as a house, they managed to tug at him without much effort at all, soon even pulling him off-bnce.

    He took a step forward to stop himself from falling over, but in the sand where his bnce was reduced,bined with therge balls of red ques on his feet, he had no choice but to fall into the sand.

    A heavy thud, and he fell to one knee. It was better than falling overpletely.

    Taking a deep breath, he remained calm.

    He noticed ever more tendrils were just attached to his body as he was pulled into them.

    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m stuck for now.¡± he thought bitterly, seeing his five minute job just turn into a three hour slog.

    Following procedure, he took out hismunication crystal.

    ¡°Number Three. Environmental hazard. Temporarily hindered. There¡¯s a beacon at where to cross the desert for Two and Four.¡±

    ¡°Acknowledged.¡± another voice sounded back, ¡°Hazard type?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Obstruction.¡± he replied.

    ¡°Acknowledged.¡±

    Stashing away hismunication crystal, he calmly went back to cutting.

    Unfortunately, he was soon back on his feet.

    Normally this would be a good thing, but in this case it was not because he was pulled to his feet.

    Still, through all this, he didn¡¯t let panic set in ¨C he simply tried to cut away the tendrils faster.

    However, the tendrils kept pulling.

    Slowly, to even Number Three¡¯s surprise, he was pulled out of the sand.

    While it made it harder to cut, he ignored his current predicament and calmly continued to cut with a cold efficiency hammered into his mind and body through his years of training.

    More tendrils were cut, but he was simply too slow.

    Before too long, his whole body was pulled tight.

    Channeling more mana into the suit, he even resisted it for a moment, but he soon decided to conserve his mana for the time being.

    There was no point fighting it if the result would be the same.

    With no way to continue cutting, he stored the arc stones in his inventory, as he currently couldn¡¯t ce them into his armour.

    Thankfully, the mushrooms were not strong enough to pull his armour apartpletely.

    After the mushrooms stopped pulling him in multiple directions, he found himself tucked under the mushrooms cap, strapped to it as if he was a peasant in a dungeon.

    ¡°Hm.¡± He angrily grunted for a moment as he wasn¡¯t able to do anything, but soon decided it was a hidden blessing.

    He could finally get some rest as he waited for the others to show up and cut him loose.

    As he hung there, he secretly rested his eyes under his heavy ck helmet.

    Suddenly though, the mushroom began to move.

    The vine-like tendrils even seemed to loosen ¨C though it was not setting him free.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    The flesh of the mushroom closed around him suddenly, and instead of being pulled apart, he was now being squeezed inside its cap.

    In all this, though, he still didn¡¯t panic.

    He calmly took out themunication crystal in ryed another message.

    ¡°Number Three. Trapped inside a mushroom. Waiting for assistance.¡±

    The mushroom had already closed and was pitch ck inside.

    He didn¡¯t even hear them say ¡®Acknowledged¡¯ in response.

    ¡°It cuts off mana lines?¡± he wondered, intrigued by the strange specimen he found himself in.

    ¡°Number Three. Need Assistance. Please respond.¡± he tried.

    No response.

    Next, he felt a fluid fill up the inside of the mushroom cap. He quickly put hismunication crystal away to protect it, as he heard a familiar hissing and bubbling noise of corrosive acid.

    The tendrils burnt away and the red ques melted off.

    Thankfully, the fluid couldn¡¯t eat through his armour; it wouldn¡¯t be very good armour otherwise.

    Finally, he was free.

    Well, rtively free.

 Chapter 222 Activated Protocol 3

    ¡®Free¡¯ was an overstatement ¨C he was still trapped inside the mushroom cap after all, drowning in a syrup-like acid.

    Still, he looked on the bright side in such situations, to mentally keep himself going.

    ¡°Nice to move again.¡± he thought, gripping the wall of the mushroom and trying to tear away a chunk of its flesh, yet to no avail.

    In all this he had not panicked, but soon his own suit of armour which had kept him safe all this time sent him a message which did:

    [Internal air supply ¨C depleting]

    [Air left: 1.3 hours]

    His thoughts began to spin rapidly in his mind.

    ¡°Fuck. How far away are they?¡±

    ¡°No way to tell how far away they are.¡±

    ¡°All I can do is conserve my air.¡± he shook his head, ¡°I should have filled up my air reserves to the brim. Toote to think about that now.¡±

    ¡°Save my oxygen¡­ or find a way out.¡±

    Channeling some mana into his suit, he first tried to punch his way out.

    Cavities of air formed behind his armour-d fist as the power and speed was so great as it shot towards the mushroom,nding directly on the wall ¨C however, the mushroom didn¡¯t budge.

    Not one bit.

    It was like an immovable object. It was like a naturalw.

    ¡°Physical damage immunity.¡± he thought.

    Still, he tried his sword next ¨C also to no avail; Its surface quickly bubbled and turned a shade of reddish-brown before he could even add it back into his inventory.

    For a moment he considered taking out his arc stones again, but since he was floating in acid he thought they would surely either dissolve or have their enchanted engravings broken.

    Now, he had one option left: to wait, floating in the pool of acid within the mushroom capsule.

    Without hesitation, Number Three closed his eyes and began to meditate, calming himself and slowing his breathing before sessfully falling asleep.

    Some timeter though, he woke up.

    A few hours passed, and he managed to make his airst longer, but not long enough.

    His breaths were getting more and more strained, faster and somehow feeling more empty.

    Each of his fingers tingled while his head felt like it was getting heavier.

    ¡°Fuck. They didn¡¯t make it in time.¡± he thought, not wasting his breath on words.

    He was out of time.

    He couldn¡¯t tell how much time he saved, but it didn¡¯t matter now anyway.

    Regretfully, he took out onest item from his inventory ¨C the only one he thought which could get him out of this. He didn¡¯t consider it an option before as he wasn¡¯t this desperate.

    The item in question was a strange weapon he picked up from a travelling merchant many years ago.

    It was pitch ck within the mushroom cap, but he felt it in his palm. Channeling some mana into it, he then threw it down ¨C as fast as he could in the thick syrup-like acid within the mushroom.

    He pulled himself upwards to the top of the mushroom and waited until ¨C

    *BOOM!!*

    An unbearable pressure spread across his body.

    Despite being in his armour his body shook wildly, the vibration felt like it had shattered his bones. Thankfully his helmet was made sturdier than the rest of the armour and his head was spared from most of the impact.

    Much of the explosion was contained in the mushroom head, so he had absorbed a lot of it.

    After a few moments though, his body healed as some of his health was drained.

    While his armour was heavily damaged, he didn¡¯t care as long as it saved his life.

    Thankfully, it seemed to work as the liquid was draining out of the bottom of the mushroom ¨C though was quickly reced as the mushroom simply produced more.

    ¡°An exit¡± he thought, quickly pushing himself down.

    His n worked.

    He pushed himself to the bottom, and soon pushed his leg out. Dying for air, he kept pushing desperately and soon the other leg came out.

    Unfortunately, he soon couldn¡¯t push anymore. Something below the mushroom was blocking his path.

    ¡°What the fuck.¡± he thought, still straining to get air. His lungs felt like they were about to copse; he felt like his consciousness was about to slip away.

    Addingrge amount of mana to the armour he continued to push and made it a little further but there was just not enough strength to push through the mushroom cap.

    ¡°Why¡± he thought, now panicking as he was on the verge of aa.

    ¡°The elemental bomb should have¡­¡±

    ¡°It cant¡­¡±

    Looking down, he realised something else was wrong.

    It was still pitch ck, even after his leg poked out of the bottom into something blocking his way. But it was still daytime. It didn¡¯t make any sense.

    With an oxygen-depleted brain, he couldn¡¯t figure it out. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

    A few more shallow breaths and a few more pushes was all he had left.

    With no mana left and barely hanging onto consciousness, he finally gave in and passed out.

    [Stimnts Activated]

    *Hur!*

    He took in arge strained breath, then another and another. His eyes were bloodshot and red, his mind sprawling with confusion before he passed out again.

    [Stimnts Activated]

    The process repeated itself.

    Stimnts were injected a few more times only resulting in him passing out again. It was like torture.

    Finally though, after another round of stimnts, he never woke up again.

    The mage hunter was dead ¨C but his suit was not.

    [User status ¨C deceased. Other suits undetected.]

    [Sorah Protocol Activating]

    [Respond to disable Sorah Protocol]

    A few momentster¡­

    [Sorah Protocal Activated]

    [Three minutes remaining]

    Deep in the sand, under the earth, within an acid-filled mushroom cap, a timer slowly and quietly began to tick down.

    A dead mage hunter in a suit of armour responded to no prompts as the timer ticked away. The outside worldpletely oblivious.

    ¨C

    ¡°Two. Reached the tip of the desert. Found the skeleton. Waiting for Four, then we will proceed along desert.¡±

    ¡°Negative. Keep moving.¡±

    Number Two paused for a moment.

    It was unusual for hismanders to abruptly change his orders.

    ¡°¡­Acknowledged.¡± he said, storing away hismunication crystal before he kept moving.

    After walking for a while longer though, he felt something was wrong.

    The wind seemed to go quiet.

    For a moment, reality seemed to pause. The sun disappeared as new shadows formed from a stronger source of light.

    An eruption of violent noise and light and trembling happened in the distance.

    The mountains trembled and the skies split.

    A deafening noise was followed by a hot wave of concussive force.

    It was a sight he had not seen for a long time.

    Two didn¡¯t duck behind a rock or run for shelter though, even as molten boulders and burning debris were thrown at him ¨C all of the like crumbled as it met his unrelenting shield.

    He guarded himself as he waited for more debris to pass by. Some at lightening speed and some falling from the sky.

    Hismanders were a days journey away and on the other side of a grand mountain range, but even they would have seen the light, heard the noise and perhaps even felt a tremor, so he knew he would be contacted in a short moment.

    ¡°REPORT¡± an angry voice growled into his mind.

    Taking out themunication stone, he shielded it from any stray debris before replying.

    ¡°¡­Three. Seems like Three activated the Sorah protocol.¡±

    The mountains responded to the explosion andrge rocks and boulders had began tumbling down towards Two.

    Taking out his shield he braced for impact while protecting his crystal in his other hand.

    He expected to hear ¡®investigate¡¯ being yelled at him next, however it seemed that they weren¡¯t sure what to do ¨C that Lieutenant Marsh wasn¡¯t sure what to do.

    Did Jay really cause a mage hunter to activate the Sorah protocol?

    ¡°Surely it wasn¡¯t because of the level nine kid.¡± Number Two thought.

    A house-sized boulder thundered down the mountain side and smashed against his shield; it didn¡¯t crack into two, but instead rolled right over him.

    He shrugged it off as if it were nothing.

    ¡°Investigate.¡± the voice hastily spoke again, adding ¡°Three encountered an environmental hazard approximately two hours ago. An obstruction. No othermunications since then.¡±

    Two had a questioning look on his face, but decided not to say anything.

    ¡°Acknowledged.¡± he grunted, mming a smaller boulder away with a shield bash.

    Two decided to burn through much of his mana as he sprinted along the edge of the desert towards the crater left by Three.

    The Sorah Protocol had been activated, and contrary to most opinions, it was used as a form of information control, of all things.

    The mage hunter suits themselves held secrets, advanced technology, advanced heximistry, and hundreds of years of research.

    Though on the outside they often looked like chipped or worn armour made from a sort of dark lustrous stone, each of them were technological masterpieces, and some would even say part of the reason humans were not yet extinct.

    ¡°Environmental hazard¡­¡± he thought, staring at the mountains, the mushroom-desert and then the forest. All three of these seemed as questionably dangerous as the others.

    He knew that it was safe next to the desert so he ran forward.

    Soon enough, he came the crater left behind.

    Seeing how deep in the ground it was, he could only guess that it was underground.

    A lot of the desert sand was streaming into the crater, while oddly, many mushrooms were left standing, their caps undamaged despite being so close to the force of the st.

    The edges of the crater had turned to a ck tarry ss, still flowing slowly. The bottom was already covered with sand, which had since flowed in.

    The explosion had created a divide in the desert, splitting it into two ¨C the crater itself was about as wide as the desert.

    Number Two quickly make a report.

    ¡°Two. Sorah Protocol confirmed. There¡¯s nothing left but a smoldering crater.¡±

    Again, he waited for a few moments as hismanders decided on what to do. They were most likely consulting directly with Marsh at this point since a mage hunter had died under hismand.

    Eventually a response came though.

    ¡°Three was crossing the desert, following the tracks of Jay. Continue tracking Jay.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be hard since everything was fucking blown up.¡± Two thought. ¡°Acknowledged.¡± he said.

    Two slowly walked away from the crater and took a gentle step into the desert sands; his heavy armour sinking into the sand.

    With every action he acted paranoid as he was trying to not be the second mage hunter to die today.

    For a moment he watched and waited.

    Nothing.

    Next, he prodded the mushrooms with his shield.

    Nothing.

    He took a few more steps in and stabbed his sword into the sand.

    Nothing.

    ¡°If there was a sand beast of some sort, that explosion will have killed it¡­ but Three said environmental hazard.¡±

    Two began marching slowly. He wasn¡¯t sure if there was some trap under the sand but remained cautious with every step.

    Finally, he bumped against a mushroom.

    The damn thing attached its tendril to his foot.

    ¡°Dammit.¡± he tried to hit it off with his shield. Unsessfully.

    Over the next few minutes he discovered the same things Three did: it was impossible to cut with a sword or pull off. Arc stones worked to cut it but were slow.

    After cutting off a tendril, Two didn¡¯t proceed, instead he experimented. He was not going to repeat number Three¡¯s mistake.

    Some fleshy bits of a creature had left blood stains in the sand at the edge of the crater, so he quickly went back there and dug it up.

    A bloodied lizard in hand, he journeyed back to the mushroom and tossed the lizards dead body onto the fruit.

    He shook his head, disappointed in Three as he watched the mushroom fold up with the dead lizard and disappear underground with a small prize.

    ¡°What an idiot.¡± he thought.

    ¡°Two. Number Three was killed by mushrooms.¡±

    Before waiting for a reply, he quickly added ¡°Not poisonous mushrooms, but man-eating mushrooms. Impervious to physical damage.¡±

    ¡°Brief Four when they arrive.¡± amander said.

    ¡°Acknowledged.¡± he nodded, waiting for Four.

 Chapter 223 Sealed

    *Boom!~*

    A wave of pressure rolled through the forest, but its only living inhabitant was shocked awake.

    ¡°Ah, what?¡± Jay raised his head off his arm, still asleep on the edge of the stream.

    Since he was lying on the ground, his whole body felt the tremor and it was enough to startle him awake.

    ¡°What the fuck am I doing¡­¡± he said to himself.

    ¡°Get up.¡± he thought.

    Noticing his arm, he quickly remembered. The little parasites in the boil were still curled up into little balls. Thankfully it seemed that they had used up all of their reserves of whatever they were pumping into Jay¡¯s blood and he felt mostly normal again.

    Physically normal anyway.

    Mentally, he was bitter, angry, annoyed, pissed off. Much more than he should be.

    Jay let his anger out.

    ¡°Well, what the fuck are you waiting for? Pick up the throne and keep moving¡± he bitterly spat orders at his skeletons as he went to sit on his throne.

    After a few moments of being out of the cool water, the parasites in his arm unwound and went back to their long linear forms, but were neither causing Jay any pain or any euphoria.

    ¡°Little fucking shits.¡± he red, ¡°making me sleep on the cold ground.¡±

    ¡°And what was that noise that shook the earth?¡±

    Following the deep booming noise travelling through the earth, some more sounds followed,ing from somewhere north ¨C where the mushroom desert crossing was.

    The sounds of arge rock slide came from the mountain range. Giant boulders the size of houses tumbling down the mountain and crashing into each other, splitting apart or being split apart.

    Jay only barely heard the crashing boulders, butpared to the deep boom which shook the earth before, they were of no concern.

    He couldn¡¯t figure it out, and his strange hangover was only making it worse.

    ¡°Ah fuck it. Fuck everything.¡± he angrily said, ¡°who cares anyway.¡±

    His anger was seemingly out of control after he woke up. He wasn¡¯t sure why but neither did he care.

    ¡°Burn the forest down.¡± a thought popped into his head.

    ¡°Hmm, burn it down? Well, that might be fun¡­ but it could give away my position. Plus I wouldn¡¯t get anything from it and -¡±

    ¡°Burn it down.¡± his own thought interrupted his other thought.

    He just reasoned with himself, but it was like a different part of him didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going to burn the fucking thing down.¡± he told himself sternly, shaking his head.

    ¡°What the fuck is wrong with me today.¡±

    For the next hour, Jay continued to argue with his own thoughts. Argue with himself.

    Every time, a thought would pop in his head, telling him to burn down the forest, or thrust his arm back into the water to feel amazing again, but after some time his thoughts became more sinister.

    ¡°To turn back to Lo to massacre and pige. Kill Devin.¡±

    He thought that perhaps he was going crazy.

    His own thoughts wouldn¡¯t stop yelling into his own mind. He almost felt like his brain was getting hotter from all the thinking.

    He tried to close his eyes and just be still for a moment and rx, but his thoughts only got louder and more demanding.

    Slowly it was like he was being mentally drained from arguing with himself. A part of his mind just wouldn¡¯t shut off.

    ¡°What the fuck is wrong with me¡­¡±

    Gritting his teeth in anger, he jumped down from the throne and pushed his arm back into the water.

    For a small moment, he felt good again, a small relief.

    His anger was gone. His thoughts became quiet again.

    With a sigh, he jumped back onto the throne and had the skeletons continue.

    Soon enough his anger was gone, however, his own thoughts began to rattle his mind again, even yelling at himself in his own head.

    It was tolerable at first, but after another hour it was annoying, then another hour, and soon enough he was gritting his teeth in anger.

    ¡°Argh just shut the fuck up!¡± he yelled at himself.

    ¡°Have I lost my damn mind?¡± he asked himself.

    For whatever reason, he felt like his thoughts were more clearer if he said them out loud, and he had noticed a strange pattern.

    Some of the other thoughts he was having were simply okay at first: ¡®eat all your rations, thrust your arm into the river¡¯.

    And then, he would reason with himself: ¡®I will need to save those forter, and no I need to keep moving¡¯.

    It was somewhat mentally exhausting arguing with himself though.

    But that wasn¡¯t the problem.

    His thoughts were be more evil, more¡­ crazy: ¡°Send skeletons to kill peasants. Kidnap. Burn. Punish. y mercilessly.¡±

    Even though he reasoned with these thoughts, they simply repeated themselves, and kept repeating themselves until he was screaming at his own mind to shut up.

    ¡°Did these worms do something to me¡­?¡± he wondered.

    Suddenly, he had a thought about the worms.

    A few thoughts.

    ¡°Kill them.¡±

    ¡°Eat them.¡±

    ¡°Burn them. Cut yourself.¡±

    Jay paused for a moment. A confused look on his face.

    ¡°I just thought to harm the parasites and nothing happened¡­¡±

    He quickly drew his sword and thought about cutting his arm off ¨C however, the parasites quickly gave him a shot of warning pain.

    ¡°Argh, fuck. I won¡¯t then, don¡¯t worry.¡± he shook his head, and the parasites stopped the pain.

    Storing his sword away, he realised something strange though:

    ¡°If these parasites sense my own thoughts when I want to harm them, and they harm me in response, then before when I thought to kill, burn or eat them, the parasites didn¡¯t harm me?¡±

    ¡°So either that means, those erratic thoughts are undetectable by the parasites¡­¡±

    Jay felt fear rise in his heart as he realised,

    ¡°Or those aren¡¯t my thoughts¡­ or the parasites¡­¡±

    At this moment the voices in his head started yelling into his mind, trying to distract his train of thought.

    ¡°But if that¡¯s the case, then who¡¯s, or what, are they?¡±

    The other thoughts stopped. His mind returned to silence for a moment.

    But only for a moment as they returned even louder and angrier.

    ¡°BURN! KILL! SLAY! DESTROY! STEAL!¡± the thoughts rang through Jay¡¯s mind with amanding anger. It was so loud that Jay was shocked.

    He even covered his ears with his hands but it didn¡¯t help a single bit.

    ¡°What the fuck? NO!¡±

    ¡°BURN KILL SLAY DESTROY STEAL HARM!¡±

    ¡°NO! JUST FUCK OFF!¡±

    The voices continued to yell through his mind, so Jay gathered his own thoughts by speaking out loud.

    ¡°They¡¯re not my thoughts! Somehow they¡¯re in my mind. How are they getting in? They must have entered, somehow, so how do I get them out?¡±

    Jay felt helpless. Whatever this was, he had no clue how to deal with it. It was something he could barely even describe. Something immaterial.

    ¡°Detached thoughts¡­ disembodied voices¡­ I wonder if they have a soul.¡± Jay began to smile as a spark of hope rose in his heart.

    Suddenly, Jay used his own ability on himself, one that he had not used for quite a while, simply because of the dire warning it came with.

    Thest time he used this ability, he felt like something was fighting him, pulling the soul upwards, and strangely he felt like hemitted an offence of a higher power.

    It was the strange ability which he had only used twice, and only had two clues:

    <[Soul Sense]>

    [- Grasp the intangible]

    [- Offend life and death at your own risk]

    ¡°Grasp the intangible¡­¡±

    Jay sighed, ¡°Surely if I use it on myself it won¡¯t be an offence to a higher power¡­ right?¡±

    ¡°BURN KILL DESTROY STEAL!¡± the voices continued screaming in his mind ¨C right up until the point Jay activated the skill.

    As soon as he did, Jay himself felt a sense of fear, though he someone could tell it wasn¡¯ting from himself. Somehow, he could tell that the voices in his head were trembling.

    When Jay used the ability on himself he felt his own soul, nursed above his heart as if it were sitting on a throne.

    Apparently his mana was too oppressive as he felt like what he was doing was simply wrong. There was no pain, but more of a sense of utter emptiness and aloneness when he applied too much pressure to his own soul.

    Relieving it, he felt much better again.

    Next, though, he sensed¡­ other things. Something which he couldn¡¯t describe, thoughpared to souls they felt different. They felt wrong.

    As his mana wrapped around each of them, the voices said nothing but he could still sense their fear.

    He was just d they were finally quiet. It felt peaceful. He even just stared into the forest for a moment not thinking anything.

    ¡°I bet people take their quiet minds for granted.¡± he nodded, ¡°I probably do too.¡±

    Three of these invisible and intangible entities were attached to Jay; Each having bodies like snakes which were aligned along his spine, their long bodies coling upwards around his head and then entering his mind through the middle of his forehead.

    ¡°Eugh, right into my damn head¡± he thought, feeling disgusted.

    ¡°What are these¡­ things.¡±

    Jay paused for a moment but realised he didn¡¯t have time to be flustered.

    He focused and began the removal process before whatever these things were could hope to harm his mind¡­ or even his soul.

    First he detached the tail of one of them from his spine, as it seemed to stick to different parts of his body. Almost like it was plugged in.

    As he went up, it required more mana to pull away but it was manageable.

    Compared to wrestling a soul from whatever higher powers were above though, it was much easier and used much less mana, so he wasn¡¯t worried about running out of mana before the process was over.

    The first of three snake-like creatures had its body removed, and now it only attached to Jay through his forehead.

    Taking some inspiration from the parasites in his arm, he rolled its body up into a ball and then thrust his mana out with it, away from his head.

    It took a second attempt, but after adding enough mana he pulled it out.

    Thankfully it was painless.

    The strange intangible creature was helpless against his power. Jay wondered where all its strength was. It couldn¡¯t even move its body.

    This was insulting to Jay ¨C to think that such a weak creature had tormented him for hours, sneaking into his mind, mimicking his thoughts, trying to convince him to do evil things and then screaming at him.

    Such a weak creature dared to bark orders at him?

    He was now as offended as he was annoyed.

    Since he was sensing it with his ability, he couldn¡¯t actually see it, but it basically felt like a snake, with some strange nodes along its body which he could tell were thicker, filled with some sort of energy ¨C the same nodes which seemed to plug into Jay¡¯s back somewhere, though it wasn¡¯t a perfect fit and seemed wrong. Unnatural.

    ¡°Well¡­ I can¡¯t hold onto it forever¡­¡± Jay shrugged.

    ¡°Now, what was it saying before? Destroy, burn, y, harm? Good advice.¡± he smiled with the eyes of a predator.

    Using his mana, he mercilessly twisted the strange creatures body into all sorts of shapes. It was powerless against him.

    It was a bad day to be whatever this creature was, as Jay was not just trying to kill it, but releasing some of his stress and even practicing his mana maniption on it.

    It shriveled up and was crushed. It was twisted mercilessly. Finally, its body was torn apart.

    Jay released a little stress as he made it suffer.

    Strangely, something felt right about killing it. It was more than simply justice being carried out, but more like judgement, or even like he was a harbinger of destiny.

    Strangely, as it died, something like a soul but smaller than one was left behind as its body disintegrated. Then another. Then soon about fifteen of these small half-souls came out of its dying body.

    Jay didn¡¯t let a single one escape.

    This time though, there was no force from above fighting him to lift the souls upwards.

    The non-souls were just simply there. Uncared for. Alone.

    ¡°Weird¡­¡±

    It seemed that whatever force above wanted nothing to do with these fake souls.

    Jay released his grasp on them and slowly, they descended like falling pieces of pollen.

    As Jay¡¯s concentration was on the parasite he ripped out, the other two began to cry out again.

    ¡°MERCY! Please, spare us! Send us into another creature that we may live!¡±

    Jay ignored their pleas for help. They did not show mercy, so he wouldn¡¯t either.

    He repeated the process with the next snake-like being, torturing it for a while before ripping it to shreds. Each time, Jay smiled with glee. Something about killing these evil things brought him great joy.

    However, Jay was also annoyed at himself for not realizing it sooner: the evil voices in his head were not even his own.

    He though they were more like demons, though not an urate term, it was close enough. They were at least like some sort of soul parasites, feeding off evil or simply just there to torment him.

    As Jay removed the third immaterial creature, he felt thest group of the non-souls fall into the cold earth.

    Compared to his own soul, and the souls of others, theirs felt like empty. Hollow. Smaller. Wrong.

    ¡°If I were a better person, perhaps I would have sent them into another creature, if there were any around.¡± he shrugged, ¡°But based on them falling into the earth, it seemed that they were destined to be destroyed. Killing them now really didn¡¯t change anything.¡±

    Afterwards, he focused his mana around his forehead ¨C the spot where these creatures, these demons which pretended to be him, somehow entered.

    Unlike the rest of his flesh where there was like a subtle barrier, here there was a hole in the barrier, anding out of it was something like a tree. Or a whirlpool.

    It was like it was pulling in something. Not mana, but something. Perhaps information.

    ¡°Dammit. How the hell do I fix this¡­¡± he frowned.

    For a moment he felt hopeless, like somehow he had done irreversible damage to himself in a way which couldn¡¯t possibly be fixed.

    ¡°Will I have to rip out these soul parasites for the rest of my life?¡± he frowned.

    ¡°Maybe the barrier will heal itself? Or perhaps I can just keep my mana there to cover the hole¡­ until I try to sleep¡­¡±

    His options were abysmal, simply treating the signs rauther than the problem.

    Hopelessness set in.

    Suddenly, he received a strange notification ¨C one that disappeared as soon as he read it.

    [Your seal has been healed. Beside me there is no other; above me there is no other. Mercyes at a price. Forgiveness, has a price.]

    ¡°My seal has been healed?¡±

    Jay felt a drop of water travel across his brain and mind ¨C instantly his hopelessness was turned to joy.

    Strangely, it made his head feel cool and refreshed, as opposed to feeling hot and irritated like it was before. He couldn¡¯t help but smile as his heart also seemed to respond with joy.

    ¡°What was that¡­¡±

    Compared to the way the parasites in his arm made him feel, there was no sedation and he didn¡¯t feel dirty, but his mind felt more clearer.

    He felt like he had woken up from a deep sleep and was filled with energy and life. Using his mana, he found that there was no hole in the barrier anymore.

    ¡°What¡­ is going on?¡±

    Jay felt like he had perhaps won the blessing of a higher being ¨C and by the sounds of its brief message, it is the highest.

 Chapter 224 Cradle

    The forest was as quiet as ever, the only soundsing from the clinking bones of the skeletons and the odd snapping of a twig.

    Jay was still being carried on his throne above the forest floor and the nts below, each hiding different tics, insects and other parasites under their leaves, waiting to jump on a passerby to suck their blood or eat their flesh.

    Most bugs and parasitescked red blood and were therefore spared from the blood-vine bear ¨C though theycked creatures to feed on as well.

    Jay looked at the boil with the little green things still in his arm.

    Ironically these little invasive creatures had saved him. Thankfully, they were still in their dormant state, and so he let his thoughts drift elsewhere.

    ¡°My seal has healed¡­ Forgivenesses at a price?¡± Jay continued to think, looking thoughtful.

    First he was assaulted by strange thoughts, and then a notification that disappeared as soon as he read it, followed by an incredible feeling of a drop of water refreshing his mind.

    The whole experience itself almost didn¡¯t feel real; nevertheless, he went through it, analysing it systemically.

    ¡°Those thoughts even sounded like my own¡­ having my own voice. The only difference is, they quickly became more and more evil, wanting me to do vile things.¡±

    ¡°¡­ and before that I was passed out¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±

    ¡°before I passed out, there was the ss smashing sound?¡±

    The smashing ss sound was the one thing he remembered vividly in his euphoric experience, the only thing which stood out, as there was no one else around to even smash a ss.

    Following that was him waking up afterwards and hearing the extra voices in his head.

    ¡°Waking up¡­ that¡¯s right. Something jolted me awake, something powerful¡­ or did I imagine it?¡±

    ¡°¡­ hmm.¡± Jay scratched his chin for a moment.

    ¡°Sweeper, head back¡­¡± Jay was about to send a scout to investigate the booming noise, but decided he would need a more stealthy approach.

    ¡°Wait Sweeper stay here. Dark, head back to the loud noise and investigate. Don¡¯t be seen.¡±

    While Dark may have not been more stealthier than Sweeper, it did have one advantage: a mind.

    It was a harsh training method, but it would either be stealthy or learn how to be.

    The small skeleton nodded and dashed off into the forest, easily vaulting over therge root systems weaving across the forest floor as it sprinted towards where the earth-shaking noise came from ¨C though it did look back at Jay oncest time as it left.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Jay smiled, ¡°I think it wants to stay¡­¡± he shook his head, feeling a sort of bond with his assassin skeleton.

    Dark didn¡¯t know what ¡®investigate¡¯ meant, but it would have a look around for its master.

    Jay simply nned to use the host skill to take a look while using Dark as his eyes, but for a moment he wondered if he could even look through the eyes of a skeleton with a mind.

    ¡°Hmm, it should work,¡± he thought, ¡°but to make sure¡­¡±

    Jay activated his [host] ability on his only other skeleton with a mind: Heavy.

    Heavy was trudging along the side of Jay¡¯s throne nurturing its thick shield, periodically using it to swash away the odd nt which defiantly sprung up between the tapestry of ancient roots.

    Jay decided it had a lot to carry already so he didn¡¯t make it help to lift his throne, and there were not many nts to cut out of the way here as everything was either covered by roots or shade, stopping or stunting the growth of many of the forest floor nts.

    As Jay used the skill, everything went ck again, and then the world returned again in ck and white. Jay didn¡¯t try to do anything, and Heavy kept trudging on ¨C not realising its master was looking through its eyes.

    Jay felt strange as he was both using the host skill, and was also not controlling the skeleton. It was like breathing ¨C your body will breath on your own but you can control it too.

    Apparently Heavy didn¡¯t even realise Jay was in its head. Until Jay tried to move.

    When he did control its body it was like normal, however, when he turned around and gazed at his body, something was different about him.

    Something that only made him as intrigued as he was confused.

    He stopped while staring at himself on the throne.

    In a world of ck and white, Jay had colour: a single colour. The only colour.

    An aura of deep green light radiated around his body. He was like a glowing star in a gxy of grey. He was the shining light of the skeletons.

    A green light, but still.

    Ending the skill, he woke up in his body again.

    Next, he tested, using the host skill on another skeleton without a mind and gazed at himself ¨C though he appeared normal; ck and white.

    ¡°Odd. Looks like only the ones with minds see me with a green aura.¡± he thought, returning to his body again.

    He stared at Heavy for a moment, who quickly went back to marching.

    ¡°How very odd.¡± he quietly said.

    Jay shifted in his throne and gazed back at the strange bubble of flesh on his arm.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to remove this soon¡­¡± he thought, ¡°but I think for tonight we will just keep moving.¡±

    The forest was much cooler than the desert, and was getting colder as the afternoon sun began to touch the clouds and turn the skies orange.

    The thick forest canopy above had made it much darker than it should have been.

    Jay took out the molodus coat and wrapped it around his shoulder, preparing for the long march through the night.

    Before the sunpletely disappeared, Jay decided to craft some spare sets of weapons for his minions, arming them to the teeth before they would encounter the next enemy on their journey.

    It wasn¡¯t long before they were all armed again ¨C all except for Dark who was investigating the explosion.

    As Jay was carried along, it seemed there was some orange light up ahead.

    Coming closer he found that it was simply the afternoon sun, shining past the thick canopy of leaves as there was arge circr clearing here.

    ¡°Dungeon entrance?¡± Jay wondered.

    As came closer to the clearing, there were no trees around, and no roots dared to cross the circle. It was a ring of ck soil with no grass, or weeds; no stones or rocks. Not even a footprint or a fallen leaf. No signs of life at all ¨C only the ck soil.

    Jay thought it could be the blood-vine bears home. Orir. Or feeding circle.

    But for some reason he knew he was wrong.

    ¡°S-Stop!¡± his eyes bulged as he tried not to yell the orders, instead screaming them in his mind to the skeletons.

    They stopped just before any of them set a foot inside.

    The ck soil circle somehow sent a wave of fear into his heart. The forest was silent as it was, but here there was an eerie silence. An ancient silence hung around the ck circle.

    Even the vast spindling tree roots wouldn¡¯t venture into it. It was like the trees knew something he didn¡¯t.

    And now, as he sat on his throne at the edge of the circle, Jay felt like he was being watched.

    Some of the forest cast a shadow over the ck circle, but strangely, the shadow which fell onto the soil was as ck as night.

    No, darker still. Like an endless void trapping all light.

    As Jay looked away, something was moving in the darkness of the shadow on the edge of his vision, but as soon as he looked back for it all he saw was darkness.

    ¡°Argh.¡± he gritted his teeth, trying to remain quiet.

    A pain shot into Jays arm ¨C the parasites didn¡¯t like whatever this was either. Jay trusted the parasites; they had a strange sense for danger too.

    ¡°I need to leave. Now.¡± he thought, gritting his teeth and ordering his skeletons at the same time.

    He quickly had the skeletons to turn around and move directly away from the ck soil circle; he had them running now too.

    The fear he felt was so intense; he felt like it would follow him forever, that nothing would be able to stop it from finding him ¨C whatever ¡®it¡¯ was.

    With an unknown primordial fear gripping Jay¡¯s heart, he even thought for a moment that he should head back to Lo and let the mage hunters catch him, but he quickly pushed the thought out of his head.

    Jay couldn¡¯t help but look behind him as he was carried away. He took out deathwalker¡¯s sentry as well, yet it didn¡¯t sense anything.

    He even controlled his breathing to try and sound quieter.

    Something about whatever he had just found sent a fear deep into his heart. Like he had seen something which his eyes were not meant to see. It was a fear he didn¡¯t understand and couldn¡¯t exin.

    ¡°Maybe something intangible.¡± he thought, wrapping his mind with a coating of mana to try and protect it.

    The skeletons seemed unaffected by it though ¨C perhaps because they were immune to fear. All of them were as happy to carry Jay into the sacred ck soil as they were to carry him away from it.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go around it¡­ Far around.¡± he thought.

    ¡°d we didn¡¯t step foot into the soil. I feel like it would have been a vition. An offence of something ancient. Something vengeful¡±

    He couldn¡¯t be sure of course ¨C there was a chance it was just a strange circle of ck soil, however, his intuition had began to scream at him, it like it was yelling ¡®DANGER!¡¯.

    Only after five minutes of having the skeletons rush him away did he now realise his heart was beating wildly.

    ¡°Hopefully I didn¡¯t offend something¡­¡± he thought, trying to get his heart back under control, ¡°Hopefully it will let me go. Whatever it is.¡± he shivered for a moment.

    Once he was back into the deeper shaded parts of the forest, he felt some relief as he could no longer see the orange glow of the sun in that perfectly circr clearing.

    The fear also disspiated and his heart and breathing both went back to normal levels.

    Jay backtracked north, then went far to the east before heading south again. He used the sun as hispass since it set in the west, so finding which way to go wasn¡¯t hard.

    Jay believed he was getting closer to the edge of the blood-vine bears territory, so he decided to camp for the night.

    ¡°I bet the blood-vine bear stayed clear of that part of the forest too.¡± Jay thought, ¡°And since ¡®it¡¯ didn¡¯t kill the blood-vine bear, perhaps it won¡¯t hunt me down and kill me.¡±

    ¡°Whatever ¡®it¡¯ was, or is¡­¡±

    While he would have liked to continue travelling at night, he didn¡¯t want the skeletons carrying him into something like that ck soil circle while he slept on his throne.

    Eventually, he found a natural cradle of interweaving roots surrounded by three ancient trees, each of their trunks as wide as a carriage which formed natural walls on three sides.

    Compared to camping anywhere else, it was only slightly more advantageous.

    Looking up into the tree tops, he wondered if anything dangerous could be lurking up there, but he still had not heard a sound, not even the chirps of birdsing into spring, so he assumed the blood-vine bear had picked these trees clean as well ¨C both birds, snakes and sneaking threats in the tree tops had be water for its hungry blood vines.

    ¡°Hmm, this ce looks as good as any.¡± he thought, but hesitated before stepping off his throne.

    Jay suddenly grinned, ¡°With no one around, I can finally camp the way a necromancer should¡­¡±

 Chapter 225 Shepherd

    Jay nced at the parasites in his arm before stepping down from his throne.

    He felt a little relieved that they had not gotten bigger and weren¡¯t more numerous.

    It seemed that they were not feeding on him. For now at least ¨C but he knew he had to get them out eventually.

    Before Jay stepped off the throne, he held out his necrotic gauntlet.

    Before his eyes, hundreds of bones began appearing out of a swirling green mist.

    This spiral of bones began to get bigger and bigger as bones flying around and falling onto the forest floor.

    Soon enough, the whole cradle of roots was covered in a thickyer of bones. Thick enough to protect Jay from any other parasites which could be crawling around below the ancient tree roots.

    ¡°Now that looks better¡± Jay smiled.

    He added much smaller bones on top to fill in the cracks between therger femurs and ribs below, creating a more t and smoother surface to walk on ¨C most of the smaller bones being from fingers or remains of shatteredrger ones.

    All in all, the cradle of bones was about the size of Jay¡¯s butchery shop.

    ¡°Now.¡± he said, ordering his skeletons to carry him closer to the tform.

    Stepping down, he was pleased with his makeshift construction as it didn¡¯t shift under his weight.

    ¡°Alright¡­¡± Jay looked around at his skeletons, nning for the night.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need firewood, water and food.¡± he talked to himself, ¡°shelter is okay for now since I have my swag.¡±

    Of course, Jay wouldn¡¯t be doing work to get any of these.

    ¡°Sweep¡­ oh?¡± Jay was distracted by the munching noises of bones.

    The tform he made to stand on in the cradle of roots was already being eaten away by his skeletons.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t damaged, so¡­ you levelled up?¡± Jay grinned.

    Both Lamp and Sweeper were eating ¨C after a moment, Handy joined them too.

    Finally, his level three skeletons reached level four, and that meant one thing:

    ¡°Time to pick your roles¡± Jay¡¯s eyes gleamed.

    He had been waiting for this for a while, excited to see what roles they would gain.

    Seeing the others eating, Heavy also kneeled down and began to feast on the bones, which only made Jay more ecstatic.

    ¡°Fuck yes, you all levelled up?¡± Jay grinned, ¡°Well then, feast. Feast to your hearts content.¡± he grinned.

    Right now, the only skeletons not feasting were Red, Blue and Dark ¨C who was still heading back to investigate the explosion.

    Jay decided to use the [host] skillter on after he prepared his camp, knowing he may need to use his mana for other tasks ¨C one of which would be making a bone crucible for his camp fire.

    ¡°Alright. Blue, you collect firewood.¡± Jay then took out his water skin and drank it down to thest drop, ¡°Red, go back to that stream and refill my water skin. See you in a few hours.¡±

    As thest of the sunlight was going down, Jay didn¡¯t waste any time.

    He made arger pile of bones on his thick bone tform and began to channel his mana. The familiar green glow of the necrotic mana created an alluring light in the depths of the forest.

    The bones he ced in front of him began to glow themselves as his mana seeped into them and melted with them.

    In the depths of the forest, on a tform of corpses, Jay was a dark figure weaving sickly green mana around floating bones; four undead creatures eating the bones at his feet. It would have made anyone shiver.

    Jay was working with arge amount of bones this time, but his idea was simple: arge, t round disc shape. This was where his fire would sit. Simple enough.

    It chewed through some mana, but the disc was a simple shape, and before he knew it, it dropped down onto the bone pile.

    Next, Jay created arge t rectangle too, about the size of his own body. This would be the foundation of his bed tonight. It may seem like a small thing, but was necessary for afortable sleep.

    Plus, using the [Living Blueprints] skill of his gauntlet, he could just store them away forter use.

    Jay then set up his swag, rolling it out as he waited for his skeletons to stop eating. After setting up his sleep area he gazed across his skeletons.

    All of them were still crunching away on the bones; it would have made some people shiver.

    ¡°I¡¯ll send Handy out to hunt when it¡¯s finished eating. Heavy can stay here since it will be too slow to hunt. After the other two are upgraded I¡¯ll send Sweeper hunting too, while Lamp can stay to defend me.¡±

    As Jay waited, he was pleased to see that Heavy indeed grew taller, but not only that, its armour also grewrger with it, though it was a slow process as it required many more bones to feed its thick growing armour.

    Looking more closely, its armour cracked and reformed while it grew bigger; green mana glowing underneath, repairing as it grew.

    Jay decided he would check the armours stats after it grew bigger.

    It was intriguing as it technically wasn¡¯t something he crafted, but a transformation. He wondered if he would even be able to craft it himself once it grew, or if it became too advanced or majestic, perhaps he would have to rethink his whole armour-making ideas.

    ¡°Damn.¡± he shook his head.

    Initially, he was waiting till the skeletons levelled up to craft them armour, but now it seemed like he had simply been putting them at a disadvantage since it would grow with them. He was also making it harder for himself as he would have to craftrger sets of armour when they gotrger.

    Trying to save himself some time and mana had resulted in the opposite.

    ¡°Can¡¯t always win I guess. Better to learn now thanter anyway.¡± he shrugged.

    Finally, the skeleton began to finish eating their fill of bones, with Sweeper and Lamp finally bing the same size as Red and Blue.

    Finally, the role options.

    Jay was most excited about seeing Lamps role options. Throughout Lamp¡¯s life, he had kept it close to him giving it odd jobspared to the other skeletons, such as carrying luminous orbs and amp, which is where it got its name from in the first ce.

    ¡°Better be something good.¡± he smiled with anticipation.

    <[Germinating Skeleton Level 4 ¨C Lamp]>

    [Type ¨C Undead]

    [Role ¨C Undetermined]

    HP ¨C 75/75 (+20, equipment)

    MP ¨C 10/10

    <[Skills]>

    [Bone Eater]

    [Scrimshaw Level 1] (Passive)

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    [Fear] (Weak) (Passive)

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death ¨C and they spit back. Stop it before it¡¯s toote. Execute with extreme prejudice. Burn the bones.]

    <[Please choose a role from avable categories]>

    [Avable categories are based on the skeleton¡¯s qualitative experience. If no choice is made, a random role will be assigned once the skeleton levels up.]

    [Commander] (1)

    [Guard] (1)

    [Keeper]

    [Warrior]

    [False Hope]

    ¡°There¡¯s no zweihander choice?¡± Jay raised a brow, ¡°Hmm. I guess it only bes a permanent choice after at least one skeleton has it as a role. It was an option for Red before, but I selected the guard role.¡± he guessed.

    ¡°My choices are steadily growing though.¡± he nodded, seeing the (1) after each of the other two roles.

    So far it seemed like the warrior role had been something easy to get, perhaps even a natural progression so he didn¡¯t even give it any thought. It simply seemed too boring.

    ¡°Now¡­ Keeper or False Hope.¡± he pursed his lips, ¡°Both are as intriguing as each other.¡±

    ¡°Keeper, I¡¯m guessing, has something to do with being a light holder, but it also has a loose connection to a graveyard keeper, which basically care for the skeletons¡­ hmm, a healer ss possibly?¡±

    While having a healer ss would be nice, Jay¡¯s skeletons always had the bone eater skill, and so far, he had not had anyck of bones ¨C in fact, since stepping out of Lo, he had gained many more corpses than what he had used in battle ¨C though not including the pile of bones he left under mushroom cap.

    ¡°But the false hope role seems way too mysterious to pass up.¡±

    ¡°False hope. What does it even mean? How would it even work for a skeleton, and what does it have to do with holding a light? Hmm¡­¡±

    Jay knew in his heart that he would regret not choosing it; he was simply too curious.

    ¡°Well, I can only hope this isn¡¯t a mistake.. But who¡¯s going to know either way.¡± he shrugged.

    [Choice: False Hope]

    Jay felt like it was the right choice to make, and as soon as he did, Lamp dropped its ossein sword.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Jay wasn¡¯t offended over its strange behaviour, but waited to see what it would do.

    With all the bones around it, Lamp had free reign.

    It leant down and dug its hand through the bone pile, pulling out some long slender bones, most of them being femurs (leg bones).

    Next, it began using its own mana to craft itself some weapons¡­ or tools. Jay couldn¡¯t help but smile slightly as he hadn¡¯t seen his skeletons make anything in a long time.

    Jay watched quietly as the glow of necrotic manaing from his own skeleton made a cloud of floating bones, but what it did with those one made Jay ever so slightly disappointed.

    Lamp formed a dagger. Of all things it could have made.

    For a moment Jay was a little disappointed, but as the necrotic mana disappeared he was able to see it more clearly.

    It was no ordinary dagger.

    ¡°Give it.¡± he said.

    Jay took out his luminous orb and held the dagger up to it. It was quite a wide de, simr to his own designs, but it had one defining characteristic: A sharp, backwards-pointing spikeing off the spine of the de.

    Instantly, Jay knew what it was and what it was used for.

    ¡°Huh. A gut knife?¡± Jay thought, a shiver going up his spine.

    He had used these in his butchery before to help him remove the skin of animals, but he pitied anything which would have this used on it while still living.

    As Jay looked at the de, it seemed that Lamp wasn¡¯t done with crafting.

    It began crafting something much different from the femurs it gathered ¨C a long pole with a curved end which turned back on itself.

    As it formed, Jay was only getting more and more confused.

    ¡°A gut knife and a sheperd¡¯s crook?¡±

    The only simrity between them where that they could pull things towards them, but Jay really didn¡¯t see how this skeletons weapons were going to achieve anything in battle.

    Jay looked at the bottom end of its sheperds crook, noticing it came to a sharp point, ¡°At least it can stab with that end.¡± he thought, handing back the gut knife.

    ¡°Well, since you made a gut knife, I guess I¡¯ll send you out hunting too. We¡¯ll see what you can do.¡±

    Jay looked over his skeletons ¨C they were all finished eating except for Heavy who still had to eat more to make up for its armour.

    ¡°Alright, Sweeper next.¡±

 Chapter 226 Humble Duties

    ¡°Hang on, why did Heavy level up. It didn¡¯t even attack the beast?¡±

    Jay wondered, ¡°¡­ and it never killed anything. Could it be the trainingbined with its mind?¡± ¡°Or¡­ Do the skeletons share exp? ¨C Well, their own version of exp?¡±

    It made sense to Jay, as the skeletons levelled up much slower after there were more of them summoned.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m onto something¡­¡± he thought, making a mental note to test thister.

    If he had an army of undead, it would certainly take longer to make them stronger if they were all sharing exp, but also much easier for the weaker ones to level up since they wouldn¡¯t be able to kill higher level monsters to get exp in the first ce.

    ¡°Anyway¡­ Sweeper next.¡±

    Jay opened up Sweepers stats, expecting to see some strange choices as he had typically given Sweeper odd jobs as well.

    And by odd jobs, they were ones that really weren¡¯t desirable at all.

    <[Please choose a role from avable categories]>

    [Avable categories are based on the skeleton¡¯s qualitative experience. If no choice is made, a random role will be assigned once the skeleton levels up.]

    [Commander] (1)

    [Guard] (1)

    [False Hope] (1)

    [Vanguard]

    [Midguard]

    [Rearguard]

    [Messenger]

    ¡°Four choices? Huh¡­ and no warrior role this time. Strange.¡±

    ¡°The guard type role choices are obvious. I suppose the mid and vanguard roles opened up because of their simrity to rearguard, but a messenger?¡±

    Jay scratched his chin, deep in thought.

    ¡°Messenger¡­¡±

    He couldn¡¯t think of how it rted to undead at all.

    As far as he could tell, it would be a skeleton which delivered messages.

    Quite useless, especially when no one would want to ept a message from the undead anyway.

    ¡°Jester would have been a more appropriate role,¡± Jay shook his head, ¡°alright, we¡¯ll go with rearguard. You¡¯ve been useful there anyway.¡±

    [Choice: Rearguard]

    Sweeper didn¡¯t throw down it¡¯s sword, but like Lamp, it too began crafting, using Jay¡¯s tform of bones to fuel is machinations.

    Jay left it to do as it please, ignoring it for the time being and turning his eyes to Handy.

    The skeleton had outgrown its modified ossein sword and it was time for an upgrade.

    Instead of making a new sword, Jay just grabbed its current sword and began to modify it.

    He added more bones to it and melted them together, making arger mass before stretching it longer ¨C however it looked kind of flimsy, thin and skinny.

    To give it a stronger structure, he made the de wider and slightly thicker.

    As well as that, he decided to add a wide T-shaped cross guard just above a longer sword grip.

    For the sword grip, he also made it rough and bumpy rauther than smooth, so the skeleton could grip it easily as it spun the giant de around.

    After it was done, it looked quite impressive, even for Jay¡¯s standards. It was a simple design but seemed quite regal. Giving it a test swing against one of the trees, the tip cut deeply into the bark by the force of its own weight.

    The sword was sturdy and seemed like it could hack endlessly without remorse.

    It was a ssic bastard sword.

    Apart from the white-grey colour, Jay thought it looked quite simr to the ones he had seen at the adventurer association, d that it looked like a forged weapon.

    To his surprise, it was also level two.

    <[Necrotic Bastard Sword ¨C Level 2]>

    [15 damage] ¨C shing, piercing.

    [Two Handed] (Passive)

    ¨C Requires two hands to wield effectively.

    ¨C 150% damage when two handed. 75% damage when one-handed

    [Lifespan] (Passive)

    ¨C Requires necrotic essence to maintain it¡¯s form

    [Current lifespan: 48 hours]

    ¡°Hmm¡­ necrotic instead of spectral. Damn. I wonder how to make spectral weapons to match their spectral armour.¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°Not much more damage than the level three ossein swords, but I guess that the two handed passive will make up for it.¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°Level two as well. Maybe it was because I used a level three sword to make it?¡± he guessed, ¡°Or maybe its just simr to most swords and daggers, so my first attempt didn¡¯t result in a level one sword?¡± he scratched his chin.

    ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t matter either way.¡±

    With the sword formed, he presented it to Handy.

    The skeleton seemed to ept the sword with both honour and glee as it stepped forward and lowered its head while raising its arms, as if it were in a ceremony.

    After stepping back to its guard duty, it began to swing it, feeling its weight and reach as it grew ustomed to its new weapon.

    ¡°A level two weapon for a level two skeleton¡± Jay thought, excited to see what it would be like once it got its zweihander role and hit level five. At that point, he would make it a better,rger sword.

    Typically his level two skeletons had been small in stature, but thanks to his skeleton-raising skill evolving into the [Raise Lesser Undead] skill, they were naturally taller than their feeble creature counterparts, so Handy¡¯s new weapon seemed a littlerge for it, but it wasn¡¯t sorge that it wouldn¡¯t be useful in battle.

    ¡°Now, I suppose I should craft you some armour before you level up further¡­¡± Jay nced at Handy before looking at his other skeletons, ¡°Well, craft some for all of you.¡±

    At the moment, Handy and Dark were the only skeletons without any armour, while Heavy was the only one with a chest te; Jay didn¡¯t think he was quite skilled enough at scrimshaw to make other armour parts just yet.

    As for the other skeletons, they each had the same armour as Jay: Vambraces, greaves and a helmet, each of the skeletons recieving five extra health for each spectral armour part ¨C excluding the helmet, which for some reason was not considered a spectral armour piece.

    ¡°At least I¡¯ll have something productive to do tonight¡± he nodded before ncing at his skeletons.

    ¡°Now¡­ who¡¯s free for some chores.¡±

    Sweeper was still crafting something, so Jay decided to just keep it here to guard him along with Heavy.

    Handy and Lamp, though, were sent out to hunt.

    Jay hoped he wouldn¡¯t regret the decision to send the skeletons with the most specialised weapons out to hunt ¨C the bastard sword, the gut knife and the shepherds crook.

    A part of him thought they would eithere back empty handed or with shredded and mutted bits of unidentifiable meat from many different animals.

    All he wanted really was one carcass to butcher, but for some reason he felt like this chore was too hard to ask the unrelenting skeletons.

    Thankfully, had just Blue came back from its task; a bundle of wood under its arm.

    Some was unfortunately still green, filled with water. Jay tossed those pieces as they wouldn¡¯t catch fire, but thankfully the skeleton came back with some dried out pieces which should burn quite easily.

    Still, Jay needed more.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Heavy. Come here.¡±

    The thick-armoured skeleton had be much heavier after consuming much more bones than any of the other skeletons, all to feed its growing armour, and each of its steps were as weighty as Jay¡¯s now.

    For now though, it wouldn¡¯t be useful for hunting, but having a mind made it useful for this particr duty.

    Jay showed it the difference between good firewood and the water-filled green bits of wood which wouldn¡¯t catch alight. The skeleton couldn¡¯t tell the difference at first, but Jay showed it how the drier bits of firewood would snap when bent, while the others would bend as he taught it to do a most humble job.

    Still, Heavy was happy with carrying out whatever tasks its master would use it for, so it quickly went off into the forest and began gathering.

    In the meantime, Blue would be there to guard Jay, along with Sweeper who was still crafting something.

    Red was gathering water, his shelter was made from bones, firewood was ready with more on the way, and skeletons were out hunting. Jay felt pretty set for the night.

    There was nothing else that Jay needed to do while thest slips of sunlight were disappearing, but he was by no means idle.

    ¡°Blue, I think it¡¯s time I gave you a mind.¡± Jay decided.

    Blue was his most favoured skeleton, formerly called ¡®Don¡¯ along with Red ¨C together they were the don don duo. He smiled warmly remembering those seemingly simpler times.

    Still he preferred the present ¨C even though his secret was out and he was being hunted down, he had many more skeletons and skills.

    Plus, he was even enjoying it, despite all the dangers and pain he had waded through.

    Through it all, Blue had been with him. A trustedpanion since the beginning.

    He still remembered the first time he saw it; it shocked him enough to unsummon it immediately.

    Although it was much shorter at the time, only as high as Jay¡¯s waist, it was just as fearsome back then as it was today, though it stood much taller, its bones thicker and longer, and carried a fearsome sword which it fueled with its own necrotic essence.

    Not to mention the various pieces of armour that covered its limbs and its skull.

    It had been grown into a force to be reckoned with, capable of dispatching most adventurers its own level with none of the drawbacks such as pain, fear or death.

    It was a silentpanion to Jay, even a trusted ally. He counted on it many times and it diligently performed its duties with supreme execution.

    As it knelt before him, he felt a sense of pride as he began to form its mind. He felt like he was cing a crown on its head.

    Suddenly, the gloomy bone tform hidden deep in the forest was lit up by the familiar green light as it swirled around a skeletons head.

    After a few moments, the deed was done.

    [A new mind is formed.]

    Like all the other skeletons, it followed the same pattern of logic as it came to its senses:

    ¨C Stare at Jay, seizure, stare at own hands, inspect armour, find a weapon, and finally swing its weapon.

    This time though, it did something different.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Jay raised a brow.

    It didn¡¯t begin to swing the weapon. Instead it went back to kneeling before Jay, as if recognizing its maker and showing him honour.

    Jay had to stop himself from gasping, touched by its loyalty. He wasn¡¯t sure how to act as he had never been treated like this.

    Jay paused as he took it in and enjoyed the feeling for a moment.

    ¡°You truly are a great skeleton.¡± he smiled.

    ¡°Alright, you need to practice. Swing your sword and maybe cut open a few trees if you¡¯d like. When Heavy gets back from collecting more wood, you can duel with it.¡±

    The skeleton slowly rose and nodded, stepping off the bone tform before cleaving and piercing the air with its ossein sword.

    Soon enough, it carved open some trees too.

    The bone weapons had a few advantages over the conventional metal ones: they were lighter and easier to craft ¨C for Jay at least ¨C but the main advantage was that they didn¡¯t lose durability. Jay had noticed other adventurers, particrly the lower levels ones, always having to tend to their swords with a smooth stone to keep the edge sharp.

    Some even applied oils to them.

    The bone weapons didn¡¯t have a durability stat ¨C instead they had lifespan.

    As long as these strange weapons had necrotic mana they would keep their form, all the way down to the sharpest edge. Even if they did be dull, they would gradually reform themselves.

    Essentially, they were the perfect weapons for the undead. As immortal as the immortal were.

    ¡°Now¡­ what do to..¡±

    After Blue¡¯s upgrade, crafting the fire crucible as well as the t sleeping area, Jay was low on mana.

    Before meditating to recover it, he used the veryst wisps of daylight sneaking through the trees to get his fire started.

    In no time, he was sitting cross-legged before a small crackling campfire.

    As he had be ustomed to restoring his mana he didn¡¯t need to focus as hard, and soon his thoughts drifted aimlessly elsewhere, unguided and unrestrained.

    ¡°I should check if the marked mage hunters have left Lo. It seems like my diversion probably worked.¡± he thought.

    ¡°As for Lannister and Lara, well, I doubt I¡¯ll be hearing from them again. There¡¯s probably more of a chance of my dad sending me a messenger skeleton.¡±

    He was still somewhat annoyed at their strange promise to take him away and save him, only to ditch him at thest minute, but he was d they proved to be a useful diversion anyway.

    In one sense, they did help him to escape Lo.

    Still, Jay was never relying on them to save him anyway. He knew better than to trust humans. To Jay, they were simply useful tools for his own survival.

    ¡°I wonder what that weird turret-summoning kid is doing at the moment. Steve? Liam? Eh, I forget his name. Hopefully he learnt his lesson to not force people into his party anymore.¡±

    ¡°Anya probably made it to Lara before they ditched me. She¡¯s probably in some paradise somewhere being given special lessons. I wonder how they nned to evacuate us anyway.¡±

    ¡°The butchery¡­ did Trenly survive? I hope he¡¯s alright, he seemed like a decent guy.¡±

    ¡°Plus, I want my money someday.¡±

    Jay hoped Trenly wasn¡¯t being tortured somewhere, but he doubted his butchery shop was okay.

    Thest time he saw it, the door and front window was smashed through. It was likely the mage hunters had since ripped apart every inch of it in search of any clues about Jay.

    He even wondered if the building itself was still standing.

    ¡°And thest quest of the mist keep dungeon¡­ the spear Sedulus gave me. I wonder if I¡¯ll ever be able toplete it.¡±

    ¡°Well, hopefully one day I¡¯ll go back and do it. Once I¡¯m powerful enough to stand against the mage hunters.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ No. I will go back. One day.¡±

    After a few hours, Jay¡¯s mana was full again and he cast aside his thoughts as he opened his eyes.

    Heavy was back, and after delivering the wood was now sparring with Blue; Jay wasn¡¯t sure who was teaching who. Compared to the other skeletons, Blue seemed much more mature even though its mind was younger than Heavy¡¯s.

    ¡°Everyone else levelled up. I guess should check my level too.¡± he nodded.

 Chapter 227 Spiked Perimeter

    Jay checked his stats after his skeletons levelled up.

    <[Necromancer Level 12]> (Pure)

    [Race ¨C Human]

    HP: 213/213

    MP: 87/87

    Strength: 20

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 35

    Energy: 45/45

    Exp: 3264/20,000

    [<[Skills]>]

    <~[Necromancy Skills]~>

    [Raise Lesser Undead (1)]

    [Summon Bone Helminth]

    [Mass Summoning]

    [Shell Restoration (1)]

    [Unstable Teeth (2)]

    [Host (1)]

    [Mind (1)]

    [Undead Mastery (3)] (Passive)

    [Necrotic Sense (1)] (Passive)

    [Scrimshaw (3)] (Passive)

    [Soul Sense (1)] (Passive)

    [Shift]~[Living Blueprints]~[Transnt]~[Amputation]

    [Uncaring Rip]~[Pitiful Mortal]

    <[Other Skills]>

    -[Open List]-

    [<[Research]>]

    [Chimera Research (17%)]

    [Immortality Research (5%)]

    [Skull-shield Projector Research (32%)]

    [Dreadmourn Turret Research (22%)]

    ¡°Hmm. I guess I should be d about being so high level, but being in this empty forest, away from dungeons¡­¡± he shook his head.

    Jay had been missing the exp notifications he was used to getting every day, as well as watching his skeletons fight through dungeons. They were made to fight so it was a little disappointing.

    Something else though, like a yearning in his heart, was telling him to get stronger, to not be idle or remain the same.

    ¡°Dammit, I¡¯m wasting damn my time.¡± he pursed his lips.

    ¡°It must be rarer than I thought to find a dungeon. I wish they all had trails leading to them like that spider one.¡±

    As Jay sat for a moment, he stared into the crackling campfire, keeping him warm in the cold night time forest.

    The dancing mes were mesmerizing, but not quite soothing enough.

    After a while, Heavy walked over and added a few more thicker pieces of firewood into it, helping it to grow back to the size Jay had it at before.

    Jay smiled proudly; he didn¡¯t even teach his skeleton to do this, it simply did it, figuring it out for itself.

    ¡°Thanks, Heavy.¡± Jay said as it went back to endlessly sparring.

    Hearing its master praise it, Heavy turned towards Jay as if at attention, then bowed.

    Further behind it, Blue nodded as it watched Heavy.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay smiled.

    He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Blue taught it that ¨C but the question became, where did Blue learn it from?

    After all, Blue had only just received a mind a few hours ago.

    The skeletons only resulted in Jay having more questions than answers ¨C as for answers, Jay could only guess.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s part of its role? To discipline the troops? Not that they need to have discipline since I can control them¡­ but I think I like it.¡± he thought with a nod, ¡°Perhaps I should act more like an undead suprememander too¡­¡± he thought for a moment.

    ¡°Maybe I already am? Who¡¯s to say how a necromancer should act anyway.¡± He shrugged.

    With the sun already down and after a few hours had passed, Sweeper was still hard at work, crafting and building something at the entrance to the cradle of the three trees.

    Jay thought he may as well check on it now before he would have some rations and go to sleep. For thest few hours he had let it do as it pleased,pletely ignoring it as it diligently skittered about between the trees and Jays bone tform, pulling bones out while creating the familiar green glow of necrotic mana.

    As he walked over, he was pleasantly surprised at what Sweeper had been working on.

    All around the bone tform was like a sea of white spikes, all pointing upwards and outwards with sharpened tips, waiting to pierce whatever would dare to charge into Jay¡¯s small stronghold.

    ¡°Huh, so this is what you¡¯ve been doing?¡± Jay was actually d, ¡°Nice work Sweeper.¡± he said, d to see the skeleton was taking its rear guard role seriously ¨C perhaps almost to a fault.

    Each of the bones it nted between the roots poked upwards with sharpened tips. Jay could tell it used the minimum amount of mana to form each of them into a piercing point; it allowed it to make hundreds of them.

    Multiple lines of these makeshift spikes were nted in any crack be between the roots, anywhere it could find purchase.

    With a slight curve outwards, a barrier between Jay and all external threats had been formed.

    A small, slender path was made in the middle so that the skeletons could freely travel in and out.

    Curious as he was, Jay picked up one of the spikes and analsyed it.

    <[Defensive Spike]> (Bone)

    ¨C 2 damage

    ¨C Anti-charge: 15kg force reduction

    ¨C Low quality. Hasty Construction. Barely worth the minimal effort which went into crafting them.

    ¡°Heh, well I suppose it¡¯s better than nothing; I didn¡¯t put in any effort anyway so I guess it¡¯s fine.¡± he shrugged, turning around and going back to sitting by the fire.

    Jay couldn¡¯t help but imagine himself sitting on a throne in a lofty fortress, surrounded by dark stone walls covered in these pale bone spikes.

    Something about it felt right.

    ¡°It¡¯s kind offorting, having defences. No matter how small.¡±

    After a quick meal of measly rations, he checked the parasites in his arm once more and finally closed his eyes as heid his head down, listening to the cracking of the warm fire at his side and the gentle bone clinks of the diligent skeletons at his back.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Next morning, somewhere north of Lo~

    ¡°No luck?¡± Vanderby asked Linc, seeing him return with nothing after setting out on an early morning hunt.

    Linc shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s like the whole forest has been picked clean. Too many damn people heading to Lo at once. Everything is either in someone¡¯s belly or has been scared off.¡±

    ¡°Ah. Well, hopefully we¡¯ll find some food inside the vige¡­ and a few beers¡± Vanderby winked.

    Linc nced at Estra, she simply shrugged.

    With empty stomachs, they dashed some water onto the smouldering embers of their campfire and walked back to the road before heading to Lo.

    It was about lunch time before they saw the first sign of Lo: the adventurer association perched on arge hill overlooking the somber vige.

    They couldn¡¯t help but wonder how someone from such an insignificant vige ¨C one without any walls ¨C deserved such a huge bounty. Dead or alive.

    The vige at least had an old bridge, which they were now approaching.

    ¡°Mage hunters are on guard duty¡­¡± Estra whispered, covertly ncing at the ck armoured knight standing by the bridge.

    Linc and Vanderby nced back at her with stern expressions, not saying anything as they crossed the bridge, their cold gazes dropping to the ground.

    All three of them knew better than to make eye contract with a mage hunter.

    As they walked, the town seemed eerily quiet, more like a mercenary camp preparing for war than a humble vige.

    The locals were all distant and indifferent, staying locked away in their houses as if it were still winter outside, and the ones who did leave their homes rushed around with a nervous urgency.

    There were few bounty hunters in town as many had already left to get a head start, though some were still asking questions for any information about Jay, but it seemed like no one wanted to talk.

    Scores of bounty hunters had already passed through Lo and were already searching the surrounding forests ¨C particrly the western forests past the farnd. This seemed like the most logical spot, as the mage hunters had erected a structure here: four thick, imprable stone walls with a stone roof; multiple magical barriers around it protecting it from different magic such as time, rift, or blink types.

    A rumour was passed around between the bounty hunters that Jay had left something precious behind, which was going to be used to track him. Some suggested it was part of a treasure he left.

    Others said it had nothing to do with Jay at all.

    Of course, no one except the mage hunters knew he was a necromancer.

    After finding the Snakeraven inn and enjoying arge meal they got to work.

    ¡°Linc, ask the vigers for information. Estra,e to the guild. We¡¯ll see what the adventurers have to say.¡±

    Of course, not everything went to n.

    Some timeter, Estra and Vanderby were standing outside of Mist Keep dungeon, waiting for something.

    ¡°Damn. I guess no one was at the guild since its in ruins¡­ maybe that was because of Jay? Maybe that¡¯s why there¡¯s a bounty?¡± Vanderby suggested, leaning against arge statue.

    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t think he would be that powerful, he¡¯s only level nine after all. While level nine is high for this year¡¯s adventurers, it¡¯s nothingpared to the few guards we saw, so something else probably happened.¡± Estra shrugged.

    ¡°Mmh. Yeah I guess so¡­ but there aren¡¯t many normal guards around at all. Maybe he did kill them?¡± Vanderby said, giving a small cheeky smile.

    Estra half-smiled and shook her head.

    Vanderby and Estra nned to ask about Jay at the guild, but it seemed no one wanted to hang around there, in its ruins or around the mage hunters.

    Their next step was to go to the second most popr spot to find adventurers: the dungeons.

    ¡°How long are they going to be in there?¡± Vanderby asked, not expecting an actual answer.

    ¡°Lo adventurers are hard workers I guess, though I¡¯m surprised none have left to get lunch.¡±

    Suddenly, the door of the mist keep portal opened.

    Two adventurers stepped out with stark expressions on their faces; each covered in bold muscles and sweat.

    One of them held arge rectangr shield which looked like it had been through countless wars; in his other hand was arge, fearsome red mace with a single beak-shaped spike on it. It looked like it would cave in your ribs with a gentle swing, and it seemed like the only thing to stop it would be the giant tower shield he carried in his other hand.

    The second adventurer wielded a great war hammer; decorated on the side of the hammer was a bearded screaming, roaring mans face with bleeding eyes. He looked as if he were about to wield the same hammer with the most reckless and savage swings ¨C caution and self preservation be damned. There was something both inspiring and savage about it.

    Vanderby patiently waited, looking rxed as he leant against the statue, nning to strike up a conversation as they walked by.

    The two brutish adventurers took no notice of anything outside of the dungeon. They only looked at each other, nodded, then turned to go straight back into the dungeon.

    ¡°W-Wait a second!¡± Vanderby called out, shocked that they were going right back in.

    It was toote, they were already gone.

    Not that they would have stopped anyway.

    ¡°What the hell are they doing? And in teams of two? Did you get their names and levels?¡±

    ¡°Sorry. They were too fast,¡± Estra frowned, ¡°the adventurers are built different around here.¡±

    A humorous smile suddenly appeared on Vanderby¡¯s face, ¡°Of course it wouldn¡¯t be so easy¡­¡± he shook his head.

    ***Hi. Jay¡¯s HP is now a scaling stat, which is why it¡¯s so much higher.

    HP = (vitality*5.3)*(0.09*level)) + (level*2.2) + Base 15***

 Chapter 228 Attire of Lamp

    ~Hollow Forest, Early Morning~

    Jay had not yet opened his eyes even though he was awake, feeling the rxing warmth of the fire.

    He had actually be awake for a few hours already, but was not idle as hey there motionlessly.

    A veil of his mana was cast around him like a, picking up tiny disturbances in the energy and the slight changes in the air caused by the crackling fire.

    He even sensed the water bag ced at his side by Red, who had ced it there sometimest night and had went back to being his personal bodyguard.

    The sun had just begun to give the first light of day, and after his diligent practice Jay received a notification as he opened his eyes, staring into the dawn sky with a proud smile.

    [Mana Sense ¨C Acquired]

    ¡°Hmm, I guess the secret was to be still rauther than to try and walk while practicing it.¡±

    Jay had another notification but first he checked the skill.

    [Mana sense ¨C Level 1]

    ¨C Uses mana to sense the surroundings

    ¨C Three meter radius from mind

    ¨C 2 mana per second

    ¡°Finally, the mana sense skill. I deserve it after all the practice I put in.¡± Jay smiled, but it was quickly turned to a frown.

    ¡°Wait, why did Vdore want me to learn this again? Hmm¡­ I guess it will help in some way, perhaps to see behind doors or something?¡±

    The mana sense ability was not the simple ability to sense mana, but an active skill which used mana to sense everything else. Almost like echo location, except more personal, as a practitioner of the skill felt every detail.

    The next notification he opened was only one for exp, but despite being so small he was quite happy.

    [6 Exp]

    ¡°Looks like Handy and Lamp caught something. Hope it¡¯s not some shit-eating rat.¡± Jay thought, rolling over to one side as he was still in bed.

    For a moment his eyes didn¡¯t really focus on anything as he rxed, though as the sun began to creep through the trees, something caught his attention.

    Almost right next to him, something glistened in the light.

    Arge, white and silvery feathery there on the bone tform.

    Jay reached over and grabbed it, then twirling it in his fingers he looked at the glistening sparkling light reflecting off it for a few moments.

    ¡°Where did youe from? There¡¯s no birds around here¡­¡± he wondered.

    Looking into the sky he couldn¡¯t see any birds or hear any of their morning songs, so the feather was a strange anomaly.

    Some paranoia tried to grip Jay, but seeing that his skeletons had not reacted he didn¡¯t either.

    ¡°Oh well, It¡¯s just a feather. Time to get up.¡± he nodded, tossing the feather away.

    Standing by the fire, he was pleased to see that Heavy had tended to it overnight; Jay didn¡¯t wake up at all since it was neither too hot nor too cold.

    As he stood there over the first, he made sure his skeletons were keeping busy, but then his stomach grumbled.

    ¡°Ah where are those skeletons¡­¡± Jay thought, chewing on some nuts.

    He was waiting for Handy and Lamp to return with their hunt; he sensed they were not too far away, so his breakfast should be arriving shortly. It seems that they found something to kill in the early hours of the morning after midnight ¨C otherwise they would have already returned.

    Handy and Lamp weren¡¯t the only thing Jay sensed however.

    Somewhere below him, he sensed a squirming snake-like skeleton in the cold soil, under the intricate root systems of the trees ¨C his bone helminth had returned.

    Raising a brow, he wondered why it was yet toe up to greet him. He willed ite to him, but it remained below the earth.

    ¡°Come up here. Now.¡± Jay said a bit more sternly.

    It seemed that the bone parasite received the warning. He sensed the helminth try to travel upwards but it suddenly stopped, turned, and then went back to circling him underground.

    Jay understood what was happening as soon as it stopped, and with a sigh, he immediately put his skeletons to work.

    Finding a lower part of the root system furthest from the trees, he instructed the skeletons to begin chopping open a triangle-shaped hole through the roots.

    The poor bone parasite was blocked by the roots, unable to crawl upwards and meet its master, so the simple solution was to cut a way through.

    Of course, Jay would not be doing any chopping himself.

    Under his gaze the skeletons began chopping away at the dense wood.

    ¡°Everything¡¯s in order. Time to check on Dark¡± he thought, walking back to sit next to the campfire on his bone tform ¨C he wasn¡¯t going to let himself lie down defencelessly on these forest floor when his body would go limp from the [Host] skill

    One of the few things spared from the blood-vine bear¡¯s hunger were the parasites, spiders, bugs, leaflings and elementals hiding throughout the forest, half of them waiting to make Jay into their meal, or new home.

    Just as Jay stepped onto the bone tform though, his hunting skeletons returned.

    Turning to see what they caught, Jay was¡­ surprised, to say the least.

    ¡°¡­What the fuck Lamp? What the fuck¡±

    The skeletons marched through the barrier of bone spikes carrying their prey: arge ck rabbit with ws.

    But that wasn¡¯t what made Jay surprised. It was what Lamp had done to it.

    The corpse had beenpletely skinned.

    They had carried a skinned red corpse through the forest, all the way back to Jay.

    But how did Jay know the rabbit had been ck? What about the hide?

    The hide was now wrapped around Lamp¡¯s back of course.

    Well, not exactly wrapped around. More like clinging to it.

    Jay stepped closed and examined the ck fur. It seemed to be somehow fused with the bone on Lamp¡¯s back, as if the skeleton had grown it itself.

    ¡°What kind of freaky¡­.¡± Jay had no words.

    He imagined Lamp in the future; something about a fur-covered skeleton sent shivers up his spine.

    Lamp just stood there, looking at Jay; gut knife in one hand, shepherd¡¯s crook in the other. Both of them bloody.

    ¡°I¡­ I guess it saves me some time skinning it.¡± he shook his head.

    After the skeletons dumped the carcass onto the bone tform, he sent them off to continue hunting.

    Next, he decided to butcher some of the carcass, adding the fresh meat to his inventory and cooking just enough to sate his hunger. Before cooking the rest of it, he decided to use the remainder of his mana to give a mind to one of his skeletons: Red.

 Chapter 229 Leaving

    As Red kneeled before Jay, he remembered he was about to check on Dark.

    ¡°Uh, guess it slipped my mind.¡± he thought with a shrug.

    He decided to do it now rauther thanter; his paranoid nature telling him to stop feeling so safe and rxed.

    ¡°Just hang on a moment, Red.¡±

    Red still kneeled before him, while he sat down himself and used the host skill.

    The world went ck and white as Jay entered the eyes of Dark.

    Dark had crawled up a tree, lying in the branches as it looked at a giant crater in the mushroom desert.

    ¡°What the hell happened here¡­¡± Jay thought; he would have gasped if he wasn¡¯t in the body of a skeleton.

    Dark¡¯s head suddenly turned to the right, its eyesnded on tworge dark armour-d soldiers on the other side of the desert.

    A sting of fear rose in Jay¡¯s heart as he recognised them immediately.

    ¡°Fuck. Mage hunters? They¡¯re¡­ they¡¯ve been follow me? Shit. I thought I lost them, the marks haven¡¯t left Lo. Dammit!¡±

    Immediately, Jay added a mark to one of them, realizing that neither had any marks.

    ¡°Bastards, they sent some mage hunters without any marks.¡± he shook his head, ¡°I thought I had gotten away cleanly¡­¡±

    ¡°They probably found the damn skeletons I left behind too. Shit. I have to keep moving. Much, much further away¡­ I¡¯ll need more diversions and fake skeleton paths ¡±

    Jay sat there watching for a moment, seeing what they were doing. Both of the mage hunters had hundreds of bundles of the mushroom tendrils by their side.

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re cutting through them?¡± he guessed, and as if answering his thoughts, one of them moved into the desert.

    A bright blueish light shed in the hand of one of them as they held a tendril in the other. Soon enough it was cut, and tossed to the edge of the desert with the others.

    The path they were cutting was very wide, about as wide as the Lo bridge.

    A subtle fear rose in Jay¡¯s heart, ¡°The only reason to clear a wide path would be to let more people through it¡­¡±

    By the looks from the size of their path, as well as the hundreds of tendrils they already cut, it seemed that there would be many, many that would march through this way.

    Despite being much further away Jay knew he had to leave immediately and flee as fast as possible. The sooner he did, the better his chances of survival would be.

    The invisible red threads of the mark he just used soon flew out of the forest and coiled around the mage hunter; the mark was set.

    Just before ending the host skill, however, he had an idea.

    Dark stealthily snuck down from the tree. The mage hunter¡¯s paused for a moment, sensing something, so Dark froze too. After they went back to work, he had Dark lie down on the roots of a tree, its dagger hidden under pile of leaves.

    It was lying exactly in the path of where the mage hunters were cutting.

    ¡°You know what to do.¡± Jay sent a thoughtmand to Dark, and ended the host skill.

    Jay returned to his body and brought his throne over to the tform and took out the spears which were used to hold him up, assembling it himself as he readied his ride.

    It was time to leave, but a few things still had to be done.

    Red was still kneeling before him, waiting to ept the gift of a mind, meanwhile the other skeletons were either busy cutting a hole in the roots or hunting.

    It seemed that Jay was still quite deep within the blood-vine bear¡¯s territory as the hunting skeletons had to travel quite far just to find one animal.

    Much of the carcass was still sitting by his side, waiting to be either cooked or butchered, while somerger cuts of meat were in his inventory already.

    ¡°Dammit.¡± he shook his head, hating the idea of wasting the meat, but it seemed like he had no choice.

    While Jay did get a small snack so far, the other meat in his inventory still had to be cooked, and setting up a fire and cookingter on would only slow him down, especially since he had a fire right here, already burning.

    ¡°Blue¡± he called, the skeleton came running over. Jay spent a few minutes showing the skeleton how to cook, hoping it wouldn¡¯t result in him vomitingter on.

    As Blue got to cooking, he stashed away his swag, and left the fresh cuts of meat sitting on the rectangr-shaped b of bone he made to sleep on.

    Jay was about to hand it some skewers to cook with, but instead the skeleton simply held the meat over the fire. It was nowhere near hot enough to burn the bones.

    ¡°Huh. Good.¡± Jay thought.

    He then pulled out the gift from sullivan: the noon-leather nket.

    One side was soft, but the other was smooth and waterproof. It would have to do for now.

    ¡°Leave the cooked meat here.¡± he pointed to the ck leather nket.

    He felt a little shame using it toy cooked meat on, but he had no other options at the moment.

    Jay turned to Red and began to form its mind while his chef got to work cooking.

    He was quite low mana since he had been consistently using mana sense all morning, as well as the host and mark skills.

    After five minutes, Red¡¯s mind formed. Soon it began to spasm and have it¡¯s seizure but Jay didn¡¯t stand around watching.

    Blue only just began to cook its second batch of meat, holding its hands over the fire as the meat sizzled angrily in its boney fingers.

    So far, there would be enough cooked meat tost for almost two days, but he would have to ration it unless more was cooked.

    Jay left it to cook as he checked on the progress the skeletons were making through the roots; still trying to get to his helminth.

    So far, it seemed that their damage to the dense roots was mostly superficial. Swords and daggers really were not the right tools for the job.

    Judging by how far they cut, they would probably need half a day to get the job done. Even then, there was no telling how many more ancient roots were underneath the ones they were currently cutting.

    ¡°Damn. Looks like you¡¯ll have to wait, my friend.¡± Jay thought to his helminth.

    ¡°I wonder if I can give the helminth a mind?¡± he wondered for a moment.

    Red had just finished its upgrade with its mind, so Jay walked back to the bone tform with Heavy and Sweeper in tow, pulling them off chopping duty. There wasn¡¯t enough time to craft them some axes so the helminth would have to wait.

    Jay gathered the meat, both the uncooked and cooked along with the noon-leather nket and added them back into his inventory. In total, it was about three days worth of cooked meat if he rationed it.

    Next, he added the bone fire crucible and the rectangle bone te into his gauntlet, keeping them as living blueprints. The fire which was on the crucible copsed into sparks and smouldering smoking ashes, quickly going out.

    Jay decided to leave as soon as possible with the mage hunters on his tail.

    Well, they were quite far away but still on the right path anyway.

    As he packed up his camp he looked around making sure that he left nothing behind. He took a sip of his water bag before adding it to his inventory too.

    Apart from the remains of the burnt wood, most of which had fallen down into the cracks between the roots, there was only that one strange silvery-white feather, still glistening in the light.

    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll take it. It makes the burnt wood stand out too much anyway¡­ in case theye this way.¡± he thought, grabbing the feather and adding it to his inventory.

    Jay then turned around and sighed, seeing the hundreds of bone spikes all sticking upwards around him.

    He went to add all of these defensive spikes to his gauntlet as living blueprints as well. This is what took the most time, and after adding one hundred of them, he frustratingly decided to just add the rest back to his gauntlet as normal bones, collecting them all with one sweeping hand movement.

    Adding bones to the gauntlet was an easy task as it basically sucked them in itself, but stashing them away as living blueprints would sometimes make them rearrange and fold up, and each one had to be added separately. A time consuming process.

    With everything collected Jay stood by his throne as the skeletons assembled before him.

    Jay paused for a moment, ¡°Oh¡­ damn.¡± he frowned.

    Blue, Red, Sweeper and Heavy were the only skeletons with him ¨C not enough skeletons to carry him on his throne. Heavy was like the weak link in the chain in this instance.

    Jay packed up his throne, adding it to his inventory and storing his bone spears away as more living blueprints.

    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m walking.¡± he shrugged.

    Jay sensed that the hunting skeletons, Handy and Lamp, had ran somewhere south-east rauther than directly south, so he decided to follow them. It seemed that he was still quite deep within the blood-vine bear¡¯s territory.

    Perhaps even close to the centre of it.

 Chapter 230 Six Oddities

    ~The Third Academy, Mirror Reality Thirty-Four~

    Smiley held a wooden practice sword, gritting his teeth in frustration as he stood in the training grounds.

    ¡°Next.¡± he said with an annoyed voice.

    Another student stepped forward, holding their own wooden sword.

    They held the sword low, then rapidly did an upward sh attack.

    It was a feint, and one that in Smiley¡¯s eyes, was far too obvious.

    They took a step forward and lunged with a direct stab aimed at his chest.

    Smiley shook his head, giving the student a disdainful look. He thought to punish this fool for such a pitiful attempt.

    He easily side-stepped and got closer as he pulled the student¡¯s arm.

    The student stumbled forward as Smiley stabbed his wooden sword right into his throat.

    His throat was easily pierced and blood ran down the wooden sword.

    The poor student¡¯s eyes widened, dropping his own sword and falling to the ground as he gargled on his own blood for a moment before his health points drained and recovered him; he was looking at Smiley in fear the whole time.

    Smiley only looked back with a nk stare, one that seemed to say ¡®your life is worthless.¡¯

    ¡°Next.¡± he said emotionlessly, as if it never happened.

    The next student stepped up and began to spar with him, while the other students whispered.

    ¡°Why do they call him smiley if he never smiles?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ just don¡¯t call him by his own name.¡±

    ¡°Matheson?¡± the student replied, but whispering a little too loudly.

    Even during his current fight, Smiley red at the student who said his name; the student immediately tensed up and recoiled in fear, hoping to not be noticed. Unfortunately¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re next.¡± Smiley pointed at the student who uttered his name before ending his fight in a few agile moves.

    The student he pointed at wasn¡¯t even in the queue of students there to spar with him, he was merely standing in the crowd and spectating.

    A shiver went up his spine. He wanted to protest but knew that would only make it worse.

    Over the next few minutes, the poor student was helplessly ravaged by Smiley¡¯s wooden sword which slowly turned red.

    Smiley was being used at the academy as, basically, a live-training dummy. Out of all the tasks he was made to do, this was where he could at least vent some of his frustration.

    Unlike his former self, he didn¡¯t speak very much, instead letting his sword do the talking.

    Other duties included apanying weaker mages and students in dungeons and doing paper work.

    He had his me rapier taken away from him, along with any other weapons he had, instead given a wooden sword as well as an cheap rapier for the dungeons.

    Without his me rapier, battles in dungeons were now much longer, much more gritty and tiresome, though it only served to make him a much more vicious fighter. His skills with the rapier were above his level, while secretly he practiced with mana.

    Of course, he would only have given up his me rapier after torture, however the academy simply used a girl with a type of love magic to force him to bring his sword out of his inventory and give it to him ¨C though the girl used all her mana in the process as she contested with Smiley¡¯s sheer will.

    In all this, Smiley had not given up on escaping. While practicing with mana, he also covertly gathered information, and even knew that he was trapped in a mirror reality now.

    Knowing your cage was half the battle.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Sylvia stood in her own privateboratory, prodding the exposed spine of a slowly-breathing mist wanderer; a grotesque creature with a humanoid body, though it was much taller with the ck frog-like skin of an amphibian; it¡¯s limbs were disturbingly long, it¡¯s hands long and slender ending in skinny, needle shaped ws.

    ¡°It worked on the first human trial¡­ now¡­¡± she tapped a nerve through a gap in the spine, and one of its hands legs spasmed for a moment, ¡°let¡¯s figure you out¡­¡±

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Anya had needed time to recover after leaving Lo, but as she joined her first sses with the other students, she still wasn¡¯t herself ¨C not that anyone could tell.

    Her cold, diligent and distant temperament only became more detached and elusive. One the surface, she would seem like Smiley; at least to the students at the academy.

    For now, the teachers had paired her up with two other students a few levels below her. One specialized in a sort of barrier magic which reflected attacks back with twice as much power, though they couldn¡¯t be directed directly back which sometimes caused some problems.

    The other variant had a form of micro-magic which could reassemble matter near his body into different structures. He was usually coated in a metallic, crystal-like coating which seemed impervious to most damage types, but wascking in the offensive area.

    Both of them were.

    So Anya joined them, making up for the damage in some easier dungeons.

    It was easy for her, but with the death of her father still sinking in, she needed an easier ride, even if she didn¡¯t realize it.

    The theory sses at the academy were optional and varied, and included military strategy, mage hunter tactics, injury prevention, history of the academies, and the resistance.

    Of course, there was also weapon theory, weapon arts and martial arts sses too.

    A few sses specialised in other cultures andnguages too, such as the dimerkinnguage; it was in this ss where Anya learned that the dimerkin that were secretly supplying the resistance with needs in exchange for dungeon drops, simr to the adventurer association.

    Out of the three dimerkin ns, only one seemed to hate humans. The other two ns viewed the variant resistance as a useful tool to keep the other humans, namely the mage hunters, ¡®busy¡¯.

    To the frustration of many students, they were all required to train with using a ranged and melee weapon, to make them proficient in more forms ofbat ¨C even if they could use mana.

    While the students were variants with incredible and random powers, they were taught not to reply on them, to use every tool at their disposal.

    Unfortunately, not every variant was safe to keep at the academy, and were kept in different mirror realities, some of them even having their personalities changed.

    Others could hardly be called humans anymore, not that the students knew of their existence.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Lo~

    Linc, Vanderby and Estra had gathered in the Snakeraven inn, discussing their next moves as they were looking for clues of Jay¡¯s whereabouts ¨C namely, his bed.

    You would think it would be an easy task to find someone¡¯s house in a vige, but it was not the case.

    Unfortunately, since he was a fugitive, most people were not willing to talk about Jay in fear that they would ¡®know too much¡¯ and be used of hiding him, or even punished for leading people astray with false information.

    The recent house raids of the mage hunters had left their mark on the Lon residents, making their job of finding Jay even harder.

    ¡°So,¡± Linc spoke first, ¡°there¡¯s one ce in town that remains under guard of the mage hunters, though it¡¯s a butchery. I¡¯m not sure if Jay slept there, but it¡¯s the our best option.¡±

    Estra nodded, ¡°I have heard a few things about Jay. Some people thought he never slept, some thought he slept in dungeons, and some girls even said he slept at the adventurer association with the guild masters daughter.¡± she shook her head, ¡°I can¡¯t tell if they¡¯re rumors or not, but it¡¯s something¡­ certainly something¡­ The more I learn about this guy, the more mysterious he seems.¡±

    Vanderby chuckled, ¡°Well, I found a guy who said he¡¯d tell us everything we need to know ¨C as long as we party with him and enter the mist keep dungeon and grind with him for a bit.¡± he smiled.

    ¡°Hmh¡­ what do you want to do?¡± Linc asked.

    ¡°Well how about you try and sneak into that butchery shop; Estra and I will help this guy kill a few things in the dungeon.¡±

    Linc nodded, finishing his drink.

    Vanderby added, ¡°We¡¯ll need to leave before the thousands of mage hunterse.¡±

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    Lieutenant Marsh was sitting in hismandeered office in the adventurer association, waiting.

    He had done everything he could to catch the necromancer ¨C even revealing that fact that he was a human, and his guess of Jay going south was also true. He had mage hunters on his heels and tracking him.

    Unfortunately, Jay had entered a vast forest, so they were preparing a way for more mage hunters to begin arge-scale search operation.

    As well as that, he shut down a revolt within the association itself.

    In all the chaos that happened at Lo, he came out with mostly des ¨C however, he wasn¡¯t happy at all; Jay still did get away, and a mage hunter had died under hismand.

    He sat at his desk, gritting his teeth, wishing he did more. Wondering if he could have done more ¨C but his moment was over.

    Soon, legions of mage hunters would be here and he would be relieved ofmand of Lo as his ownmanders would assume control.

    As for any rewards or punishment, it could go either way.

    ¨C ¨C ¨C

    ~Hollow Forest~

    After packing up camp, Jay had only walked for a few hours before he came across arge thicket of vines, creating a wall between the trees.

    It seemed to go on for about thirty meters in either direction and made a round circle.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± he squinted his eyes, seeing that there was an opening on the other side.

    The vines looked eerily simr to the blood-vine bears, but were unmoving and lifeless. It seemed they had died due tock of blood, or that the bear had made this wall to merely function as a barrier.

    ¡°Well¡­ something good has got to be inside.¡± he thought, imagining the bear hoarding loot like a dragon.

    ¡°¡­or maybe it¡¯s just a nest or a sleeping area¡± he shrugged,manding his skeletons to open it up.

    The skeletons all brandished their weapons and rushed foward, hacking away at the dead vines.

    ¡°In any case, it¡¯s the quickest way to my hunters.¡±

 Chapter 231 Burden or Blessing

    Jay¡¯s skeletons breached the vine wall and stepped inside, all of them looking around for threats, while behind them Jay looked on in wonder.

    The ancient roots of the trees were covered with attice of crisscrossing vines, forming an borate mesh over them.

    It seemed that the vines didn¡¯t need sunlight as they grew where they wanted; their food was blood instead.

    Within the wall of vines was also something that seemed like mounds, but as Jay stepped closer and prodded one, he could see bones inside.

    Each of these ¡®mounds¡¯ were actually a sort of cocoon formed by the blood-vines, sealing the trapped creatures in tombs as they drained them of blood.

    There were many cocoons between the trees, within the circle wall of vines, and Jay guessed there were close to one hundred of them in this storage prison.

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t mind if I do.¡± Jay thought, soon using his gauntlet to pull the bones out of the vine coffins.

    Some of them were stuck tightly inside, so he skipped over those, but he soon managed to get around twenty skeletons worth of bones as he walked past them holding his gauntlet out.

    Since he was in a hurry, he only pulled out the bones from the ones along the way to the other side ¨C he had already sent the skeletons forward to cut open the other side of the vine wall, making a straight path through.

    As he walked through their of bone-filled cocoons, something caught his eye, glinting in the sunlight.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he raised a brow, looking over to see another one of those white-silvery feathers, sparkling as if it were a treasure.

    Jay didn¡¯t really believe in luck or coincidences; he even felt a little wrong telling people ¡®good luck¡¯ so he rarely ever did it.

    Walking over to the feather which was sitting just past arge tree, he picked it up and was about to add it to his inventory ¨C however, he saw something behind the tree, nursed between the roots.

    If he didn¡¯t walk over here to grab the feather, he wouldn¡¯t have seen it at all.

    It was another vine cocoon, it almost seemed like it was hidden, however this one was different to every other cocoon here: it still had some shades of red in the vines.

    They seemed like they were barely hanging on, but still alive, slowly moving around.

    The skeletons were busy cutting away at the wall, so Jay inspected it himself.

    Bending down, he curiously pulled out an ossein sword and began to cut away at the nearly-dead vines.

    ¡°What could have survived for so long¡­¡± he wondered, his curiosity driving him forward.

    The vines put up little resistance as they were weak. A few times, they even tried to reach out to Jay to drain his blood, but he simply swatted them away and cut them to pieces.

    He was getting close to the centre, so he bent down, and using his gauntlet hand, he finally pulled away the vines, half-expecting to see a mummified animal or rotting corpse inside; however there was no smell.

    ¡°Final¡­ Huh?¡±

    As the vines parted, he saw two half-opened purple eyes, weakly gazing back at him.

    A girl was inside.

    She shut her eyes slowly as her life seemed to dwindle, dangling by a thread.

    The vines were trying to drain thest drop of her blood to keep living, jealously wrapping around her body.

    As soon as he saw her pale face he knew it was an emergency.

    Jay furiously started shing and cutting away the vines, ripping them apart with his gauntlet.

    In no time he made an opening big enough for her body to be pulled through.

    The vines had attached themselves to her at the wrist, creeping under her skin to source her blood. She was kneeling with her arms at her side, he palms facing upwards as it pulled her lifeforce out of her.

    Jay brutally cut the vines near her wrist and then pulled the creeping blood-sucking roots out of her arms.

    Barely any blood came out at all, and he wondered how she could even live through this.

    For just a moment, he paused, reciting his own thought: ¡°Yes¡­ how could a human live through this¡­.¡±

    Quickly, he analysed her.

    [Asra ¨C Level 11]

    [HP ¨C 3%]

    [MP ¨C 0%]

    That was all he needed ¨C if she were a monster it wouldn¡¯t have shown her health as a percentage.

    The vines were already trying to find their way back into her wrists, as well as into Jay.

    Without a second thought he grabbed her weak, slender body and pulled ¨C however she suddenly opened her eyes and grabbed the vines as if fearing toe out.

    It was not enough strength to stop him, but enough to make him hesitate as her expression was that of utter terror.

    All she uttered were two words before she closed her eyes again.

    ¡°Sunlight¡­ hurts¡± she let go and her body went limp.

    Jay hesitated for a moment, but quickly pulled out the noon-leather nket and ced it around her body with enough to cover her head and quickly pulled her out. He wanted to question it but would save that forter.

    After catching his breath for a moment, he stood there with the girl wrapped up in the nket next to him.

    The vines reached out and still tried to consume both of them, but Jay released a barbaric assault on the remains of the cocoon until no red vines were left.

    Finally it was dead.

    Jay propped up the girl, leaning her against the roots of therge tree as he wondered about her.

    ¡°No sunlight huh.¡± he looked up at the dense canopy above, wondering how much it hurt since barely any light got through the tree tops in the first ce.

    He turned to look at her, still weakly breathing under the nket.

    ¡°Oh¡­ oops.¡± he scratched his head, realising he made a mistake.

    The fur of the nket was on the outside; the waterproof, leathery part of the nket which was still covered in blood from some half-cooked meat was on the inside.

    ¡°Uh I guess we will need to find a stream so she can clean herself?¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°But why should I help her anyway¡­¡± he wondered, ¡°I guess now that I¡¯m a necromancer, nothing is to stop me from keeping a ve¡­ or a servant?¡± he thought for just a moment.

    ¡°I mean, if I wasn¡¯t here she would have died¡­ without my further help she will die. Her life is in my hands, so if I do save her¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah what am I saying¡­ I have skeletons to serve me. She would just be an unreliable burden.¡±

    Part of him was looking for a reason to help her, as he currently had his own problems to deal with, however the thought of leaving her behind didn¡¯t sit right with him.

    For a moment, he simply sat there, looking at the nket with the purple-eyed girl inside.

    He was both looking for a good reason to keep her or to leave her.

    Soon though he had an epiphany.

    ¡°Perhaps I have enough skeletons to support two people, and maybe she will give me some ideas for skeletons.¡± he thought.

    ¡°Hm.. But ultimately, I think I¡¯ll do it because I want to. Because I can. Because I¡¯m strong enough¡± he nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll do it at my leisure, like a noble would.¡± he smiled.

    ¡°But I¡¯ll have to keep her with me for a while. Can¡¯t let her escape and go bbing her mouth to the mage hunters. I suppose if she wants to do that I could just kill her¡­ or trick her.¡± he shrugged.

    At Jay¡¯smand, a skeleton came rushing over. Red rushed to his side.

    Jay opened up the nket, feeling a little silly as her face was already smeared with blood and traces of half-cooked meat.

    He tried to give her some water but as he tried to open her mouth she kept it shut tight.

    ¡°Mmh¡± she turned her head away.

    ¡°Rx, it¡¯s water. You¡¯ll need it.¡±

    She shook her head with an annoyed frown.

    Jay tried a few more times but to no sess, assuming she must have just been crazy from the blood loss, but after some time he gave up.

    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± he said, tucking the nket around her again ¨C but just as she was about to get covered uppletely, she raised her hand and held out a strange pendant.

    ¡°¡­what am I supposed to do with this?¡± he asked as he grabbed it.

    The girl simply kept her eyes shut and tucked her hand back inside the nket.

    Jay shook his head, wrapping her up again before he turned to his skeleton.

    ¡°Red. Carry her. Protect her¡­ for now ¨C and don¡¯t let the nket fall off.¡±

    Red bowed its head and tenderly picked up the girl, also sensing that she was weak and delicate.

    And so, Jay had another member in his party ¨C Asra. Level eleven.

    Like Anya, she had purple eyes, though her hair was a very dark brown, almost ck with an ever so subtle sheen of red in it.

    Even with her pale skin, her face was beautiful and had a look of elegance and authority about it.

    Her attire however seemed weathered and old, as if she had been travelling for years in it ¨C or perhaps, being held captive in a blood-vine cocoon.

    Her outfit was quite different to anything Jay had seen. He assumed she must have received it as a dungeon quest reward, or perhaps was from a noble family ¨C though he dismissed thetter thought as they were so far away from the capital that the idea of a noble being out here in the hollow forest seemed like lunacy.

    Her long-sleeved top was ck with subtle diamond shapes on it, while an insignia of a gold moon was on the top right with ¡®Luna¡¯ written underneath, with a golden trim around the shoulders. It matched her delicate face; it was both simple, elegant, and had an air of authority about it.

    Jay walked behind Red, making sure it was carrying her properly while he still held the pendant in his hand.

    It was round and thick, cut from a light-grey stone with a t ck stone in the centre. The grey outside stone seemed like an ancient stone, as it was slightly weathered, but the ck stone in the centre seemed almost like a polished gem. It was as pristine as ever, and reflected Jay¡¯s hazel-grey eyes and dark-brown hair perfectly.

    He thought he looked a little dirty, but analyzed it.

    <[Guidance]>

    [Location locked ¨C Luna]

    [Unsated]

    [May this serve you well, my Aris]

    ¡°Aris? But her names Asra? ¡­ maybe she stole it¡± he gave a cheeky smile towards her, then looked back at the stone.

    ¡°So this is a guidance?¡± Jay scoffed, thinking she had been led astray.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s faulty¡± he though, wiping his thumb over the ck stone in the centre.

    ¡°Ah- prick.¡±

    Despite being a t surface, it somehow cut him.

    Blood dripped from his thumb onto it¡¯s ck smooth surface but quickly disappeared. Jay stopped walking and watched it closely ¨C the ck stone at the centre began to change.

    Jay simply stood there, as curious as he was confused.

 Chapter 232 Captive

    Jay was walking behind Red, with Blue and Heavy at his side.

    Sweeper was somewhere further behind, practicing its role as rear guard. Hopefully.

    The strange item the girl had given him, the [Guidance], had changed since he bled over it. A small red line appeared and pointed from the centre of the ck polished stone to the outside.

    It kept pointing in one direction no matter which way he turned it, much like apass.

    Since it said it was location locked to ¡®Luna¡¯, Jay believed it was leading him to a person or ce called Luna. and coincidentally it was also the direction he was going in.

    Well, it pointed south-south-east, but not too far off-track as he was heading directly south.

    He decided to make a decision about whether or not to go to ¡®Luna¡¯ once the girl woke up; he would have liked to prepare more adequately for a long stay in the wilderness, and perhaps there were supplies at ¡®Luna¡¯.

    Jay assumed it to be a hidden temple of some sort, perhaps a sort of religious enve, as he believe Lo was thest notable vige before the wilderness began.

    As for the skeletons who were not with Jay, Dark was still ying dead at the base of a tree near the mushroom desert, while Lamp and Handy were out hunting.

    The roots of the trees below their feet were still like an imprablettice, so the helminth was still waiting to reunite with its master as it followed below the ground.

    As Jay walked he was still wondering if he should bring the girl along or dump her somewhere, perhaps near a stream or waterfull in this forest so she would at least have a water source.

    He watched the noon-leather nket on Red¡¯s shoulder asionally as he travelled.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ if she has some kind of movement ability and escapes it could be bad¡­ but who¡¯s to say she won¡¯t simply attack me once she wakes up and recovers enough strength?¡±

    ¡°I could tie her up but then she might try to attack or flee because of that.¡± he pursed his lips, ¡°If I do restrain her, she¡¯ll probably think I¡¯m some weirdo in the forest, but I guess It¡¯s the safest thing to do to protect myself.¡±

    Jay nodded, ¡°I suppose what she thinks doesn¡¯t matter anyway. I¡¯m a necromancer. My reputation couldn¡¯t get much worse.¡± he chuckled.

    After walking for a few hours more, Jay go an exp notification.

    The hunt was sessful.

    [4 Exp]

    It was already mid afternoon, and after walking this long he had been pondering whether or not to have the hunting skeletonse back and carry his throne.

    However, now that they had a fresh catch, they were returning; Jay would ride the throne again soon, and he was looking forward to it.

    Finding arge fat root of a tree, he sat down and decided to rest for a while, recovering his energy and doing some crafting.

    The item he nned to craft? Well it was quite simple. Bone shackles.

    First, he got Red to tenderlyy the girl in the nket next to the tree.

    She probably would have woken up after being moved, so Jay waited about thirty minutes before trying anything, hoping that she would be in a deeper sleep by then.

    The skeletons with the prey wereing back soon so he could have waited longer anyway, but he wanted to get this done before they could get here.

    ¡°If I bind her hands, she will be able to run, but if I bind her legs she will be able to attack¡­ though I can take a hit with my high health, so even if she did attack I could just step away and let the skeletons finish her off ¨C ankle bindings it is.¡± he nodded.

    He could have bound her hands with shackles too, but there was a higher chancer of her waking up.

    Jay nned to simply bind her legs with a mass of bone, but it would have taken time and there was a chance she would realize while he did it, so it wasn¡¯t ideal.

    Beforemitting to the decision, he first he checked his inventory, hoping to find some rope he may have uncaringly grabbed from his house.

    Soon he did find something though, something he had since forgotten about ¨C something he had not expected to use for such a purpose as this.

    [Duresome Chain]

    He had either of them. These old chains were originally used to tie down the ancient abominations in the helvetian research prison, so their strength was unquestionable.

    The chain was thick and bulky, each ring link only a little smaller than Jay¡¯s fist ¨C much too sturdy for the task at hand, but it would have to do.

    Holding the thick chain, Jay tried to not feel like a creep as he walked over to the nket and lifted it up near her feet. Thankfully, she was in a deep sleep and was still recovering so she didn¡¯t wake up.

    As he brought the chains closer, he was d as she wore tight ck pants with slender ck boots; It would be easier to tie the chains around.

    Plus, since she wasn¡¯t wearing a dress or skirt of some sort he could not be used of trying to take a peek.

    Jay covertly and gently wrapped the heavy chain around her legs, but encountered a problem as he had to tie it off somehow. They were too thick to make a knot, and she would be able to untie it even if he did make a knot anyway.

    Of course, the solution was simple.

    He held the chains with one hand and with the other he held his necrotic gauntlet out. He materialized bones in his grasp and slowlyy them onto the chains, doing it one by one so there was no noisy ttering of bones.

    Once he had enough, he simply channeled mana through the small pile of bones and melded it around two ends of the chain, creating something which was more like a seal than a lock.

    During the process and unknown to Jay, his skeletons were standing around him, watching curiously.

    Red, Blue and Heavy all seemed like they were in awe as the bones melted together and bound the chain together.

    As the seal was made, Jay dispersed his mana and it solidified.

    The ancient chains were wrapped tightly around her legs and sealed with bone; Jay smiled as he stood up, pleased with his work.

    He thought it was quite fitting for a necromancer. Much better than some boring rope.

    Jay closed up the nket again, with a little peace of mind, knowing she wouldn¡¯t be able to run.

    ¡°Now, once they get back I¡¯ll butcher some more fresh meat, then¡­ actually, I should teach the skeletons to butcher.¡± he thought for a moment, but changed his mind, ¡°Hmm, it¡¯ll take too much time. Perhaps after I¡¯ve lost the mage hunters.¡± he nodded.

    Jay looked forward to the day when his skeletons would wake him up with a pleasant scent as they served him breakfast in bed.

    For now though, they only knew how to cook¡­ barely.

    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll butcher the meat when Lamp and Handy get back; then Red, Blue, Lamp and Sweeper can carry my throne.¡±

    Jay¡¯s eyes hovered over the nket and lingered for a moment.

    ¡°Handy and Heavy can carry the girl¡­ I suppose I should call her by her name instead of ¡®the girl¡¯¡± he thought, ¡°I wonder what Asra¡¯s ss is.¡±

    Late into the afternoon and Jay was already marching again. After a short rest he decided to keep travelling.

    His energy had recovered so he thought he may as well use it, and he really only wanted to stop to restrain Asra anyway.

    While walking he checked the mark he ced on the mage hunter in the desert, but it had not moved much, so he felt like he was only getting further and further away from them. Safer.

    As he walked through the ancient forest, a smile appeared on his face as he sensed his hunters draw near, and soon he could see them marching through the trees carrying another prey.

    This time it was also skinned, while the fur patch on Lamp¡¯s back had grown slightly bigger.

    Jay had expected there to be another separate patch of fur on its back; two different colours ¨C but it seemed like the new coat had mixed the two furspletely, creating a new single colour.

    Thebination of fur had created a dark brown-red colour.

    Almost like a dark rust. It looked soft and warm.

    A part of Jay wanted to stroke Lamp¡¯s fur, but another part of him thought there was a chance it was crawling with fleas and other parasites, and he already had more than enough of those quietly living in his arm.

    ¡°I guess this animal had red fur?¡± he thought, looking at Lamp then at the corpse on Handy¡¯s shoulder.

    Jay looked for a ce to set up a small butchering table. On some thicker roots of course. There were no other options.

    However he had an idea, and his solution of course, were his skeletons.

    Jay pulled out his bone crucible and sat the corpse on top of it.

    He had the skeletons circle around and hold up the crucible, and it became like a butchering table. A small one.

    It did have some ash marks on it from when he used it as a campfire holder, but he wasn¡¯t going toin as he got to work, carving it up.

    The skeletons with minds watched the process, learning from Jay even as they held the table up.

    Of course, it was not as exciting to them as seeing bones being melded ¨C at least it seemed like that to Jay anyway.

    The corpse seemed like some sort of long rabbit, though it was hard to tell since it had no skin or fur on its body.

    Still, it looked like quite appetizing meat, and even though it had been travelling through the forest for a few hours on the back of a skeleton it was still fresh.

    ¡°Another¡­ two days of rations?¡± Jay thought while adding the meat to his inventory, but then nced at the nket with Asra in it.

    ¡°Hmm. One day.¡±

    After extracting all the good cuts of meat, Jay used his necrotic gauntlet to tenderly pull the bones out and add them to his stockpile.

    The leftovers on the crucible were mostly bits of cartge and some fat which had not survived the journey through the forest as it turned yellow. Not to mention the innards which Jay had already scraped out and dumped on the forest floor; they were soon reunited with the other leftovers as Jay tipped over the crucible.

    Something caught Jay¡¯s attention as he stored the meat away and let the remaining blood and juices drip off the crucible.

    ¡°Hm?¡± he nced at the nket with Asra inside.

    He thought he saw it move, and more than just simple breathing.

    ¡°Asra?¡± he asked, albeit gently.

    He didn¡¯t want to wake her up in case she was still asleep.

    No movement. Nothing.

    With a shrug, Jay stored his bone crucible away in his gauntlet and pulled out the spears along with his throne.

    In a matter of movements, he was rxingly smiling as he was sitting up on it, carried by his skeletons once more.

    Handy carried Asra with some effort, but Heavy helped to relieve some of the burden.

    The party marched through the forest, just a little slower than jogging speed. After a few hours the forest was getting dark again as the sun started to fall on the horizon.

    Normally, Jay would have been fine with sitting on his throne in the dark while the skeletons carried him, but now he had Asra to look out for.

    Taking out a luminous orb, he charged it with some mana and held it on hisp. The gentle blue glow radiated from his throne and was thankfully bright enough to reach Asra.

    Every now and then he would nce at the nket, making sure that the smaller skeletons had not dropped her or let the nkete undone.

    Pulling out the [Guidance] he nced at it again. The red line still had not changed direction.

    ¡°I wonder if I should set up camp or not¡­¡± he thought, then nced at Asra, ¡°She¡¯s been sleeping since I found her so maybe some actual rest on t ground, undisturbed, would be beneficial.¡±

    Jay himself wanted to rest again. The asional wobble of the throne was not good for his sleep.

    ¡°Alright, next time I find another good spot we¡¯ll camp. I have meat to cook anyway.¡±

 Chapter ?233 Teacher

    Chapter ?233 Teacher

    After a few hours of travelling the sun was nearly down. The forest was cool and as quiet as every as the small band of skeletons marched with their king on the throne; two other small ones carried the nket with the girl in it.

    Dark still had not died, so it was a sign the mage hunters had not crossed the desert and started exploring the forest - he was safe to camp for the night, or at least for part of it.

    Jay found another decent camping spot, a simr area to before: threerge trees forming an enclosed area between them.

    Tonight he would have two more skeletons with him: Lamp and Handy. Each of them still didn''t have minds, along with Sweeper.

    So far, the skeletons with minds, which were Blue, Red, Dark and Heavy, all seemed to get along with each other and the non-mind skeletons.

    Some even recognized the authority of and took orders from Blue.

    During the journey, Jay had been wondering how much free thought they woulde to possess. Would they eventuallye to have human-like personalities and bicker? Would their intelligence be endless?

    Perhaps some would even attempt to leave Jay, or at the very most request their freedom - or maybe they would only grow more loyal and fonder of their master.

    Either way it didn''t matter. When it came down to it, none of them could resist his will.

    For now, he needed intelligent and strong skeletons, and was focusing on making them better in whatever way he could: minds, weapons, armour, experiments, research... and now even teaching.

    Before the skeletons lowered him down from the throne, he repeated the same process as before: construct a foundation out ofrger bones, cover it with smaller bones until they filled in the gaps and it was reasonably t.

    "My best work yet," he thought as he stepped off the throne onto the new bone tform.

    He immediately had the skeletons ce the throne on the tform and sent two skeletons, Blue and Red, off to get firewood.

    Next, he took out the bone crucible and the t rectangr bone sleeping spot.

    He had Heavy and Handy ce the girl on the tform, but felt weird seeing hery t on the ground, wrapped in the nket like a dead body, so he propped her head up with a femur bone.

    "Hmm, It might be ufortable for her but... meh." he chuckled.

    "Perhaps if she gives me some answers I''ll make her a better cushion, maybe out of fur or something."

    Heavy and Handy stood at either side of the sleeping girl, guarding her - both from outside threats and as if she were a prisoner, as she technically was one.

    As soon as the throne had beenid down, Sweeper was busy trying to set up defenses again, crafting more spikes from bones - though Jay quickly brought out the ones he had stashed as living blueprints and the skeleton quickly made a perimeter of spikes.

    It was like a fanatic when it came to defensive measures.

    Everything was ready, and the only skeleton with nothing to do was Lamp.

    "Well," Jay''s lips curled, "looks like it''s your turn, Lamp."

    Lamps turn to receive a mind was at hand, and Jay sat on his throne and prepared himself.

    The skeletony down its shepherds crook and gut knife carefully as it went to kneel before Jay, who had his hands out ready.

    "Eugh..." Jay thought, grimacing a little. There were even some hairs tracing down the back of its skull; some hairs of the hide it skinned fused right into the bone.

    Jay hovered his hands around its head and began the process of creating its mind. He was used to the energy draining feeling by now, but still used his throne to support his arms as it made the process easier.

    After a little while, he received a familiar notification.

    [A new mind is formed.]

    The skeleton repeated the same process the others did: seizure, followed bying to terms with its body, surroundings, and finallyying eyes on its maker.

    Lamp gazed at Jay for a moment and then kneeled, lowing its head.

    Jay smiled, enjoying the sense of respect and importance he felt from these gestures, feeling like their eternal king, and attempted to mimic what he thought a king would say.

    "Arise, Lamp. Your weapons are waiting for you." he pointed to the shepherds crook and gut knife.

    Lamp nodded and retrieved its weapons before staring at them while Jay watched silently.

    It seemed to analyze its weapons, and Jay could tell that it wanted to practice but it didn''t start swinging.

    It seemed that these kinds of weapons required a victim to practice on.

    After it stroked the de and felt the curve of the crook, Jay thought it seemed much more intelligent than the other skeletons. There were not really any signs of wonder in its green eyes or naivety in the way it moved or acted, and it made Jay feel like it was both dependable and dangerous.

    Soon, ity eyes on the nket with the girl inside the noon-leather nket, and Jay sensed that it had the hungry yearning of a predator.

    Jay decided to nip it''s idea in the bud, "Don''t. She''s useful to me alive." hemanded Lamp.

    He had to choose his words carefully. If he said ''don''t kill her'' then perhaps the skeleton would not protect him from Asra if he needed it. If he said ''don''t harm her'' then perhaps the skeleton would use some other way to y her, perhaps tossing her into the fire or the maw of a roaming beast - then it would be able to skin whatever was left over.

    But in saying she was ''useful alive'' then skeleton would not harm her as long as she did not harm Jay.

    Lamp suddenly stopped, then turned to Jay before looking down almost wistfully. It almost seemed disappointed, and Jay thought he even felt lonely yearninging from it as if it wanted to be united with her flesh, and not in a good way.

    Next, ity its weapons down and kneeled before Jay. If it wasn''t allowed to skin her alive, then it seemed like there was nothing else worth doing.

    Jay had a strange sense of regret. He felt like he had made a small child cry, or had taken away a toy from a pet.

    Well, a pet which wanted to do horrific things.

    With a sigh, he pointed south, "Go on," he shook his head with a smile, "go hunt. And bring me something back in the morning."

    The skeleton suddenly picked up its gut knife and shepherds crook and stood up, all in one quick movement.

    It bowed its head and then jumped off the tform and sprinted into the forest as if it was already chasing something.

    The sounds of its clinking bones disappeared in a matter of seconds as it shrouded into the darkness.

    Red and Blue had brought backrge bundles of wood, and this time there was no green wood, counter to Jay''s expectation.

    "Huh... I thought I only taught Heavy about gathering fire wood... So Heavy must have taught them I guess?" Jay pondered, wondering what happened while he was sleepingst night - perhaps Blue helped Heavy to gather wood and learnt from it.

    On the surface, this seems like a small thing, but it actually meant that Jay would only ever have to teach one skeleton, which could teach others, which could teach others.

    There was no telling how much time this would save him as he wouldn''t have to teach every individual skeleton, and if he had a multitude of skeletons, well, it would save a lot of time.

    "Come here Blue," Jay said as the skeleton dashed over.

    It was spared from wood gathering for now.

    Jay decided to teach Blue how to light a fire. There were quite a few methods, the easier ones involved using arc stones, embedded fire gems, me talismans or ss magic. Even fire orbs which themselves only needed mana, rendering wood useless.

    None of these, however, Jay had the money for. At least not previously - now he instead didn''t have ess to a market.

    Instead, he had always relied on flint and strike iron.

    A shower of sparks soon flowed over some hairy bark, and soon caught alight. After starting a fire himself he stored the precious strike iron and flint away.

    Jay just needed the extra light, as he was going to teach Blue the most difficult method: rubbing sticks together - he didn''t want to give Blue his only flint and striker.

    Jay was not a novice at this method in any regards, and had done it many times before when his flint had run out or after he had simply misced it. This was before receiving a ss and getting ess to the inventory utility to store them.

    A groove in one stick, and another twisting into it with plenty of pressure and some fibers within, and an ember was made, which started smoking before catching alight. Jay didn''t blow on it as he knew the skeleton didn''t have lungs, instead he waved it around to fan the mes.

    "Now you try... keep going until you create fire." Jay said, knowing the skeleton would not stop until it was dead. So forever, essentially - yet with a mind it would keep making adjustments and improving its method, like it would with any other task given to it.

    Most people learnt to do this in under an hour, yet with the skeletons diligent, unrelenting work ethic, it would probably not take long for it to light its first fire.

    As Jay turned to sit by his campfire, he gave Blue onest order.

    "Teach the others when you''re done."

    It would be useful to have all his skeletons know how to light a campfire, freeing up his time to do other things - though this skill has plenty of other applications too.

    Next, he decided to teach Red to cook meat while he rxedly watched the fire, and he couldn''t help but smile as he waited for his meal; thest time anyone cooked for him was when he paid for it at the Snakeraven inn, but otherwise he had always cooked for himself.

    A part of him almost felt... cared for.

    It was a nice feeling, and soon it mixed with sadness as it was a feeling he didn''t even realize he was missing. His skeletons were slowly bing like a family to him, whether he realized it or not.

    One by one, he took fresh pieces of meat out and handed them to Red.

    Red held its hands in the fire at first, burning the meat. Next, it held it too far away and not for long enough. The meat was still raw but dried out.

    Under Jay''s instruction though it soon became better at cooking and started to consistently make edible steaks - though they sometimes were dry as a bone or still quite bloody, but it was a start.

    It wasn''t long before it became better than Blue, who had simply copied Jay the previous night.

    Jay had added the undesirable burnt meat to his inventory while eating the nicely cooked bits.

    He was going to discard the burnt stuff but didn''t want to attract any animals while he slept, though he soon changed his mind.

    "Actually... maybe I do want to attract animals." a mischievous look appeared on his face.

    Taking out the half-burnt bits of meat and a few uncooked bits, he threw them out into the defensive sea of spikes which Sweeper was still building.

    He guessed he was probably getting close to the real edge of the blood-vine bears territory and hoped to lure something, but if not, the meat would at least attract parasites away from him and Asra while they slept.

    "Maybe soon I''ll teach them to forage as well... maybe even to grow food? Well. I would need a farm for that - or at least a safe ce to set something up.. ah, but I would first need some seeds too. Damn. I really need to find a market or fa-" he thought, chewing on another piece after he sat back down, though his thoughts were soon cut short.

    He suddenly stopped chewing as he noticed two of his skeletons be alert.

    Handy and Heavy suddenly raised their weapons, pointing them towards the noon-leather nket.

    They both took defensive stances.

    The nket was moving.

    Asra was waking up.

 Chapter ?234 Immortal Book - Endless Dispute

    Chapter ?234 Immortal Book - Endless Dispute

    The wall is covered with senseless, disordered patterns of ck and white; it''s length is endless in either direction.

    Each day it moves, shifting itself backwards and forwards. No one knows how the wall moves or why, and no one has even seen it move.

    This is the immortal wall - you wille to hate it, and to love it.

    - - -

    ¡°Why do we live near the wall? Why do we guard it?¡± Young one asked.

    Elder pointed backwards; ¡°Look behind us.

    Those grand stone castles, as imprable as the immortal wall itself.

    The abandoned vast cities, the borate gardens, even the temples in the horizon behind us; the grand buildings which seem to touch the sky. None of us know all of our past, though we are surrounded by distant memories of it...¡±

    Elder smiled, ¡°Why do you think we aren''t living in them? Hm? Those grand monuments which fill us with awe?¡±

    ¡°Ah, they''re cold?¡±

    ¡°Pf- Ha!¡± Elder grinned.

    ¡°Well yes, I suppose that''s one reason. But young one, the soil near the immortal wall is different. It''s the only ce where food grows.

    Well, to be more precise: food only grows near the wall, and since the wall is ever-moving, we someday must abandon the buildings we create, leaving them in the past as we stay with the fertilend.

    If you travel far enough away from the wall, you will need to take plenty of food with you - but if enough of us leave to sitfortably inside of the grand castles we''ve left behind, the monsters will rush over the wall and destroy all of our food, all our progress.

    Even with all of us here, they have to be fought off. They never let us rest for too long...¡±

    ¡°Why do they attack us, Elder? What''s on the other side of the wall?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know. No one does...

    On the other side of the wall, it seems like everything grows and dies simultaneously in a chaotic ever-changing mess.

    Even things that shouldn''t grow or even move sometimes spring to life; it''s nothing but utter chaos on the other side of the immortal wall.¡±

    ¡°Can we go over the wall?¡±

    ¡°What? Into thatnd where anything and nothing could happen? I don''t think you understand... there are no rules out there, none bound by logic. No sense... Nothing, and everything.

    You could be walking and suddenly your legs turn into snakes, or you fall into a never-ending hole, or perhaps... you will stumble across a grand treasure - though in all the chaos, even finding something useful is rare, not to mention the beasts and horrors you will have to contend with just to bring them back.

    But you won''t make it back without being changed, scarred.

    The chaos changes boys into men, men who would never leave the wall - not to rest in the castles behind or venture into the chaos. They stand here, living on the boundary between madness and monuments.¡±

    Young one looked at the wall, a spark of desire in his eyes.

    ¡°I can see what you''re thinking: You want to risk it all.

    But who got the treasures we have now?

    Well, the wall shifts and moves backwards and forward all the time, but for the most part it moves forward, entering the chaos. The beastse across, we y them and the chaos is nullified, leaving treasures behind.

    In a way, the fertile soil is a treasure in itself.

    It''s why we need to move our farnd all the time. Food only grows near the immortal wall.

    It''s why we call the great cities and castles and structures our past, for we cannot live there though it may make usfortable.¡±

    Elder nodded, as if he was agreeing with himself, his voice seemed to be heavier, ¡°Mm... there is no life behind us, but on the other side there can even be too much life, which spills over the wall and bes our problem.¡±

    ¡°I-I see...¡± Young one frowned.

    Elder smiled, ¡°Don''t worry too much. We can deal with one of the grotesque beasts at a time.

    If we cannot y it, they always return to the chaos after they''ve caused some here.

    We rebuild, regrow, and put everything in order like we always do, and then prepare for whatever threat maye next.

    Plus, when you y your first beast, you will be rewarded with strength, able to y greater and greater beasts each time. This is the gift of the wall.¡±

    Young one slowly nodded, feeling insightful, ¡°So, if the castles are our past... then the chaos is our future?¡±

    Elder gave Young one a warm smile, appreciating his simple outlook.

    ¡°Almost, but not quite. We make sense of the chaos,¡± he pointed to the wall, ¡°and we make it our own.¡± he pointed to the past, ¡°And without both, we perish, though we cannot live in either. We are beings of both worlds.¡±

 Chapter ?235 Asra

    Chapter ?235 Asra

    The nket sat up, and slender hands slowly pulled them down. As shey eyes on Jay, a yful smile appeared on her face.

    For a moment she sat there, simply gazing at Jay who still have a piece of meat in his hand and a bulge of half-chewed meat in his cheeks as he stared right back.

    The silence felt like it had gone on for much longer than it did, and the tension almost became tangible.

    Strangely, she wasn''t at all phased by weapons pointing in her face - not to mention the weapons were held by the undead, both of them staring at her with killing intent.

    Shouldn''t she be freaked out? And if not freaked out, then still trying to recover, weaker, barely able to open her eyes?

    Yet there she sat, confidently and yfully smiling at Jay.

    Even her cheeks seemed rosy, her smile vibrant and full of life.

    Then he noticed something else which was simrly as strange.

    ¡°Her cheeks...¡± Jay thought, ¡°where did the blood on her face go...¡±

    There was no blood on her clothes either, it was as if it had never been there in the first ce. The nket was simrly clean.

    The girl smiled, and spoke.

    ¡°Vos arak'' nehema.¡± she said in a strangenguage.

    Jay only turned his head to the side confused, and after a moment, she did too, looking just as confused while her smile disappeared.

    She squinted at Jay.

    ¡°Husk. Come here.¡± she said, still sounding just as yful, her now her voice somehow even sounding tempting and flirtatious too.

    Her purple eyes seemed to glow brightly as they reflected in the light of the campfire.

    Jay acted calmly, deciding not to say anything. He chewed on the meat in his cheek and swallowed it, expressionless, not letting her know his thoughts.

    Next, he took another bite of the meat he was holding, as if she didn''t matter.

    It seemed to irritate her as her nose twitched and scrunched for just a fraction of a second.

    ¡°Bob. I wish to meet my savior. Won''t you at least greet me?¡±

    Jay sat there, trying to hide his smile as he forgot that he was still using the disguise stone. Currently all his skeletons were level four, and ording to the disguise stone, so was he.

    Already he was at an advantage as she would over-estimate his strength if she were to attack - and Jay was beginning to think she would as something seemed so off about her.

    In this moment he was d he bound her legs with shackles.

    A few things irked Jay: She didn''t care about the undead around, she was not tired, and even seemed quite lively despite her current predicament and what the vines did to her.

    If she was a stranger in some small vige, he would probably have been tempted by her beauty alone, much less her alluring voice. however with these other things in mind she almost seemed like a monster.

    He analyzed her, wondering what he would do.

    [Asra - Level 11]

    [HP 13%]

    [MP 3%]

    ¡°Hello Asra.¡± he nodded, then drank some water and went back to his meal, gazing into the fire but watching her from the corner of his eye.

    The girl sighed, removing the nketpletely.

    Her voice changed from sounding yful and flirtatious to proud and dignified,

    ¡°Do you think these chains can hold me?¡±

    ¡°No, but they''ll slow you down if you try to run.¡± he said, still watching the fire.

    The girl chuckled, ¡°You think I''ll be the one running?¡±

    Jay turned to her, giving her a cold look, ¡°You were running from something, to be this far out in the forest.¡±

    The girl frowned for a moment, considering his words.

    ¡°So what are you doing here?¡± she asked.

    Jay shrugged, ¡°Oh, just sightseeing, taking the skeletons for a walk.¡±

    The girl smiled, yet this time it was real, appreciating the joke.

    ¡°Where are you from, husk?¡±

    ¡°... it doesn''t matter.¡± he turned back to looking into the hypnotic swaying mes of the fire but kept talking to her, ¡°Why are you calling me husk? And are you from Luna? Or is Luna a person - perhaps your lover?¡±

    The girls face suddenly turned angry.

    After ring at Jay for a moment, her voice was now no longer yful or proud, bing more indifferent like Jay''s,

    ¡°Too many questions.¡±

    Jay put his meat away, still aloof and cold, and still wondering if he should just dump her somewhere. So far it seemed like it would be more of a risk to keep her around.

    He took out the guidance and held it by the fire, dangling it near the mes.

    ¡°So, why did you give me this?¡±

    The girls eyes seemed to widen in shock but she tried to hide it, albeit poorly.

    ¡°I thought you were someone else.¡± a subtle sadness traced across her face.

    ¡°Well, if you answer my questions, maybe I''ll give it back.¡± Jay shrugged.

    At that moment, he had Sweeper return from making its defensive spikes. Blue stopped cooking and Red stopped gathering wood.

    All three skeletons rushed to their masters side and stood guard around him.

    The girl was still sitting on the nket with Handy and Heavy at either side, their weapons pointing at her, but Jay could tell she was plotting either her escape or his death ever since she woke up.

    There was no telling what weapons she was hiding in her inventory, and Jay recognized the look on her face, as he was the same when nning an assault on dungeon creatures.

    Seeing the three new level four skeletons standing around, she frowned a little.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± she asked coldly.

    ¡°Just some answers... and maybe a ''thanks for saving me''.¡±

    She sighed and shook her head, about to say something when her lips curled slightly, ¡°You''re out here alone. Maybe you''re on the run too?¡± She felt like shetched onto something, while Jay didn''t reply with much more than a frown, ¡°Maybe you''re the one who needs saving.¡± she added, almost mockingly.

    Jay had Sweeper, Blue and Red march forward and stand around her, while sending Heavy off to continue gathering wood and tending to the fire.

    He sat down at the fire with a frown as he thought to himself, ¡°Who cares about me? No one. Perhaps she''s right... but maybe it doesn''t matter.¡± a pain of anger rose in his chest.

    He stopped himself fromshing out and watched the fire for a moment and calmly asked her questions again.

    ¡°No more games¡± he thought, still angry at the unthankful girl he both saved and imprisoned.

    As he asked the next question, his calm voice sounded deadly serious at the same time, and Asra sensed danger in his voice.

    She wondered how a level four husk was producing such a level of killing intent, and as mysterious as he was, she decided to answer.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± he said coldly.

    ¡°Asra Reiner¡±

    ¡°Who or what is Luna?¡±

    ¡°A... special sort of school.¡±

    Red suddenly raised its sword, surprising Jay as much as the girl. Somehow Red sensed there was more to it.

    She sighed and added, ¡°It''s a sort of secretive military school. Not that it would concern you.¡±

    Jay praised the skeleton with a thought, but stopped himself from pondering if it was due to its mind or guard role.

    Jay thought for a moment before asking more questions ¡°Does it have a marketce?¡±

    Asra tilted her head to the side, curious, ¡°Why...¡± But Red held its sword closer and she quickly answered, ¡°Yes, but you wouldn''t be able to make it in.¡±

    ¡°Why? It wouldn''t be hard to blend in, maybe steal a stray students clothes...¡±

    ¡°Clothes? Forget it, they would smell you immediately. Without a master you wouldn''t even see the inside.¡±

    ¡°...smell me? ... A master?¡± Jay nced at her, raising a brow.

    ¡°Yes... you smell good. I could be your master, husk.¡± she smiled flirtatiously.

    ¡°Not a fucking chance. Answer the questions. What is a master, and what is a husk?¡±

    The girl sighed, ¡°A husk is what we call you humans.¡±

    ***[Immortality Research (6%)] due to new immortal book chapter (previous chapter)***

 Chapter ?236 Enslaved

    Chapter ?236 Enved

    "You humans?" Jay thought.

    His next question for her was obvious.

    "If you''re not a human, then.. what are you?" he squinted.

    "I am a close child of the five..." she said proudly, "but your kind calls us ''vampires''." she added mockingly.

    Jay looked at her confused, and seeing his un-surprised expression, she too gave him a confused look back.

    To each other, they both seemed like anomalies.

    "...You''re not scared of me?" she asked - ironically it was a question Jay had been wanting to ask her, as she was surrounded by his skeletons and sitting on a tform made from hundreds of corpses.

    "I actually don''t know what a vampire is," he shrugged.

    And how could he? There were many other horrors to worry about. Vampires had all but disappeared from Astrata many centuries before Jay had even been born, and in a small town like Lo there definitely wasn''t any libraries around. The only books in Lo would be rted to mana craft orbat arts, if there were any - but definitely no history books.

    All the monsters he knew about in advance were ones which he was about to y.

    Even finding a basic bestiary in Lo would have been harder than finding a human with a monster ss.

    The girl suddenly chuckled, "You don''t know what a vampire is? Well don''t worry. You shouldn''t be scared. I''m practically harmless."

    "Harmless? You''re plotting to kill me right now like a caged bea-"

    "I am not a beast." she said slowly and sternly, "If I kill someone it''s because they deserve it."

    Jay sighed, "Fair enough... So then, what''s a vampire?"

    "What''s a human?" she retorted, but Red gazed at her and snapped its bone jaws.

    She sighed, "We''re basically like you. We have our ownnds, ns, castles and noble blood lines... wars and enemies. Not too many differences at all, really."

    "Then what''s different about you?"

    She grinned, "We''re smarter."

    "Smarter huh?" Jay eyed the chains around her legs.

    "...and we drink blood." She added, then waited for Jay''s shocked expression as if she was about to enjoy the reaction.

    What he said next made her speechless.

    "So? Do you eat food?"

    "Wh..." she shook her head.

    "That helps a lot," he smiled, "so how much blood do you need?"

    She had lost much of herposure at this point, and studied Jay with her purple eyes, looking for even the most subtle traces of fear.

    "N- no... uh we just need a bit to get by. Elder vampires barely need any. It''s mostly the young ones who need it... or those recovering."

    Jay raised a brow, "So I am supposed to be scared of you because you want to drink my blood?" he scoffed for a moment, but soon hisughter disappeared as his voice lowered.

    "There are worse things out there." he quietly said, staring back into the fire, remembering the time he was chased by a swarm of twisted experiments through a thick fog.

    "Do you fear me?" he asked.

    "No."

    "Look around you. You''re sitting on countless corpses, all belonging to me. You may want my blood, but perhaps I want your bones?"

    She shrugged, "You see to have enough. Besides, you''ve kept me alive for a reason."

    "Then why do I get the feeling you want to kill me?"

    "Because we''re natural enemies. My kind feeds on yours. Your kind fears mine." she shrugged.

    "My kind..." Jay quietly said as he stared thoughtfully into the fire for a moment.

    His ''kind'' was supposed to be humans, but they too wanted him dead.

    There was really no one he could trust, human or not.

    A few minutester he made conversation again.

    "So your kind would feed on me...?" he asked as he held up the boil on his arm, "you mean like these?" he smiled mischievously as he pointed to the dormant parasites.

    Asra, again, was speechless as she realized he truly wasn''t scared of her.

    She was more like a joke to him.

    She had been taught that humans were nothing but empty ''husks'' which would fearfully kill them if given the chance, and they had short life spans so there was no sense in teaching them anything.

    Of course, she only had experience with the humans that were imprisoned within Pantry.

    She chose to remain quite, unsure about what she would do - shepletely ignored that he implied she a parasite.

    "So can you drink any blood, or only human?"

    "Uh, no preference."

    "I see," Jay said, and then thought to himself, "But what can she offer in exchange for blood? essing a market at Luna might be useful, but once we get there what''s to stop her from turning on me?"

    "You said something before about masters. What is a master?"

    "I can''t tell you." she said, sounding innocent.

    Red threatened her with its sword again and a crack of its neck as its skull tilted sideways.

    "Seriously, I can''t... well... maybe I could if you gave me a little blood?" she suggested, as innocently as she could, "I''m starving... and you smell so good."

    "Don''t try to y games with me. I''m on the run after all. I don''t have the time for this."

    "Well, wouldn''t it be easier to let me go?"

    Jay thought, "It would be safer for me to kill you." but said nothing, he even thought this may be a trap.

    Yet he didn''t answer. It was wiser not to tell a captive that he considered killing them, otherwise they would say anything to live.

    "Stop dodging my questions and changing topics. I just need some information first." Jay sighed, approaching with some bloody meat.

    Her eyes started at it as she licked her bottom lip.

    "Just tell me what a master is."

    At the same time he sent a mentalmand to Lamp to bring something back alive and unskinned if it were possible.

    Jay handed the bloody meat to Red who then handed it to the girl, all while aiming the tip of its sword at her.

    Jay didn''t risking too close in case everything was a lie, there was no telling what abilities she had.

    As the skeleton handed it to her, she suddenly stared at Jay who was just behind it.

    "Hey. Bob." she said, her voice dripping with sweetness.

    Jay nced at her, and her eyes seemed to glow brighter, or were perhaps more radiant, and he couldn''t bring himself to look away - then suddenly he felt nauseas.

    Red immediately stabbed her right in the eye, and her head reeled back in pain. She clenched her jaw while smiling.

    A dizziness swirled around Jay''s head, and for a moment Asra felt more familiar to him - yet the feeling soon left and he was back to normal.

    "Wh-" he rubbed his forehead.

    Her lips curled as her eye healed up almost instantly,

    "You wanted to know what a master is? Well, now you will." she grinned,

    "Tell your skeletons to stand down."

 Chapter ?237 Bad Act

    Chapter ?237 Bad Act

    Jay still rubbed his head, even though the pain and dizziness had disappeared.

    ¡°Who does she think she is,manding me?¡± he thought, pretending to still be dizzy.

    ¡°I said, tell your skeletons to stand down.¡± she said in a more domineering tone.

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Jay had a thought... he stopped a cunning smile from appearing on his face.

    ¡°Stand down.¡± he said out loud to his skeletons - though he sent a thoughtmand to them too, to protect him in case anything happened.

    As soon as the skeletons lowered their weapons she suddenly stood up, as if she levitated upwards from sitting down.

    Jay wondered quietly, ¡°She tried some mental attack and now thinks she can give me orders. This must be a type of mind control, or something simr. Fuck, I guess I wasn''t paranoid enough... if that worked I would basically be a ve. She said she was my master now too, but it obviously failed somehow? Well, I''ll just see what she does for now...¡±

    Next, she tried to wriggle out of the chains on her legs, but they were too tight.

    She pulled out a graceful sword - long, curved and slender. Its de was silver, decorated with what looked like majestic wings of some heavenly creature using hue''s of blue. The grip was ck and wrapped tightly with a golden rope; the small cross guard also golden.

    She brought the sword down swiftly onto the bone holding the chains together, but to her surprise it withstood the impact.

    The second swing resulted in a ringing noise as her sword cut into the bone and reached the metal chain underneath.

    Jay was d to see that his shackles had mostly worked, but he was soon met with a dilemma...

    ¡°Remove this.¡± she red at him.

    Jay didn''t want her to escape, and if he did this, there was a greater chance of it. He wondered if he should keep pretending to be controlled, though he reasoned that she wouldn''t flee from him if she didn''t know he was still free.

    He approached her slowly and crouched down as the noxious necrotic mana flowed from his fingers like strings of glowing gas, and entered the bone seal, melting it away from the chains.

    ¡°That''s better,¡± she smiled, ¡°now, I need some blood.¡±

    She nced at the bloody cut of meat in Red''s hand and shook her head, dismissing it with disdain.

    ¡°Actually, I prefer human. Don''t worry. I won''t need too much.¡±

    ¡°You said you don''t kill people unless they deserved it.¡± Jay said, looking uneasy.

    ¡°Yes. So don''t do anything to deserve it.¡± she shrugged, putting her sword away.

    Jay sent a mentalmand to his skeletons: ¡°If I pass out, protect me then capture her.¡±

    As she drew nearer, her eyes turned from purple to being covered in ckpletely.

    ¡°Rx,¡± she grinned, tworge pearly white fangs now pointing out of her top jaw, while the rest of her teeth somehow turned into sharp spines, ¡°I won''t kill my saviour.¡±

    Jay tried to seem as rxed as possible as he braced for any pain. He had been through worse, so a bite wouldn''t be too bad.

    She slowly approached, and despite Jay being in control of the situation, her ck eyes seemed to send a primal fear into his heart, one he didn''t understand.

    ¡°Hold out your arm.¡± Asra said.

    He first held out the one with the parasites, causing her to frown a little in disgust.

    ¡°No, the other one.¡±

    The other arm had the necrotic gauntlet, protecting it up halfway up the forearm.

    Asra sighed and went for his bicep, sinking her teeth into it.

    ¡°Huh...¡± Jay was surprised as there was no pain; not much more than a wet sensation on his arm.

    If anything, it felt pretty good.

    As he was being drainer, Heavy returned with some firewood, dropping it down as it looked at its master being eaten.

    It almost seemed like the small armor-d skeleton was shocked and was about to rush to Jay''s side, but Jay shed a quick smile at it along with a quick thought, essentially telling it not to worry.

    The skeleton seemed agitated for a moment, but after a few nces towards Jay and the fire, it added some wood to the mes, and went back to gathering more for the night ahead.

    ¡°Ah!¡± she released her jaws and smiled blissfully, ¡°you do taste good - and you haven''t passed out. You must have pretty high vitality for a level four.¡±

    ¡°Are you done now?¡± Jay asked.

    ¡°Yes. For now.¡± she licked her lips andy down next to the fire, both hands now folded behind her head.

    ¡°Now its my turn to question. Where are you from, Bob?¡±

    ¡°Lo.¡±

    Asra sighed, ¡±Listen, when I ask a question, I want more than just a single answer. Perhaps a description.¡±

    ¡°It''s a low level farming and hunting vige on the south side of Astrata.¡±

    ¡°So Astrata is your kingdom... And what are you running from?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Jay stared silently into the fire for a moment and she raised a brow as he didn''t immediately answer as apelled husk should - though she soon received one.

    ¡°... Everyone.¡±

    Asra gave him a knowing look with a gentle smile, though it soon turned to sadness.

    ¡°We... you can''t run forever, Bob.¡±

    Jay stared into the zing fire with a resoluteness that even Asra could feel and replied with a stern voice, ¡°I won''t.¡±

    Asra made a thoughtful look, then slowly nodded in agreement.

    A momentter and she let out a sigh, ¡°Alright. I need the guidance back.¡±

    Jay took it out, still pretending to be under her control. He gave it onest look and noted the direction it pointed in. A quick mentalmand and Heavy was sent in that direction, functioning as more of a marker from his current location in the event of him not getting the guidance back.

    He wasn''t even sure if he was going to go to Luna, but it was better to have the option.

    ¡°Huh, so you figured it out.¡± she mentioned, looking at the red line on it.

    Not that it was hard to figure out anyway. It practically activated itself once it took his blood.

    ¡°Here''s the n. We''re going to travel to Luna.¡± she said, handing the guidance back, ¡°Tomorrow, when the sun rises, you will take us there. You can handle all the preparations and everything else.¡±

    Jay was d he got the guidance back, and it seemed she only wanted it to activate it. He stashed it away while stifling a cunning smile. Checking his arm where she sunk her teeth in, the wound was healed already.

    Asray there and for the next five minutes proceeded to give him orders as if she were reading them from a list, and Jay mostly ignored them as they were along the lines of ''you shall not attack me, don''t let me die, don''t let mee to harm in any way, h h h''.

    In a way, he even pitied all these little orders and ways to tie up any loop holes, as he had to do no such thing whenmanding his skeletons who would never plot against him.

    Still, all these rules and uses meant nothing if he wasn''tpelled in the first ce. Nevertheless, it contributed to a false sense of security for the young vampire, and it was one that Jay was happy to exploit.

    Jay waited patiently for her to finish and continued asking questions back, attempting to sound both scared and innocent.

    ¡°What''s to be of me at Luna? What will you do with me?¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± she stretched her body, ¡°you taste good. Maybe I''ll keep you at my side, serving me. We''re not supposed to have servants around at Luna but I think they''ll make an exception for me.¡±

    ¡°...and if they don''t?¡±

    ¡°You''ll probably be sent to Pantry or drained. Maybe someone will raise you as an undead.¡±

    While Jay should have been shocked, thetter part of what she said only caused excitement.

    ¡°You can raise skeletons too?¡± Jay asked, trying not to sound too excited.

 Chapter ?238 Pathetic Necromancy

    Chapter ?238 Pathetic Necromancy

    ¡°You can raise the undead?¡± a sparkle of wonder appeared in Jay''s eyes.

    ¡°Uh, not exactly. We can only raise fresh corpses back until they run out of... vitality, let''s say, and only one at a time - though there was an Elder who could raise many after he dedicated centuries of research to it.¡± Asra said, looking up at the tree tops as shey there uncaringly.

    ¡°Vampires can raise the dead... well then, that certainly changes things. Maybe I can find a teacher... or at least some guidance. I wonder if there''s some research books left over?¡± Jay thought.

    However, he had a feeling of pity and disdain of their weak necromancy. Soon, he even triumphant jubtion and pride as he thought of his necromancy as far superior to whatever the vampire kind of undead were.

    ¡°Pathetic...¡± he thought, smugly grinning into the fire, ¡°one at a time is nothing, but theirs don''t evenst?¡± he shook his head,

    ¡°I guess it makes sense why she wasn''t afraid at first anyway, since they can raise undead too... barely.¡± Jay stoked the fire with a stick.

    Asra kept leisurely speaking, ¡°You know, when we get to Luna there will be people who will want to challenge your undead with their own, but they will do it to mostly try and embarrass me. Yours look kind of flimsy.¡±

    ¡°Ah, how unfortunate¡± Jay said, trying not to sound sarcastic.

    ¡°...for them.¡± he thought.

    Jay decided to let her think that they were flimsy.

    A part of him looked forward to the challenge, though he also wanted to hide how strong his skeletons truly were.

    Jay''s skeletons were capable of killing things of much higher levels than themselves simply because of their unflinching brutality, aggressiveness, speed, and now their weapons too - being underestimated was just another way to make them more dangerous.

    While he had not seen the undead that the vampires could raise, he doubted they would be very impressive as theirs couldn''t even remain alive - well, undead - for very long before breaking down.

    Not to mention that it was hardly ever a one vs one fight anymore.

    With Blue forming into itsmander role it would be ordering multiple skeletons around, using battle tactics and outnumbering opponents, and Jay was only going to get more skeletons as he levelled up. More specialized ones.

    And Jay was supposed to worry about some fleshly undead which didn''t evenst long? And his skeletons look flimsy?

    It was practically insulting.

    Though, what she said was also a blessing, in a way.

    Asra had not seen the skeletons in action yet, andpared to a creature with a fleshly body, perhaps they would have looked weak and meagre, but Jay only saw opportunity and began to plot, sending thoughtmands to his skeletons.

    ¡°All of you are only walk as fast as Heavy while Asra is awake.¡±

    ¡°You''re also to attack half as fast, too... unless we have to deal with Asra.¡± he added.

    ¡°Blue, idiot-tactics only.¡±

    With his n in ce, Jay decided to rx and sit by the fire, and innocently began eating some more.

    After a while, as the night moved on, he received some damage notifications.

    [-5] [-5] [-5]

    ¡°Huh? I''m being damaged?¡± he said, checking the parasites in his arms.

    ¡°Oh. That was from when I fed on you. Dyed damage notifications. Nothing to worry about.¡±

    ¡°Ah... I see.¡± Jay said, feeling a little relieved, but wondering what the purpose of dyed damage messages would be.

    As he sat by the fire he wondered what to do next.

    ¡°Her intentions aren''t too bad I guess. I mean, she didn''t try to kill me anyway, but I''ll need a way to be of value to her if we are to go to Luna so that she doesn''t let me die there. I''m betting other vampires hate humans too.¡±

    ¡°I suppose I have time to think about it while we travel. It doesn''t look like she''ll run away either, not now that she''s given me the guidance back.¡±

    Jay was still undecided about going to Luna, but if he were to go he would do it after learning more from Asra, as well as learning about Asra herself.

    So far, it seemed that she liked him, as she leisurely made conversation and answered his questions - though perhaps it was because there was no one else to talk to, and had been trapped in the blood-vine cocoon for so long.

    ncing around at his skeletons, it seemed like everything was in order, and soon enough Jay took out his swag andy down as sleepiness set in.

    Since he had the guidance back, he put Heavy back onto fire tending duty, while having Blue stand over him as a personal guard.

    Red stood near Asra, as her ''personal guard'' too. Of course, it was a different sort of guard as she was, unknowingly, still his prisoner.

    Asra had conversely be more energetic as the night went on and she was now reading a book. It was in a differentnguage so Jay didn''t understand the title, and was wrapped in a sickening white, hardened and hairless leather.

    Jay decided not to enquire about it.

    As he began to drift off to sleep, he recieved an exp notification.

    [4 Exp]

    Another sessful hunt.

    "Just don''t skin it." he sent Lamp a thoughtmand.

    Knowing the skeleton was a few hours away, and that he was mostly safe, Jay just decided to sleep for now.

    After having no dreams he woke up to the sounds of the crackling fire and a dark forest.

    It was still night time.

    ¡°Bob.¡± he was nudged by someone''s shoe.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    "Wake up. Now." Asra said in amanding tone.

    It took a second for Jay to gather his thoughts but he quickly remembered that he was pretending to be under her control.

    So far, this was probably the hardest part; getting out of his warm bed in the cold of the night.

    "Huh?"

    Jay was shaken awake, "Your damn skeletons, Bob! You have to stop them!"

    Looking around, Jay was confused.

    Blue was still standing over him, protecting its master. Fortunately it didn''t react when Asra shook him, and Blue''s gaze was lying somewhere else.

    A vicious creature covered with ck fur was being hacked to pieces by his skeletons - even though they were moving at half their usual speed.

    Maybe even slower than that.

    Jay had to stop himself from grinning, seeing his skeletons easily y this creature despite their handicap.

    The strange part was that the creature didn''t make any sound.

    However, before Jay could tell them to stop it seemed the creature was already dead. Oddly, there was no blooding from its corpse either.

    "Ah, don''t tell me..." he thought.

    As if to answer his thoughts, the girl frowned and seemed quite disappointed.

    "Bob... tell your skeletons not to attack my undead..." she pouted.

    "Don''t attack Asra''s undead." Jay said loudly, making sure all skeletons could hear - though this was for show.

    He secertly added more to themand using his thoughts, "...unless they attack me."

    The skeletons turned to Jay and nodded.

    Asra seemed a little displeased that the skeletons didn''t recognise her as their master, but she really couldn''t do anything about it.

    "Ah, so you decided to raise the prey my skeletons hunted?"

    "Yes. After I drank it''s blood." she said, still looking at the butchered corpse.

    "I thought you preferred human? Hmm, anyway, I don''t really want to eat it anymore." Jay said, gettingfortable in his bed again and turning away from her.

    He closed his eyes and tried to get back to sleep, as if it never happened.

    Asra looked like she wanted to say something, but instead shook her head, still pouting.

    "Red, burn the corpse." Jay said, his eyes already closed while he sent Lamp to bring back to the hunt.

    "You can skin it this time." he send the thought to Lamp, "ande back in the morning, only after the sunes up."

    He didn''t want Asra to try that again, but was d she was more well-fed now.

    Jay slyly smiled as he rested his head on his pillow and let himself fall back to sleep.

    This time however, he did have a dream.

 Chapter ?239 Stalk or Guide

    Chapter ?239 Stalk or Guide

    The dream felt as lucid as ever, and Jay lost the ability to distinguish between reality and the dream.

    A heavy torrent of rain bucketed down on Jay''s head while a jet of mud assaulted him, flowing from somewhere up the hill he found himself lying by.

    "Wh- what the fuck..."

    Looking up the hill, he saw a familiar sight. It was the adventurer association.

    "Oh please.. no..." he said hopelessly, as he thought he had escaped this ce.

    Immediately anger churned in his heart when heid eyes on the edge of the muddy road above. He remembered this day vividly.

    "Fuck you..." he grit his teeth in anger, remembering the rage he felt as he stood up.

    *KAW!~*

    Jay jumped in fright, the cry seemed to send a shockwave through his body.

    A silver-white raven was perched above him on a nearby rock.

    It both seemed familiar and unfamiliar, as a thought shed through his mind.

    "Wasn''t it smaller... before... before?" he raised a brow.

    Jay started shivering as it was like his body just remembered the coldness of that day, the chill seeping into his bones.

    *KAW!~*

    Suddenly he was shocked awake with a heavy, deep breath as he sat up straight in his bed.

    He ignored a notification as he quickly looked at his surroundings, scanning for threats.

    No movement in the forest.

    The morning sunlight greeted him.

    Nearby, Asra was wrapped inside the noon-leather nket, motionless.

    Blue was still standing guard over him.

    Despite the feeling of danger, he was safe.

    For now.

    "What a strange dream..." he thought.

    "That damn... white bird..."

    Having an odd sense of repeating the past, or as if having a premonition, he pulled out one of the white-silvery feathers he had and gazed at it.

    He had zero doubts it was from the same bird, and it was almost like he knew. Somehow.

    Today, something about the feather was different as he looked at it in the sunlight.

    The silvery flecks he once saw in it disappeared under the sunlight. Pulling out the second feather he found the same to be true.

    They now just seemed like white feathers - though still pristine and majestic in their own right.

    Jay decided to analyze them as hey there, twirling it in the morning light.

    <[Ritual Companion Feather]>

    [Waking Wrath]

    - (Hidden through sacrifice)

    - Created by (Hidden through sacrifice)

    Jay sat there for a moment, feeling quite foolish for not analyzing these sooner as these were no ordinary feathers.

    "Someone made these feathers... or at least modified them." he thought, but he realized that when he found them, it was far too much of a coincidence.

    "Then they used a feather... and guided me to Asra? By why?"

    Immediately, he grew suspicious. Paranoid.

    Looking around in the forest again, he suddenly felt like he was being watched.

    Was someone trying to guide him? To Jay, it seemed like another form of control.

    Perhaps it was merely an borate trap. Some awful convoluted ruse, perhaps to get them both killed.

    Maybe this was Asra''s doing, or at least someone who wanted her back at Luna. Someone powerful.

    Then there was the part about sacrifice, and the details being hidden.

    Jay had never even heard of sacrifice magic, much less hearing of someone able to alter an item''s description.

    The onlyparison he could draw was either the disguise stone he had from a dungeon, and the enchanted boots he received from Sullivan which were in anothernguage - though neither of them were hidden.

    The only clues were that it came from a ''ritualpanion'' - whatever that was, and the other clue was the name of an effect: waking wrath.

    "Waking wrath... could it have to do with dreams?" he pursed his lips.

    For a moment he wondered if they were simply meant to give him nightmares, but he guessed that it would have happened more regrly by now.

    Both of the feathers had the same traits, practically identical.

    Jay considered if he should throw the feathers away. They seemed almost like cursed objects, and his paranoia was telling him to.

    Though he couldn''t shake off a strange feeling of familiarity.

    So far, however, they had led him to Asra which opened up an opportunity, as well as given him a strange dream.

    "Maybe there are some answers in the dream?" he wondered.

    Finally, he made a decision.

    "If they try to mess with my dreams again, I will burn them..." he stashed them away.

    Next, he gazed around the dense forest, then tried to peer through the tree tops into the skies.

    The one dropping these feathers around would have to show up at some point anyway.

    Handy was then sent to scout around Jay in a perimeter, dashing through the forest with the speed of the dead.

    This would be its duty while Jay spent the next thirty minutes waking up, drinking and eating, thinking about the dream, and preparing for the journey ahead. Meanwhile Sweeper was already made to pull out all the bone spikes and gather them; Jay''s defensive spike wall was soon being pulled up.

    Jay idly added the spikes to his gauntlet as necrotic blueprints while he sat by the fire, warming up in the crisp morning air.

    The paranoid mood he was in after the dream was wearing off, and seeing his skeleton streak around between the ancient trees like a nightmare creature itself gave him somefort; a sense of security.

    Jay had Blue and Red prepare the throne, d that Asra didn''t ask to be carried on the throne.

    Out of the both of them, he would definitely have the morefortable journey - though to prevent her from asking for the throne treatment he decided to modify the sleeping spot he had created.

    It was the rectangr b of bone. He decided he would have her carried on top.

    There wasn''t much to be done to make it different - he simply added some bones around the edges to stop Asra from rolling or sliding off.

    It became sort of like a bone crib, albeit human sized.

    The only problem would be if Heavy and Handy would be strong enough to carry it. Asra by herself had been almost too much to carry for Handy by itself, so Jay had some doubts.

    If it wasn''t possible, they would just have to carry her normally - but if she asked for the throne then Jay could simply stash the chair in his inventory before she would awaken, saying he lost it or some other lie.

    Asra would have no choice but to believe it too, as he was supposedlypelled to tell the truth.

    One always needed a backup n to keep their throne sacred.

    A part of Jay was looking forward to messing with her in ways like this.

    After sufficiently waking up and packing up camp, Jay left nothing behind but some charred bits of burnt wood, which would soon wash away into the gaps of the roots.

    The bone spikes, crucible, and tform had all been pulled back into the necrotic ring.

    Around the same time Jay was ready, Lamp had returned, though it came back empty handed as it didn''t have enough time to hunt, though Jay wasn''t too bothered.

    He had enough food tost for a few days and only had one mouth to feed. Technically.

    Jay ascended to his throne again, while Asra was carried by Handy and Heavy. Thankfully they were strong enough to carry both Asra and the rectangle bone carrier.

    The party of eight began their march over the veil of roots again, though Jay''s mind drifted to the strange dream.

    "That bird... I''m sure it was smaller before, and it woke me up back then too..." he wondered.

    "How could I remember it bigger unless it grew bigger and somehow entered my dream... or at least influenced it?"

    "Oh yeah... I received a notification after waking up."

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    "Fuck."

    Every skeleton was ounted for but one.

    Dark was dead.

    "March faster." he immediatelymanded his skeletons.

    Jay had ignored the notification as he thought he was in danger, looking for threats in the morning forest, and got caught up with the dream and the feather.

    He hadpletely forgotten to check this notification.

    It turned out that there was a threat, lurking somewhere far away in the hollow forest.

    Though they were still quite far away, the mage hunters would always be a cause for concern as they were simply relentless.

    Despite having inhuman endurance and travel speed, it felt like they were still as close as ever.

    Jay wondered if they would continue to chase him through the wilderness or give up at some point.

    For some reason, he doubted thetter, though wondered just how much his death was worth to them.

    Unbeknownst to Jay, the pursuit by the mage hunters was unrelenting due to one thing: the prophecy. The prophecy of a new king, death, skeletons, and a necromancer.

    For now though, Jay just thought that the mage hunters were quite dutiful, perhaps even as duty-bound as his skeletons.

    He had no idea that entire divisions of these unstoppable warriors had been dispatched to im his head.

    With Dark dead, it was time to summon it again.

    Jay paused the march for a moment and checked Asra''s nket, making sure it was sealed shut - then sent Heavy and Handy forward, carrying her away.

    Next, he created a bone pile and re-summoned Dark.

    Gazing at the skeleton for a moment, he wondered how he would get information out of it.

    "I''m going to need a debriefing..." he sent a thought, gazing at his little assassin.

    He then re-crafted it some bone daggers, but the skeleton continued to give Jay a strange look, one of longing... and hunger.

    "Oh, right. You levelled up." Jay smiled.

    It would take a while so Jay decided to continue travelling on his throne.

    Jay began feeding Dark the bones it required, handing them to it one by one.

    The sounds of crunching bone were mostly covered up by the clinking of the skeletons, and Asra was carried further ahead, so there was little chance she would hear anything suspicious.

    In all this, Jay was making sure that he would be underestimated - she currently thought he only had six skeletons after all.

    After Dark was finished eating, he then looked at the nimble skeleton thoughtfully.

    He wanted a debriefing, yet the skeleton could not talk.

    "Hmm... I guess you''ll just have to act it out?" he thought.

    Jay had his throne stop again while Asra kept moving. He would catch upter.

    "Now, time for a y..." he thought, "but first, some actors."

    The skeleton he would choose was obvious.

    "Alright... Sweeper. You''re going to be part of my little y."

    "Dark, you''re in charge. Show us what happened."

 Chapter ?240 Failed Assassination

    Chapter ?240 Failed Assassination

    The performance was about to begin.

    Dark and Sweeper nodded to one another, then Dark walked to a tree and leant against it, pretending to y dead.

    Sweeper wondered about what it should do, though Dark soon nced at it and to Jay''s surprise it seemed like it understood.

    Suddenly, and strangely, it was like Sweepers whole persona changed.

    Its shoulders were pushed back and it seemed to move slower as if it was wearing the heavy mage hunter armour, each of its steps somehow even seemed heavier too.

    "Wait a second." Jay thought, narrowing his eyes as he noticed something intriguing, and both of the skeletons froze.

    Sweeper had made so many subtle changes to the way it held itself and walked, that Jay almost thought it could have been channelling the soul of a mage hunter - yet it was taking all its directions from Dark.

    "I knew they couldmunicate non-verbally somehow, simr to my thoughtmands, but I didn''t realise it would be this... detailed." Jay thought.

    Sweeper was following the directions of Dark far too precisely.

    "Continue." Jay waved his hand.

    Sweeper picked up a rock and walked closer to Dark, it seemed to ce every step with precision as if guided directly.

    Dark was still lying there with the dagger by it''s side, and had sprinkled some sticks on top, mimicking the way that Jay had it conceal its weapon with leaves.

    The green light of its eyes disappeared, surprising Jay as he didn''t even realise the skeletons could do this.

    Next, Darky its head back and lowered its bottom jaw as if ckened and truly dead.

    Sweeper drew nearer, standing over Dark, and even showing the same resolute signs of authority in its bodynguage the mage hunter did.

    As Sweeper stood over Dark, it held up the stone in its hand, pretending to grab it from it''s waist and held it to its mouth.

    Sweepers bottom jaw chomped a few times, making a few ttering noises as it mimicked talking, and then lowered its hand again, dropping the rock to the ground.

    Jay could tell it was pretending to use amunication crystal, but couldn''t help but smile as he watched the skeleton mimic human speech.

    The mage huntersmunicating wasn''t a surprise though.

    Sweeper then bent down and looked at Dark''s body more closely, but just as the Sweeper reached forward...

    Suddenly, Dark''s bottom jaw snapped shut.

    Its eyes flickered back with green necrotic life.

    Before Sweeper could do anything, a pile of sticks was flung into the air, and a sharp bone dagger was held right next to its neck.

    "Huh?" Jay wondered why it didn''t stab it deeply into Sweepers neck.

    Sweeper seemed to pause, almost in shock or even surprise.

    Next, Dark relentlessly stabbed just outside of the neck area.

    Sweeper shrugged and then punched Dark''s skull. Dark''s skull bounced against the tree and caused Dark to stop moving and go limp.

    It was over.

    "Ah, I see. I guess the dagger didn''t get past the armour." Jay frowned.

    "At least I sent a message, albeit quite a useless one in the end..."

    After the little presentation was done, Jay had Sweeper return to throne-carrying duty.

    "Hmm... I may need to throw them off my trail." Jay thought.

    While he was far away from them it was better to be safe.

    He thought of an idea, perhaps even a dangerous one; one that may not even work.

    It could evene back to hurt him in the future, but he couldn''t be certain.

    Jay quickly sent Dark back, near a ce he wished he had neverid eyes upon.

    To the innocuous ck circle of lifeless dirt.

    Of course, hemanded Dark not to cross it, but to sit somewhere ahead of it.

    Jay didn''t want to risk offending whatever it was that had imed thatnd as its own.

    A part of Jay even pitied the mage hunters which would foolishly step foot in that ce, that dark soil which seemed like untouchable, un-holy ground.

    "Do the same as before Dark, and whatever happens, don''t step a single foot into the ck soil." he ordered as he was carried away on the throne.

    "Based on how quickly Dark dies, I''ll have a good estimate of how quickly they''re searching the forest. The ck soil was about four hours away from the desert, and Dark should arrive there in about one day based on his speed. The mage hunters probably still have to cut away more of the desert mushrooms, though I don''t know yet if there is still only two of them, it''s obvious more areing."

    Jay would have sent another skeleton back to scout, though with the rest of them carrying himself and Asra he was out of spare skeletons.

    Besides, it was more important to travel away from the mage hunters than to find out how many were following.

    Even if only a single mage hunter was following, it would still be a problem.

    As Jay travelled, hours passed, and through the dense forest, he noticed the terrain begin to change.

    Hills and valleys became more numerous, the way was bing more steep, and slowly he was entering a more mountainous, rugged area.

    It wasn''t like a wall of an endless mountain range, but more like abyrinth of valleys weaving endlessly betweenrge jagged peaks and mounds of white.

    You would have to either be on top of a mountain or surrounded by them.

    There was still dense vegetation covering everything though.

    Many long tumbling moss-covered vines flowed down the side of cliffs, while slender waterfalls flowed over the sides of others, creating perpetual clouds of mist at the bottom.

    The valleys became dangerously treacherous, some having powerful rivers flowing through them while others only had t bottoms carved out of the rock, waiting for arge torrent of water to wipe away anything caught within.

    Random pirs and towers of stone dotted thend, each covered with their own lush veils of green.

    Jay loosely followed the guidance, walking along between the bottom of valleys and the sides of mountains, but the trees couldn''t hope to cover this ruggednd with all of its roots, and soon enough, near an overhanging cliff, there was some bare soil.

    It was something Jay had been looking for, for a while.

    "Finally, my helminth can return." he thought, and made his way to the soil under the cliff and waited for his bone parasite.

    But Jay also noticed something else - he heard the sounds of birds, singing their songs to anyone who would listen.

    Without realising it, he had left the blood-vine bear territory. He was out of hollow forest.

    "Hmm... I wonder where Lamp was hunting those beasts..." Jay wondered.

    Since entering this mountainous area he had not seen any movement. He assumed that Lamp must have went deeper into the mountains.

    Something about leaving the lifeless area made him feel more free, or perhaps it was the mountains around acting like a maze to hide in.

    Either way, he felt good.

    As he stood there, waiting for his helminth, he looked around for any birds, curious if he would see anything unusual, curious if he would see that silver-white raven.

    As he nced around, though, something caught his attention.

    Across the valley on the opposite mountain, a ck shadow loomed.

    An entrance to arge cave.

    It was either a random, abnormallyrge cave or a dungeon, but seeing as Jay was missing out on exp while he travelled, he decided to investigate.

    It would only be a short detour anyway.

    Finally, his necrotic helminth breached the surface of the soil, having navigated aroundrge boulders, through mountains, and under deep valleys.

    "Ah, hello there" Jay smiled, d to have his littlepanion back.

    The helminth didn''t snap back as it usually did, as it had something in its mouth.

    It must have been important for the little underground parasite to carry it this far, or at least intriguing enough to the bone worm.

    "Huh, you got me a little present buddy?" Jay stepped down from the throne and approached it.

    Surprisingly, Jay recognised it.

    "Hey... didn''t that belong to Vdore?"

 Chapter ?241 Wind Chimes

    ?241 Wind Chimes

    The necrotic parasite held up a ck cube in its narrow jaws.

    Its undead, green, beady eyes seemed to say ¡®thank you for waiting. I missed you¡¯ - from what Jay could tell anyway.

    Jay bent down and grabbed the ck cube out of his necrotic parasite¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Come.¡± he said as he tapped his chest with a loving smile.

    The helminth snapped its jaws happily and sprung at Jay, its body reassembling into a ne around his neck while its invisible ethereal body rested itself around his neck, scanning for enemies - victims for its necrotic bolts.

    Jay nced at Asra, still wrapped in the noon-leather nket.

    ¡°Ah¡­ don¡¯t attack the vampire.¡± Jay thought, and his parasite squeezed his neck a little, as if to say ¡®yes, master.¡¯.

    Still holding the ck cube in his hand, Jay tried to analyse it - yet nothing happened.

    ¡°Huh, maybe it¡¯s just a weird rock?¡± Jay wondered, considering throwing it away.

    Jay pulled his arm back, about tounch it into the valley below - though just before he ripped his arm forward, he paused.

    Jay sighed, and then decided to keep it, to remember Vdore by.

    Vdore had always been helpful to Jay, and even gave him a free goblin wand and a free room - he was perhaps the only person Jay knew who had done something so caring and generous for him, expecting nothing in return.

    In all of Lo, Jay thought Vdore was one of the few generous people there.

    Of course, Jay was ignorant and naive, having no idea of anything Vdore did.

    As Jay held the cube, he wasn¡¯t sure why, but somehow it felt familiar to him. Simr to his skeletons, but slightly different.

    Jay decided he would study itter, once he had a more permanent camp.

    He added it to his inventory - or at least tried to.

    ¡°Huh. Not just a rock I suppose. Typical Vdore.¡±

    But the problem became: how would he keep it, and take it with him. It was simply a burden to have to carry it.

    Using one hand to hold something useless in a fight was a major disadvantage after all, and Jay really didn¡¯t seem himself bashing a beasts head inwards with the ck cube.

    With a sigh, Jay took out something he thought he would never need again: his bag.

    He had kept it in his inventory since learning about the inventory utility skill, and was d he had not actually thrown it out.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he thought, remembering another object he had in there - one he told himself to check on, yetpletely forgot about.

    He took out the [?].

    ¡°Wh-?¡±

    It was, at first, an oval stone.

    Over time, it seemed to get bigger - though Jay couldn¡¯t be sure since he rarely checked on it.

    Now however, there definitely was a change. Three bumps appeared on its smooth surface, going down one side in a line.

    ¡°I guess this isn¡¯t just some weird rock either¡­?¡± Jay thought, now holding both of them.

    As Jay traced his fingers over the bumps, it seemed all too familiar.

    Suddenly, Jay realised something, and even got annoyed at himself as he didn¡¯t realise it sooner.

    ¡°...I got this from a silt-wolf variant corpse. Don¡¯t fucking tell me, this is a silt-wolf egg?¡± his eyes widened as he held it in his hands.

    It all made perfect sense.

    He pulled it from a silt-wolf which was different from the others, and was protected by the other types.

    Jay just assumed the normal wolves wanted to protect it since it used magic pulse attacks and seemed to be blind.

    Jay put the cube down and gently held the oval stone in both hands.

    ¡°Ah¡­ how am I going to care for this. Wait¡­ why should I even care for it? Would it even be loyal? Maybe it will be like a dog?¡± he wondered.

    ¡°Hmm, I guess it would be good to have a pet¡­ though I won¡¯t get attached. It¡¯ll probably die at some point.¡±

    ¡°Hope it doesn¡¯t hatch in an awkward situation. If it even is meant to hatch?¡± he gazed at it.

    He hoped that it wouldn¡¯t hatch infront of Asra, as she would probably steal it or do something crazy like throw it off a cliff - Jay still didn¡¯t know what her personality was like, he just knew she wasn¡¯t human - not that being human would make Jay more trusting or any less wary anyway.

    ¡°Well, at least it can be stored in my inventory.¡± he shrugged, adding the [?] oval stone back into his inventory, then picked up the cube again and ced that into his backpack.

    ¡°Gosh, what a weird day.¡± Jay thought, ¡°yesterday I was alone in the forest, but now I have a vampire, an egg, a ck cube and a bird stalker.¡± he shook his head.

    ¡°Can¡¯t I just be left alone with my skeletons¡­¡± he frowned.

    Jay nced across the valley into the ck cave on the other side.

    ¡°Well, maybe a little bit of killing will make me feel normal again.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what am I even saying? Killing isn¡¯t normal.¡±

    ¡°...I just enjoy it.¡±

    Jay ascended back onto his throne and with the vampire Asra still tucked away in the nket he made his way to the cave.

    The valley was particrly troublesome to cross, as he had to store his throne away and descend using vines - though climbing up on the other side was another matter entirely.

    There were no vines on the other side, so climbing up was much harder.

    The wall was simply too steep to ascend it without getting his hands dirty.

    Basically it was just a slippery wall of moss and soft dirt, and each time he grabbed a chunk of dirt or moss came out.

    It was also dotted with silk-covered holes hiding deadly spiders, burrows hiding snakes or some other poisonous reptile or nt.

    Fungus bulbs filled with some milky sap hid within different parts of the dirt, and after bursting one, Jay quickly learnt that these damn things could eat away this skin, turning it to water through some magical means.

    Unfortunately for Jay, it didn¡¯t burst onto the parasite-filled boil on his arm. He was not yet free from this looming burden just yet.

    Despite all of this, he soon managed to make it up to the top of the steep part - of course, with the help of his skeletons.

    Each of them keenly dug one of their arms into the soil and turned themselves into living foothold¡¯s, each using their free arm to help push and pull Jay up the side of the steep valley.

    After doing this, Jay didn¡¯t even need to use his hands to pull himself up anymore. The skeletons were almost like ants hauling a piece of food, Jay, up to their nest.

    Asra simrly went up, still kept hidden under the nket.

    She probably woke up from this, but Jay didn¡¯t care as he simply had to. Later on, she couldin to his back while he slept soundly for all he cared.

    Soon enough, the party finally made it in front of the cave.

    It was much bigger than he anticipated, and each step he took or each clink of the skeletons seemed to echo almost endlessly into the depths of the cave.

    Around the entrance were spider webs, six-legged worms which looked poisonous, tiny mud elementals in the forms of brown snakes, and even some wind chimes which were another type of elemental - but just a few steps deeper into the cave, having been lit up with a luminous orb, and there was no life at all.

    Just empty, lifeless rocks in endless bleak darkness.

    ¡°Damn, maybe just a cave?¡± Jay wondered, ¡°or something¡¯s burrow¡­¡±

    A shiver went up his spine as he thought of some gargantuan creature creating this - though he soon realised that it wasn¡¯t a burrow, as when he turned to leave and stashed away his luminous orb, he received a notification.

    [Enter Savage Lands - Level 4 dungeon?]

    [Instanced][Locked]

    [Yes/No]

    ¡°Ah, finally.¡± Jay smiled excitedly, happy to find what he was looking for.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ locked? My first locked dungeon? I wonder what it means.¡± he raised a brow.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s only level four. It shouldn¡¯t be too dangerous.¡±

    Jay was level twelve, so he really felt like he could have free reign in this dungeon. Locked or unlocked, it didn¡¯t matter.

    Finally he could gain some exp again.

    ¡°Yes. Enter.¡± he smiled, and the world went into darkness.

 Chapter ?242 Savage Lands

    ?242 Savage Lands

    The dungeon brought Jay into another forest - though more like a jungle; humid and wet.

    Simr to thend he was walking through in the blood-vine bear territory, the ground here was also covered byyers of roots.

    Though these roots seemed much morepetitive, as nearby nts were being strangled by them. The only thing spared from the rooms seemed to be therge moss-covered trees, and poisonous-looking mushrooms covering everything else.

    Despite there being no smaller nts around, the trees had low branches andrge hanging leaves, making it hard to see very far.

    While it would be good to conceal Jay, it made it harder to spot any threats.

    A number of notifications were ignored by Jay, as he first looked for danger and any threats.

    Looking around, he quickly noticed a pair of eyes gazing at him in wonder.

    ¡°A¡­ human?¡± Jay curiously gazed at her.

    After analysing her, he was sure of it.

    It was a little girl.

    She was pale, skinny, and malnourished. She looked like she was starving.

    ¡°Ah, hello there.¡± Jay smiled, trying not to seem scary.

    Despite suddenly appearing in the forest as if he were a forest deity or something more sinister, the girl wasn¡¯t scared.

    In fact, she smiled back at Jay.

    ¡°Hi. What are you doing out here?¡±

    ¡°Not much.¡± Jay replied, and stopped his skeletons froming into the dungeon for a moment.

    He didn¡¯t want to scare her so he made them all wait outside for now.

    ¡°Say, do you know a safe ce?¡± Jay asked.

    The girl grinned, seeming to get excited, ¡°I do. Come with me. It¡¯s a very safe ce. Not too far from here. You¡¯ll love it.¡± she reached out to grab his hand.

    ¡°Rx, I¡¯m convinced, I¡¯ming.¡± Jay chuckled.

    Jay decided to treat her as if he were out in the wild and lost, hoping she would take him to a human settlement so he could gather information.

    There were also a few tests he wanted to conduct, such as seeing if he could convince someone they were in a dungeon and what would happen.

    As they turned to leave, Jay covertly had Red enter the dungeon, silently appearing behind him and the girl.

    Red immediately dashed off into the forest and scouted for threats - though Jaymanded it to remain hidden from sight.

    Next, the other skeletons entered the dungeon and followed silently too.

    Blue, Lamp, Sweeper and Handy appeared, each also dashing off and hiding in the forest, stalking Jay and the girl.

    They moved so silently and quickly that the girl didn¡¯t even turn her head around.

    As Jay walked, he noticed something unusual about the girl - or at least, noticed ack of something.

    There was no yfulness about her.

    He was surprised as she was really friendly but incredibly quiet. She had no questions for Jay and didn¡¯t make any conversation - she didn¡¯t even hum or talk about her vige as most little girls probably would have.

    She simply guided him there, silently.

    As Jay walked through the forest they ventured near a rocky root-covered area.

    Jay took this as an opportunity.

    ¡°Uh, hang on a moment I need to pee.¡± he pointed to a boulder, ¡°Don¡¯t peek.¡±

    The little girl frowned and nodded while Jay left to go behind a rock.

    ¡°The pee-excuse works every time.¡± Jay thought, shaking his head with a smile.

    On the other side of the rock, he had all of his skeletons sneak back to him except for Red, whom he left patrolling the forest.

    He removed his armour and weapons and stashed them in his inventory as he hid behind the rock.

    The little girl¡¯s clothes looked both poor and primitive, and having armour and weapons would make him stand out too much if he were to show up at their vige.

    So far, all five skeletons detected no threats in the forest so he wasn¡¯t worried about removing them - plus he could equip them in an instant anyway.

    Peeking over the rock, he made sure the girl was still there and not looking as the skeletons returned.

    Next, Jay used [Living Blueprints] on his four skeletons, each of them folding up and disappearing into a cloud of green mana.

    He was most likely being led to a vige so he had to hide the skeletons somehow.

    It was much faster for the skeletons to unpack from the living blueprints skill than to summon them, and Jay decided he would only bring them out in the event of an emergency.

    After all, he didn¡¯t want the vigers in this dungeon trying to hunt him down - if they could anyway.

    It would be better to keep them on his side.

    After storing his skeletons away he went back to following the little girl to safety again.

    As Jay followed along, he began to read all the notifications he received when he first entered the dungeon.

    [Locked dungeon - Time dtion of 10:1 until dungeon ispleted.]

    [Locked dungeon - You may not leave until dungeon ispleted]

    [Dungeon Quest: Save the innocent]

    [Quest Requirements: Level 15 or below]

    [Innocent: Unsaved]

    [Rewards: Level up]

    [First clear reward: Passive skill]

    [Temporary Item acquired: Needle of the Starved]

    ¡°Fuck. So that¡¯s what it means by locked - I can¡¯t leave. Dammit¡­ sure wish someone taught me that.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, a quest¡­ an item¡­ a level up and a passive skill reward for first clear? Nice.¡± he nodded.

    ¡°A ten to one time dtion? So ten seconds here is one second outside? Well that helps. I won¡¯t waste too much time here. Maybe it¡¯s because the dungeon is locked.¡±

    It wouldn¡¯t have been so bad if Jay were not on the run from the mage hunters, but now he felt like he had to rush this whole dungeon, even with the help of the time dtion.

    After all, he wasn¡¯t allowed to leave until it was finished.

    If it was anything like the mist keep dungeon, it would perhaps take weeks to clear.

    Jay also pulled out the [Needle of the Starved]. It seemed to be like any other needle, and after analysing it, there was only one hint about what it did:

    [Red, tainted. White, innocent.]

    ¡°Tainted and innocent¡­¡± he gazed at it, wondering, though stored it away before the little girl turned to look back.

    Soon they came to a shallow dirt path.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re taking me somewhere safe? Then what¡¯s dangerous out here?¡±

    The little girl slowed down for a moment.

    ¡°The knights.¡± she nodded.

    ¡°The knights?¡±

    ¡°Theye from the stone castle and take people back with them. We never see them again.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Jay said.

    ¡°Seems like a simple enough quest - I just need to take down this castle. Probably kill a few knights. Save the innocent.¡±

    Of course, it was easier said than done.

    First he had to locate the castle, scout the surroundingnds, determine how big the enemy force was, and how strong each enemy was.

    For all Jay knew, there could have been castle spies in the vige.

    ¡°But then, what do I need the needle for?¡±

    As they followed along the path, a man sprinted at them with a wooden spear in hand.

    It was basically a sharp stick, though - no metal tip.

    Not very threatening.

    He pointed it at the girl Jay was following.

    ¡°There you are! How dare you run away!¡±

    ¡°Wait! I¡­ brought someone back?¡± she pointed at Jay.

    The man with the spear gazed at Jay. He was as skinny looking and as weak-looking as the girl.

    He squinted suspiciously, ¡°Hello. Would you like toe to our vige?¡± he said, now pointing the spear at Jay.

    His eyes traced over Jay, and he seemed to rx slightly as he saw that Jay didn¡¯t have a weapon or any armour.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Jay shrugged, ¡°maybe I can help you with your knight problem.¡±

    ¡°Follow me,¡± he replied.

    The skinny man turned and red at the girl.

    ¡°You¡¯re safe for now.¡± he said slowly as if it were a threat, then turned to lead them all back.

    Jay was d he was not wearing any of his armour or had his sword equipped, as it seemed to lower suspicion.

    The vige they were being led to was a small one, consisting of wooden huts which looked like they would do nothing about the wind or rain.

    It was truly a pathetic, tiny vige with no walls or defences.

    There were a few closer to the centre made of mud, and even one which was surrounded by stones; quite sturdypared to the rest of them.

    As they came closer to the vige, there were other vigers outside, cutting away some of the roots around their pathetic dwellings.

    More suspicious gazes lingered on them. Some even grabbed spears which were also just pointy sticks.

    ¡°By the looks of them, they would probably only do one damage.¡± Jay guessed, but kept his thoughts to himself.

    At the side of the vige, the skinny hunter that escorted Jay and the girl asked them to wait there for a moment.

    It was an ufortable wait, as the number of res he was receiving were much more than any usual vige, and some of the spear-wielding vigers even seemed to close around behind them, blocking the way back to the forest, but these weren¡¯t the only thing Jay had noticed.

    The roots around the vige had been hacked and chopped away, giving way to some ck soil. Some pits of soil had been dug up for some unknown purpose - though he couldn¡¯t be sure what for, but some carried baskets of it away periodically.

    What was most unusual, though, was what Jay sensed under the soil.

    His necrotic sense skill detected something.

    Human bones.

    Hundreds of them.

 Chapter ?243 Buried

    ?243 Buried

    Jay sensed hundreds of human skeletons in the soil somewhere below his feet, and he immediately became concerned. There had to be hundreds of them otherwise his necrotic sense wouldn¡¯t have detected it.

    He resisted the urge to add them all to his necrotic gauntlet. If the dead suddenly rose into a green storm of flying bones, the vigers would probably assume it was a doomsday sign, and he didn¡¯t want the already suspicious vigers recklessly charging him with their pathetic wooden spears.

    The skeletons underground were strangely notplete skeletons either, but it was more like they had been taken apart, mixed, and tossed there recklessly some time ago, now covered by ayer of roots.

    ¡°Did the knights do this?¡± he wondered, shocked at how much of therge bone mass there was.

    Some of the skulls were smaller too, giving Jay a bad taste in his mouth.

    ¡°So merciless. Even the children.¡±

    Jay stopped himself from shaking his head and frowning. He couldn¡¯t show any signs that he knew of what lurked below.

    Thankfully, the little girl by his side looked much more suspicious than he did.

    She looked around nervously, holding her hands together and rubbing one of her fingers.

    Even in her own vige she didn¡¯t feel safe.

    ¡°The knights must have terrified them. I wonder how strong they are¡±

    It seemed that the knights would have to be strong enough to cull so many, but as for the purpose of the culling, he couldn¡¯t be sure - perhaps too many vigers would be considered a threat.

    Jay had analysed some of the vigers, and none were over level five. Most were level three or four.

    Really not much of a threat to Jay or his skeletons, and it was to be expected for a level four dungeon.

    It seemed that there were about thirty to fifty vigers left of the hundreds who had died here, and all of them looked as pale, sunken-eyed and starving as the next.

    All of them look so poor too, their clothing mostly just tattered rags; some only had loin cloths left.

    Finally, the gaunt hunter who had escorted them here came back.

    It seemed like his whole attitude had changed since he returned, and he now greeted Jay with a smile.

    ¡°Wee, honoured guest. Please, follow me to the vige elder. He¡¯s very excited to meet with you.¡±

    He then turned to the girl, ¡°You did a good job bringing someone so brave and strong here. You¡¯re free to leave.¡±

    The girl''s face looked both excited and shocked, and she quickly ran off into the forest again.

    ¡°... what a strange little girl. Maybe she thinks the forest is safer than here.¡± thought Jay.

    As Jay was brought into the vige, he thought it was truly pathetic.

    The houses were nothing more than huts, all looking like survival shelters made with bundles of sticks and some patches of mud.

    A few closer to the centre of the vige were made from wood, though it was not made from wooden nks but raw wood.

    Only one house was different; its walls surrounded by stones which made it look much sturdier than the rest.

    The only other structures wererge, t tforms, and Jay soon found out what the vigers were digging up the dirt for.

    On top of these tforms were beds of dirt covered with different nts.

    The vigers had to grow their food like this, above the creeping vines which would try to strangle them from beneath.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder they all look so starved.¡± he pursed his lips, feeling like their existence was truly a pathetic one.

    As Jay neared to the centre of the vige he was soon greeted by a smiling man who was slightly taller than the other men but just as skinny.

    Jay thought he looked quite young to be the vige elder. He was probably not even forty years old.

    He approached Jay,

    ¡°Hello, wee to our vige. My name is Grundel. My man tells me you intend to save us from the knights?¡±

    Jay got to the point, he really just wanted to get the quest over with and collect his reward.

    ¡°Hello. I am Jay. Yes, but I need information first.¡±

    ¡°Ah, Jay, of course. Come, we have much to discuss.¡±

    Before Jay had a chance to object he was already turned and walking somewhere, so he followed the man to one of therger wooden huts.

    ¡°If the vige elder lives here, I wonder who lives in the stone hut.¡± he thought silently.

    Jay stayed near the doorway, barely stepping foot inside of the one-room hut.

    After a quick conversation, Grundel offered him a ce to stay and directed him to three people who had experience with the knights and theirnds.

    Apparently Grundel had not encountered the knights himself, and mostly tended to the precious gardens.

    As for the ce Jay was offered to stay and rest, he was soon brought to the stone hut.

    As he approached it, he noticed a few vigers rushing out with some brown ragged sacks, probably moving someone else¡¯s items out.

    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t mind them. The stone hut belonged to a brave man who has since died. They are just saving his belongings.¡±

    ¡°Oh. What an honour, being given his hu..house.¡± Jay said, pretending to be ttered.

    Truly, he didn¡¯t really care about the vigers or the hut. In his mind they were just another stepping stone to getting some exp and getting out of the dungeon before too much time had passed in the real world.

    After speaking to the elder some more he was directed to three people who would have information about the knights.

    Elder Grundel left Jay alone to investigate, and went to attend to other duties.

    The first person was a small and slender man, and was sharpening a wooden spear with a jagged rock.

    ¡°Hello. Do you have any information about the knights?¡±

    The man squinted his eyes at Jay, as if answering was a waste of his breath, and went back to whittling the spear.

    ¡°Asshole.¡± Jay thought, but kept trying.

    ¡°Can you answer me? Or are you just going to whittle? You realise I¡¯m trying to help you right?¡± He tried reasoning.

    The viger ignored him.

    Jay watched as his pathetic jagged stone barely dug into the wood, and had an idea.

    ¡°How about a little trade?¡± he slyly smiled.

    Jay turned around, and stuck his hand into his bag - it was still being used to carry the ck cube since it wouldn¡¯t go into his inventory.

    The bag was useful to conceal his powers, and his necrotic gauntlet came out holding a bone dagger.

    Jay held it out, and the man¡¯s eyes perked up, finally seeming interested.

    ¡°Tell me about the knights and you can have this.¡± Jay smiled, holding the grey-white dagger before his eyes.

    Jay felt a bit sneaky, as he knew the dagger would run out of necrotic essence in about fifteen hours and the poor man would have nothing but some fragments of bones.

    But Jay already decided this guy was an asshole, so conning him brought him some joy.

    ¡°About a day¡¯s journey that way,¡± he pointed into the forest.

    Jay asked some more questions but soon the man went back to whittling with his new knife, ignoring Jay once more.

    Jay was only able to get information about the direction of the knights territory.

    The knight territory was not as far as Jay predicted, though in the thick forest it would seem like a much longer journey - while their castle would have been much further away, deep within the knight territory.

    The vigers hated the knights as much as they feared them, and apparently they were the reason for all the starvation.

    The roots covering the forest floor and destroying all smaller nts came from under the walls of the knights castle; instead of being from each individual tree as Jay initially thought.

    But if it caused starvation, why wouldn¡¯t the knights destroy the tree and its roots?

    Perhaps this was simply another control method - albeit a horrible one.

    ¡°Hmm, I better send some skeletons ahead to begin scouting.¡± Jay thought as he walked back.

 Chapter 244 Spies

    244 Spies

    Jay immediately sent Red towards the knights territory to begin its scouting operation.

    He thought he would have sent more skeletons, but it was safer to have his skeletons with him; he was in a dungeon after all.

    Anything could happen.

    Thankfully, Red had found no enemies in the surrounding forests so far.

    Not even any animals - still no exp.

    Jay didn¡¯t know if this dungeon was meant to be this deste, but it was odd - a thick forest like this one having no animals. It was onlyparable to the blood-vine bear¡¯s territory.

    Jay went back to the stone hut that the vigers let him use.

    It was the only hut with a wooden door - yet none of the vigers looked at him with jealousy; it was more like a look of suspicion that he received.

    Inside the hut was a pile of wood covered in some sort of long grass in one corner.

    And that was it. A sorry excuse for a bed.

    There was nothing else except dirt.

    It seemed that nearly everything had been removed, not that it looked like there was much anyway; the brown sacks the vigers had carried out looked mostly empty.

    A nice touch was that there were no gaps in the stone-mud walls, and no windows either, which was surprising as the other houses seemed like they would blow over in a slight breeze.

    With the wooden door shut, hardly any light made it inside.

    All things considered it was quite a study construction, but Jay thought it was strange at how air-tight it seemed. It was nothing at all like the other houses.

    Sick of carrying the ck cube around, he stashed his bag there, as he realised the information gathering was going to take a while, and that he would have to stay here for the night anyway since even reaching the edge of the knight territory would take a day.

    It was no wonder there was time dtion in this dungeon.

    In the dungeon it was already midday, so he quickly left to question the two other people that the vige leader, Grundel, had pointed him to for information.

    Apparently the next one had experience fighting a knight, but barely escaped with his life.

    Approaching the man, Jay was surprised as he was even skinnier than most of the others.

    As for wounds, it seemed like there were none on his body. Jay already doubted the story about him.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Ja-¡±

    ¡°I know who you are. Come with me, I haven¡¯t had a visitor in a while.¡±

    ¡°Ah. Okay.¡± Jay followed him.

    The man led him inside his hut and began talking with him about numerous topics - in fact, he talked so much that hours had passed.

    Some of the information was interesting, some was annoyingly irrelevant, and finally, Jay got frustrated enough to ask directly.

    ¡°Look. I just want to know what level the knights are? What weapon do they use? Magic? Any armour?¡±

    ¡°Level - what¡¯s that? Weapon? Well, if you need a weapon I¡¯ll give you a spear but you have to do some digging for me.¡±

    The man gave Jay a toothy grin, eyeing a spear in the corner.

    ¡°What weapons do they use?¡± Jay asked directly and sternly, stressing each word slowly.

    ¡°Ah,¡± he scratched his chin, ¡°swords mostly, and not wooden ones either.¡±

    ¡°Finally,¡± Jay shook his head, almostughing maniacally.

    Something was wrong with this guy. He was purposely avoiding Jay¡¯s questions and not even doing it tactfully.

    The stress and tension Jay felt from this one man dodging his questions and rambling on made him want to stab him to death, and then kill himself as well.

    ¡°Now, you don¡¯t know what a level is?¡± Jay questioned.

    He shrugged his shoulders.

    Jay was getting more and more annoyed, and he soon remembered an experiment he nned: what would happen to a dungeon-human if you told them they were in a dungeon?

    Would their minds explode? Would they go crazy?

    If there was ever going to be someone to experiment on, Jay decided it would be this guy.

    Jay began to cut loose, describing the man¡¯s current situation with as many devilish details as possible.

    He left nothing out. He really wanted to ruin this guy¡¯s mind and leave him as a convulsing mess of existential dread on the ground.

    ¡°...You¡¯re in a dungeon. A fake reality connected to the real world. You¡¯re nothing but a puppet in a fake world. If I leave ande back, your entire life and memories will reset, and you will forget even meeting me. You¡¯re trapped here unless someone like me, from the real reality, can somehow break you out. I enter your world to kill things and get stronger, sometimes getting rewarded by my deeds in these dungeons. You¡¯re nothing more than a ything to me.¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes zed over and his jaw dropped, but Jay ruthlessly continued, his evil grin growing more with anticipation.

    ¡°Your entire life is a lie. You¡¯re probably not even real. If I kill you, then leave this dungeon ande back again, you wille back to life as if nothing ever happened. Even the sun in this sky here is fake. I could torture you a thousand times and you wouldn¡¯t know. Everything you know up until this point is probably a lie, all the memories you have are lies, imnted in your mind. There is no past, and there will be no future. You¡¯re caught in a never-ending loop of hunger, whittling a fucking wooden spear, and digging up soil. Everything is an illusion and you¡¯re acting out a never-ending y. You probably don¡¯t even have a conscience.¡±

    ¡°...Also fuck you.¡±

    Jay added onest remark, hopefully right before the man went crazy.

    The man still looked at Jay dumbly, but his sunken and starved eyes looked like they were staring into an abyss.

    After a moment though, he suddenly shook his head.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he asked, snapping out of it as if nothing ever happened.

    Jay raised a brow, wondering what just happened to him.

    ¡°Never mind.¡± Jay shook his head, smiling at the pitiful man and leaving his pathetic stick hut.

    ¡°Seems like there¡¯s a mental barrier or something.¡± he shrugged, and continued his information gathering.

    ¡°That guy probably talked the knights to death. I don¡¯t see how someone so deluded would survive the knights, especially since he looked weaker and skinnier than everyone else. The story is probably made up since all he does is wag his fucking jaw.¡±

    Next, Jay headed to thest person.

    Thest person seemed as uncaring and indifferent as the first guy; silent and stoic.

    He didn¡¯t even get any new information from him.

    All three of them had something inmon though - they seemed to have a problem answering questions, but they just had different tactics.

    Jay couldn¡¯t help but feel like he was being hindered from learning anything.

    The vigers also watched him suspiciously, a few following him around with some jagged stone daggers fastened to their tattered clothes.

    Jay was already suspicious of the vigers at this point, but he made an effort not to show it.

    He decided to try something different and approached a random viger who was carrying a basket of dirt.

    ¡°Excuse me, do you know anything about the knights?¡±

    The viger seemed frightened and gazed at Jay as if he were meeting a king. They backed away, looking around at the other vigers.

    All eyes were on them as they ced their basked down and ran off into the huts.

    Jay frowned as he watched.

    ¡°Why does he seem so scared¡­¡± he wondered.

    It was afternoon now, and Red had still not found any prey in the forest as it ran towards the knight¡¯s territory.

    Of course, it was a day¡¯s journey and Red had only been travelling for a few hours - it wouldn¡¯t reach the knight territory early in the morning.

    Jay walked towards his stone shack, nning to use the host skill on his skeleton, but just before entering, a sweaty-looking viger approached him, blocking his path.

    ¡°Jay, you are invited to a feast with our leader, Grundel.¡± he panted and pointed away, almost seeming desperate.

    He really didn¡¯t want Jay to refuse, it seemed.

    More odd behaviour.

    It was clear that something was wrong with this vige, and Jay believed there was probably a knight spy or someone pulling the strings and making the people live in fear - though he didn¡¯t think these weak, starving vigers would have the balls to attack him.

    The most they would do would be to hinder his mission, even though he was trying to help them.

    Jay guessed the spies were hoping to stall him long enough to have the knights mount an attack on the vige, or to prepare some sort of ambush in the forest when he would set out tomorrow.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go.¡± Jay sighed.

    He nced at the stone hut, sighed, and followed the sweaty man who now looked somewhat relieved.

    Jay wondered though, if someone was a spy, who could it be? To him, all the vigers seemed suspicious, unhelpful and untrustworthy.

    He couldn¡¯t help wondering: What would they do tomorrow when he would try to leave?

 Chapter ?245 Grand Feast

    ?245 Grand Feast

    Jay was led to Grundel¡¯s hut, and entered this time.

    It was about as pathetic as Jay expected. He had a wood bed covered with some long grass and fibres, with the addition of a table which was just made from more sticks.

    ¡°Ah, Jay. Lovely. I trust your information gathering went well?¡± he smiled.

    ¡°Oh yes. I know everything I need, and then some. I¡¯mpletely prepared to y the knights tomorrow.¡± Jay said in an honest voice, lying to his face.

    He wanted the elder to think he was sessful in order to gauge his reaction.

    Even since Jay began to feel suspicious, he also had Rede back closer to the vige, scouting the forest and looking for any potential messengers going to warn the knights about his presence.

    He could send more of the skeletons to scout the knight territory for him tomorrow after he began his journey, but for now he wanted them with him for his protection - packed up inside his gauntlet as living blueprints.

    ¡°Ah, I see¡­ Good.¡± he nodded innocently with a warm smile.

    As far as Jay could tell, Grundel was not surprised, but instead was truly, genuinely d.

    ¡°Perhaps the leader isn¡¯t working with them?¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°Well Jay, I have decided to thank you for deciding to save us, so I have a feast for you so we can talk.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Jay looked around, confused, but then Grundel pointed to some y bowls on the table and pushed one towards Jay.

    Jay didn¡¯t even realise there was food in them as the wooden hut was quite dark inside and because there was hardly anything in the bowls.

    The ¡®feast¡¯ was a few morsels of sweet meat with a purple, bitter sauce, and some green crunchy leaves on the side.

    Served in a small y bowl, it was hardly enough to even count as a snack.

    Jay simply thought it was an ornament of some sort.

    Jay nced at the leader¡¯s bowl, and it had about half as much food as Jay in it, and didn¡¯t even have any pieces of meat.

    It seemed that despite being hardly a snack in Jay¡¯s eyes, these small pieces of meat were dearly and costly to the vige elder, and he was eyeing Jay¡¯s bowl with a sense of desperation.

    Grundel was clearly dissatisfied with his small bowl of crunchy leaves, but he knew you don¡¯t make friends with sd.

    Jay felt sorry for the man who seemed nice enough, so he offered him some pieces from his own te.

    ¡°Oh, ah, no thanks. It was made for you, to honour you sir. It would be an insult if you didn¡¯t ept it.¡± He quickly refused.

    ¡°Well then¡­ how about this?¡± Jay smiled as he pulled out a piece of cooked meat from behind his back.

    It was one of the pieces that Blue cooked.

    ¡°Then you will ept my gift too. I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s not seasoned.¡± Jay added.

    Grundel¡¯s eyes bulged as he saw the meat in Jay¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Wh-what.. Where did you get that?¡±

    ¡°Same way as everyone else, hunting.¡± Jay shrugged andid it on Grundel¡¯s te.

    The meat barely sat on his te for a second, and Grundel picked it up with both hands and began to furiously devour it as he looked around, making sure no one was trying to spy through the cracks in the wall while he quickly swallowed it.

    After swallowing it, he seemed excited,

    ¡°.. hunting? Are you¡­ from outside the cliffs?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The cliffs. The giant, endless cliffs that surround thesends. Did youe down from them?¡±

    ¡°Uh. I guess you could say that.¡± Jay shrugged.

    Grundel looked teary-eyed, almost like he wanted to cry.

    ¡°Is there a way back?!¡± he asked, his fists now clenched around his table and snapping some of the sticks which made it.

    Jay assumed this was a better exnation than saying he entered the dungeon - and Grundel wouldn¡¯t have been able toprehend that answer anyway, so he went along with it.F

    ¡°Sure. I came down the cliffs, but there¡¯s no way back¡­ uh, my rope snapped.¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Grundel looked helplessly at the table, he sat there for a moment in shock.

    ¡°...enjoy your dinner.¡± he frowned.

    ¡°What¡¯s the problem, Grundel?¡± Jay asked, and continued to eat his meal, which was quite an effort since its quality was quite¡­ undesirable.

    Grundel sighed.

    ¡°We are surrounded by cliffs, all of us. The other viges, the knights¡­ and then there are these cursed roots,ing from the tree the knights protect.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re trapped inside a crucible with no escape.¡± He looked directly into Jay¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Say, is anyone going toe looking for you?¡±

    ¡°Ah, no. I am a lone explorer.¡±

    Jay''s words seemed to be like thest nail in the coffin of Grundel¡¯s hope.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± he said weakly, looking at his broken stick table.

    Jay somewhat sympathised with the man, as he was technically trapped in this dungeon too.

    For now.

    Unfortunately, he had not noticed the cliffs yet, as the forest canopy was thick and they were probably quite close to the centre of this crucible.

    ¡°Well, do finish your meal. It will honour us.¡± he frowned with a nod.

    After finishing, Jay took the opportunity to ask a few more questions:

    How many knights are there? Armour? Magic? Weapons? Battle tactics? The castle - how big, its defences, soldiers?

    There were no urate answers, only guesses - though Jay did find out there were some knights with actual metal armour, while most others wore leather armour of some sort.

    Probably not full-body suits of armour since it seemed everyone in this dungeon was poor.

    As for weapons, it seemed they had ess to metal weapons, most of which were swords.

    Nothing mystical, enchanted, engraved or socketed with gems.

    The rest of Jay¡¯s questions went unanswered, but he at least knew he was dealing with a stone castle; it was not some imprable fortress covered in runes.

    As for magic, well, after some more questioning it seemed these dungeon-humans didn¡¯t have ess to mana, and the mental block stopped them from thinking about it for longer than a few seconds.

    They didn¡¯t even have sses.

    After all the questioning and some light conversation it had be dark outside, and Jay was feeling quite tired after being on guard all day.

    With his helminth still secretly curled around his shoulders, he thanked Grundel for his hospitality and went back to his stone hut; it was hard to miss since it was the only one with stone walls.

    Getting inside it was almost pitch-ck, but Jay decided not to bring out his luminous orb in case it freaked out anyone who may see the light.

    He ced hisfortable swag over the bed and with a yawn went to sleep, knowing he was guarded by his loyal parasite.

    Sometimeter in the darkness of the night, he felt his neck being squeezed tightly.

    The helminth was trying to wake him up.

    Something was wrong.

    Jay breathed heavily and saw that his door was open.

    He could instantly tell that someone had sneaked into his hut as he saw their silhouette.

    They were standing over him; both hands raised in the air, sping a jagged stone dagger.

 Chapter 246

    Chapter 246: The Travelling Nightmare

    A jagged stone dagger was about toe down on Jay.

    Lying in his bed, Jay didn¡¯t even have the time to put his hands up; his reactions were slow, his body felt numb.

    Something was wrong. It was so hard to even breathe, let alone move.

    Jay knew he could take the stab wound due to hisrge health pool, but that was not what rmed him ¨C it was the strange feeling of sleeplessness in his body, the paralysis.

    His helminth stopped squeezing him as he woke up and Jay instantly knew it wanted permission to attack.

    His thoughts rushed and time seemed to slow down, the ethereal helminth was immediately given permission with only the traces of a fleeting semi-coherent thought.

    And then it all happened in a fraction of a second.

    Just as the dagger was about to be brought down near Jay¡¯s neck, the ghostly glowing slender skull of the helminth appeared, as if a harbinger of darkness or a spirit of the dead.

    Its ethereal skull had a sinister glow to it which only looked more frightening in the almostplete darkness.

    The viger about to stab Jay almost dropped the pathetic stone dagger he was holding in panic. He felt like his soul was at the mercy of such a creature.

    He paused his attack.

    Suddenly, a radiating glowing green light started pulsing from the cracks in its ethereal skull, and was slowly glowing brighter.

    Its ethereal jaws opened to reveal a swirling ball of crackling green and dark energy; it was like looking into the eye of a hurricane.

    The viger had never seen anything like it, he frozepletely in fear.

    Suddenly the ghostly jaws mmed shut, condensing the swirling energy into a deadly concentrated ball of energy.

    A necrotic bolt.

    With nowhere else to go, the dangerous orb of concentrated necrotic mana suddenly shot out of its jaws.

    Right into the face of the stunned viger.

    *BOOM!!!*

    He couldn¡¯t even scream.

    Knocked unconscious instantly.

    His flesh melted away and fell off of the bone underneath the skin, which had also turned to liquid.

    His whole head turned to a bag of blood.

    In the darkness, it was hard to see just how devastating the attack was ¨C yet it was notpletely dark.

    Another viger was holding the door to Jay¡¯s stone hut open.

    Seeing that the assassination attempt failed, he quickly rushed in to try and finish the job.

    The helminth responded in kind, sting another viger with a necrotic bolt and leaving him nothing more than a brain in a bag, blood flowing from his mouth, ears, eyes and nose.

    It was truly a horrifying spell, but none of the vigers could see the results.

    They had no idea about the monster they had awoken.

    Four more men rushed in as quickly as the first two fell to their deaths.

    ¡°They¡¯re really trying to assassinate me?¡±

    ¡°How dare¡­¡± he gritted his teeth in anger.

    Some adrenaline helped Jay to recover from the paralysis somewhat, and he already had his shield, sword, and armour equipped.

    Combined with [Stress Response], it wouldn¡¯t be long before he was back to normal. [Cytokine Stabilisation] helped his mind and breathing to quickly recover too, not that Jay could tell in the urgency.

    All four vigers rushed in, brandishing their barbaric and crude stone daggers.

    The stone hut was too small for all four vigers to stand side by side, so Jay only had to face two at once.

    Since they were all level four without sses, they were really not a threat.

    But that didn¡¯t mean they deserved mercy.

    Jay stood up on his bed, shing his sword to keep them at bay.

    Compared to the reach of his bone sword, their stone daggers were pathetic ¨C really, they were just pointy rocks with some tattered rag wrapped around it for the grip.

    Jay already despised these fools for their weakness, but now they had the gaul to try and assassinate him.

    They should have all been running instead, hoping that he was toozy to chase them down.

    The helminth began to mercilesslyunch more bolts, and in a few seconds, two more of these fools were turned into convulsing meat sacks.

    Jay didn¡¯t even need to bloody his sword.

    He took out his luminous orb for a moment to see his assants better.

    Each of them were shaking ¨C perhaps with either excitement or fear.

    Blue veins trailed over their bodies as if their skin had been caught in a blue fishing; they were not healthy, but their eyes were locked onto Jay with an insatiable killing intent.

    Each of them looked at Jay like predators, with both an intensity and a wanting desire.

    Something about it disgusted Jay.

    It was now that Jay noticed their knives were coated with a purple substance; the same one Jay had been fed during dinner.

    ¡°The little fuckers poisoned me.¡±

    It was obvious why he was feeling paralysed.

    Jay used a truly tortuous ability on one of them.

    A viger suddenly froze, his body shuddered and he dropped his knife.

    All his limbs trembled.

    His head then moved forward from his shoulders which remained fixed in ce. It was being pulled away while his neck which began to make popping noises.

    Then in one clean motion the flesh around his head ruptured and folded back; a ssh of blood coated everything as the skull was ripped out cleanly.

    The body copsed to the ground, a pulsing wriggling mess squirting blood which slowly stopped moving.

    The skull floated into Jay¡¯s gauntlet.

    Surrounded by green mana it was crushed as if it were nothing but a grape, and disappeared into the sickly glowing green mist.

    Jay¡¯s [Uncaring Rip] ability was just that ¨C uncaring and merciless.

    Meanwhile thest viger looked on in sheer horror.

    He had never seen anything like it.

    From outside of the hut, all anyone could see were asional shes of green lighting through a partially-opened door; all they could hear were thuds hitting the ground and a squelching noise.

    The three men dropped dead before him, and thest thing they saw was a smile of contempt and disdain on Jay¡¯s face.

    They were like bugs being crushed before his presence.

    With the luminous orb, the final assant could see everything clearly.

    Five corpsesy around Jay, who had not even been touched.

    One corpse had his skull ripped out, but the others seemed just as horrific as their heads looked like they had turned to blubber after having their souls ripped out.

    The man who had done it stood over them ¨C his eyes now digging holes into him with contempt.

    He had dared to offend this being, who was supposed to be paralyzed and unable to move.

    Finally he overcame his fear and moved again.

    In paniced terror he dropped his stone dagger and mmed his body against the door of the hut like a caged animal, pushing it and trying to run.

    He was so scared he even seemed to forget how a simpletch worked.

    Finally his hands tripped thetch and after mming open the door and stepping outside he didn¡¯t even make it more than a few steps.

    He was so frightened that he tripped over his own feet.

    Behind him, the door of the stone hut slowly creaked open as if it was a monster opening its jaws.

    From the darkness, a sword shed out and flew forward.

    It pierced the viger right under the shoulder de, causing him to fall back to his knees in a pained groan.

    Jay actually didn¡¯t expect the sword-throw to pierce the viger, but just wanted him to stumble so his helminth could finish him off.

    However the viger, didn¡¯t get up as he quickly choked on his own blood and died.

    A sly smile appeared on Jay¡¯s face.

    Before leaving the hutpletely he held one hand back, his necrotic gauntlet caused a few more glowing lights to sh inside before he stepped out.

    The purpose of the shing green light? Well the vigers could only guess.

    As Jay walked outside, he realised this was no mere assassination attempt of only a handful of men ¨C no.

    The whole vige was here.

    All of them were watching, surrounding the stone hut, their suspicious gazes still fixed on Jay.

    Their eyes full of murder and violence.

    Each of them carried stone daggers and spears, while a few carried torches too.

    They had seen the green shes of light, but didn¡¯t know how the handful of men had died.

    It didn¡¯t matter now though; Jay was here and they were ready to end his life.

    There were about fifty of them, and only one enemy: Jay.

    Nevertheless, Jay slowly and confidently walked out, stepping his boot onto the back of the dead man as he pulled out his sword with a flick.

    His confident predator-like smile made every one of them pause.

    The fifty vigers really thought they had the upper hand here. Jay wondered what price they were paid to take his life.

    Obviously it was not enough.

    Jay was smiling this whole time and shaking his head; he felt sorry for them and pitied them.

    Not for their primitive lives ¨C but for what he was about to do to them.

    He came to free them, and they had tried to assassinate him?

    He was here toy down his life for their benefit, and they treated him like an outsider, like an enemy, like one of the knights they supposedly feared.

    Such insolence.

    Jay quelled his rage and controlled his anger, as he knew it would be fed soon.

    Before Jay¡¯s eyes, all of them were like vicious wild dogs.

    And wild dogs needed to be put down.

 Chapter 247

    Chapter 247: My Necromancer ss

    ¡°Jay,y down your weapons and your death will be painless.¡± the elder Grundel said.

    But he also wondered ¨C where did Jay¡¯s weapons and armoure from?

    The T-visor helmet slowly looked around, scanning the circle of vigers around him.

    No one could know his intentions; most assumed that Jay was about to break down in fear.

    They had him surrounded, each with sticks and stones to harm him, some even had bows and arrowsced with more of the purple paralysis substance ¨C and now they offered him an ultimatum?

    To die slowly or quickly?

    Pathetic.

    The elder repeated as if Jay didn¡¯t hear.

    ¡°Lay down your weapons. We¡¯ll make it quick. I promise.¡± he said, trying to sound fierce, but Jay could hear traces of fear in his voice.

    Jay looked around at the vigers ¨C all of them were here except the children ¨C though he had actually only seen one child sinceing here.

    Jay finally spoke,

    ¡°How much did they pay you to kill me?¡±

    The elder was confused.

    ¡°Who?¡±

    A pregnant silence, and then the elder chuckled, realisation dawned on him.

    ¡°Oh!¡± heughed, shaking his head, ¡°the knights have nothing to do with this.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re our prey.¡± Elder Grundel said slowly.

    Suddenly everything made sense.

    The starved-looking vigers.

    The hundreds of disassembled skeletons outside the vige.

    The way the vigers treated him with a sense of suspicion and didn¡¯t bother answering his questions; he would die soon so it didn¡¯t matter.

    The reason the little girl, the only child in this vige, had run off into the forest.

    The only reinforced stone hut in the entire vige which was specially prepared for Jay; it was a prison.

    This was a vige full of cannibals.

    Jay wasn¡¯t betrayed by the vigers, but this made him just as disgusted.

    The T-visor helmet turned to the elder, Jay¡¯s voice sounding yful and insane.

    ¡°Well, this isn¡¯t very fair. One versus¡­ a whole vige?¡±

    ¡°Pfft, you¡¯re choosing to fight?¡± a hunter scoffed, one holding Jay¡¯s bone dagger.

    He thought himself to be superior due to the dagger Jay traded him. While it was a low quality dagger, it was much better than the sharp stones and sticks the others were using.

    The elder red at the noisy hunter for a moment, then turned back to Jay.

    ¡°Well, it will be a painful death then¡­ I¡¯m sorry for this.¡±

    The hunters with the bow each pulled back the purple-tipped arrows, but before they could fully draw them back, Jay lowered his sword and shook his head.

    ¡°No. I¡¯m sorry for this.¡± A whisper came from under the T-visor helmet, a sly smile hidden.

    The archers waited for the signal to fire on Jay.

    Suddenly, a creaking noise filled the silence.

    Behind Jay, the door of the stone hut slowly creaked open.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t Jay alone? Wasn¡¯t the hut empty? Is this some kind of trick?¡± some wondered.

    Only darkness was inside the hut, but as the vigers gazed into it, pairs of lightly glowing green beads floated in the darkness.

    A stir of fear and wonder filled the crowd.

    Each of the hunters paused, still waiting for the signal to shoot their poisonced arrows.

    *GRAH!!!*

    A desperate scream.

    A viger somewhere in the crowd suddenly wailed from pain, and all the others stepped away in horror as they saw something from a nightmare.

    The person screamed helplessly and iled their arms around as a skeleton sunk its jaws into their throat, blood spurting onto others, a red cascade flowing through the undead jaws.

    Most of the vigers froze, not believing their own eyes.

    A skeleton ¨C a damn skeleton appeared?

    How? The dead wereing back to life?

    Were the people they had eaten nowing back from the grave for revenge?

    As the teeth sank into the flesh, one bone hand held the neck, while the other held a sword which was now gutting them in front of all the other vigers.

    Its brutality outmatched all of the cannibal vigersbined.

    The undead that was savagely ying one of their own was Red.

    Jay had recalled Red from scouting, and since it was outside the encirclement itmitted a perfect sneak attack, and was both a perfect distraction.

    Everyone was shocked, and for a moment they even forgot about Jay who was still standing there ¨C no one noticed that he lookedpletely rxed.

    Some of the hunters had re-aimed their arrows skeleton ¨C but with their attention shifted they didn¡¯t see that there was movement in the hut.

    The sounds of clicking bones were drowned out by the screams, no one noticed that skeletons began sprinting out of the darkness ¨C until it was toote.

    There was no battle cry. There was no warning.

    No one realised until a chorus of screams began.

    Suddenly in their midst the undead seemed to be everywhere.

    And then, everything turned to chaos.

    The skeletons¡¯ swords shed mercilessly as the vigers, and their ragged clothes put up little resistance to the des.

    The crowd soon became covered in spatters of crimson.

    Some of the hunters released their arrows at the undead ¨C to little effect.

    The stone-head arrows simply went through the gaps of the skeletons or bounced off their armour or bones.

    As for the paralysis poison, it did nothing to them. The undead already felt nothing.

    A viger tried to grab onto Jay, as they were being pulled by a shepherds crook into the dark stone hut, screaming in fear as they entered the darkness.

    But their screams quickly stopped.

    Lamp was the most fear-inducing of all the skeletons, and soon it left the hut again to drag another victim into the darkness.

    Red soon carved a path towards Jay, and yed any vigers which dared toe closer.

    Blue had the skeletons target the vigers which tried to quell the fear and panic; it tactfully stopped the vigers from uniting and fighting back effectively.

    Anyone who seemed to be fearless was targeted first.

    Handy was decimating entire swaths of the crowd with its two-handed bastard sword, severing legs in one swing and opening up multiple stomachs at once. It created the most blood out of all of them.

    Sweeper targeted the archers, making sure its master wasn¡¯t struck in the back.

    A few vigers dropped their daggers and pissed themselves, falling to the ground and curling into balls holding their knees in fear, hoping it was all just a nightmare as they sumbed to the [Fear] aura from the skeletons.

    Others put up a fight, or at least tried to.

    The skeletons took some small stabs from the jagged stone daggers, but to the vigers¡¯ surprise the skeletons didn¡¯t even flinch. The skeletons just kept shing and stabbing as if they were possessed.

    If the vigers were armoured, had weapons and were well trained then maybe they could have put up at least some resistance, but they weren¡¯t any of those.

    All of them were malnourished, skinny and meek; their weapons were as primitive as they could be, and as for training? Well, they had none. They relied on paralysis poison and numbers to kill. Individually they were nothing, and they all fell like dead grass before a scythe.

    It was not a battle, it was a massacre.

    A ughter had begun.

    Bodies fell to the ground as pools of blood grew bigger, and more blood was being added to the ground every second.

    A strong smell of iron filled the air, along with screams of fear and agony.

    An explosion rattled out, as Jay had flicked an unstable tooth at a small group of them, curious to see what it would do to bare human flesh. Needless to say, it was torn apart like paper.

    The ground and the nearby huts were all soon painted red.

    The vigers which fought back with their pathetic stone daggers onlysted a moment. The skeletons were warriors.

    Their bone swords easily swatted away the stone daggers, the second strike piercing chests; their insignificant lives snuffed out soon after.

    Jay decided not to watch much of it. Even for him, this was quite barbaric, yet the screams of terror and pain didn¡¯t bother him.

    He kept telling himself these were cannibals. They nned to eat him, and he wasn¡¯t their first victim ¨C if the field of skeletons outside the vige was anything to go by. These starving cannibals had no mercy, and neither would he.

    So he didn¡¯t stop the skeletons in their brutal, merciless rampage.

    It was like divine justice.

    Jay kept telling himself they deserved this, and remembered it was just a dungeon despite how surreal the situation was.

    He still had toplete this dungeon, so he made sure to keep the elder alive tillst.

    Elder Grundel was the one to poison him after all, so he would probably know the answers to some of Jay¡¯s questions.

    ¡°Wait¡­ what did they feed mest night¡­¡±

    Jay¡¯s face grimaced in disgust.

    ¡°These fucking¡­ animals.¡±

    His anger now seethed. He wanted to vomit but his stomach was now empty after sleeping.

    Trying to kill him was one thing, but secretly feeding him¡­ that¡­ It was a step too far. A personal crime against his very soul.

    Jay returned to the stone hut to gather his bag. Stepping over a few skinned bodies he found it ¨C only to find it was empty. They even stole his belongings, without even waiting for him to die. Grundel probably took it while Jay was investigating.

    As the pools of blood grewrger, the screams grew quieter.

    Some vigers had fled into the darkness, thinking the pitch-ck night would veil them until this was over while hiding in the vige ¨C yet the darkness held no secrets before the shade vision of the skeletons. Everything wasid bare before their ghostly green eyes.

    Handy was sent to hunt the hiding cannibals, while the skeletons gradually returned to Jay¡¯s side, all of them now stained red.

    Blue was standing over the elder who struggled under its bone foot.

    Soon enough, the only ones still alive in this vige would be Jay and the elder Grundel.

    Everything returned to an eerie quietness after thest of the resisting vigers died.

    The only sounds were the odd clinking of bones rushing past and a muffled scream when a hiding viger was found.

    Jay slowly approached Grundel who struggled; each of his steps in the red pools sounded like a death knell to the elder.

    Standing over Grundel, Jay thought he looked like he was about to pass out from the sheer terror.

    Grundel now didn¡¯t know who to fear more ¨C Jay or the skeletons. Fear was like a form of respect, and Jay felt he was finally being given the respect he deserved.

    ¡°Where is it?¡± Jay¡¯s voice was low and threatening, almost a deep whisper.

    ¡°Wh-what? Y- the skeletons obey you?!¡±

    Yes ¨C Jay was much more terrifying.

    ¡°Where is it? My ck cube. Answer or I will let them have you.¡± he pointed to Lamp, who was now wearing a vigers face as a mask.

    ¡°The ¨C the ck cube? W-we traded it for the meat we gave you. They call themselves the leaf-skin.¡± the elder said between shivers of fear, and pointed, ¡°that way. That path. You¡¯ll find¡­ no, they¡¯ll find you.¡± he quickly uttered.

    ¡°What? Traded it for meat?¡± Jay raised a brow.

    ¡°The meat was from a wolf-boar. We couldn¡¯t risk giving you human meat unless you identified it and got suspicious, so we traded your ck cube for some of their animal meat.¡±

    Grundel kept desperately pointing to a shallow dirt path heading out of the vige.

    Jay felt relieved as he realised he had only eaten animal flesh, d that he was not a cannibal.

    It was one line he would never cross. Even using human bones as his summoned creatures didn¡¯t quite sit right with Jay, and he would not kill humans simply for the sake of getting more skeletons. As for eating humans, well he would rather starve to death.

    Grundel was shocked at what Jay did next.

    He used his gauntlet to gather the bones from the corpses, each of them sliding out of the flesh as if sliding off a glove ¨C he also tried to gather the ones from under the roots outside the vige too, but the roots caged them underground and he only got about one-hundred more. One-hundred and fifty skeletons total.

    Jay had the other skeletons search the vige for anything interesting, or anyone hiding, but there was nothing of value or interest. Just more sticks and stones.

    Lamp had seemed to gather enough human skin, as at some point it stopped cutting. None of the flesh was added to its fur-covered back, but its other bones were now covered in a new type of olive-pink leather which was somehow all melded and mixed together with no signs of distinction or seams. It was like all the leather was taken from a single source and specifically made to fit the skeleton.

    Jay made Lamp grab some of the tattered clothes as it seemed more naked somehow.

    It was attached to the bone in some ces but not in others, and as the bone figure moved underneath the leather it made him disgusted.

    Blue was still standing over Grundel, pointing its sword at his throat when Jay approached once more.

    ¡°That way?¡± Jay pointed.

    Grundel nodded.

    ¡°Good.¡± was thest word Grudel heard as Jay walked away.

    Jay began walking towards the shallow forest path, which soon turned to roots and was marked using sticks; it would lead him to the leaf-skin people.

    Unfortunately, it was in the opposite direction of the knights territory ¨C which perhaps were not even the genocidal maniacs that the vigers led him to believe they were.

    All his skeletons followed him along except for Blue ¨C who still stood over Grundel. Business was nearly concluded at this vige ¨C but not quite.

    As Jay was some distance away, he heard a muffled scream, and Blue soon returned to his side.

    Jay came to the vige to protect them, but only left corpses in his wake.

    Following the stick-path over the roots, he was guided by Red in the ck of night, towards the next vige. He had numerous exp notifications which he would soon check.

    He sent his skeletons to scout ahead, and made the head of his ethereal parasite appear as it coiled around his neck so he could pet it a few times. If it didn¡¯t wake him up that night, perhaps the poison-coated dagger would have kept him paralysed until death.

    Now, Jay pondered on the elders¡¯st words: ¡®the leaf-skin people will find you¡¯.

    It was obvious to Jay that they would be camouged, as their name suggested.

    ¡°It seems the leaf-skin have ess to animal meat. I wonder if they are cannibals too.¡±

 Chapter ?248 Caught

    ?248 Caught

    Jay had left the cannibal vige in the darkness of the night, leaving nothing but corpses and death in his wake.

    Their stick huts had caught alight after some me torches had been dropped during the one-sided ughter; Jay was nothing but a dark silhouette, slipping into the darkness as the fire began to rage.

    Somewhere out there was the leaf-skin territory, but Jay couldn¡®t be sure if they were cannibals.

    He entered the dark jungle forest following the path, he was guided by Red with each step to stop him tripping; the two of them followed the stick-path which had beenid atop the roots.

    As for the other skeletons, well they were already scouting the nearby forest, searching for any fleeing cannibals, hiding in the night.

    Jay wasn¡®t sure how long it would be before the sun would rise, as he didn¡®t know how long he had slept before his necrotic helminth woke him up, but he felt well rested enough to keep going on his journey.

    Right now, he was walking directly away from where the knight''s territory was; simply because he was looking for his possession - the ck cube.

    While the ck cube wasn¡®t that important to him, it did hold some sentimental value, but the main point was that it was his. Jay wouldn¡®t let someone steal from him without consequence - though these leaf-skin probably didn¡®t know it was theft, so perhaps he would not kill all of them.

    While they were just dungeon-humans which would respawn, but he wasn¡®t a heartless monster, and if he wanted exp he would just reset the dungeon and have his skeletons y the cannibal vige again.

    In fact, that was exactly what he had nned - though he would spare the little girl who lured him there. Even though she was a cannibal, it wouldn¡®t sit right with him, dungeon-human or not.

    As for exp, he opened the notifications waiting for him.

    [4960 exp]

    ¡°Easiest exp grind ever.¡° he thought.

    While the cannibals would have killed most unknowing adventurers, now that he knew they were cannibals their threat level decreased. Their pathetically malnourished and weak bodies had to rely on poison to kill after all. Once you know their trick, they were not much of a threat.

    Jay kept silent while walking through the dark forest, but inwardly he was cheering. Four thousand exp was enough to bring him a quarter of the way to the next level.

    As for the skeletons, once they reached level four, they could no longer level up until Jay increased his skeletal mastery skill. Their max level was four because of Jay¡®s ability, but the excess exp would not be wasted - well, not exp, but whatever hidden force made them stronger. All Jay knew about it was that the skeletons shared it.

    Since the only skeleton in this dungeon which was below level four was Handy, all the undead exp went to it.

    Unlike Jay¡®s exp, it seemed that the skeletal exp wasn¡®t shared through dungeons and the real-world, so Handy received all of it - and Jay could tell it had levelled up since he felt it constantly ncing back at him.

    He was d as it was a good system to have; in the future if he were to have level fifty skeletons, and added a new level one skeleton, then all the exp would go to levelling the new one and quickly bring it up to fifty as well.

    Until Jay increased their level cap, he was d their undead-exp was¡®t being wasted since it went to Handy, though he was still curious about how it worked. After all, Jay received one-hundred percent of the exp from anything the skeletons killed - yet they still levelled up.

    It was clear to him they were absorbing something else from everything they killed.

    ¡°Their max level is limited by me... but they still need to level up themselves - yet they don¡®t leech my exp. There must be something I¡®m missing? Why Can¡®t I just summon them all as level four?¡° he pondered

    As for what he was missing, what he didn¡®t know - well he could only guess.

    Right now, he was walking through a pitch-ck forest in a cannibal-filled dungeon, while outside the mage hunters were still searching for him, and he was heading towards a vampire academy with a vampire who didn¡®t realise she was his prisoner - so it really wasn¡®t the time nor ce to worry about such things.

    It was just good that it worked, and for now that was enough.

    Of course, he would conduct experiments in a more controlled environment, making full use of his soul sense skill. It was the only thing that let him ¡°?grasp the intangible¡® and was his best guess, and only idea, to figuring it out.

    He cast these thoughts aside as the skeletons returned from their scouting, search and destroy mission. It seemed that no cannibals had escaped.

    As Jay walked in the darkness, Red and Blue were at either side guiding him.

    Sweeper was walking behind as the rear guard, while guarding the front were Lamp and Handy.

    Lamp, covered in its coat of human leather, was much quieter than other skeletons. There were no more clinking noises of bones at all, and neither was there any disgusting squelching sounds that one would expect from a human bodysuit.

    It waspletely silent, and it only added to the fear effect that such a creature induced.

    Despite being a gruesome abomination, a strange and small part of Jay was even proud of it - though he was still much more disgusted by it than he was proud.

    ¡°Hmm, it must have a special skill to meld flesh together?¡° he thought.

    ¡°Wait... I analysed it, picked its ss, and then didn¡®t analyse it again afterwards. So it must have new abilities? ...They all must have new ones?¡° Jay shook his head at himself.

    Jay instantly went to analyse it, barely seeing the animal fur on its back in the darkness - but suddenly it was gone.

    Without making a sound, Lamp had suddenly sprinted off into the woods, moving with such speed that anyone would have thought it was simply their eyes ying tricks on them. Nothing but a fleeting shadow of the imagination.

    ¡°It must have found something... someone.¡°

    ¡°Incapacitate - do not kill.¡° Jay thoughtmanded Lamp.

    Jay kept walking but did so more slowly, reducing the noises of himself and the skeletons to a minimum. Since Lamp had left, it was apparent that they were in the leaf-skin territory, or at least close to it - they had been walking for a little under an hour.

    Jay sensed that Lamp was not too far away from his position, and had made it only about fifty meters (160ft) before it stopped.

    Yet the forest was still silent.

    No screams from any human as one would expect; no sounds of a struggle or cries for help.

    No exp notification either.

    Jay wanted to see what was going on, so he sent Handy sneaking over as he sat down.

    Using the [Host] skill on Handy, the dark forest opened up with shades of grey before his eyes. It was as if it was daytime in a colourless world.

    As Handy moved closer to Lamp to investigate, Jay found out what had happened.

    Lying between some roots which formed a natural pod shape was another viger, covered from head to toe in wrappings of leaves and foliage.

    Jay wasn¡®t sure how Lamp had sensed the person, and believed it must have discovered a skill while hunting - one that it didn¡®t have previously. Of course, it could havee with the role choice.

    It was clear the person was sleeping but they were now wide awake - though they weren¡®t screaming.

    Lamp didn¡®t let them wake up before it silenced him.

    It didn¡®t knock them out, as any head injury no matter how severe, could cause a brain bleed which would always lead to death - even brain swelling from a concussion could kill. Too risky.

    Instead it had done something quite unconventional, and it caused Jay to grimace a little.

    Thinking quickly with its young mind, Lamp shoved its own leather-covered hand down his throat, stopping him from screaming as he woke up.

    Perhaps Lamp¡®s leather hand even choked him awake.

    The viger struggled but it was no use as the skeleton overpowered him - yet it would only be a matter of time before he broke free.

    All they would have to do would be to make a single loud noise and help woulde running - at least that¡®s what Jay thought anyway.

    The struggling camouge-covered viger wriggled their body and bit down their jaws onto Lamp¡®s hand, yet to little effect.

    He probably thought he was biting a leather bag filled with rocks.

    Thankfully, Lamp didn¡®t flinch - it couldn¡®t, and its leathery human hide didn¡®t break apart from the bite.

    For now, they were both locked there - skeleton and human intertwined until he could call for help.

    ¡°I need to get there now.¡° Jay thought, ending the host skill and returning to his body; having Handy restrain their legs.

    He had Red and Blue guide him there as fast as he could. It was too hard to see anything to move too fast - though he soon arrived, and heard the faint sounds of a body shifting; the crunch of leaves from their own camouge.

    Jay crouched down with a whisper.

    ¡°Stop moving or I¡®ll kill you.¡°

    The viger breathed hard, a soft grunt of defiance.

    The hostage probably had no clue that he was being restrained by the undead. It was too dark.

    Jay had all five of the skeletons restrain the man, and then another held a sword to their throat. Lamp was still stuffing its hand down his throat, stopping him from even breathing through his mouth.

    Next, Jay had the skeletons lift the man, bringing his ear closer to his mouth and he whispered just a little more loudly.

    ¡°This is yourst chance. Stop fucking moving or I¡®ll kill you.¡°

 Chapter 249 Captives of the Dead 1

    249 Captives of the Dead 1

    Jay held a man captive.

    Feeling the de to his throat, the man stopped moving, but Jay didn¡¯t trust him to stay quiet.

    Jay ripped some of the tattered cloth from Lamp¡¯s ragged clothes and fastened them about the man¡¯s head with a wad in his mouth.

    With Lamps hand free, it would be free to hunt more humans.

    Next, he ripped some of the man¡¯s own clothes and made them into bindings for his hands.

    Jay wanted some information, and didn¡¯t expect the man to answer him, but he decided to try anyway.

    ¡°Now, how many of you are out here? Hold out your fingers to tell me.¡±

    The man exhaled angrily again in protest.

    ¡°Thought so.¡± Jay whispered, rolling the captive on his face and made the skeletons ce him back down.

    ¡°Blue, take the other skeletons and find more of these sentries. Bring them back here without alerting anyone. Lamp will find them.¡± Jay thoughtmanded.

    The captive didn¡¯t know that Jay could telepathicallymand his skeletons, and he didn¡¯t even know his captors were the undead since it was so dark, but he suddenly heard them all run off into the night which only made him curious.

    All of the skeletons had left except for Handy, who was now level three.

    The prisoner was lying face down and was pinned there by Jay, who had his feet resting on his back.

    As hey face-down, the prisoner noticed a faint green glow for a moment, though he couldn¡¯t see anything except the roots hey on. The next thing he heard was something which sounded like the crunching of an apple.

    ¡°Weird time to have a snack.¡± he would have said, if his mouth wasn¡¯t restricted.

    Handy was eating the bones Jay had brought out of his gauntlet for it.

    After a few moments, the clicking of bones and patting of feet sounded again. Another prisoner was brought back, covered in the same sort of camouge and struggling helplessly against the many hands of the skeletons carrying him.

    After making another set of bindings for his hands and mouth, Jay realised a problem.

    The bindings were simply rags. They were not full-proof or trustworthy, and if a single one got free then the prisoners would be able to call for help quite easily.

    ¡°I need a way to restrict their mouth movement¡­¡± Jay thought.

    After having been around his skeletons for so long, Jay knew that the jaw bone connected very closely to the skull.

    Suddenly Jay smiled slyly as if watching an enemy walk into a trap before him, as he remembered the operation he carried out on Stephen - the guy who attacked Jay in the Lon woods with elemental turrets because Jay wouldn¡¯t join his party.

    It was time for another operation; a simple one at that.

    Jay held one of the men by the head, making sure his jaw waspletely shut. Handy was holding the second captive so that he wouldn¡¯t see what Jay was about to do.

    He willed some pebble-sized bones toe out of his gauntlet, and was soon holding some finger bones.

    Jay covered his patient¡¯s eyes and held his jawpletely shut as a green glow of necrotic mana appeared at the side of his head.

    The pebble-sized bones in jaws hands turned to liquid and seeped into the man¡¯s skin. Oddly, he didn¡¯t scream. Perhaps there was no pain or he had strong willpower, Jay couldn¡¯t be sure.

    Jay sensed the liquid bone in the man¡¯s head and guided it between the jaw and the skull - then fused them.

    He repeated the operation on the other side of the man¡¯s head.

    Now it was as if his jaw was frozen. Jay slowly removed bindings around his eyes and mouth.

    Taking the opportunity, the man attempted to scream.

    ¡°SHhhh shhhck shck! Frrgh yooo yuh frghhing frck!¡±

    The man¡¯s voice box still worked, but sound could still escape from the gaps in his teeth.

    ¡°Damn.¡± Jay frowned.

    ¡°It worked, but I¡¯ll still have to cover his mouth.¡± he thought, wrapping the bandage back around his lips.

    Jay considered the operation a failure since he didn¡¯t achieve what he wanted - though there were some positives.

    ¡°At least he can¡¯t bite off his own tongue to kill himself,¡± he shrugged, ¡°or use his jaw to try and remove the bindings; it does limit his ability to yell or scream but the bindings are still necessary. At least he can¡¯t wiggle them off with his jaw.¡±

    The captive quieted down after a few moments. Every time he tried to move his jaw, it would pull on his skull and cause immense pain, but what he feared mostly was being like this permanently, along with the being who could do this to him.

    This was when he realised something wasn¡¯t right; he had not been killed. This was no cannibal, but something else entirely - something much worse.

    Jay made the man lie face down again, and began his operation on the other prisoner whom he blindfolded too. The blindfold was there so that they wouldn¡¯t get freaked out during the operation and make Jay¡¯s job harder, and neither of them had seen Jay yet either.

    After a few more glows of green light, both of the captives had frozen jaws, welded to their own skulls. Their lips sealed with ripped pieces of their own clothes.

    Jay had the newly-improved Handy watch over the captives while he waited for more toe, and repeated the same operation whenever they did.

    Throughout the night, some of the prisoners tried to roll over and quietly move, but as soon as they did, Handy would be there, stepping its undead foot on their backs and causing them to freeze in shock before returning them to their face-down prone positions.

    None of the prisoners could work out how they were being seen or heard.

    They would covertly roll to one side without making a sound, and from there they could curl up before trying to get onto their feet - but every time they rolled to their side, their ns were immediately thwarted.

    How were they being heard or seen? It was pitch ck, and among the leaf-skin vigers, they were the quietest there were.

    Their captors didn¡¯t even make a sound either - other than some strange clicking sounds probablying from their armour, and neither did they get impatient or angry with their escape attempts.

    Their captors simply pushed them back to their face-down positions, and patiently so. Something seemed professional about it, like their captors were cold and calcting experts.

    Most of them gave up after a while, realising it was just a waste of energy, though they were all even more fearful as their own jaws had somehow been sealed, and trying to move it at all resulted in a shocking pain.

    After two hours Jay had six captives, and soon the skeletons had stopped searching as there were no sentries left in the forest.

    Jay had frozen all of their jaws and bound all of their mouths.

    They were helpless before him, but moving six men at once would be too hard in the darkness - as would having them guide him back to their vige. Jay didn¡¯t even know which way to go yet.

    Since it would be too hard to escort all of his prisoners at night, he decided to rest his eyes for a little while longer until the first light of the day approached.

    He had the five skeletons with him all guarding him, scouting the perimeter, and guarding the six prisoners too.

    ¡°Wake me up at sunrise¡± he thoughtmanded Blue.

    Some timeter, Jay woke up to a skeleton hand gently nudging his shoulder.

    The forest was still dark, but the first light of dawn was enough to see in.

    Six meny face-down before Jay, each bound and unmoving as they had all given up - though one was acting quite differently.

    He seemed quite frightened; he wasn¡¯t wriggling around to get free but was shivering in fear and trying to hold himself as still as possible. All his back muscles were tense and tightened.

    Jay smiled slyly, ¡°Seems like he saw one of the skeleton¡¯s feet.¡±

    ¡°Well, they would have learnt about them at some point.¡± he shrugged.

    Jay stood up, eating some meat from his inventory and drinking some water as he looked over the captives and wondered what to do with them, and how to use them to reach their vige.

    He figured fear was the best approach to interrogation, mixed in with some lies as well. Since these were scouts around a cannibal vige he guessed they were probably trained to kill themselves if they were captured, so he would have to provide a fate - or a threat - worse than death.

    While finishing his morning snack, he soon came up with an idea.

    His eyes gazed over them as if he were a predator, ¡°Now... let¡¯s see who will break first...¡±

 Chapter ?250 Captives of the Dead 2

    ?250 Captives of the Dead 2

    ***Author¡¯s Note: From now on, thoughtmands to skeletons will be surrounded by brackets ( ).

    Example: (Scout the forest) he nced at Lamp.

    Instead of: ¡°Scout the forest¡± Jay thoughtmanded Lamp.

    I hope this increases your reading experience. Note: A thoughtmand is a telepathicmunication that only Jay and the skeletons can hear.***

    Jay had the skeletons help the prisoners to stand up straight.

    None of them had seen Jay, but they had felt his touch and heard his voice, and he would use this to his advantage.

    All six prisoners were turned away from him, and each of them were now shivering in fear as they now realised it was not cannibals, but the undead which kept them captive.

    Jay could tell numerous thoughts were rushing through their heads:

    Why would the undead take them captive? If their bodies were not used for their flesh or bones, then what use did they have? What would the undead want with the living other than to devour their flesh and bones anyway? Could the undead be reasoned with?

    None of them had seen anything like it, and feared for their very souls - perhaps death would be the best oue.

    For now though, all they could do was stand there silently, their jaws sealed shut - yet each of them were expecting a de to pierce their chests or slit their throats in some sort of dark ritual.

    Jay stood behind all of them, still not letting them see him as he began to speak with a sense of authority in his voice.

    ¡°If you give me answers, then perhaps I¡¯ll let you live - otherwise, you will join my legion of the dead, and serve me as your eternal master and your soul will be mine. Kneel if you will submit to questioning, otherwise prepare to relinquish your souls.¡±

    Jay added the kneeling part as none of them could currently talk, and he then had them blindfolded again.

    If they could see that each other weren¡¯t kneeling, perhaps it would inspire them, so the blindfolds were necessary.

    Jay then took out the pin from his inventory, the [Needle of the Starved] which he got when he entered this dungeon, and pricked each one of them on the back of their necks.

    ¡°With your blood, the pact is sealed. Kneel or give up your eternal souls.¡±

    As Jay pricked them with the needle, the needle turned red.

    ¡°Red¡­ tainted?¡± Jay wondered silently for a moment, pausing his performance.

    Jay had assumed that ¡®tainted¡¯ meant they may have been a cannibal, but couldn¡¯t be sure. It was called the needle of the starved, so that didn¡¯t mean it was directly rted to cannibalism.

    Seeing that they were all still standing, Jay continued.

    ¡°Only one of you needs to kneel. Thest one standing will be sacrificed as a tribute to me.¡±

    They must have been well trained, as none of them knelt - yet Jay was crafty.

    ¡°Ah, good. The first one to kneel. The rest of you, well, I don¡¯t really need you, but if you kneel now you will at the very least save your soul.¡±

    It was all a lie as none of them were kneeling, but it worked.

    Three dropped to their knees, and two more followed. If one would answer questions, then there was no point in resisting.

    Only one was left standing.

    Jay stood behind him, grasping his neck with the necrotic gauntlet and sending shivers up his spine.

    ¡°So, thest one not to kneel. You must be theirmander? It¡¯s a shame.¡±

    He didn¡¯t really want to kill the captive, as the man was simply doing his duty, and something felt wrong about killing a man of honour.

    Instead, Jay pulled him out of the line and had the skeletons strip him of his clothes and camouge as he struggled and groaned, then Sweeper wore his clothes.

    The naked man was silenced again and stashed behind a nearby tree, and his ears were now covered too so that he couldn¡¯t hear anything.

    Sweeper and all the skeletons were still coated in blood from the ughterst night, so it would appear as if the bones were recently pulled from a corpse.

    Jay had Sweeper stand before the five kneeling men with blindfolds on.

    The blindfolds were removed, and if some of them weren¡¯t shaking in fear before, well, they were now. In fact, each of them were trembling as they recognised the clothes Sweeper was wearing.

    Before them was a blood-red skeleton, the remains of theirmander who had now joined the undead legion. Like the other skeletons it now stood guard over them.

    Losing their lives was one thing, but having their souls enved eternally was unthinkable. They would sacrifice anything to keep that from happening. No price was too high to pay.

    Jay added mana to each side of the first man¡¯s head; he extracted the bones fixing his jaw and skull together before removing the mouth binding, allowing him to speak.

    Red and Sweeper now held their weapons to his throat as Jay removed his hand bindings.

    ¡°Which way to your vige?¡±

    The man looked around, ncing at the sunlight.

    ¡°That way.¡± he said weakly, a sadness filling his voice as he felt like he had betrayed his vigers.

    ¡°Do the rest of you agree? Nod your heads if you do.¡±

    All of them immediately nodded. It seemed that man wasn¡¯t lying, and as most of them gazed at Sweeper wearing theirmander¡¯s clothes they nodded even faster, making each of them seem like little children who had been caught in the act.

    ¡°Huh, maybe I scared them too much.¡± thought Jay, and he decided to release their stress a little.

    ¡°I¡¯m not here to im lives. The cannibals took something from me - the ck cube. I just want it back, and some information. Your people will not be harmed.¡±

    The five bound men didn¡¯t seem any less frightened, but having some small hope of living was better than none.

    They were still standing in a line, and Jay took out one of the duresome chains from his inventory. He had the skeletons bind their hands to it, connecting them like prisoners along the chain.

    The tattered pieces of fabric binding their hands would fall apart soon. It would probably be easy for them to escape given enough time, but it was a temporary measure. Jay only needed them to lead him to their vige afterall.

    After that, if they escaped it would make no difference.

    Besides, even if one did escape, the skeletons would easily chase them down. Plus, it would have only been a matter of time before the skeletons would find the escapee or the vige anyway, and since all of them submitted he would only need to keep one to guide him.

    The prisoner at the front was the only one with one of his hands free, which he used to point which way to go.

    As for the naked man who would not submit, he was brought along further behind by Handy and Red. Jay still needed the other prisoners to believe that Sweeper was their resurrected friend otherwise they may stop leading him to their vige.

    For now though, everything was going ording to n.

    As Jay walked behind the prisoners, he noticed all of them ncing at Lamp and then standing nearer to the chain, gripping it firmly. It had be like their lifeline.

    ¡°They fear Lamp the most.¡± Jay grinned.

    There were six prisoners, five skeletons and Jay.

    The party of twelve was led through the forest, sometimesing to trees which were marked before they would turn and walk to another with more markings, guiding them to the vige.

    It seemed that these five men weren¡¯t sentries on the outside of the vige, but were more like scouts which would track the movement of the cannibals, which Jay thought was quite prudent of these vigers to do.

    ¡°How much further?¡±

    ¡°N-not far.¡± the man at the front nervously said.

    Soon enough they came to a path, and the guiding viger was no longer needed so he blind folded them all and covered their ears and kept them walking for a while.

    Soon enough, a structure was in the distance. A palisade wall.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay had a n.

    He brought back the naked prisoner further behind the party and Sweeper helped to dress him again. Next, Jay wrapped the duresome chain around all six of them, forming a circle with the six prisoners on the inside.

    Jay then stashed the bundle of prisoners in the forest with Sweeper to guard over them, and then he slowly walked towards the palisade wall as if he were taking a leisurely stroll through a park.

    The rest of his skeletons marched in defensive formation around him towards the vige, a sly smile on his face.

    ***I hope you enjoy this free chapter. You can ess the discord through the ******* ¡®My Necromancer ss¡¯. (P.a.t.r.e.o.n./mynecromancerss). Link in synopsis/book description. +Link for free area of discord, expires in 7 days: discord.gg/GhRas8A8***

 Chapter 251 Morale Broken 1

    Chapter 251 Morale Broken 1

    Jay walked casually towards the wooden palisade wall, as if he didn¡¯t have a care in the world.

    The palisade wall was about six meters high (19ft), and had a tform on the other side so men could walk along the top behind it.

    (Don¡¯t attack unless I tell you.) Jay told the skeletons as they approached.

    As he came closer, he noticed there was a single man on the top of the wall, keeping a lookout.

    He had already spotted the band of skeletons and Jay walking amongst them, but paused in shock as he probably thought he was going mad.

    The undead were here? No scouts had reported anything?

    Surely this was either an illusion or apse in sanity.

    Finally he turned to the side, trying not to seem panicked as he called another man to look too, his voice full of urgency.

    ¡°Hey, look. Look at the path!¡±

    He ended up yelling to another man who was sitting down on the tform, who was leaning against the wall with his legs hanging over the side.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he gave a confused look back as he got up and peeked over.

    As the second man saw Jay, his eyes bulged. He immediately began yelling.

    ¡°Close the gates! Enemy spotted!¡± he bellowed somewhere behind the wall.

    Therge wooden gates mmed shut, a thick wooden pole now bracing the back of it.

    In a few moments, more men appeared atop the wall, each with their own bows and arrows.

    Jay could already tell this vige was more advanced than the others, but still primitive by his own standards.

    Not only did they have palisade walls, but their men were not as malnourished and skinny-looking, while some of their bows were wrapped with leather and strung with animal sinew.

    It seemed that living further from the knights'' territory meant there were less of the innocuous roots around allowing them to grow food, and if Jay¡¯s guess was correct, to keep animals - the wolf-boar meat that Grundel mentioned.

    Jay smiled as the gate mmed shut, seeing the fear he instilled in others.

    He had the skeletons stop marching and he folded his arms as he stood there, waiting.

    More men soon appeared; on top of the palisade wall were rushing past each other to get into position and pointed their arrows at Jay and his skeletons.

    All of them prepared their bows and arrows - yet the order to fire never came. A heavy silence filled the air.

    Some of the archers looked around nervously, ncing at Landen, theirmander.

    Landen was standing there, watching silently, hiding his fear in front of his men.

    He had not given the order to fire as the skeletons had stopped. It seemed they were not mindless, but what was more peculiar was that it seemed there were two humans amongst them.

    Lamp was too far away for anyone to see that its skin was folded in some areas since it was hollow on the inside, and was now wearing its spectral armour; the T-visor helmet covering its empty eye sockets and non-existant lips.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t the scouts notify us¡­¡± Landen wondered before speaking to Jay.

    ¡°What do you want with us?¡± Landen spoke, hoping this visitation of the dead would just go away.

    Jay still had his arms folded, seeming like he was waiting patiently though he had a bored look on his face.

    ¡°I want it back. My ck cube.¡±

    ¡°So that was his¡­¡± Landen was surprised that the cannibals stole it from him without actually eating him too - shouldn¡¯t he be inside some skinny cannibal¡¯s belly by now?

    ¡°We traded the ck cube with The Kindred for meat.¡±

    The Kindred were the name given to the cannibal tribe, as they were like vassals of the knights.

    ¡°That¡¯s not my problem.¡± Jay shrugged, ¡°You have stolen property, my property, and I want it back.¡±

    Jay had to stop himself from smiling, because technically it was property he had inadvertently stolen from Vdore, but that didn¡¯t matter right now.

    ¡°Wait here.¡± Landen said, disappearing from the wall.

    The ck cube was something the vigers had never seen before, and the master of the leaf-skin, Liny, had taken it as his own possession.

    Landen urged Liny to part with it, telling him about someone who came to look for it, but Liny would not give it up.

    In fact, he scoffed at the request and told Landen to ¡®fuck off¡¯, surprised that he had the gall to ask.

    The vige master, Liny, thought it was an unusual request however, and decided to follow Landen back to the palisade wall and see for himself who would dare to make a demand of him and his vige.

    During his time as vige master no one had done such a thing, and anyone who tried would have been captured or killed before he even heard about it.

    During his time as the vige master, Liny had grownfortable, taking arger share of wolf-boar meat for himself; both his belly and his arrogance grew alongside each other.

    Most of the vigers didn¡¯t respect him, and knew it was Landen who kept them safe. Landen was actually meant to be the vige elder ording to tradition, but Liny¡¯s father had used subtle tricks and persuasion, insisting that the elder election tradition was archaic, then used empty promises to get people to vote for him as ¡®master¡¯ instead of ¡®elder¡¯; he also eventually came to control the wolf-boar dens, and now no one but Liny knew how to breed the wolf-boar puplets, which was the vige¡¯s only source of meat.

    ¡°Are your men in position?¡± Liny asked, ascending the palisade wall.

    ¡°They should be, yes.¡± Landen said, pulling him up.

    Jay was getting impatient now, and was tempted to even pull out his chair and sit down - yet he didn¡¯t want to spend more time than was necessary in this dungeon. He would get his ck cube, find some information about the knights and then leave to ughter them.

    Finally, Landen appeared on top of the wall,ing back with another man.

    Linyid his eyes on the undead and Jay, a sneer appearing soon after.

    ¡°Pf, it¡¯s just some trick.¡± Liny scoffed, not believing such a thing could even exist.

    ¡°So, you want the ck cube? Well too bad.¡± he chuckled, ¡°now leave or we¡¯ll have to deal with you.¡±

    ¡°No. You¡¯re wasting my time, and you will pay me for this time, as well as giving me my ck cube back. Every second you make me wait, I will demand morepensation.¡± Jay said tiredly, and it hardly even came off as a threat. More like a business proposal.

    Combined with thement Liny made about his skeletons being a trick, now no one took Jay seriously. Some of the archers on the wall even had sneers on their faces too.

    Perhaps they were angry at themselves that they fell for this illusion.

    Skeletons? Such a stupid trick. They were probably held together by some silk and wood, controlled by the two men (Jay and Lamp) somehow.

    Now it made sense why Jay was waiting a distance away from the wall - it was so that they wouldn¡¯t see the details. Or so they thought.

    Liny shook his head with a proud smile, ¡°You deal with this. It¡¯s below me¡­ and capture him alive. I want to know what the ck cube does.¡± he said to Landen as he left the wall.

    Landen inwardly sighed, despite his scouts not reporting, something didn¡¯t feel right and he wasn¡¯t sure what it was.

    Still, he put on a brave face for his men.

    ¡°We won¡¯t give the cube back.¡± Landen said, before pping his hands.

    Jay pulled out his shield, assuming this was the signal for the archers to attack - yet no arrow flew.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Jay wondered, then peeked over his shield.

    Looking up to the wall, Landen was not looking at Jay or the archers at his side, but the forest around Jay, as if he was expecting something.

    A sly smile suddenly appeared on Jay¡¯s face.

    ¡°Oh, were you expecting something?¡± Jay grinned, after looking around at the empty forest.

    Suddenly, Landen showed a hint of fear.

    (Sweeper, bring the captives here.)

 Chapter 252 Morale Broken 2

    A cold shiver passed up Landen¡¯s spine as he looked around for his scouts.

    ¡°Where the hell are the scouts? They should have sprung from the forest and captured him.¡±

    Combined with the look on Jay¡¯s face it slowly caused a string of fear to grip his heart.

    Jay smiled slyly while something wasing along the forest path.

    ¡°Oh fuck¡­ no¡­¡± he saw his six scouts all bound by a chain, their eyes covered.

    Thoughts ran through his mind: How were they discovered? How were they caught? Normally when someone looks at the scouts, they should have just looked like bushes.

    Jay had Sweeper remove their eye and mouth bindings.

    The six men didn¡¯t have any hope in their eyes as they looked up at Landen, their eyes full of sorrow and fear, but what was more unsettling was that none of them were yelling anything - despite their mouths being free, they were not calling for help or speaking. Not a single word.

    He wanted to call Jay a bastard andy down threats, yet he held his tongue as he looked at his men which Jay now held captive, sitting under undead des.

    Landen seemed either dumbstruck or awestruck, so instead, Jay slowly spoke.

    ¡°This is yourst chance. Bring me my ck cube back or I will execute these men.¡±

    Landen was still staring at the men on the ground - he locked eyes with one of them who could only nod back, and it seemed like he was saying ¡®do whatever he asks.¡¯

    Landen then looked at Jay again.

    ¡°Please, wait a moment. I will get it for you.¡±

    Jay sighed, and decided to give him a few more minutes to get the cube back. Landen suddenly disappeared and took four of the archers with him.

    In the meantime, Jay took out somerge chunks of his meat and began to eat them in front of the prisoners and the remaining men on the walls.

    All of them looked shocked - perhaps ever more so than when Jay had appeared with the skeletons. Even the men with fused jaws were drooling.

    One after another, Jay kept makingrge chunks of meat appear, then making them disappear down his throat just as quickly.

    The pleasant aroma of cooked meat filled the air.

    Their envy quickly turned to bitterness, then jealous hatred, and finally disgust.

    It was still early in the morning so it was around breakfast time anyway, and Jay happily indulged himself in front of the hungry men.

    Finally Landen came back, he and four of his men returned to the wall, each of them sweating and looking panicked.

    ¡°Here. This is what you wanted?¡± Landen held up the cube, ¡°return my men and it will be yours.¡±

    ¡°No. Give that to me, and I will fix them and then release them without retribution. Then we can discuss how you willpensate me for my time.¡±

    ¡°Fix them?¡± Landen thought, wondering what this could mean.

    Landen then looked at the ck cube in his hand, hoping he wasn¡¯t giving away some supreme treasure which could make him powerful. There were no bumps on its perfectly smooth surface, and the edges seemed so fine that they almost felt like they could cut.

    But his men¡¯s lives were worth more to him than some strange artefact. Even if he discovered some sort of hidden power within it, there was no telling if he would be able to use it against Jay, or if its power would even be enough to stop Jay. Though he quickly cast the thoughts aside as this was nothing but a fantasy - in his world there was only hunger and fighting, and that was how it would always be.

    Landen knew that Jay had him in a corner, and there was no more room left to negotiate; for making Jay wait longer, he was already gambling with his men¡¯s lives.

    With a defeated sigh, he ced the ck cube in a vine basket and lowered it over the wall.

    Jay¡¯s lips curled into a smile as he saw the basked lower. Finally, people were doing what he wanted.

    (Sweeper, fetch my cube.)

    As Sweeper approached the wall, the archers on top all seemed like their realities had just fallen apart along with their sanity, as they realised this wasn¡¯t some trick. If they could trust their eyes, then the dead had risen - and they were serving this man who wore the same pale-grey armour as them.

    Some of the archers couldn¡¯t handle it, and turned around, falling against the wall and hugging themselves.

    Others had more of a fight response, and pulled their arrows back a little more, their arms trembling, ready for even a whisper of the word ¡®fire!¡¯ to release their arrows; each of them were about to slip into a battle trance at any moment.

    As Sweeper approached the wall, Jay removed the duresome chain around the prisoners and stashed it away. Before removing their hand bindings, he began to work on fixing their jaws.

    However, before he could fix the jaws, he heard yelling on the other side of the wall.

    ¡°....no, Landen! You are exiled for stealing my ck cube! Take him!¡±

    ¡°Ah now what?¡± Jay thought, hearing the bickering.

    In this whole situation Jay was the only one who still seemed rxed.

    ¡°I won¡¯t sacrifice my men for your indulgences. You are a traitor, and you should be exiled.¡± Landen said.

    ¡°I am the vige master, without me, there¡¯s no food, no nothing!¡±<sub> </sub>

    Jay recognised the voice.

    It was Liny, the one who didn¡¯t want to negotiate and almost forced Jay to ughter his way through another vige.

    Liny appeared on the wall again, along with three other men who looked far more well-fed and healthier than Landen and his archers. Obviously they were given more food as they were Liny¡¯s personal bodyguards.

    While they argued, Sweeper returned to Jay¡¯s side and handed him the ck cube back, and Jay shed a proud look on his face as he tossed it in his hand for a moment while staring at Liny.

    Liny noticed Jay and sneered, seeing him tossing the ck cube around, but in truth he really didn¡¯t care about the cube - he cared about power.

    Landen had stolen his possession and this would be his excuse to finally get rid of thest vige elder.

    ¡°L-look! He handed it back! What more proof do we need? You¡¯re a thief! Seize him!¡± he pointed at Landen, ¡°and archers, fire before he escapes!¡± he yelled, pointing at Jay.

    ¡°Do not fire!¡± Landen yelled as a struggle suddenly broke out on the wall and blows were exchanged.

    Jay quickly took out his shield and held it up, standing behind his captives as arrows started to fly.

    Some of the archers who were at theirst nerves and had been hyper-fixated on the undead only heard the order to fire, and began releasing arrow after arrow as quickly as their hands would allow them.

    At this point Jay could have retreated and left happily with his cube, but he still wanted more information about the knights and also to test the needle of the starved on more of these vigers.

    The cannibals all turned the needle red, signifying they were ¡®tainted¡¯. All of the prisoners at his feet were tainted too, and now he wondered if anyone would turn the needle the white untainted colour.

    As for the captives, he really didn¡¯t need them anymore, yet none of them dared to flee from him and his skeletons. They ally down on the ground and shielded their heads from the flying arrows, which were aimed at the skeletons around them.

    *Fring~*

    An arrow bounced off of the deathwalker¡¯s sentry shield.

    Seeing its master in peril, Red dashed forward and pulled up a captive, holding them by the neck with a sword. Together they moved in front of Jay, making a literal human shield.

    As for the other skeletons, none of them moved as Jay had told them not to. The arrows rained down, but the skeletons ignored them as if they were merely falling leaves.

    The arrows didn¡¯t do much damage anyway, mostly just passing through the gaps in their bones.

    The only skeleton to respond to the arrows was Lamp, who seemed annoyed by all the arrows now piercing its human leather suit, so Jay allowed it to stand further away with him.

    A few muffled screams sounded out as the human meat-shield in front of him was pierced by arrows. Unfortunately his jaw was still fused, so letting out muffled screams were all he could do.

    ¡°Surely they will run out of arrows soon?¡± Jay sighed, shaking his head.

    Jay was taking the situation quite lightly. If anything, he was bored.

    While the archers on the wall thought they were fighting for their lives, to Jay the whole situation seemed utterly trivial.

    Despite the man dying after filling up with arrows, Red still held him there, making use of his body as a shield. Jay peeked over his shoulder and looked at the palisade wall.

    There was still a physical struggle between some archers and some other men, but they were still only using fists to settle this dispute.

    The archers firing at Jay looked panicked, but were soon slowing down and then finally stopped, looking exhausted anding to their senses as each of them surveyed the battlefield.

    All the archers had aplished was killing two of their own men, as well as injuring two more with their maddened volleys of stray arrows, while the skeletons still guarding them were as uncaring and unmoving as the trees of the forest.

    ¡°Are you done?¡± Jay called out.

    The men fighting on top of the wall stopped fighting for a moment; after exchanging blows, each of them were out of breath.

    All of them had forgotten about Jay, and even assumed he was in after the arrows began flying - yet he was now calling out.

    As they looked, all of the skeletons were still standing, guarding the remaining captives.

    ¡°What the hell is¡­¡± Liny slowly said, his proud sneer turned to a look of confusion.

    ¡°...you may have doomed us all.¡± Landen whispered, not caring if Liny heard him or not while his heart sank.

    Liny clenched his fists tight, seeing that the arrows stopped flying.

    ¡°Why did you stop?! Keep firing!¡± he yelled at the archers, pping one across the back of the head. He sounded as desperate as he was panicked.

    None of the archers responded, so Liny and his henchmen each snatched the bows and arrows away and fired arrows themselves.

    They were not as urate, but their arrows were just as threatening, and more arrows began tond near Jay and his prisoners.

    ¡°Damn, I guess they didn¡¯t run out,¡± Jay shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this.¡±

    Finally, Jay decided he had seen enough. He gave them a chance, and they attacked him.

    It was time to settle the dispute - through violence.

 Chapter 253 Morale Broken 3

    Suddenly one of the skeletons, Blue, sprinted at the palisade wall.

    To the surprise of the archers, it didn¡¯t try to push open the gate or hack a hole into the wood - instead, its ws dug into the wall, and before anyone realised what was happening it had climbed up the wall nearly as quickly as it had run towards it.

    Jay gave it only one order: attack whoever attacks you.

    He decided to subjugate the vige, having them bend their knees to him until he was finished with them.

    Liny and his thugs were shocked, but now the skeleton was close and they thought they would have a better chance of hitting it with their inurate arrows.

    An arrow flew at Blue, bouncing harmlessly through its ribcage. This provocation gave Blue the green light to attack, and it did so without hesitation.

    Blue raised its sword, sprinting along the wooden tform.

    A few archers had their fists up in defence, but Blue dashed right past them while their lives shed before their eyes.

    Blue had a target, and everyone else was ignored.

    One of Liny¡¯s thugs realised he wouldn¡¯t have enough time to fire another arrow.

    He dropped the bow and brandished a wooden club wrapped with bands of iron wrapped at the end.

    With a wide swing at Blue, he tried to knock him off the wall.

    *Shroong~*

    The iron part of the club shed against the bone sword, grinding across the de as it was deflected upwards.

    Blue dipped below the club and brought its sword around, shing across the thugs chest.

    The club dropped to the ground as his eyes widened.

    He didn¡¯t understand what happened - why did his hand suddenly drop the club? Why did the skeleton stop its attack?

    Suddenly his shirt was stained, a red line appeared from his shoulder to his opposite hip.

    He dropped to his weak knees as blood began to flow out of his chest like a river.

    The thug behind watched as he fell off the wall, his body lifelessly dropped to the ground.

    However, before he could do anything, a stinging pain filled his throat.

    He couldn¡¯t breathe.

    Looking down, half of a white sword was embedded into his neck.

    Two green hollow eyes gazed at him from the darkness of a human skull; they seemed to be filled with both wonder and disdain.

    He fell down clutching his neck to no use and joined the dead thug on the ground in a pool of blood.

    Liny was next in line.

    ¡°N- no no, stop! Please! I¡¯ll do anything just don¡¯t!-¡±

    *Shring~*

    A sh of the white de and suddenly his arm was gone.

    ¡°I-¡±

    It took Liny a moment to realise what happened, as he looked at the stump squirting blood everywhere, his arm on the ground.

    ¡°...Gh- Gaaah! Help!¡± he screamed, turning around and grasping at the cor of hisst thug, ¡°Not like this¡­ anything but...¡±

    His arms fell to the side, and he passed out covered in his own blood while Blue remained watching curiously, as if learning about human anatomy.

    Liny¡¯s body went limp.

    Thest personal guard of Liny¡¯s tried to flee, but it was the stupidest thing he could have done.

    A sword bore right into his back before he could even jump off the wall, perishing as quickly as all the others.

    Before anyone realised, Blue had climbed their wall and in four men - and none of them could do anything about it.

    Landen watched the whole thing, clenching his hands. It was all he could do.

    ¡°Don¡¯t. Don¡¯t do anything.¡±

    Landen said to his archers, some of which were pulling back their bows which were pointed at Blue.

    Blue weed the threat, gazing right back at them while raising its sword, hoping they would fuck around and find out. It was ready to learn more about human anatomy, it just needed them to attack first.

    The archers paused, not releasing their arrows but not releasing the tension in their bows.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°Lower your weapons. We¡¯re at his mercy,¡± Landen said again.

    Some of them couldn¡¯t bring themselves to do it. Before their eyes was some kind of apparition of a nightmare staring at them.

    ¡°Now!¡± Landen said more sternly.

    ? Finally, they each took a moment and slowly lowered them against their most base instincts.

    Blue seemed disappointed as it simrly lowered its sword.

    Suddenly, it turned to look over the wall along the side of the vige.

    Landen followed its eyeline and clenched his jaw from the stress.

    ¡°No¡­ not now¡­¡±

    A small band of men, each wearing light armour with wooden shields and spiked clubs were marching around the wall. They were Landen¡¯s men, most likely responding to the gate being sealed shut.

    They had armed themselves and exited another gate; normally this would be their counter attack, but this was no normal situation.

    Landen looked back at Blue who had already jumped over the wall,nding on the ground and springing off towards them.

    Landen considered jumping too but knew he would risk hurting himself, and in this cliff crucible of empty forests, being injured was as good as being dead.

    He also knew attacking Blue would only add him to the monster¡¯s kill list.

    The group of men would be too far away to hear him yelling.

    Landen¡¯s heart sank, he was sure that this single skeleton was about to y all of them by itself.

    The skeletons seemed like they were made for battle, they had unflinching hesitation and brutal killing efficiency while the vigers were all slowly starving, bing skeletons themselves. They would only have a few minutes of unfocused energy before they would have to rest, if they could keep up at all - while the skeleton would keep going mercilessly.

    Looking around, Landen felt hopeless as he was about to watch his fellow vigers walking to their deaths, and he was powerless to stop them.

    All his archers at his side had simr looks on their faces: The look of no hope.

    As he watched, his eyes wandered back to Jay.

    Jay seemed rxed and even bored; he hadpletely ignored the pleas for mercy from Liny, but Jay was his only chance to stop the rampaging skeleton.

    ¡°Sir! Please, stop the skeleton!¡±

    ¡°Me? Are you talking to me? Aren¡¯t you busy having a little argument? Surely I take second priority to your little fight?¡± Jay teased, an amused smile on his face.

    Jay was still annoyed that he had to wait so long for them to give him the fear and respect he deserved, though he had since shattered their illusion of safety they had felt behind their arrows and their palisade wall. Only now did Landen realise that wasting Jay¡¯s time alone was a serious provocation.

    ¡°I am sorry for not recognising your authority! We are at your mercy, so please, forgive us!¡± Landen lowered his head in shame, surprised at what he was even saying.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay thought for a moment, his eyes squinting at Landen, ¡°Lay down your weapons, open the gate, and I will spare your men.¡±

    Landen immediately climbed down the wall and removed the brace across the back of the gate, opening it.

    ¡°Lay down your bows!¡± he yelled to the men on the walls.

    All of them ced them down nearby - but close enough so that they could grab them in a moment¡¯s notice. If Jay suddenly attacked, they would not be going down without a fight.

    ¡°Good.¡± Jay nodded, and the skeleton suddenly stopped.

    (Blue,e back.)

    The group of men that Blue was dashing towards hadn¡¯t even noticed the skeleton; neither did they noticed how close they came to death.

    Landen quickly ran through the gate and along the side of the wall to his shield warriors, and soon began talking and arguing with them.

    In the meantime, Jay decided to free the bone-locked jaws of his captives.

    After their jaws were free and they could talk, none of them said a word. They feared what Jay could do.

    ¡°Go on.¡± Jay pointed to the open gate, yet none of them moved.

    Something was different about the prisoners, something was wrong with them. They looked at Jay as if he were theirmander.

    Jay felt ufortable with their nces, so decided to walk through the gate himself, leaving them lying on the ground as his skeletons guarded him.

    The archers on top of the wall wanted to hold their bows ready, but none of them dared to touch their own weapons, much less aim them at him.

    After seeing how easily his skeleton had climbed the wall and killed four men before their eyes, Jay was now strolling through their gate with five of these walking bringers of death.

    Jay began to analyse their little vige as he made it inside.

    ¡°Hmm, not too bad.¡± Jay thought, looking around at their wooden houses while ignoring the shocked and shivering faces of the vigers there.

 Chapter 254 Subservient

    A few women rushed past the gate, and some ran outside it as they found the corpses of their loved ones, and the mourning soon began.

    The wives of the thugs killed by Jay, and one of the scouts killed by stray arrows - some of the injured ones too.

    Jay tried to ignore it, but there was something primal and unsettling about the cries of a wailing woman. It somehow left a hollow, empty feeling deep in his chest.

    Until now, Jay didn¡¯t really ever consider the destruction he left behind, or the broken lives he had shattered - but there was some sce in his mind that when he left this dungeon, everything would reset. Plus, he didn¡¯t consider these people as ¡®real¡¯ and thought of them more as distant memories or copies of humans that the dungeon somehow created.

    Though his conscience still attempted to condemn him.

    ¡°I¡¯m on a mission to escape this dungeon. I can¡¯t show mercy.¡±

    ¡°Besides, it had to be done. They crossed me and threatened me with death.¡± Jay gritted his teeth, bing more resolute and forcing himself to ept his actions.

    He knew he could tame his conscience for now, but in the real world he now realised that taking one life didn¡¯t just take one person¡¯s life.

    The skeleton stood around Jay in a circle, and the crowd of vigers stood around the undead in a wider circle. They gazed at the skeletons and Jay with both hope and fear.

    ncing into the vige, Jay could see other vigers trying to pack up their things as quickly as possible and fleeing.

    No one said anything, they just watched. When Jay or his skeletons turned to look at them they avoided eye contact and lowered their heads to the ground, hoping not to draw his ire.

    Since there was no one around taking initiative, and Landen was talking with the group of men outside the vige, Jay realised he would have to take the lead.

    ¡°Dammit,¡± he sighed, shaking his head, ¡°I wish one of the skeletons could talk and do this for me.¡±

    Clearing his throat, he addressed the vige, attempting a powerful and mysterious speech.

    ¡°Greetings. Ie from a far awaynd, outside the crucible.¡±

    Suddenly their faces were filled with awe and wonder.

    ¡°I am not here to destroy, but to investigate. A gue is sweeping this world, and only I can cure it.¡± Jay nced at his skeletons, signalling that he has some power over death and the fake gues he mentioned.

    ¡°You have two options. Line up to be tested for the gue or I will have to assume you are infected, and give you a merciful, quick death...¡±

    Hushed whispers filled the crowd as signs of fear appeared on their faces, but no one moved.

    Not because they were disobeying but because they had no direction.

    Jay sighed, ¡°You.¡± he pointed at an older man in the crowd.

    ¡°Step forward and stand here. Everyone else, form a line behind him.¡±

    The crowd seemed to just stare at Jay, as if he were a painting and they were separated from him through the medium, distant and disconnected.

    Unbeknownst to Jay, the bystander effect was in full swing.

    (Grab him.) Jay pointed, and a skeleton ran forward.

    Handy dashed forward, sping the man''s wrist. The man seemed to wake up, and finally it was like everything sunk in as he was pulled towards Jay. Thankfully he was fairlypliant, and seeing his calm reaction made the other vigers start to follow too.

    ¡°Good.¡± Jay thought to himself with a nod.

    Over the next thirty minutes, Jay began to test the vigers with the needle of hunger.

    Landen came back with the other men and the mentally-broken scouts, wanting an exnation.

    Jay was meant to leave after taking the cube, but now he was sitting in the vige,manding them all around.

    ¡°Excuse me sir, what is the meaning of this? What are you doing?¡± he questioned as politely as he could.

    ¡°No cuts. Join the back of the queue.¡± Jay said, not even looking up as he dismissed Landenpletely and pricked another viger on the finger with the needle.<sub> </sub>

    Landen felt awkward. He was dismissed so easily but really couldn¡¯t make any objections.

    ¡°Ah - right. Yes¡­¡± Landen awkwardly nodded, looking at the long queue.

    The mentally-broken scouts who were Jay¡¯s captives all went to the back of the queue immediately, obeying Jay¡¯s orders without question.

    Landen was as confused as he was confounded, but slowly went to the back of the queue too, looking defeated as he walked.

    Landen noticed that Jay seemed annoyed as he made it through the rest of the queue.

    Jay continued to test people and shew them away as quickly he could. Some returned to their various jobs while others kept standing around watching, wondering what would happen next.

    ¡°Damn. Everyone is turning the needle red, meaning they¡¯re all tainted.¡± Jay frowned.

    ¡°The quest was to protect the innocent. These people are ¡®tainted¡¯ but that doesn¡¯t mean they are or aren¡¯t innocent. Even the few children here are tainted.

    But what does the needle have to do with hunger, and changing red or white?¡± Jay wondered.

    He pricked himself too, and he was also ¡®tainted¡¯.

    ¡°Tainted by what¡­¡± he thought.

    Jay sat there thinking for a moment.

    Seeing that everyone had been tested, Landen finally approached again.

    ¡°Ah, sir, now that your test is done, will you be leaving?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jay shrugged, ¡°I might be back, I may not be. Who knows - but I¡¯ll need someone to guide me to the knight¡¯s territory, preferably right to their doorstep if you know anyone who knows the way?¡± Jay asked politely, but it was clear that Landen had no say in the matter.

    The leaf-skin vigers had the best scouts out of all the viges, and were the best equipped as they lived the farthest from the knights at the centre of the crucible. It was the reason why the cannibals chose to trade with them, since they could get a better deal from Jay¡¯s ck cube.

    Landen knew a few good men who could guide Jay, but he was the vige elder now, since Liny¡¯s body was lying lifelessly near the gate.

    He wasn¡¯t sure if he would be sending them away to die or not, and he believed that he ought to lead by example.

    ¡°Me. I know the way.¡± Landen said coldly.

    ¡°Good. Then aspensation for attacking me, you will guide me. You have ten minutes to gather your things and prepare for the journey ahead.¡±

    ¡°You want to leave today?¡± Landen raised a brow.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Jay raised one back.

    ¡°We can¡¯t leave today. The kindred will be attacking before nightfall. We¡¯ll be caught by them before we can leave.¡±

    ¡°The kindred?¡± Jay questioned.

    ¡°The vigers who stole your ck cube. The kindred. They eat human flesh and do the knight¡¯s bidding, attacking us regrly.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you mean the cannibals?¡± Jay smirked with a knowing nod.

    ¡°Yes. So we can¡¯t leave unless we risk bing their food.¡±

    Jay chuckled, picking some dirt out from under his fingernails.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be bothering your vige any time soon¡­¡±

    Landen looked at Jay as confused as ever, and Jay¡¯s face suddenly turned cold as he looked Landen right in the eyes.

    ¡°...because I ughtered them.¡±

 Chapter 255 Otherworldly Being

    Landen looked at Jay as confused as ever, and Jay¡¯s face suddenly turned cold as he looked Landen right in the eyes.

    ¡°...because I ughtered them.¡±

    ¡°You did?¡± Landen said as if it were a question but Jay¡¯s cold stare was answer enough, ¡°...You did.¡± he said slowly.

    He looked around at the skeletons with a newfound fear.

    ¡°How close did wee to being wiped out¡­¡± Landen thought, pursing his lips in worry.

    ¡°They used to be white.¡± Jay smirked, seeing Landen ncing at the skeletons.

    ¡°But¡­ they¡¯re all stained a dark red¡­¡± Landen stared unblinkingly, ¡°How much blood did it take to cover them all¡­¡± he thought.

    ¡°Did you ughter all of them?¡± Landen asked next.

    ¡°All of them. Grundel, his hunters. The ones who ambushed me died first, then the rest of the vige who had me surrounded. Some fled, but they died too. Others tried to hide, but no mortal can hide from me, even inplete darkness¡­ Technically only one escaped; a child - but only because I let them go. They are the only one left of their vige. I showed the child mercy.¡±

    A coldness travelled down Landen¡¯s back. Suddenly he felt like he wasn¡¯t paying this man the fearful respect he was worthy of.

    He almost couldn¡¯t stand to look at Jay¡¯s face, preferring to lower his eyes instead.

    ¡°Sir, the cannibals have been slowly taking our people for years, but they preferred to attack other viges, since we, the leaf-skin, were their only trading partners and had the best defences.

    Of all the viges, our leaf-skin vige is the only one which the cannibals didn¡¯t attack willingly. It was much easier to hunt other viges.¡±

    Jay raised a brow, ¡°They don¡¯t attack willingly, but they attack? Huh?¡±

    ¡°They are forced to fight by the knights, forced to abduct people - and they only seed because the knights feed them something which empowers their bodies, giving them incredible strength for a short time. This is why we call them the kindred, as they are like the kin of the knights.¡±

    ¡°I see. Smarter to not use their own men to attack.¡± Jay thought before asking, ¡°So, how much stronger do they be when they are empowered?¡±

    ¡°Strong enough to climb the walls and pull us down with them.¡± Landen pointed back to the palisade walls.

    Jay wasn¡¯t very impressed. He believed he and his skeletons could have fought the cannibals in their empowered state; severing an arm was an easy thing for his minions and swords.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ but if they¡¯re jumping from the wall without breaking anything, maybe it strengthens their bones somehow?¡± Jay wondered.

    Of course, his thoughts drifted to stronger bones, ignoring everything else.

    ¡°Ah- sir, since you killed the kindred, the knights will soon be at their vige, wondering why they¡¯re all dead. They maye looking for clues and attack us themselves.¡±

    Jay suddenly started smiling and it soon turned into a grin, making Landen ufortable.

    ¡°We leave in ten minutes. Prepare for the journey.¡± Jay shewed him away, not giving Landen anymore time to chat.

    Landen went away and began packing some supplies, and giving some orders to others.

    ¡°What have I gotten myself into¡­¡± he thought.

    Jay had a stroll through the vige, and there really wasn¡¯t much that stood out to him other than the wolf-boar farm.

    It was made into the side of a cliff, traces of some cave system going further into it.

    Despite being a mix of boar and wolf, they were as docile as their faces were ugly.

    The vigers began to gaze suspiciously at Jay when he walked closer to the wolf-boar pens, and it was clear that this was like a treasure to them, a no-go zone; their only meat supply.

    Jay left and returned to the gate, waiting for Landen.

    The dead bodies of the men had already been cleaned up, and the mourning of their wives had grown quieter, having moved to other parts of the vige.

    It wasn¡¯t too long before Landen returned, and to his surprise, a small crowd had gathered around Jay again.

    There was what seemed to be an exquisite throne, made by some advanced craftsmanship which he had never seen the likes of. The wooden parts of the chair seemed so smooth that one could touch them without risking splinters.<sub> </sub>

    Really, it was just any old chair, but to Landen it seemed like it would be the opus magnum of one of their own carpenters.

    ¡°They must not have many iron tools, if any at all.¡± Jay thought as he mounted his throne.

    Suddenly, he was raised up as if on a cloud. Jay appeared as a king, and out of instinct, Landen almost wanted to kneel - this was taking into ount that this was the man who had ughtered the entire cannibal vige.

    And this young man was now looking down on him, with a tired expression.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Jay asked from atop his throne.

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me ¡®sir¡¯ anymore. My name is Jay. Lead the way.¡±

    ¡°Ah, right. My name is Landen.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Jay nodded uncaringly, having already analysed Landen.

    Landen thought, ¡°How did he¡­ Ah, he must have heard my name when Liny was yelling it.¡±

    Before leaving, Landen gave nods to a few of his men. In his own way, he was preparing the vigers for his absence while he was away. The men gave a trusting nod back, and so Landen marched out of the gate with an undead procession of skeletons in tow.

    The four of Jay¡¯s level four skeletons carried Jay, while Handy was sent to scout ahead.

    While watching Handy bolt through the trees, Landen was amazed by its speed, and he thought that it was no wonder that his men were so quickly rounded up and pacified.

    Thankfully, most of the captured scouts were starting toe back to their senses and seemed more normal after spending some time in the vige again.

    Their walk through the thick root-covered forest was pretty uneventful, and Jay did nothing but make a white blob with a green glow form into a dagger and then back into a blob again, doing it repeatedly as they travelled without a care in the world.

    Landen was curious, and if he had a choice he would have sat down and watched in wonder, but ultimately he decided not to ask; he was just d that Jay didn¡¯t ask for more forms ofpensation such as food or women or even ownership of his vige.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting close¡±

    Finally, they made it near the cannibal vige, and stopped just outside the vige in the dense forest near it.

    A part of Landen didn¡¯t believe that Jay had ughtered them all, but now that he saw it with his own eyes, he could do nothing but bite his lip while thinking about how close his own people may havee to meeting such a fate.

    Seeing that there was no one else around, he and Jay got closer, entering the remains of the vige.

    Much of it was burnt into ckened piles or charcoal, some parts still smoking amongst smouldering charred corpses, but other ces were untouched by the fire - but he soon wished it had been.

    This was when Landen saw one of the victims of Jay¡¯s massacre.

    Their corpses hardly looked human anymore; they were grotesque and leaking fluids. Each of their faces were contorted and twisted in terror, only held together by the cogen and muscle left in their skin.

    Landen was almost breathless, wondering why these flesh-sacks, which were once humans, had no bones left in them.

    ¡°Their bodies¡­ what¡­ what the fuck happened to them¡­¡±

    Some others were much worse. They didn¡¯t even have any skin left.

    Somehow the skin had been removed, then the bones underneath the flesh, leaving bloody red curtains of iling flesh behind.

    He had never seen anything like it.

    ¡°Who¡­ no - what is this being¡­¡± Landen silently nced at Jay - Jay who alone caused all of this horror and destruction.

    Landen suddenly remembered the fiendish, sick smile that appeared on Jay¡¯s face back at the vige when he mentioned the knights will being here soon. After telling Jay, he had made them leave immediately.

    ¡°...what is he nning for them?¡±

 Chapter 256 Strawman

    Chapter 256 Strawman

    Five suits of rusted armor came marching through the forest. Their armor suits were making so much noise that Jay noticed their presence almost before his skeletons did.

    Each of the skeletons were hidden in the forest, concealed for an ambush attack as they watched their prey from behind the thick roots and trees.

    The five knights wore full-body armor, which was surprising as the viges didn¡¯t have as much metal as a few bands wrapped around their clubs. It was majorly rusted through though, almost as red as it was silver-gray, and Jay guessed it was probably a remnant of a by-gone era.

    Jay had notunched the ambush attack yet, as the knights were acting strange.

    Firstly, they didn¡¯t react to seeing the vige decimated.

    None of them paused in shock or looked around for threats; it was as if they had carried out the attack themselves.

    Next, they started gathering some of the nearby corpses of the vigers.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he gazed at them suspiciously.

    Jay decided to wait a little while longer before attacking - yet soon he decided not to attack at all.

    ¡°So, they must be cannibals too.¡±

    The knights had gathered small a pile of bodies, not discriminating between the fleshless, boneless or burnt remains of the cannibals.

    They tied them with some vines and three of them began to drag the corpses away, presumedly back towards their territory.

    (Handy, follow them.)

    Jay ordered, letting the three knights escape his trap.

    Two other knights remained in the vige, who were still gathering corpses and forming arger pile - more than three knights could hope to pull back.

    Soon, it wasrger than even five of them could carry.

    ¡°Seeing the whole vige decimated, you would expect them to be startled? But their reaction seemed almost inhuman¡­¡± Jay thought.

    Something was definitely wrong with the knights, and Jay guessed they most likely were a dungeon monster - one with intelligence.

    After a while, he sensed that Handy was far away enough now that he could attack.

    (Now. y them both.) he ordered the skeletons.

    As usual, Jay had ced Blue inmand of the attack, though he hoped that Blue would learn to conduct its own ambushes from this experience.

    Jay and Landen remained on the edge of the forest as they watched Blue, Sweeper, Red and Lamp descend on the two unwitting knights.

    In sync, Sweeper and Red lunged at the backs of each knight, sliding their des cleanly between the gaps in their armor.

    Both knights staggered forwards, and to Jay''s surprise they weren¡¯t struck dead from the assault.

    In one quick movement they unsheathed their rustic swords and swept their swords backwards as they turned to face the skeletons.

    Neither of the knights had shields - just a broadsword in one gauntlet while the other gauntlet was free.

    Seeing that there were four skeletons, the knights positioned themselves closer to one another without even ncing at one another.

    What was odd was that they didn¡¯t seem injured at all, and neither of them had even made a sound after the swords found their way into their armor.

    ¡°They should be injured from the stabs, but seem fine?¡± Jay thought, seeing the knights moving as if they hadn¡¯t been brutally wounded at all.

    With their backs covered by each other, the knights held their ground in a defensive formation.

    At least until they be entangled in battle with the determined skeletons.

    Sweeper lurched forwards, aiming to stick the de between the gaps in the armor, aiming for its chest and neck where the tes ovepped.

    The first strike hopelessly struck the armor.

    The second strike, the knight swatted the de away with its gauntlet and stepped forward.

    It deftly sent its broadsword forward with a swift lurch.

    Sweeper ducked low, then brought its own de back, pointed upwards.

    It was still aiming to sneak its sword into the narrow gaps between the armor.

    The knight had the high ground, and brought its awful broadsword down towards Sweepers corbone.

    But before the broadsword could find purchase, the knight suddenly lost bnce.

    Arge bone hook had pulled the knight¡¯s leg from behind.

    Lamp¡¯s shepherd¡¯s crook sent it off bnce into an uncontrolled stumble.

    Taking full advantage of the distraction and its crouched position, Sweeper¡¯s sword smoothly glided upwards and punctured right into his throat.

    The fight was over - or so Jay and Landen thought.

    The knight paused for a moment but then suddenly re-doubled its zeal,mitting to attack and neglecting all forms of defense.

    But Sweeper was just as unrelenting, fighting back with its own fervor.

    Still holding the de under its helmet, it thrashed savagely - cutting, piercing, or severing whatever it could.

    Lamp dropped its shepherd''s crook and jumped into the fight.

    It plunged its gut knife into the un-armored armpit of the knight.

    The knight shuddered, finally showing signs of pain.

    Sweeper still had the de under the helmet, and with a thrust the helmet finally shot off.

    What awaited them was a grotesque sight.

    ¡°What is¡­ it¡¯s not human?¡± Landen whispered in shock.

    Jay had already guessed it so he wasn¡¯t as surprised by what they saw.

    While it was a human head, the flesh was rotted and ck; there were exposed decayed teeth as the lips had since fallen off.

    The damage from Sweeper¡¯s iling sword had caused deep gashes across the face, each seeping a green fluid, while its eyes were grayish-white, sunken and looked deted.

    Lamp ripped its gut knife from its armpit, a ssh of green spilling out with it.

    It switched the gut knife into a reverse grip and stabbed it deeply into the exposed neck.

    A jet of green blood burst out.

    Sweeper had since jumped back as the knight began to ferociously swing its sword - finallynding a hit on the skeleton.

    Sweepers arm was chopped off.

    As a skeleton, it felt no pain - It turned it into an advantage instead.

    The splintered bone just became another weapon which it tried to thrust into any armor gaps it could hope to.

    Lamp furiously stabbed into the knight¡¯s neck, the back of the gut knife ripping parts out with it; more green liquid sprayed out and covered its own skin-suit, slowly washing away the blood red color.

    Finally the knight spun around to face Lamp, yet it didn¡¯t swing with its sword.

    Its free hand suddenly pointed all its fingers forward, forming a knife-hand which plunged into Lamp¡¯s stomach, easily piercing its human leather suit.

    Lamp turned its head to the side, confused as it took no damage at all.

    It was just wearing the human leather as an outfit afterall.

    Lamp started to stab again, relentlessly aiming for the knight¡¯s neck.

    Deep wounds built up and soon the head fell off in a spatter of green blood.

    Yet the knight didn¡¯t fall down.

    However the knight now had its back to Sweeper.

    It wasn¡¯t until Sweeper plunged its longer ossein sword deeper into the headless body did it fall down, its hand falling out of the hole it made in Lamp¡¯s leather chest.

    Some more green blood flowed through its gauntlet even though there was no wound.

    [115 Exp]

    As its body fell to the ground, the skeletons began stomping their feet on the ground near the body, as if they were happy kids dancing in a puddle.

    At least that was what Jay thought - Landen could only watch in astonishment and fear. He had never seen a knight killed before, but to learn what was hiding under their armor was almost too much for him to bear; not to mention that he had been travelling in the service of an otherworldly being who could raise the dead and take his flesh and bones away in a moments notice.

    Neither Jay nor Landen could see anything, but Jay had a feeling that it was like when he had killed the leech queen.

    His guess - it was a parasite-type monster.

    ¡°Remind me to check Lamp¡¯s fleshter.¡± Jay whispered.

    Landen nodded, but his face was twisted in disgust. He couldn¡¯t stand to watch but he couldn¡¯t look away.

    [115 Exp]

    The second knight fell to the ground right after, its rusted armor clunking into its own puddle of green blood.

    Initially, Red was fighting the second knight alone while Blue surveyed the battle.

    Seeing that the situation was contained and that its master was safe, Blue moved to join the fight and ended it shortly after, knowing its weakness was in the chest.

    After the fight, Jay was intrigued.

    The idea of a monster which took over humans and pretended to be them interested him as much as it made him recoil in disgust

    Then, there was the armor they were wearing. He hoped that he would be able to [Loot] it for his skeletons, otherwise the armor would have to stay here, in the dungeon; an object which wouldn¡¯t cross the boundary between realities.

    ¡°Time to check the loot¡± Jay smiled, walking out of the forest, ¡°watch your feet too¡­ don¡¯t let anything crawl into them.¡± he added.

    Landen nodded, but stayed a few steps behind Jay after hisst piece of advice as they both went to investigate the corpses.

 Chapter 257 Squire

    Jay stepped over the thick roots towards the corpses, vigntly watching the pools of green blood for anything moving in them.

    After watching his skeletons stomping around, he was cautious about the knight''s dead bodies.

    Small broken bits of worms were in the green soup, so Jay thought his guess of parasites to be correct.

    Without stepping into the green puddle he waved his hands over the corpses, looting each of them, and a smile appeared as he received at least one useful piece of loot.

    <[Squire¡¯s Gauntlet]>

    [Common]

    [10 Armor]

    Jay thought about taking it for himself, but realized it would be a waste. His skeletons were the ones doing the damage and taking the hits after all.

    Jay extracted the bones from the bodies, and made a small pile for the skeletons to consume, to bring their health back to full and let them repair their own bodies.

    Next, he decided to give the gauntlet to Red, as Red was his personal bodyguard, and wanted it to have a decent amount of armor in case it ever needed to block a hit, which it undoubtedly would.

    Next, he had Lamp remove the bottom of its human-leather suit, cutting a circle around the shin and pulling its skeletal leg out.

    What remained was like a rubber boot, though made from flesh.

    ¡°Eugh, disgusting.¡± Jay¡¯s face scrunched up.

    Lamp¡¯s human suit was like a bag of rancid air, growing ever more sickly and noxious as it was trapped within. It stank worse than rotted meat on the inside, and now the smell seemed to be stuck in Jay¡¯s nose. It was one of those smells you could taste.

    The rotted bodies of the knights also added to the stink, with their own notes of a sickly-sweet rotting fruit and necrotic flesh.

    Landen looked simrly pale, like he was ready to vomit. The sights and the smells were just too disgusting.

    ¡°You can have the armor,¡± Jay casually pointed to the bodies, ¡°but burn the bodies before you try to remove it.¡±

    Landen was shocked by what Jay had just casually said.

    In the crucible, a scrap of metal was almost as valuable as a man¡¯s life - and now Jay was giving him a whole suit of it.

    ¡°What? The whole armor?¡±

    ¡°Yep, both of them. Just don¡¯t get infected or I¡¯ll have to y you too.¡±

    Landen was already moving to grab them, and out of shock he almost didn¡¯t hear thest part; he hadpletely forgotten about the smelling off their bodies.

    ¡°B- both?! Th- thank you so much!¡± he got to his knees and lowered his head, almost like he was about to kiss Jay¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Be quiet.¡± Jay frowned, a hint of disdain in his voice.

    ¡°Ah, sure. Sorry. Thank you Jay. I will never forget this.¡±

    Jay shook his head with a thought, ¡°Yeah, until I leave this dungeon and it resets.¡±

    (Lamp, empty your¡­ ¡®boot¡¯.) Jay nced at the severed skin leg.

    Lamp went over and poured its human-boot upside down.

    More green blood flowed out, along with something that was like a sticky bunch of frog eggs which were the size of grapes.

    ¡°Gross¡­¡± Jay recoiled, looking at them.

    Something was swimming around inside each of them.

    Jay thought he probably should have just left the eggs inside Lamp¡¯s skin suit. They would have done nothing but be crushed by its skeletal feet, stomping around inside the skin.

    (Destroy the eggs. Lamp - put your skin back together if you want.)

    Jay stepped back as the skeletons began to stomp again, outside of the ssh zone. The eggs popped and squirted bits of brown and gray everywhere, but none of them survived the onught of bone feet.

    Next, Jay studied the leftover bodies.

    Their blood was turned to a green fluid, but it didn¡¯t flow through every part. Their heads seemed to be useless to the parasites and didn¡¯t hold any green fluid at all.

    ¡°No wonder their eyes looked deted.¡±

    The decapitated bodies revealed more though. The stomach and lungs had been repurposed for the parasites.<sub> </sub>

    The stomach broke food down, but was rerouted into the lungs where there are more eggs waiting; fed with both nutrients, oxygen and blood.

    ¡°Disgusting¡­¡± Jay prodded it with a stick.

    Jay guessed that the knight, or whatever this was now, had died when the spine was severed. There were cuts through the other parts of its insides, but only one in each of their spines.

    ¡°I guess the worst part about them is the armor.¡± he thought, surprised at how easy they were to kill - well, theoretically easy.

    Jay didn¡¯t want to look too closely in case something jumped out, but as he poked the spine, it felt squishy and spongy at the center.

    Usually there was about 1cm (0.39inch) of squishy matter - the spinal cord, but here the squishy matter was about 8cm across (3.14inch).

    Having worked as a butcher, he knew this was shockingly abnormal, and only caused his curiosity to grow.

    He poked and pulled some more, and soon he pulled something out of the spine.

    Half of a disgusting severed worm was extracted. The tail end.

    ¡°So they live upside-down in the spine. The head must be deeper down the torso somewhere. Eugh.¡± Jay threw the stick away.

    He had seen enough.

    ¡°So, the eggs enter someone¡¯s body, grow into worms while eating their spines and then control people.¡± he nodded, assembling a picture of the parasite.

    It wasn¡¯t a stretch to imagine that it somehow pumped eggs from the lungs out of the hand. Jay guessed that it had grown too weak to effectively be used in battle due to changes it must have undergone.

    Still, he was satisfied with knowing this much, and knowing your enemy was half the battle.

    When the skeletons slid their des through the armor gaps, they at least wouldn¡¯t have to thrash it around randomly anymore.

    They now had a target - the spine.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder the sneak attacks didn¡¯t work. They probably slid the des just to the side of the spine, missing itpletely. So the options are to destroy the bodypletely or sever the spine, though it¡¯s obvious which is the better choice.¡±

    Jay had the skeletons check the armor next, flipping one face-up so they could check for gaps in the armor, so that they could know exactly where their des could prate.

    Thankfully the armor was made for humans, and the spine didn¡¯t necessarily have any more protection than any of the other organs.

    The armor had a few easy ways into it, and it would not be difficult for the skeletons to adjust their aim slightly to target the spine.

    However, since they had minds and must learn, Jay had them practice their attack, stabbing the corpses while Landen watched helplessly, realizing that even with full-body armor, he and his men would never match up to the undead.

    Plus, he also looked like a helpless, lost puppy as he saw his new armor being pierced and ravaged.

    In the meantime Jay exined everything he thought and did while examining the knights to the skeletons, as it would help each of them be better at figuring things out in the future too.

    Simply telling them to target the spine would not satisfy Jay; telling them ¡®why¡¯ and ¡®how¡¯ to target it did, and in the long term would only give him better troops, capable of independent thought, able to assess enemies and be more proficient killers.

    Jay left the skeletons to practice for a while and went to talk to Landen, sitting down on some roots near him.

    ¡°You cane along or go home. I don¡¯t care either way. I¡¯m following the knights back to their base as we speak.¡±

    Landen didn¡¯t really understand how Jay was following them, but he didn¡¯t want to simply leave the valuable armor lying there for what could be days.

    Landen felt like he could trust Jay not to kill him, but didn¡¯t trust Jay to keep him safe either.

    ¡°I will go back - If that¡¯s okay with you.¡± he weakly said, as if it were a question.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Jay shrugged, not really caring.

    ¡°Thank you again. If you need anything, you know where to find us.¡± Landen gave onest bow to Jay and left, sprinting away as fast as he could.

    He would need some help with burning and purifying the armor before carrying it back, so that¡¯s exactly what he went to retrieve - help from his men.

    As for why he was spiriting, well, he wanted to im their treasure before anyone else wandered by - not that many would wander near the cannibals territory anyway.

    Jay sat patiently, sensing that Handy was still moving away, following the three knights which left with a pile of corpses.

    ¡°Hopefully the next fight goes much faster,¡± Jay thought, watching the skeletons slowly be more proficient at stabbing their des through the armor gaps and urately hitting the spines.

    **I''ve decided to switch to American-English. Armour=armor. Saviour=Savior. Colour=Color. etc. +Chapters a little slow due to exam season. Thanks - Aero182**

 Chapter 258 Living Armory

    Jay decided to leave with his skeletons, marching towards Handy who was still following the other three knights.

    As they traveled, Jay ced Blue inmand of the formation. Immediately, the skeletons began to move, as Blue kept Sweeper at the rear, Red as Jay¡¯s body guard, and Lamp was sent forward as a scout.

    Blue itself marched at Jay¡¯s other side, which was fitting of the second inmand.

    A few hourster, Jay sensed that Handy had finally stopped.

    ¡°Good,¡± Jay thought, ¡°not long now.¡±

    It was nice for Jay, having his skeletons handle everything while he walked. He was still trying to figure out what the quest to save the innocent meant, and how it connected to the [Needle of the Starved], but couldn¡¯t figure it out, thinking he would probably discover more clues in the knight¡¯s territory.

    The party crept through the forest towards Handy - yet as they got closer, Jay sensed Handy moving again, going somewhere to the right of where the party was heading.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    As the forward scout Lamp was further ahead, and moved to the right too. This was when Blue did something strange.

    Blue turned to face Jay and stood in front of him. Raising its sword, it pointed to the forest.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Jay grinned, interested in the skeleton - yet he decided to y along.

    Of all the things Jay expected to happen, getting a direction from one of his skeletons was thest of them.

    Something about it made him feel both pride and safety, and there was somethingforting knowing his minions could possess such foresight and judgment.

    Yes, slowly, they were getting smarter, which in turn would make them all the more dangerous - and protective.

    Jay kept walking, as did his skeletons. He already guessed what was happening - and what he soon saw confirmed it.

    The three knights wereing back, yet with four more following behind.

    ¡°Probably more gatherers to collect the cannibals. I guess Blue decided to avoid them.¡± Jay nodded approvingly, giving a proud nce to Blue.

    Of course, Jay had other ns, and he wanted the exp.

    (y them all) Jay ordered.

    The four skeletons gathered, creeping through the forest and sneaking ever closer to the four knights from the back.

    Then, without a sound, they all dashed forwards in sync.

    Jay was impressed how they had no verbal signal to attack, no one to yell ¡®now!¡¯. It seemed like a small thing, but the enemy had no warning at all, no time to prepare.

    None of the knights even turned around as the des each slipped through their armor.

    The first four knights dropped to their knees and fell forwards, dead as soon as their spines were severed.

    All four skeletons killed them in one swift movement.

    Their practice of stabbing through the armor had paid off as they died without realizing.

    The three knights leading them turned around as they heard the crash of the armors fall behind them, drawing their swords.

    Each of them lurched at the skeletons with a sh, but the skeletons simply toyed with them, falling back.

    It was four versus three, so they simply had to y defensively while the fourth skeleton made attacks of opportunity.

    The fight didn¡¯tst long, and each strike or sh only served to make the skeletons better fighters; their battle knowledge grew as did their minds.

    Red even managed to kill a knight without any help, driving its sword deep enough into the knight¡¯s stomach to sever its spine, destroying the worm dwelling inside.

    [805 Exp]<sub> </sub>

    Seven easy kills.

    ¡°Damn, pretty good exp for such easy kills,¡± Jay smiled.

    He nearly received one thousand exp in the space of a few minutes; It was unimaginable to other adventurers at his level.

    Not to mention that in the real world, only as much as thirty seconds would have passed.

    This would have been a hard fight for normal people too, who would have to contend with the risk of getting their guts filled with eggs, only to then be consumed by parasites.

    Yet it was not a threat to the undead.

    The skeletons took the initiative to sever the knight¡¯s heads, and then rattled their swords inside their bodies, killing most of the eggs residing in the lungs, then stepping on anything which wriggled out through the green blood.

    Jay waited a moment for the skeletons to finish before he left his hiding ce between some trees, moving in to loot the bodies.

    Waving his hand over them, he gained a few new armor pieces.

    <[Squire¡¯s Chestte]>

    [Common]

    [22 Armor]

    <[Squire¡¯s Gauntlet]>

    [Common]

    [10 Armor]

    ¡°Nice, a chest piece.¡± Jay nodded.

    He had some difficulty crafting just one basic chest piece for Heavy, while the intricacies of gauntlets were also too hard to make from bone, so the loot were wee additions to his living armory.

    Jay brought it out of his inventory, and to his surprise, it wasn¡¯t rusted like the knight''s armor was.

    It had a silver-gray luster, with additional pauldrons for extra shoulder protection - each of them having guards to block the neck from decapitation.

    ¡°Hmm, the only downside is that their armor won¡¯t regenerate since it isn¡¯t made from bone, but I¡¯m notining. It¡¯s a wee addition.¡±

    Jay decided to equip Red some more.

    Red was his bodyguard so it was better to make it a little more armored, allowing it to hold off enemies while its master summoned reinforcements.

    So far, Red had two silver-gray gauntlets, spectral vambraces covering its lower arms, silver-gray shoulder pauldrons connected to its chest piece, a barbute bone helmet, and two spectral greaves.

    Jay looked over it, noting what it still needed.

    ¡°Just need some boots, pants, upper arm and upper leg armor.¡± he scratched his chin, analyzing the skeleton.

    ¡°Maybe something to cover the arm joints and knees would be good too, as well as the neck area.¡±

    Jay didn¡¯t know the specific names of some of the armor pieces, but to him it really didn¡¯t matter. As long as they worked, it was good enough.

    ¡°Hopefully we can get more of you equipped before leaving this dungeon.¡± he said, moving towards Handy who was deeper into the knight¡¯s territory.

    Handy had ceased moving, indicating that it was near an inhabited area.

    ¡°Seems like we¡¯ll get plenty more chances to get armored up.¡± Jay thought, anticipating theing battle.

 Chapter 259 Lookout

    Jay and his troops crept through the forest towards Handy, but as Jay got closer he didn¡¯t see any signs of a castle or anything of the sort.

    It would have been hard to see through the thick canopy, yet there would have still been glimpses of a dark monument looming through the leaves.

    ¡°Huh¡­ no castle? So why did Handy stop¡­¡±

    As they reunited with Handy, they walked a little further and finally Jay noticed a structure up ahead.

    It was nothing like a castle, being far too small, almost insignificant in this forest.

    Large bs of granite covered with moss formed the base of a lonesome tower, peaking only just above the trees.

    The creeping roots of the forest crawled up its walls, but were notrge or numerous enough to threaten the tower, only making it half-way up its sides.

    At the base were three more of the knights, and nearby them was arge pit of which Jay couldn¡¯t see the bottom from where he was looking.

    Yet what was strange about the pit was that it wasn¡¯t being covered up by the endless weaving roots.

    Jay began to n, but seeing that there were only three knights, he didn¡¯t get it much thought.

    ¡°Seems like it¡¯s just a lookout tower. Could be more knights inside, but I don¡¯t want to waste more timeing up with the perfect attack n.¡±

    (Take them out, then block the tower exit.) Jay nced at Blue.

    The skeletons assembled under Blue¡¯s control before moving out.

    Jay¡¯s n was a simple one, but one which was tried and tested: kill the enemies in a chokepoint - the tower¡¯s exit.

    It had served him well in two dungeons already, as well as when the wood elemental horde had attacked Lo - the choke point being made from other adventurers in that case. It had worked effectively in the mist keep dungeon too.

    The skeletons had Handy with them now too, and five against three led the undead to an overwhelming victory.

    Severing the spines, they made short work of the three knights outside the tower and quickly formed a blockade at the tower¡¯s exit, a wall of death.

    After a few moments though, only silence filled the empty tower.

    ¡°It¡¯s either empty or they didn¡¯t hear?¡±

    Jay left the cover of the trees after the outside area was scoured and all threats had been eliminated.

    [345 Exp]

    Before exploring the ancient stone tower, Jay first noticed the pit.

    Well, not noticed - he couldn¡¯t look away.

    Roots forced the earth open, forming walls of a dark underground cavity which seemed to beckon passers-by into its mouth.

    In the center of the pit which all the roots connected under was a gathering of undting bulbs, of what seemed to be closed roses - yet each of them were the size of humans.

    A few of these roses were still open though, and instead of a beautiful flower was instead fleshy petal-like ps, covered with serrated spines, dripping with drool.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened to the cannibals.¡± Jay thought.

    It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that they had tossed the corpses into this den of flesh, but what Jay wondered about was the rtionship between the parasites in the knights, and this grotesque flesh-eating nt which the roots seemed to be emanating from - or at least partly connected with.

    Looking around, aparativelyrger root caught Jay¡¯s eye.

    Unlike the other roots it seemed to almost be alive, as it was contracting and squeezing in peristalsis.

    This particr root curved up the wall and out of the cavity, then headed into the forest going deeper into the knight¡¯s territory, and if Jay guessed, it was like an artery, sending nutrients back to the main nest.

    Or whatever it had in ce of a nest.

    ¡°I wonder what happens when it¡¯s cut¡± Jay scratched his chin, a mischievous look appearing on his face.<sub> </sub>

    ¡°But first¡­¡± he nced at the tower.

    (Move in. Secure the tower.) he ordered, then went to loot the three dead knights originally guarding this ce.

    Jay only received another gauntlet, which he saved for Blue.

    The skeletons had disappeared into the shadows inside the tower, but he heard no sounds of fighting, and Jay guessed they were ascending some internal staircase as he walked over.

    The door of the tower had since disappeared, the only traces of it left were some hinges and the wooden frame which was built into the curved arch entrance.

    As Jay stepped closer, two glowing dark eyes were gazing at him. It was Blue.

    Oddly enough, Blue stood in the way, blocking Jay from entering.

    Jay was curious why it would do such a thing, and wanted to both push past while ordering the skeleton to move, but maybe to even his own surprise, he stopped, and decided to trust the skeleton.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it must have a good reason to stop its own master and creator¡­¡± Jay thought, ¡°...well, it better have.¡±

    *Thud! Fwoosh!~*

    Suddenly, a heavy earth-shaking crash of metal caused a gust of dust toe from the tower entrance, causing Jay to shield his eyes for a moment.

    When he opened them again, Blue had already turned around, standing over a knight with a bone sword in its back.

    With a swift ring of its sword, Blue severed the spine and pulled its sword out in one clean movement; the de trailed along the armor¡¯s edge causing a ringing while a ssh of green blood spattered out.

    [115 Exp]

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    Jay whispered, impressed. He could think of nothing else to say as he just avoided being crushed.

    Not only was the knight¡¯s armor-d body imprinted into the foundation of the tower by the force of the impact, but Blue had looked like a veteran while executing it.

    As Jay handed Blue its new gauntlet, he almost felt like he was not cool enough to be around his own undead.

    Blue gazed upwards for a moment and turned to Jay, stepping backwards into the tower, signaling Jay a safe passage.

    Jay nced upwards as he entered the tower and a stream of light illuminated the roof, allowing him to vaguely see his skeletons running back down the turning staircase towards himself and Blue.

    ¡°Huh, just one guard.¡± he thought, looking at the body on the ground.

    ¡°Maybe the skeletons got the drop on the knight and killed it the easy, and arguably, the most funnest way possible.¡± he nodded approvingly.

    Jay looted it but received nothing.

    ¡°Hm, next time,¡± he shrugged.

    Jay thought about ascending the tower next, hoping to find some loot or some magic puzzle, yet as soon as heid his foot onto a wooden stair, it croaked and warped so much that it seemed like it was about to snap.

    ¡°No wonder the knight didn¡¯te down. Not worth the risk,¡± Jay frowned, ¡°it¡¯s only a low level dungeon anyway, so there probably won¡¯t be anything ofsting value. I should justplete this dungeon and exit, before that vampire Asra wakes up.¡±

    Jay walked out of the tower, guesstimating (guess+estimating) at how much time had passed in the real world.

    ¡°Hmm, I think I¡¯ve been here for a little over twenty-four hours. I left around the afternoon, so about two to three hours have passed in the real world.¡± he nodded.

    ¡°Another day in this dungeon, and she might be awake by the time I return¡­ hmm¡­¡±

    Jay¡¯s eyesnded on the thick writhing rooting out of the pit by the tower, and he subconsciously ced a time limit on himself: 24 hours.

    (Cut open that thick living root.) Jay ordered, monitoring the skeletons while nning about what to do with Asra.

 Chapter 260 Plot

    Jay suddenly startedughing, thinking about Asra.

    ¡°Oh yeah, she thinks my name is Bob, that I¡¯m level four and under her mind-control spell,¡± he chuckled, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see her face when she finds out I¡¯m faking it. But first, I¡¯ll need information from her.¡±

    ¡°While she thinks I¡¯m under her control, she will have no reason to lie to me, so this is a golden opportunity to get some answers from her.¡± He nodded.

    Finally he had some time to himself to think within a time-warping dungeon.

    ¡°But what are my goals here? First, I want any information rting to necromancy. Second, I want to fully escape the mage hunters who are still fucking chasing us¡­¡± Jay shook his head, wondering why they bothered to chase him with such conviction.

    A part of him hoped that entering her secretive vampire school would aplish both goals, but knew it wouldn¡¯t be that simple or safe.

    ¡°Thirdly, power¡­?¡± he thought, scratching his chin.

    Power was currently a necessity for his safety. Jay didn¡¯t care about glory or praise, but he was starting to wonder - if he had all power and ruled over everything, what would he do?

    If he changedws, built grand cities and vineyards, and ushered the world into a golden age of prosperity, that would be good and everything - but what would be the point, ultimately?

    Whether he destroyed the world or saved it, he could see no point in either, as it would all return to dust eventually¡­ unless he took on the mantle of immortality.

    ¡°Yet If I ruled over all things, and set everything in ce, what would I do?¡± he pondered, ¡°I suppose first I should set my own life in ce and put things in order before even attempting it in the lives of others. If I can¡¯t even do that, what gives me the right to rule another?¡±

    ¡°Even so, what would I do?¡±

    ¡°¡­could my true desire be as simple as to livefortably and peacefully¡­?¡± he frowned.

    Jay almost wanted to mock himself at that thought.

    Something felt so scandalous about having a motive as mundane and basic as that. He searched his mind and could onlye up with revenge as another motive, but something about that seemed pathetic and small, and he didn¡¯t really hate anyone enough to remember their name anyway.

    ¡°Plus, if I did kill someone out of revenge - then what? How long should I hold a grudge against a corpse? How long should an immortal hold a grudge - for one thousand years or a day?¡±

    ¡°As for living a peaceful life, power is merely a necessity for my continuedfort because of all the bastards that want me dead.¡±

    Jay thought back to his life as a butcher, ¡°Didn¡¯t I have that peaceful life? Well¡­ I suppose there were some struggles and boredom as a butcher.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ this adventurous life is not what I thought it was. It¡¯s not something I can easily escape.¡±

    ¡°As for power, I don¡¯t really see the point in gaining power for the sake of having it¡­ though bending the world under my feet does soundpelling, I can¡¯t see the point from an eternal perspective anymore¡­¡±

    Jay thought about his immortality book, wondering what profound impact it may be having on his thoughts.

    ¡°But I doubt I could be the most powerful in this world. The best thing I can do is grow powerful while being unknown and hidden; if no one knows about me, no one wille looking to kill me, and there¡¯s no guarantee my skeletons will be able to protect me in every situation.¡± He nodded.

    ¡°Yes¡­ that¡¯s the safest thing to do - even if I do end up having enough power to conquer the civilized world, it would be better to remain anonymous, or at most, rule from the shadows while using my skeletons as puppets.¡± He nced at Lamp.

    ¡°I wonder if that¡¯s what the royals do. Perhaps they are nothing but puppets themselves? Maybe they aren¡¯t even real?¡±

    A part of him was looking forward to seeing the looks on peoples faces if they got close enough to realize Lamp was a skeleton wearing a human skin suit, but if he thought of ruling from the shadows, who¡¯s to say it wasn¡¯t already happening?

    ¡°As for my first goal, Asra probably won¡¯t just enter the vampire school and bring necromancy books to me, so I will probably have to go in if I want them - but then I¡¯ll need to worry about my safety.¡±

    ¡°Her mind-control spell messed up, but what about a higher-level vampire? Maybe they will have stronger powers, which might actually work against me?¡±<sub> </sub>

    ¡°Yet even if they think I am under her control, would she even keep me safe - would she even be able to? Probably not.¡±

    *Hiss!~*

    Suddenly the thick root the skeletons were chopping burst open, detaching and spraying green fluid everywhere - yet it was not filled with parasites, only the green fluid.

    Jay finished his thoughts before assessing the damage.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to question her some more, but I¡¯ll need to do it in such a way that she doesn¡¯t get tired of my questions¡­

    If shemands me to ¡®stop asking questions¡¯, there will be no point in continuing the lie, and then, no more reliable information.¡± Jay nodded, and moved closer to inspect the root.

    ¡°No parasites¡­ interesting.¡± He thought, crouching down and rubbing some green fluid between his fingers before wiping it on the ground. It wasn¡¯t as sticky as it looked, and nothing at all like blood.

    Thinking of blood, Jay had an idea.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ why haven¡¯t I tried this before?¡±

    Pulling out the needle of the starved, he prodded the dripping remains of the root.

    ¡°Red. Tainted. So even the nt-monsters are tainted huh?¡± he stashed the needle away again.

    ¡°I ought to try it on one of those knights - while they¡¯re still alive that is. Maybe a parasite egg too.¡±

    His eyes noticed something moving in the pit.

    Jay nced back down into the dark cavity, and the flower-like ps had seemed to lose their strength and began to open up.

    While Jay had be used to the boneless, skinless horrors that he and his skeletons left behind, seeing the semi-digested remains turned his face sour.

    Jay looked at the root the skeletons just cut, trailing deeper into the knight¡¯s territory.

    It was no longer moving and didn¡¯t seem alive anymore.

    ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll follow this root. Blue, you¡¯re in charge¡­¡±

    ¡°also¡­¡± Jay nced at Blue with a warm smile, ¡°well done back there.¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯m starting to feel¡­ hmm. Actually, it would sound weird to say, but nice work.¡± he smiled.

    Blue looked at Jay, not really understanding what this meant, how it rted to battle tactics or ying his enemies, but it pped its jaws in affirmation and continued on with its duties, as diligent as ever.

    Blue sorted the skeletons into the same formation as before: Lamp scouting further in front, with Red and Blue at each side of Jay.

    As for Handy, Blue had it march directly behind Jay - while Sweeper was much further back,paratively.

    Jay¡¯s group walked along, following the thick root. It had since stopped all its squeezing motions, no longer pumping the green fluid through itself which Jay urately guessed was nutrients from the corpses.

    But if someone were to cut off the supply of nutrients to wherever this root was going, then what would the response be?

 Chapter 261 Reactive

    Clunking nks of rusting armor sounded in the forest, yet Jay was already concealed at the edge of the trail as his skeletons had pre-warned and protected him.

    Jay was realizing that effectivemanding relied not only on orders flowing down, but on information flowing up the chain ofmand - from his scouts back to himself.

    Sure, from Lamp to Blue to Jay, it was a small chain ofmand, but a useful function on a small scale would be just as effective on arger one, if not more so.

    Jay counted the iing enemies, and he was surprised at the small response force after he had cut off the nutrient supply root.

    ¡°Hmm, another group of seven. I wonder if that¡¯s the optimal number.¡± Jay gazed at the iing soldiers from behind somerge roots of a tree.

    Three were in the front with three behind them, following along the root. Another one was at the very back, which stood out from the other six as it held a two-handed sword - and unlike the others, the one at the back was the only one which was periodically looking down, checking therge flesh-like root they were all following.

    To Jay it seemed more animated, more intelligentpared to the others, like it retained part of what made it conscious somehow.

    Suddenly, contrary to Jay¡¯s expectations, the skeletons attacked.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Oddly, it was not a sneak attack at all, making Jay wonder just what exactly Blue was thinking.

    While there was no warning, the skeletons didn¡¯t attack from the back. The knights easily saw theming and readied their weapons in time, meeting the offensive with shes of their own swords.

    Five skeletons verses seven knights - the odds were not in their favor, and as the battle started, the skeletons were quickly put on the defensive.

    ¡°Just what is Blue doing here¡­ it knows better than this¡­¡±

    Swords shed and rattled, and Handy was the first to fall; being lower level without armor had its drawbacks.

    While the skeletons had learnt that weak spots of the knights was the parasite living in their spine, it was a difficult task to slip their swords between their armor to sever their spines - especially when the knights were facing them. They couldn¡¯t reach their backs.

    Jay already had a mound of skeletons at his feet, green mana swirling through it as a skeleton rose from the shifting bones and assembled; Handy reanimated and sprinted back to the battle instantly, albeit without a weapon.

    The spectral armor of the higher level skeletons gave them longer endurance in the fight, but it was a losing battle as the numbers were not in their favor.

    Red was fully focused on defense, and held the aggression of three knights. Their swords nging against Red¡¯s new metal chest piece, the swords scraping and sparking across its surface as its skeletal body underneath was protected - but for how long?

    Sweeper was about to perish, having to deal with two knights now that Handy was in; Handy was still sprinting back to battle.

    Blue and Lamp each dealt with one knight, though Lamp wasing to terms with fighting the dual-wielding knight who seemed more intelligent than the others.

    While the skeletons could fight on mostly equal terms with the knights, the dual-wielding knight proved to be a problem for Lamp who had simrly unique weapons. Perhaps this was why the dual-wielding knight chose to fight Lamp.

    It¡¯s shepherds crook was pped around as if it was a child¡¯s wooden practice sword, while its gut knife was going practically no damage at all; not only was the de short, but even getting into range tond a hit was proving to be a monumental task. The two-handed sword simply had too much range. The only upside was that the shorter knife made for quick parries, and having two weapons helped with defense; Lamp was more annoying than troublesome to the knight.

    The sweeping swings caused Lamp to jump back, while other times the knight rested the de on the back of its gauntlet and charged forward as if it were wielding a heavy spear.

    Clearly, it was well-trained - or at least, the knight was well trained before it became infested with parasites that took over its body, and perhaps, its mind.<sub> </sub>

    Jay continued to watch from the sidelines, wondering if this was a fight the skeletons could win - nothing would change if they were forced to fight a defensive battle, and Jay didn¡¯t have the mana to endlessly raise skeletons.

    ¡°If no knight¡¯s die, then nothing will change...¡± Jay thought, ncing at his sword, and then looking into the forest, as he found himself with two options.

    ¡°Do I fight or run¡­¡± he wondered.

    His presence in the fight, along with the necrotic helminth and a few explosive tooth spells would definitely creates waves in the ebbs and flows of the battle, but there was one particr risk that caused a stir of fear in his heart - parasites.

    It was the parasites which infested the bodies of the knights. If a single onended on Jay¡¯s flesh, he didn¡¯t know what would happen.

    Would they burrow into his skin, make their way into his lumbar and begin to eat through his spinal cord? Or would it simply slide off his skin? Would he even be able to stop such a parasite once inside his body?

    He was not naive or wistful enough to hope that his necrotic mana would give him immunity. Parasites were a physical thing after all, and the other parasites currently residing in his arm already proved that his ss wasn¡¯t a magical cure-all.

    Even as he thought these things, the battle continued and only convinced Jay not to join it. The swords of the skeletons were each coated in a disgusting slime-like blood, and each time a sword was pulled from the enemy¡¯s armor, a slithering mess of parasites woulde with it, spattering and flying everywhere.

    ¡°No. If I go down, it will all be over. I don¡¯t need to be loyal to my skeletons. They will rise again, and I will not.¡± Jay thought, ¡°I don¡¯t need to go down like the lord of a crumbling castle. It¡¯s just foolish.¡±

    Yet just before Sweeper stumbled and staggered, Handy rejoined the battle - yet it didn¡¯t help Sweeper, instead it pounced on the skeleton that Blue was fighting, wrapping its limbs around the knight and hugging its body.

    Jay simply watched in amazement, ¡°What is Blue nning¡­¡±

    This one decisive moment was what Blue was counting on - it stepped between the knights, and plunged its sword into the spine of one of the three knights assaulting Red.

    The two-handed knight raised its helmet, ncing around. One of these undead came back while one of its knights had perished? It knew something was wrong.

    Next, Sweeper crumbled, the second skeleton to fall - yet the two-handed swordsman kept its head raised, analyzing the battle. It seemed to be calcting as it looked around, bing more defensive in its fight with Lamp.

    Red was now facing two knights, yet Blue was now joining it, making it a two on two fight - and using its new armor it would be able to shrug of a few hits while getting its sword close to the enemies spine.

    Out of all the skeletons, Red was the most proficient in killing these types of enemies, and was the only skeleton to have won a one on one fight thus far.

    In a few moments, Red managed to take another knight down, but before it could take another with it, reinforcements came. The knight¡¯s that had destroyed Sweeper swarmed over, locking Blue and Red into a two versus three - though Handy was about to fall again, and it would soon be a two versus four, locking them into another losing defensive battle of attrition.

    Jay quickly resummoned Sweeper and sent it back to the fight - yet he couldn¡¯t help but wonder why the intelligent two-handed knight was not dominating and destroying Lamp.

    ¡°The normal knights can go even with a skeleton, so surely it can destroy Lamp whenever it pleases¡­?¡± he thought - but Jay soon had his answer.

    As Sweeper ran from Jay¡¯s position, the two-handed knight¡¯s visor looked up and Jay could tell it was staring right at him, seeing his head poking from behind a tree. Jay had given away his own position, and by the rtive ease with which the two-hander was fighting Lamp, Jay knew he was in trouble.

    It¡¯s focused eyes locked onto Jay¡¯s position as it released a powerful swing with its sword, causing Lamp to jump back - yet it didn¡¯t continue the engagement, instead, it sprinted towards Jay.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

 Chapter 262 Pierced

    Jay stood up, after crouching behind the tree; his position was discovered. There was no point in hiding so he prepared to fight.

    The two-hander knight was charging to Jay, while Sweeper was sprinting towards it, intercepting the enemy.

    The knight had a target though, and it wasn¡¯t going to let some measly skeleton stop it.

    Holding its sword with one hand, it rested the de on the back of its gauntlet and continued its charge, forcing Sweeper to either dodge or die.

    Sweeper naturally side-stepped to dodge the hulking armored enemy, shing at it as passed by - though no real damage was done as its sword scraped armor.

    Immediately, Jay released a wall of bones from his gauntlet and a white barrier was made between himself and the knight. Unfortunately, it really was just a pile of bones. It had no structural stability or any real protection, and was tall as it was wide.

    It was more like a mound than a wall.

    Jay readied a spear from behind the barrier.

    Sweeper followed the knight from behind, but the knight had kept its momentum and charged right into the makeshift barrier of bones.

    With a crash, bones split and cracked as its unstoppable heavy armor smashed into the bone wall, and Jay was surprised at how flimsy his barrier truly was. At the very most, it slowed some of the knights momentum.

    Jay nted the base of his bone spear into a gap between the roots, bracing it while aiming the tip at the rampaging knight.

    The knight had no time to react.

    The spear¡¯s tip found a catch in the armor, fixing itself in ce before snapping under the force of the knight.

    The knight stumbled and slowed down, caught off guard for a moment - it couldn¡¯t see what was on the other side of the wall before it charged right through it; relying on its metal armor to protect its body.

    Yet even as it stumbled it brought down a heavy cut towards Jay¡¯s head.

    Jay stepped back as the spear snapped and brought an ossein sword out to meet the already-descending swing of the enemies two-handed sword.

    The ethereal helminth let out a necrotic bolt but as it met the enemies armor it burst into a harmless glowing cloud of mana.

    Jay¡¯s gauntlet hand was free, and he didn¡¯t have his death walker¡¯s sentry shield out for one reason.

    ¡°Uncaring rip!¡±

    He reached his gauntlet out as if grasping for his enemies soul, yet the bone pulled was not enough to execute.

    The bone that was ripped out was somewhere in the chest, and if Jay had to guess it was part of the rib cage, though it didn¡¯t exit the armor it was d inside - perhaps for the best, as there was the risk of parasites spraying out.

    The knight didn¡¯t feel any pain at all as it continued to pull down its heavy sword.

    At the same time, Jay¡¯s bone sword deflected the two-hander from crushing his head, but itnded on his unarmored shoulder instead.

    Jay dropped his own sword to the ground.

    ¡°GRRH!¡±

    Jay gritted his teeth in defiance as he reached up and pushed it off of his shoulder with his necrotic gauntlet - but something was wrong: his arm was still attached?

    Well, not wrong, but perculiar.

    To Jay¡¯s and the knight¡¯s surprise there was no damage - a ethereal parasite tail had appeared and shed a necrotic green as it met the sword just above its masters precious flesh.

    The helminth¡¯s [Sentinel form] was working perfectly.

    Since the helminth had absorbed the damage, the sword didn¡¯t sever his armpletely. In fact, as Jay push it off, there was no pain at all.

    Sweeper finally caught up, and pounced on the intelligent knight from behind.

    Unfortunately, Sweeper hadn¡¯t yet reimed it¡¯s weapon and was only like an annoying pest as it clung to the knight¡¯s limbs and could only use its natural ws to rend through whatever gaps it could find.

    The knight ignored the skeleton on its back and focused wholly on Jay.

    A wide sweeping swing of the rustic two-handed sword caused a waving noise in the air as it closed in on Jay.

    Its two armor-d arms were working at full force as its whole body leaned backwards, and Jay doubted his helminth would be able to take another hit.

    *Fwoosh! - BOONG~*

    The de was met with a solid block.

    Deathwalker¡¯s sentry appeared just in time as it materialized in Jay¡¯s grip, though Jay was knocked away from his fallen sword.

    Next, a dagger appeared in his other hand, but It wasn¡¯t a bone dagger - it was one of the defensive spikes that Sweeper had previously crafted, and it was Sweeper who Jay tossed it to.

    Sweeper scrambled to the ground to get the bone spike, while Jay spartan-kicked the enemy to get some distance.

    It staggered back, and before it could swing again, Jay picked his sword up from the ground.

    The enemy readjusted itself and checked it¡¯s back, knowing that Sweeper could now pose a threat - yet Jay took this slight moment to step forward and plunged his sword into it¡¯s neck.

    It pierced deeply with a sponging squelch but had missed the spine, if only by a few centimeters.

    The knight seemed to grunt - still having the use of its vocal cords. Jay was too close for it to make use of its long weapon.

    Normally getting this close would be a good strategy - unfortunately Jay had acted far too brashly and forgot about one crucial threat on his enemy.

    The knight held its sword with one hand, and its free hand was now flying right towards Jay¡¯s stomach.

    ? ¡°Fuck¡± Jay¡¯s eyes widened.

    Immediately he recalled how Lamp had parasites and eggs pumped into its skin suit when then enemy pierced its stomach.

    Jay stared in shock and time seemed to slow down. If that pierced his stomach and sent eggs into his body, it would be all over. Even if he won this fight, his life was forfeit, and all that would await him would be an excruciating death.<sub> </sub>

    *BOOM!~*

    A necrotic bolt appeared from the ethereal jaws of the helminth, but the st of necrotic energy met the knight¡¯s armor, dissipating into wisps of the sickly green mana on either side of the knights arm.

    Its magic had no effect on the armor. The helminth¡¯s ethereal body was not yet long enough to protect Jay¡¯s stomach either.

    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    The knight¡¯s handnded on Jay¡¯s stomach.

    ¡°OOF!¡±

    Jay curled forward, the blow sending the air out of his lungs - yet he smiled.

    Jay couldn¡¯t help but feel as if he just dodged a date with death.

    To his own shock there was no blood - no wound.

    The knight had curled its gauntlet into a fist at thest second as it mmed it into Jay.

    ¡°It punched me?¡± Jay almost chuckled,pletely distracted from the fight.

    The knight continued its assault and returned a spartan-kick to Jay, finally getting enough distance to use its long weapon again.

    Yet Sweeper was already back on it, piercing its back with the crude bone spike; its jagged edges ripping through whatever it touched.

    The knight was hoping to score a devastating blow on Jay while his guard was down, but instead had to deal with Sweeper.

    With a backwards kick, it pushed Sweeper away.

    Since the knight punched Jay, he had figured something out, and this distraction by Sweeper was all Jay needed.

    Holding his shield with two hands, Jay faced it forward and leaned down as if he were about to brace before a tidal wave.

    ¡°Iskean!¡±

    Two jets of air burst from the soles of Jay¡¯s boots, sending him flying forwards.

    Needless to say, the knight was caughtpletely off-guard; Jay was simply too fast.

    The shield mmed against its chest and sent it toppling over with a loud ng.

    Jay¡¯s first magic-infused shield bash was a resounding sess as the knight was knocked on its back. Despite holding the shield with two hand, Jay still had to push his shoulder up against it from the force of the blow.

    While it was still alive, the knight was as good as defeated now. Not only did it take effort to pick its heavy armor off the ground, but now there was a person on top of him.

    Before it could punch or harm Jay in any meaningful way, Sweeper was already there, ripping its helmet off and relentlessly stabbing into its neck.

    Jay no longer feared it¡¯s eggying attack. Why? Because he realized this knight in particr didn¡¯t have that capability.

    Jay pulled himself up - though he kept a foot nted firmly on the knight¡¯s chest-te as he watched it struggle pitifully to the bitter end.

    Sweeper offered no remorse, no mercy, no quarter.

    Jay stared without expression or pity; the knight¡¯s head was differentpared to the others he had seen. It¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t sunken.

    Jay made a mental note to do a small autopsyter - the fight was over, but the battle was not.

    Finally Jay could survey the battlefield once more, swiveling his head around he made a quick note of what all the skeletons were doing.

    Lamp had initially been fighting the intelligent two-handed swordsman knight, but Blue had pulled it back into the other battle.

    Jay was going to be angry as he was in trouble at the time, but after a moment he realized it was the optimal tactical decision.

    Blue, Red and Lamp were fighting four knights. While Red could hold off two of them, Blue could not. If Blue went down, then soon Red would fall to a group of four enemies.

    After that, Jay would have to deal with four extra knights - and at the time, he was dealing with the two-handed intelligent knight.

    As for Handy, well, it was still dead.

    Yet with Lamp there, Blue was able to fight only one, and using Lamp¡¯s unique weapons, Blue was able to do some more maneuvers to move behind the knights and y them.

    It was only a matter of time before they were all in.

    ¡°As reliable as ever¡± Jay smiled with a nod, praising Blue.

    With all the knight¡¯s dead he let the skeletons feast to their heart¡¯s content, munching on the bone barrier he had summoned.

    Jay watched over them as they consumed before him, and he allowed the helminth off his body so it could heal itself. The amulet that was the parasite¡¯s body had a crack, but after it had some time to regenerate in it¡¯s [Natural Form] of bones and spines, it was back to normal. Fully healed, it rested back onto Jay¡¯s shoulders in its ethereal [Sentinel Form], it¡¯s physical bodypacting back into the amulet again.

    Seeing that everything was in order, Jay let out a rxed sigh, giving himself a moment to think after the battle - though he re-summoned Handy and let it join the others, soon reiming its weapon.

    While the battle went well, one thing was a cause for concern. The one intelligent enemy had charged at Jay directly, realizing quickly that Jay was the source of the undead skeletons.

    One intelligent enemy was bad - but what if there were more of these smart enemies? Well, Jay would just have to adapt, and he already had a few ideas in mind, but for now there were other priorities.

    Jay opened his exp notification, once again pleased with his bounty.

    [805 Exp]

    Jay still had to loot his enemies too, but even if there was nothing, just getting this exp was reward enough - however there were a few other things to do first.

    ncing at the body of the intelligent knight, he wondered what made it so different from the others. In the mind of Jay, learning his enemies weaknesses was more important that getting a few pieces of armor anyway.

    ¡°Time for an autopsy,¡± he thought, standing over its corpse.

 Chapter 263 Test Two

    Jay began the autopsy of the intelligent two-handed swordsman knight.

    Sweeper had already ripped its helmet off as it frantically stabbed its neck, and seeing what was underneath had made Jay curious.

    The head did not have sunken eyes and the flesh was not gray and decaying. If anything, the enemy looked quite healthy, having plump cheeks - though they were not rosy, but a pale green color.

    ? His blood had since been reced by whatever green fluid sustained these creatures.

    Jay believed they could even speak andmunicate to some degree, as these knights, apparently, had a deal with the cannibals.

    During the fight, Jay had nned to use his analyze skill on one, though there was either no time or they were too far away.

    ¡°The head¡¯s nearly removed anyway, so we might as well pop it off¡­¡±

    Jay stepped back, out of the firing range of stray fluids.

    (Remove the head.) He ordered, not interested in doing the dirty work himself - and why would he when he has underlings?

    As the head came off, Jay noticed there was still a centipede-like parasite residing in the spine, but it appeared much thicker.

    (Pull it out.)

    Handy lightly grabbed the creature from the decapitated head of the knight and Jay¡¯s interest was piqued.

    ¡°I see¡­ unlike the other knights, the parasite is the right way up? That¡¯s probably why there¡¯s still blood flow to the human¡¯s head¡­ well, nutrient flow.¡± Jay scratched his chin.

    ¡°Probably why the knight was smarter too. The parasite must be able to use its brain somehow. I bet this one could speak too.¡±

    Jay had noticed a few other details about this knight too: there was no wriggling parasites in its blood, and after further investigation he found there were no eggs in its lungs either.

    While its body contained the same parasite, it was used for different purposes.

    ¡°The other knights must have been like egg storage or breeders; their spinal parasites are upside down so they can focus on and tend to the eggs in the abdomen before spreading them to others. This intelligent knight must be more of a protector or a fighter¡­ or a thinker?¡± Jay pondered.

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s also why it could use two hands - it¡¯s other arm hasn¡¯t been morphed into a delicate egg-imnting tube.¡± Jay patted his stomach, reassuring himself that there was no broken skin.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably not as smart as a human though. I mean, it wouldn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that the source of the skeletons is me, so it¡¯s no wonder it went for me. I just need to be more careful¡­ maybe it¡¯s time I put that mass summoning skill to use.¡±

    The skill Jay was speaking about was the skill which allowed him to leave a physical pool of necrotic mana within a pile a bones; skeletons would endlessly raise from it as long as either the bones or mana didn¡¯t run out.

    He could simply set and forget it while hiding in another part of the forest.

    Jay also had the option of simply having the skeletons run away from his location before rejoining the battle, but while an elegantly simple solution, Jay desired to test this new ability.

    Looking around, Jay first decided to loot the corpses - however, Blue interrupted him again.

    Blue stood infront of him and pointed deeper into the safety of the forest.

    ¡°Oh, not now?¡± Jay frowned.

    Blue pointed further into the forest again, and in a few moments Jay heard the familiar sounds of clunking armor.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll loot themter¡­¡±

    Jay quickly gathered the bones around and waved his hand over the intelligent knight¡¯s corpse, looting it without looking at what he got as he walked deeper into the forest.

    ¡°So¡­ this must be why Blue had the skeletons all attack as quickly as possible instead of getting into a sneak attack position - there were moreing. Dammit.¡±<sub> </sub>

    At the start of the fight with the seven knights they had since in, Blue had all the skeletons instantly attack, and Jay had been wondering why until now.

    It turns out that Lamp had scouted the first batch of seven knightsing, but following them were a second group - and by the sounds of the armor, arger one.

    The skeletons lined up at the edge of the tree-line, this time preparing for an ambush - yet as Jay looked along the root they had been following he soon saw the group of enemies.

    Ten knights, two of them intelligent.

    ¡°A bit too much to handle¡­ at least without too much risk.¡± Jay thought.

    Blue had prepared an ambush for them this time, but seeing how many there were, Jay decided to takemand.

    (Fall back. They¡¯ll go on guard once they find theirrades dead bodies, and the sneak attack will fail. We¡¯ll just have to wait and see what they do¡­ plus, there are other tactics we can try.)

    When giving the order Jay exined part of his reasoning, not sure if Blue had realized that the ambush wouldn¡¯t be too sessful.

    Nevertheless, Blue epted Jay¡¯s orders without hesitation like it always did, and the skeletons all slipped deeper into the forest before the knights came too close.

    Jay made sure to keep himself much deeper in the forest this time, only barely seeing the dead knights through the gaps between the trees.

    As the knights entered the area, they suddenly stopped marching as they saw the corpses, and readied their weapons before assembling themselves into a semi-circle formation.

    Two intelligent variants at the back moved to the front of the formation. First they inspected the surroundings, but seeing the quiet forest they began to check the corpses.

    One was using another two-handed sword, while the other wielded a sword and shield.

    The shield had symbols on it for the number two (II), and were faded to a light blue color - but other than that, Jay couldn¡¯t make out much else because of its heavy rust.

    While Jay had the option to run, it would have made things harder in the long term for a few reasons. If any of the knights made it back to their army, all of the knights would be alert and had their defenses ready - they would also realizing that seven knights were not enough to win - meaning that Jay would have to fightrger groups of enemies.

    They had already sent two groups of knights, seventeen in total to investigate, but it was hard to determine how many were waiting deeper in the knight territory. Jay assumed that they were sent in two different groups as the first seven gathered much more quickly than the second group of ten - or perhaps it was merely a scouting or vanguard force. Maybe the group of ten were there to restore the underground corpse-eating nts, while the first seven were the guards?

    Either way, Jay couldn¡¯t be sure - and neither did it matter very much. All he was sure of was that they had to die, and he would not let them return to the knight headquarters.

    Jay quickly sent Lamp to scout, seeing if there were more groups of knightsing or not, and he knew Blue would warm him if there was, if Lamp found any.

    In the meantime, he positioned the rest of his skeletons on the other side of the knights, the opposite side of the forest. All skeletons left except Red who he kept as protection.

    While waiting for them to get into position, he devised a new tactic for the skeletons to use.

    (Blue, send Handy out of hiding and make sure the knights see before having Handy run back to you. Ambush the ones thate to investigate without the other knights seeing you y them. If all the knights follow Handy, go deeper into the forest and remain hidden, then try again.)

    It was a simple tactic, using Handy as bait to lure a handful of knights to their deaths, and Jay wasn¡¯t sure if they would fall for it. Naturally, amander would send a scout or two to investigate, or at least that was what Jay thought he would do if the situation was reversed.

    Jay hid with Red on the opposite side of the knights as he waited for the n to go into action.

    Eight of the knights were in a semi-circle formation while the two intelligent ones were still investigating the corpses of their kin. They had not found the intelligent knight¡¯s corpse yet, so perhaps they were hoping it woulde back and report what had happened eventually.

    After all, this group of ten knights were only marching about ten to twenty minutes behind - surely their brethren weren¡¯t decimated that quickly? Surely some would still be alive?

    Suddenly there was movement on the edge of the forest. Ashen white sticks all mixed and moving together as one with arge white dome - a skeleton had appeared.

    Of course, the parasites had seen nothing like it.

 Chapter 264 Colonys Gambit

    A skeleton appeared? What is that?

    Neither of the parasites had seen anything like it - though they felt a sense of fearing from the human brain they held captive.

    It would have shocked any human at least, but to these parasite-infested knights, it was just an odd enemy.

    If it was a human, perhaps they would talk with it - though this weak-looking creature was, in the grand scheme of things, nothing but a strange pest.

    The small skeleton was not a threat to them, but possibly a threat to their food source: the humans which they farmed.

    The two intelligent knights nced at each other for a moment before deciding what to do - one walked over to two of the lesser knights, tapping them on the shoulder and sending them after it.

    ¡°Only two?¡± Jay smirked.

    A devilish grin grew on his face as he watched from the other side of the forest, knowing those two lesser knights were marching to their deaths; they were now chasing Handy away from the safety of their group, and Handy was sessfully running slowly without being obvious about it.

    It turned out that a slow-moving skeleton, somehow, seemed quite natural - despite itself being an unnatural abomination, a mockery of both life and death.

    Being underestimated was almost as important as the element of surprise.

    Handy soon disappeared into the forest, and the two knights following it did too.

    The two intelligent knights, which functioned as officers ormanders, went back to analyzing the corpses and seemedpletely uninterested, neither of them reckoning the trap that was closing around them.

    Handy led the knights past Blue, Sweeper, Lamp who cut them off from behind sealing their fate.

    Neither was able to lift their sword in defense or attack as both fell, and it wasn¡¯t long until Jay received some notifications.

    [115 Exp][115 Exp]

    ¡°Two down¡­¡±

    The remaining eight knights didn¡¯t move, none of them responding to their fallenrades, and it gave Jay a clue.

    ¡°So theirmunication isn¡¯t telepathic¡­ or at least it¡¯s very short range?¡± Jay squinted, remembering how Vdore used to speak into his mind.

    ¡°Or it could be something that I can¡¯tprehend at all.¡±

    The two intelligent knights had finished their investigation, and seeing that they were not under attack, they decided to send the other six knights to begin scouting the nearby surrounding forest.

    Unfortunately, they were not sent to scout very far and were still within view distance of at least one other knight, and if the skeletons tried to assassinate one, the others would all know.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ what to do¡­¡± Jay thought, but he soon realized he didn¡¯t have much time left to think.

    It would only be a matter if time before they found the corpse of the intelligent knight, and then there would be no telling what the knights would do after - would they panic and send for help? Call for reinforcements? He could not let that happen.

    ¡°I have to act.¡± Jay nodded resolutely, his hand forced.

    (Each of you pick a separate target and get ready to assassinate. Wait for my signal.) Jay ordered, and the skeletons moved.

    Red was sent to find an enemy too, as he needed to kill as many as possible before they went on alert.

    With Blue, Red, Sweeper and Lamp, Jay believed four knights would soon fall.

    Handy was part of the attack too and may prove to be sessful, but Jay wasn¡¯t counting on it; it was still level three, and wielding a two-handed sword to assassinate an enemy was no easy task.

    Yet if four knights went down, it would be enough; the enemy forces would only have four on their side, with two being of the intelligent variety.

    The skeletons took some time to get into position, and it was no easy task to remain hidden, as the knights were all looking into the forest and scouting while this was happening.

    However there was a problem - one of the scouting knights were now walking directly to the in intelligent knight¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Jay thought, sensing his skeletons were not ready.

    Of the five skeletons at his disposal, only three were in position to assassinate. Handy and Sweeper were still navigating around the forest, trying to remain hidden while doing so.

    ¡°Come on¡­¡± Jay could only clench his fists.

    But it was toote.

    A lesser knight had stumbled across the corpse, and already called an intelligent one over - he had to give the signal, or maybe he woudn¡¯t be able to pick any off.

    It was a few steps from seeing its fallenrade - but before that could happen, Jay gave the order.

    (Do it, then copse on them.)

    Without warning, three heavy clunks of armor simultaneously hit the ground, making all the others turn to see.

    [115 Exp] x 3

    Yet for one of them, turning it¡¯s back to the forest was the most foolish thing it could have done.<sub> </sub>

    [115 Exp]

    While it didn¡¯t go ording to n, the results were the same.

    Only four knights remained as the skeletons swarmed from the forest.

    The two intelligent knights realized their mistake - not only had their two scouts died, but there was an enemy with overwhelming force capable of ying them, and now they didn¡¯t even have numbers on their side.

    Yet all hope was not lost.

    The knights nodded at each other and ran back to the middle, getting into a defensive formation before anymore could be picked off.

    However Jay was pleased with this decision.

    ¡°Only a matter of time, then.¡± Jay smiled - yet his grin soon disappeared.

    The four knights looked around, and found that the enemy numbers were, well, not that numerous.

    The skeletons surrounded them, five versus four - though there was currently no way to get at the spine of the knights, it would only be a matter of time.

    However the knights were not going to let this be a losing battle of attrition.

    Suddenly one of the knights pushed the other one in the back, giving it the momentum to instantly send it running.

    The intelligent sword-shield wielding knight shot out, bashing away a stray swing with its shield and escaping the skeleton formation.

    It was determined - and based on it¡¯s direction it was going back to its nest, or whatever these things had for a home, undoubtedly to warn its brethren.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Jay pursed his lips.

    He had to stop it at all costs yet only sent Handy after it - he could tell that the other knight was looking for an escape too, so having the other skeletons guard them was a necessity.

    The problem was that Handy couldn¡¯t catch it by itself, it was fast but could only hinder its movement.

    While his bone helminth had an [Ensnare] ability, which would snare it for a second, there was no way it would be able to enter the earth through the tangled web of roots below.

    Jay was left with only one option - to chase it himself.

    Jumping from cover, Jay stashed his sword and shield in his inventory and began dashing across the root-covered forest, making sure he didn¡¯t trip while nimbly stepping over each root.

    Without all the heavy armor, Jay was faster - faster still was Handy who was already wildly swinging its two-handed sword down on the knight¡¯s back, being met with the cling of the heavy armor in return.

    (Aim for the back of its knees) Jay ordered to Handy, though it was easier said than done, and the knight was not slowing down.

    Jay sprinted, flying across the roots with all the speed his legs could give him.

    ¡°I can¡¯t let it escape, I can¡¯t let it fucking escape¡± he grit his teeth.

    If the parasite-infested knights knew of his presence in this dungeon, it would make things immeasurably harder.

    What would be a few days would turn into weeks - and in this dungeon with mass starvation and parasites, who knows how long until the food would run out? Jay only had a few days of food in the first ce, and the viges would onlyst so long before everything would be covered in these creeping roots.

    Not to mention that two weeks here would result in nearly one and a half days passing in the real world, and there was no telling if the mage hunters would catch up to him by then.

    Plus, Heavy was still guarding Asra outside the dungeon - would she even bother to wait for Jay? He still had her blood-fueledpass, so at least that would keep her around for a while, but what of her wrath?

    As Jay ran hepletely ignored the fight which broke out between the four skeletons and the three knights behind him.

    The one intelligent knight was effectively using its two-handed sword and covering the backs of its kin, locking them all into a drawn out struggle, buying as much time as possible for the escapee.

    Jay was closing in on the armored knight, but as he neared the back of its hulking armor he wondered how he would stop it.

    ¡°Do I try to pull it back and slow it down, or push it, sending it toppling forwards and face-nting?¡±

    A nudge forward would only serve to speed it up, so it would have to be powerful.

    Jay dismissed the option of sending his sword into its spine - he did not have the practice that the skeletons did with pushing it through the armor gaps.

    From Jay¡¯s perspective it seemed like an unstoppable steel-skin bull; a lot of force would be needed just to either knock it over or slow it down.

    When Jay was close enough to try something, he was already out of earshot from the fight he left behind. Despite its heavy armor, it had already covered a lot of ground through the forest.

    ¡°Dammit¡­ it won¡¯t be long until we run into more knights.¡± Jay clenched his jaw, and stuck to its tail.

    Thinking through all of his skills and options, he made a quick decision.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to use the boots again¡­ but will it be enough?¡±

 Chapter 265 Last Chance

    A locked dungeon was dangerous for one reason: you could not leave it until it was finished.

    It¡¯s only benefit to its captives was that time would flow more quickly in the dungeon - at least in this case anyway.

    Jay waspleting it quickly - however if this one knight slipped away, it would not only affect how quickly he couldplete the dungeon, but would affect his life in the real world too. The knight posed more danger to Jay than it would ever realize.

    The armored knight in front of him was heavily stomping each step like a nail in Jay¡¯s coffin.

    Handy was battering its smaller two-handed sword behind the knights knees, but it was never finding the right spot as its legs moved too quickly.

    Jay stored his weapons and shield in his inventory so he could focus on running, and while he nned to use his magic boots for another shield bash, he first pulled out a bone spear.

    He stabbed the back armor of the knight, trying to send it toppling forwards, harassing it madly with numerous strikes.

    The knight quick adapted and leaned backwards; Jay was only helping it run.

    ¡°Dammit.¡± He grunted.

    Jay didn¡¯t want to use his makeshift shield bash technique, as if he missed it, it would only create a bigger problem as he would m into a tree or misspletely.

    Yet as the shield was brought out, the knight suddenly turned.

    cing the pommel of its sword against a tree it slowed its momentum and swung its shield back.

    Jay smashed heavily against the knight shield, deathwalker¡¯s sentry pressing firmly back against it, only just raised in time.

    He was not expecting this sudden change in behavior.

    The knight¡¯s arm gave way to Jay¡¯s impact and only its armor stopped it from being irreversibly damaged.

    Being this close to each other, the knight thrust its sword.

    ¡°Grrh!¡±

    Jay¡¯s abdomen offered little restraint against the sword piercing it, and the helminth was protecting his neck area, unable to block in time.

    [-5]

    All he could do was grit his teeth as he reeled from the attack, trying to regain his bnce.

    Thankfully these were only level four enemies, and not much damage could be done - at least to Jay¡¯s hit points.

    Another swing came but death walker¡¯s sentry braced the hit - a critical block, no damage.

    Deathwalker¡¯s sentry caused mana-burn, but it seemed that these parasites were not magical creatures at all as the knight readied for another sh.

    Jay caught his bnce though, and returned his own sword. Sending it to the neck area, it returned with a green stain.

    Handy was still with Jay and was still shing and stabbing at the area behind the knight¡¯s knees.

    Now that the knight had stopped it only made it easier for Handy, and its sword was painted by the green blood too.

    The knight realized its situation was desperate, and it made a desperate move.

    In one movement it smashed its shield against Jay and swung its sword back.

    It pushed away from the tree, returning to a maddened dash again, sprinting towards its army.

    ¡°No!¡± Jay growled, angry at how much pressure this single enemy was putting on him.

    Tossing his shield to the ground, he lunged desperately with his sword.

    The sword struck the armor harmlessly, but Jay¡¯s free hand found cement, grabbing the armor by the neck.

    The knight couldn¡¯t run with the extra weight tugging on it, and Jay gave up all defense as he stabbed.

    Handy positioned itself in front of the knight, but was ignored as the knight spun around, having to deal with Jay.

    Jay¡¯s sword made a gap in the armor but couldn¡¯t sever the spine before he lost his grip as the enemy turned to face him.

    Instead of taking a shield bash or a sword stab, Jay stayed close.

    He did the unexpected and grabbed the knight closely, hugging it as if a broken boxer or a long lost friend.

    The knight pulled its sword back to pierce the foe mindlessly clinging to its chest.

    ¡°Iskean!¡±

    A st of wind suddenly pulsed outwards, sending the knight backwards.

    Jay was spared, while the back of the knight was fated to meet the de of Handy¡¯s two-handed sword.

    Jay had used his magic boots again.

    With a gap in the armor, all that needed to be done was to sever the spine - and that¡¯s precisely where Handy was aiming.

    With one decisive movement the sword pierced the spine, and just like that the fight was over.

    The knight¡¯s body continued to fall backwards, crushing into Handy who received broken bones from the added weight of Jay on top of both of them.

    [115 Exp]

    ¡°Bastard.¡± Jay said, standing up.

    Waving his hand over the corpse he got another loot notification - though he still had not read the other one he had from earlier, and two pieces of loot were now waiting for him.

    Jay helped Handy from under the corpse and sent it to pick up his shield before heading back to his other minions.

    It was easy to find the way back as he simply had to follow the thick flesh-like root.

    Jay had left this group of three knights surrounded by four trusty skeletons.

    It was enough to hold them off and to kill them, but it seems that Blue decided to wait until Jay got back before trying to y them.

    Battles could be hazardous, random, and sometimes the unexpected happened, and it seemed that Blue was not willing to risk another knight escape while its master was gone.

    Sure there was some fighting, but it was always defensive on the side of the skeletons as they kept the trio of knight hemmed in from all sides.

    As there was an intelligent knight among them, it helped to keep the other two lesser knights in a defensive formation. Not only were they effectively covering each others backs, but the intelligent knight was a better fighter too.

    Though as Jay returned to the area, all hell broke loose.

    Master was back, so it was time to attack.

    The intelligent knight was in first; Blue and Red each recklessly charged into a confrontation with the intelligent knight. Sweeper and Lamp each took the attention of the other two lesser knights.

    A reckless wide swing was met with a resounding clunk of Red¡¯s metal chest piece, and Blue was spared from damage as it dashed behind the knight, plunging its sword mercilessly into the armor, wiggling it around without care.

    [115 Exp]

    Blue and Red each moved onto the back of the other two knights, repeating the same steps.

    Thest two fell without incident.

    [230 Exp]

    ¡°Damn, I kinda wanted to analyze one of them. Never thought I¡¯din about killing enemies too quickly.¡± Jay shook his head at himself, but a hint of a smile appeared on his lips.

    It was over so quickly it was almost like it was rehearsed.

    After their bodies fell and their heavy armors went silent, silence finally returned to the forest.

    Jay stood silently for a moment, d that the battle was over. As he looked over all the dead knights around him, part of him thought he would feel glory or even shout for joy, but ultimately he just felt empty. While it made him stronger, there was something so senseless about it.

    ¡°In the grand scheme of things, these were simply parasites trying to survive and I am just here to eradicate them.¡± He nodded.

    (Loot everything. Use it if you need it or bring it to me.)

    The skeletons checked over all the dead bodies, looting fifteen in total which hadn¡¯t been looted yet.

    Jay checked the loot he received from the two intelligent knights he himself had in.

    <[Squire¡¯s Knee Guards]>

    [Common]

    [3 Armor]

    ¡°Ah,¡± he held them in his hands, ¡°it counts as one item. Good, I suppose. Odd but good.¡±

    <[Squire¡¯s Gauntlet]>

    [Common]

    [10 Armor]

    ¡°Another one for Blue then.¡± Jay shrugged, then nced up at his skeletons.

    ¡°Or not¡­¡±

    Blue had found another gauntlet.

    Not only that, it had some upper leg armor now too. It seems they were designed with the knee guards in mind as it ended just above the knee, so Jay decided to gift it to knee guards too.

    Without all the rust, the armor was a dark gray with a soft silvery luster on its surface; Jay decided not to give too much thought to why the looted armor wasn¡¯t the same rusted junk the knights were wearing, as it seemed almost brand new.

    As for the other skeletons, Sweeper found a chest pieceplete with shoulder guards, while Red received a shield, gifted to it by Lamp.

    Lamp also gifted a gauntlet to Sweeper, and it seemed that Lamp wasn¡¯t too fond of wearing armor.

    ¡°Probably gets in the way of its skin suit¡­¡± Jay guessed, ncing at it.

    It seemed that Lamp wasfortable wearing clothes though, no matter how tattered they were, so Jay was d for that at least.

    With the spare gauntlet from Jay, Sweeper now had two gauntlets.

    (Red, show me your shield.)

    Red was already at Jay¡¯s side, his trusted body guard never strayed too far unless ordered to, and it held its new shield up for Jay to look at.

    The shield was a kite shape, but Jay was more intrigued by the decoration on it. The two ¡®II¡¯ symbols were milky white with a blue background. Around the outside of the shield was a jagged brown pattern.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ two¡­ two what?¡± Jay raised a brow.

    It didn¡¯t mean anything to him.

    Neither did the brown pattern surrounding it, which may as well have been rusted away like it was on the knight¡¯s shield.

    After feeding more bones to his minions, it was time to leave - yet one of the skeletons had leveled up.

    Since all of the other skeletons were level four, Handy had gained all of the unsearchable ¡®skeleton exp¡¯.

    Of course Jay was in a rush, but for this he would take a moment, selecting his skeletons new role.

    As for it¡¯s new role, well, Jay had been grooming it for this role since it was level one.

    ¡°Congrats Handy¡± Jay smiled warmly.

    ***Author note: Challenge: 3k power stones by end of week = 5 bonus chapters. +1 bonus chapter for every 500PS over 3k.

    Plus ¡®II¡¯ is roman numerals for ¡®two¡¯. Also, let¡¯s do an armor check for the skeletons currently with Jay.

    Red:

    - Metal: Chest/shoulders. Two gauntlets. Shield.

    - Bone: Two greaves/vambraces. Helmet. Same for all other skeletons except for Handy.

    Blue:

    - Metal: Two Gauntlets. Cuisses(metal pants). Knee guards (also called the poleyn).

    Sweeper:

    - Metal: Chest/shoulders. Two gauntlets.

    Handy has neither bone nor metal armor. Just a modified ossein sword made into a two-hander.

    *Author is going away for a week. Hasptop so will still write and upload chapters when possible.*

 Chapter 266 Warfare

    Handy had finally leveled up.

    It was a skeleton Jay had been training into a zweihander since it was created, and Jay had kept it from touching anything that wasn¡¯t a two-handed sword - when he practically could anyway.

    Yet the sses avable only revealed more secrets.

    <[Germinating Skeleton Level 4 - Handy]>

    [Type - Undead]

    [Role - Unclear]

    HP - 55/55

    MP - 10/10

    <[Skills]>

    [Bone Eater]

    [Scrimshaw Level 1] (Passive)

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    [Fear] (Weak) (Passive)

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death - and they spit back. Stop it before it¡¯s toote. Execute with extreme prejudice. Burn the bones.]

    <[Evolution Avable]>

    [Please choose a role from avable categories - Avable categories are based on the skeleton''s qualitative experience. If no choice is made, a random role will be assigned once the skeleton levels up.]

    [Commander] (1)

    [Guard] (1)

    [False Hope] (1)

    [Rear Guard] (1)

    [Zweihander]

    [Warrior]

    [Champion]

    Jay saw the option he wanted, the zweihander - but now there was a new role he hadn¡¯t seen: the ¡®champion¡¯ role.

    ¡°Champion¡­ huh.¡± Jay scratched his chin, thinking for a moment.

    Jay only knew about the zweihander role because Red once had the option, but now there was the champion role.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ while Red wasn¡¯t trained specifically to be a zweihander, it did have the role avable. Since Handy was trained specifically for it, it obviously got the role - but now there¡¯s a new role. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s an even more specialized role?¡±

    Since zweihander was avable to a skeleton which only used a two-handed weapon a few times, the champion role unlocked for a skeleton which did nothing but use a two-handed weapon.

    It was logical of Jay to assume that the champion role was therefore more ustomed to fighting with, solely, a two-handed weapon.

    It was far too intriguing, and Jay¡¯s choice was obvious.

    ¡°Champion is simply too rare to pass up.¡± He nodded, locking in the choice.

    Handy was now the same level and height as the other level four skeletons now, and before Jay could start his march, Handy was wanting more bones - undoubtedly to upgrade its weapon.

    ¡°Ah¡­ I suppose we have some time.¡± Jay pursed his lips and sat down.

    ¡°It will be better to do it before the fight ahead anyway.¡±

    Handy used Jay¡¯s sword as a base as more bones were added around its outside and molded into it.

    Instead of doing it all at once, it did it at smaller intervals along the sword, allowing it to create a fairly high quality product; higher than what should be possible with its level one scrimshaw skill.

    Jay watched it as he ate a snack and drank some of his water, reminding himself to do that with his next crafts. While on his journey in the outside world, Jay had not been idle himself, and had been continually crafting, melting and re-crafting bone daggers while he was carried along on his pseudo throne.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ all level four. Might be a good idea to get Dark in here, otherwise the skeleton-exp might go to waste.¡±

    Heavy was an option too, but Jay needed it to stay with Asra.

    While exp for Jay could travel from a dungeon to the real world, the skeleton version of exp could not. Since all the skeletons were level four in the dungeon, which was currently their max level, it would be wasted.

    ¡°Well, if I need Dark, maybe I¡¯ll bring it in. It has its own mission in the real world after all.¡±

    Blue was still in charge of the skeletons, and had already sent Lamp off to scout further ahead, following the flesh-like root along.

    It seemed no more enemies wereing, so the seventeen knights dead knights must have been the whole response force; there to reinforce the knights, and possibly repair the chopped flesh-root.

    It would take time before another force was sent again, but that depended on how long it would take to fix the flesh-root nutrient pipeline - but how much time that was? Jay couldn¡¯t be sure, but he would not be here by the time they realized.

    Handy¡¯s sword was gettingrger and more hefty. It had also be more straight and symmetrical,pared to Jay¡¯s original design.

    Jay idly watched, his eyes sometimes drifting to Red¡¯s new shield by his side as he waited, the blue and white color catching his eyes.

    ¡°Two¡­ two what? Two towers? Two Lords?¡±

    It was simply too vague.

    With a sigh, Jay gave up, ending his brainstorming session after Handy hadpleted its new sword, ending the crafting process with the sword grip.

    Handy made the grip thicker, wider and more of a rectangle shape than a round one, which would help it to keep the sword straight as it cut towards its target.

    The end of the sword tapered off to a perfect triangle point which was ttened on each side so it could still effectively stab, though it would be more like a jagged cut than a puncture.

    Jay was ready to march, but he couldn¡¯t help but take in the grandeur of his skeletons for a moment.

    While the skeletons with weapons were threatening and magnificent in their own right, they now seemed like an ancient fighting force of deadly soldiers. Armored and ready to carry out their masters will, whether it be to pige a town or assault a fortified castle. The world seemed like it was at their feet.

    Jay was speechless, if only for a moment.

    ? As he nced at Blue though, the feelings faded; its armor iplete.

    ¡°Still more work to do¡­¡± he thought, seeing that Blue was missing a chest piece, among other things.

    Coincidentally, the spectral ashen-gray armor mixed well with the metal-gray armor; onlycking the luster of the metal - and Jay only wanted more.

    ¡°The more armor we get, the more knights we can deal with too.¡± Jay nodded approving of his skeletons, feeling content as he was ready to leave.

    (Let¡¯s move. We have work to do.)

    Jay ordered, and followed Handy along; Red and Blue at either side with Sweeper at the back.

    Some time passed as they marched, and Lamp had stopped again. As the necromancer and his minions travelled the terrain began to change.

    Less and less trees were around, while the roots climbed higher and higher up their trunks. There were some mounds of roots around now too, which Jay had guessed were trees or rocks, as he had alreadye across a few trees in the process of being swallowed by the undeniable roots.

    The innocuous roots were forming coffins, swallowing up whatever they could.

    This allowed Jay to see further, but removed any forms of camouge and cover, forcing him to trace his path between the mounds of roots.

    Jay didn¡¯t really have to follow therge flesh-like root anymore, as all of the smaller ones had been forming a pattern, all trailing back towards the source: a castle.

    It was the first castle Jay had ever seen. Its smooth giant-block walls looked imprable, able to withstand whatever was thrown at it and standing resolutely against all time. It cameplete with battlements, towers, and arge rusted gate.

    The roots, strangely, did not touch the walls, and instead sprung up from underneath them, not damaging them in the slightest.

    ¡°So the source of the roots is protected by a damn castle, because - well of course it is.¡± Jay pursed his lips.

    He was not expecting it to be easy, it never was.

    So far, Jay had only conquered a level one dungeon - having not yet finished the level three mist keep dungeon, although he came close; yet a part of him assumed, or perhaps knew, he would travel back to Lo and finish it. Someday.

    Around the base of the castle were more buildings, however they seemed more like little pebbles below the overbearing fortress. Constructed withrge stone blocks, each of them were angr with smooth surfaces; as practical as they were durable.

    ¡°Pretty advanced¡­ at leastpared to the viges,¡± he smirked, ¡°they just need a floating gate, then I¡¯ll be impressed.¡±

    Groups of Knights had slowly patrolled between these buildings, and Jay noticed they were going into a particr handful of buildings and ignoring others.

    ¡°What would they be doing in there?¡± Jay wondered.

    Groups of three marched around between the buildings, though there were a fewrger groups of twenty or so marching around the outermost perimeter, with another force of troops moving around in the gate entrance.

    ¡°Damn¡­ pretty much locked down. It must always be like this since I didn¡¯t give up my presence.¡±

    Jay continued to watch for the next hour, plotting and nning his next moves - though he could only think of one strategy: to lure them out and slowly whittle down their numbers.

    ssically known as guerri warfare.

 Chapter 267 Weakness

    Jay was lying on a mound of roots, hiding among them as he stared at the patrolling knights, trying to find patterns as they marched around the outer settlement below the grand castle.

    Bluey next to him, also taking in the sight and receiving a lesson while Jay whispered to himself; its privilege as an aspiringmander of Jays future army.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ there¡¯s no way to sneak in, not with these roots covering and ttening everything, but luring them out would give away our presence. Plus, after killing a few, the intelligent ones will probably catch on quickly and only sendrger forces out. There has to be a better way than to use the skeletons to bait them out.¡±

    Blue nced at Jay, perhaps not happy that it may be pathetically used as bait, though as amander it would probably use such a strategy at some point.

    As Jay looked across the empty, root-coverednd, his eyes caught a glimpse of something, and with the gaze of a predator, his lips curled into a smile.

    ¡°Why make a new n...¡± Jay thought as his eyes locked onto another pulsating root in the distance.

    Looking around, he soon spotted another one too.

    ¡°Leaving these roots everywhere, they have kind of fucked themselves. Surely they won¡¯t be surprised if I take advantage of that?¡± he grinned.

    Jay first retreated further away, out of sight of the castle before marching towards the next root, while pondering about what happened thest time he cut one.

    ¡°I wonder if they send seventeen knights next time¡­ was it simply random chance that they were split into manageable groups of ten and seven?¡± Jay wondered.

    For now he could only hope; if the enemy was a group of seventeen, Jay would have no choice but to retreat.

    There was a chance they would send more this time - or perhaps none at all, as two of their roots being cut may be too suspicious.

    Jay and the skeletons arrived at the pulsing root, but instead of cutting it, Jay decided to follow it, heading back into the forest.

    ¡°Cutting it now wouldn¡¯t lure the knights far enough.¡± He shrugged.

    If the knights found the cut part of the root this close to the castle, there would of course be no need to go further, and ying them so close to the castle would only be foolish.

    ¡°Plus, at the end of the root there will likely be a small group of knights to kill. Easy exp.¡± He nodded.

    It was a safer strategy with some benefits, but would take more time - however if a riskier strategy failed then Jay¡¯s time spent in this dungeon would skyrocket.

    Sometimes the safer way would be the fastest.

    Jay made it to the flesh-root; it was pulsing slowly, a disgusting squelching sound as it pumped human fluids within.

    Lamp, again, was sent ahead as the party marched along. This root was much longer than the other one, as an hour passed before Jay sensed that Lamp stopped again, finding the end of the flesh-root.

    The sun was already starting to go down on the second day spent in this barren dungeon, yet there was no stopping - Jay could no stop. There would be no time for rest tonight.

    Since the first root Jay had cut will not be fixed anytime soon, and the knights would soon catch on, it was just a matter of time before he lost the element of surprise.

    From the moment he cut it, he had to act as fast and decisively as possible.

    Jay pressed on and persevered, sooning to another tower, standing tall over another pit.

    Three knights were outside; two around the pit and another at the tower¡¯s entrance.

    The tower itself seemed to be in a much better condition than the other one Jay had seen, and oddly, there were barricades around its broken entrance.

    A few suits of rusted armory at the base, stripped off the corpses which had undoubtedly been thrown into the pit.

    Jay looked over the remains, ¡°A fight had happened here, probably a long time ago by the looks of it, but it seems that the parasite-infested knights won in the end¡­¡±

    While there were only three knights, Jay had his skeletons move into position to assassinate them as covertly as possible, though Red had a special mission.

    Red¡¯s mission? To ignore the knight near the tower and stand its ground at the tower entrance, bolstering itself with its new shield and bracing against whatever may rush out; it was a timeless tactic Jay often employed.

    Lamp was the quietest skeleton of them all, not having any armor, while its bone clicks were muffled by its skin suit, so it was tasked with silencing the knight standing by the tower.

    As for the other two knights at the pit, Blue and Sweeper handled one knight, while Handy handled the other.

    Jay loved watching how the skeletons signaled to begin an ambush, as they did it without a sound. No one shouting ¡®attack¡¯, it simply happened.

    The enemy would perhaps hear the clink of a bone or the piercing ring of a sword, but it would always be toote.

    [115 Exp][115 Exp]

    Two enemies dropped without a fight, the skeletons offering no hesitation.

    Of all the skeletons, Handy¡¯s strategy seemed the most intriguing, and Jay was wanting to see its new sword in action - yet it didn¡¯t make use of it at all.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s too honorable to use its sword for assassination?¡± he guessed with a smile, ¡°just champion things¡­¡±

    Instead of sullying its sword, Handy had simply ran at the knight and spear-kicked it into the pit.

    Jay couldn¡¯t hear it¡¯s struggle and neither could he see what was happening in the pit, and Handy remained at the edge to make sure its victim died.

    Blue, Lamp and Sweeper rushed behind Red after loud ngs and thumps wereing from its shield.

    There were enemies inside the tower - but how many?

    Each hit sent Red backwards slightly, its bone feet scraping against the stone, but it had sessfully blocked the entrance. The enemies outside were dead, the enemies inside the trapped, sealed into their final resting ce - of course they fought back with all the strength they had.

    With the other skeletons at Red¡¯s back, it was now braced and no longer inched backwards - instead together they all pushed together, forwards into the tower.

    A fight broke out inside, and Jay couldn¡¯t see what was happening - but unless a skeleton fell, Jay wasn¡¯t worried in the slightest.

    ¡°The odds are in their favor anyway. The knights won¡¯t make good fighters in such a tight area¡­ plus, they can¡¯t make it past Red¡±

    Red remained at the entrance while the other skeletons caused havoc inside the tower. Rings of swords, thuds of steel and falling armor soon sounded while Jay confidently emerged from the cover of the forest, the perpetrator of all this death.

    Jay walked to Handy¡¯s side and watched from the edge of the pit. The soldier it kicked in had been consumed, swallowed whole by one of the flesh-like flowers, so it was just a matter of time before it died.

    Jay nced at the tower next, and its sounds of fighting grew quieter as the enemies within were in.

    [115 Exp][115 Exp][115 Exp]

    The skeletons were ascending the stairs now, but Jay decided to wait outside and simply see what they would bring back.

 Chapter 268 The Crucible Experiment

    Jay stood with Red at the entrance of the tower, waiting for his skeletons to clear out the inside.

    A few moments passed and no exp notifications came through, and soon enough the skeletons returned.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get this root cut, it won¡¯t cut itself.¡± Jay turned as the skeletons came out.

    Blue was thest to exit, and instead of helping to cut the root, it presented something to Jay.

    ¡°Hmm? Oh¡­¡± Jay was surprised, as he had told the skeletons to take whatever they wanted for themselves.

    Blue held out a tattered-looking diary. It¡¯s original leather bindings did not do well at withstanding the test of time, and only a few pages had survived, as they were coated with a waxy substance.

    ¡°Where did you find this?¡± Jay said, flipping through the worn-out, tattered pages.

    Blue simply pointed its sword up to the top of the tower.

    ¡°Nice work.¡± Jay nodded at Blue.

    Blue bowed respectfully, and then went to help with cutting the root; it had since found its own chest te of armor and started to make a few clinking sounds as it moved too. At this point its armor suit was moreplete that Red¡¯s, though Red carried the shield.

    In the meantime, the knight which was pushed into the pit had died too, giving Jay some more exp before he entered the tower.

    [115 Exp]

    ¡°Red, let¡¯s go.¡± Jay said, and Red went in front of Jay, leading him to the top of the tower. Jay was getting quite ustomed to not going first and giving orders instead of doing tasks himself.

    This particr tower was in much better condition, and its internal wooden stairs were supported by various stone blocks, making the climb to the top as uneventful as it was safe.

    Looking around, Jay found the ce Blue had grabbed the diary from.

    A corpse - well, a skeleton as it was fleshless.

    ¡°Nice coat.¡± Jay remarked.

    The skeleton wore a white coat of some sort, and Jay guessed they must have been quite rich to have such a pristinely white piece of clothing.

    Dead for some time, its bones were clean of flesh and it was lying against a wall with an empty ss vial loosely sped in its hand.

    It was obvious to Jay how it died.

    ¡°Seems like a better fate than what¡¯s out there.¡± Jay frowned.

    Another part of the room had a table with some scraps of paper and some odd instruments which seemed to be simr to butcher and cksmith tools except much smaller.

    ¡°Odd¡­¡± Jay scratched his finger across a rusty spoon, but decided not to take any of them with him.

    There was a dark pile of mush covered with a coating of green mold which Jay guessed was once a food pile, as next to it was arge cauldron with ck stagnant water at the very bottom.

    Jay decided to search the pockets of the white coat, and found a strange needle-like dagger which Jay guessed was a sort of letter opener.

    ¡°I wonder what they were doing here. No weapons, in a tower surrounded by knights¡­ why leave the castle?¡±

    Another pocket contained a strange t-rope tied around a tear-drop shaped object which was like a squishy sort of wood, or perhaps a sort of mineral-filled sponge.

    ¡°Very odd¡­¡± Jay squinted at it as he squeezed it gently.

    Analyzing it offered no clues, and he guessed it was a ne of sorts. Perhaps an amulet, or perhaps it was nothing more than trash.

    Jay stashed it in his bag along with his ck cube, which he had been carrying this whole time.

    ¡°¡­Is it bigger?¡± he thought, looking at the cube in the bottom of his bag.

    ¡°Surely not.¡± He shook his head, closing it as he put the bag back on.

    Jay headed back down the tower. He would have liked to rest but how he spent his next ten hours was crucial as the knights would be on the move.

    As he exited the tower, the skeletons were still chopping the root, so Jay pulled out his chair and sat down, deciding to finally read the diary that Blue had brought him.

    Of all the pages this diary contained, only the waxy pages had survived the test of time.

    ~

    [The results were promising¡­ Too promising to keep from prying eyes. Some corrupt fucker took an egg with them and some serum¡­ I bet it was Anderson, but it doesn¡¯t matter now. One egg was all it fucking took¡­.

    We went too far, we cut corners, we let this happen... Our desire to live has led to our destruction. There is no future for humans anymore, probably not even humankind. They escaped and spread too quickly.

    I locked myself in thepound while my colleagues were taken or turned. After my food ran out, I left the safe room. Nothing but empty rooms, flipped desks and papers strewn everywhere - it was empty, gutted of life. The emergency lighting barely lit the hallways after weeks had passed.

    Somehow I made it to the portal¡­ now the only safe ce left is here, inside the experiment of all ces¡­ in this damned crucible.

    The experiment continues, not that they know it. But I won¡¯t warn them. All of their fates are sealed anyway¡­ now, many of them are turning too. The fruits aren¡¯t growing anymore either, so there¡¯s nothing to stop them.]

    ~

    ¡°Yeah, fuck Anderson.¡± Jay chuckled, not knowing any other details about this person.

    ¡°Alright, so the fruit is meant to stop them - them being the parasites most likely, as he referred to eggs¡­ but this is basically saying that this is one big experiment? This whole valley enclosed by cliffs?¡± Jay shook his head in amazement.

    Red¡¯s shield seemed to make sense¡­ at least the part of its design with the brown jagged outside did: it was the cliffs surrounding them.

    A part of Jay was jealous, and to do experiments of such a grand scale was now subconsciously added onto his list of priorities.

    ¡°But how does this tie in to my quest? Who is innocent? Who is untainted?¡± he wondered, ¡°Not only in this dungeon, but the real world too?¡±

    ¡°Being tainted doesn¡¯t mean you are infected either. I wonder if it has something to do with innocence? But innocent of what?¡±

    Jay took out the needle of hunger and gazed closed at it.

    ¡°Maybe these are two separate ideas that I¡¯m just trying to force together. Maybe the needle is just to help me figure something else out¡­ needle of hunger¡­¡± he scratched his chin.

    ¡°Hunger for what? Food? It can¡¯t be that simple¡­ Blood? Revenge¡­ war? ¡­lust? Well, if it was a hunger to murder, then sure, you could say they aren¡¯t exactly innocent¡­ at least their thoughts aren¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, ¡®our desire to live has led to our destruction¡¯¡­ could it be a hunger for immortality?¡±

    ¡°Do the innocent not hunger though?¡± he pondered.

    ¡°It surely can¡¯t just be hunger for food though, as it tells me people are tainted by something¡­ even myself - even after I fill my belly with food.¡±

    Jay sat silently for a moment, letting his thoughts mix and sink in while the skeletons diligently hacked away at the writhing root; much of the green fluid had since poured out and filled some of the pit below.

    Finally the root separated.

    Jay stashed his chair away, and the group began to march back towards the castle. Lamp was sent further ahead - much further this time, as it would give Jay enough time to prepare an ambush for whatever response force maye.

    As Jay walked, he felt like he was about half-way back, yet there were no signs of any knightsing.

    Something about it was unnerving.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ no response force?¡±

    It didn¡¯t make sense.

    It was eerily silent, the only sounds were the marching of his bone soldiers, and at this point Jay actually preferred the enemies to send something than nothing at all.

 Chapter 269 Subterfuge Rally

    Jay marched all the way back to the castle thinking that he may have been walking right into an ambush.

    However Lamp, Jay¡¯s forward scout, was fine thus far and the only thing the knights knew were that two roots had been cut.

    Safely, the party eventually arrived at the mounds of roots near the castle, and he soon found out why there was no response force - an army was gathering, its size growingrger with each passing second.

    Yet Jay still sensed some more opportunity to be taken advantage of, and he wasn''t going to let it slip.

    ¡°By now they have probably sent another small force to investigate the first cut root, so why don¡¯t we have a little look?¡± Jay smiled.

    He and the skeletons marched back towards where the first flesh-root met the mounds of roots near the castle and sent Lamp into the forest before giving out some orders.

    (Blue, if Lamp finds some easy kills out there, take all the skeletons with you to y them - except for Red of course.)

    Blue nodded, and waited alongside Jay and Red. It didn¡¯t take long, not even thirty minutes had passed and suddenly the skeletons sprinted off into the forest.

    Watching them leave, Jay couldn¡¯t help but feel like he knew the enemy better than it knew itself, as he had urately predicted another scouting party being sent this way.

    ¡°Seems like I just bought myself some more time.¡± Jay smiled.

    [460 Exp]

    The small scouting force was easily destroyed while Jay didn¡¯t even have to lift a finger, and it seemed that the enemy had underestimated Jay.

    Of course, this scouting force was sent out before the second root was cut, so it was much smaller than it should have been.

    While Jay waited for the skeletons to get back, he kept his eyes facing towards the castle as the knights had reacted strongly to the second root being cut, finally it seemed like they were shaken into action.

    By the time the skeletons returned, arge assembly of knights were gathered at the front of the castle and in an organised formation.

    It was too far away to count exactly how many there were, but Jay guessed there to be well over fifty knights.

    ¡°We should move.¡± Jay whispered, and Blue got the skeletons ready.

    Without giving the enemy any more time, Jay sneaked off with the skeletons through the mounds of roots, finding another position toy on, further away from the dead flesh-root pipeline.

    ¡°Just in time.¡± Jay smiled, seeing the small army of knights began to march. If he didn¡¯t move his position, they would have marched right over him.

    The castle had acted.

    The knight army had split into two as they went further from the castle, approximately thirty to forty soldiers in each as they marched directly towards the two cut roots. It was no wonder the vigers had to submit to this many knights.

    Now there was not much time left.

    Jayy prone on a root mound and wondered what he would do next while watching the army of knights leaving.

    Their numbers were much more than he had expected, but it showed they were starting to take the flesh-root sabotage seriously.

    While one root going down may have simply been a falling tree, two was cause for rm.

    Still, there was no word about the situation of the first root either, no scouts had ever returned. Now, no more small groups of fixers and scouts would be sent; only a considerable force of soldiers.

    ¡°There were so many hiding in the castle¡­ I wonder how many more I can get toe out¡­¡± Jay smiled mischievously as he sent the skeletons away to perform some secret missions.

    The knight army was rtively slow movingpared to the smaller groups they had sent. Each of them marched much more slowly, not only to maintain the formation, but to respond to sudden threats.

    Jay didn¡¯t even entertain the idea of trying to fight such arge force. It would be nothing short of suicide.

    For now he watched and waited as the skeletons got into position, carrying out his machinations.

    (Blue, give the signal as soon as therge forces of knights enter the forest.)

    All this time, Jay had been watching the castle gates, guessing how many knights were still hidden inside - and he would soon have a good guess after his n was carried out. Not only that, but the gate itself caused him to wonder - is it still functional?

    Finally, the tworge groups of knights disappeared into the forest, and the signal was given.

    Jay¡¯s n was put into effect as each of the skeletons positioned themselves above more of the pulsating flesh-like roots, all desperately carrying nutrients back into castle.

    Red tapped Jay¡¯s shoulder, telling him that the skeletons were going forward with the n: In almost perfect sync they brought down their swords onto the defenseless roots, and Jay couldn¡¯t wait to see the reaction of the remaining knights in and around the castle.

    There were some still patrolling among the buildings outside the castle; In groups of three, they seemed to follow more structured paths now, while before it seemed more random.

    Yet as the flesh-roots were all punctured simultaneously, they all paused as if in shock.

    Four roots were being hacked apart mercilessly, and the knights all moved frantically, creating new forces as quickly as they could.

    ¡°Idiots¡­¡± Jay scorned, watching them with glee as his n wasing to fruition.

    He didn¡¯t know how important these nutrient carrying roots were to the knights, but based on their reaction, they were very important.

    Knights sprinted out of the castle gates, many of them being of the intelligent variety.

    Yet there were really not many left.

    Four roots cut meant four groups had to be created - each of them being approximately five to six knights strong.

    However, they wouldn¡¯t need to travel far to find that the cut flesh-roots were just out of sight of the castle, and much closerpared to the other times Jay had cut the roots.

    Essentially, there was not much time.

    Jay¡¯s second part of the n was about to start, and it was the most risky too.

    While the knights were assembling into whatever groups they could, the skeletons were sprinting back to Jay.

    Once the skeletons were all gathered, Jay simply waited until the perfect moment.

    Soon enough, the perfect moment presented itself as the four small groups of knights each started their march towards the four freshly-cut flesh-roots.

    This n was the most dangerous Jay had devised so far, and it was a one-way ticket, but Jay believe he would be able to pull it off as the knights really were not that smart. At least not strategically intelligent anyway.

    All this time, they had only dealt with pathetic starving vigers who could not even fight back - and if they did, well, the knights would just have more troops added to their numbers or more nutrient-rich green blood to feed their parasites; they were not at all used to fighting an organized enemy.

    The skeletons had returned, covering Jay¡¯s back as he crept forward towards the castle as quickly and quietly as he could

    Soon he was closer than the four groups of knights which had just left, and that was when he broke cover and bolted in an all-out sprint.

    With the skeletons at his side, Jay madly dashed towards the castle gateway.

 Chapter 270 Breach

    Thest light of day sluggishly died out as a covert assault force advanced on the parasite-controlled castle.

    Jay dashed across the lifeless, root-covered ground as swiftly as his legs could move him.

    It wasn¡¯t long before he started passing the strange buildings which were nted around the base of the castle. As he ran past, he peered into them, glimpsing what seemed to be the familiar green fluids filling small basins.

    However, there was no time to investigate, as the knight¡¯s had noticed his presence here. A patrol of three knights had caught sight of him and his band of skeletons. Two were in pursuit, sprinting towards Jay, but the third had disappeared to find backup.

    Jay didn¡¯t send the skeletons back to deal with the pursuers, as he didn¡¯t know whaty deeper within the castle. An army of eighty knights had left, followed by about twenty more to investigate the broken flesh-roots. But he didn¡¯t think the enemy was foolish enough to send every single one of its troops out.

    The grand castle seemed to tower over him as he drew nearer. Jay looked up as he ran under the giant iron gate, noticing it was much more rusted than the knight¡¯s armor could ever hope to be, covered in a thick, redyer.

    Through the darkness of the castle gate was an inner courtyard. Various passageways led deeper into the castle, but Jay had to ignore them for now, as there was no time to investigate.

    (Hold them off here.) Jaymanded the skeletons, and each of them lined up just behind the giant gate.

    Two towers made up each side of the gatehouse, each of them having stone archways for entries. As Jay¡¯s eyes locked onto them, he sent Red in first, as he wasn¡¯t sure if the knights could see in the darkness.

    The spiral stairway twisted right as it ascended upwards into the tower, yet the sounds of fighting were already echoing from the skeletons below.

    [230 Exp]

    The two knights which had chased them had died, but the sounds of swords shing had drawn out more enemies from the depths of the castle.

    Jay decided not to pull out his luminous orb, as he would reach the gatehouse soon, and if there were any windows or openings, then it would be like a beacon in the night, drawing all knights far and wide.

    Red¡¯s bone footsteps clinked as they scurried up the stone steps, its armor resembling the sounds of the knights. There were no sounds of fighting above and Jay reassured himself.

    Jay¡¯s eyes adjusted to the darkness as he climbed to the top of the stairs. Faint shafts of light came in through arrow slits in the gatehouse''s wall, helping him to see the vague outline of the gate mechanism.

    Large rusted chains connected to a drum winch held the gate up; a circr drum withrge wooden pegs. Jay looked around for a way to drop the gate, but in the darkened room, nothing stood out.

    ¡°Dammit. Come on¡­¡±

    He searched around the room, but that was when Red came over and touched his shoulder, beckoning him to one of the arrow slits.

    Jay shot towards the wall, peering below the castle.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    Arge group of knights was charging forwards, much more than his remaining skeletons could handle. The skeletons were already fighting enemies running out of the castle, so if enemies were on their backs, their fight would end soon.

    ¡°Dammit.¡± Jay pursed his lips.

    Turning around, he pulled out his luminous orb. Its glowing light didn¡¯t matter anymore, as all the knights knew he was here.

    The gate room had a few different hatches in the floor, designed for guards to droprge rocks onto enemies below. Amongrge boxes of rocks were cauldrons, filled with oil which was boiled and poured down the hatches during an attack - however it was cold right now.

    The gate mechanism revealed itself under the light. Twotches on either side had to be pulled to release the gate and let it drop.

    ¡°Red. Thetch.¡± Jay pointed. His words were level but urgent, hiding the stress he felt.

    Red grabbed thetch and nced at Jay.

    ¡°Three, two, one.¡±

    *Grr - Crack*

    Thetches pulled back at the same time as the gate¡¯s chains rattled - however after a grinding sound, nothing happened.

    Below the gate, it was toote. The additional force of the knights crashed into the skeletons, and one of them died.

    [Your skeleton has been in.]

    Jay peered into the enclosure and saw that his fear hade true. The rust of the gate caused it to jam on its guide rails as it fell.

    ¡°Shit. Think¡­¡±

    Jay looked through the room for anything to help him, and his eyesnded on the defensive weapons.

    ¡°Red, help me with the cauldron.¡± Jay said, running behind a cauldron and pushing.

    The giant cauldrons were heavier than they seemed, and it slowly moved, grinding across the floor - yet with Red it was possible to flip it to its side.

    Red and Jay rolled it over towards the gate enclosure and, without hesitation, pushed it down.

    *Boom! - Grr*

    The cauldronnded with a heavy boom, shaking the gate as it ground down further, but it just wasn¡¯t enough.

    The skeletons below wouldn¡¯tst much longer. If they fell, therge swarm of knights would push through the gate. It would be a matter of time before they found and killed Jay.

    For now, it locked the skeletons in a triangle formation. Having copied the tactics of the knight they had in in the forest, they braced themselves and covered each others backs, but the damage was still mounting.

    The gate needed to fall before the skeletons did.

    Red had already rushed over to the next cauldron and gazed at its master, waiting for him toe over and help it push, however Jay stood there.

    Looking down into the gate enclosure, and seeing his loyal skeletons still fighting below, he smiled. At this moment, they filled him with such pride; they were fighting for him.

    Red banged its shield against the cauldron, trying to get Jay¡¯s attention, but Jay stood there, shaking his head with a smile.

    Something had appeared in Jay¡¯s hand - a pale, fluid-filled crystal.

    ¡°Seems like I¡¯ll need to use one of these. I always thought I¡¯d be throwing it at a monster.¡±

    ***Sorry for no chapters thesest few days, I have been very sick.

 Chapter 271 Locked Away

    Inside the mist keep dungeon, back in Lo, Jay had found three acid-filled shards. They were not useless, even though they were leftovers after a fight between a twisted abomination and giant warrior statues. Within each shard was an acid so powerful that it turned stone to liquid. Jay had been keeping these for emergency situations, and now was a perfect moment.

    Jay made one appear, and he tossed it down into the gap.

    ¡°One less acid shard.¡±

    *BOOM!*

    The fist-sized shard exploded, and only now did Jay realize the abomination pressurized it on the inside.

    ¡°Such a despicable creature.¡± He thought, remembering the Mannaton Soul Eater, its soulless stare and its ckened jaw.

    ? Itnded perfectly on the jammed side of the gate. The acid spattered all over the rust and angrily hissed as it ate through both the rust and stone alike; each of them melted like wax before a me, and with a deep screeching metal grind, the gate moved again.

    *Crr - Boom!*

    The knights below had no time to move, and none of them expected the giant iron spikes toe down.

    The gate gave onest screech of defiance before it dropped, crushing a line of knights below and crunching through the floor of roots vomiting out of the castle. Their armor offered no defense against the metal stakes driving through them, forever pinning their corpses to the ground.

    [920 Exp]

    Eight knights perished.

    The sounds of battle below grew quiet as the skeletons under the gate all perished next. Most of the reinforcements had stopped before the gate, but too many knights pushed through and encircled the skeletons, and were now making their way into the gatehouse.

    They forced Jay the defend his position up the stairs; he was a caged threat. However, Jay would not let them take him. Trapped or not, it didn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°Two entrances to cover. Let¡¯s make it one.¡± Jay said.

    The gatehouse had two entrances to it on either side, though there were two other ways in which led to passages through the walls. For now, though, the bulk of knights were in the courtyard.

    Jay dashed to the top of one of the spiral staircases and began releasing a huge number of bones, a funnel of femurs flying from his necrotic gauntlet.

    The rattling bones attracted the sounds of knights below, but the torrent of bones drowned them out, and in moments he packed the whole staircase with a thick white plug.

    The bones were not useful for forming a wall, however, being channeled into a funnel made them into an excellent barrier.

    They directed some of the lesser knights to pulling bones out, tunneling up the stairs, but each time one they ripped one out, the mass of bones would shift and reform.

    Jay made a separate bone pile and re-summoned his fallen skeletons, giving Bluemand over them. Sweeper and Lamp went to reinforce Red, while Handy and Blue forged their weapons again.

    However, they only made the most basic swords, copying Jay¡¯s ossein arming sword design, as they had to back up Red.

    [115 Exp]

    So far, Red was holding the stairs without giving up any ground. Not only was it a one versus one, but Red also had the higher ground. The staircases also spiraled right as it ascended, meaning the attackers would have to use their weapons left-handed to swing, giving Red an enormous advantage over them.

    With the other skeletons backing it up, Red began pushing knights back down the stairs.

    For now, the situation was under control.

    Jay watched Blue and Sweeper craft themselves some swords, and as the green necrotic mana reflected in Jay¡¯s eyes, it disappointed him when seeing the sorry state of his skeletons. Lamp¡¯s skin suit was a tattered mess of decayed flesh, scarcely clinging to its bones, while none of the other skeletons had their metal armor.

    ¡°I expected them to drop their weapons, but it sucks that they lost their metal armor, too. They must be able to incorporate the bone armor into their base forms somehow¡­ there must be something missing when I¡¯m making their weapons, something I¡¯m doing differently. As for Lamp, well, Lamp is an anomaly. I have no clue how it re-summoned with its torn flesh suit. Maybe it¡¯s just a unique feature of its emerging ss.¡±

    Jay allowed Bluemand as the other skeletons needed to rearm themselves with some makeshift weapons. When they perished in battle, their weapons did too, now sitting in a pile of bones beneath the gate, buried among their metal armor suits. Their only armor now was the spectral bone pieces Jay had crafted for them.

    Jay remained at the top of one staircase, adding more bones when the pit filling it shifted and dropped, while the skeletons made progress on the other one.

    [230 Exp]

    Red had killed some knights as it shed, stabbed, and hacked its way down, and the dead bodies of the knights crashed and tumbled, forming additional hazards for the knights.

    The skeletons could see perfectly on the pitch-ck staircase, while the parasiteden knights relied on instinct and the human eyes they controlled.

    ¡°I wonder how many knights are inside this ce,¡± Jay thought, ¡°I guess it won¡¯t matter if we can hold them off. Good thing this gatehouse favors the defenders, and my n worked. Mostly. We just need to clear out the knights inside the castle. Those on the outside won''t matter.¡±

    Outside the castle gate, knights smashed their weapons and rattled them against the metal bars, but that was all they could do. Rusted but sturdy, the bars held secure, only causing them to blunt their dull weapons even further.

    [230 Exp]

    More knights fell to Red, who had the high ground, but it didn¡¯t escape without some damage. But Jay trusted hismander.

    Blue analyzed the situation keenly, and had already put strategy into ce. Sweeper and Lamp went down to hold the stairs while Red darted back up and entered the gatehouse chamber again. Standing by the bone pile, it healed itself while feasting.

    Blue prioritized Red¡¯s safety, as it was the only skeleton with metal armor and would be thest bulwark in an emergency. Jay¡¯s most sturdy protector.

    Handy, having no armor, was the fastest. It had the duty of scouting the two passages connecting the gatehouse to the wall. It dashed back and forward through the chamber, monitoring each side so that the knights did not nk the party.

    The knights saw no merit in manning the walls or the gatehouse as they had free rein in the crucible, and there were zero enemies inside. For now.

    Jay used his necrotic sense ability to keep track of the skeletons in the other stairwell, but noticed a subtle change in the pit of bones in his own stairwell. They dropped less regrly.

    ¡°Too suspicious. What are they nning¡­¡± he thought, ¡°Only a few have died, but already they¡¯re slowing down their digging.¡±

    Taking a moment, Jay hastily walked to the gate enclosure and peered down. Below the gate were several intelligent knights, all standing in a circle, making hand gestures andmunicating in their own silent way. Other than the sounds of shifting bones and shing swords, it was silent. Their behavior seemed so calcting.

    A string of fear stirred in Jay¡¯s heart. The enemy had underestimated him, but he would not do the same in return.

    ¡°They¡¯re nning something, but what¡­¡± he thought, squinting suspiciously at them.

    Jay returned to the staircase he was holding and topped up the bones, but the paranoid part of his mind spun as he plotted his next moves.

    ¡°This ce is defensible for now, but isn¡¯t safe. I won¡¯t let myself be a sitting duck. I have seized the initiative, but I need to keep it in my favor.¡±

    As Handy dashed through the gatehouse chamber again, Jay gazed into the dark hallway tunneling through the wall.

 Chapter 272 Life Cycle 1

    When Handy ran back through the main chamber again, Jay acted.

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time.¡±

    Jay quickly ran into the passageway on the right side of the gate, closest to the staircase that Red and the other skeletons were protecting.

    Once inside the passage, he formed another plug with bones, yet he also held his necrotic gauntlet up.

    Thick streams of swirling green mana left through each w point, and arge orb of the glowing mana appeared, mixing into the bones. It became their core, causing them to float and swirl around it.

    Strangely, Jay thought it seemed like an egg yolk among the whites; of course, rather than a chicken, skeletons will rise instead.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll add some non-human bones, too. That way, the chimera research skill goes up.¡± He thought, and dumped some Perreton wolf, soap rat and silt wolf bones into the mix, which assured Jay that with each summon, it would make a hybrid skeleton.

    Jay checked the skill to make sure he used it correctly.

    < [Mass Summoning] >

    - Can summon multiple skeletons at once.

    - Can create a mana well within a pile of bones; skeletons will continue to resurrect until the mana runs dry or the bones run out.

    - Requires free skeleton slots. Does not sub-resurrect.

    Jay had only formed a small energy well of twenty-eight mana, which would only be enough for two skeletons. He wanted to add more, but it was all he could spare.

    Many more bones were there than necessary, as some were to form a barrier; Jay wanted to waste as much of the knight¡¯s time as he could, and this was simply part of his strategy.

    As the skeletons are all level four, they each require fourteen mana to summon. Jay only has eighty-seven mana, but having just summoned four skeletons, it left him with a measly thirty-one mana. After using the mass summoning skill, it left only three. A far stretch from the fourteen needed to raise.

    ¡°It will be worth it.¡± He thought, ¡°besides, the skeletons can take turns fighting, and use their bone eater skill to stay alive¡­ without an enemy nking them, they will hold on.¡±

    As for being nked, well, Jay was counting on it. His intuition told him they were already nning it, and there was no counting on them to remain passive.

    These skeletons and masses of bones being left behind were simply to buy some time for his mana to regenerate; if he was stuck inside this castle with dwindling mana, well, he would notst long.

    However, this chamber was an excellent choke point, and his skeletons would reap some easy exp without effort.

    Jay went back to his staircase and topped up the bones again, then continued with his n.

    (Blue.) Jay called.

    The skeleton rushed over, kneeling before its master and showing honor, even in this desperate situation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be taking Red with me and leaving. Hold this position as long as you can. When there¡¯s only two of you left, I want you to retreat that way. Try to lure them as far as possible.¡± Jay pointed past the mass summoning bone well he just created.

    ¡°It might be good to split up when you retreat to confuse them even more.¡± Jay said suggestively.

    ¡°Red and I will go the opposite way.¡± Jay pointed to the empty passageway on the other side, free of any bones or signs that a necromancer may be there. Neither did it have the sickly green glow of a necrotic mana well.

    Blue bowed its head, epting its duty with honor.

    ¡°Hmm, I better make use of my rearguard.¡± Jay thought.

    ? ¡°Blue, let Sweeper do what it wants to with these.¡± He said, and many bones appeared, all of them oddly uniform in both shape and size.

    Jay dropped all of Sweeper¡¯s defensive spikes on the ground; they were simple stakes made to hamper an enemy¡¯s advance.

    No, Jay didn¡¯t see how they would be useful in a t stone passage, as there was nothing to prop them up, but he believed in his skeletons, and thought Sweeper would make the most of them.

    Jay waited longer, periodically checking below the gate enclosure to see if the intelligent knights were still making ns or if they had left to execute their missions yet. In the meantime, he simply let his mana regenerate while many knights perished to the skeletons guarding the stairs.

    [1840 Exp] (16 knights eliminated)

    With the situation stable, Jay analyzed one of these knights.

    < [Security Staff - Level 4] > (Parasitized)

    [Type - Human, Parasite, Clone]

    [50 HP]

    < [Skills] >

    [Pheromone Sanctity] (Parasite)

    - The parasitemunicates through pheromones.

    [Diluted Life Force]

    - The ultimate blessing, or the ultimate curse

    - No longer alive, but undying. This being found a new life force.

    [Cranial Lodging] (Parasite)

    - The parasite grew upwards into the skull, and now controls the associated organs.

    < [Description] >

    [They told us our shift would be over soon. It was fun at first, but now it¡¯s kind of draining. I feel so tired all the time.]

    ¡°Ugh. Staff? Poor bastards. Someone lied to them.¡± Jay shook his head.

    ¡°I wonder if I would do the same?¡± He scratched his chin.

    ¡°Fifty health? Probably for the bodies of the knights and not the parasites controlling them.¡±

    ¡°So, the diluted life force must keep them alive. I¡¯ll be it¡¯s that green liquid they have for blood¡­ huh, more people pursuing immortality. I wonder what drove them to it, though.¡±

    ¡°The Helvetians were driven by revenge, but clearly knew the downside of being immortal, or at least they learned it. I guess these knights didn¡¯t exactly gain it, although their bodies did. Seems like something always goes wrong with the minds; the Helvetians lost them and so have the knights. I¡¯ll bet that¡¯s why the immortal book attempts to change my mind first? Hmm.¡±

    ¡°Maybe the mind itself is perishing along with our bodies.¡± Jay ponded, then shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not the time to think about this.¡±

    Suddenly, the knights below moved, however it wasn¡¯t the knights on the inside of the gate - it was the ones outside.

    It surprised Jay, as they could do nothing to him; there were no other ways into the castle than through the gate which he had sealed.

    Moving to the arrow slit in the wall, Jay watched arge group of them march out through the small outer buildings.

    Jay looked towards where they were going and saw lights in the forest. Dancing mes of torches; more appearing with every second.

    Still, it was nowhere near the size of the knight army. About thirty in total. They were a force of malnourished men, susceptible to fear and pain, and unreliable allies in battle.

    ¡°¡­ Landen? Oh no, you idiot, please don¡¯t tell me.¡± Jay frowned.

    It was hard to see, as it was so far away, but there were faint gleans of recycled knight armor among the band of foolhardy humans carrying torches. They had followed the trail of destruction Jay had left, and after getting themselves some fresh metal suits, they saw the knights were not all-powerful, and it reignited their battle spirit.

    However, Jay had quite a different opinion.

    ¡°You fucking idiots. You will all die. For nothing.¡±

 Chapter 273 Life Cycle 2

    Chapter 273 Life Cycle 2

    Jay watched the awkward human battalion slowly emerge from the root-covered forest and ascend the mounds of roots.

    It caused Jay to feel helpless as he had locked himself inside the castle, and he knew that out there, in the forest behind them, an army of eighty knights was marching.

    ¡°Surely they¡¯re not here to help me?¡± Jay smiled.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize they liked me that much. Huh. I guess I was pretty benevolent for letting them live?¡±

    Jay continued to watch through the arrow slit as the advancing army of knights marched into confrontation with the armor-d humans.

    ¡°Poor bastards.¡± Jay frowned.

    However, there was a sudden change in the humans behavior. They quickly rushed back towards the forest. They dropped torches as they retreated as quickly as they appeared.

    ¡°Huh? No fight? What¡­¡± Jay said, confused as he furrowed his brows.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they were just being greedy? Little bastards¡­¡±

    Jay left the arrow slit and filled up the staircase with more bones.

    ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t expect much from weak vigers¡­ or humans. They weren¡¯ting to save me, they just wanted my crumbs.¡± Jay said, a sneering smile appearing. A part of him felt silly for even assuming they wereing to help.

    ¡°At least they will distract some of them¡­ though it doesn¡¯t really matter now that I¡¯m inside.¡±

    Jay went back to the gate enclosure and checked on the intelligent knights. Also momentarily distracted, they soon had resumed their plotting against Jay.

    During this time, Jay had recovered enough mana to add more into the mana well, allowing three skeletons instead of two to rise from it when the timees.

    ¡°Good. Just keep chatting. Keep plotting. Good, good.¡± He thought, smiling at them like a predator.

    The more time they wasted, the more skeletons they would have to deal with, and the more knights Jay could y.

    Yet before Jay gained enough mana to queue a fourth skeleton, the intelligent knights acted.

    Each of them split off in different directions, heading to the various passageways within the courtyard, but two of them went up the staircase that the skeletons were holding.

    Jay would not sit around and wait, so he continued with his own n.

    (Red, it¡¯s time. Blue, serve me well.)

    Red appeared from the other staircase and grabbed another bone, munching it as it came to Jay.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± Jay said and followed Red into the empty passageway leading through the wall; the opposite passage to the bone well.

    In the passage, there were arrow slits in the wall all along the way, giving enough light to see the walls, but as it was dusk, the passage itself was almost pitch-ck. The only benefit was it made Jay and Red harder to see as they navigated it as quickly as they could.

    However, the darkness wasn¡¯t a problem for Red, but an advantage as its [shade vision] made a mockery of the shadows.

    Jay assumed there will be no enemies in these passages, but he readied his death-walker shield, which also had shade vision.

    Red creeped forward and Jay followed the sounds of its foot bones against the stone floor, but suddenly Red disappeared in the darkness as it dashed away.

    ¡°Damn. Something found us.¡± Jay thought.

    (Red, if there¡¯s only one, don¡¯t let it escape.)

    Jay moved forward slowly, and his shield squeezed his arm.

    Something was here.

    Cautiously moving to the side of the passage away from the arrow slits, Jay concealed himself in the darkness and readied his sword.

    Familiar sounds of armored boots approached.

    ¡°Sounds like there¡¯s only one.¡± Jay thought.

    A subtle shine of armor passed by the lighting through one arrow slit, and Jay could tell it was alone - but where did Red go?

    *Shring!*

    [115 Exp]

    Sounds of crashing armor filled the empty passage before silence returned.

    ¡°There¡¯s Red.¡± Jay nodded.

    Red returned and guided Jay to the enemy corpse. It was a knight wielding a sword and shield, meaning it was of the intelligent variety.

    Jay continued past, moving deeper into the castle, but now he had a problem. Discovering the dead body would be a matter of time, as the other knights would notice it was missing.

    ¡°Damn. I didn¡¯t want them to know we came through here, and the corpse will probably cause a search to be conducted on this side of the castle.¡± He frowned.

    ¡°We¡¯ll just have to keep moving. It was only a matter of time, anyway.¡±

    Jay and Red pressed on through the passageways, going through the wall. They passed by a few stairs anddders going up and down, but they only led to the top of the wall, while others led to empty rooms and pits; some filled with siege ammunition, while others featured more arrow slits for archers to fire through.

    Jay received a few more exp notifications from knights dying, but no skeletons had fallen yet.

    After a few investigations, Jay stopped exploring these areas, saving his time. The duo encountered no more knights until they came to another passage branching off the one they were walking through, away from the wall.

    ¡°This is it. The entrance to the castle.¡±

    The new passage was much taller and had a decorative arch as its entrance. A faint leaf-green glow came flowing out of the passage, and two dark silhouettes stood guard.

    ¡°Two more knights. Damn. But are they the lesser or intelligent type?¡± Jay wondered.

    Not wanting to walk endlessly through the dark wall passageway anymore, Jay decided it would be better to fight.

    Since Red was proficient at piercing their spines, and held an advantage in the darkness, Jay decided to be the bait.

    ¡°Hmm, but if one turns to get backup¡­ well, we better not let that happen.¡±

    Jay had his helminth leave his body, entering its natural bone form. It couldn¡¯t dig into the earth, but it could still slither around.

    Red remained in the darkness, while Jay quickly dashed past the entrance, appearing only as a brief blur in the light and entering the darkness on the other side.

    It was too fast for the knights to tell what they had just seen, and so, they came to investigate.

    One waited at the entrance while the other entered the passage, going after Jay. It wasn¡¯t ideal, but it was within Jay¡¯s control.

    Unfortunately, it was wielding a one-handed sword, a sign that it was of the parasite-filled lesser knight variety. It was a problem for Jay to fight them, but made things far more simple if they were stupid.

    The knight stepped into the darkness, but Jay was ready for it. Without warning, he bashed his shield against it, causing it to stumble back into the light.

    The second knight readied its weapon and charged into the darkness too, yet Jay ran further into the passage.

    [115 Exp]

    Red lunged forwards, not dying any longer.

    The first knight which stumbled backwards received a sword severing its spine.

    The helminth slipped past, speeding towards the second knight.

    The second knight didn¡¯t even notice its ally had fallen as it aimlessly swung its sword, trying to connect its de with Jay.

    Suddenly it stumbled forwards.

    Something caught around its feet.

    Looking down, all it saw was some hollow green eyes, barely glowing in the darkness; a snapping sound, and suddenly a st of chaotic energy assaulted its helmet as a ring light filled its vision.

    The helminth used its ensnare ability and punished the knight with a necrotic bolt, but it would only stall it for so long.

    Thankfully, help came as another shield bash smashed on the knight.

    The second knight stumbled back and could only fall over because of the bone parasite wrapping up its legs.

    Jay didn¡¯t fear any parasites getting on his shield, as it had mana-burn. Anything touching it would lose all mana, and if no mana was left, health would drain instead, killing whatever dared to touch it.

    Red finally came to finish the job. The knight was lying on its back, so it plunged its sword through a gap in the neck.

    Jay stood back, letting his two minions finish it.

    ¡°No need to take the risk.¡± Jay shrugged.

    [115 Exp]

    (Make sure you kill any parasites trying to leave their bodies)

    Red stomped around for a moment as Jay entered the lighted passageway, d to have vision again.

    Oddly, Jay¡¯s mind drifted back to the Lo adventurers. ¡°They would lose their minds if they knew I was infiltrating a parasite-filled castle with my undead.¡± he smiled.

    Stepping into the light, it caused Jay to wonder what he would have to kill to escape this ce, while his quest was to save.

    While killing and saving seemed like opposites, they could be closely rted under the right circumstances.

    ¡°I must be close to something important if there''re guards here.¡± He nced over the corpses behind him, ¡°Well, were guards here.¡±

 Chapter 274 Life Cycle 3

    [1380 Exp]

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    Arge amount of exp had umted while Jay escaped the gatehouse, sneaking through the wall and finally making it to the castle; of course it wasn¡¯t without casualty.

    ¡°Two skeletons left.¡± Jay thought, keeping track of the mass summoning spell he left behind.

    ¡°Something probably nked them from the other passage; another intelligent knight, I¡¯m guessing. It probably would¡¯ve been worse if we didn¡¯t kill the intelligent knight on the other nk.¡± He nodded.

    Pushing on, Jay entered the lighted passage which led deeper into the castle. The air turned from a stale dirt smell to, oddly, a pleasantly fresh forest smell.

    Variousmps and jars ced on the walls and the ground throughout the passage radiated the leaf-green light; instead of a magic me within the old ss ironmps, a glowing green fluid filled them.

    Jay picked up amp and gazed at the luminous fluid sloshing around inside.

    ¡°Huh. Simr to a luminous orb.¡± Jay thought, seeing that it has the same strength and intensity of light.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably produced by the nt. The knights don¡¯t seem smart enough.¡±

    Jay continued through the passage and entered arge hall,plete with a luxurious red carpet. Various art pieces lined the walls, with asional stone pirs, featuring carvings of exquisite depictions of knights.

    The hall itself was silent,pletely insted from the battle in other parts of the castle.. Other passageways exited the hall; the ones with doors opened up into adjoining rooms, while the ones without led to other areas.

    It was lit by more jars filled with the luminous green fluid, making it easy to see everything.

    The casual splendor of the room charmed Jay, but there was no time to sufficiently enjoy it.

    Curious, Jay picked up a jar and emptied it. It felt warm as he touched the jar, and when the liquid sshed onto the floor, it released both light and steam. However, after the gaseous mist cleared, there was nothing left. No puddle, and no light. Just an empty jar.

    ¡°Oh¡­ Oops.¡± Jay shrugged, putting the empty jar back into ce.

    Under the red carpets were more of the nt roots, and it was a wee sight as Jay had seen none since entering the gatehouse; they were his guide to the heart of the nt.

    ¡°Strange. They¡¯re not like the roots outside, trying to cover everything. They seem more functional, somehow?¡±

    The roots within the room were all single, straight, and unbranched. More like vines than roots. It was like each of them had their own mission and wasted no energy on anything else.

    Jay followed one of the roots, leading him to a door in the hallway.

    (Red, get ready.)

    Jay cautiously ced his hand on thetch and turned. Readying his sword, he pushed it open with the tip of his de.

    Red stepped forward, ready for whatever was on the other side. However, as the door swung open, no enemies were waiting.

    Instead, there were more of those strange basins filled with the green fluid.

    ¡°Oh. Interesting¡­¡± Jay approached. ¡°this must be like their food. It¡¯s no wonder they reacted so strongly to a few of those flesh pits being cut off.¡±

    The basin itself was made from the single root that entered the room, having erged at the base to form a foundation, with arge bowl structure on top. If there was water in it instead of green fluid, Jay would have mistaken it for a wooden hand washing sculpture of some sort.

    Jay raised a sword to cut it down, but just before he swung, he decided against it.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    ¡°If they knew we cut the roots before, they¡¯re going to know if I cut this. The nt is warning the knights somehow.¡± He thought.

    ¡°As for how itmunicates with the knights, I can¡¯t be sure, but neither does it matter. After destroying the nt, this dungeon will hopefully allow me to exit, so ultimately, who cares?¡±

    ¡°As for leaving this dungeon, I still need to figure out who is innocent. Plus, the needle of the starved only ever says ¡®tainted¡¯, so it¡¯s not much use at all. Everything might as well be tainted.¡± He shook his head.

    Jay casually pulled out the needle and pricked the root. After a moment it turned the familiar red color.

    ¡°Red. Tainted. Even the damn nt is tainted.¡± He smiled reluctantly.

    Jay wasn¡¯t sure how often they patrolled this area, so he kept Red waiting in one room just behind a half-closed door, while he stayed close to the entrances of various rooms he searched. If enemies came through here, they could simply hide, wait for them to pass and hope that they didn¡¯t enter either of the rooms they were hiding in.

    Jay covertly entered another room, yet this time no root led under the door, so he wasn¡¯t as cautious of enemies.

    Inside the room was a ss table with various test tubes and otherboratory instruments Jay couldn¡¯t identify.

    ¡°Strange¡­ it doesn¡¯t match the rest of the castle at all. I was expecting to find weapon racks, sculptures, or a storeroom.¡± He thought.

    It seemed far more advanced than the castle it was in. After a quick search, he found nothing of interest, and couldn¡¯t add anything to his inventory, so he turned to leave, cing his hand on the doortch.

    ¡°Must be a small research area by whoever set up this experiment.¡± He guessed, remembering the corpse in the white coat at the top of the tower.

    Jay was about to exit the room, yet heard the stomping of heavy armor suits echoing into the hall. For a moment Jay smirked, hiding in the room, feeling as if the passing enemies were moronic, though as he listened to them getting closer, his paranoid thoughts cycled through his mind.

    ¡°Damn. If they go down the passageway leading to the wall, they will find the bodies.¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°But if they don¡¯t see any knights at all, they will probably send for help¡­¡±

    ¡°Though if I kill these, they will notice a patrol missing. Dammit.¡±

    After escaping the gatehouse, Jay bought himself some time by fleeing into the castle. However, there was a trail of dead knights left in his wake. It would only be a matter of time until the knights realized he was in the main castle.

    ¡°We may as well y them now. Better now thanter, when theye back in greater numbers.¡±

    (Red get ready.)

    Jay cracked the door and peaked through.

    There were only two knights, though it sounded like more because of the echoing through the hall and passages.

    He steadied his breathing as he prepared to burst out of the door. The knights marched past, about to be in the perfect ambush spot.

    Jay took one deep breath in and squeezed the doortch with his sword in the other hand.

    However, just before he made a more, they suddenly paused.

    Jay held his breath, freezing his body.

    The knights, oddly, looked around the room and then awkwardly turned back.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Jay thought. ¡°They were marching confidently, like they were on a mission, and then suddenly seemed¡­ lost?¡±

 Chapter 275 Life Cycle 4

    [690 Exp]

    The skeletons at the gatehouse had in more enemies while Jay and Red infiltrated the castle.

    Jay crept out of the room as the two lesser knights left. Red cracked open the door, peeking at the leaving enemies and then at Jay, checking on the safety of its master.

    Jay ignored the skeleton as he went to look around.

    ¡°Howe they stopped?¡± he wondered, standing over the spot they stopped. It was the same ce Jay had sshed out the luminous fluid.

    Jay¡¯s eyes drifted to the empty jar.

    ¡°Surely it¡¯s not that simple¡­¡± Jay thought, ¡°they have a pheromone scent ability, so they probably use it to create patrol paths, too?¡±

    Jay grabbed some more of the glowing jars, adding some smaller ones to his backpack. There were still some echoesing through the passages, so without wasting time checking the other rooms, Jay followed them.

    A few of the roots led through this passageway too, so Jay was content with following them.

    [Your skeleton has been in.]

    ¡°One summon left in the bone well.¡± Jay thought.

    So far, the skeletons at the gatehouse had held on for far longer than he expected, and had brought Jay enough time to recover a sizeable chunk of his mana pool.

    Thirty mana to be precise.

    ¡°Blue must bemanding them well.¡± He smiled.

    The two lesser knights led Jay and Red through different passages, connecting to different hallways until eventuallying to a muchrger chamber.

    The castle itself was giant, so fitting in so many grand halls was not a problem. Jay walked into the room on a stone balcony which wrapped around the wall.

    The roof was so high that they could not see its top as it returned to darkness; The knights ced more luminous jars of green fluid around the balcony, and while bright, they were not enough to dispel the shadowspletely.

    Jay hovered around the exit of the passage, sticking close to the wall as he watched the knights he was following.

    Together, they marched around the stone balcony and soon entered a door in the wall, which had a root trailing from underneath it. As they entered, Jay glimpsed another one of the root-basins just before they closed the door.

    ¡°A basin room.¡± Jay thought.

    Jay peered around the rest of the balcony, and many other doors simrly had roots trailing into them.

    ¡°There must be a basin behind each door, along with its own pair of knights.¡±

    *Crr~*

    Suddenly, a winy screech of a door opening resounded.

    It was right next to Jay.

    Without a second thought, Jay dashed back to the passage, hiding himself in its corner.

    Two more knights appeared, a fresh patrol.

    ¡°Shit. If theye this way¡­¡±

    The door closed with another squeak of old hinges and the marching started.

    Each step was getting closer.

    (Red, get ready.)

    Two knights came around the entrance to the passage, but two shields appeared, charging directly at them.

    No time to react. The shields heavily smashed into their chests.

    Tipped backwards in their heavy armor, they had no choice but to stumble backwards to find their bnce¡­ thankfully, a sturdy stone balcony rail broke their fall.

    Yet the shield-smashing enemies were not done. As they reeled over the edge, the bastards grabbed their boots, pulling them upward.

    The knights tried to pull back, and for a moment, it worked. Their own strength and the weight of the armor helped to keep their feet grounded.

    Suddenly, Jay dropped a boot of the knight, ignoring the enemy as he went to help Red, pulling their boot up, and finally the knight went over the balcony, falling to its death.

    [115 Exp]

    The second knight brought its sword down on Jay¡¯s head,nding a strike on Jay¡¯s T-visor helmet and causing his mind to shake.

    [-4.3]

    A considerably small amount of damage to a level twelve necromancer, but it wasn¡¯t something Jay could ignore.

    Jay staggered back while Red took to sparring the enemy. Its sword expertlynded within the knight¡¯s neck and guts, sshing green fluid with wriggling parasites everywhere.

    Jay held his shield up as flickers of blood headed towards him.

    He didn¡¯t need to do anything as Red could already fight these enemies one versus one.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    However, the knight saw it would not win. It didn¡¯t turn to fight, but it didn¡¯t turn to run.

    Instead, it dashed towards one of the doors, hoping to pull its allies into the fight.

    (Fuck, don¡¯t let it get reinforcements!) Jay screamed through Red¡¯s mind.

    If the knight reached the door, then Jay¡¯s n would be all over. The enemies would open more doors and soon it would snowball out of control.

    Red dashed after the knight, piercing it in the back, but missing the spine where the parasites lived.

    ¡°Shit, it¡¯s going to make it.¡± Jay clenched his jaw.

    The necrotic helminth responded it its masters¡¯ stress, andunched a necrotic bolt, while Jay prepared to use his magic boots speed towards the knight with his shield down.

    Just before the knight reached the door, the necrotic bolt sted against its armor, but only ended up bursting into swirling necrotic energies.

    ¡°It¡¯s already toote to use iskean,¡± Jay thought, clenching his jaw.

    ¡°Uncaring Rip.¡±

    It was hisst hope.

    However, the spell critically failed, only ripping out one of the numerous bones in the enemies wrist. It could still use its hand. No effect at all.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    The knight mmed open the door and covered its back in the room, stopping Red from getting at its spine.

    Jay nced down the passage he came through, but at this point, it would only be a dead end. His only option was to escape the castle, then work out a new n.

    Red entered the room after the knight.

    [115 Exp]

    The sounds of heavy armor hitting the ground rang out, then the grand hall returned to silence once more.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Jay raised a brow.

    Cautiously stepping towards the room, Jay saw Red standing over the corpse, squishing anything wriggling with its feet.

    Other than Red and the freshly in knight, there was nothing else in the room.

    ¡°Ah¡­ there were no knights in here.¡± Jay shook his head with a smile.

    ¡°But if they aren¡¯t here, they must be out on patrol¡­¡±

    (Red, help me with the body.)

    Grabbing a boot, Jay pulled the corpse out of the room and onto the edge of the balcony. It was the only safe part of the knight to touch.

    A few momentster, and the lifeless body was tossed over the edge.

    Jay peered over the edge now, taking a chance to see just how deep this chamber was.

    ¡°Damn...¡±

    The bottom was much lower than ground level, and he had not even heard the echo of the first knight mming into the ground. It became dark further down, but there was more light at the bottom of the shaft.

    *Ptoi! ~* Jay spat, giving into his impulses.

    For a moment he watched his spit, but it soon got too tiny to see, and so he lost interest.

    ¡°Alright. We have more important things to do.¡± He whispered.

    (Grab some of those jars and start emptying them around the doors and passageways. We¡¯re going to break their patrolwork.)

    Red nodded and began sshing the luminous liquid all over the balcony.

    After a while, half of the luminous jars had been used up and emptied; the whole balcony now filled with a light mist, though it quickly dispersed when Jay decided they had opened enough.

    Returning to the passage, Jay waited and watched his work, and it didn¡¯t take long before some knights appeared.

    A door across the gap opened. Two knights marched out.

    ¡°Here we go.¡± Jay grinned.

    They walked along the balcony and halted, looking confused for a moment.

    ¡°You¡¯re grounded, bitches. Back to your room.¡±

    With nowhere else to go, they both turned around and returned to their room, as if they were responding to Jay¡¯s orders.

    ¡°It really is that simple.¡± Jay shook his head.

 Chapter 276 Life Cycle 5

    [345 Exp]

    [Your skeleton has been in.]

    They slew more enemies at the gatehouse, though they had taken another skeleton out, now using theirst bone well summon.

    In total, Jay had gained three percent chimera research, bringing it up to thirty-one percent - though Jay was more concerned with his perishing skeletons and the time he had left.

    ¡°Not much longer.¡± Jay thought, anticipating the downfall of the defensive skeletons.

    Following the roots, he noticed most of them leading through arger passageway into another chamber.

    The next chamber had many chairs, tables, and empty sses; a dining hall. Some roots branched off from the others, but the majority led through the room, leading to a spiral stairway on the other side.

    Seeing no enemies present, Jay sneaked through the room. When getting to the stairs, he and Red opened some more of the luminous jars around, sshing them around the entrance and on the stairs themselves.

    ¡°Hopefully no patrolling lesser knights wille down after us... but they might send something up after we dumped the bodies over the edge.¡± Jay whispered, disappearing down the stairs.

    The spiral staircase went past many rooms; some pitch-ck and others containing the luminous jars.

    Of course, Jay would take a few moments to ssh some jars around, ruining the paths of the patrolling knights.

    More roots crowded the steps as they descended, and after an hour of walking, Jay wondered when it would end.

    [230 Exp]

    More knights died at the gatehouse, but seeing the enormous size of the castle, with many lit chambers, Jay thought he must have only touched the tip of the iceberg.

    ¡°The army of one-hundred must have been the surface guards¡­ more wille up to the surface. Eventually.¡± He thought.

    Seeing the oddbs throughout the castle, along with the unending architecture built deep into the earth, Jay guessed that this castle was not built by the parasite-infested knights, or the pre-parasite knights, but by whoever created this grand experiment within this starving crucible.

    ¡°The scientists and experimenters probably threw these people into the grinding maws of research.¡±

    ¡°I feel sorry for the children born here, but it seems this crucible has raised them into monsters, too. All are tainted, after all.¡± Jay thought, remembering the girl who lured him into the cannibal vige; the vigers who only followed him to get free armor.

    ¡°The leaf-skin vige is further from the castle, but as the roots spread, it will only be a matter of time before they turn into cannibals too¡­¡± he nodded.

    ¡°Perhaps the true experiment was on the people living here, rather than the nt, or the parasites.¡± Jay pondered.

    Traveling deeper, the staircase opened into another room - yet several knights were in this one, from what Jay could see. A thick, pulsing root trailed from the depths of the staircase and went into the room too, branching in different directions and carrying nutrients from somewhere below.

    Peeking from the staircase, it surprised Jay to see several knights without armor... or any clothes, for that matter.

    Oddly, their flesh wasn¡¯t dark or rotting either, as if they had only been infected by the parasites recently.

    These fresh-looking men were standing around some more of the basins, each of them cupping the green fluids and drinking them.

    ¡°Yuck.¡± Jay''s face turned sour.

    Every so often, he could see an asional wriggling string under their skin, though the men didn¡¯t respond to it as they kept drinking the green fluids.

    In this strange room, only one knight donned armor, and it was a lesser type; a walking parasite nursery. Periodically, it would walk over to the basin and hold its non-fighting arm out; sshes of eggs and parasites entered the fluids, which were drank down by the fresh humans.

    ¡°Like little babies suckling the milk. Probably aren¡¯t too adept in battle¡­ this won¡¯t be too hard.¡± Jay thought, analyzing each of them.

    Already, Jay had decided to y them. Without armor, they could do nothing against his sword, his helminth bolts, or his unstable teeth spells. They didn¡¯t even have weapons to fight back.

    However, Jay would not use the teeth spells unless it was an emergency, fearing the explosion would attract too many enemies.

    (Red, you take the armored knight. I¡¯ll handle the others.)

    Jay waited for the perfect moment, and it soon presented itself. Distributing more eggs, the lesser knight marched over to one pool; it¡¯s back to the staircase.

    Jay dashed forwards, his necrotic gauntlet hand reaching forwards at of the naked enemies.

    ¡°Uncaring rip.¡± he said lowly.

    One of them suddenly froze and stopped drinking from the green parasite-infested pool.

    His body shuddered until the flesh ripped.

    *Ssh! ~*

    A mixture of green and red blood washed over all the other naked¡¯s as a giant t bone ripped from the back of his shoulder.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    The scap; shoulder de.

    Before anyone could turn around, two shes of sinister dark light came from behind.

    In the next moment, two more naked¡¯s copsed as chaotic swirling energies distorted the vision of the group.

    It damaged no flesh, but the necrotic bolts of the helminth were an insidious thing.

    Their spines turned to liquid.

    The parasites living inside lost control and their hosts¡¯ breathing stopped.

    A heavy blow of a shield struck armor; Red sent the armored knight off-bnce and shed at its neck relentlessly.

    Jay¡¯s sword appeared as a sh, and a head fell from someone¡¯s shoulders, sshing into the basin.

    In seconds, Jay had killed four of them. Four left.

    Jay brought his sword back again; one of the naked¡¯s brought their arms up in defense.

    One swing and an arm bathed in the basin while the other hit the ground.

    ¡°Pathetic.¡±

    Jay¡¯s reequipped his shield, covering his head as red and green blood sshed from the unarmed enemy.

    A decisive thrust came from behind the shield next, piercing the throat and exiting the back of their head.

    Instant death.

    Three enemies remained.

    One of them ran deeper into the room, the same direction a main branch of the pulsating root traveled.

    Yet turning his back was the worse thing he could have done.

    An ethereal, slender skull appeared as its jaws snapped shut; another necrotic boltnded on his back, turning his upper body into a sack of twitching flesh.

    Red offered no mercy, continuing to bash its shield and sh its sword at the knight.

    The knight thrust its arm into the skeleton¡¯s rib cage; It released a torrent of parasites and eggs - to little effect.

    Only having a single sword and a useless eggying arm wasn¡¯t enough to fight the fearsome skeleton.

    Red ignored its egg-arm while swatting its sword away with its squire shield. Raining more sword strikes, the creature¡¯s neck was soon severed.

    Two fragile, naked enemies remained, gazing at the onught. It was unclear what the parasites controlling them were thinking. Perhaps they were immature.

    ¡°Finish them.¡± Jay said casually, stepping away from the parasite-filled pools of blood.

    Red seemed to have its dreamse true as it pounced on the defenseless, weaponless humans. It cut off the leg of one, and then pierced its neck as it struggled on the ground.

    For thest enemy, Red dropped its shield and pounced.

    Red¡¯s sword plunged into the chest while its bone jaws mped onto the cor bone and crunched; it healed itself while ying the enemy.

    Releasing its sword, it grabbed the head and twisted sharply, breaking the neck. The parasite inside was no more.

    [920 Exp]

    It surprised Jay, seeing how brutal Red was, as he hadn¡¯t seen the skeleton in battle against humans for a while.

    ¡°Well¡­ they are still the same monsters they have always been. Giving them a role and fine armor won¡¯t change that.¡± He nodded.

    Red stomped on the remaining parasites and eggs, cleaning out its own skeleton as well, while Jay went back to the stairs and spread out more of the luminous fluid, ruining more of the scent-paths the knights used to keep themselves automated, and from getting lost.

    Sshing some over the pulsing, nutrient-carrying root, it had little effect.

    ¡°Now¡­ let¡¯s see where this one leads.¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°One of the naked¡¯s ran to it, so perhaps it¡¯s a ce of safety. Or so it thought.¡±

 Chapter 277 Life Cycle 6

    ¡°It¡¯s been nearly two days since I entered this dungeon, so about two to three hours have passed in the real world. Asra will wake up soon¡­¡± Jay thought.

    When he had left the real world, it was alreadyte into the afternoon. Leaving Heavy to guard Asra, the vampire, she was wrapped up in a noon-leather nket when he left.

    To make another assassination attempt, Dark was still making its way back through the mountains and forest towards the mage hunters, while its secondary aim was to misguide them.

    As for the mage hunters, they were still cutting a path through the mushroom desert, waiting for more specialised hunters to arrive who were adept with tracking magic.

    After ying Sullivan and his most loyal men, the mage hunters had irreparably damaged Lo forever, yet it was still changing. After being terrorized by the mage hunters, the vigers were already packing their belongings, while the other more paranoid types had left everything behindpletely, not wanting to risk another lockdown where death would be the only escape.

    Anya and Smiley (Matheson) were in mirror reality thirty-four at the third academy; an institution for variants. While safe for now, each of them was dealing with their own share of troubles; Anya, losing her father, and Smiley, his imprisonment, parasite, and escape.

    Under the orders of Norgrim the headmaster, one particr student, William, was using his variant powers to locate Jay, but after using up all of his mana, had little progress. For now, he knew as much as the mage hunters did, which was that Jay was somewhere in Hollow forest; the time dtion of the dungeon Jay was in interfered with his spy type variant magic.

    A third group was tracking Jay, too. A novice cohort of bounty hunters: Estra, Linc and Vanderby. Along with many other bounty hunters, they were after the gold reward ced on Jay, totaling three-hundred thousand gold. Dead or alive.

    Yet none of that would matter if Jay couldn¡¯t escape this dungeon.

    ¡°¡­ Asra will just have to wait. Hopefully Heavy keeps herpany.¡± He shrugged. Jay still had the [Guidance], so without it, Asra had no way of finding Luna, which was a military school for the vampires.

    Red had finished stomping parasites, but Jay still kept his feet far from the pools of green and red blood as he followed the pulsating root through a passageway into another chamber.

    Dimly lit, they ced only a few luminous jars around the edge of the room, and Jay guessed why as he saw the grotesque things looming in here.

    Large fleshy bulbs of clear fluids filled the room, each of them connecting to the pulsing roots somewhere behind them.

    Jay slowly walked around the bulbs, each of them as tall as him, round and transparent, with green and red veins travelling across them. Inside each of them were humanoid life forms in different stages of life, ranging from babies all the way to grown men. Most of them slept, but a few nearer to the light writhed and moved around inside, responding to the light nearby.

    ¡°So, they make their own humans¡­¡± Jay thought, walking past more of them.

    ¡°Break down the bodies in the pits, pump the nutrients back to the castle, create more knights, gather more bodies¡­¡± Jay shook his head. ¡°The circle of life is, uh, not so beautiful.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why their armor is so rusted. They¡¯ve been recycling it.¡±

    ¡°The nt must depend on the parasite-knights as much as they depend on it. They¡¯re practically made for each other.¡± he thought.

    ¡°¡­ Well, maybe they have been made for each other, here in this crucible experiment.¡±

    Walking around the giant bulbs, Jay found nothing of interest, but as he stepped over a pulsing root, he noticed something that made him shudder.

    While the pulsating roots connected to the fleshy bulbs, Jay found they did not form from the roots, and the discovery disgusted Jay as his eyes made sense of what he was seeing.

    ¡°No¡­¡± Jay stepped back from one of them, only to bump into another, his backpack pressing against a fleshy balloon.

    ¡°Mmm! Mmm, mmm!¡± A muffled, desperate scream.

    Jay couldn¡¯t bear to look, nor to listen, as he stepped back from the bloated bulb with a full-size human inside the giant translucent sack.

    The screams were noting from inside the fluid pod, but from the pod itself.

    Jay discovered what happened to the females.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    The roots entered their mouths, and over time, changed their anatomy. It erged their stomachs to an enormous size while shortening their limbs, turning them into these living growth sacks.

    Looking into her eyes, Jay saw she kept a part of her consciousness as her wretched eyes stared back from the cold stone floor; the nt kept her alive, but she was just a cog in the machine. A tortured existence.

    Suddenly, the root pulsed, pumping more nutrient down her throat and she soon lost consciousness again.

    Jay could only speechlessly stare, ¡°They¡¯re fucking people¡­ the bulbs are fucking people?¡±

    Speedily walking out of the room while holding his breath, Jay made sure not to touch anything, trying not to wake another, not wanting to have seen such a sight, not wanting to hear those hopeless, pained screams again. The more he looked, the more those bulbs looked like bloated stomachs, some even keeping a semnce of a belly button.

    Walking out through the hallway, he stood in the basin room again; the dead, naked bodies still bleeding everywhere.

    ¡°I have to get out of this fucking ce¡­ out of this dungeon,¡± Jay whispered to himself.

    ¡°I¡¯m used to guts and blood, but that was something¡­ something that I won¡¯t forget.¡±

    ncing at the staircase, Jay considered leaving, but then turned back and nced at the hallway behind. For a few moments, his eyes lingered, but soon decided against putting them out of their misery.

    ¡°Their deaths may cause an rm. If the knights know I¡¯m this deep into the castle, there¡¯s no telling what they¡¯ll do to stop me.¡± He thought, ¡°Besides, the dungeon will just reset when I finish it.¡±

    With no other options, Jay walked to the stairs and left the floor. It was a floor among many that he would pass by as he followed the root, descending deeper into this horrible castle.

    [Your skeleton has been in.]

    [115 Exp]

    Another skeleton died, taking an enemy with it.

    ¡°Looks like they¡¯re about to lose the gatehouse. I¡¯m surprised they held on as long as they did.¡± Jay thought with an approving nod; It pleased him having such reliablepanions.

    ¡°They bought me enough time to travel through the wall, enter the castle, destroy their patrol paths, and descend. All while recovering my mana pool.¡±

    During the journey, Jay had consumed some bondtussle root for some extra mana regeneration, and he had sixty-two mana.

    In one sense, it pleased Jay that his n had worked so well. The n disced most of the knights remaining in the castle, and if he had to guess, were closer to the surface levels while he was, hopefully, deeper down.

    Jay continued down the spiral staircase, passing by a few empty dark rooms and reaching the bottom.

    However, it wasn¡¯t the bottom floor. The staircase ended in a tight passage, with luminous jars lining either side. Jay emptied a few to ruin their scent-paths, and continued along,ing to the top of another staircase.

    ¡°Ah¡­ more damn stairs?¡± he frowned with a sigh.

    Having some rations and some water, he prepared his legs and mind for more stairs.

    As he and Red stood still, Jay noticed a faint sounding up from the lower staircase. Jay instantly recognised this familiar sound, and it was getting closer, louder...

    ¡°Marching¡­ more knights areing from below.¡±

 Chapter 278 Crossed Paths

    [230 Exp]

    The skeletons in the gatehouse held on as they fought a losing battle, providing Jay with much needed exp and a distraction.

    However, their numbers now dwindled to three.

    The skeletons were only bing better; not only at ying the knights but better fighters. Finding weak points and gaps in their armor, dealing with their sub-par swordsmanship, and working together to fight them back while taking turns to eat bones and recover.

    The knights provided the perfect training dummies for the skeletons, who were still growing their minds and learning. Unlike humans, they could also make dire mistakes, take risks and go all-out, which made them learn much faster, and ultimately, more vicious opponents to face.

    Jay thought about summoning the fallen skeleton back, but decided to wait until his mana was full. Another skeleton would just get in the way and cause more noise, and the less sound he made, the better.

    The sounds of marching knights got louder as he stood at the top of the lower staircase.

    ¡°There¡¯s definitely more than twoing¡­¡± he thought.

    Jay was in a narrow passage which connected the upper and lower stairs. There were no doors and no rooms; nowhere to hide. Jay wondered why they build the stairs disconnected from each other instead of as one continuous staircase, but his only guess it was for structural stability.

    With arge force of knightsing up, he had nowhere to go but backwards.

    ¡°Dammit. I just came down these.¡± He sighed, walking back and going back up the staircase.

    With his options limited, Jay had no choice but to backtrack. While he could hold off the knights in the narrow passage, which allowed one versus one fighting, it would cost him more time; more than he is willing to give.

    There was also some risk involved as he didn¡¯t know exactly how many knights wereing up the stairs. It could be several or seventy of them.

    With Red in the lead, he entered the first pitch-ck room that the stairs opened up into. It was one which wasn¡¯t used by the knights as there were no luminous jars around, not counting the ones in Jay¡¯s bag. As an added precaution he poured out some of the luminous jars from his stash around the entrance, in case there were any stray patrolling lesser knights and a patrol route in this room.

    Before dispersing into mist, it lit the room up for a moment and revealed many long wooden benches arranged before a white stone altar.

    ¡°No time to investigate.¡± he thought, passing the rows of wooden benches.

    Jay walked to the back of the room, hiding himself behind the altar and peered back at the staircase, waiting.

    The luminous fluid disappeared, along with its light.

    For now, all Jay could do was wait, listening to the sounds of marching knights getting louder.

    ¡°If they doe in and discover me, I¡¯ll need to flood the room with bones¡­ then, well, it¡¯ll just be a painfully long struggle.¡± He thought, already making backup ns for if the enemy discovered his presence..

    Peering into the darkness from behind the altar, the marching got louder, and soon, a faint light appeared in the staircase. The familiar glow of luminous jars.

    One knight appeared, carrying a sword in one hand and a glowing jar in the other.

    Behind it, an intelligent one directed it, carrying a sword and shield.

    The lesser ignored the pitch-ck room and continued upwards, taking a step on the staircase. However, the intelligent one reached forwards, grabbing the shoulder of the jar-carrying lesser.

    Both of them paused.

    It made the lesser turn to face the pitch-ck room; more light flooded in.

    The helmet of the intelligent one turned across the room, scanning it.

    Jay quickly ducked his head behind the altar and hid himselfpletely from the light.

    He held his breath and watched the walls, and the ceiling as the lightnded on them.

    The light remained unmoving - but only for a moment.

    ¡°Good¡­ just leave.¡±

    More marching echoed through the room as knights trailed up the staircase. Jay was about to sigh in relief, but then the light got brighter.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    The enemy wasing into the room.

    ¡°But why? I don¡¯t believe they would search every room every time they pass it? That would be a waste of time.¡±

    *Smash!*

    nks of wood tumbling across the stone floor rattled through the room.

    Jay gripped his sword tightly, hearing one of the wooden chairs being smashed apart.

    Looking up at the walls, the light was getting even brighter. The enemy was approaching.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    ¡°Fuck, they¡¯ll be on me any second. I¡¯ll punish these inquisitive bastards after I dig them out of the bones...¡± he thought, but still tried to remain silent. He readied his sword.

    (Red. Don¡¯t make a sound, but get ready for a fight. Focus on blocking the entrance once it starts.)

    Red¡¯s cold eyes shed a glow of green, covertly epting Jay¡¯s orders.

    A knight carrying a luminous jar came ever closer, its light caused the shadow of the altar to appear on the wall; it was now the shadow Jay was hiding in.

    The shadow of the alter got lower and lower, while the marching of knights got louder. However, Jay¡¯s mind was notpletely focused on the fight.

    ¡°How did it know? How?¡± Jay wondered, ¡°No enemies escaped, and I damaged no roots down here. We tossed some knights into the deeps of the castle, but we were still far up, above the surface when we did that.¡±

    It annoyed Jay, as he was sure that he made no mistakes. He continued to hold his breath, hoping to conceal his presence.

    ¡°They abandoned this room and left it dark. The intelligent knights don¡¯t use the scent-paths, but there would be no reason for any paths to be here. All the dead bodies of enemies are much higher up the staircase, and they probably haven¡¯t even found them yet.¡±

    Yet the shadow dropped lower and lower, and in a matter of seconds it hit the floor behind the altar.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now. It¡¯s nearly on top of us¡­¡±

    Jay tucked his feet in as he felt that the light source was just above his head. Any closer and there would be no shadow to hide in.

    He fought against his mind to keep holding his breath, clenching his jaw to stop himself from giving up and gulping in the air.

    ¡°Just a little closer¡­¡± he thought.

    The light moved around for a moment, shifting the shadow of the altar as it searched for something, then stopped again.

    ¡°Come closer you fucker!¡± Jay screamed in his mind, wanting to take a breath while plunging his sword through the enemy¡¯s throat.

    The shadow rose back up the wall and suddenly stopped.

    *Clink.*

    ¡°¡­?¡±

    It confused Jay, hearing the quiet, innocent sound of ss and stone, yet it was relieving at the same time.

    ¡°It¡­ ced the jar down?¡± he smiled, slowly taking a silent breath through his nose.

    The sound of a knight marched away, kicking some broken pieces of the wooden chair at it went.

    Jay wanted to chuckle as he took in a steady, deep breath. Only now did he realise how tightly he was gripping his sword.

    ¡°I guess I didn¡¯t make any mistakes.¡±

    While waiting for his breathing to return to normal, he simply sat there, leaning against the altar and staring at the softly glowing light on the wall.

    The marching continued behind him, and by the sounds of it, many knights were heading up the stairs.

    Jay built up some nerve and peeked around the side of the altar, keeping his head in the shadows.

    An unending line of knights appeared from below and disappeared up the stairs. Other than the ones passing by, there were no knights in the room. The intelligent one had left, along with the jar-carrier.

    Letting out a quiet sigh, Jay hid back behind the altar.

    ¡°Looks like I have some time to kill.¡± he thought, and took out his rolled-up swag, using it as a pillow.

    Propping himself upfortably, he rested his eyes.

    (Red, wake me up when the marching stops.)

    Jay had only rested once sinceing to this dungeon, during his brief time in the cannibal vige. A nap was long overdue, and the sleeplessness had not been helping his nerves, while the darkness of the castle had just added to his craving for sleep.

    [Your skeleton has been in.]

    ¡°Enough already, I get it¡­ I¡¯ll bring them back soon.¡± Jay waved his hand, stifling a yawn.

    In the gatehouse, two skeletons are still alive after one died. Instead of fighting any longer, they enacted out thest part of the n their master had created for them.

    The n? Run into the opposite passage through the walls - opposite to the one Jay took when leaving the gatehouse, then keep running in random directions, leading the slow knights in a chaotic scramble throughout the castle.

    It was unlikely that the skeletons would get kills during the fleeing, but it would help to cover Jay¡¯s tracks. If the knights find the dead bodies of theirrades, they may falsely attribute their deaths to the two gatehouse skeletons who ran free inside the castleplex.

    Their job had changed, but the goal was still the same. Ultimately, they were a distraction.

 Chapter 279 Lower Rooms

    Red tapped its bony fingers on Jay¡¯s shoulder, tenderly nudging him awake.

    ¡°Mm?¡± Jay grunted bitterly and cracked his eyes open, quickly remembering where he was.

    ¡°¡­ thanks.¡± He nodded, stashing his pillow away. The first thing he saw was his skeleton, staring at him with its glowing, beady, dark-green eyes - yet he felt a warm familiarity rather than an icy fear.

    While standing up, he smiled at the luminous jar sitting on the altar. It made Jay feel a little silly with how he had reacted, but d, too. His paranoid self had over-reacted, but he would not have changed a thing. Jay left the jar there, not evenying a finger on it in case it was a test or a trap. It would be pretty obvious if it went missing, as it was the only light source in the room.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head deeper.¡± He nodded, d that he had got some rest for his eyes and legs.

    ¡°Can¡¯t be much further now¡­ right?¡± he thought, and marched down the stairs.

    As Jay made it to the passage connecting the upper and lower staircases, he had another snack as he walked through.

    However, as he went to find some meat in his inventory, he found a serious problem.

    ¡°Ah¡­ shit. Out of food.¡± He pursed his lips.

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t get more down here, and there¡¯s not much up above either. I¡¯ll just have to go hungry and finish this damn thing. I guess this dungeon has a time limit after all¡­ finish it before the roots cover everything and the food runs out¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­ Or, before the knights convert everyone to nutrients.¡± He shrugged.

    Reaching the lower staircase, Jay listened quietly at the top. Hearing no marching echoes or clinking armor, he began the journey down, making sure not to step on the pulsating root he had been following.

    The lower staircase was much shorter than the upper one, and Jay made his way down it in no time, though it peculiarly descended out of the ceiling and ended in the middle of arge room. A single luminous jar waited at the bottom of the stairs and was the only source of light.

    Apart from the pulsating root and the staircase, Jay could see multiplerge pirs around, which disappeared into the darkness in different directions. Red took a few steps off the staircase, causing an echo in the pitch-ck, silent room, and it made it easy to tell that it¡¯s more like an enormous cave than a room.

    (Red, wait here a moment.)

    Seeing the cavernous room, Jay thought to summon his spare skeletons.

    ¡°Dammit.¡± he thought as he walked up the stairs until it went into the ceiling again. This was to shield the glow of his necrotic mana from anything which may be watching within the darkness.

    After dumping a few skeletons on the staircase, the bones floated and formed two skeletons - Lamp and Sweeper.

    ¡°So, it must just be Blue and Handy up there¡­¡± he looked up.

    Jay expected Handy to be one of the fallen skeletons, though it was a level four skeleton now, so it held its own against the knights, as well as any of the others.

    ¡°Lamp, Sweeper. Wee back.¡± Jay whispered, ¡°craft yourselves some weapons.¡±

    Both of the skeletons grabbed some bones and got to work. Normally, Jay would have crafted them some, but this time, he saved his mana for summoning.

    It surprised Jay as he watched Lamp form an ossein sword for itself.

    ¡°I guess the gut knife and shepherd¡¯s crook aren¡¯t the right weapons for dealing with the knights.¡± Jay shrugged, d to see its skeleton learning.

    Lamp gave its new sword a few practice swings, however, it turned back to the bone pile and formed another weapon.

    A long, slender pole with a curved end. It was crafting another shepherd¡¯s crook.

    ¡°Ah¡­ I guess some things never change.¡±

    Sweeper crafted itself a sword too, but even though it wanted to, it restrained itself from crafting defensive spikes. It is the rear guard, after all.

    ¡°Alright. Head downstairs.¡± Jay whispered, then added the remaining bones to his inventory and followed them down.

    Reaching the bottom of the stairs again, Jay felt morefortable with three skeletons around him, and so followed the root along. Each of them could see perfectly in the dark, and their vision covered all angles. Death-walker¡¯s sentry added a fourth set of eyes as Jay equipped it too.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    The party moved cautiously, yet quickly. Jay held one hand on the back of Red¡¯s squire armor,pletely trusting in his skeletons.

    ¡°They¡¯re kind of like an extension of myself. In a way. I¡¯m simply relying on my own powers.¡±

    ¡°One adventurer may use a spell to give themselves vision. I use a spell to give guidance.¡± He thought, ¡°not that different to a normal adventurer¡­ a normal person.¡±

    Of course, the ¡®spell¡¯ Jay was referring to could also ughter an entire vige, cull forests and mercilessly torture his enemies.

    ¡°I could also use the host spell and see through their eyes, but it would consume too much mana.¡±

    After walking for a few minutes, Jay¡¯s eyes adjusted to the dark and some other lights revealed themselves in the room.

    ¡°More luminous jars?¡± He wondered, ¡°there must be more staircases going up to the surface?¡±

    *Burrrr~*

    Suddenly, a deep creaking echoed throughout the room. A torrent of light flowed into the darkness as a grand door cracked open.

    The door was as tall as a three-story building made of metal and stone.

    (Move to a pir and hide!) Jaymanded.

    The light didn¡¯t fill the room, but covered most of it, which caused Jay to feel exposed. He and the skeletons dashed to a nearby pir and waited behind it, vigntly watching.

    Under the light of the grand door, he could clearly see numerous roots all meeting and leading somewhere near the side of the door. All the roots came from their own staircases, though there were some staircases with two sets of roots.

    More sounds of marching rolled into the room as multiple knights appeared, leaving the grand doors carrying rusted swords and luminous jars.

    ¡°Where are they getting all these fucking jars from?¡± Jay wondered.

    The knights made a long line as they orderly followed one root towards one of the other staircases, which Jay soon thought looked like a line of mana-ants.

    ¡°At least they¡¯re noting this way.¡± He crept around the pir, staying out of their vision.

    The giant door slowly closed again and darkness washed back through the room, leaving only the glowing line of knights.

    Jay patiently waited for them to leave before turning to the skeletons.

    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re the only ones here.¡± He whispered, ¡°Explore the room, don¡¯t touch the roots, remain hidden when the door opens, and bring back whatever you find.¡±

    In the meantime, Jay walked further away from the root. Guiding himself by the light of his own luminous jar, he went to another pir to hide behind; a precaution in case more knights came along the root he was closest to.

    While waiting for the skeletons to search the room, he took a moment to think things through.

    ¡°I wonder how that door opens and closes, what kind of mechanism it uses. Surely it¡¯s not simply pushed open..?¡± he scratched his chin; it was simply too big.

    ¡°¡­ I wonder how often knights leave this area, and how often theye back. It¡¯s hard to know if they¡¯re patrols or a response force to my skeletons.¡±

    ¡°If theserge groups of knights are patrols, then some wille back soon, so I can¡¯t just keep watch on the door¡­ but I can¡¯t stay here for too long, either. It will only be a matter of time before they find the dead knights and naked bodies on that breeding floor¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­ Ugh,¡± Jay frowned in disgust, remembering the things he saw there.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see what the skeletons find, then we¡¯ll make a move on the next room¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­ If I can¡¯t open the door, and they don¡¯t open it,¡± his eyes nced over the roots, ¡°I¡¯ll just have to force them out.¡± he smiled mischievously.

 Chapter 280 One Way In

    Three skeletons searched the room while Jay idly waited next to the safety of arge pir, impossibly holding up the grand subterranean castle above.

    Some sounds starteding from a nearby staircase.

    ¡°Knights.¡± Jay thought.

    In moments, a light appeared. Another jar, carried by an intelligent knight in one hand, yet in its other hand, was something which was a cause for concern.

    ¡°Skulls¡­ some of my skeleton¡¯s skulls?¡± Jay creased his brows. ¡°what are they doing with them?¡± he wondered.

    ¡°The skulls must havee from the skeletons in under the gate before I closed it.¡± He thought, as the others had died recently.

    Jay doubted they could use magic to track him with it, but whatever they were going to use it for couldn¡¯t be good.

    Worst-case scenario? They were going to test whatever weapons worked best against the bone skulls.

    Best-case scenario? It was merely a trophy.

    As Jay thought about how they may use this against him, he noticed this knight was alone, and a smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°Actually, they will not do a damn thing with it. It¡¯s my property.¡± He smiled.

    (Converge on the knight. End it swiftly.) he ordered.

    The knight walked alone with its light and skull, almost peacefully, that was until three deathly skulls emerged from the darkness; swords poised to strike.

    Each of them closed in on the knight with shocking speed, their weapons all pointed precisely at its weak points.

    The knight froze. It didn¡¯t know what to do.

    And how could it? It had no weapons, and it had no allies. All it had was its armor - yet that proved useless as a sword pierced its back.

    There was one behind¡­ well, of course there was.

    [115 Exp]

    The knight dropped to the ground; a luminous cloud appeared for a moment as the jar smashed. Its armor rattled, but the echoes soon died out too.

    Jay listened for a moment; the cavernous room returned to silence. It was a wless assassination.

    Hearing that there was no response, he walked over to the body.

    They tied the four skulls together with a piece of torn cloth, which nowy at its side in some broken ss.

    ¡°Huh. Mine.¡± Jay whispered, reaching out his hand and adding them to his necrotic gauntlet.

    (Red, loot it. You can have the armor.)

    Red had gained itself a new pair of boots; ted and angr. They fit well with the shin-guard armor. The spectral greaves ran down the skeleton¡¯s shins and into a cusp of the armored boot, sealing in and protecting the skeleton¡¯s ankles. It was practically a perfect fit.

    ¡°Now¡­ what to do with the dead body?¡± Jay wondered.

    ¡°Sweeper, you might as well take its armor. You¡¯ll lose it once we leave the dungeon, but for the time being, it¡¯s decent armor. Even though it is rusted through.¡± He shrugged.

    Jay watched as the skeleton began to physically strip the armor off the knight; it was troublesome as there were several fastenings it had to find and undo.

    ¡°I probably should¡¯ve taken the armor off the first group of knights we yed. I guess I didn¡¯t really value it, since I couldn¡¯t loot it. Perhaps had tunnel-vision for the system... System-vision?¡± he thought.

    Jay decided not to watch the knight slowly being stripped and went back to his rtively safer pir, giving a follow-up order.

    ¡°Lamp, dispose of the body once Sweeper takes its armor. Somewhere at the back of the room.¡±

    After the skeletons finished hiding the body, they resumed searching the room.

    During that time, no more knights had appeared, but before Jay acted out his next ns to get into the giant doors, he sent somemands to the skeletons above; the ones aimlessly running around the castle and distracting the knights.

    ¡°I¡¯m not even sure if this will work, but it¡¯s worth a try¡­¡±

    (Blue, Handy. If you can, find an empty, pitch ck room and un-summon yourselves - with none of the knights knowing. Try to find somewhere they won¡¯t find your bones.)

    Jay added the ¡®if you can¡¯ modifier at the start of the order, in case the skeletons didn¡¯t have the ability to un-summon themselves.

    As for the un-summon order, Jay hoped the skeletons would find a secret area to do this in, because if the knights didn¡¯t find their bodies or y them, they would still waste time and manpower trying to find the skeletons, assuming that they were still alive.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    In the meantime, Jay could summon them and have all five skeletons with him.

    However, Blue and Handy would need time to do this, and Jay would not wait for them to carry out their new orders.

    The skeletons found nothing in the room and returned to Jay, ultimately finding nothing. However, one skeleton looked quite different.

    ¡°Oh¡­ Lamp got some new clothes. Great.¡± Jay thought sarcastically, shaking his head at the horror that was Lamp.

    Lamp had disposed of the knight¡¯s body, but also took a reward for itself. It was now covered in skin from its head to its ribs. Apparently, it needed more than one corpse to create its full skin suit, as it lost some in the conversion process.

    ¡°Alright. Nothing else is in this room other than the stairs, the roots, and the door. Let¡¯s move.¡±

    Walking from pir to pir, Jay and his three skeletons moved to the door.

    Eventually, he was standing by thest pir closest to the door. Knowing how many knights had already left these giant doors, Jay felt quite tense.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s a level four dungeon¡­ just don¡¯t underestimate it.¡± Jay told himself.

    Jay was about to expose his presence here, so gave Lamp a luminous jar to light the way. Lamp hastily epted the gift, however, instead of ditching its shepherd¡¯s crook, it ced them both down, with the jar sitting in the curved part of the shepherd¡¯s crook. Using a little necrotic mana, it molded some bone around the jar and fixed it in ce.

    ¡°Huh¡­ so it carriesmps and grabs humans with its crook¡­¡± Jay raised a brow, yet there was no time to ponder over it further.

    Taking a step away from the cover of the pir, he gripped his sword and shield tightly. His breathing became heavy. Each of his steps felt incredibly loud.

    Approaching the door, he saw that apart from various iron bars covering it; the stone was smooth. The crack between them was smaller than his fingers.

    ¡°Impressive.¡± He thought, gazing upwards.

    Somehow, the door appeared evenrger up close, as if it leaned over him.

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t knock on stone.¡± He thought.

    Looking over at the roots, he followed them along. They didn¡¯t lead to the door itself, but to a part of the wall near it.

    A hole had formed in the wall,plete with cracks, dirt, and seeping sap. They had formed arger hole as they eroded the cracks of the years.

    ¡°Insidious.¡± Jay thought.

    Combined and twisted together, all the pulsing roots formed a giant pipe of pumping nutrients, and all of them grouped up like this were as tall as Jay.

    Jay¡¯s n was simply to cut them. All of them. He hoped it would cause the door to open. In fact, he was counting on it.

    However, seeing the sheer number of these roots, as tall as he was, he didn¡¯t believe he could cut them all; not him or the skeletons.

    While the goal was to get the door open, and cutting one would do, he also wanted to do as much damage as possible.

    Jay held another acid-filled shard in his hand, knowing it would do the trick.

    ¡°Ah¡­ no.¡± He stashed away the shard. ¡°It would be too easy. I can¡¯t keep relying on these when things get hard. I need to do it myself.¡±

    The skeletons rushed over, ¡°well, by my own power anyway.¡±

    As the skeletons got into ce, he reasoned with himself some more, ¡°I guess I don¡¯t have to cut them all.. I want to, but it¡¯s more of a secondary goal.¡±

    With the skeletons in ce, Jay readied his sword. He wasn¡¯t worried about getting hit with stray nt fluids, as he knew from the breeding room that they add the parasites and eggster on.

    Together, they surrounded the mass of roots. Red stood by Jay¡¯s side. Sweeper was on the other side of the roots, while Lamp awkwardly stood on top.

    ¡°Alright boys, one my count. Three¡­ two¡­ one.¡±

    *Pssh~!*

    A deadly jet of high-pressure, green fluid burst from a slight cut on the root. It pushed back on Jay¡¯s sword as it shot high into the air, and in moments, caused a green rain.

    Yet the root was not done. Jay had just ruined its structural integrity. He broke the seal.

    Three other jets also spurted out the high-pressure fluid, and each of the skeletons simrly jumped back.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s -¡± Jay stepped back in surprise, ¡°Oh shit¡­ Oh! Shit!¡±

 Chapter 281 Oh, Oops.

    Three skeletons and Jay brought their swords down, foolishly so, onto high-pressure roots. A minor cut was all it took to release a dangerous jet of high-speed fluid.

    The jets damaged each of their swords and flung their arms back; Lamp fell off the bundle of roots, almost shattering the glowing jar mounted in its shepherd¡¯s crook.

    The cracks in the roots split wider, and shot against other roots, also cutting them open with ease.

    ¡°Oh shit,¡± Jay ran towards the door, hiding on the other side and expecting its opening. The skeletons followed Jay along, seeing how the situation changed.

    The fluid gushed out with tremendous force, forming arger andrger fountain, and ripping apart the remaining roots as if they were paper.

    Finally, a deep rolling sound came from Jay¡¯s side - the door was cracking open and light gleamed out.

    As soon as it opened enough to fit someone through, three knights sprinted out towards the bursting roots. They knew it was bad, but didn¡¯t know it would be this bad. Each of them stood at the side, lowering their swords as they watched the chaotic fountain.

    Suddenly, a jet of green fluid shot towards one knight.

    The knight paused, dropped its sword, and then shuddered.

    The jet pierced its armor and instantly filled its insides as if it were a balloon. It had no time to react.

    *Shring! ~*

    The other two knights dropped to their knees - the skeletons decisively yed them, taking advantage of their turned backs.

    [115 Exp] [115 Exp]

    All three knights died, but the door remained open.

    Jay focused on his goal, and was peeking through the door. The odd lights inside drew his attention first.

    ¡°Luminous¡­ sticks?¡± Jay thought, seeing the bright lights through the giant stone doors.

    A pure white light came from long glowing rods in the ceiling, dispersing all the darkness.

    Just beyond the door was a steel balcony overlooking the doorway. In the middle was something like a podium. No eyes were on Jay as he peeked through, though Jay saw a knight running from the podium on the balcony.

    ¡°I bet they control the gate up there. Good thing it didn¡¯t see me.¡±

    (Boys, quick, we¡¯re going in!)

    The skeletons rushed back to their master after the fresh kills, while Red had already slipped between the giant doors and entered the room, with Jay following.

    Inside the room entrance was a small moat with a metal bridge going over the top. They did not fill the moat with water or anything, and it was as deep as Jay was tall. It was simply there to slow down enemies.; Jay could easily climb out if he fell in, and it would only be a problem if there were enemies around, harassing him from the other side.

    The bridge itself impressed Jay as they formed it from oneplete piece of metal, and had a pattern of small thumb-sized holes across in it; however, there was no time for analysis.

    Across the bridge and below the balcony, a hallway stretched through the undergroundpound, turning left and right at the end.

    Speeding over the bridge, Jay soon heard sounds of rustling armor.

    It wasn¡¯t the usual ordered, rhythmic sounds of marching, but a chaotic mess of frantic clunking which was getting noisier. Clearly, the knights were distressed and now disordered.

    To Jay, it sounded more like a rock slide or heavy rain; he couldn¡¯t even see them yet, but in a matter of moments the sound was bing almost deafening.

    ¡°Dammit. Too many, too-fucking-many,¡± he thought, shaking his head with a smile of disbelief. Jay stopped his dash down the hallway.

    Gazing back at the door, he thought about rushing out, but knew it wasn¡¯t an option.

    ¡°That room will be the first ce they search, and I¡¯m already locked in the castle. There¡¯s no going back now.¡±

    Looking back at the hallway, he saw the first shadow of the knightsing.

    Jay looked down at the moat below. It was his only option.

    (Move!)<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    He immediately jumped into the moat; the skeletons followed along, and together they huddled under the metal bridge. Jay put his disgust at touching the skeletons aside and huddled with them.

    He quickly grabbed the end of Lamp¡¯s shepherd¡¯s crook and stuffed it into his bag, stopping any light from escaping, and in moments, the first enemy ran over the bridge.

    *Clong ~ clong ~ cling ~*

    The metal boots of knights began stomping above their heads. Jay ced his hand over his mouth.

    He looked up cautiously; peering through the thumb-sized holes at the passing knights. For once, he was d their armor was so concealing; it blocked some of their sight, stopping them from looking below their feet and finding the four infiltrators hiding in the shadows of the bridge.

    Jay steadied his breathing and tried to calm himself, but also came up with some worst-case scenarios and thought about how he would get out of them.

    Many of the solutions involved flooding the room with bones.

    [Your skeleton is no more.]

    ¡°Ah? So they can un-summon themselves.¡± Jay thought, ¡°but they¡¯ll have to wait before I can bring them back.¡±

    Tens of knights passed, and soon over one hundred, yet the sounds of them somehow became louder.

    Jay just made himself still, focusing on being quiet and calm despite the stressful, life-threatening situation. It would have caused many others in his situation to panic, but Jay knew there was nothing gained from doing so. After a while, he received another notification and his mood quickly improved.

    < [Ability Acquired] >

    [Stealth - Level 1]

    ¡°Oh?¡± he raised a brow. ¡°Well, I guess it makes sense. I have concealed my presence while all these knights have passed.¡± He thought.

    With nothing else to do, he checked the new skill.

    < [Stealth - Level 1] > (Passive)

    [Level 1 - The shadows ever so slightly bend towards you, protecting you as one of their own.]

    [Less chance of being detected.]

    [Greater chance of noticing other stealthy beings.]

    ¡°Awesome. All I have to do is sit still and I get better.¡± He thought with a sly smile, knowing the same was true for his skeletons.

    Jay rxed under the bridge, yet even now there were knights stomping across it.

    Many had left, exiting out the giant stone doors; it was more than enough to deal with the burst roots, and he guessed they were rushing up the numerous staircases, searching for whoever did this.

    Some timeter, after what seemed like hundreds of knights had passed over, the amount now running across the bridge slowed down a great deal, from a river to a trickle. The stragglers were making their way out.

    ¡°Seems like there¡¯s some in every group.¡± Jay thought.

    *Clonk ~ nk ~ ng-ring ~*

    Suddenly, a rusted metal sword fell; dropped by a clumsy charging knight, it rang as it skittered across the stone floor.

    The sword caught Jay¡¯s eye as itnded just on the edge of the moat; the de hanging over the edge. Meanwhile, its owner was half-way over the bridge, having too much momentum to slow down.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    Jay immediately clenched his jaw as his eyes widened.

    Looking up through the thumb-sized holes, Jay saw the knight slow down on the bridge, and turned to walk back, fetching its sword.

    Jay watched on in horror as his mind raced. All the calmness he had cultivated disappeared in mere seconds.

    ¡°It might see us when it bends down¡­ What do I do... What can we do¡­¡±

 Chapter 282 Paths

    Jay and three skeletons, Red, Lamp and Sweeper, had remained undetected as they huddled under the metal bridge.

    Numerous knights had marched over, and Jay had lost count at some point. He guessed there were hundreds.

    His n was to wait here until all the knights left, and now there were some stragglers slowly filtering out of theplex.

    Over time, he had calmed himself and became used to the stress of hiding under the enemya€?s nose. However, a clumsy straggler had dropped its sword, which was now teetering on the edge of the bridge.

    Its rusted de gleamed in the lights above. It was like a searchlight spotting them out.

    The clumsy knight walked back across the bridge.

    (Sweeper, youa€?re the closest. If it looks at as, grab it.)

    Sweeper glowed its eyes at Jay and assumed a crouching position while Jay and the other skeletons readied their swords.

    The knight marched over and leaned down to grab its sword.

    Its visor revealed the moat while it forwards, and something caught its eyes.

    An odd shadow, perhaps?

    Its rusted helmet slowly ground to the side.

    Jay responded before it could.

    (Now!)

    A skeleton pounced from the shadows, its bone ws outstretched; three other beings were behind it with swords pointed at it, staring with vicious hunger, looking like they wanted to consume it.

    Raising its gauntlet, it blocked the pouncing skeleton.

    Its ws scraped off a dust of red but couldna€?t find a grip.

    The parasite saw enemies and, being alone, it only had one motive: a€?Warn the brothers.a€?

    It left its sword, standing back up straight again.

    (Lamp, do it!)

    Suddenly, a green sh appeared.

    a€?Glow pod?a€? the parasite thought.

    Yet something suddenly pulled its neck back.

    Lamp had wrapped its shepherda€?s crook around the neck of the knight.

    Jay, Red and Lamp all pulled, causing the knight to stumble back and fall.

    Without hesitation, they dragged it into the moat.

    The defenseless knight died without a fight as the skeletons held it down and plunged their swords through the gaps in its armor.

    (Drag its body under the bridge.) Jaymanded.

    Checking there were no parasites on him, he grabbed the knighta€?s sword, which was still sitting on the edge of the moat.

    [115 Exp]

    a€?Problem averted.a€? He thought.

    Jay went to move under the bridge, but paused.

    The knighta€?s green blood was squirming with smaller parasites. Some were as small as a fingernail while others were as long as a dagger.

    a€?Just one of those would end me.a€? Jay thought.

    He didna€?t think they could leave the dungeon, but if one burrowed into his skin and slowly ate through his spine, then the chances of leaving the dungeon at all would plummet.

    The three skeletons huddled under the bridge with the knight, and there was no room left for Jay either; at least, not enough room to be clear of the parasite-infested blood.

    Another knight woulde soon, so Jay waited at the back of the gate room in the corner.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Because of the army of knights moving out, it had been ear-piercingly loud, as they had tossed Jay into a violent storm, but now much of the marching had grown quieter.

    Jay could hear a knighting down the hallway and stood back against the wall. He could only hope it didna€?t turn its head.

    However, the knight slowed down, even before it came into the gate room.

    a€?Huh?a€? Jay turned his head.

    a€?Shit.a€?

    Lampa€?s shepherda€?s crook had left Jaya€?s bag to grab the clumsy knight, along with the luminous jar still attached. It glowed brightly under the bridge.

    (Lamp, hide the damn light!) Jaya€?s eyes bulged as he stared at the skeleton with anger.

    Jay had his bag with him; Lamp looked around awkwardly for a moment, and then stuffed it into the only ce it could think of: under its human-skin.

    The jar glowed under its ribs, and a soft glow came from Lampa€?s eyes, though it wasna€?t enough to be noticeable, not with the pure white lights in the room.

    Yet, the approaching knight had already seen.

    (Get ready.)

    The knight moved into the room, not noticing Jay in the corner as it fixated its focus on the bridge.

    It wasna€?t cautious, but curious; Its sword lowered as at it approached. It probably thought another knight had foolishly ced a a€?glow poda€? (luminous jar) down there.

    Lamp awkwardly held the jar under its flesh while the other skeletons readied themselves. Hopefully Sweeper would grab the enemy this time, and wouldna€?t be forced to reveal the light-bearing shepherda€?s crook.

    The knight made it to the side of the moat.

    Immediately, it saw its fallenrade surrounded by skeletons.

    A skeleton pounced as it readied its sword - the skeleton grabbed its gauntlet, but the knight braced itself. It brought the sword down and was about to free its arm.

    *Thud!*

    A blow to its back sent it toppling into the moat.

    Piercing swords slid through its armor; yet it only had onest thought: a€?Who hit me?a€?

    [115 Exp]

    Jaya€?s spartan kick was a resounding sess. The skeletons dragged another body under the bridge, stacking it onto the other knight''s corpse.

    It was getting cramped, but the skeletons could still mostly hide their presence.

    Jay returned to the corner of the room, pressing his body as close to the wall as he could.

    A few minutes passed, and another knight ran across the bridge, this time not noticing anything.

    Jay sighed in relief, though he still felt tense. An army was just outside the doors, while he was at a dead-end. Trapped with only one way in and out.

    a€?This is so fucked up.a€? He thought, a€?But I nned for this. Just calm down and think logically.a€? He nodded.

    a€?Ia€?ll need to reveal my presence again to push deeper. If we block the knights from getting out, the army wona€?t be warned, either. Bluea€?s bones are up there somewhere, hidden. Handy is still running around. Once they discover their corpses, theya€?ll realize Ia€?m down here, or at least that there are more enemies than what they realized.a€?

    a€?They will probably do a thorough search, so I just need to act before then.a€? He nodded as another knight ran over the bridge.

    Jay moved from his position and quickly nced down the hallway, then looked up to the balcony with the podium.

    a€?If we can get to the gate controls, wea€?ll be fine... or we can rush into thepound and try to y the nt. Hopefully, it will be over after that.a€?

    Jay nced up at the metal balcony above. They built it into the wall so there were no supporting structures to climb up; a good tactical decision, while the walls were as smooth as polished leather.

    The balcony was a little over two stories high; it would meet the floor of a third story ifpared. It could safely look down on the three-story tall stone gates and see into the moat below.

    Despite how high up it was, Jay smiled slyly as he sensed an opportunity.

    a€?I guess they didna€?t design this with the undead in mind.a€?

    Before making another move, Jay returned to the corner and waited for the next knight to pass.

 Chapter 283 Split

    Another knight charged across the bridge, this time not noticing Jay in the corner or its deadrades below its feet.

    ¡°Hmm... They use smells to get around andmunicate. I¡¯m surprised they don¡¯t release a smell after death. A death-scent?¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°I bet they don¡¯t like windy days, although in the crucible there¡¯s probably not much wind, anyway.¡±

    As the knight left through the giant stone doors, Jay only called up one skeleton from under the bridge.

    (Sweeper. Remove your armor and get up here. Quick.)

    Sweeper stripped off its rusted armor and jumped out of the trench as Jay pointed upward to the balcony.

    (Jump up there.) Jaymanded.

    Jay picked Sweeper over the other two as it had no real armor or stolen skin weighing it down - real armor being that which is looted, rather than physically removed from enemies, and can leave the dungeon.

    With its weapon in hand, Sweeper jumped over one story high, which was impressive, but it only made it halfway to the tform. Without its weapon, it gained more height, but it simply wasn¡¯t enough. On the third attempt, Jay helped it by giving it a push upwards too, but it made the skeleton spin andnd on its head, while still not getting close enough to even touch the tform above, much less find a handhold.

    ¡°Damn¡­¡± Jay thought, making a mental note to make himself a simple bonedder.

    ¡°Sometimes the simplest tools are the most useful.¡± he nodded, pursing his lips.

    Jay sent Sweeper back to hide under the bridge and equip its stolen armor before another knight came charging through the room.

    ¡°Hmm, they will have found the body we stole that armor from by now, and they don¡¯t even know we¡¯re in here, which is the best part. In the meantime, we¡¯ll just have to go deeper.¡±

    As the knight left through the doors, the skeletons emerged from the bridge and Jay quickly re-summoned Blue. Again, Jay was a little disappointed seeing that it had lost the squire armor upon death, but at the very least, it kept its spectral bone armor.

    Jay sent the skeletons forwards through the hallway to stand just before the T-intersection while Blue reformed. This way, a knight would blindly charge around the corner into the skeletal arms of death.

    Blue was nearly ready as the skeletons were in ce, but making the most of his time, Jay made Blue wield one of the knight¡¯s rusted swords. It wasn¡¯t the best, but it would be enough to get between the enemy armor and sever the spinal parasite.

    The knights themselves had health they could whittle down with standard attacks, but the parasites made it pointless to even bother with it.

    ¡°I¡¯m d I autopsied the corpse of the first knights we fought, discovering the weak spot, otherwise this low level dungeon would have been a k-nightmare.¡± He smiled to himself, really wanting to have said it out loud and fill the dungeon with echoes of his ownughter.

    Jay told Blue his joke and was repaid with an empty stare; Jay had never seen a skeleton be so emotionless and undead.

    With Blue ready, they both dashed down the hallway towards the other three skeletons. The hallway itself was about as wide as two knights, but only one knight could fight properly in it.

    As Jay came closer to his skeletons, he didn¡¯t give Bluemand over them just yet, as he had his own ns.

    *ng~*

    A knight suddenly dashed around the corner.

    It met the skeletons with its chest te and helmet, smashing into the wall of bones. It couldn¡¯t even raise its sword.

    The knight lost its step, grazed against the wall and fell on top of Lamp.

    Instead of pushing it off, Lamp held onto it, embracing it on the ground as it struggled.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t an act of passion as its ws plunged through the knight¡¯s neck; green blood squirting everywhere.

    The knight pushed against the ground but couldn¡¯t even move; two skeletal feet were pressing on its back, one from each skeleton.

    Two clean thrusts, and the other two skeletons instantly executed it; Sweeper and Red helped Lamp up.

    [115 Exp]

    Jay, however, looked back down the hallway he had just ran through; the darkness through the doors gave him a tense feeling.

    ¡°The doors will remain open for now¡­ I can¡¯t let anymore knights leave as they may alert the army outside.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just counting on none of theming back through these doors.¡± he thought, and turned back to looking at the T-intersection.

    Looking T-intersection, he spotted two signs on the wall. Painted onto the wall was arge yellow letter ¡®R¡¯ with an arrow to the right, and arge letter ¡®C¡¯ with an arrow to the left.

    ¡°R or C?¡± Jay thought for a moment as he approached.<novelnext></novelnext>

    For a moment he wondered what they could mean, but Blue caught up and he didn¡¯t want to waste anymore time.

    Jay turned around, and a wave of bones flew from his gauntlet once more, blocking off the hallway they just ran down. This bone barrier didn¡¯t reach the ceiling, but was taller than Jay.

    (Blue, hold this area and don¡¯t let a single enemy pass. Take Lamp and Sweeper for help.)

    Blue nodded, and Sweeper moved into a fighting stance at its side.

    ¡°Now¡­ R or C?¡± Jay turned back to the intersection.

    ¡°¡­ C.¡± Jay impulsively decided and sent Red left before following closely behind.

    The letters meant nothing to him, but he remembered one key detail: the nt had entered on the left side of the grand stone gate.

    Another thing made Jay wonder, though, which was why the knights came from the right, but the nt, presumably, lived on the left.

    As he ran left, he noticed Lamp was following him.

    (You can take Lamp too, Blue.) Jay added, but Lamp simply kept following.

    ¡°I guess Blue doesn¡¯t need Lamp? It¡¯s quite confident now¡­ or far too cocky.¡±

    The left passage went straight, then turned right for a while before opening into arger hall.

    The floor was a smooth, polished stone, but most of the walls seemed to be covered with metal sheets and pipes. Various doors led to different rooms, while a staircase on the left side of the room led deeper.

    ¡°No staircases going upwards. Damn. Maybe the gate controls were through the right passage.¡±

    There were no ss jars filled with luminous fluid here, as there were still the pure-white glowing rods in the ceiling, chasing away every shadow.

    ¡°I wonder what kind of magic that is.¡± Jay wondered.

    Red stayed at Jay¡¯s side while Lamp crept into the hall and peered through a doorway on the right side.

    (Look for any signs of the nt.) Jay added, making sure Lamp was not just searching for more skin.

    Jay followed along cautiously and began to scan the rooms.

    The first room had many shining, silvery cabs in rows, along with racks mounted to the ceiling with hanging pots, pans, and other cooking implements Jay had never seen.

    ¡°A kitchen?¡± he raised a brow, though to Jay it looked nothing like one.

    Luxurious and advanced, he wondered who could afford such food from this giant, metal-filled kitchen.

    He did a quick loot, but nothing came of it.

    ¡°Alright, well, not every room¡¯s gonna be filled with weapons and treasure.¡± He shrugged, leaving the room.

    As Jay walked back into the hallway, a noise sounded from behind.

    *Vrr~ Click~*

    Jay jumped back with his sword ready; Red was at his side and ready to strike at the assant.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Yet there was no enemy.

    ¡°Uh¡­?¡±

    There were originally no doors, but now, in the doorway, two metal panels had appeared with a seam in the middle, forming a door that seemed toe out of the walls.

    Jay curiously lowered his sword.

    ¡°The doors close themselves?¡±

 Chapter 284 Keys

    Chapter 284 Keys

    Jay stepped closer to the door, looking for buttons or switches or a pressure te on the floor, but it didn¡¯t open.

    ¡°Strange¡­ at least I already searched it.¡± he shrugged and turned to move to the next room.

    *Click~ Vrr~*

    ¡°Ah? It opened when I wasn¡¯t looking.¡±

    Jay turned his head away, yet it didn¡¯t close. Stepping away from the door, it remained open.

    ¡°Okay, so it¡¯s not a matter of being observed or not.¡±

    (Red, go through.)

    Red walked through and back again, though there was no change in the door.

    ¡°So, it¡¯s responding only to me. Perhaps because I¡¯m human¡­ and only when I turned around¡­?¡± Jay thought.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jay took off his bag and handed it to Red, who walked through the doorway.

    *Vrr~ Click~*

    Jay shook his head with a smile.

    ¡°Ah, it must have been that weird pendant I picked up.¡± he nodded.

    Back on the surface before the assault on the castle even began, Jay cleared out a tower overlooking a nt-flesh pit. Blue had taken a pendant off a skeleton in a white coat, the same pendant which now opened these doors.

    (Come back Red, wave the bag in front of the door.)

    *Click~ Vrr~*

    Jay grabbed the bag and pulled out the odd pendant with a t-fabric rope. For good measure, he waved it in front of the door a few times, and each time the door opened and closed, confirming his theory.

    ¡°So they have automatic doors and you need a special key to activate them. Interesting¡­¡± Jay nodded, adding mental notes down for if he ever constructed his own fortress.

    It impressed Jay with how the castle on the surface was merely the tip of the iceberg, a merely small representation of what it truly was.

    Using siege weapons it would be a simple task to destroy and break down a normal castle, and once an army had cleared out the uppermost rooms of the castle, it would be considered conquered.

    However, an underground castle could not be destroyed by siege weapons, and there would be no telling how deep it would go. Sure, an army could clear it out, but will they have found every room and every secret passage?

    A false basement could be added, and an upying force would never be sure if it had cleared the castle. There could be multiple escape routes through the earth, or abyrinth of identical passages; some enemies may simply get lost and die of starvation. Some passages could be used for a counter attack yearster.

    With these things in mind, Jay had gained much more from this dungeon than simple armor pieces, and he could reproduce and copy even those.

    (Red, here.)

    Jay held out the pendant key, giving it to Red as he had the skeleton lead the way.

    [115 Exp]

    Blue and Sweeper slew a knight, serving as a reminder for Jay to hurry. However, he received another notification a second after.

    [Your skeleton is no more.]

    ¡°Oh good. Looks like Handy un-summoned itself. It will be nice having an extra skeleton around.¡± He nodded, quickly summoning Handy back and giving it some bones to make itself a sword.

    Meanwhile, Jay and his other skeletons quickly went through the upper rooms of the hall, ignoring whatever was inside and instead looking for any signs of cracks or breaches in the walls that the nt may have grown into, or passages leading to other areas.

    What the rooms all had inmon was that they were different kinds ofboratories; some for chemicals, some for biology and others for materials. Many of the rooms contained oddities which surprised Jay, and he desired to investigate each and everyone one of them, but time was pressing, and so far there were no signs of the nt.

    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re going downstairs.¡± Jay thought.

    [115 Exp]

    Another knight in.

    Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they went through a passage; lined with multiplerge, thick metal doors all dented and broken. By the looks of it, something escaped using sheer force.

    ¡°Hopefully, whatever broke out of here has been dead for a while.¡± Jay thought, but slowed his steps to reduce noise.

    The lights through the passage were no longer a pure white like above, but a dark red color, barely bright enough to see properly.

    The passage soon opened up into arge circr room with a deep pit in the middle; a balcony went around the edges of the pit, which still had some ss windows overlooking the pit below.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ this must be like an observation deck?¡± Jay wondered.

    Looking into the pit, Jay finally saw what he was looking for - or at least, what he thought he was looking for.

    ¡°What the fuck is that¡­ this is what they were experimenting on?¡±

    Multiple pulsing roots came through various cracks, tunnels and holes in the wall tobine, twist and merge with something that Jay didn¡¯t quite understand.

    It was hard to tell if it was flesh or nt, but in the centre of the nest was a gigantic head; same shape as a human head, but giant, with shades of brown and green.

    However, the shape was where the simrities ended. Its skull was not solid, and it pumped up and down like a beating heart.

    Some roots carried nutrients away from it, but most carried them towards it.

    Its mouth was closed, but it fixed its eyes on one of the few sources of light in the pit: a shimmering portal, crackling with chaotic energies around the outside.

    A single root came through the portal, and it carried something different to all the other green fluid, as its surface had a light milky hue to it, being pumped into the giant nt-flesh head.

    ¡°So there¡¯s a damn portal?¡± Jay shook his head. He had not seen portals before, but it was simr enough to the dungeon entrances, which were their own kind of portal.

    ¡°Hopefully, if I kill that damn thing, this whole dungeon will end.¡±

    [Your skeleton has been in.]

    ¡°Shit... Blue and Sweeper are losing.¡± he pursed his lips, ¡°I better get down there and kill this thing before the knightse swarming through here.¡±

    Looking into the pit, there was a passage at the back of it, along with a passage on the other side of the circr balcony.

    A fiendish smile appeared on Jay¡¯s face, ¡°Perhaps¡­ we can score some massive damage if we sneak attack it.¡± He thought as he began to slowly creep around the balcony.

    All this time, the giant head had either not noticed him and his skeletons, or simply didn¡¯t care. Its eyes remained fixed on the portal where the root containing a milky-white fluid came from.

 Chapter 285 Cautious

    Jay and the skeletons moved around the circr tform and went through the passage at the back of the observation deck. It led into anotherboratory-type room.

    The room had various machinery along with various tools designed to extract nt samples, but Jay ignored it all and continued down a set of stairs at the very back of the room.

    [Your skeleton has been in.]

    Thest skeleton fell at the T-intersection in the gate room.

    "That''s Blue and Sweeper both down. The knights will push through the wall of bones, escaping to warn their army. Not much time."

    Jay sent Lamp downstairs to scout while he created a pile of bones and summoned all of his skeletons, excluding Heavy and Dark, who are still outside of the dungeon.

    Yet Jay couldn''t help but feel a little dissatisfied with Blue''s performance and its decision to not keep Lamp.

    "Blue didn''t really do a good job up there¡­ it could havested longer with Lamp, but only kept Sweeper with it. They barely killed any knights at all. Something must have happened." He thought.

    As the skeletons formed, Lamp came back up the stairs, which was surprising as it had not been scouting for even one minute.

    Jay raised a brow. "Everything ok Lamp?"

    Lamp gazed at Jay through the eye-holes in its human skin¡­ and slowly shook its head.

    "Ah, I guess not?¡­ What could make a skeleton retreat?"

    Jay stepped away from the top of the stairs, paranoid as he was, and sent Lamp down again - except this time, he used the mana-hungry [Host] skill, entering the eyes of Lamp and seeing through its eyes; Lamp came back safely, but there was no assurance that he would.

    There were only the faint dark-red emergency lights, but it didn''t bother Lamp with its shade vision. At the bottom of the stairs, a sheet of interweaving roots covered the floor.

    Lamp stepped one foot onto it, and suddenly something moved in the darkness.

    The roots opened up like a coffin, and from them, a humanoid figure appeared.

    It had no armor, but was not naked either. Instead, a covering of wriggling roots moved all over its body. Many of them poking out and twisting through its flesh.

    The being didn''t charge at Lamp, as there were roots connected to it from the back of its spine.

    "So that''s why Lamp stopped¡­ probably why the knights don''t bothering here either. The nt has its own guards."

    Jay ended the [Host] skill, conserving his mana.

    "Looks like we''ll have to fight that thing. It seems like it can''t move, so I''ll just wait at the bottom of the stairs." he thought, after seeing its body entangled into the ground.

    Jay sent the other skeletons down first before going down himself. If he was wrong, five skeletons would be there to lie down their lives for him.

    As Jay reached the bottom, it was much darker. They had destroyed many of the dark-red lights, and only the dark silhouette of the enemy remained. In the shadows, it looked like a simple knight as the roots covering its body moved in all the right ces.

    The knight army was likely closing in by now, but Jay took a moment to analyze his enemy as it had caused Lamp to hesitate.

    < [Workless Ova - Level 8] >

    [Type - Construct, nt, vessel]

    [HP - 208]

    <[Skills]>

    [Spire Knife-Hand]

    - 8 damage

    - Piercing

    [Spire ws]

    - 4 Poison damage per second

    - Can Stack four times

    - Long spines have pushed out and reced the finger nails of this living construct, each of them coated in poison.

    [Construct Scavenging]

    - The construct steals the parts of its enemies to rebuild or reinforce itself.

    [Elder Tree Conduit] (Passive)<novelnext></novelnext>

    - Sustained by a greater being.

    - Immortal as long as it remains connected.

    - 1% HP regeneration per second

    - Immobile.

    [Sleeper] (Passive)

    - Does not work. Does not hunt. Only waits.

    <[Description]>

    [The Ova is not alive, but it is not dead either. Its body isposed of colonies of living roots working together, which ount for more biomass than the human flesh they inhabit, and it is more closely rted to puppet types than a pure construct. They have discarded most of the human parts, or let them rot away, and it''s a wonder why the living roots need the flesh at all. Perhaps they have not discovered how to make bodies on their own, and we can only hope they never do.]

    Jay thought about how much damage he and his minions could do. "Hmm, the health regeneration will give it two health per second, but there are enough skeletons to ignore it. The poison won''t do any harm to them, either. The problem is its scavenging ability¡­ there''s no telling how dangerous it is." Jay thought, watching it.

    The Ova had no eyes; curling tendrils of roots poked out instead. The room was wide enough for Jay to pass by it, but there was no telling how many more of these enemies were hiding under the bed of roots. For now, it would be safer to take it out.

    (Blue, you handle this one.)

    Blue nodded, and the skeletons stepped off the stairs, onto the root-covered floor.

    Jay couldn''t see the ground, but based on the height of the room above, guessed that the roots would be about up to his knees if he could touch it.

    The four skeletons walked towards the enemy and encircled it; one on each side. A simple but effective tactic they had used before: strike when it turns its back.

    The Ovashed out, not liking this cheap strategy. Swiping its w-like fingers, and spatters of poisonnded on the skeletons.

    Its ws whistled through the air to little effect. Harmless unless they approached.

    It could do little against the skeletons, and without its back covered, a hacking swordnded on its back.

    Sweeper cleaved away a chunk of its flesh with chips of wood mixed in.

    Jay analysed the enemy, tracking its health. The first hit did ten damage. A small piece of the enemy''s 208 health, and already it was regenerating. Five seconds would be all it took to be whole again, yet Jay noted the damage of the skeleton''s attack was exactly ten.

    "Ah¡­ so the skeletons can make level two swords?" Jay thought, "It''s nice to see them learning in all areas."

    Jay himself could make twelve-damage swords, as he could craft them as level three, but right now, it''s better to save his mana for summoning.

    Two more skeletonsnded blows, escaping unscathed by the spire ws of the Ova.

    The health would be at 188 if the enemy didn''t regenerate so quickly; already it was back to 194.

    Yet simply attacking wouldn''t be that simple as Jay noticed the creature became more enraged when its health lowered, swinging its ws more furiously and chaotically.

    The random swings made the skeletons back off of their attacks, which allowed more of its health to regenerate.

    "Dammit. We need to speed this up, otherwise this will take a while¡­ maybe this isn''t enough to even defeat it."

    (Be more aggressive.) Jay ordered, and joined the battle himself.

    Jay stepped onto the roots and walked closer, just outside of the skeleton encirclement.

    The ethereal head of the necrotic helminth appeared on his shoulder, and a bolt crackling with necrotic energy shot out,nding on the knee of the Ova.

    It staggered to one side, and the skeletons tookplete advantage of it as they brought their swords down over its back.

    The root which connected the Ova''s body to the Elder tree took damage, but was not severed.

    Its health lostrge chunks. In seconds, they brought it down to 124 health.

    Before it could be severed, the Ova stood up and released a flurry of swipes, sending the skeletons back.

    "Huh?" Jay thought, checking its knee.

    The knee of the Ova had turned to white bone liquid, but after a moment it solidified, giving the creature stronger shins. It simply reconstructed the knee with the living roots and returned to fighting.

    "Ah, this thing is a real pain." Jay pursed his lips.

    (Target the elder tree root connection.)

 Chapter 286 Clone Resurgence 1

    More necrotic boltsnded on the Ora''s body, and they disabled it a few times, yet it was only temporary as the living roots reced the damaged parts.

    Seeing that the necrotic bolts are not very effective, Jay called the attacks off, stopping the helminth fromunching bolts; its ethereal skull disappeared and nursed itself back on his shoulder.

    "Better to save them for emergency," Jay thought.

    Four skeletons surrounded the Ora in on each side, cutting and slicing away at its flesh, whittling down its health.

    After sorting the skeletons into an attack formation, Blue waited at Jay''s side, awaiting his orders.

    (Blue, time to scout.) Jay pointed through the long room to the giant, pulsing head in the next.

    Jay assumed there would be traps or more Ora hiding among the roots, so Blue was really there to reveal them. Not that it knew.

    "I could warn Blue, but I want it to learn for itself." Jay thought, watching the skeleton march towards the middle of the room.

    The fight was going well, and so far, the skeletons had dodged any serious damage. The Ora''s needle-like ws simply didn''t have enough range.

    The Ora was down to fifty-four health, and gradually dropping as more hacking swords dug into its flesh.

    shesnded across the root, cutting more away, but the root connecting the Ora to the Elder tree had not been severed yet.

    The Ova prioritized the root-connection for healing, and it could heal the damage before anymore could be done.

    Havingnded no attacks of its own, the Ovashed out with its spine ws, yet it wasn''t a normal attack as each of them had a slender vine curled around them.

    Suddenly, the coiled vines sprung from the ws towards Handy.

    The unexpected attack left the skeleton defenseless.

    Handy pped away some of them, but the others allnded on its body, quickly clinging to its bones.

    The vines coiled around Handy''s leg, gripping it tightly and sinking into it.

    *Snap!*

    To Jay''s shock, it snapped, twisted and ripped the leg it off.

    The vines shock back to the Ova as quickly as they left it, pulling the bones apart and drawing them somewhere into its body.

    The Ova continued to fight, yet Jay was focused on the bones. He could still vaguely sense them.

    The roots traveled through its chest, down its torso and into its leg. It was clear what it was doing.

    "You little bastard¡­" Jay smiled, shaking its head.

    The Ova used its [Construct Scavenging] ability.

    While Jay had melted the knee of the Ova using necrotic bolts, it was for nothing.

    The stolen skeleton bones moved into position and quickly reced the missing parts, giving itself a new knee.

    Handy stood there, limping on one leg. The Ova attack had pulled closer it and out of position. Finally, the Ova could return some damage.

    It shed its ws, piercing and grazing Handy''s ribcage.

    Handy raised its weapon but could not defend itself on one leg. Bones chipped and cracked away.

    Swinging its sword, it toppled backwards, getting away from the Ova''s attacks.

    The skeletons were out of range again, but the Ova had learnt a valuable lesson; it found a way to strike back.

    Turning to another skeleton, it released a second swarm of vines. Each of them hungrily grabbed onto the bones of Sweeper.

    "Damn. I guess its intelligence is somewhere between the lesser and smart knights." Jay thought, still watching the fight, analysing the enemy.

    Crackling sounds of dry snapping twigs sounded as they invaded the bones.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ripping away an arm, the Ova disabled another skeleton.

    Only two skeletons remained whole after the Ova forced the other two back.

    With fewer enemies harassing it, its health stopped dropping.

    Jay checked the health of the skeletons; Sweeper lost eleven HP, while Handy lost eight.

    It was not a lot, but Jay made a mental note to go nowhere near the creature. Seeing the limbs being twisted off, it looked far too painful.

    (Blue, rece Handy and Sweeper.) Jay ordered, and had Handy and Sweeper came to him, at the side of the fight.

    Jay held out some bones for the skeletons, summoning them in his hand for them to consume, but one broken jaw bone appeared from the necrotic gas and slipped from his hand, falling to the ground.

    The jaw bonended on the roots below, and before a skeleton could reach it, the roots moved.

    A green tendril coiled around the bone. The roots parted and swallowed it; the jaw bone disappeared.

    Immediately, Jay stepped back as his eyes widened in fear.

    "Fuck. What is stopping them from dragging me or the skeletons under?" he thought, but didn''t let himself panic.

    The skeletons continued to eat and reformed themselves.

    Jay made sure to not drop anymore bones, but as he looked up to the fight, he noticed something else was wrong.

    Blue had not returned to help with the fight.

    Looking through the room, Blue was hacking away at roots ensnaring its legs. Each of them reaching up and winding through the gaps in its bones, holding it in ce.

    Immediately, Jay looked down at his own feet, d to see they were free of entangling roots.

    "I need to get off these damn roots." he thought.

    Jay kept himself calm, not daring to take a step.

    "The skeletons could move across the room, and forwards through the room, but not backwards towards the stairs? Other than Blue being deeper into the room, that''s the only difference."

    (Handy. Move back towards the stairs.) Jay ordered.

    The skeleton took a few steps backwards, but suddenly the roots under its legs came alive, reaching up and grasping at the skeleton, stopping it from reaching the stairs.

    Immediately Handy hacked away, trying to free itself.

    Meanwhile, the Ora fought back against the two skeletons, harassing them back. Its health was stable, and no longer dropped, but it couldn''t rise because of the two skeletons, so for now it was stuck at forty-six HP.

    The skeletons attacked less, bing more wary after seeing the Ora''s [Construct Scavenging] ability.

    Yet this was no longer Jay''s concern.

    "So, the roots ensnare anything moving back to the stairs." He thought.

    "Then there''s only one way forward."

    His eyes drifted across the giant pulsing head, and the roots trailing around it.

    "But how many more of Ora are waiting under the roots? How many are below my feet?"

    "That thing wants us toe towards it. What else could it be hiding¡­"

    (Handy,e back and kill the Ora. Sweeper, join Red and Lamp to y it. Don''t let it grab you this time.) Jay ordered.

    Handy cut away some roots and moved away from the stairs. Feeling the skeleton move into the room, the roots settled and stopped grasping at its legs. It gave Jay some relief, seeing that the roots would let them go as long as they moved away from the stairs.

    "So it''s a one-way trap?" he slyly smiled, "well, I wasn''t nning to go back, anyway."

 Chapter 287 Clone Resurgence 2

    Red stepped forwards, snapping its sword into the elder-connection root on the back of the Ora.

    Rednded the hit, but its foot slipped on the root floor and slid forward.

    The Ora shrugged off the hit, ceasing the opportunity and spun around with the only attack that had worked so far.

    Vines sprung from its spire ws, hitting the chest armor Red donned.

    The vines crept into the gaps of the armor but couldn''t pull anything away. Perhaps they weren''t long enough.

    They quickly pulled back, not taking any prize with them, but this little detail didn''t slip by Jay.

    "So¡­ the armor can stop that scavenger attack. Good to know." he smiled.

    Red also noticed. Finding a tactical advantage, it responded by standing closer than the other skeletons. Jay nodded, d to see its skeleton thinking for itself.

    Sweeper and Lamp returned to the fight and attacked while the Ora focused on Red, attempting more attacks against its armor.

    Each time, the vines found a way into the armor, but it seemed they were not long enough to do any significant damage. It pulled Red towards itself, but the momentum channelled into a shield bash, and helped Red to scramble back.

    The skeletons attacked without restraint, and with forty damage raining down each second, the Ora became sliced up pieces at their feet.

    [831 Exp]

    The living roots which made up its body slithered away, escaping somewhere into the floor, and other roots poked out of the floor, iming the remains of the human body parts that were the Ora''s shell.

    Jay sighed, d it was finally dead - or so he thought.

    (Alright, move forward as a group. Go slowly.), he ordered, not taking a step forward himself.

    The skeletons to moved over the roots, but something began moving behind them.

    From the floor, another Ora rose.

    "You gotta be kidding me¡­" Jay looked at it hopelessly.

    The skeletons were out of range of the new Ora, so at least it was no longer blocking the way.

    The new Ora seemed to be smaller, and after analysing it, Jay confirmed it was only level five. It reconstructed itself from the remains of the body parts.

    "I wish the skeleton could do that." Jay thought, a little jealous at seeing the creature rise again.

    "Seems like it gets smaller as we destroy its body parts. I wonder if the opposite is true - if I give it more parts, will it be a god in this dungeon?" he pondered, obviously not willing to try it out.

    The skeletons moved forward into the room, and the roots opened up ahead of them - two more Ora sprang from below.

    "Hmm¡­ focus on one of them." Jay thought, not wanting to waste any more time; his stomach was feeling hunger pains.

    Both were level eight, but he would only need to kill one to slip past. The exp was good, but not worth it.

    The skeletons got to work with Red at the forefront, tanking the hits. The only attacks whichnded were the vines, which had little effect against Red''s armor. It wasn''t long until they brought the Ora down to half health.

    Jay had moved through the room and stood just behind the skeletons. He kept one eye watching the fight and another on the roots below, monitoring them for any changes - but between the shes of swords on woody flesh, he heard something different.

    Something faint, but familiar. Distant clunking of rusted iron and steel.

    "The knights areing." He squinted back to the stairs and nced towards the giant head through the next room.

    "We''re going too slowly." he thought, noting that all that was between him and the stairs was a measly level five Ova.

    The level eight Ova ahead was down to seventy-eight health. The skeletons had been fighting cautiously to conserve their health, but the time for caution was over.

    (Go all out and end it fast.) Jay ordered, while keeping his ears focused on the sounds of theing knights. They grew louder each second.

    The skeletons each sprung forwards, hacking their swords, and now, shing their bone ws too. Unfortunately, the Ova didn''t bleed.

    Yet the damage was enough.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The Ova didn''t expect such a sudden change in aggression.

    It struck back fiercely, its spire-ws jetting through the air.

    They shed across two skeletons, sending spatters of its poison to coat the bones.

    Four damage was all it could manage; the skeletons cared not for poison - their very being mocked the idea of it.

    Some of the poisonnded on Jay''s flesh. It was sticky and smelt sweet, but it was harmless unless it could enter his blood.

    Before it fell in battle, the Ova released ast attack, and the spire ws pierced through Sweeper''s ribcage.

    [831 Exp]

    Jay received a notification, but ignored it as the battle was still in progress. While it was the Ova''sst attack, it seemed to be quite a strategic one.

    Sweeper was standing between the two Ova, and the force sent it reeling back into the other Ova, who all this time could only watch the fight unfold.

    Finally, it had a chance. The skeleton wobbled backwards, towards it.

    Without hesitation, it used its [Construct Scavenging] ability on the skeletons turned back. Sounds of dry snapping and twisting wood sounded as it caught the skeleton in its vine embrace.

    *Snap!*

    The vines curled around Sweeper''s spine and, with a sudden twist, it ripped out the lower back of the skeleton.

    The lower torso and legs of Sweeper fell into pieces, and the hungry roots below imed each of them as prizes.

    The Ova continued the attacks against the remaining upper half of Sweeper.

    Sweeper defended itself, still holding its sword even while sprawled across the ground, though it would notst much longer.

    (Lamp, pull Sweeper out. The rest of you, move up.) Jay immediately ordered.

    Already, the Ova they had just in was reviving,ing back as another level five specimen.

    It forced Jay to dash ahead too, getting just past the range of the level five Ova - otherwise it would separate him from the skeletons.

    Lamp raised its sword, blocking the spire ws while it pulled Sweeper away from the other level eight Ova, and brought Sweeper''s pathetic body to Jay.

    Jay and all the skeletons had made it past the two Ova, and for a moment there was some respite.

    While sending the other skeletons forwards to find the next Ova lying in ambush, Jay fed Sweeper bones.

    Sweeper was down to [12/65] health. The spine-rip did much more damage than any single attack; splitting the skeleton in half was farm more damaging than Jay predicted. Sweeper''s max health was also 75, having gained 5 extra health from each part of its spectral armor, yet two of those were on its legs which were now non-existent.

    For now, it would have to eat bones for them to reform. A slow process.

    Jay crouched at Sweeper''s side and let Lamp rejoin the other skeletons. Feeding the skeleton bones was a rtively slow process, which was made slower as he didn''t want to drop anymore bones into the floor of roots as the floor collected everything that was dropped on it.

    Jay didn''t use his [Shell Restoration] as it used far too much mana, was still level one, and it was necessary to conserve his precious mana.

    Meanwhile, the sounds of theing knights grew louder, yet Jay couldn''t help but wonder why these two Ova didn''t spring up when Blue crossed over them.

    "Hmm¡­ there''s something I''m missing here. But what?" he pursed his lips, continuing to feed Sweeper as he thought for a moment, trying to ignore the imminent threat.

    Most of Sweeper''s lower spine had reformed, but its legs and the spectral greaves would still need time.

    (Stop. March no further.) Jay ordered; each of the skeletons froze.

    Before the skeletons could get too far ahead, Jay stopped them before more Ova could spring up to face them. The skeletons, having minds, were confused - yet each of them trusted in their master and obeyed without question.

    "I need to test something¡­" Jay whispered.

 Chapter 288 Clone Resurgence 3

    Jay was at about the mid-point in the room.

    Slowly, and almost tenderly, he fed bones to Sweeper, whose lower body parts were growing back.

    Behind the small party of seven, seven including the helminth, were three Ova - two of which were level five. These three were the only barrier between them and theing enemy.

    The knights wereing; sounds of their thick, nging armor and heavy marching growing louder.

    Time is running out, and Jay has to move.

    Yet in this decisive moment, he stopped the skeletons, halting their advance.

    (Red, give me your armor.) he ordered.

    Despite the obvious tactical disadvantage of having no armor, Red didn''t question its master, and unequipped the squire armor, giving it all to Jay.

    "Good." He said, stashing it in his inventory.

    (Blue. Go ahead by yourself. Lamp, follow at a distance,) he ordered.

    Slowly, Blue moved through the room, yet it lowered its head, gazing at the floor below, ready for whatever may spring up.

    It walked across the roots, each step delicate and light as it expected the roots to open up and spit out another Ova to fight them.

    However, nothing happened. Blue reached the end of the room without incident. It turned back and gazed at Jay, wonder glowing through its ghostly green eyes.

    Another few moments, and Lamp was at its side, gazing back at Jay.

    "So, it was a matter of weight. Basically, this entire floor is like a natural pressure-te. If I''m light enough, I should be able to walk through without incident." He nodded with a grin.

    It caused Jay to feel a little more rxed, having figured out how to pass by the Ova without waking them up from their root coffins.

    (Red, now you go.) Jay ordered while still feeding Sweeper.

    Sweeper had reformed its body down to the knees and would soon be whole again. However, the knights had finally reached the observation chamber; their clunking boots ringing through the chamber.

    "Fuck." Jay thought and stared towards the back of the room.

    In seconds, five of the intelligent knights were rushing down the stairs, with many more to follow.

    The sounds of the knights grew louder, too. Many were following. The entire army wasing.

    However, for a moment, the intelligent knights hesitated on the stairs - just before stepping foot onto the roots - that was, until they spotted Jay and the skeletons.

    Jay could not see into their helmets, but he could feel their burning gazes piercing through him; he felt their vengeful wrath. And it was to be expected.

    The knight stared fiercely at Jay as its thoughts spiralled into bitter hate.

    -

    Within thest twenty-four hours, this bothersome being had cut off their nutrient gathering operations on the surface, severing the link to the flesh-pits. We sent many knights into the forest to investigate, but found nothing but our dead kin; wasting our time. One vige had gained full armor due to him leaving the corpses behind.

    This ursed being had destroyed the gate to our castle, blocking us from fixing the pits, and blocking any knights from returning to deal with these invaders, forcing more knights up from the depths.

    Somehow, this tiresome being has destroyed our patrol routes, and it cut many lesser knights off from their duties, making them useless; the intelligent knights had to fix everything while it already stretched us thin.

    This spiteful being''s minions killed so many of us, and just when they we were about to storm and take back control of the gatehouse, they fucking ran? These creatures have no honor.

    Almost chaotically, this hateful being and its minions sprinted through the upper levels of the castle, pulling many knights out of position and causing confusion in the ranks - and with broken patrol routes, the lesser knights became lost in our own home.

    Search parties are still being led by intelligent knights to find these skeletons in the upper castle, though, oddly, we had not seen them for a while.

    And the most evil and brutal act of this being was when it severed the roots from the Elder nest to the world.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Already, the birthing nest is dying. No new knights are being produced. Without the vital rejuvenation fluids, we will all soon perish; without it, it will force us to eat our hosts until there is nothing left.

    This despicable being and its moving bone creatures have ruined everything. And somehow, it had made it past the Ova guardians.

    -

    In all the rage the knight felt, there was a mix of something else as it nced at the human. Confusion. Wonder. Suspicion. Fear?

    "Why is its face twisted like that? Why are its lips pointing upwards? I feel small before it¡­ did it form a pact with the Elder?"

    Yet it didn''t matter now. The knight knew it would die soon, and only a remnant of the knights would survive to rebuild what will soon be lost.

    It stopped its true body from writhing in anger within the spine of the host it controlled. The best it could do now was to get revenge.

    Gripping its two-handed sword, the first intelligent knight no longer cared for consequences. The pact between the Elder and its kin would have to be set aside.

    It resolutely stepped onto the root-floor and charged ahead.

    The knights behind followed too. If one broke the pact, then they all did, and their anger burned just as much. They would not y the Elder, but would not let it stop them from ying Jay, either.

    Suddenly, the floor wreathed and wriggled as the roots responded to this provocation. The knights were not supposed to be here, and it responded ordingly.

    The heavy suits of the armored knights sent shockwaves through the roots, and before they could reach the first level five Ova, many of the roots parted.

    Four Ova sprung up, their needle-ws already bunched together to form the armor-piercing knife hand attack.

    The knights crashed against the Ova, uncaring and full of spite. They would carve their way through hell if they needed to.

    A brutal sh between the knights and the Ova began with spatters of spire-w poison and green blood.

    Jay caused an alliance to shatter, all the while smiling fiendishly and feeding Sweeper. Seeing them charge, it did not startle him in the slightest as he was counting on more of the Ova appearing.

    Sweeper''s legs and feet had reformed, but toplete the skeleton''s spectral greaves, the shin-armor, it needed more bones and more time.

    Jay nced back, watching the first group of knights fight the four Ova. The Ova stopped their furious charge.

    "I guess we have some time." Jay snickered, feeding Sweeper some more.

    As for the other skeletons, they all made it to the end of the room with no resistance.

    "Seems like this won''t take long at all." Jay smiled.

    His n was simple: to kill the pulsing head.

    However, he couldn''t help but wonder what any of this had to do with his quest - to save the innocent.

    Thest subject he would test with the needle of the starved would be the giant pulsing head, and he doubted this living mega-nt would be innocent, not after seeing what it did with people.

    Whether it be turning humans into nutrients or using them as cloning pods to grow the army of the parasite knights, it was certainly not innocent by his own standards.

    Besides, he had already pricked one of its many roots before, and the needle of the starved turned red - tainted.

    "It doesn''t matter who or what is innocent now, anyway. I''vee too far. I''m trapped here. The only way out now is through that portal, or through violence... Desperate, savage, and fearful violence." He nodded, his face emotionless and resolute.

    "But will the unknown be a better path?" he nced at the portal. The rooting out of it was still pumping milky-fluids through, towards the giant head.

    Unflinching and uncaring, the giant head''s gaze was still fixated on the portal.

    "What is it staring at¡­" Jay wondered, "What could be so important?"

 Chapter 289 Clone Resurgence 4

    Right in front of the stairs were five knights fighting four Ova.

    While the knights had the armor in their favor, blocking the [Construct Scavenging] ability of the Ova, their damage was not enough to bring any of the Ova down.

    Besides, the Ova were twice their level and while they could not attack with their vines, they still had an armor-piercing attack. Already, one knight was at half health. They could not resist the spire knife-hand.

    All five of them were intelligent knights, and could clearly see that they were making no progress. After a moment, they pulled back and focused on one Ova; the same strategy Jay had used.

    In a few moments, several more of the knights rushed down the stairs. Some hesitated before stepping onto the roots, but seeing their kin fighting, they marched ahead, joining the battle against the Ova.

    "Hmm, time to move." Jay thought. He was happy that Sweeper was back to beingplete.

    Jay went across the room first. He didn''t want to send hisst skeleton across and then be left alone.

    First, he stashed everything heavy into his inventory; his home-made necrotic armor, bone sword, and shield.

    As for his backpack containing the ck cube, he paused for a moment, and then made the tough decision to toss it across the room.

    "Hopefully, I won''t break it." He shrugged.

    *Clunk.*

    The bagnded about half-way between him and the end of the room. Its weight was not enough to trigger any sleeping Ova.

    "Hmm, good enough." Jay thought.

    Slowly, he walked across the room.

    Jay wasn''t exactly sure how much weight it would need to trigger an Ova to spring up, and he made sure each of his steps was on one of therger, thicker roots; hoping they would support more of his weight.

    ncing back at the fight, Jay gaged how much time he had.

    The twelve knights had already in one of the level eight Ova, and split into two groups to fight two more - yet before they could start on the next enemy, it was already reconstructing into a lesser level five Ova.

    Jay mockingly grinned and turned back, walking towards his bag.

    Approaching it slowly, he reached out and slowly lifted it up. His feet felt so heavy on the roots, like he was about to snap them.

    If we were to be stopped here, the Ova would separate him from his skeletons. There was no telling how many Ova would rise from below, and the knights would catch up.

    As he lifted the bag, suddenly, the roots moved.

    "Fuck. Too heavy."

    Grasping the back, Jay didn''t jump back - instead, he pushed his head down and hugged it to his chest.

    "Iskean!"

    *Fwoosh!*

    A jet of air burst from his boots, sending him flying across the room and into a mad sprint.

    An Ora slowly rose from the ground, but Jay had already dashed over it. More roots moved, but they were simply too slow.

    "I gotta remember to thank Sullivan for these boots." Jay shook his head with a smile.

    As Jay ran across the roots, many more Ova sprung up, and a few times he nearly sprained his ankle on the shifting floor, but somehow he made it to the skeletons at the end of the room.

    The end of the room had a small entrance leading into the chamber with the giant head, so the rootsing from it packed thickly in the entrance.

    "Perhaps it supports more weight, or maybe there are no Ova here." Jay guessed, wondering why he and his skeletons could all stand here without incident.

    Looking back, Sweeper stood there, ncing at the many Ova between Jay and itself.

    In the wake of Jay, many Ova had risen; five of which were around the area that Jay released a burst of air from his enchanted boots.

    "Ah¡­" Jay smiled, "poor Sweeper."

    Somehow, Sweeper looked as helpless as it was hopeless while it stared at Jay through the room.

    Nevertheless, it gripped its sword and made a valiant dash along the side of the room, making it past an Ova in the middle.

    An Ova released some vines, but they only tapped against Sweeper''s bones, not getting any hold.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ahead of Sweeper, another Ova waited, yet it did not discourage Sweeper in the slightest.

    Pivoting to the side, it ran into the centre, aiming for a gap between two Ova.

    The two Ova found their chance, and each of them released their vines towards the skeleton as it came near.

    Sweeper decisively threw its sword forwards, sending it tond at the feet of Jay and the skeletons.

    "Ah. Good. It saved its weapon." Jay nodded approvingly.

    Seeing the vinesing towards it, Sweeper frantically waved its arms.

    Jay raised a brow, watching the desperate skeleton, wondering what it was about to do. It was disappointing, as he had just healed it, but it was entertaining at the very least.

    The waving arms of the skeleton pped away some vines, but many of them clung to them, grasping onto the bones and coiling. They were like tormenting shackles as they wrapped through its boney arms.

    No vines had touched Sweeper''s torso, and without slowing down, its arms suddenly detached and popped off; the solidified necrotic mana holding them dispersed into puffs of green gas.

    "Huh?" Jay smiled, impressed.

    The Ova had imed its arms, and now the armless skeleton was running across the roots - seemingly without a care in the world.

    More Ova were up ahead, forming a line. There was no way Sweeper could get past.

    "Now what¡­" Jay wondered, seeing that the skeleton had not given up.

    Sweeper charged recklessly right towards them. Right towards its death.

    The Ova all held their arms at their sides as if they were about to embrace it in a hug; vines coiled around each of their spire ws, ready to spring.

    "Sweeper won''t make it." Jay thought, shaking his head.

    Suddenly, the armless skeleton jumped. It sprung high into the air above the heads of the Ova. Its body was much lighter, with no arms.

    Yet the roof was not that high; its back and head skittled across the stone roof and sent it back down, falling just behind the wall of Ova.

    The Ova were just as shocked as Jay was; he was simply speechless.

    One Ova suddenly turned around, releasing the vines from its ws.

    Sweeper had trouble getting up. Without arms, it was too difficult. It was not fast enough.

    The vines wereing right towards its lower back, threatening to split its spine in half a second time.

    *Boom!*

    Suddenly a crackling ball of deathly energy burst against the Ova''s arm.

    The bones melted out and its arm dangled helplessly at its side; the vines recoiled.

    Nonended on the skeleton.

    Master saved Sweeper.

    Sweeper pushed its skull against the ground and limped back to its feet, returning to a sprint across the roots.

    It hastily dashed past another single Ova, and finally, it made it back to its master.

    "Ah, very nice. Quite entertaining. Well done, Sweeper." Jay smiled, holding out more bones for it to consume.

    Jay nced back through the room, assessing the number of Ova guardians he had awoken.

    "Hmm, about fifteen of them, but I''m guessing there will be more hiding under the surface that will awaken when the knightse through." He thought, "Plenty of time to investigate the next room."

    Turning to nce into the next room, he could see more details of the giant head.

    Numerous green veins and white arteries were covering over its pumping head like a fishing. Despite being the shape of a giant head, it had muscles travelling through it; each of them lean and defined.

    "Even though it has eyes, it almost seems like a heart rather than a head. Perhaps it''s a mix of both?" Jay thought.

 Chapter 290 Clone Resurgence 5

    The skeletons moved first, followed by Jay and Red, entering the enormous circr chamber, which seemed muchrger from down here than from the observation deck high above.

    It could hardly be called a room, and was more like a cavern; it seemed like they had carved a whole hill out of here.

    Jay guessed that perhaps the entire adventurer association would fit inside, along with the palisade wall surrounding it. If he were to throw a stone with all his might, it would not reach halfway across the room.

    The enormous head still ignored them, continuing to pump the green fluid through the root system, and each time its forehead pulsed, Jay felt a gentle breeze waving backwards and forwards.

    "I wonder if severing the roots of the castle affected it?" Jay scratched his chin.

    The room itself smelt fresh, as if he were in a forest, and apart from the noise of the fighting knights and Ova behind them, there was only a subtle, deep beating sound that came from the head, sounding more like a ticking clock than a heartbeat.

    Jay still had to feed some bones to Sweeper to grow back its arms, so he took a moment to analyze and think things through.

    Above them on the observation deck, a flurry of knights rushed over. The unending masses of knights wereing, not only to secure their castle, but now, for revenge.

    Jay nced back into the room he had juste through, seeing more Ova awaken and arise from their root coffins below as they responded to the oing wave of knights. As for how long they willst against the raging knights, Jay could only guess.

    "Alright¡­ let''s get this over with." He thought, turning back to the giant head.

    The head was still staring into a portal at the back-right side of the room, ignoring his presence. The portal had a silver-mirror surface which seemed to ripple like water as a root pumped the milky substance through it. There was no telling what was on the other side, or what was sending the milky-white fluid through.

    Jay sent Lamp and Handy around the edge of the circr room towards the portal, firstly to see if any more Ova were in here.

    Lamp and Handy were cautious at first, plodding along slowly, but seeing it was calm, they sped up to a brisk walk, and eventually they were running, travelling around the edge of the room where the roots met the wall.

    "Hmm, so no Ova here?" Jay raised a brow.

    With Sweeper back to full form, he sent it and Blue towards the giant head in the middle of the room.

    Red stayed at Jay''s side as his personal guard. Jay kept Red''s armor in his inventory in case it died, not wanting to lose it in this dungeon; the blueprints were more important to him than a temporary advantage.

    Besides, if there was an emergency, he could simply have Red don its armor again, and by conserving his mana, it was almost back to being full again. Ready to summon multiple undead.

    Jay made a quick nce back as the battle behind him grew louder. The swarm of knights charged into the Ova without mercy.

    As their numbers swelled, there were no longer any tactics. It was just a brutal, armored swarm of wrath. A wave of metal crashing against whatever would dare to stand in their path.

    Yet the Ova held strong and defiantly remained in ce. They were immobile, attached to the root on the floor they stood on; a part of it. Unyielding to the knights, they stood firm.

    Jay curiously watched while he waited for his skeletons to get into ce or uncover enemies.

    Every so often, a knight fell and its body disappeared into the roots below. A momentter and another Ova would rise, although none of the new Ova would be above level eight either.

    This insignificant detail caused Jay to smile mischievously.

    "Ah¡­ I see how it works now." He nodded.

    Jay went back into the passage with the Ova. Just before he would get into range of an Ovashing at him, he held his necrotic gauntlet up. A luminous dark green glowed from it.

    "I hope you''re hungry." He smiled, and a sickly green cloud of mana appeared.

    From the mana, bones appeared, vomiting out onto the floor like a river.

    Jay instantly deposited thirtyplete Helvetian human skeletons. The root floor responded, ravenously swallowing them, tearing them apart. In moments, the mass of bones disappeared.

    Yet they were not gone for long.

    The roots opened up, and suddenly, an entire assembly of Ova rose.

    There were less than thirty, as they needed other parts of a human body to create an Ova, but this blockade was enough to stop the charging masses of knights, no matter how many woulde into the room.

    "Alright, that''s taken care of for now." Jay nodded, happy with his work.

    Walking back into the circr chamber, he saw Lamp and Handy had made it half-way around the outside, while Blue and Sweeper were about halfway to the centre of the room - half-way to the flesh-nt head.

    "Lets get moving, Red." Jay thought, moving around the outside of the room too.

    Compared to Lamp and Handy, who were running, Jay moved at a more cautious walking pace.

    Jay nced at the giant head as he went. Still, there was no reaction; its eyes fixated on the portal.

    "I wonder what level it is? It''s confident enough to ignore me even while I''m here¡­ or perhaps it can do nothing? I''m sure it''s powerful, though, as it has been feeding on the whole dungeon for years." he nodded.

    The sounds of charging knights continued above. They were like a threatening thunder, yet it only caused Jay to smile as he thought about the blockade of Ova he just set up after gifting them some bones.<novelnext></novelnext>

    While it was a cheap trick, it was something only Jay could do. There were no other adventurers who carried around thousands of corpses. At least, none that Jay knew of.

    Suddenly, there was a movement near the head.

    Before Blue and Sweeper, the roots moved. So many shifted around that they lost their bnce.

    Curling around each other and twisting together, they formed what looked like a slender tree trunk that continued to rise. However, it was not all made from the nt-flesh material.

    At the very top, a giant, talon-shaped stone appeared. White and sharp, it was the size of Jay''s body. Sitting atop the root tower, it grew to be the height of a four-story building.

    (Blue, fall back) Jay immediately ordered, seeing therge tentacle-like tendril already falling towards them.

    Blue and Sweeper both got back to their feet dashed back.

    The root picked up speed. It not only fell, but actively flexed towards them, causing the wind to howl around it.

    Sweeper and Blue bolted right below it, but were not fast enough; both were about to be crushed into powder.

    *BOOM!~*

    The giant root tentacle smashed into the ground.

    Jay felt the shock through his feet as the deep sound echoed through the castle.

    Green blood spurted everywhere as it smashed heavily into the floor.

    Yet it took no enemies with it.

    Whilemanding, Blue hade to value itsbat awareness. Even as it ran, it continued to nce back at the impending doom.

    Right before it smashed them to pieces, Blue pushed Sweeper on the shoulder, sending them both to each side of the fearsome tentacle.

    The immediate shockwave sent them both staggering, falling onto their knees.

    The giant tentacle was not done, though.

    It slid backwards as it raised itself up again.

    Blue and Sweeper sprinted away and were nearly out of range.

    The root flexed, whipping its enormous trunk towards them.

    Blue moved to Sweeper''s side, ready to push Sweeper and dodge the tentacle again.

    The root howled through the air, and as Blue looked back, it saw that they were almost out of range.

    Only a little further and they would be safe. I may not even need to dodge.

    Blue was sure they would be safe before it fell.

    However, the root curved differently than before.

    (Blue, dodge now!) A heavenly voice rattled through Blue''s mind.

    Blue obeyed instantly. Its body moved on its own.

    *BA- BOOM!*

    A sh of a white stone blinked past Blue''s eyes, confusing the skeleton.

    It was sure they had made it far enough; the destruction left on the root floor from the previous attack didn''t even reach this far.

    Yet the white stone was there, embedded deeply into the ground. How was the stone right next to it?

    Sweeper was in pieces again. Its body split in to two. Bones shot off in random directions while it snapped and crushed others.

    (Bring Sweeper back!) Jay ordered, watching from the edge of the room.

    The root was moving back again, yet the white w-shaped stone stayed pierced into the ground. The root tendril didn''t do a crushing attack. Instead, it had whipped its body and hurled the giant stone like a projectile.

    Neither Blue nor Sweeper were prepared for such an attack; only Jay realised.

    "Dammit." Jay thought, "So we can''t get close to the head. That just leaves one option." His eyes nced towards the silvery portal, crackling with chaotic blue magic around the outside.

 Chapter 291 Pestering Skeletons

    When Sweeper shattered, the bones from its lower body spread across the root covered floor¡­ and disappeared.

    Jay squinted, watching thoughtfully. "Hmm¡­ if the floor here is collecting bones, maybe it can spawn Ova here, too. But then, why are there no Ova here in the first ce? Did no one ever make it through the passageway?" he wondered.

    Blue pulled Sweeper''s body from under the white w-like stone, having to snap away some of its spine as it pulled out its upper body.

    Sweeper wrapped its arms wrapped around Blue''s neck, yet even after the attack it still gripped its sword firmly.

    Jay smiled a little as he watched Blue wearing Sweeper like a backpack. They both rushed back, getting further away from the giant root tendril, which rose into the air once more.

    The white pointed stone, which was embedded into the ground, moved again as the living root floor slowly pulled it back to the tentacle structure.

    "Reloading? It won''t be long before it attacks again." Jay thought.

    "But how will I get close enough to kill the giant head, or to even analyze it? I don''t want to deal with damn giant tentacles as well." He shook his head.

    Jay continued to walk towards the portal while he waited for Blue to bring Sweeper back.

    Meanwhile, Handy and Lamp had made it to the portal.

    The portal was, thankfully, at the very edge of the room and made to look as if it were a part of the wall. Far away from any swatting tentacles.

    It was about three times as tall as Jay, and the root that continually pumped the milky-white fluid blocked half of it.

    Jay paused for a moment and watched the head as he gave direct orders to Handy and Lamp.

    (Being cutting open the root.)

    Jay''s eyes remained fixed on the head while the skeletons brought their swords down, creating gashes in therge root.

    Still, it didn''t move. It didn''t even blink. Jay wasn''t even sure if it could.

    He had not stared at it for this long, but its eyes seemed zed over and its mind absent, as if it had been daydreaming for a millennium.

    Seeing no response, Jay safely continued towards the portal. Blue brought Sweeper''s upper body back and Jay fed bones to it as they walked. Blue had the humble duty of holding Sweeper''s body until its legs regrew.

    The thunder of rushing knights continued overhead while the sounds of shing steel echoed from the passage.

    Jay ignored them as he kept track of the crushing white stone, which was creeping back to the tentacle carried along by the root floor.

    "I wonder how far it can throw that thing." He thought, hoping he was out of its range, "Perhaps it won''t throw it near the edge of the room. The roots here seem too small to retrieve it again."

    The tentacle was about 260 feet (80 meters) from the head, and probably not long enough to reach the other side, meaning skeletons could attack the head from the unguarded side - but Jay was not counting on it being the only one that the giant head could summon as defense.

    By the time Jay made it to the portal, Sweeper was back to being whole, so he sent it, along with Blue, back towards the head.

    This time, their task was simple: run frantically around the head and cause all the tentacles to spring up and reveal themselves. Practically, they were looking for gaps in the defense.

    The tentacle had since reimed its white cap stone, but had notunched it at them, even while the skeletons chopped away at the portal root. These giant tentacles were only for defense, or perhaps the head cared little for the milk-liquid root.

    Jay stood near the portal, seeing his vague reflection in its shimmering surface, though he decided not to go through to the other side - not until it was secure.

    (Red, go through and secure the other side. Kill whatever needs to be killed. I''ll be there shortly¡­ use your head.)

    Jay kept Lamp and Handy chopping away as he waited at the side. Of course, he kept a distance in case the root was under high pressure; he didn''t want to die the same way the knight outside the stone doors did.

    So far, progress was slow, as the root was muchrger, older, and thicker than all the others they hade across.

    With Red exploring the other side of the portal, Blue and Handy pestering around the giant head, all Jay could do was wait.

    From the passageway, one armor d figure appeared.

    "Huh?" Jay raised a brow, barely spotting it from the other side of the room.

    A knight had burst out at the edge of the room, rolling first before getting to his feet.

    "One got through? I thought I would have longer. Damn." Jay pursed his lips.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The knight didn''t even have a sword with it.

    Behind it, a wall of green and gray colors had all been mixed; a mass of Ova and knights.

    There were so many knights pushing their way through the passage, it was simply an over-flow. The Ova were being buried in a sea of knights, which was only growing bigger as they all charged into the meat grinder.

    Oddly, the knight ignored the Ova behind it and turned, running towards Jay at the very back-right of the room.

    "Seems like they have strict kill orders?" Jay guessed; it was already clear that this knight wasn''t one of the intelligent ones.

    The knight charged, without weapon and without reason. It was going to pass right by the giant tentacle.

    "Well, I guess I have a moment to spectate." Jay''s lips curled.

    The tentacle, sensing something drawing near, swayed slightly from side to side as it prepared for the approaching enemy.

    The knight charged into the trap without realizing, into range of the tentacle.

    Perhaps the tentacle was simply too still for the knight to notice, or maybe the giant head and its fleshy-root tentacles were off-limits for the knights. They relied on it for the green fluids, after all.

    Either way, it didn''t matter. The tentacle was already falling.

    It was toote.

    *BOOM!~*

    The tentacle mmed down with full force.

    It hit even harder this time, making up for the attacks it had missed previously.

    Green blood sttered everywhere - some from the tentacle, some from the floor, and some from the crushed knight.

    After a few moments, the tentacle moved back, pulling itself back into its attack position.

    Jay, curious as he was, climbed onto the root to see the sorry state of the knight.

    "Damn¡­" he shook his head.

    Embedded into the roots, the tentacle hadpletely ttened its armor, leaving it sitting in a pool of the green fluid.

    It had crushed everything to oblivion.

    Yet the tentacle was not finished.

    "Ah fuck not again." Jay grimaced slightly.

    *BOOM!~*

    He took no pleasure in seeing the squished guts of the corpse being sttered to pieces even further.

    With a sigh, he turned away, checking on Blue and Sweeper.

    Each of them had just made it back near the head, and another tentacle root raised up in response.

    However, before it could fully form, they were already gone, running out of its range and making their way around the outside of the head.

    "Hopefully, I won''t have to fight one of those tentacles, though I already see a few easy ways to bring them down." Jay thought.

    He didn''t want to waste time and effort, but having an attack n would not do any harm.

    Turning back to Lamp and Handy, they had carved a deep gash into the pulsing root, and the nt''s flesh turned more damp.

    They were close to cutting it open.

    "Now¡­ let''s see what the head does once we cut off its precious white liquid."

 Chapter 292 Adept Killers

    Red had been in the portal for a long time, though there was no experience notification of it killing, and no death notifications of the skeleton.

    It made Jay curious, but he stopped himself from poking his head through. For all he knew, the other side could be filled with poisonous gasses, or something there had encase the skeleton in ice. Trapped and helpless; unable to move, unable to die.

    Without knowing what was on the other side, Jay would not so much as breath near the portal, let alone stick his hand through.

    "I wonder if my [Host] ability would even work through a portal. I can''t even sense Red anymore." he thought, watching the shimmering silvery surface.

    Lamp and Handy finally cut open the root, while Jay watched from a safe distance.

    However, his caution was for nothing.

    The deep gash they made didn''t erupt in a deadly high-pressure jet, but it slowly seeped out.

    Whatever the fluid was, it was thick, viscous and sticky. Globs of it slowly pumped out, though most still went through, towards the head.

    "Hmm. Maybe they would cut through it faster with their own weapons?" Jay thought.

    Climbing onto the root, Jay temporarily let them stop cutting and formed a small pile of bones. None of the floor roots could hope to steal these bones up here, and the skeletons forged their own specialized weapons without worry.

    In the meantime, Jay analysed the cut they made.

    "Hmm¡­" he drew his hand near the milky-white fluid, his finger outstretched - but ultimately, he decided not to touch it.

    "Not worth the risk. It could be vitality for the head, but poison for me. Besides, I don''t want that sticky shit on my fingers." He nodded.

    After a moment, Lamp and Handy finished crafting their weapons: a shepherd''s crook, a gut knife, and a two-handed sword. But before Lamp and Handy could make a wider, deeper cut, more knights appeared, sprawling over the blockade of Ova.

    "Hmm, all lesser knights. Looks like the intelligent knights are sending them all in first." Jay thought.

    Five of them made it past the Ova, two without weapons, lost in the desperate scramble of bodies. Again, they charged directly towards Jay.

    Jay shook his head. "What is an army without amander?"

    *BOOM!~*

    Merciless as it was, the root caught them.

    It crushed two knights, turning them into a disgusting paste between metal tes.

    It knocked backwards a third, sending a knight falling to its back.

    The tentacle reeled back, preparing for another attack.

    The knights didn''t turn to attack the tentacle and kept their focus on Jay.

    *BOOM!~*

    The knight knocked backwards became the next victim. An easy target, as it had slowed down considerably.

    Before the tentacle could strike again, the remaining two knights escaped from its range.

    This time, the tentacle didn''t hurl itsrge w-like stone.

    (Lamp, Handy. Defend me.) Jay ordered, still casually watching the foolish knights.

    The skeletons jumped down from the root, readying their newly crafted weapons.

    By now, the skeletons are used to fighting knights, and ying two of them is a simple task, especially since one knight didn''t even have a weapon. However, their tactics were quite different.

    Lamp charged directly at one knight, while the knight charged back, probably hoping its heavy weight would send the skeleton flying into pieces.

    At thest moment, right before they collided, Lamp dashing to the side, dodging the knight''s charge.

    The shepherd''s crook hung out to the side, wrapping around the knight''s neck.

    Lamp put all its weight on it, and for a moment, Lamp was airborne, swinging around its neck on the shepherd''s crook.

    Completely nullifying the knight''s charge, its head sharply pulled back. Standing right behind it, Lamp was in the perfect position.

    A gap under the helmet appeared, the throat presented itself, but Lamp pierced its gut knife through the lower spine, killing the parasite within and ending the knight.

    [115 Exp]

    Lamp was nimble and efficient, but Handy''s strategy was much more simple, and even, elegant.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Handy braced itself, slightly crouching in a lowered position while holding its two-handed sword pointing forwards, towards the stomach of the knight.

    The knight charged recklessly at the immobile skeleton. Probably hoping to crush it, too.

    As it met Handy, the knight pulled its arm back to swing its sword low, attempting to p the two-handed sword away.

    Yet at thest moment, Handy lunged forwards.

    In one fast movement, the two-handed sword raised from pointing at its stomach and shot upwards towards the knight''s throat.

    *Ding~*

    The sword found the slightest gap in the armor and pierced through the throat, making a low ringing noise as it shed against the armor behind the spine.

    [115 Exp]

    It died before its sword descended; the knight''s sword swept harmlessly behind the skeleton, not dealing any damage. The knight fell on Handy, but after a shoulder-bash, it dropped to the side.

    For a second, it stunned Jay to see how quickly the skeletons yed them. After fighting in the gatehouse, the skeletons had be adept knight-killers.

    "I wonder if they can share fighting tips with each other?" he wondered.

    The skeletons returned to Jay''s side to defend him. For a moment, the three of them stood there; Jay was not expecting them to y enemies that quickly, so had no new orders for them.

    Blue and Sweeper had run around most of the head, revealing a circle of the giant tentacle-like roots. Eight of them in total stood tall, arranged in a hexagon shape, all having their own white w-like stones, all capable of beingunched like trebuchets.

    Unfortunately, there were no gaps in its defence, and Jay recalled Blue and Sweeper while giving new orders to the other skeletons.

    (Lamp and Handy. Head through the portal and assist Red.)

    (Blue, Sweeper. Defend me for the time being.)

    The four skeletons switched their jobs around as Lamp and Handy disappeared into a shimmer of silver.

    Jay stood atop the root and watched how everything was ying out.

    More knights were making it past the Ova blockade. It was hard to tell if they were making progress on killing the Ova, or if they had simply buried them, but apparently it didn''t matter.

    "It won''t be long till the trickle turns to a river." Jay thought.

    "Hopefully, they can''t follow me through the portal¡­ but I should make sure it''s safe first."

    (Red,e back.) Jay ordered, jumping down off the root.

    Jay then walked about 130 feet (40 meters) away from the portal and dumped bones in a line.

    Hey down a semi-circle barricade of bones, hemming himself in from every side, but after a moment they disappeared, and in their ce, a ring of Ova appeared.

    "Seems like my guess was correct. The Ova can grow here."

    All of the Ova stood within reaching distance of one another, and there were about three rows of them, creating a wall of needle-wed guards. The only way the knights were getting past would be by much sacrifice and blood-shed.

    "I''m a talented gardener." Jay smiled, watching his work unfold.

    Sure, he was trapped inside, but it not a prison.

    Though there was one part that caused some concern.

    At the edge of the room, where the roots met the wall, the Ova were sparse. Only one Ova was at the edge of the chamber wall, causing a weak point in the defensive half-circle around the portal.

    "Hmm. It will only be a problem once the intelligent knightse through." Jay thought.

    The barrier formed just in time as eight knights rushed over, followed by ten more, which just fell through. They all rushed towards Jay, ignoring the fearsome flesh-root tentacle.

    Despite the sheer number of knights, it didn''t make Jay worry at all, as his defences took advantage of the dungeon itself, and he could easily dump more bones.

    The Ova he would soon kill were, for now, his personal army.

    Blue and Sweeper stood by Jay''s side throughout the process, and Jay was d to see that he didn''t need to order them to not mindlessly attack the surrounding Ova.

    "Now¡­ where the hell is Red?" Jay wondered. "Maybe my order didn''t go through the portal?"

    He scratched his chin, "or maybe it''s trapped¡­"

 Chapter 293 Obviously Mana

    In a starving crucible of hungry vigers, under an ancient castle filled with parasites and an insipid nt creature, a battle raged in the very depths of a researchbyrinth.

    Armor thundered and steel smashed as all alike funneled into a passage filled with the vile Ova. Poisonous and near-unkible, the decaying knights crushed them underneath, but still the Ova fought back, attacking with whatever parts of them could still move.

    The rusted armor blocked most of their attacks, but not all. It was a tiresome battle, but as long as at least one knight died, the armor would rust and fall apart. They would im the body parts and would have thest victory.

    In the grand chamber, with a small army of Ova surrounding him, Jay was safe. Behind him, a silver portal crackled with unfathomable energy, distorting the surrounding air.

    Nearby, a giant flesh-root head pumped, each pulse like a ticking clock counting down to Jay''s death. Yet to this moment, it had not even moved.

    And while Jay was safe, it also trapped him here. He could not guarantee his safety on the other side of the portal.

    The only other escape option? To climb onto the giant milky sap-carrying root and run along it, though even that was not much of an option.

    The tentacles waited near the head, along with a sea of knights about to break into the room.

    For now, he could only hope that whatever Red, Lamp and Handy were doing on the other side of the portal would help, and that they were not stuck there.

    Jay watched as more of the knights charged to their deaths, and now, just as many were being killed by the tentacle as by the ring of Ova around him.

    With some spare time, checked his quest, wondering how all of this rted.

    Yet at the top of his notifications was another one waiting for him. One he received before but ignored and had since forgotten about.

    [Level up - Level 13]

    [Locked dungeon - Time dtion of 1:10 until dungeon ispleted.]

    [You may not leave until the dungeon ispleted]

    [Dungeon Quest: Save the innocent]

    [Requirements: Level 15 or below]

    [Innocent: Unsaved]

    [Rewards: Level up]

    [First clear reward: Passive skill]

    [Temporary Item acquired: Needle of the Starved]

    "Level thirteen? Finally. I knew I was close. Now, I want more skeletons, but I also want them to reach level five and fully realize the benefits of their roles." Jay nodded, hoping to see what Blue would be.

    He made a quick choice as he already nned what to do with his skill and attribute points. Beside, the dungeon quest also promised another level up as a reward, so there were plenty more pointsing.

    "I''ll have gained two levels by the time I leave this ce, reaching level fourteen¡­ and Asra will still think I''m a level four guy named Bob." He thought with a chuckle.

    "She will probably think I simply left to take a piss. Maybe she''ll still be asleep by the time I get back." he smiled, then paused for a moment.

    "¡­ Am I looking forward to seeing her? Hmm." he shook his head.

    Jay''s thoughts about Asra were changing. She was bing more like a beacon of hope than a source ofughter, even though he still felt nothing for her, and she undoubtedly felt nothing for him.

    Jay added his skill point into his [Undead Mastery] ability.

    As for the five attribute points, he dumped them all into his energy statistic, which gave mana and stamina; mana being something he constantly found to be his weakness.

    However, as he raised it from 45 to 50, another notification greeted him.

    [Energy stat evolving]

    [Choose your path: Stamina, Mana, Energy.]

    [Warning: You cannot undo your choice. You will still get base mana and stamina each level, but cannot increase them directly unless you choose it as your path, or remain neutral with the Energy path.]

    "Permanent, but not a hard choice. The only time I have needed stamina was when I traveled, but even then, I could just make the skeletons carry me. Obviously, mana." Jay thought, locking in his choice immediately.

    [Chosen path: Mana]

    [Evolving stat: Energy > Mana]

    [Mana: Grants mana regeneration and increases mana capacity.]

    "Oh, fuck yes." Jay grinned, seeing the bonus regeneration.

    Before Jay checked his ss, the helminth reformed and dropped from his neck, as it leveled up too.

    The helminth stared up at Jay and snapped its jaws a few times; Jay knew what it wanted.

    Standing on the center of therge root, he made a pile of bones for it, adding a silt-wolf spine too, just in case it would need another.

    With the bone worm taken care of, he could finally check his ss, along with his new abilities.

    < [Necromancer - Level 13] > (Pure)

    [Race - Human]

    HP: 232/232

    MP: 114/114

    Strength: 20

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 35

    Mana: 5/5

    -Energy: 50/50- (Locked)

    Exp: 252/36,000

    [<[Skills]>]

    <~ [Necromancy Skills] ~>

    [Raise Lesser Undead (1)]

    [Summon Bone Helminth]

    [Shell Restoration (1)]

    [Unstable Teeth (2)]

    [Host (1)]

    [Mind (1)]

    [Mass Summoning]

    [Undead Mastery (4)] (Passive)

    [Necrotic Sense (1)] (Passive)

    [Scrimshaw (3)] (Passive)

    [Soul Sense (1)] (Passive)

    [Shift] ~ [Living Blueprints] ~ [Transnt] ~ [Amputation]

    [Uncaring Rip]~[Pitiful Mortal]

    <~ [Other Skills] ~><novelnext></novelnext>

    [Mana Regeneration (5)]

    [Mark]

    [Mana Sense (1)]

    [Mental Coating (1)]

    [Mana Membrane (1)] (Passive)

    [Iskean/Asklin] (Equipment)

    [Dagger Proficiency (1)] (Passive)

    [Poison Resist (11%)] (Passive - equipment)

    [Running (2)] (Passive)

    [Stealth (1)] (Passive)

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Sword Proficiency (1)] (Passive)

    [ss Utility] (Passive)

    [<~ [Research] ~>]

    [Chimera Research (31%)]

    [Immortality Research (5%)]

    [Skull-shield Projector Research (32%)]

    [Dread-mourn Turret Research (22%)]

    New Skills:

    < [Mana Regeneration - Level 5] >

    [Regenerate five mana per minute]

    < [Undead Mastery - Level 4] >

    [Your undead can reach a max level of (5). Level up is permanent.]

    "Excellent." Jay nodded. "Hopefully, the skeletons can get up to level five quickly. The regeneration is a pleasant bonus too."

    He then turned to the helminth which was happily crunching down bones at his feet.

    "Now, my precious bone parasite. Level four now, huh?"

    Jay checked its stats, but only paid attention to the ones which changed.

    < [Bone Helminth - Level 4] >

    [Type - Undead, Parasite, Spellcaster]

    [HP 60/60]

    [MP 50/50]

    <[Skills]>

    - [Sentinel Form]-

    - [Natural Form]-

    [Spectral Bolt]

    - 8 Magic damage (Necrotic)

    - 20 Bolt capacity

    - 1 Bolt produced every 240 seconds

    - Cost 2 mana

    [Ensnare]

    [Symbiotic] (Passive)

    [Grave Visitor] (Passive)

    [Grave Soil Miasma] (Passive)

    "Awesome. More damage and more bolts; twenty should be enough for most fights. At least against enemies with bones, it will always be useful." He nodded.

    "And having sixty more bonus health to protect me will go a long way. I pity whoever will try to strike me."

    Jay watched the bone worm eat for a while as it grew into arger form.

    Its slender skull got slightly bulkier, with new bone tes forming on the sides.

    Its skeletal body got thicker, and new pieces of armor trailed down its back along either side of its spine.

    Hitting level four, its length grew longer than Jay was tall, meaning it could protect more of Jay''s body.

    Yet what stood out the most to Jay was its eyes.

    "They seem¡­ fiercer. Full of hunger and life." He thought, though he saw a loyal adoration whenever it gazed back up at him.

    "Alright, now the quest¡­ something doesn''t seem right about it."

    [You may not leave until the dungeon ispleted]

    [Dungeon Quest: Save the innocent]

    [Requirements: Level 15 or below]

    [Innocent: Unsaved]

    [Rewards: Level up]

    [First clear reward: Passive skill]

    [Temporary Item acquired: Needle of the Starved]

    "Requirements level fifteen or below? What if I was level twenty? Would I not get the quest? Then that means I canplete the dungeon without it." He scratched his chin in thought.

    "But then the question bes, how do Iplete it without doing the quest? As for rewards, I get a level up forpleting the quest, but a passive skill forpleting the dungeon?"

    Jay shook his head at himself. "All along, I have been assuming that finishing the quest meanspleting the dungeon¡­"

    ? "Ah, the devil is in the details¡­ but I bet killing the nt and the knights will aplish both¡­ At least, I hope."

    Jay turned back to the portal, ncing into the shimmering, silvery surface. It concerned Jay, as he did not know the situation or what the skeletons were doing on the other side and a swarm of knights was about to break into the room.

    "Where is Red..." he frowned.

    ***discord.gg/rRPmp84agW***

    Sorry there are not many discord links, I don''t want the discord being overwhelmed. You can also ess it through the patr3on.

 Chapter 294 Controlled Chaos

    (Blue, Sweeper. Start cutting the root open again.) Jay ordered.

    Next, he nced down at his feet. The helminth had eaten its fill and was ready to rejoin him, but Jay noticed something else. The root looked different.

    "¡­ did it get less white? It seems¡­ faded? The slightest shade of grey." Jay thought, observing the milky sap.

    "Are my eyes ying tricks? Maybe Red is doing something? But what?.."

    The helminth snapped its jaws, craving its master''s attention.

    "Alright,e up." Jay patted his chest.

    The bone worm sprang, shifting into its ghostly form while its body folded back into an amulet around Jay''s neck. Since the grew to level four, there was more bone mass, it made a thicker chain with ted leaf-shaped segments.

    "Nice." Jay nodded.

    Blue and Sweeper got to work, hacking away at the root while more of the thick milky sap leaked out.

    Meanwhile, the stream of knightsing into the room becamerger, crashing into Jay''s barrier of unwilling Ova. Yet this practice soon came to an abrupt end.

    Suddenly, the stream of knights stopped.

    "Hmm?" The battlefield felt different.

    On the other side of the room, knights still made it over the barrier, but now they no longer charged mindlessly. It was immediately obvious what had happened.

    "An intelligent one made it. Damn."

    The knights amassed, and did so much more quickly than before. They were attacking the Ova in the passage and pulling more of their army through. With a little structure, their threat level increased.

    "Now things will get interesting."

    ncing back at the root, the cut it in becamerger, letting more of the thick sap through, flowing out in globs.

    "It''s not enough. It won''t be enough." Jay shook his head.

    Suddenly, the first group of the knight army moved. Gone was the chaotic mess; they marched in formation.

    Therge force marched towards Jay, yet they avoided the fearsome tentacles.

    Jay hopped down from the root, ncing at it once more.

    "I''m sure it''s less white¡­ maybe." He thought, "so the skeletons are doing something. Maybe it''s okay to go through the portal?"

    Therge force of knights charged into the barrier of Ova, smashing against them.

    Alone, the knights were not a threat. They were level four while the Ova were level eight and would regenerate any damage after a small fight. But with so many shing swords and crushing armor, the first of them fell, soon to be followed by more.

    The knights quickly dispatched the Ova that rose again, who were only getting a few hits in before falling a second time.

    The intelligent knights focused the lesser''s onto one area of the Ova. More knights fell than Ova, but it didn''t matter when there were so many of them.

    Back at the passage behind the first force of knights, another force gathered. A second wave woulde soon.

    Jay moved to where the battle was the fiercest. Sshes of green blood and squirming parasites filled the air.

    He released extra lines of bones from the necrotic gauntlet, forming more rows of Ova and reinforcing them.

    However, the second force of knights began marching.

    As they came to the first group, one of the intelligent knights met them. If Jay had to guess, it was rying orders or information.

    Instead of charging right into the barrier of Ova, they began walking towards the wall where the floor roots were at their thinnest.

    "Fuck. I expected this, but it''s still annoying."

    The Ova at the wall were slightly more spread out, and only one reached the wall. A weak point in Jay''s barrier.

    Jay dashed over before they could get there and released more bones from his gauntlet. The bones disappeared as the knights crashed against the Ova.

    The new Ova didn''t rise fast enough. They needed time to sort through the bones and assemble.

    Four knights slipped past and charged at Jay, though the weak point was quickly closed and enough Ova spawned to block any more from getting through.

    (Blue, Sweeper!) Jay called.

    The four knights charged at Jay, ignoring everything else as they picked up speed.

    Pulling out the death-walker shield, Jay dashed to the side, dodging the first two.

    The third and fourth brought their swords down.

    *ng~*

    The shield blocked one hit.

    Jay''s sword parried another.

    Suddenly, a knight''s hand shot towards Jay''s stomach.

    "Fuck."

    It wasn''t a fist. These were lesser knights. Jay could see an oozing hole in the knight''s palm, leaking green fluids.

    There was no time to block it.

    Gritting his teeth, Jay stepped back to get out of range, but he lost his footing.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The hand was about to plummet into his stomach and deposit its eggs and parasites.

    *Brrr~*

    Suddenly, an ethereal green body appeared, blocking the infested hand from touching Jay with a humming sound.

    The helminth parasite.

    Its head raised up, its eyes glowing with rage. Who would dare to strike its master?

    *Boom! ~*

    A necrotic bolt struck back - useless against the knight''s armor, unless it found a gap.

    The knight''s arm was outstretched. An opening at the elbow joint appeared.

    The necrotic energies shot right into the gap and caused havoc inside.

    The parasite transformation already weakened the arm, and now the bones had turned to liquid.

    Pulled down by the vambrace armor, its arm fell off as the semi-decayed flesh ripped away.

    *ng~*

    Jay blocked another sword sh. The other knight was still active.

    Behind him, the other two had turned around.

    In seconds they would be at his back, their swords and infested hands both keen to taste his flesh.

    They surrounded Jay from all sides. The helminth could not block everything that wasing.

    The skeletons were still rushing over, but would not get there in time.

    Immediately, Jay side-stepped and crouched to the ground. Aplete tactical disadvantage.

    A sh was about tond on his back. Another stab was about to puncture him.

    "Iskean!"

    Suddenly, a st of air sent the knight''s severed arm flying behind him. It mmed against the wall of the chamber and crushed some parasites with it.

    Jay slipped out of the circle of knights at a confusingly rapid speed.

    Before the knights could charge again, the skeletons arrived.

    Two of these lesser knights didn''t even notice the undead creeping up on them. And it was their undoing.

    Skeletal des pierced through their spines with keen precision.

    [230 Exp]

    Jay had used his enchanted boots to escape the fight, almost crashing into the barrier of Ova he made. If he went the other direction, he would have smashed his brains against the wall.

    Catching his breath, he stepped away from the vile vine creatures.

    Yet the two remaining knights had already charged.

    "You fucking idiots." He said, a hint of disdain in his voice.

    It was an effortless task to side step again.

    The two knights thundered past, unable to stop themselves.

    Both of them smashed into the wall of Ova. It caught them in a deadly embrace.

    The skeletons rushed over, speeding after them.

    (Stop.) Jay ordered, wanting to finish them in his own way.

    The Ova mercilessly pierced their needle ws into the knights as they held them.

    The one with a severed arm had no hope, but the other pulled itself up.

    A few tendrils still clung to its armor, but before it could sh its sword and pull itself free, a heavy blow hit it in the back, sending it sprawling deeper into the clutches of the Ova.

    Jay had spartan-kicked it.

    After a desperate struggle, they both died.

    [230 Exp]

    "We won''tst much longer." Jay thought, ncing around.

    It was controlled chaos.

    They wiped out a single row of Ova, while they had brought the first force of the knights down to about twenty members - yet a third group of reinforcements were alreadying.

    (Sweeper, head into the portal, wait there for fifteen seconds, and thene straight back.) Jay ordered.

    So far, none of the skeletons hade back through the portal, and Jay could notmunicate with them either, so it was necessary to give the second order to return.

    As for the portal, the only thing which changed was that the milky-white fluid seemed a little darker, like it had been stained.

    "If I get to the other side, maybe we can shut down the portal and escape to wherever it leads. But I don''t want to go in blind. It''s up to Sweeper."

 Chapter 295 Portal

    Sweeper disappeared into the portal, leaving a small ripple to trailing across the silvery surface while Jay waited.

    "Come on¡­" Jay hoped it would be back while Blue waited by his side.

    ? Suddenly, the third wave of knights crashes into the Ova.

    "Hurry, Sweeper¡­ fuck."

    The knights had so much momentum that a group made it through.

    "Shit," he thought, gripping his shield and sword tightly and got ready to fight.

    Without pause they descended on Jay, full of wrath as they readied their swords.

    The helminthunched necrotic bolts, trying to hit more gaps of their rusted armor.

    Jay immediately released more bones from his necrotic gauntlet, but it was to slow down the charging knights rather than to bring up more Ova.

    Fifteen knights in total came barreling towards him, and the first three mmed into Jay''s shield. They pushed Jay back as he jumped back further.

    Blue helped to brace against them, holding its sword with both hands.

    "Fuck! Where are the fucking skeletons?" Jay grunted, stabbing past his shield into an enemy''s throat.

    Jay backed up towards the portal as he shrugged off hits against his shield; he gave them hits back with just as much ferocity.

    Blue took down one knight, but took a few hits in return.

    [115 Exp]

    When one knight fell, Jay took the gap in the enemy formation and plunged his sword deeper into a knight''s neck.

    Finally, it shaved past the spine where the parasite lived.

    [115 Exp]

    Yet when Jay pulled the sword back, its blood coated it in parasites.

    "Argh," He angrily grunted, throwing his sword down.

    Immediately he pulled another weapon from his inventory.

    A ck weapon with a diamond-shape spear head appeared. With an angr, elegant design it seemed to look down any who would question it.

    < [Knowing War Spear] > (Cursed)

    [Unknown Material]

    [16 Damage] (Two handed)

    [9 Damage] (Single handed)

    [Curse - Weapon is weakened until the curse is removed]

    [Curse - 50% less damage when wielded by non-constructs]

    [Curse - Locked Skill]

    [Curse - Locked Skill]

    "Blue, switch weapons with me!" he called, before more knights could get closer.

    Jay took hold of Blue''s sword while the skeleton grabbed the war spear, using it two-handed. As a construct, the skeleton gained the full sixteen damage of the spear.

    Right as they swapped weapons, a sword descended on Jay.

    He bashed it away with his shield.

    The knight staggered back.

    *Crunch~*

    Suddenly the ck spear broke right through its rusted armor, piercing through the chest.

    [115 Exp]

    "Fuck yeah." Jay nodded.

    Blue pulled the spear out cleanly; no blood clinging to the slender tip.

    Five more knights came closer, yet Blue met them with a deadly sweeping swing. The tip of the spear whistled in the air.

    Therge Helvetian spear cleaved deep gashes over three of their chest tes, sshing green parasite-filled blood everywhere. The rusted armor seemed almost like an offense to the ck spear.

    The three knights didn''t die, but became defenseless without their armor.

    The other two knights escaped the war spear, lunging towards Jay instead.

    Because of Blue''s sweeping attack, a wave of the blood sshed towards Jay, too. The death-walker shield blocked most of it. But not all.

    Somended on Jay''s arm.

    "Shit. Come on¡­"

    He couldn''t lower his guard to wipe away the wriggling parasites clinging to his flesh. Each of them felt the warmth of his skin, and stung Jay as they bit into him.

    Jay jumped back, raising his sword high against himself.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I''ll fucking do it." He was about to sever his own arm.

    Suddenly, a wave of pain traveled through Jay''s mind. A warning. Since the mushroom desert, there were already another group of parasites living in his arm. They would not let him sever them off.

    "Grr! Fuck!" he grit his teeth.

    Suddenly, the parasites stopped trying to burrow into his flesh. They curled up and harmlessly fell off. Dead.

    "Huh?"

    *ng~*

    A sword strikended on Jay''s shield.

    He parried a second strike, but it did not focus his mind on the battle.

    "The Ova poison. That''s where the Ova poisonnded on me." He thought. It was the only thing that made any sense.

    "So their poison kills the parasites, too. Good to know."

    Jay parried another sword sh and dodge another.

    Meanwhile, Blue had in two more with its heavy war spear.

    [115 Exp]

    [115 Exp]

    Suddenly, Sweeper came back through the portal.

    "Fuck. Finally." Jay shook his head.

    Sweeper immediately sprang to Jay''s side, killing one knight with its back turned.

    [115 Exp]

    Two more knights joined the fight, but with Sweeper and Blue here, Jay had some breathing room.

    Further behind them, fresh Ova raised, stopping five other knights after they absorbed the bone barrier.

    Blue killed another knight while Sweeper grappled with two.

    [115 Exp]

    Of the fifteen that made it past the Ova barrier, only three knights remained. Nothing the two skeletons couldn''t handle.

    [345 Exp]

    Jay watched Sweeper, checking its bones. Apart from green dots and sshes of knight blood, they seemed fine.

    "Seems like the portal is safe." Jay thought.

    Sweeper''s timing was nothing short of perfect as another row of Ova broke down. The knights surged forward, and another group pushed through.

    "Just about time I left. But first, a gift." Jay thought.

    A torrent of bones spewed from his gauntlet. A hill of skeletons piled up as high as the pumping root.

    "This should bring their numbers down a bit." Jay smiled slyly and turned to the portal.

    (Blue. My spear.) Jay ordered, deciding to store the war spear away in his inventory. It was a powerful gift from Sedulus, after all.

    The parasite-covered bone sword that Jay dropped had disappeared into the roots, so Blue grabbed some bones and forged its own sword while the three of them stood behind the gigantic pile of bones, which was already getting smaller as the roots imed them, too.

    Meanwhile, most of the floor near the portal was getting covered with the sticky white sap. They were already standing in it.

    The knights charged over, darting around the pile of bones, however, Jay already decided to leave.

    "See ya, bitches." he smiled, pushing his hand towards the portal.

    His hand touched the silvery surface, but it didn''t go through it. It pushed against it. It seemed to stretch around his hand, not letting him through.

    "Wait¡­ Huh?" He pushed harder. It was like the silvery fluid became stretched.

    "What the fuck? Why not? You mean this is it? Howe the skeletons can go through!?"

    As Jay held his hand there, the portal became slightly smaller. The crackling energy around its outside seemed to calm down and shrink.

    "Fuck." He growled, pulling his hand back, ncing at his palm.

    The knights behind were still charging.

    *BOOM!~*

    Jay released an unstable tooth, slowing them down from the explosion, if only for a moment.

    Ova formed slowly, but many knights rushed over as they needed more time.

    [Stress Response Active]

    Jay thought of a few options to buy some time: Release bones, re-summon skeletons - but for now he readied his sword and shield.

    "Until the Ova rise, I''ll just have to fight."

 Chapter 296 Pitch Black

    *Shring~*

    Blood spattered on the ground.

    Jay pulled his sword out of a knight''s corpse, flicking off as much of the parasites as he could.

    *Huff Huff Huff* he panted, exhaustion setting in.

    (Blue, watch your left side), he quickly ordered.

    Jaymanded while fending off another knight. He was standing over Sweeper, who was slowly being re-summoned.

    *Cling~*

    "Argh," he parried a stray swording towards his neck, deflecting it to instead cut his shoulder.

    Stepping forward with a front kick, he pushed the knight back into a patch of Ova.

    Jay, Blue and Sweeper fought efficiently, holding their ground while Red, Lamp and Handy did something on the other side of the portal, which was slowly turning the milky-white fluid gray.

    To protect himself from the parasites, Jay used an Ova corpse to coat any of his exposed flesh with its poison, while the Molodus coat helped to kill many more of them.

    The knights had driven them into a corner, between the wall and the root. As the Ova around them fell, they were running out of time.

    Jay had released more bones during some sticky parts of the battle, and caused additional groups of Ova to form. As well as that, there was also arge group of them near the portal.

    While the Ova were rising, Jay found a little trick to stopping them from rising directly under him: if he attacked them enough before they fully formed, the roots would retreat, taking the bones with them and forming somewhere else, while the milky sap leaking from the root seemed to discourage the Ova from rising too; It was odd, as Jay thought that the sap would empower them.

    Thankfully, it helped him to maintain a small area which they kept clear to fight in.

    So far, they had fought back fifty knights, killing them or pushing them into the Ova, and the knight corpses were piling up; the root-floor stopped removing them as there were probably too many corpses to deal with.

    More knights advanced closer; Blue fought three while Sweeper had two. The skeletons fought aggressively; they had to take damage to deal it, otherwise more knights would pile up and overwhelm them. Jay held two off but fought more conservatively, saving his health, and the health of his helminth.

    The knight had broken the original barrier of Ova apart, leaving it in tatters; few of them remained. Every moment, more knights surged towards them.

    However, Jay kept his mind focused, not giving in to panic.

    "We''re going to be overrun at any moment. I''ll need to retreat to the other side of the root."

    Yet as he took a few cuts and stab wounds, his patience was wearing thin.

    "Where the fuck are they? I need more skeletons." He nced at the portal.

    It still periodically rippled as the root pumped itself, but that was when Jay noticed something else had changed.

    Pushing back another knight with his shield, he paused.

    Apart from the sounds of battle, the room was silent.

    The air was still, no longer waving backwards and forwards.

    The giant head had stopped pumping.

    Jay nced at the head. Its eyes seemed different.

    "Its pupils¡­ they''re moving?" he thought, seeing them trying to focus on something.

    Another knight lunged towards Jay, stopping him from observing the head any longer.

    "Ugh, bastard," Jay grunted, raising his shield and absorbing the blow.

    Suddenly, the ground tremored and shifted, knocking them both off-bnce.

    I staggered Jay, while the knight fell backwards into the Ova.

    "The head." He thought and looked over at it.

    "Did it just blink?"

    Suddenly, the ground shook again as the head tilted to the side.

    The sounds of battle suddenly stopped.

    All the knights paused and watched.

    Suddenly, one of the intelligent parasites raised a sword, pointing it towards the head.

    "It''s waking up? Was it sleeping before or stunned? Shit¡­" Jay thought, ncing at the root again.

    It only took a few seconds for Jay to realise, or at least guess.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Fuck, was the white fluid was keeping it suppressed? What kind of fucked up experiment is this?!"

    Suddenly, the ground tremored again and cracked around the head as it rose slightly.

    "What did the skeletons do?" he shook his head in disbelief. He wasn''t ready to fight a giant.

    Jay nced at the exit to the room. A river of knights still flowed from it, charging over other corpses of their own kin. There was no way he was getting through.

    "Think." he told himself, "The root carries brown-gray liquid now¡­ I thought the white stuff was being fed to it, but could it be¡­ that it kept it suppressed? The brown liquid¡­ If this was my experiment, I would put in a failsafe. Poison? I can only hope they did." he thought, cing a great deal of trust in his skeletons.

    Suddenly, the portal shimmered. Jay''s eyes widened, and he stifled a smile as Red gave him some hope.

    Red came through, standing on the root. It was still holding the pendant Jay gave to it.

    Yet instead of helping to fight the knights off, Red did the unexpected.

    Red nced towards the head and readied its sword, then suddenly began an all-out sprint along the root.

    The head continued to rise as the ground quaked and cracked. Jay was on the edge of the room, so he was safe from the fissures that opened, unlike arge amount of the knights.

    Suddenly, the lesser knights charged at the head.

    "What the fuck is happening?" Jay watched on in horror as most of them marched to their deaths.

    Many of them fell into the crevasses and fissures that opened or became paste as the tentacles mmed down on them.

    Meanwhile, Red sprinted along the root. Jay didn''t understand why, but he trusted Red, and it probably learnt something from the other side of the portal.

    The tentacles on the far side of the head disappeared, sinking into the ground. But only for a moment.

    They all rose again, having merged together.

    "It''s a fucking hand?"

    The hand had three fingers and one thumb, made mostly of the fleshy-roots. It appeared slender and weak at first, but as the head woke up, more of the living roots came to reinforce it, giving it more strength.

    Instead of attacking the knights or Red, it reached for the root that was carrying the milky-sap towards it and it weakly grasped it with its weakened grip. For now, it could only squeeze it gently.

    (Blue, Sweeper, move onto the root and help me up) Jay ordered.

    The skeletons suddenly jumped up onto therge root, and together, in one quick movement, they pulled Jay up.

    The giant hand gently squeezed the root, but as it got stronger, the root narrowed in its grip.

    The head continued to rise and soon two giant mounds appeared; its shoulders.

    (Move!) Jay ordered, sending Blue and Sweeper chasing after Red while he followed as quickly as he could.

    Jay went much slower than the nimble skeletons as the root rolled and swayed.

    The head lifted it up higher in its grip, and Jay noticed the root attached to its throat.

    The giant hand was getting stronger, twisting and pulling the root, trying to rip it out of its throat.

    Jay mbered along the shifting root. At different points stabbed his sword and necrotic gauntlet into it to stop himself from falling off.

    ncing up, Red finally made it to the giant''s hand, wrapped around the root.

    Without hesitation, Red began shing and stabbing at the hand, trying to weaken it as much as it could.

    (Help Red) He ordered Blue and Sweeper.

    *Doon!~*

    Suddenly, the head pulled back, sending a shockwave through the rooting from its throat. Blue and Red held on, but Sweeper fell. Itnded safely, not taking much fall damage, but the giant root they were all standing on shifted back and crushed itpletely.

    [Your skeleton has died.]

    ncing down as he held on, Jay saw a startling difference in the fluid below. Previously, it was slowly turning from white to gray, but now the gray color of the liquid had another liquid behind it, which was pitch-ck.

    It was like a wall of the ck fluid moved along, and had just made it under Jay.

    He knowingly nodded. It was obvious what it meant for the head.

    "This needs to reach its throat before it can sever the root."

    ncing back, Jay regretted cutting the root open. The hole will have slowed the fluid down. Some of the ck fluid leaked out and the Ova instantly died, shriveling into nothing but bones and body parts.

    While the knights now advanced on the giant head, they were stilling after Jay, filled with a furious wrath. Many recklessly clung to the swaying root, attempting to climb up.

 Chapter 297 Final Push

    The giant raised the root higher, making the ck fluid slow down.

    (Target the hand at the wrist) Jaymanded.

    Blue and Red hacked away with their swords, but smaller growths sprung out of the giant''s hand; smaller snake-like vines.

    They had no poison, but tried to grasp and entangle the swords along with the skeletons, protecting the hand.

    The skeletons had to sh them away and sever them before they could weaken the hand any further.

    Jay ran, crawled and climbed along the root as it changed positions and twisted in the giant''s grip. The closer the ck liquid came, the more it moved.

    Piercing his gauntlets'' ws into the root, he had a moment to think as he waited for it to settle.

    "It''s panicking¡­ I think? Didn''t it expect this, though? Didn''t it think someone woulde to end the experiment someday?" he wondered, thinking it should face its death with fury rather than fear.

    "Perhaps fear is all it knows."

    Jay nced at the army of knights below.

    A thought passed through Jay''s mind.

    "It''s scared. Do the innocent fear death? But who is innocent?¡­ Who could be innocent here?"

    Finally, it stopped shaking for a moment and Jay ran along the root, finally making it to the hand.

    He shed away some of the writhing vines; he wanted to test it. Pulling out the red needle, he plunged it into the giant''s hand.

    A light of hope raised in Jay''s heart as he pricked it, but it was quickly extinguished.

    The needle turned red again. Tainted.

    "Ah, fuck this. What''s the damn point?" Jay thoughtlessly tossed it away, and it disappeared into the floor fissures below.

    "Everything''s tainted. Why give me a damn magic needle when the result is always the same?"

    Frustrated, Jay started hacking away at the hand, and together with Blue, they weakened it.

    It still squeezed the root, but it did not cut the flow off. If anything, its grip loosened slightly.

    More of the giant nt''s body left the earth, though it couldn''t raise its other hand as it was being harassed by an army of knights. Alone, they would have been nothing more than ants, but together, their damage added up and it couldn''t ignore it.

    Finally, the ck fluid made it to them, passing underneath and through the giant''s grip.

    Suddenly, the giant moved its hand back, closer to its neck. As soon as he saw its hand opening, Jay dug his gauntlet ws into the root and barely held on.

    Blue stumbled forwards and was about to slip off.

    Jay reached out to grab it, his fingers only touching the bottom of its foot, but wasn''t close enough.

    Blue tumbled off the root, falling out of sight. As for Red, it disappeared too.

    "Dammit." Jay frowned.

    The root settled down again as the giant tightened its grip further up, squeezing and twisting again.

    Jay moved up the root as quickly as he could, sprinting uphill at some points, and barely holding on at others.

    More of the giant''s nt-flesh body left the earth as it pulled more of itself out, and Jay wondered how big it was before it consumed most of the dungeon''s resources.

    "Hmm, but I guess it doesn''t matter now." he thought, finally getting close to the giant''s hand again.

    Jay pulled his sword down, carving into its fingers. Thankfully, they were not as thick as the tentacles, as most of the roots from the four tentacles went to forming its arm instead.

    Below him, the roots covering the floor moved, pulling up towards the giant like a carpet. Along with it went the Ova, entangled knights and dead suits of armor.

    However, this doesn''t deter the knights in the slightest. With the floor clear of roots, they could rush into death even faster.

    Meanwhile, the ck fluid moved closer to the giant''s throat. It seemed to struggle against this unwanted imnt, trying to rip it out of its own throat.

    The root seemed to pump itself, and Jay guessed that either the giant didn''t control it, or someone put it there.

    Meanwhile, Jay was in a precarious situation.

    Top stop himself from falling, he had dug his gauntlet deeply into the root while continuing to sh at the giant''s hand, doing as much damage as safely as he could - so not a lot. And without Blue to help, the hand was getting stronger.

    At this moment, Jay was d he didn''t get the skeletons to cut all the way through the ck-liquid carrying root. In fact, he regretted it as he guessed that this carnivorous giant would be dead by now, as much of the pressure pushing the ck fluid was being lost because of the hole they made.

    Being closer to the body, Jay thought he could even hear its heartbeat, though the head was no longer pumping its forehead. Somewhere inside its body, its heart had started - or whatever this thing had for a heart.

    While the giant''s hand was gradually gaining strength again, the ck fluid moved right under Jay once more. It wasn''t yet strong enough.

    Finally, it dropped the root again and moved its hand closer to its neck, which is where the root entered its body.

    "Almost dead," Jay thought.

    Yet as he watched the ck liquid under him and saw how quickly it was slowing down, he realized he had to do more damage. Each time the giant moved out of the ground, it got higher, which made it harder for the root to pump.

    Jay stored his sword into his inventory and sprinted along the root, asionally letting himself fall forward, to grasp at the root, and to find whatever grip or bnce he could.

    Yet, while advancing, he was calcting. The giant was rising; the hand got stronger, and the ck fluid was slowing down.

    "It''s not enough¡­ I need to try something else." Jay thought.

    Looking ahead, he saw the giant''s eyes. They were staring, locked onto the ck liquiding up to it. Perhaps it was the only thing it feared.

    Jay climbed upwards as fast as he could,ing close enough tounch an unstable tooth at its eyes.

    "Hmm, the weak spot of nearly every creature¡­ If Ind this, it''ll probably burst its eye open and hopefully loosen its grip, sealing its own fate."

    Jay quickly charged a tooth until it hovered and hummed with energy.

    *BOOM!~*

    He cast it towards one of its eyes.

    It was urate, but it didn''t reach its target.

    A slender vine from its hand suddenlyshed out and intercepted the spell.

    The spell tore the vine to pieces, and it dropped away, but the eyes were fine.

    Jay grit his teeth, knowing what he had to do.

    He quickly climbed upwards, getting back to the giant hand holding to root. It covered itself in smaller vines, all trying to stop him from getting a decent sword strike in. It was probably what it was doing with the knights below, too.

    Jay, being more agile than the knights, easily cut them away with his sword and climbed on to the hand itself. The hand was no longer his target; it was merely a barrier.

    "Just a little closer." he grit his teeth, moving his hands and legs as fast as they would move; he needed to climb past before more of the vines sprung up and trapped him.

    As he tried to climb onto the chin of the giant, it finally noticed him.

    Many smaller vines appeared from the hand and tried to ensnare him.

    His sword made quick work of them, but one of them made it, wrapping around his leg and pulling him back.

    The helminthunched a necrotic bolt, perhaps testing the enemy, though it had no effect. Jay held on with his gauntlet, but he couldn''t reach the vine around his ankle with his sword.

    "Fuck, just a little more!" he nced at the giant''s eyes. More of the slender vines had sprung up to protect them.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Behind Jay, more vines coiled around the one pulling on Jay''s leg, reinforcing it. As it got stronger, he couldn''t resist it.

    It pulled him back, even with his gauntlet''s ws dug into the giant''s neck. Deep gashes formed.

    He curled his body and shed his sword again,nding on the vines, but it wasn''t enough.

    More vines came to grasp him and crawled up, tightening around his leg. The nt was going to strangle him.

    *BOOM! ~* An unstable tooth found its way into the swarm of vines and exploded, sending them all into writhing pieces.

    He damaged the vine around his leg, but it still weakly clung to him.

    *Shring~*

    He weakened it enough to cut through cleanly.

    Jay immediately stored his sword and climbed as quickly as he could.

    The giant couldn''t stop him. If it removed its hand from the root, the ck liquid would enter its throat.

    As for its other hand, it was in the tentacle form, trying to hold off the army of knights below.

    Yet its second hand would not do much; it was in tatters and weakened. Each time it mmed its tentacles into the ground, it took handfuls of knights with it, but as ity on the ground after its attacks, it was vulnerable and the knights gave it no mercy.

    As Jay climbed, some smaller vines found their way through cracks in the giant''s head, but he easily cut them down.

    Jay made it to the chin. He was about to charge an unstable tooth spell, but more of the slender vines had appeared, making it impossible for the spell to reach the eye.

    "Fuck. I need to get closer."

    Each time a vine appeared, he nted his gauntlet into the head''s flesh, and with his free hand, cut it down.

    Sweat covered his face, and his fingers burned with pain. After fighting the knights for what felt like hours, and then wing his way up the giant shaking root, he felt like he had nothing left to give.

    Yet he moved every limb with focus and sheer will; while painful, he was making progress towards its eyes.

    ncing back, he saw the giant''s hand gathering more strength, squeezing and twisting harder.

    "Good thing I got off when I did," Jay thought; doubting he could climb it.

    The ck fluid slowed to a crawling pace.

    The cut that the skeletons made looked like it was tearing wider as more of the ck liquid pooled on the chamber floor. It almost made him want to give into the exhaustion.

    "Come on¡­" he told himself. "I''vee too far to give in now. I have more strength than this."

    He climbed further, finding whatever strength he could.

    His hands felt like they would tear apart, and as sweat ran into his eyes, Jay wanted to give up.

    However, he soon heard something behind him.

    The sounds of roots being hacked away.

    ncing down, he saw one of his skeletons.

    "Blue?" Jay whispered in disbelief.

    Seeing an ally amid battle could raise any heart. Especially one of his loyal minions.

    Blue had not fallen off of the giant swinging root, but had clung on underneath.

    All this time, it had been pushing its bones to the brink of snapping, fighting off vines while hanging upside down.

    Against all odds, it made its way back to help its master. Unrelenting and unforgiving.

    It had not given up; Blue did everything in its power, using all the strength it could find in its ancient bones to get back and fight.

    Jay grit his teeth, finding anger and strength.

    "I''m its master; I should set the example¡­ what am I doing? There is no giving up. I still have muscles to move; they aren''t torn apart. My bones aren''t broken and my blood still boils. Even the giant fights on despite being so broken. Where is my excuse to quit?" he spat.

    Jay ignored the pain and climbed faster, ripping into the giant''s nt-flesh with his fingers, pulling chunks out in a resolute rage. He even ripped vines to pieces with his gauntlet instead of slicing them apart.

    Getting to the eye, he finally pulled his sword.

    Vines came from around it like eyshes and covered it in a tangled web.

    A few swings and multiple vines were severed, but regenerated quickly.

    It wasn''t enough.

    Jay stabbed his sword down, and the vines barely held it.

    "More¡­ More!" he yelled.

    He stamped his boots on the vines covering the eye, letting them grab his feet.

    The foolish things didn''t realize they were helping to anchor him in ce. Jay no longer needed to hold on with one hand.

    With both hands, he gripped his sword and thrust; again and again.

    In a blind, exhausted rage, he stabbed it mercilessly as if he hated it. He was like a maniac trying to kill a corpse that kepting back, giving it everything he had.

    Its green blood covered his face.

    Yet the vines gave no ground to the sword, and they swallowed Jay up to his knees.

    His whole body flexed with one final push. He sunk all his weight into the sword.

    "Just fucking die!" Jay yelled through a clenched jaw, spit forced out and flying through his teeth.

    The sword pierced deeper than it ever had. The whole de turned green with blood.

    Jay had given thisst thrust everything.

    It was thest of his energy.

    He made a narrow hole in the vines, a skinny shaft with his sword, but the eye was still unharmed, unblemished and uncut.

    It wasn''t enough.

    Jay huffed from exhaustion. Holding onto his sword with both hands, he rested his head against the pommel.

    Sweat mixed with blood and dripped onto the vines.

    He panted with his mouth open, dripping saliva from his lips.

    He nced down,zily keeping his eyelids half open.

    "Your sword is being swallowed up¡­ there is no one to help you¡­" he whispered to himself.

    His eyes became watery.

    "This¡­ I guess this is all I have¡­"

 Chapter 298 Death Titan

    Jay closed his eyes and breathed in the cold air.

    His hands dropped to the side and the living vines began creeping up his arms, pulling him deeper.

    His energy dropped to zero and his whole body felt heavy, as if he was in thick chains; rxing now was too tempting to resist, if even for a moment.

    Yet as he sat there, without backup or help, his thoughts drifted to the darker ces.

    "There is no one to help me. No one who understands me."

    "I''m so tired¡­ Who would know if I disappear, who would care?" Jay asked himself, but he already knew the answer.

    "Dad left; I raised myself. Everyone else had a head start, but they still turned and pushed me down as if I was one of them. The guild used me. Anya escaped Lo without me. They left me to die in the wilderness or by the hands of the mage hunters."

    "¡­ now the only ones looking for me are my enemies. Fools."

    After a moment, his breathing slowed down; his sweat felt cold.

    "They think I''m here to be used and discarded? Did they think I would allow it?" Anger, disdain, and bitter disgust showed on Jay''s face.

    Yet he was not angry with anyone, but with himself.

    "Pathetic." Jay talked to himself. "You said you were more than this, or was that just a lie? Where is your drive? Where is your ambition? Did you do this all for others in the first ce? - And if they only care when you''re soaring high among the clouds, they truly don''t care at all." Jay spat.

    "No. I don''t move for others, I move for myself. I care for myself because no one else does." He thought, feeling his strength return.

    "Others will tear me down as soon as I raise my head, but I don''t be stronger for them¡­" he nodded, "I act because of who I am, and it''s better having no one around me; there is no one to question my will or my motives. I don''t have an annoying person second guessing everything I do. No one to disdain my weakness; no one to shame my strength. While I am ensnared in these vines, I am truly free."

    *Cling~*

    A noise found its way to Jay''s ears. The sounds of a shing sword and bones.

    Blue was still fighting somewhere behind.

    "I guess not everyone has given up on me." Jay opened his eyes, and in them was a fierce determination.

    It covered his arms up to the elbow with the living roots as they pulled him into them, but he didn''t panic. Instead, a sly smile appeared on his face.

    "I guess the gentle approach was all it took."

    He felt his hands free from vines on the other side, and in both of them an unstable tooth spell appeared; both of them were already humming, about to explode from all the mana he was pushing into them.

    Jay felt Blue draw closer. It wasn''t shing the giant''s hand, but was forging a path towards its master.

    The vines made it to Jay''s neck, threatening to strangle him. But it was toote.

    *BA-BOOM!~*

    At point-nk range, both of the spells exploded into its right eye.

    The giant shuddered, its head reeled back in staggering pain.

    The vines held firmly Jay in ce, entangled in them. Yet Jay wasn''t done.

    *BOOM!~*

    Another explosion caused the giant to shudder with pain.

    Itsrge hand appeared, bashing against Jay''s back.

    In a painful panic, the giant smashed its hand into its own head, right onto Jay''s back.

    "Grah! ~" Jay''s face smashed into the vines, breaking his jaw and nose.

    Blood and teeth fell from his mouth; it broke his spine too. He couldn''t move.

    [91 damage]

    For now, all he could do was endure the pain. Thankfully, he invested a lot of points into his vitality stat, so his body healed quickly as his health points drained.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He tried to brace for another blow from the hand, but thankfully, there was none.

    In a few moments, his body healed and the giant hand had moved back to sping the root, trying to stop the ck fluid.

    After regaining his senses, he tried another tactic.

    "The giant can probably heal quickly, too." He thought, imagining the destruction he caused in its eye socket. "I suppose I''ll just have to block its healing."

    Suddenly, a green glow of necrotic mana came from gaps in the vines below him.

    The vines entangling Jay suddenly bulged.

    He was releasing a mountain-size pile of bones right into the giant''s eye socket.

    In seconds, its head began reeling back and shaking from the pain again, while the pressure of the bones crushed Jay''s unarmored hand on the other side of the vines.

    Yet he didn''t care. It was a price he will dly pay.

    "Grraaah. More! More!!" Jay grit his teeth and smiled like a maniac as blood flowed from his mouth, knowing that the pain he was feeling was nothingpared to what the giant was going through.

    The head began to spasm backwards and forwards. The whole dungeon trembled from its shuddering body.

    Its hand released the root around its neck, but it was in so much pain that it couldn''t even bring it to smash against Jay again.

    It trembled more, convulsing violently.

    It caught Jay in its vines, and he and couldn''t escape. The powerful shudders were almost making him pass out.

    [Cytokine Stabilization - Activated]

    Suddenly, his head felt lighter and he no longer felt the changes in gravity pushing his head from side to side. His brain felt rxed.

    "So that''s what it does? Good." He thought, no longer feeling like his brain was turning to mush.

    However, it only applied to his head; he felt like his shoulders were about to be dislocated.

    Even the vines holding him were having a hard time keeping him trapped.

    Somewhere behind him, Blue held on, though Jay wasn''t sure how. He wasn''t sure anything could have.

    Thankfully, its shaking was slowing down, and suddenly it stopped.

    The vines holding Jay suddenly loosened as he felt like his whole body was in free-fall. The entire giant was toppling over.

    Everything started to wither and die.

    *BOOM!~*

    The giant''s body hit the ground as it died, sending shock waves throughout the whole dungeon.

    [21,900 Exp]

    Jay''s body hung in the dead vines.

    Not wanting to lose any of his bones, he added them bones back to his gauntlet. His other hand healed, no longer crushed by the bones inside the giant''s head.

    While the exp notification was enormous, he felt like it wasn''t enough to make up for what he went through, and he just wanted to leave this ce.

    "Now¡­ is the dungeon over?" he thought, rxing in the vines for a moment.

    The sounds of knights still sounded in his ears. They still thoughtlessly shed at the giants corpse.

    Suddenly, Blue began cutting away at the vines around its eye, trying to free its master. Jay simply waited, though he was annoyed.

    "¡­ Come on. The nt giant is dead. Surely this dungeon is over. Maybe it just needs a second?" Jay wondered, frowning as he heard knights getting closer.

 Chapter 299 Mostly Safe

    Blue hastily cut Jay out of the dying roots. It was a simple task when they didn''t grow back between each chop.

    Jay stood up on the giant''s head, ncing at the army of knights below.

    "Now what¡­" he wondered.

    The knights were still hacking away at the giant''s corpse, spilling its green blood everywhere.

    One knight noticed Jay, then a few of them, then many more. They climbed the giant''s body towards him and his skeleton. It didn''t take long, and most of the knights stopped attacking, realizing the giant was dead, while the source of their vengeance stood atop its corpse.

    Jay wasted no time looking around for exits, but nothing had changed.

    Knights still blocked the passageway to the stairs, and the portal would not let him through. The only difference was that there wasn''t a storm of knights running overhead.

    Looking up to the observation deck above, Jay doubted he could make it that high, even with the mountain of bones in his gauntlet. The giant''s holding room was simply too big.

    Below him, there were great fissures cracked open by the giant, which would swallow many bones; there were only dead knights filling them, and it wasn''t a viable escape route either.

    "Nowhere to go¡­ It looks like we''ll just have to stay then." Jay thought.

    ncing back down into the giant''s eye, there was arge opening on the inside.

    Because of the bones he had pumped into it, a cavity opened up inside its head. It was like a cave with one way in through the eye.

    "Defensible and disgusting." Jay pursed his lips, shaking his head.

    Without a second thought, he jumped into the eye-hole he just escaped from.

    The damage the bones had caused was devastating. Many cuts and impacted, squished wounds with burst blubbery nt-flesh was everywhere.

    Hended in a pool of its green blood, which went up to his knees.

    It was warm and humid inside the head, and its only redeeming quality was that it still had the fresh smell of a forest on an early morning.

    "Alright, I better fix this ce up a bit before the knights get here." Jay thought.

    Releasing some bones from his gauntlet, he dropped enough to make a tform to stand on, above the pool of green blood.

    Jay quickly summoned Sweeper and let it craft its own sword before. After it made another two-hander sword, Jay sent it onto the giant''s face to give Blue some backup.

    "Now¡­ where is Red?" Jay wondered, thinking if he should re-summon it or not.

    He could still sense it somewhere nearby. It was still alive, but the ck fluid was interfering with his necrotic senses.

    *Cling~*

    The skeletons fought above as a knight engaged them, and Jay hastily got to work on his first set of defensive fortifications.

    Jay had just leveled up, and with mana regeneration and arger mana pool, he wasn''t cautious about using his mana.

    First, he spread a t ne of mana over the tform he was standing on, fuzing the bones together and giving himself a more sturdy foundation.

    Next, he made the necrotic gauntlet release skulls and femur bones and caused them to swirl around in a cylinder shape, forming a pir of skulls.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As the pir formed, he coated it with mana, binding it together. He arranged each of the skulls facing outwards in rings, but Jay didn''t have time to admire his work.

    [230 Exp] Another knight died above, and the skeletons began fighting more and more enemies.

    He fixed the pir on the tform, melding it into it with more necrotic mana. After crafting a second pir, they each reached up to opposite sides of the eyehole.

    Checking that the skull pirs were sturdy enough, he formed a skeletal beam from many straight bones, attaching it between the pirs.

    The giant''s eye-socket now had a skeletal beam going across it with two gaps on either side. The gaps were wide enough for the skeletons to pass through, but too narrow for the armored knights to cross.

    [115 Exp]

    Jay added more bones to help reinforce the skeletal beam before working on the next part of his defenses.

    The next part was simple. It was another bone tform, only higher up. The first tform was to get his feet out of the green blood, but this one was to help him and his skeletons to reach the opening in order to fight back any knights trying to get in.

    It was a simple process to make a raised tform of bones, and Jay topped it off with the t rectangr bone he had previously melted into a sleeping spot.

    "Looks good." Jay thought and then began crafting spears.

    Before calling the skeletons inside, he crafted six spears. On the bone tform, he added special grooves for them to slot into.

    (Blue, Sweeper. Come inside and set up these spears.) Jay ordered, then crafted more of the spears.

    "The more, the better." he thought.

    Each spear could stop 110 pounds (50kg) of force. While three for each side of the beam were enough for one knight, Jay knew he had to craft many more.

    The skeletons jumped in, nimbly slipping past the beam between the eyes. A knight followed, but its chest armor struck against the beam and caught itself there. Jay smiled, seeing that the beam and his skull pirs held their ce.

    "Hurry and kill it so we can get more of these spears into ce." Jay ordered, forming another long spear shaft within the green mana cloud before him.

    The skeletons stabbed the stuck knight with the spears, easily killing it.

    [115 Exp]

    Its body hung there, blocking one of the two gaps.

    "Damn, oh well." Jay shrugged.

    The skeletons propped more of the spears up, pointing them up into the eye socket.

    Jay propped one up and added some mana to the base, fixing it into ce on the bone tform; the skeletons copied him and released some necrotic mana, too. They pierced a few of the spears into the dead knight too, but it was more of a precaution to help hold its weight up, in the event that other knights came and piled on top of it.

    "Now¡­ I''m mostly safe. I guess we kill them one by one until they''re all dead¡­ or until I figure something else out." Jay thought, as his stomach growled in hunger.

    Without a frown, he crunched down some leftover nuts and some bond tussle root he had been carrying, keeping his hunger at bay.

    "Maybe the knights aren''t the biggest threat anymore. Perhaps my hunger will consume me¡­ Why isn''t this damn thing over? Aren''t the innocent saved now? The knights will have no food without the nt, and no new soldiers either¡­ the roots on the surface will wither and die too. I killed the cannibal vige¡­"

    "¡­ yet I still haven''t found a single untainted."

 Chapter 300 Death Pit

    Guided by the intelligent knights, the remaining army of knights assembled and marched against Jay, who waspleting his defenses inside the giant''s head. They climbed the giant and swarmed like ants that found an intruder in their nest.

    They met the first group of them that tried to jump into the skeletal bunker with a bouquet of spears poking out. They died as quickly as they came.

    [575 Exp]

    Because of the bone beam going across the eye, none of them could break through. Their dead bodies became stuck and pierced with spears, and had to be pulled out before another knight could try.

    For now, Jay''s position was secure.

    Seeing that the n to kill the intruder wasn''t working, the lesser knights attacked the head, hacking away with their swords.

    Some tried to make new holes in the head, but most focused their swords around the eye, trying to make arger opening, and it didn''t take long for the first knight to slip past the beam.

    Of course, it died instantly. Its body pierced by more spears, but another one jumped through straight after, pushing spears to the side; They already hacked apart the longer spears which were pointing out of the eyehole and pulled them out.

    The knights no longer had to remove the corpses either, and the numbering inside increased, along with the weight on top of the spears.

    "Damn. It''s only a matter of time before this head fills with their bodies and I''m forced out." Jay thought.

    Jay nced around the cavity inside the giant''s head, trying to guess how much time he had.

    As he looked at the lower tform he made, he noticed something wasn''t right.

    "The blood level, is it rising?" he wondered.

    [115 Exp]

    The knights were relentless and continued to cut open arger hole while more jumped through. The bone tform began to creak and groan from all the weight.

    *ng! ~*

    A knight suddenly jumped down near Sweeper. Instead of attacking the skeleton, it turned its sword against the forest of spears.

    *Crack! ~*

    It cracked one in half, snapping it, and before Sweeper could guide its sword into its spine, the knight cleaved another, bringing a dead body falling down with it, making arger gap in the vertical spear wall.

    "Fuck."

    Jay quickly reced one of the broken spears while Sweeper stood guard. Blue weaved through the spears and pushed the knight''s body off the bone tform.

    *Ssh~*

    The knight''s body sshed into the green blood below.

    "Shit. It''s getting higher¡­ but why? The giant is dead." Jay thought.

    ncing down, he noticed another change - the green blood was turning darker.

    "It''s still pumping¡­" Jay thought.

    Outside, the root entering the giant''s throat which pumped the ck fluid was still active. As Jay guessed, it wasn''t a part of the giant.

    The blood was turning darker and darker as it rose higher and higher, and brought Jay another problem.

    "I need to escape before I drown." He thought.

    The lower tform of bone already had the rising blood beginning to cover it.

    Meanwhile, the knights made arger hole and flooded into the head, while Jay started making a ramp going upwards.

    *Cring!~*

    The skeletons became engaged in a struggle.

    Blue focused on defending Jay, while Sweeper tried to protect the spears from being cut down.

    Yet it was all breaking down, turning to a mess of broken bones in a cesspool of dark blood.

    Jay''s bone ramp was only partiallyplete, and he had to pause as a knight jumped down right in front of him.

    "I haven''t got time for this." he casually said, bringing his hand forward.

    *BOOM!~*

    An unstable tooth exploded at point nk range; the st knocked the knight away, giving Jay a few precious moments to build his ramp higher.

    The knight fell near Blue, who finished it knight off and moved back to defending Jay.<novelnext></novelnext>

    *Crack! ~*

    Under the weight of the knights, the first spear snapped. There was too much weight; above them, a canopy of steel and dead bodies had formed. Jay wasn''t worried, though; it surprised him that the spears had held on this long.

    Jay continued to build his ramp and was getting closer to the ceiling; he could almost touch the fleshy roof. Of course, he wouldn''t willingly touch it.

    He made the ramp to wrap around the side of one of the bone pirs, just under the edge of the eye. He watched as more knights swarmed through the hole, falling to their deaths on the spears or into the growing pool of ck blood below.

    For a few moments, all Jay did was watch, waiting for the perfect moment.

    (Blue, Sweeper, get ready.) hemanded.

    Blue and Sweeper rushed behind him, all three of them standing on the skeletal ramp he hastily constructed.

    Jay''s n was to escape this death trap before the knights block the exit. He would not drown in giant blood, dead knights and ck fluid; fighting to hisst breath and wisp of mana was the preferable way to go.

    (Let nothing attack me.) Jay ordered, beginning his escape n.

    He closed his eyes as necrotic mana gathered in his palms.

    In each of his hands, three unstable teeth hovered. He filled them each with mana, focusing on the ones with the least amount, so he wouldn''t overload any.

    Each of them slowly being to hum and shake with the undead energy, yet one of them had glowing cracks appear on its surface. He added a little too much.

    A single wrong move, a single imbnce, and all six would blow up in Jay''s face.

    "Just a little more¡­" Jay flexed the muscles in his hands as he tried to hold on to the six spells, keeping them under control

    Suddenly, another knight fell past, causing a gentle breath of air to touch his face.

    "Now!"

    Jay suddenly opened his eyes; each of them were filled with necrotic mana and glowed with death. He looked like an undead lich.

    The six spells shot out of his hand, escaping between the knights jumping in.

    *BOOM!!!!!!*

    [920 Exp]

    Decimation. Shattered armor and shrapnel. Bodies turned to mist.

    The first exploded, causing all others to burst just above the hole.

    After releasing the spell, Jay had turned his head and blocked his ears, but even after that, all he could hear was a loud ringing noise.

    They sent the knights flying. Many instantly died, turning into giant metal suits of shrapnel and pushing other knights down.

    For a moment, the head was clear of enemies.

    The skeletons jumped out first, standing in a green mist and raising their swords in defense.

    Jay aimed himself at the eye-hole which he had just blown open.

    "Iskean." With a bump of air, he easily cleared the hole and exited.

    Turning back, he reached his gauntlet down, quickly storing all the bones from the cavity inside the giant''s head. The mass of dead bodies sshed into the pool of blood below as the spears, tforms, and pirs disappeared.

    Jay checked around, surveying the damage he caused. The giant''s nose was gone, and the spell had stripped away most of the upperyers of flesh.

    Around the room, he was looking for escape options, or at the very least somewhere to flee to.

    Suddenly, he saw Red again.

    It had climbed up onto the root, sessfully escaping the knights with one of their own swords.

    "Red? Just where are you going¡­" he whispered to himself.

    Red, instead of running toward him, headed back along the root and jumped into the portal.

    "What the fuck, Red?" Jay thought, feeling confused, and admittedly, slightly abandoned. Whatever was on the other side of the portal was presumably more important than protecting its master.

    With nowhere else to go, Jay ran back towards the portal too, jumping onto the giant rooting from the giant''s throat. At this moment, it was still pumping the ck fluid, kept alive by whatever was on the other side of the portal.

    Meanwhile, the knights recovered from the shock and began climbing towards Jay, who had only just made it onto the root.

    "Fuck, what are you doing, Red? Where are my damn skeletons¡­" he thought, bolting towards the silvery portal.

 Chapter 301 Unsaved Innocent

    He had gained [2645 Exp] from his fight inside the head, which they had since abandoned.

    Jay, Blue, and Sweeper made it to the portal.

    This was thest defensible location, and there was still an entire army of knights to y, all of who were marching on them with fury.

    Jay could only rely on the height of the root to keep them from being swarmed by a wave of steel soldiers. He could not release any bones, either. They would only help the knights to climb up.

    Jay pushed his hand against the portal once more, but it only rebounded from him, and strangely, shrunk slightly.

    "Dammit. Every time I touch it, it shrinks."

    Knights ran along the root, shing against Blue and Sweeper, who held their ground.

    Instead of killing the knights, they pushed them back down - otherwise, they would overrun them.

    Yet Jay could already tell it was a losing battle. The skeletons were being pushed back and damaged, and he was barely keeping them from climbing up at the sides or giving the skeletons some backup.

    At first, he was a few steps away from the portal, but now he was almost pushed up against it.

    "Fuck. Red and the others better be doing something important."

    Meanwhile, some intelligent knights found their way to the front line. Instead of using their weapons to fight, they were reaching up from below, trying to pull Jay and his skeletons down by their ankles.

    One of their hands soon found Jay''s foot, but he responded instantly.

    "Not today, fucker!" He smashed the bottom of his shield against it.

    It crunched down onto it, yet it held on and pulled, protected under its armor.

    Before It could pull him down, Jay released an unstable tooth.

    *Boom! ~*

    It burst against the knight''s chest. The shockwave sent its head reeling back. It released its grip as it fell backwards.

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    "Fuck." Jay turned back.

    Sweeper had been taken. A circle of knights had formed in the crowd, each of them stabbing their weapons into a pile of bone dust.

    Without Sweeper, the knights pushed Blue back. Jay immediately re-summoned Sweeper, yet by the time it constructed, Jay''s back was against the portal, which shrunk even further as he touched it.

    Distracted with summoning, another knight grasped his ankle.

    Sweeper pounced and wed at the knight grabbing Jay, but to little effect.

    "Fuck. Blue, help!" Jay called.

    Blue immediately turned. Seeing its master in peril, it jumped right onto the knight in the crowd of them below.

    Other knights raised their weapons to strike Blue down; it would perish in moments.

    With its onest attack, it slipped its sword right through the knight''s armor and killed it.

    Blue saved Jay, but lost its own life.

    "Fuck, nothing about this shitty dungeon makes sense. Everyone is tainted. As for innocent?"

    *Cling~*

    Jay parried a sword strike; the knights marched along the root with only Sweeper to stop them.

    *Boom!*

    Jayunched another exploding tooth, sending them reeling.

    Dropping all precautions and defense, he ran forward, shing and stabbing any exposed flesh he could.

    He dropped them to their knees and severed as many spines as he could. Swords rained down on him, but his helminth took the brunt of the attacks, and his skeletal T-visor helmet and vambraces blocked others.

    A stray sword carved into his leg, forcing him to his knee.

    "All for the fucking innocent, but where are they? Don''t they fight their own battles?" he grit his teeth and fought through the searing pain in his leg as he stood up.

    Another knighty its hand on his ankle. Jay dropped his sword.

    "Who is innocent? Fucking no one! No one is innocent!" he yelled.

    Just as he was about to get pulled into the crowd and skewered to death, his hands filled with teeth.

    Many of them even fell through his fingers.

    "If I''m going out, I''m taking all you fuckers with me! Hahaha!" heughed maniacally as his eyes widened.

    "I''ll bring this whole fucking crucible down!"

    Swords dug into his flesh as he grinned like a maniac.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He fell into the swarm of knights; a sea of swords. With handfuls of teeth, he pumped them full of all the mana he had.

    Suddenly, the root stopped pumping. The portal closed.

    Everything, apart from Jay, suddenly froze. Time stopped.

    Jay panted, lying on his back with handfuls of teeth. The sharpened tips of swords were right before his eyes.

    "Wh- what the fuck? What did Red do?"

    Immediately, he pulled the mana back out of the unstable teeth spells, trying to stop himself from blowing up catastrophically.

    While stashing them back into his inventory, a string of messages floated in front of his eyes.

    [Innocent unsaveable. Innocent saved.]

    [Dungeon Complete]

    [Unlocking in process. Time dtion normalizing. Distributing first clear rewards.]

    [First clear bonus - 10,000 Exp]

    [Innocent found - 0 Exp]

    [Hidden path out of crucible found - 0 Exp]

    [Crucible resealed - 0 Exp]

    [Experiment ceased - 10,000 Exp]

    [Research stolen back from (Unknown) - 0 Exp]

    [Trinket quest discovered: Trinket saved - 0 Exp]

    "What the fuck is this going on about," Jay thought, reading in disbelief.

    "Are these all quests I failed?"

    He wasn''t even sure if the dungeon waspleted because he yelled out a philosophical answer, or because Red did something. There was a chance it epted his answer, or perhaps it was just a coincidence.

    The messages continued.

    [Distributing rewards]

    [Save the innocent: Quest Complete - Level Up]

    [First clear rewards: Passive Skill]

    [Alternativepletion: Item Reward]

    [You have leveled up]

    [You have gained a passive skill]

    [You have gained a new item]

    "Are you fucking joking!?" Jay yelled, his voice echoing in the silent chamber.

    He was still lying on the ground with swords pointed at him. He wanted tough and scream at the same time; instead, with little willpower, he whispered.

    "So I''m not even meant to be down here¡­ I was supposed to investigate and explore more of the dungeon like a normal person¡­ instead, I went right to ying monsters." He shook his head, checking the notifications again.

    "And there''s some hidden path out of the crucible, too? I''m not even meant to be in this damn castle¡­ And someone is innocent here? Shit." He shook his head.

    "And what, or who, is Trinket? A person? A town?" Jay sighed.

    He closed his eyes andy his head back onto the cold stone floor, resting it for a moment in the ck fluid which had since covered it.

    Jay took in a deep breath and a long sigh.

    "Get me the fuck out of here." He said.

    Suddenly, roots sprang from the ground and caved around him.

    "Ah yes, why not? One more fucking insult from this dungeon." he kept his eyes closed.

    The roots coiled around his body, forming a cocoon of darkness, and the next moment, Jay found himself back in the cave.

    Night time. He was in the real world again, in a mountainous forest. He heard the distant screech of an animal amid creaking trees.

    Jay sensed Red, Handy, and Lamp circled around him.

    He slowly cracked his eyes open as he nced up at them.

    "We did it." He slightly smiled. "We fucking did it, boys."

 Chapter 302 Liar

    Jayy in the cave, no longer coated in giant blood or ck tar after leaving the dungeon.

    (Lamp, Handy, hunt me some food.)

    Leaving Red to guard Jay, the two skeletons left the cave, only carrying the bone swords with them.

    Jay let out a sigh, still thinking about the dungeon, "So, there are no innocent, huh? How''d Ie to that conclusion¡­" he shook his head, though he couldn''t shake the thought.

    "The dungeon deemed someone innocent. I suppose, ultimately, it depends on who deres you innocent."

    As the dungeon ended, Jay was not sure if it was him or whatever his skeletons did on the other side of the portal, but it didn''t matter now. He was just d that he didn''t have to furiously fight his way out of that mess. However, his blood was still pumping, and his breathing was a little unsteady.

    "But¡­ was I going to fight out¡­ what was I thinking?" he sat up, clenching his hands, remembering the handfuls of teeth he had in them. The ones he was about to detonate in a glorious explosion.

    "Where did those thoughts evene from?"

    He stood up and dusted himself off, not ready to step out of the darkness of a cave as he summoned Blue and Sweeper, who both perished in the swarm of knights.

    While Blue and Sweeper reformed, he noticed a pair of purple eyes ring at him from outside the cave. A stout skeleton in armor stood idly at the side.

    "Asr-" Jay asked.

    "Where have you been?" she snapped, her voice cold.

    "Ah, I¡­ Asra?" Jay said, sounding happy.

    "That''s what they call me. Now, where have¡­ Uh, Bob?"

    Jay walked towards her, and strangely, even to his own surprise, he pulled her shoulders into a hug.

    She stood there with her arms at her side, looking confused more than anything.

    "Ah¡­ Bob?"

    Jay released her after a moment. "Sorry¡­ It''s nice seeing a familiar face in the real world... I just escaped a locked dungeon."

    Asra sighed, "Hmph, I''ll forgive it this time. How long were you in there?"

    Jay forced his face to remain emotionless as he looked at her with an icy stare.

    "Ten years. It''s been ten long years¡­ I build a whole other life in there. I had a family. I was a shoemaker¡­"

    "Ten years? Is that a lot of time for a husk?"

    "It''s about half of our life span." Jay said slowly, lying again.

    "Well, at least you didn''t age." She shrugged, "¡­ and you''re still level four? How is that even possible?"

    "Ah, well, with excellent footwear, the soldiers could cover vast - "

    Asra cut him off, "Ah, I get the point, you made shoes¡­ Forget I asked. It''s probably better if you forget, too." Asra sighed, "Now, do you remember you''re supposed to be taking me home? Only a few hours have passed for me."

    "Right, home¡­ back to¡­ moon school?" Jay raised a brow.

    "Luna Academy." Asra shook her head.

    "Riiight¡­ Luna." Jay nodded slowly.

    "Anyway, I''m hungry. Hold out your arm."

    Jay did as she said, letting her draw near again.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Instead of mping her mouth down onto him, she held her finger out. Her nail grew longer and turned ck like a stiletto dagger.

    "Ah, that''s different?" Jay said, not feeling anything as the nail pierced his flesh.

    "You seem like you''ve been through a lot. At least you look like it, anyway. This is a more gentle way to feed, though it requires some concentration on my part."

    "Oh¡­ thanks. But why? I thought I was an empty-minded husk to you, and besides, I''m used to the pain, anyway."

    Asra looked away, ncing into the forest. "Just say thanks."

    Jay gave her a quizzical look, "Hmm, well, thanks." He nodded, thinking she was acting strange.

    "I wonder if she''s growing attached. She has been alone, caught by the blood-vine bear for a while, and then I was the first person she saw, the one who saved her¡­" Jay wondered.

    Yet, after a few moments, he dismissed the thoughts. "No. I''m probably just a tool to her, like I am to everyone else."

    Jay nced at her as she fed. She seemed to change. She looked different from thest time he saw her. A few days ago, she was weak, skinny and pale. She looked like a teenage girl, but as she drank his blood, her body turned into that of a young woman. Her body was recovering, and strangely, ageing.

    "Say, Asra, what''s the life span of a vampire?"

    "Hmm¡­ we''re not exactly sure. The oldest vampire I heard of was maybe¡­ three hundred years old?"

    "Fuck¡­ three hun -"

    "Don''t swear. And yes, three hundred. Sadly, being so old attracts... Hmm, how do I describe them... I suppose it''s not something you ought to worry about."

    "Ah,e on, we have time, and I''m interested." Jay smiled.

    "There are these creatures which hunger for our flesh. The older we get, the more tasty we be, I suppose. Perhaps they get more power from consuming us. I''m not sure." Asra scratched her chin.

    "What are these creatures?"

    Asra took a breath in, held it, and then let out a sigh. She stared into the forest for a moment. "Don''t worry about them. It''s our problem to solve."

    "I see¡­ Say, do these creatures eat skeletons?"

    She nced at Heavy, still standing by her side, diligently guarding her. "No, your skeletons are safe. They''re not even interested in husks."

    "Oh, good." Jay nodded. "One less threat I need to worry about." he thought.

    When Asra finished feeding, Jay began constructing a temporary sleeping area.

    Just under the lip of the cave, he formed a bone tform. With his new mana regeneration passive, he wasn''t worried about wasting mana, and he spread a thin veil over the top to bind the bones together and tten them out.

    Jay yawned as he unrolled his swag and prepared his bedding. While in the dungeon, nearly three days had passed, and he had little sleep, despite only a few hours passing in the real world.

    After the dungeon wasplete, Jay still had ten attribute points and two skill points to distribute, as well as a new passive skill to gain, along with a new item, which was a bonus reward. He nned to distribute them now.

    However, as soon as Jay''s head hit his pillow, his eyelids grew heavy. He knew he was not thinking clearly, having scattered thoughts.

    "Asra, I''m going to sleep. Please watch over me." He said with closed eyes.

    Asra gave him a strange look, wondering why he would even ask such a thing, especially since he had three skeletons guarding over him.

    "Shouldn''t he be asking me not to feed on him while he sleeps? Beg for mercy or freedom from my control?" she thought.

    Oddly though, there was something about it which warmed her vampiric heart.

    "A husk¡­ he trusts me?"

 Chapter 303 A Vampireâ€™s Leisure

    The night was like daytime to Asra.

    After Jay had been sleeping for a while, she scouted the area. Really, she just wanted an excuse to run, to stretch her legs.

    She blinked away into the night like a preying shadow. Heavy, who was still guarding her, could not keep up as she weaved through the trees.

    Still, the armored skeleton clunked through the forest, creating a noisy racket as it followed her as best as it could. Asra, strangely, enjoyed the feeling of being chased.

    Asra was enjoying toying with the skeleton, showing a glimpse of herself by one tree, disappearing when the skeleton drew near and appearing somewhere else.

    After a while, the skeletons near Jay moved around in the forest. Curious, she went to investigate.

    One of them had brought back a skinless animal of some sort. It appeared to be a type of river sloth; where the skeleton found it, she had no clue. As for its skin, Lamp had already incorporated it into the fur cape slowly growing on its back.

    Sweeper had gathered sticks, and was venturing out for more, while Blue had just made the first embers of a fire, which it nurtured into a me.

    Lamp dumped the corpse and disappeared into the forest again, probably to hunt more creatures of the night.

    Red butchered the corpse, handing pieces of meat to Blue who held them near the fire with its hand, leaving the cooked meat in a pile nearby.

    "He won''t like it if it goes cold." Asra whispered, and stored them in her inventory.

    Perhaps Blue didn''t understand and seemed to look at Asra with shock as she stole Jay''s meat, yet it couldn''t do anything about it. Jay ordered them not to y her.

    Before Lamp coulde back with another corpse, all Blue could do was tend to the fire, though periodically it ripped out some bone from Jay''s tform and munched on it.

    Red, simrly, ate parts of the tform.

    "Hmm, I wonder why Sweeper and the other skeletons aren''t eating."

    The only difference she noticed was that Red and Blue were level five. As they ate away at Jay''s tform, their bones seemed to get thicker and grew taller, reaching 6''2 (188cm). The spectral armor grewrger to suit their bodies, and each took on subtle differences.

    Blue''s T-visor helmet became more angr and two triangle points poked up from each side of the ear area.

    Red''s helmet merged the front T-visor part into a normal visor, leaving no gaps for its teeth. The jaw guard also went lower, covering more of its neck and ending in a sharp triangle point.

    "I wish my undead were as useful as his." She thought.

    After a while she grew bored with the skeletons, and headed into the cave Jay came from. She found the savagends dungeon entrance, and seeing that it was now unlocked, she and Heavy disappeared into it.

    Asra found herself lying in a stone shack on a pile of withered branches. Her body felt slow and tired, and standing above her were two figures - one was Heavy, and another was a skinny human.

    The man had a dagger raised and was about to bring it down into her guts.

    Heavy moved to block him, but before the jagged stone dagger met its shield, Asra''s eyes suddenly glowed.

    "You dare attack me?" she scoffed.

    The man froze in ce. His face turned to terror, and he didn''t know what was going on.

    "Protect me." Asra ordered.

    Yet she was not speaking to Heavy, but to the cannibal.

    Immediately, he dashed to the door, right as another malnourished cannibal opened it up.

    *Slice!*

    The neer received a hand on the shoulder and a jagged rock in the throat as he pulled him into the room.<novelnext></novelnext>

    For a moment, blood gurgled as their eyes turn dull and empty.

    "So this is the dungeon Bob conquered. How could he have been stuck here for ten years?" she wondered. "The enemies are so¡­ weak."

    She analyzed the cannibal, seeing it was level four.

    Asra got up to walk outside, but the cannibal put his hands up, beckoning her to stop. She fullypelled him to protect her.

    "Don''t you dare try to touch me." Asra red. "I''m going outside."

    The cannibal looked conflicted for a moment, like he was struggling toe to terms with what it was about to do. Perhaps it was trying to fight back against Asra''s vampiric control.

    He clenched his jagged stone dagger and began breathing faster while he clenched his jaw.

    Suddenly, he mmed the door open, exiting first.

    Curious, Asra walked into the doorway and saw a crowd of cannibals holding torches, stone daggers, and bows.

    The cannibal Asrapelled sprinted away from her while a man in the crowd spoke. Someone named Grundel, the vige elder.

    "Lay down your weapons and you death will be painless. I pro-" He said, but he paused mid-sentence.

    The cannibal under Asra''s control had sprinted towards him. None of them had their guard up, none suspected their own kind to attack them - until he drove his bloodied jagged stone into the vige elder''s throat.

    Seeing a dead body, the entire crowd of cannibals fell into a hungry rage.

    Most of them focused on Asra, the outsider. She was not malnourished and skinny like they were, and her skin was pale, but pristine.

    Asra watched as a crowd of filthy husks came running at her with drool dripping from their mouths.

    "No thanks." She thought and stepped back into the darkness of the shack.

    The cannibals came charging in with their torches, but all they found was a heavily armored skeleton, bracing against their charge. The girl, however, had disappeared as if she had never been there.

    Somewhere nearby, Asra watched. Looking bored as she leaned on a nearby hut, she watched from the shadows.

    "I better leave before they kill Heavy." She thought, seeing them rush into the house. None of them were aware of her presence.

    Yet before leaving, her fingers turned to long, slender ws. Her footsteps were silent as she went closer.

    No one noticed as she snatched someone from the crowd, pulling them quietly back into the darkness.

    Asra sunk her teeth into their neck, and her face instantly twisted in disgust.

    "Ugh. Filthy." She spat.

    Throwing the struggling viger down like a bag of trash, she willed to leave the dungeon. A capsule of roots formed around her, turning everything to darkness, and she found herself in the real world again with Heavy.

    Heavy stood by her side, having a few dents in its shield from the pathetic sharpened rocks they had battered against it.

    "Hmm, we better fix that before Bob realizes." She thought, tracing her fingers across the shield.

    She stood on the bone tform and pointed down, "Come on, Heavy."

    In a few moments, the skeleton happily ate as it guarded her - yet suddenly, something attacked her. ws shed across her leg.

 Chapter 304 Platoon

    Some blood seeped from Asra''s leg.

    "What the?"

    ncing down, a small goblin-like skeleton had scraped its ws across her leg.

    Yet there was only the one attack with no follow-up. Blue had red at it, and it stopped before it could do another.

    "Stupid skeletons." Asra muttered, watching her leg heal up.

    "You should have given it orders not to attack me before, you silly thing." She said to Blue.

    Blue tilted its head to the side, staring at her, and Asra couldn''t tell if it understood her or not, as it then went back to ignoring her; Blue crouched down and gathered more bones, crafting a dagger, which it gifted to the smaller skeleton.

    Lamp brought back another corpse, and Red butchered it, yet strangely, it took the skull for itself. After cleaning the meat from the bones, it also summoned a smaller goblin-like skeleton, just like the one Blue controlled.

    It intrigued Asra. While she could summon zombies from corpses and flesh, she never imagined her undead could summon others. In fact, they definitely could not; they could barely carry their own weight.

    Blue cooked more meat, which Asra stored while she watched the new smaller skeletons patrol around the near Jay and the campfire.

    "I guess they need more skulls to summon more of themselves." Asra thought.

    The tform Jay had constructed contained mostly long femur bones, which made the tform t, butcked all the bones for summoning.

    Asra tucked herself into the noon-leather nket, as the morning wasing soon. By the time morning came and she tucked her head into hiding, Blue had summoned another skeleton.

    Two had sloth skulls, making them look more like undead goblins, while another had a deer skull. The deer-skull skeleton had fallen over a few times and seemed to wobble as it walked, so they hacked its antlers off. They were too heavy for its head and slowed it down too much.

    Hours passed, and Jay continued to sleep, catching up on a lot that he had missed. Yet his stomach grumbled, and finally, he woke up.

    "I hope Lamp caught something." He said with a yawn.

    He heard a crackling fire and some sweet smells of meat. He couldn''t help but smile as he slowly opened his eyes.

    "Mmm, nice work Blue¡­" he nodded as the skeleton brought him a freshly cooked piece. But before Jay could inspect the meet, the new skeletons around the fire had startled him.

    "Wait, who the hell is that?!" Jay pointed at the small skeleton near the campfire.

    It didn''t move until Blue nced at it, and it ran to Blue''s side, along with a second smaller one.

    "Two.. Three new skeletons?" Jay saw another with Red.

    He was nning to praise his skeletons for crafting a campfire, butchering and cooking him some meat, as they took some initiative, but this was far out of Jay''s expectations.

    Immediately, he analyzed one of them.

    < [Feeble Creature - Level 1] >

    (Sub-construct of Blue)

    [Type - Undead]

    HP - 10/10

    <[Skills]>

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death. Execute with extreme prejudice.]

    Jay could sense it, as if it were one of his own undead, but he didn''t feel a connection to it like his other skeletons.

    "It''s the same as my skeletons when they were level one¡­ except I can''t control them?" Jay thought. He had already tried to make ite to him, but it didn''t respond at all.

    As it stood next to Blue, Jay finally noticed that Blue had be bigger, too.

    Jay nced at Blue slyly. "So, you leveled up and now you can summon, too. Don''t let it go to your head," he winked.

    Blue stood there, staring. It had new segmented te-like bones around parts of its rib cage and shoulders, and somehow, its level up had morphed its helmet into having two upwards-pointing tes on the sides of the helmet, near the ears.

    Jay checked its stats.

    < [Skeleton Sergeant - Level 5] > (Blue)

    [Type - Undead]

    [Role - Commander]

    HP - 108/108 (+20, equipment)

    MP - 7/14

    <[Skills]>

    [Sergeant] (2/5)

    [Bone Eater]

    [Scrimshaw Level 1] (Passive)<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    [Fear] (Weak) (Passive)

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death - and they spit back. Stop it before it''s toote. Execute with extreme prejudice. Burn the bones.]

    "Awesome, a sergeant. The first step to bing my general." Jay nodded.

    He checked the other skeletons, and only Red was taller.

    "So, howe only Red and Blue leveled up? The only time us three were together¡­ oh, when the giant died." Jay nodded, realizing they had gained all the undead exp from its death, while the others skeletons weren''t present at the time.

    "So, you''re a sergeant, good¡­ I suppose it sucks I can''tmand your skeletons directly, but it will take a lot of strain off my mind. Yes, it will be better this way. I don''t want to repeat orders and micro-manage all the time, and with a mind, Blue won''t make them run mindlessly toward their deaths."

    Jay checked Red''s stats next.

    < [Skeleton Guardian - Level 5] > (Red)

    [Type - Undead]

    [Role - Guard]

    HP - 116/116 (+20, equipment)

    MP - 6/11

    <[Skills]>

    [Guardian Master] (1/2)

    [Guard (1)] (Passive)

    [Bone Eater]

    [Scrimshaw Level 1] (Passive)

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    [Fear] (Weak) (Passive)

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death - and they spit back. Stop it before it''s toote. Execute with extreme prejudice. Burn the bones.]

    "Interesting¡­ it has more health, and by the looks of it, it can only summon two¡­ but is that the only difference?" he wondered, checking its new skills.

    < [Guardian Master] >

    [Can summon two junior guardian skeletons.]

    [Junior guardian skeletons level up to reach 80% of summoners'' level.] (Current max level of 4)

    [Telepathicmunication - Can share vision with sub-constructs, sense each other, and co-ordinate as if they were one.]

    < [Guard - level 1] > (Passive)

    [Threat sense (1)]

    [A general increase in vignce.]

    "Hmm, but how is this different to Blue''s?" Jay wondered.

    < [Sergeant] >

    [Can summon five sub-skeletons.] (5)

    [Sub-skeletons can level up to reach 50% of summoners'' level.] (Current max level of 2)

    [Can summon an additional skeleton on every level up.]

    "Huh, so Blue gets more skeletons as it''s amander, and Red gets fewer skeletons, but they are also stronger guardian types, and can level up to four instead of two..." Jay thought, scratching his chin as his lips began to curl...

    "Well¡­ that''s just fucking awesome!" He grinned.

    "I have seven skeletons, all of which can reach level five, and once they do, can raise lesser skeletons. Assuming they can all raise about three skeletons on average, I will have twenty-eight damn skeletons? Fuck yes. I''ve been wanting more skeletons, too. The only downside is that the lesser ones can''t level up all the way to five, but that''s no downside at all, especially when there will be so many of them." Jay thought.

    "I wonder if I can give them minds, too. Or summon them on the skeleton''s behalf?"

    ncing around, he wondered why Blue and Red hadn''t summoned all the ones they could. But he noticed the smaller skeleton each had skulls he didn''t recognize - the river sloth skulls.

    "Ah, bones. Of course." He thought, and released enoughplete skeletons for all of them.

    Red and Blue each summoned another, but Blue had to stop as it ran out of mana. Jay found he couldn''t summon them for Blue either.

    "Now¡­ I have two ability points to spend, too¡­ but first, I should pack up camp and get moving. I''m still being hunted, and I overslept for far too long."

 Chapter 305 Deceiver

    [Your skeleton has died]

    "Ah, seems like Dark had found another friend." Jay thought.

    He was being carried on his throne again, through the forested mountains.

    Asra was being carried by several smaller goblin-like skeletons.

    Jay summoned Dark again, and finally, Jay was reunited with all of his skeletons. He had since given Red back the squire armor they found in the savagends dungeon. Unfortunately, Lamp had lost its human skin suit, and the other skeletons had lost all of their armor. However, Jay was content with having one set of armor that Red wore, and Lamp still had itsrge fur patch area on its back, which seemed to be growing a cape or cloak of some sort.

    Four of his higher level skeletons carried the throne, and he had three spare walking around the party.

    Heavy was too small and wore thick spectral armor, so along with Dark and Handy, it patrolled around the party in a loose formation.

    Unfortunately for Heavy and Dark, they had missed out on exp while in the dungeon; Heavy was still level two, Dark level three.

    "Now, my rewards for those painful few days." Jay said, opening the notifications.

    < [You have gained a passive skill] >

    <[Deciever''s Scent]>

    [Blood carries the stench of lies]

    "Hmm¡­ a person''s blood will smell bad if they''re lying to me, I''m guessing?"

    Jay pricked his own finger and smelled nothing.

    "Uh¡­ I need to tell a lie¡­ I can trust humans?"

    Suddenly, Jay''s face twisted in disgust as the blood on his finger smelled like a rotting corpse.

    "Okay, I can''t trust them." He admitted, and the scent immediately went away.

    "I wonder how long the blood will smell for¡­ What a useless skill." Jay thought. He could already see weaknesses in it.

    "Someone could be lying about anything which would make their blood smell. Then there''s the matter of having someone bleed. I could force them with the skeletons, but it won''t always be that simple. I can''t just summon them in human settlements."

    "Practicality aside, this could also mean there''s something so corrupting about lying that it even affects our blood, making it turn rancid¡­" he wondered, scratching his chin, "or perhaps it''s just the ability." He shrugged. "I wonder if Asra can smell a liar''s blood."

    Jay then opened the item notification.

    < [You have gained a new item] >

    < [Needle of Hunger] >

    [Take away hunger or give it to whatever this needle pricks]

    [Can cause rebound effects when used multiple times]

    A new item appeared in Jay''s inventory, a long needle which was ck on one end and white on the other.

    "Well, this doesn''t seem very useful either."

    Jay pricked himself with the ck end and suddenly felt hungry. Not starving, but more like he needed a snack.

    Yet a rotting smell soon came over him.

    "Huh¡­ I guess this counts as a lie, too?" he thought, knowing his hunger was a lie.

    He pricked himself with the white end of the needle and his hunger went away, along with the rotting smell.

    "It may be good if I''m ever starving, as it would mask my hunger, but I would still need food. I suppose at least it would help me focus if that ever happened."

    Jay had tried to look on the positive side of things, but he couldn''t help but feel disappointed by the rewards.

    "At least I got two levels out of it."

    Jay had ten attribute points, which he added all into his new mana attribute, which gave him bonus mana regeneration. He got more health simply by leveling up, but he felt it was quite low.

    "I should invest more time into the skull-shield projector research." He thought.

    Jay knew he was much stronger with his skeletons, but he knew that eventually he would be a weak target, and as the necromancer, he would be the priority target for assassins. If he fell, they would all fall.

    "Hmm, but if I died, would my skeletons die too, or am I just assuming that?" he wondered.

    (Listen, all of you. If I am ever to fall and die, I want all of you to flee. Survive. Be stronger, improve your skills, and get revenge on whoever killed me. If they die, then rule over their offspring if they have any.)

    The skeletons all seemed confused by the order; how could their master die? Still, they ept the order with a nod.

    "That''s a decent enough form of insurance for now. As long as one survives, they will have an eternity to train and be unstoppable and enact my revenge. Now, my skill points¡­"

    Jay had two skill points.

    He reasoned that if he raised his undead mastery two levels, he could bring their max levels up to seven, adding fourteen levels in total.

    However, two more points into his raise, lesser undead skill would give him two skeletons capable of reaching level five, adding ten levels in total.

    Yet, it was not that simple with the existence of the skeleton sub-constructs. If Jay gained two more skeletons, and they both becamemanders like Blue, then a total of twenty levels would be added.

    "Do I want a swarm or specialization¡­" he thought.

    "Well, Red and Blue are max level, and their exp will be shared with others. Plus, I want more skeletons. But if Blue levels up, I get an extra sub-skeleton and its sub-skeletons will reach level three. I''m already level fifteen now, and the skeletons aren''t even half my level. I don''t want them bing useless trash."

    Jay went with the middle path, adding one point into [Raise Lesser Undead)] and one point into [Undead Mastery]. This way, their levels would keep rising while he gained more minions.

    "Now, let''s see how far I''vee as an aspiring necromancer." He talked to his skeletons.

    < [Necromancer - Level 15] > (Pure)

    [Race - Human]<novelnext></novelnext>

    HP: 270/270

    MP: 148/148

    Strength: 20

    Dexterity: 25

    Vitality: 35

    Mana: 15/15

    -Energy: 50/50- (Locked)

    Exp: 14,867/81,920

    [<[Skills]>]

    <~ [Necromancy Skills] ~>

    [Raise Lesser Undead (2)]

    [Summon Bone Helminth]

    [Shell Restoration (1)]

    [Unstable Teeth (2)]

    [Host (1)]

    [Mind (1)]

    [Mass Summoning]

    [Undead Mastery (5)] (Passive)

    [Necrotic Sense (1)] (Passive)

    [Scrimshaw (3)] (Passive)

    [Soul Sense (1)] (Passive)

    [Shift] ~ [Living Blueprints] ~ [Transnt] ~ [Amputation]

    [Uncaring Rip]~[Pitiful Mortal]

    <~ [Other Skills] ~>

    [Mana Regeneration (15)]

    [Mark]

    [Mana Sense (1)]

    [Mental Coating (1)]

    [Deceiver''s Scent]

    [Mana Membrane (1)] (Passive)

    [Iskean] (Equipment)

    [Dagger Proficiency (1)] (Passive)

    [Poison Resist (11%)] (Passive - equipment)

    [Running (2)] (Passive)

    [Stealth (1)] (Passive)

    [Stress Response] (Passive)

    [Sword Proficiency (1)] (Passive)

    [ss Utility] (Passive)

    [<~ [Research] ~>]

    [Chimera Research (31%)]

    [Immortality Research (5%)]

    [Skull-shield Projector Research (32%)]

    [Dread-mourn Turret Research (22%)]

    "Excellent." He smiled. "now, time to summon the new guy. I wonder what I should have it specialize into. Anothermander would be nice, but I would like to have some sort of ranged attacker, other than the helminth."

    "Hmm¡­ I still need to copy the helminth''s spectral bolt spell before even attempting to teach it to a skeleton. As for necrotic magic, it''s only effective against things with bones."

    Jay considered things on his throne for a moment, and the skeletons had carried them downhill, out of the thick forest and mountains covered in twisting valleys.

    "Perhaps an archer or crossbow user, like Anya." He thought.

    "It sucks that I don''t have either weapon. A crossbow seems too technical to craft, as they have a trigger mechanism I don''t understand, so an archer it is." He nodded.

    "But that brings the problem of arrows. I don''t want to be constantly crafting them for a skeleton archer who might not even hit its target¡­ I suppose Blue could do it, and could teach the archer once it levels up and gains ess to mana."

    "Hopefully, when it hits level five, it will get some archer sub-constructs, too."

 Chapter 306 Ghost Weaver

    Jay raised the new level one skeleton and had it walk alongside his throne as he talked to it, giving it a name.

    "Your name is Archers. That''s right, Archers with an S." he nodded. "This will make it easier when I yell ''archers, fire!'' in the future¡­ Hopefully."

    The skeleton pped its jaws, epting its name.

    "Blue, teach it my ways."

    Blue nced up at Jay and gave a nod, epting his order.

    Jay watched themmunicate in their strange silent skeletonnguage as the young skeleton was bombarded with orders, including Jay''s past orders: always collect all, don''t attack humans around Lo, and so on, until they reached Jay''sst grand order of revenge if he were ever to die.

    "I wonder if they speak something other than Astratan." Jay wondered as he watched.

    "I''ll need to give Archers a mind too¡­"

    The skeleton cohort had marched Jay downhill for a while, and the fresh forest air was reced by a more humid, warmer one.

    Before reaching the bottom of the mountainous area, Jay had the troop stop, setting Asra down on arge, t rock and lowering his throne to the ground.

    "I don''t want to stop for long, but the sooner they get minds, the better." He thought.

    The first to receive a mind was Archers, followed by Jay''s other main skeletons, whom he missed.

    He gave them a moment to get used to their senses and their bodies again before giving them the usual orders to guard him and Asra.

    Having a new mind, Archers noticed something.

    It looked lost, or empty, as it had no weapons of its own. Even the sub-constructs had daggers that Blue had crafted for them.

    "Rx, I''m getting to it." Jay hushed the skeleton.

    Curious as it was, it took a peek into the nket wrapped around Asra.

    "Mmm¡­" Asra gave an annoyed groan.

    (Archers, stop it.) Jay ordered.

    Yet Asra had woken.

    "Jay, why aren''t we moving?"

    "I had to stop. We won''t be too long."

    "¡­ care to borate?"

    Jay thought, "Dammit¡­ what''s a good lie¡­ argh, my blood will stink if I lie. I suppose I''m not cut though so I won''t smell it. Hmm¡­ I guess the truth isn''t that bad. She''ll probably understand."

    "I''m upgrading my skeletons before we leave the mountain forest. Downhill from us, there''s a ne of rocks and a thick fog below that. Anything could be there, waiting in ambush."

    Asra was silent for a moment, but as Jay took out bones from his gauntlet to craft, she gave an order.

    "Get us into the fog before nightfall."

    Jay nced down the mountain. Between the mountain forests and the fog at the base of the mountains, there was a in of volcanic and ancient rocks, all covered in a thick carpet of moss.

    "Hmm, before nightfall? I think we can manage that." Jay nodded.

    Since they were no longer carrying Asra, the five skeletons of Blue fanned out and did some perimeter patrolling in a wide area, while Red''s two skeletons came to Jay''s side.

    It satisfied Jay to see his main skeletons using their sub-constructs differently.

    (Sweeper, now is not time.) Jay said, seeing that Sweeper had taken some bones and crafted some defensive spikes.

    Sweeper looked disappointed as it dropped the bones and waited by the throne.

    "Alright¡­ now a bow¡­ but what can I use for the string?" He wondered, but he came up with no ideas. "Damn, I didn''t even consider it."

    Jay stood by Asra''s wrapped nket. "Ah, Asra, are you still awake?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Unfortunately." She sighed.

    "Do you have any experience with making bows and bow strings?"

    "Don''t use a bow Jay, you''ll be wasting your time. Just stick to undead."

    "The bow is for my undead."

    "Oh¡­ well, what do you have ess to?"

    "Apart from the forest and trees, the random animals that Lamp catches."

    "Vampires don''t use bows, but in Pantry, I''ve seen some husks use dried out animal guts. It would be better if you could find some x or hemp, but I doubt you''ll have much luck in a forest. Pretty low chances of finding any twine or silk out here, either."

    "Would you have any?"

    "I only have some thread. And I''m not sharing it." Asra whispered.

    "Ah¡­ I see." Jay pursed his lips, and went back to sitting on his throne, checking his inventory.

    He had another set of clothes which he didn''t want to rip up, but as he looked through, he found something which was perfect.

    [Ghost Silk] x57

    "Ipletely forgot about this¡­ I got it from the silk woods dungeon, I think it was called?"

    A shiver went over Jay as he remembered the ether spiders with their semi-ghost bodies, all eating through the gigantic corpse of their brood mother¡­ eating each other, piercing each other with venom. Cannibal spiders; he had enough of cannibals.

    "Ugh. d I wasn''t trapped there." He thought, bringing out one of the silk clumps.

    < [Ghost Silk] >

    [Taken from ether spiders, it can turn into an invisible ether form when supplied with mana. While as light as air and as sticky as tar in its ether form, it can be as strong as steel while dormant.]

    "Dormant, that must mean when it''s not supplied with mana." Jay thought, adding a tiny amount and making it invisible for a moment.

    "It''s good that it will be sticky when I add mana, as I''ll need to attach it to the bows, but I know from other adventurers at the guild that they don''t always have their bows strung, so I''ll need to make a hoop at one end to it can detached¡­ hmm I''m thinking too far ahead. First I''ll need to make it into a string." He thought, holding the clump of silk.

    Jay began to pull it apart slowly, making it longer and more string-like. He pulled some parts away from the main clump, detaching them while trying to twist it and wind it, too.

    "Ah, this will take way too long. The skeletons can do this part." He thought, sitting back on his throne.

    (Blue, get two of your skeletons to do this.) he ordered, and Blue brought two over.

    Jay showed the two skeletons and Blue exactly what he wanted, demonstrating how to twist it. He made sure Blue watched and learned, as it had a mind, and could teach it to other skeletons and monitor these two skeleton underlings, which Blue directlymanded.

    However, when the skeletons tried, they had no flesh and couldn''t grip it.

    "Hmm¡­" Jay thought for a moment. "They can''t twist it with their own hands."

    It was a simple solution to craft a bone shaft with a hoop on the end. He twisted and tied some silk around the hoop.

    This way, the skeleton would only have to twist the bone shaft.

    The second skeleton would have the simple job of dragging apart the silk clump.

    Jay watched them for a moment, and made sure that the skeleton twisting went at a steady pace, while the skeleton pulling the clump apart kept the string uniform.

    With no clue about how to form a silk string, Jay was off to a good start.

    "Now¡­ let''s keep marching." Jay thought, storing the leftover bones back into his ring.

    Jay had Handy and Dark help to carry Asra, as two of the lesser skeletons were walking alongside Jay, making twine.

    Blue still carried Jay, but it periodically nced at its two skeletons, making sure they were doing as Jay instructed.

    "Don''t worry, Archers, we''ll get you a bow in no time," Jay winked.

 Chapter 307 Necrotic Bolt

    The party of undead traveled across a rocky area which separated the fog below from the mountain forests.

    Jay felt a little exposed as they left the cover of the trees, but above them there was nothing in the skies, and on this rocky green in there was no movement other than him and his troops.

    Just enormous rocks, many of which were covered in a thickyer of moss, almost forming a green carpet. It was a wee change from the roots everywhere.

    As they moved downhill, the two skeletons he had spinning twine were running out of ghost silk, and had a silk twine of about 5 feet (1.5m).

    "Pass it." Jay ordered.

    The throne stopped its march for a moment and lowered so the smaller skeletons could reach up and hand it to Jay.

    "Hmm¡­ how do I stop it from untwisting?" He wondered as he grabbed each end of the twine.

    Yet as he brought each end together, it twisted onto itself, making a loop at one end.

    "Hmm¡­ that might work." Jay thought.

    However, now at half its length, it was too short to be used as a bowstring. Jay gave the skeletons another clump of ghost silk and sent them to work again.

    He stashed the silk twine and waited. He would need about three or four clumps to make a full-sized bowstring¡­ perhaps eight if it continually snapped, but for now, two would be enough to make a miniature bow for the goblin-sized skeleton.

    "As for a bow, I''ll make it when I figure out the string." He nodded.

    The throne lifted, and the party continued over the moss-covered rocks.

    Jay patted the invisible parasite on his neck. "Natural form buddy." He whispered to his helminth.

    The amulet around his neck floated, and simr to the necrotic gauntlet, it formed into arger mass of bones which assembled into the helminth''s body.

    The bone worm was about to fall onto the ground, but Jay reached out and grabbed it, holding it so it could mostlyy on hisp.

    Of course, it was getting quiterge, so the lower parts of its tail hung off the throne, swaying below.

    The helminth looked quite content being so close to its master, though Jay was a little ufortable with its rib bones poking his legs.

    "When you get bigger, you won''t be able to do this. So enjoy it for now." Jay said, patting it with his necrotic gauntlet.

    The bone parasite pushed its head into his palm, lovingly epting his pats.

    Jay didn''t expect to enjoy patting it, even as his gauntlet made gentle scraping sounds across its slender skull, but a part of him felt¡­ wanted.

    He had nned to learn the necrotic bolt spell off of it, but for a few moments more, he enjoyed his creation.

    "Alright, it''s time I learned this spell. I have a bigger mana pool with some regeneration now, so it will be worth casting some necrotic bolts every so often. Hopefully, it won''t be hard to teach to a skeleton."

    Jay picked arge mossy boulder about 54 yards (50m) to the right.

    "Go on, fire at it." He said, pointing.

    The helminthplied, charging its necrotic bolt.

    Jay watched closely as its jaws opened and a ball of the chaotic energy glowed.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It concentrated the ball into a swirling orb, and suddenly the helminth shot it.

    Its jaws snapped shut as the ball of sickly green energy shot out. And this was when Jaw noticed two things.

    The closing jaws of the helminthpressed the concentrated ball even more. As they closed, it squeezed it the ball out of its jaws at a high speed, forming the bolt. A burst of green mana energy followed behind the necrotic bolt, and Jay guessed it must have pushed more behind it as its jaws closed, giving it an extra boost of speed.

    The bolt shot off and hit the boulder he pointed at.

    "Good. That''s enough." Jay said, giving it a head scratch.

    "It seems I''ll need topress the mana before firing¡­ that will be hard without a pair of jaws."

    Jay tried releasing a stream of mana from his hands.

    At first he held the mana in his palm. He formed a ball, but as he tried to condense it, it began to warp and squeeze into different shapes. Small wisps of it escaped.

    Jay continued anyway, and holding his second hand behind it, he released more necrotic mana and pushed, trying to throw it.

    At a slow speed, the ball flew forwards about 9 feet (3m) before it lost its shape and burst into a cloud of necrotic mana.

    "Not useful in a fight. Pathetic. But a good start." He nodded, knowing he would need to practice it more before he gained it as a skill.

    Yet before he could try another, the skeletons suddenly paused. The throne stopped.

    Each of them raised their weapons.

    Suddenly, a rock shifted, falling off a boulder.

    Jay looked around, seeing and sensing nothing. Nothing but moss-covered rocks.

    A giant boulder suddenly tilted and slowly lifted, ripping away from the carpet of moss.

    "Fuck, get us out of here!" Jay ordered. If something was slow-moving, it usually meant it was powerful. And the helminth had just woken it up.

    The skeletons ran, carrying Jay and Asra as quickly as they could across the rocky terrain, not caring how much they were shaking them.

    Asra was much faster as she had more of the smaller skeletons carrying her, and Jay''s throne was much more unsteady, making it hard to look back.

    Behind him, more giant mossy boulders raised.

    "All my bones won''t be able to stop that¡­ even a wall of stone wouldn''t stand a chance," he thought, seeing more rocks raising.

    Jay remembered fighting the wood elementals, guessing these were some type of stone elemental he had never heard about.

    Jay wasn''t even close to getting to the fog below. The vast in of rocks was about 7 miles wide (11km), and Jay had not even made it half-way.

    ncing back, he noticed it was the rock the helminth had attacked.

    "Damn¡­ it must have woken it up¡­" Jay pursed his lips.

    "¡­ but if they''re stone elementals, howe they woke?" he raised a brow. "A necrotic bolt shouldn''t affect stone?"

 Chapter 308 Goblin Wand

    308 Goblin Wand

    Jay nced back as the skeletons rocked the throne from side to side.

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± he raised a brow.

    (Slow down.) he ordered.

    The boulders only raised slightly, and to Jay¡¯s surprise, they didn¡¯t give chase. In fact, they weren¡¯t fast at all.

    (Stop.)

    The skeletons came to a halt as he watched the shifting boulders behind them and, without all the shaking, he noticed peculiarities.

    Each of the giant boulders had a smaller one next to it, which moved too.

    More of the moss pulled away as they moved and Jay saw that these were not stone elementals at all.

    He was too far to analyze them, but he guessed urately what they were.

    ¡°¡­ Tortoises? Giant rock tortoises?¡±

    He watched as they picked at and eat the moss off each other. The only one which didn¡¯t eat was the one the helminth had attacked. It turned around and was slowly crawling away from Jay and his skeletons.

    It seemed none of the others realized there was a threat around. Perhaps they thought their shells were imprable.

    ¡°Alright, resuming marching speed.¡± Jay said while ncing back.

    The skeletons lowered their weapons and continued on the journey.

    As the tortoises moved and caused the earth to shudder, more awakened from their long slumber, and soon they had all woken up. About a hundred of them, all as slow as each other, ignored Jay and his skeletonspletely as they munched away at the moss carpet.

    ¡°We better fire our attacks in the air until I can set up a target range. I don¡¯t want to risk awakening some ancient horror.¡± Jay said to his helminth.

    The helminth snapped its jaws twice, which Jay epted as an agreement.

    He pointed into the sky, ¡°Alright, show me again.¡±

    The helminth charged and shot another necrotic bolt into the sky.

    Jay guessed it went about 220 to 300 yards (200m) before slowing down and bursting into a dark green mist.

    ¡°Hmm, next time, maybe don¡¯t aim it so high. Something out there could see it¡­ definitely don¡¯t fire at night.¡±

    While in the daytime it was a nearly unnoticeable green ball, at night it would¡¯ve been a glowing beacon. Especially when it burst into a cloud before dissipating.

    Jay tried again, but this time, he tried to mimic the parasite¡¯s jaws. Infront of his chest, he held his palms facing each other, and between them he funneled his mana into a ball, trying to push it together with his mind and hands.

    He crammed as much mana as he could into the chaotic sphere, and as it started to deform and ripple, he released it, pushing both hands forwards at once.

    A part of him felt a little childish doing such a movement to cast the spell. He had seen little kids in Lo doing the same gestures, imitating mages while they yed.

    The necrotic ball wasn¡¯t as fast as hisst one, but went further before it deformed and burst, getting about 16 feet (5m).

    ¡°Still pretty abysmal. I guess I¡¯ll have to practice.¡± Jay thought, a little disappointed he didn¡¯t get any notifications.

    Jay tried to use his spell conduit, the goblin wand, but he couldn¡¯t even form a ball with it.

    The necrotic mana swirled around the wand, sticking to it, drawn to it like it was maized. Normally, Jay would need to hold it into shape so it wouldn¡¯t disperse. Jay tried to mold it into a ball at the end, but it formed a cone shape instead.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±

    Jay flicked the wand, but instead of an orb, it sent a wide leaf-shaped sh forwards. It was easy to tell from the green glow that it was necrotic magic, and the wand didn¡¯t convert it to something else.

    The first sh was quite slow as Jay had flicked slowly and only added about five mana to it, so he prepared another attack.

    This time, he stood up on his throne and reeled his arm back.

    Five mana, ten, twenty¡­ the swirling cloud around the wand became thicker, darker, more potent.

    Jay added up to fifty mana into the goblin wand, which caused it to shiver in his grip. It was enough to summon 10 level one skeletons.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough.¡±

    The swirling mana chaotically spun around the wand, looking like a raging dark-green river.

    Jay horizontally snapped his arm forwards, releasing all connection and control of the mana.

    The spell seemed to darken the world around them as he released it.

    A great arc of deadly magic shot forwards, over the heads of the skeletons.

    It sounded like a howling wind as it hungrily crossed over the stones.

    As it went further, the arc grew wider.

    The powerful spell grew weaker as it widened. It made it about 230 feet (70m) before it lost its shape and burst into a wide, glowing cloud.

    The cloud itself was about 50 feet wide (15m).

    Jay tried the spell again with less mana, around five. It traveled the same distance, but was only as wide as Jay¡¯s forearm.

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder how strong it could be¡­¡± Jay wondered.

    Regrettably, he received no notification, nothing about learning a new spell. He guessed it required a spell conduit, and that the conduit itself ¡®knew¡¯ the spell.

    ¡°I wonder, do different spell conduits cast different spells? How much control does the caster have over the spell channeled through the wand? Will different mana result in the same or different spells?¡± he wondered.

    He tried again, doing a few different techniques. After experimenting with the wand, he came up with two new techniques.

    A jet of necrotic mana which reached 10 feet (3m) forwards, appearing like a me, and a swirling necrotce-shaped sword. Unfortunately, thence was more like a thick cloud, and could not block or cut anything, giving it no use as an actual sword.

    ¡°Probably needs different magic types to be useful as a sword.¡± Jay shrugged, stashing it away.

    ¡°I wonder if my skeletons can use wands¡­ hmm. Perhaps I could just craft one of their hands into a wand. A dedicated spell-caster would be a nice addition.¡± Jay thought, letting his imagination spin for a moment.

    The two sub-skeletons of Blue had finished twirling some ghost silk twice.

    Jay grabbed each end, but before letting it twist itself together, he brought out the first piece of ghost silk twine, which had a loop at the end. He slipped the second strand through the loop before letting it twist on itself.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he frowned, holding his first bowstring.

    The twists of two pieces of ghost-silk twine made it feel lumpy. It disappointed him a little, as it was pretty low-grade. He tied the loose ends away, making what was effectively a rope made of two twisted strands.

    Jay had them craft another string. This time, he took out two clumps of ghost silk. Before handing them to the skeletons, he merged them and mixed them together into onerger piece, then broke them down into three smaller pieces.

    He stretched the three pieces out, making each of them much longer, uniform in shape and length, before handing them to the two skeletons.

    ¡°Blue, have them twist one at a time. Once they make the three strands, twist them together... but twist them in the opposite direction when youbine the three strands.¡±

    Jay quickly thought of changes to the process before adding the first bowstring into a bow. The second string will be better, however, he would still try to use the low-quality string in his first bow.

    ¡°Alright, now to make a tiny bow.¡± He thought, seeing the size of the level one skeleton he was making it for.

    ¡°Archers, you had better appreciate this.¡±

 Chapter 309 Inventory Oddities

    "Are we close yet?" Asra muffled from the wrapped noon-leather nket.

    "Hmm, about half-way. Is something wrong? Don''t you usually sleep while we travel?"

    "I was sleeping to help my recovery. Even while I was being tossed and turned, it was easy to sleep. But I''m okay now, and I don''t actually need that much to function, just a little blood."

    "Hmm, can you drink animal blood?"

    "No¡­ we need about five animals to make up for a sip of a human blood. It has something to do with mana in your blood, but I didn''t really pay attention in ss. Some animals have mana in their blood, but its strength disperses before it reaches our stomach, making it less nutritious. That''s as much as I remember. I cared little about the subject as I never had to worry about getting blood¡­ until I left Luna, anyway."

    Jay noticed some sadness in her voice, so he didn''t question her further. But Asra continued.

    "Say¡­ did you see any other cocoons? Any other vampires when you found me?"

    "I thought you would have forgotten about that. You seemed almost dead when I found you¡­ and no. All the others had only bones. Mostly animal bones, I think."

    "Any human-like skeletons?" she asked, opening the nket slightly.

    "I don''t think so¡­ some were unidentifiable though, broken down by time and the surrounding roots."

    Jay expected a response, but Asra went quiet.

    The skeletons continued to march.

    "Hmm. Something horrible happened¡­ I won''t press her for answers." He thought, and gave his skeletons silent orders from then on, not breaking the tense silence.

    Jay quietly began crafting the first bone bow for Archers.

    He wanted to make the bow asrge as possible to increase its damage, but it had to be small enough for the goblin-sized skeleton to hold without touching the ground, and its little arms had to pull the bow back.

    Jay took out two long, slender arm bones; the radius and ulna.

    At first, he joined them together at one end, but they were simply too brittle. They would not bend at all.

    "Hmm¡­ this sucks." Jay thought, holding the conjoined bones. "It''s more like a skinny club than a bow."

    Jay tried a different approach, and holding the two bones, he channeled his mana into them, melting thempletely.

    First, he mixed them together into a floating milky ball of bone. He then made it into a long rod, which went from being thick at one end to being as thin as hair at the other.

    This wasn''t a bow, but was to help him test at what thickness the bone would bend.

    "Alright¡­ let''s see how much this can bend." He thought, giving it a flex.

    Immediately, he snapped away some of the small end.

    He applied as much pressure as he thought would be put onto a bow, and snapped away more of the skinny end.

    It was a simple but effective way to find the right thickness of the bone bow.

    He found its right thickness was about half as thick as his finger. A pretty skinny bow.

    He got to work, melting the bone back into a sphere of bone before he tried to push it into a long shaft.

    It was a simple task, as he had be used to making shafts for his bone spears, only that this was much skinnier.

    Jay found he had too much bone matter and ended up having a bone shaft, which was twice as long as he needed.

    Applying some mana, he split them in the middle.

    Two long rods of bone were hardly bows, so he using one of them he applied some more mana and began to slowly bend it into a curved shape, though he curled both ends back in the opposite direction from the middle curve, copying a bow design he saw at Lo.

    "Hmm, not too bad." Jay thought.

    However, as he tried to bend the bow, it hardly flexed at all, not nearly enough to pull back an arrow, and knowing what bone was like, he knew it would snap if he tried to flex it more.

    "Dammit¡­ bone is just way too brittle. The only time it does bend is when I infuse it with mana, but it doesn''t bounce back¡­ I guess I can''t rely on bone for everything." He shrugged.

    "As for a bow, I''ll either need to find one as a dungeon reward or craft one from wood." Jay thought.

    For a moment, he considered using life''s wood, an oddity he found in the Helvetian dungeon.

    < [Life''s Wood] >

    [Life has touched the tree this wood came from, permanently blessing it.]

    [Time resistance 100%]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Curse resistance 100%]

    [Resurgence. Can grow back to its former self.]

    However, as soon as he took a nk out, it sprouted tiny green buds.

    "Yep, that won''t work." He shrugged, stashing it away. "I guess we''ll just need to cut trees down."

    Jay checked a few other things in his inventory.

    <[Warp Disruptor]>

    [~Charged~]

    [Prevents warp, teleportation and trans-reality effects]

    [Requires mana to function]

    [Current charge: Can disrupt (4) times]

    "Hmm¡­ I thought it had more charges. I suppose it has been a while since I checked it. Maybe I''ve just forgotten." He shrugged.

    < [Highborn Helvetian Ring] >

    [Protection from a single cmity]

    [0/1 charge]

    [Can be recharged - 0%]

    "Huh. I suppose now that I have decent mana regeneration, I should start charging it." He thought, wearing it on one of his fingers.

    He added twenty mana into it, and felt the ring pulling it in, but it didn''t even go up by one percent.

    "Hmm, must need a lot of charge. It will be better to have it charged and ready. Just in case."

    Jay also retrieved another item from his inventory.

    [?]

    "Hmm, seems like it''s gotten bigger." He thought, holding therge oval stone in his hands.

    "But what the hell is it?" He wondered, staring into its gxy-looking star-like surface before stashing it away.

    Jay also checked a few other things in his inventory, including his [Undead Wyrd Seed], the [Soul Stone] which still had a soul inside it, anystly a hexagonal sphere of bone which he plucked from a skull-shield projector.

    "Hmm, I still need to study this." He thought, but seeing the tiny fments on the sphere, he knew his scrimshaw level was not nearly high enough.

    He had a few other things in his inventory, odds and ends he had picked up along the way.

    Then, he retrieved the stealth shard. It was a type ofmunication crystal.

    < [Stealth Shard] >

    [~Attuned~]

    [~Uncharged~]

    [Can be attuned to another stealth shard, forming a connection.]

    [Exchanged Senses - activated when charged with mana]

    [Exchanged Senses: no longer visible, but can nowmunicate]

    "Hmm¡­ that person gave me this¡­ what was her name? Laura? Lana? Eh, I suppose it doesn''t matter now. They were liars anyway, giving me false promises of safety." He shook his head, "there is no such thing as safety. At least in the sense of safety from other humans." He nodded.

    However, he did decided to charge it, adding some mana to it until it turned invisible, and then stashing it away.

    The skeletons had carried Jay and Asra half-way across the moss-stone in, and it made Jay feel a little odd to not really have a goal or objective.

    While taking her back to Luna was an option, he would not do it without having some sort of security or something to gain from it.

    If he needed to, he would hold Asra captive. Perhaps for ransom. He had not thought that far ahead, he simply wanted the necromancy research from her academy.

 Chapter 310 Precursor Prophecy

    ~ Mirror Reality 34, Third Academy ~

    *Knock knock*

    Someone knocked on the door of the headmaster''s office.

    "Come in" Norgrim called, not looking away from his mana nt until the door closed again.

    "Ah, William, I was -"

    "I found him! I finally found him!" William grinned.

    "Good! Tell Lannister so he can draft a portal. We need to bring him in as fast as -" Norgrim pulled out hismunication crystal, but before he could channel it, Will interrupted him again.

    "I already did. He''s alreadyid the portal frame." William grinned.

    "Well, excellent work, Will! Excellent work." Norgrim smiled, "I tell you, things are going to change. Once he joins our side, we may not even have to live in a fake reality anymore¡­ the day wille." Norgrim said, turning to a framed letter on the wall.

    "What is that?"

    "A prophecy, written by an elder of the first academy. It says, ''Our realities copse, liberated by those we stole them from; they will take their time back, sending us forward. The dead will stand, we may scatter, may the dead lead us back together.''"

    "Do you mind if I copy that down?"

    "Ah, sure. Most people ignored it, thinking it will never happen in their lifetime¡­ but now, with a necromancer, well. I think it''s just a matter of time."

    - - -

    ~ Lo ~

    The forests around Lo were being ravaged, filling with bounty hunters and adventurers from far-off cities, all chasing Jay''s enormous gold bounty.

    After the Sorah protocol activated, causing the self-destruct mechanism of a mage hunter armor, many felt the powerful mana signature and had ventured off into the southern forests, searching around the mountain range as they connected it to Jay. They were closed in only by the mushroom desert.

    Even the sky had many adventurers flying around, scanning the ground and reporting back to their various teams. Each was like flies drawn to shit.

    They had carved a path through the forest because of the varying forms of transport of the adventurers. A giant mud golem cleared away trees, a magic rolling house crushed rocks, and a coating of ice covered most of the ground, which certain adventurers skated across.

    A division of mage hunters had arrived in Lo, and without pause, they sent half south to search for Jay, while the other half cut down every tree and made buildings in their ce.

    Some buildings were simply wood, temporary shelters, while others being constructed were made using fort and stone magic. Awork of bunkers and fortified strongholds sprang up around Lo. Some were mage towers, others were strongholds built into the ground, surrounded by thick metals, borate rune tapestries, and various magic defenses.

    Some were simplyrge floating spheres, ready to crush anything that challenged them, and a few were simply giant obelisks which pointed into the sky, threatening to piece whatever may attack from above.

    The mage hunters were quickly transforming Lo and its surroundingnds into a military fortress.

    It was hard to tell it was ever a quiet, lowly vige on the edge of Astrata. Yet the mage hunters were just beginning.

    Lieutenant Marsh was themander of the first troop to enter Lo, and he knew he would be relieved of hismand soon. He smoked a Valuvian cigar, patiently waiting in his makeshift office as a higher authority finally arrived.

    Yet he didn''t even sense theming, and neither did they knock. As the door creaked open, Marsh''s eyes widened.

    "Arch mage¡­." He whispered, and immediately adverted his eyes, lowering them to the ground.

    He jumped from his chair and fell to his knees.

    "Arch mage. Forgive me. I was not expecting someone of your position to -"

    "Shh." A whisper sounded,ing from everywhere in the room.

    Marsh held his face to the floor, trying not to breathe in his presence.

    Suddenly then the door creaked shut again as they left the room without the sounds of footsteps.

    The arch mage left.

    Marsh gasped for air for a moment as a cold sweat went across his forehead.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Checking his desk, he noticed there were no files, no records, nothing. The arch mage had taken every file and document, including his cigars.

    "It''s out of my hands¡­ I had my chance." Marsh thought, clenching his jaw.

    - - -

    ~ Mirror Reality 34, Shrew Box Dungeon - Level 3 ~

    "I wonder how they link the dungeon portal to the real world." Smiley thought, entering the dungeon with a small group of third academy adventurers.

    As an experienced swordsman, he was a babysitter of some of the lower-level adventurers having trouble with their physical weapons. At least, that was what the staff did with him, to get some use out of him.

    Because of his harsh tactics, he was not one of the most favored trainers among the pupils, and as a prisoner, he wasn''t allowed to do much else, so they wanted to keep him busy. To keep him out of trouble.

    Smiley, formerly known as Matheson, had made a few enemies because of his harsh training style, but also because he punished anyone who called him Matheson.

    He saw Anya a few times, but so far, she had not noticed him.

    Anya was still reeling from the death of her father.

    Like Matheson, they gave her the opportunity to guide and help other ranged students at the academy. Of course, unlike Matheson, they did not force her to do anything. Many appreciated her guidance, but she didn''t connect with anyone.

    Anya mostly kept to herself. She was notfortable at all., having restless nights with little sleep. She still needed time, though she couldn''t help but wonder why she hadn''t seen Jay yet.

    "Where is Jay? Why is he avoiding me¡­" she thought.

    No one had told her he didn''t make it through the portal to the third academy.

    Anya wanted to leave, as something felt wrong about this ce, not about the school, but about the entire mirror reality.

    Sometimes, the skies cracked open, wisps of chaotic darkness peeked through. The clouds would reverse as if going back in time, rain would fall upwards.

    She often heard deep quaking and screeching sounds, echoing from somewhere far away. The world groaned against them.

    Anya knew she didn''t belong here; no one did. This was not their reality, they were outsiders. Invaders.

    - - -

    ~ Lo, Southern Forests ~

    Three young bounty hunters were sitting on arge mossy boulder in the forest.

    "¡­ Quiet." Esra whispered.

    "But I was just saying, maybe we can go back, the bed''s still there, you can still use your ability and -"

    "Quiet! Please, just be quiet for one second. I hear something¡­" Esra raised her finger.

    Vanderby shut his mouth as Linc narrowed his eyes as his lips curled. They waited, staring at Esra.

    "I hear it, I can hear him!" she grinned.

    "Keep it down." Linc waved his hand, scanning the surrounding forest.

    "Right¡­ okay. Well, finding a bounty in the city is one thing, but a fugitive of the entire kingdom is something else¡­ are we ready?" Vanderby looked around, and Linc and Esra nodded.

    "Okay, start your heart trace and lead the way Esra¡­ and try to make it look like you''re guessing about where to go. I don''t want other following us." He added.

    Esra checked her skill and began listening to the rhythmic, gentle beating of Jay''s heart.

    < [Heart Trace] >

    [- You miss your beloved; listen for their heartbeats. You can hear their heartbeats no matter where they are in the world.]

    [- Requirements met]

 Chapter 311 Research Choices

    Jay looked over his research, considering what to work on with his extra mana capacity.

    [Chimera Research (31%)]

    [Immortality Research (5%)]

    [Skull-shield Projector Research (32%)]

    [Dread-mourn Turret Research (22%)]

    "Hmm¡­ the easiest is chimera." He thought.

    The two sub-skeletons he had twirling twine had finished the second bow string. It was a much better quality, but as Jay needed wood to make a proper bow, he also knew he needed tools to carve and craft the wood.

    He could at the very least make the tool out of bone, but he wanted to put his effort where it would pay off the most.

    He had the two sub-skeletons return to carrying Asra while getting Archers to stand next to the throne.

    Jay hopped off and un-summoned Archers.

    "Now¡­ this shouldn''t be too hard." He thought, bending down and grabbing the human skull from the bone pile, adding it to his ring.

    Pulling out a wolf skull, he tossed it into the pile and summoned Archer''s back.

    As Archer''s body reformed, he sat back on his throne and continued on his journey.

    [Chimera Research (32%)]

    In a few moments, Archers caught up to the throne, and Jay didn''t leave his seat as he quickly un-summoned and re-summoned the level one skeleton.

    [Chimera Research (33%)]

    "It''s better to do this while they''re low level." He nodded, d to be saving his mana. A level one skeleton only required five mana to summon, but each time a skeleton leveled up, it would need an additional three mana.

    Jay''s mana pool had a capacity of 148, but after adding some to the Helvetian ring, crafting a bone bow, and casting spells with the goblin wand, his mana dropped to 24/148.

    He summoned Archers three more times, bringing his Chimera Research up to 36% and his mana down to 14, but kept a small amount so he wouldn''t have the ufortable light-headed feeling of low mana.

    With little else to do, Jay rested his eyes for a moment, letting the gentle rocking of the throne rx him as his skeletons, with Blue inmand, handled everything else.

    However, the quiet marching of the skeletons was soon speeding up as Blue poked Jay''s leg.

    "Huh?" Jay opened an eye.

    Archers was jumping, getting Jay''s attention as it pointed back to the giant stone tortoises.

    Jay sat up and turned back.

    The tortoises were quite far away now, and he couldn''t even hear their groans or their shells cracking against the rocks. However, he heard something else thumping, and could see well enough that something frightened them.

    Something had coiled around one of them, mming its jagged beak into the stone-like shell.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It seemed like a giant snake covered in a silver fur, but as Jay steadied himself, he saw it had multiple insect-like legs along its body. It drove its pointed head into the shells, making deep booming sounds as it tried to crack them open.

    (Lower the throne.) Jay immediately ordered.

    As soon as he stepped off, he stashed his chair and the bones in his inventory. He made himself smaller among the rocks as he crouched.

    Thankfully, they were far enough away to go unnoticed.

    Jay couldn''t tell how powerful this tortoise-killing beast was, but he didn''t want to find out.

    While a necrotic bolt from his helminth caused one tortoise to flee in fear, it didn''t mean the tortoises were low level. Perhaps the bolt slightly melted the shell, but it didn''t mean it was low level.

    As he watched, it seemed that the bird-beak centipede was having trouble cracking the shell.

    Jay kept moving, but walked alongside his skeletons as the throne would stick out too much.

    Thankfully, his dark green molodus coat helped to blend in with the moss-covered rocks, and the gray-white color of the skeleton bones blended in with the mist they were traveling towards.

    The beasts were a wee sight. Jay had seen none since encountering the blood-vine bear, and it was a wee reminder that he was out of its territory.

    "Damn. I forgot how much walking sucked." He thought, stepping across the mossy rocks.

    Sometimes the moss would cover over holes and cracks and his foot would tear right through, nearly causing him to break his leg a few times.

    "I wanted to make some bone arrows at the very least¡­ but damn." He frowned.

    "I guess the longer I wait, the more mana I will have to work with anyway, so I suppose it''s not all a waste of time."

    Jay thought about the bolts he had seen Anya using in her crossbow. Tipped with steel, they had ck-wood shafts and a few feathered tail tips for guidance, thoughpared to arrows, the tips were much heavier.

    Jay thought it would be a simple process to copy an arrow, but only one part of it would be a problem: the tip.

    Bone was a light material, and he knew he needed to condense it somehow¡­ but this was when he remembered that he had done something like this before.

    Back in Lo, he had crafted an ingot of bone. He did this while experimenting with spectral armor and found that bone contained impurities.

    He was sure that if he got enough of these impurities out, he could condense it, making it harder and making it heavier.

    Of course, he also had a backup n.

    "I suppose, if I can''t make heavy bone, I could just get some rocks or pebbles and put them inside the arrow heads. Rocks will give it weight on the inside, while the outside will be a sharp arrowhead." He shrugged.

    Thetter idea was a simpler method, but he didn''t like the idea of having to pick stones which were all the same weight.

    He wanted uniform arrows, which would, in turn, make his archer skeletons better.

    However, stepping over another mossy rock, all he could do was wait until he entered the cover of the fog and ascended his throne again.

    "I just need to make sure I''ve actually escaped the mage hunters, then I can spend all the time I want crafting, reearching and experimenting. There''s no telling how they track, hunt and kill mages. Maybe the vampire academy can help me with that, covering my tracks¡­ or perhaps they''ll kill me on sight, too. I suppose I''ll need to have a little trust in Asra or at least be of more use kept alive."

 Chapter 312 Testing The Skeletons

    Jay periodically checked behind them.

    The giant fur-covered insect had made little progress on the boulder-sized tortoises, while he and his skeletons were very farm away, almost in the fog.

    He thought it would take much longer, but the fog had shifted towards them, perhaps saving them an hour.

    "I''m guessing Asra wille out in the fog. I wonder how much the sunlight hurts her." He scratched his chin.

    He remembered when he first found her. Even while she was half-dead she had fear in her eyes as she warned him about the sunlight.

    Jay walked for a few hours more, and he could hardly see the tortoises behind them, like tiny dots in the distance.

    With sore feet, he made it to the fog, but he paused before stepping into it. There was a distinct boundary between the fog and everything else. It was more like a wall he would walk into than a mist he would slowly merge through.

    Before entering, he had a skeleton step inside and run deeper for a moment before exiting again.

    Seeing that the skeleton was unharmed, he sent a scouting party in.

    Jay had Asraid on the mossy rocks for a moment and chose Lamp and Handy as scouts. He had Blue lend four of its sub-construct skeletons, assigning two of them to both of the scouts.

    Lamp and Handy sprinted off into the fog, each with two smaller goblin-skeletons following.

    Jay noticed that Blue''s skeletons used animal skulls with human bones, but he received no chimera research after it summoned them. It could also use human skulls, meaning it didn''t have a requirement of using a ''small corpse''.

    He assumed perhaps it mimicked his own summoning power, or borrowed it, but couldn''t be sure.

    "I wonder if Blue will be able to summon its own chimera¡­" Jay wondered. "Hmm, when I first gave Heavy a mind, it tried to copy me and summon, but at the time, it had no mana. Perhaps it''s like a natural instinct to either summon skeletons or copy me."

    Jay called Archers over, along with the other skeletons who didn''t have a mind, and with the mana he had just regenerated in thest few hours, he gave minds to all his skeletons.

    As for the sub-constructs, there were three here. Two were Red''s guardian type skeletons, and another was Blue''s, and to his surprise, he found he could give them minds too.

    "Awesome. More brain power will make us all smarter." He nodded.

    Jay prioritized giving minds to Red''s two skeletons first, as they each had more health and were stronger, and would soon be more specialized as his personal guard.

    Jay didn''t admit it to Blue, but he thought the guardian type skeletons would eventually be much stronger than Blue''s skeletons, which would seem like cannon fodder trash, while Red''s would stand like strong towers, holding multitudes of enemies back.

    With all the skeletons here having minds, Jay tried something different.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He pulled piles of bones from his gauntlet and had the skeletons stand around - which was all of them except for the four sub-constructs following Lamp and Handy, who were scouting the fog.

    With the skeletons circled around the bones, Jay pointed down, (Craft whatever you would like. If you need more bones, I''ll bring more out. Use them in whatever way you wish. Take your time if you need to.)

    The skeletons descended on the bone pile like hungry dogs, grabbing pieces out and making a small personal pile for themselves. The only ones which didn''t touch the bones were Archers, and the sub-constructs which had just been given minds.

    Instead, they curiously watched the other skeletons. In time, a few of them grabbed bones for themselves, but they didn''t have the ability to craft anything, and were just grabbing one as they copied the other skeletons. Besides, they already had their own daggers, which their elder skeletons, Blue and Red, had crafted for them.

    Blue and Red crafted nothing for themselves, but each of them grabbed a bone to eat for healing, as they had various chips and scrapes from the journey.

    Sweeper made more defensive spikes, which ity down around their party. Heavy tried to craft a sword for itself, but had to give up after its mana ran out, leaving a formless blob of bone on the ground.

    "Here you go, Heavy." Jay smiled, giving it a short sword. It seemed Heavy was tired of using a dagger like the younger level one skeletons.

    Dark made itself two new daggers, which were more skinnier than the ones Jay had been crafting. They seemed to be more for stabbing than shing,pared to Jay''s wider dagger design anyway.

    Archers, having no weapon, grabbed Heavy''s old dagger, and while Jay wanted to turn it into an archer skeleton, he allowed it for now, as it was defenseless. He knew that when he made a bow, he would force it to stay ranged, not using a melee weapon at all.

    He would also train Archers to craft its own arrows, whether they be made purely of bone, or with metal, stone and wood. Jay didn''t want to be bothered by having to craft arrows for it after every battle, or swords either, for that matter.

    "The skeletons need to support themselves." He nodded, deciding they needed to be more automated, more self-preserving and independent.

    Yet having them craft things themselves would be inefficient, as they had low-level scrimshaw skills. Their weapons would be of lower quality, and they didn''t know what they needed in terms of armor or other weapon types.

    He wasn''t even sure they could craft armor.

    As far as Jay could tell, they only knew the designs for the bone daggers. The other weapons they could craft were things they copied off Jay. The only exception to this was the skeletons that had their roles assigned, having crafted defensive spikes, a shepherd''s crook, a gut knife, and a two-handed sword.

    "At least with minds, they will hopefully start testing new designs." He thought, "But maybe they just need a little nudge in the right direction."

    (Blue, try making some armor for your smaller skeletons.)

    Blue curiously nced at Jay, tilting its head to the side as it thought for a moment, but then got to work, pulling some bones into its own personal pile.

    Jay curiously watched, wondering how much Blue had learned from him. It only had a level one scrimshaw skill, so he wanted to see what it could do.

 Chapter 313 Necrosmith

    Blue filled a few bones with mana, causing a sphere of liquid bone to float above its hands.

    Next, it tried to mold it into a t, rectangr shape, which Jay guessed was arm or leg armor.

    Jay watched patiently, but after a few moments it slowed down, and soon, it couldna€?t mold it further. While it could form swords easily, this was a skill it had not learned and was creating itself, so every part of its shape needed greater concentration.

    a€?Seems like Blue knows what it wants to do, but it just cana€?t quite get there...a€? he thought.

    After a few moments, Blue gave up. The curved piece of bone te fell to the ground.

    a€?Damn, I guess it needs to practice.a€?

    Jay crouched down and picked up the curved bone te from the ground, but it gave him an idea.

    Still crouched and holding it, he pushed the te into the mossy ground, making an indentation in the moss.

    a€?Could it work...a€? Jay wondered.

    (Blue, watch me craft something. You can try it next, and then teach the others.)

    Blue nodded, stepping by Jaya€?s side.

    Jay used Bluea€?s bone te as a hand shovel and tore through the moss until he got down to a dirtyer. In the dirt, he dug a shallow trench, about the same size as the bone te. He then pressed the te into the dirt, making the dirt like a mold of the te.

    a€?I should have done this age ago.a€? Jay thought, a€?that Helvetian cksmith did the same thing with ingot molds. Ia€?m betting it could do it with swords, too.a€?

    Jay tossed the bone te aside and added some new bones into the dirt mold, then filled it with his mana. Some of his mana disappeared into the earth, but the bones absorbed most of it.

    The bones all melted together into a thick white liquid. It took little mental effort to push along the middle of the mold and force the bone liquid up the sides of the mold.

    Yet Jay wasna€?t exactly sure what Blue was trying to make, so he ended the demonstration there, dispersing the mana in the mold as the new bone te formed.

    a€?Ah, here we are.a€? Jay smiled, holding up the new te alongside the old one.

    a€?The front of it is identical at least, and it takes a lot of mental strain away when you dona€?t have to hold it in the air... Damn, I could craft way better items with this technique. Freeing up more of my concentration will let me do more intricate designs.a€?

    (Here.) Jay handed the two tes back to Blue.

    Blue ced its sword down and held each for a moment, ncing at both of them, its head turning left and right as itpared each.

    It looked at Jay, and Jay thought he could see praise and wonder in its eyes, but then it quickly grabbed some bones for itself to craft, dropping them into Jaya€?s dirt-mold.

    (Ah, no. Blue, you need to dig your own mold so you really learn it yourself.) Jay said, kicking some dirt back into the mold he had dug.

    [8 Exp]

    a€?Eight exp? Hmm, they must have killed a fog critter.a€? He thought, ncing into the wall of fog.

    Jay nced back at the giant tortoises and the fur centipede. They were pretty far away and each of them were like tiny fleas, so he wasna€?t worried about it following them.

    Blue easily wed through the moss and dug itself a curved rectangle hole. It stamped its bone te into it to make the dirtpact and t, yet this time, it also made the mold slightly longer.

    Blue tossed some bones into the mold, but before it melted them together, it covered the front of its bone te with a handful of dirt.

    a€?Hmm, I didna€?t teach it that...a€? Jay raised a brow.

    Blue then let its sickly green necrotic mana flow from its skeletal hand, filling the mold and melting the bones.

    It became liquid, but before Blue molded, it dispersed some of the mana which made the bone liquid more thick and viscous, more simr to mud than honey.

    Blue then used the dirt-covered bone te and stamped it into the flowing bone, pushing it up either side of the mold.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It then quickly stamped it again higher up and made some slight modifications.

    Holding the dirt-coated bone te in ce, it dispersed more of the mana and removed the dirt-covered te.

    a€?Huh, so it used the dirt coating to stop it from sticking to the molded bone, and it stopped the liquid bone from melting and deforming by dispersing some of the mana. Blue is smarter than I gave it credit for.a€? Jay nodded.

    He had used both concepts when crafting, but didna€?t think to apply them here. Using the dirt-covered bone te was an abstract way of using dirt to help mold it, and Jay realized the skeletons would use all of his teachings and techniques at all times.

    a€?Seems like they may surpass me someday, even if my scrimshaw skill is higher.a€? He thought.

    Bluepleted its design and pulled the freshly molded bone from the hole, dusting off the dirt.

    (Give it.) Jay immediately ordered.

    The bone te was rectangle and curved, and was about half as long as Jaya€?s arm from his elbow to fingertips. Its thickness was nearly perfectly uniform across the entire piece, which is what made it hard to scrimshaw without the help of the mold. After wiping away more of the dirt, there was still a dark line going along the middle, slightly mixed into the bone.

    a€?Hmm, must be the impurities. Usually these would fall out, but I guess the mold trapped it in.a€? Jay thought, analyzing it.

    < [Tiny Spectral Bone ting] > (Basic Bones)

    [Common]

    [1 armor]

    [1 health when equipped by undead]

    a€?Not as good as a piece made specifically for a body part, but ita€?s better than nothing.a€? He nodded.

    a€?It will be easy to mass produce, but how will they use it as armor? Therea€?s no way to wear it... hmm... I guess it could mold it onto the skeleton?a€?

    Jay handed it back to Blue. a€?Nice work.a€? He whispered and watched the skeleton.

    Bluea€?s four sub-construct skeletons were scouting with Lamp and Handy, but the one which remained stood before it at attention, holding its arm out.

    Blue grabbed its arm and held the bone te over it, releasing some mana. Part of its arm and part of the te became molten and Blue pushed them together, welding the bone te directly to its skeleton.

    a€?Thought so.a€? Jay nodded. a€?I wish I thought of that sooner, too.a€?

    a€?So, now it has one extra health.a€? Jay thought, checking the junior skeleton.

    < [Feeble Creature - Level 1] >

    (Sub-construct of Blue)

    [Type - Undead]

    HP - 11/11 (+1, Equipment)

    <[Skills]>

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death. Execute with extreme prejudice.]

    a€?Excellent.a€? Jay thought, a€?But I think it needs more armor tes.a€?

 Chapter 314 Evolving Armor

    After Blue applied an armor te to its smaller skeleton''s arm, Red came over and inspected, though it seemed more curiously inquisitive than impressed.

    Jay watched silently, as he didn''t see the skeletons interact like this very often. He didn''t realize he why he wanted to understand them, or that these were slowly bing more like his family than his loyal minions of the death.

    Red nced at Blue, then at the dug up dirt mold, back to Blue and nodded. It checked the armor te one more time and then nced at Blue again. Blue titled its head to the side as it gazed back at Red.

    One of Red''s skeletons came over and lifted its arm up. Both Blue and Red grabbed its arm and inspected it. Red''s guardian skeleton had slightly thicker bonespared to Blue''s and was slightly taller.

    Blue pointed at the dirt mold, then back at Red''s sub-skeleton.

    Jay simply watched them in amazement. If not for their bones and voicelessmunication, they seemed almost human. However, it was hard to tell if they were arguing, encouraging, or giving each other advice. For a moment, Jay thought that Blue may have simply been imitating him.

    After nodding, Red went away, and began tearing apart some moss, digging its own hole. It took the bone te Jay had crafted and beganpacting the dirt into another curved bone te shape, except it was slightly wider.

    "It must be making a thicker version for its guardian skeletons." Jay guessed.

    Blue and Red both went back to crafting, each of them melting bones and making bone tes.

    Jay waited patiently for them to bone-forge as more exp notifications appeared, which was a promising sign as they were all less than 10 exp, meaning there wasn''t anything too dangerous out there.

    [8 Exp] [5 Exp] [5 Exp] [5 Exp] [8 Exp]

    "Seems like it''s safe enough, but I''ll at least wait until Blue covers it skeleton in armor tes. I want to know just how much it can add to the skeleton''s body." He thought, and also didn''t want Asra realizing that he was stalling so he could let the skeletons craft and scout some more.

    (Don''te out of the fog until I''m ready for you to return.) Jay ordered Lamp and Handy, after getting some more exp notifications.

    [8 Exp] [10 Exp] [20 Exp] [8 Exp]

    "Seems like there are some stronger things out there, but twenty exp will mean it''s only level one or two, and the skeletons yed it so it can''t be that bad¡­ But there''s a problem with my reasoning - if theye across something too strong to kill, they will either die or flee, meaning there will be no exp notification¡­ Hmm¡­ Thankfully, there are no death notifications yet."

    Jay casually picked up their armor tes, which they were stacking up into separate piles. There were a few imperfections, little nodules and bumps caused by the dirt molds, and he knew he could make a better product, however he wouldn''t be able to keep up with two skeletons crafting, and on arger scale it would be a waste of his time. At least until they ran out of mana, which wasn''t too long after.

    As a guardian, Red had 11 mana, while as a skeletal sergeant Blue had 14, though Blue had used some of its mana already.

    Blue crafted three more tes, while Red had crafted five, which told Jay that with this dirt-mold technique, they were only using two mana for each piece.

    "So efficient" Jay nodded.

    After they ran out of mana, they waited a moment for some to regenerate and applied the tes to their smaller skeletons.

    Blue''s skeleton got a te welded onto each of its forearm and another on each of its upper arms.

    "Maybe I should rethink the entire way I design skeleton armor. Perhaps my thinking has been too human-centered¡­? I''ve been making it for myself as much as I have for them, but I could have just been bolting or welding ting directly into their bones. Perhaps they are considered spectral when they are designed solely for skeletons; maybe that''s why the barbute bone helmets aren''t spectral and don''t give bonus health?" he guessed.

    "Perhaps I should have the skeletons craft them some head armor and see what they make, then I can improve the design¡­ I doubt welding their current helmets to their skulls would make them spectral, though." He thought, ncing at their bone barbute helmets.

    "But it''s good to see that when their ss reached level five, their armor changed slightly, making it look different."

    Jay also noticed that Blue''s body armor seemed more angr and pointed, while Red''s had be slightly thicker with a thicker trim around the outside.

    Yet this was only true of their vambraces and greaves, as that was the only body armor they had.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I wonder how much Heavy''s armor will change." He thought, ncing at the heavy bone chest piece he made for it. "It seems that the longer they have the armor, the more it changes to suit themselves? Maybe? If that''s so, then the earlier they get armor, the better¡­ Well, it''s just a guess, anyway. I''ll have to see how much more it changes now that they''ve received their ss. I''m sure I could raise a kind of armorer skeletonter, but for now, I have what I have."

    Red added a te to each upper forearm of its two guardian skeletons, and another to the upper leg of one of them.

    "Hmm¡­ no ting on the forearms or low legs?" Jay raised a brow, wondering if it did this on purpose or because it ran out of armor ting.

    "I suppose I''ll have to see when its manaes back."

    Jay checked around to see what the other skeletons had crafted. Dark, yet apart from the defensive spikes Sweeper was making, there wasn''t much else.

    (Alright, let''s get ready to move again.) Jay said, adding all the bones back to his gauntlet.

    Sweeper collected its defensive spikes, not wanting to let Jay take them this time. However, it had no way to carry them, and to the skeleton''s chagrin, Jay ended up stashing them, anyway.

    (I''ll save them for you, Sweeper.) Jay added, winking at his displeased skeleton.

    The scouts, which were Lamp, Handy, and four of Blue''s sub-skeletons, had not returned, so Jay had Sweeper and Blue carry Asra while he stayed on foot.

    Jay approached the wrapped up noon-leather nket and whispered into it.

    "We''re about to enter the fog, but it''s moving and shifting. The sun may peek through, so I would wait a little longer while we walk deeper into it beforeing out."

    "Mm." Asra mumbled back, sounding a little frustrated.

    Jay ordered Handy toe back, but left Lamp out there, hunting and scouting as it pleased.

    (Blue, send your two sub-skeletons following Handy out to kill whatever they find.)

    He left Lamp out as he wanted to see how big the fur patch on its back would get, and a part of him felt bad for letting Lamp lose its human skin suit in the dungeon.

    Jay sensed Handying back, so he gave an order to Blue.

    (Blue, get us into travel formation.)

    Blue nodded back as it arranged the skeletons in a defensive marching formation.

    Behind Jay, Blue and Sweeper carried Asra.

    In front of Jay, Red took the lead with its metal shield and squire armor ready to face off against any threat, and its two guardian skeletons stood on either side of it.

    Archers and Heavy stood at Jay''s back-right side while Dark stood at the other.

    Finally, Blue had its armor-ted sub-construct standing at the very back of the party.

    "Good." Jay nodded approvingly, seeing that they defended him from every side, and with Lamp and four sub-skeletons out scouting and hunting, he was sure they would find most of the lurking hidden threats before they could even mount an assault. And just before Jay was about to step into the fog, Handy stepped out, causing Jay to pause for a moment.

    "Handy¡­ what happened to it¡­" he thought, seeing his champion skeleton looking¡­ not so heroic.

 Chapter 315 Whispering Shroud

    Handy was unharmed, but all over its body it had fresh pieces of moss and hanging slimy leaves clinging to it.

    A green-brown sludge covered its legs up to the knee, showing it had been standing in a murky, muddy water or had found a deep puddle. Tiny jade green leaves clung to its bones as they stuck to the coating of muddy water.

    Yet what made Jay curious was Handy''s two-handed sword. Across its surface were ck smoky marks. Looking a little more closely, Jay touched it with his finger.

    It was like a sticky ck power, which he guessed was soot or charcoal.

    Another marking of ck smoke was on the side of Handy''s head.

    "Hmm¡­" Jay checked its HP and found it was full.

    A nce at Handy''s teeth showed some tendons twisted through them, along with some blood.

    "Seems like Handy got attacked by something and healed itself back up after eating. But did it eat its enemy or some other snack?"

    (Handy, did you kill whatever attacked you or flee from it? Or maybe chase it away?) Jay asked, pointing to the scorch marks.

    Handy shook its head, nced at its sword, and then pointing it into the mist, it thrust the sword forwards.

    (Good.) Jay nodded, taking this as a sign that it had won, or at least scared its enemy off. Jay let Handy do as it pleased, and it stood by his side, guarding him while it waited for its next assignment.

    (Handy, maybe you can guide me through the fog. Don''t let me step in mud or water.)

    Handy nodded back, epting its new orders. Jay didn''t want to enter marsnds as there was no Snake-raven inn around to bathe in afterwards, and before stepping into the fog, Jay checked the [Guidance] one more time. A part of him also wondered if this fog was where Asra lived.

    <[Guidance]>

    [Location locked - Luna]

    [Sated]

    [May this serve you well, my Aris]

    Its red line pointed directly into the fog.

    "Hmm¡­ I''m sure her school isn''t in this fog. We probably would''ve seen some¡­ oh, but it''s daytime. Well, none of the skeletons have died and if there were vampires in that darkness, they probably would have killed a skeleton by now?" he wondered.

    "I suppose I''ll find out once Asra is out of the nket, but I''ll get her out near the edge of the fog so I can escape if I need to¡­ I should be able to make it back to the savagends dungeon if I sprint. I won''t get there before nightfall, but I would have a head-start in case any vampires chased me." He thought, making ns just in case.

    Jay finally moved his party into the fog. The skeletons disappearedpletely as soon as they stepped into the giant gray wall.

    As Jay stepped closer, he watched Red. It was so thick that it disappeared after traveling a few steps more. The border of the fog was odd, as there was no gradual shift into thicker fog. It was like it was being held in by a bubble.

    "I guess you guys are guiding me." He thought, putting his hand on Handy''s shoulder, and slowly went in.

    Somehow, it was quieter inside the fog, and felt warm. There was a faint sickly sweet smell of rotting fruit. Before going any further, he turned around to the wrapped nket.

    "You cane out now." Jay whispered as the skeletons lowered the nket cocoon.

    "Ah, finally." Asra stretched her arms as she pushed apart the nket.

    Standing up, she nced around, squinting. She could only see the skeletons surrounding them and nothing else.

    "Hmm, I don''t recognize this fog." She frowned.

    "You can recognize different fog?"

    "Yep. This one is¡­ filled with something different. It smells¡­"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Like rotting fruit?"

    "No, more like¡­ burning tar."

    "Ah, burning? I can''t smell anything smoky."

    "Vampires have an excellent sense of smell¡­" she nced around, stepping closer to Jay. She held him close and whispered in his ear.

    "Is anyone else here? Can any of your undead speak?"

    Jay pulled his head back, but felt Asra''s hand at the back of it, stopping him from pulling away. He nced around, trying to see where she was looking.

    Instead of answering, he slowly shook his head, not even whispering.

    "What is she talking about? She''s way too close. Does she have no sense of personal space?" he wondered. "Wait¡­ she hears something?"

    Asra pulled his head a little closer, so close that she could have licked his ear, and she whispered, "I hear whispers. Voices of children."

    Jay raised a brow, and held his finger up, asking for a moment while he gently pushed her away, and went to sit down on the noon-leather nket.

    "Maybe the skeletons can see something?" He wondered, sitting cross-legged as he used the [Host] skill.

    He chose Handy''s eyes to see through, who was still standing by his side.

    Jay saw darkness for a moment, but then the world came back as ck and white. Looking down at his own body sitting on the nket, he made sure not to drop Handy''s two-handed sword on himself.

    "Ah, so they can see through the fog¡­ sort of." He thought, looking around.

    They were still in a field of stones and moss as the fog had shifted, but further down the hill he saw some gray leafless trees, which were dried out and dead, almost looking like they were made of bones.

    Beyond them was a wall of white. The fog. He could only see about one hundred yards (90m) through the fog, even with the skeletons shade vision skill. Oddly, without the shadows, the fog looked pure white.

    Jay looked around the rest of the field and saw no children or anything else unusual. Before using too much mana, he ended the host skill and returned to his own body.

    "I see nothing out there. But there is what seems like a dead forest further ahead, so I''ll have another look when we get there." Jay whispered as quietly as he could, knowing Asra would hear, even though he could barely hear his own voice.

    Asra nodded back, so Jay slowly stood up and stashed his nket away, giving himself a moment to think.

    "Well, she doesn''t recognize the fog, so this isn''t a vampire magic of some kind¡­ perhaps I was being paranoid, but it''s better to be paranoid than dead." He thought, "So there must be something else in here, capable of speech. Perhaps it''s an illusion designed to make Asra feel fear and there are no whispering voices at all? Or maybe it''s just her hearing."

    Jay recalled how he could have be a spirit variant of a necromancer and wondered if there could be invisible enemies lurking around. He was sure that his mana could deal with such threats, as he could even grasp souls, but sensing them was another matter entirely.

    "I really need to work on my mana sense skill. If only I had more time to practice."

    The mana sense skill was something Vdore had taught him back at the adventurer association. It was the art of dispersing mana and feeling changes in it to sense your surroundings, but it required a great deal of concentration to practice.

    Jay already had a passive skill, called mana sense, but that was a utility skill to detect mana, rather than to use mana to detect other things.

    Jay stopped for a moment as he spread an invisible bubble around him. He needed a moment to get used to the feeling again before he could walk forwards. Unfortunately, his mana dwindled, and he felt lightheaded before he could even get used to the feeling again.

    "Dammit. Low mana again." He frowned, still walking forwards slowly.

    "Come on. Don''t be scared of children." Asra whispered, urging him forwards into the fog. Of course, she would not leave the safety of the skeletons.

    "Mm." Jay mumbled, walking at a normal pace.

    "I suppose I can use the goblin wand and send wide arcs of necrotic magic once I get my mana back. Plus, I can''t even hear the voices yet, so I have some time. Maybe when we get closer to the dead trees, we''ll hear something." He thought, chewing on some bondtussle root and getting bonus mana regeneration. "I can probably take a few hits of whatever is out there before I need tounch a spell back."

 Chapter 316 Ground Slithers

    "How far away are they? Can you hear what they''re saying? Do they sound frightened?" Jay whispered.

    Asra pulled closer to him again, "It''s hard to tell in fog. I think they''re talking about each other, about some of their friends going missing. I think I heard one mention your skeletons, but they seem uninterested. They don''t sound frightened, but they don''t sound evil either. And I know what you''re thinking - there shouldn''t be children out here."

    Jay nodded, deciding not to say anything else.

    "Imanded the skeletons not to y any humans, so there''s no risk of that happening." He thought.

    He sensed four of Blue''s smaller skeletons still running through the fog in groups of two, finding things to y. They were about 200 to 300 yards (230m) deeper in the fog, and it seemed that Lamp had ditched the smaller skeletons as it went much deeper, about half a mile (0.8km) away, and still going further.

    Suddenly, one of Red''s guardian skeletons stepped forward, piercing its sword into the ground.

    [8 Exp]

    Yet no other skeletons paused their march. It was just a minor threat.

    The guardian returned to formation by Red''s side, and Jay curiously walked further forwards, seeing what it had in in the fog.

    Its body was half-way in the earth and had a moist ck lizard-like skin. It had no limbs, eyes, or anything. It was like a bloody sack with a red stripe going from its belly to its teeth-lined, circr mouth. Jay recognized its kind immediately, though it differed from the ones he had encountered previously.

    "Ugh. Fucking leeches¡­" Jay thought, his face twisting in scorn.

    "Don''t tell me those children''s voices areing from another leech queen?" he wondered, scratching his chin. "Hmm, there''s not enough evidence for that yet. Ive already got enough parasites, I don''t want more." he nced at his arm.

    Thankfully, the parasites under his skin seemed dormant. They weren''t breeding, growingrger, or feeding on him, and Jay wondered what use his flesh would even have to such creatures if not to be eaten.

    He stood over the leech corpse, trying to find any weakness or advantage. So far, he had only seen this one leech, and there were not enough of the [8 Exp] notifications to indicate a swarm of them. He doubted these ground-burrowing types even could swarm. And because it embedded itself half-way into the ground, it was clearly a vastly different type of leech to the ones Rosa had created.

    "¡­ Not a threat." Jay thought, prodding it with his sword. It was like a tentacleing out of the earth and about the size of his lower leg.

    He gave it onest nce and then kept the party moving forwards, continuing further into the fog.

    "I''m betting it responds to ground vibrations and pokes out of the ground. The scouting skeletons probably didn''t find it and kill it because they''re lightweight."

    As if responding to Jay''s thoughts, two more poked their heads out of the ground as he marched closer. They reached up, swaying around with their teeth-lined circr mouths, searching for anything warm totch onto.

    Yet their search was futile and short-lived as skeletal swords pierced through their bodies, severing their asses from their mouths.

    [8 Exp] [8 Exp]

    "Hmm, I don''t think I''ll walk anymore." Jay thought, ncing at their drooling mouth openings.

    He didn''t take out his throne with thefortable chair, as he didn''t want Asra knowing about it. Instead, he took out therge t rectangr b of bone, which was his sleeping spot.

    Handy, Blue, Sweeper and Red each grabbed a side and lifted Jay as he sat cross-legged on the front. He would not let even the dead bodies of the leeches touch the sole of his boots.

    Asra curled her lips cheekily, and hopped onto the throne, standing up behind Jay.

    It forced the skeletons to slow down for a moment with the extra weight, and Jay had Archers, along with Blue''s remaining sub-skeleton, to help carry them, using six skeletons in total to hold up the bone tform.

    There were still two of Red''s guardian skeletons, Heavy and Dark, on leech killing duty, so it wasn''t like they were defenseless. Plus, the skeletons only used one hand to carry.

    (Blue, recall two of your subordinates. Have them scout closer to us. You can leave the other two out there. Make sure they always loot whatever they kill.)

    Blue nodded at Jay, epting his order, and Asra not noticed this silent interchange until now.

    "What was that?" Asra whispered in Jay''s ear.

    "What was what?" he raised a brow.

    "You just looked at your skeleton and it nodded back. What was it?"

    "Shit. I don''t want her to know I can give them telepathic orders." Jay paused, trying to think up a lie as he spoke. "Uh. Well, you see, the thing about Blue is, it takes care of the other skeletons. If I nce at it and it nods, it means everything is okay. If it doesn''t, it usually means they need bones." Jay said the first part really slowly as he made up the rest.

    "Hmm. I see. It never nods at me."

    "It doesn''t know you. I suppose I can get it to, but you can''t really supply it with bones."

    "I cannot¡­ but I would like a nod." Asra whispered, as proud and as dignified as she could, though Jay couldn''t help but see an immature girlish side to her.

    "Very well." Jay shrugged, "Blue, you can nod at her too."

    (Whenever she looks bored or angry, I want you to nod at her. Make some of the other skeletons do it too¡­ but don''t do it if you''re not full health.)

    Blue nodded at Jay, and then at Asra.

    He couldn''t see Asra''s face, but could tell she was trying to hide her smile.

    Soon enough, the moss covering the ground got thicker, but not thick enough to stop fresh swamp grasses from sprouting through. The boulders and rocks peeking through the moss carpet disappeared, and Jay came to the first dead ashen tree he had seen through the eyes of his skeleton.

    "The moss can grow here but the trees cannot?" he thought, scratching his chin.

    "Perhaps the trees need more sunlight, but since there are trees at all, it means the fog hasn''t always been here." He thought, though he was unsure how long it would take a tree to die and turn into an ashen-gray husk of its former self.

    Jay nced up and saw that part of the top was burned, turned to charcoal. It had no branches and was simply a tree trunk.

    "Bob, can we get moving already?"

    "Oh yeah¡­" Jay thought, hiding a cunning grin, remembering that he still had the disguise stone activated. "I''m just inspecting things. It pays to be cautious and I don''t want to end up trapped. You, of all people, know what that was like. And even though I was cautious, you have still trapped me." Jay said, referring to how he found her trapped in the vines, and that Asra thought she had him trapped under her vampiricpulsion.

    Of course, he was still just ying along.

    "Okay¡­ I''ll allow it. Continue your inspecting." She slowly nodded.

    "Thanks." Jay whispered, hiding his sly smile.

    As Jay walked around the dead tree, a small white frog suddenly hopped off, but before itnded, a skeletal de shed, slicing it in half. One of Red''s guardian skeletons'' des dripped red.

    "Hmm. The frog gave nothing?" Jay thought, and immediately gave a new order to all skeletons.

    (Don''t kill things that don''t give exp unless it''s a threat. It''s a waste of life.) Jay ordered, but after another thought, he added a second order. (Actually, don''t kill things like de deer, ox-badgers and other non-threats unless I send you out to hunt them. Juvenile animals are also off-limits.)

    He then nced at Blue, exining the orders, (If you kill everything, I''ll have nothing to eat.)

    "¡­ Perhaps I should train them on how to raise animals. Maybe I could have a farmer skeleton at some point? I only need enough food for myself, not an entire nation¡­ It would be nice to have some plump milk bilbies or oak birds¡­ But, I can''t go back to Astrata to get some stock, so I''ll need to find some first, or at least something simr. Oh, but then I''ll need to secure a food source for them too. Maybe I will need to teach a skeleton gardening, too." Jay thought.

    "But I have no clue about raising animals or farming, and it seems like a lot of work, but nothing everes easy¡­ Well, except for someone with tireless workers."

    Jay walked around the tree, trying to find anything peculiar about it, but after checking everything, he found it was just a normal tree with weird burn marks.

    He wondered what kind of enemies were causing it and guessed it was a sort of fire or me elemental - but what me elemental could live in a marsnd? He couldn''t make sense of how one could live in a humid fog, surrounded by water and mud with little fuel to burn¡­ but he didn''t think elementals could talk, either.

    Jay couldn''t hear any voices so far, so he kept the party moving deeper into the fog, guiding himself with Asra''s bloodpass, and stepping over the asional hacked up leech corpse.

 Chapter 317 Shh

    Chapter 317 Shh

    Together they slowly walked further through the fog.

    The undead slew any leeches that popped up from the earth before their spiny teeth could grasp anything.

    They came to the bottom of the mountain as the walk became t, and various murky puddles appeared. Clumps of moss had climbed higher and took refuge on rocks and dead trees from the dark, muddy earth below.

    Thicker patches of swamp grasses appeared and were reaching higher, up to the skeleton¡¯s knees, along with an asional puddle, pond or boulder. A warm, rotting smell became stronger as they moved deeper.

    The skeletons footsteps began to periodically squelch into watery moss mud at they continued. Thankfully, the mud had not be too deep, but Jay and Asra moved closer to the middle of the bone tform in the event of the skeletal carriers mis-stepping.

    More of the ashen-gray dead trees passed them by, but Jay could still hear none of the whispering children¡¯s voices.

    ¡°Asra, do you still hear them?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She whispered back, nced around, squinting into the fog.

    Asra had taken out her slender silver sword, and seemed much more tense than usual. Jay wasn¡¯t sure if she sense danger or feared the fog.

    [-5] [-5]

    ¡°What the?¡­ oh. Asra must have fed on me when she got closer before.¡± Jay thought, remembering she could do dyed damage when feeding on him. But just to be safe he checked over his body and made sure there were no other blood suckers.

    ¡°Asra, please tell me when you feed. I just thought something was attacking. Don¡¯t you usually ask for permission?¡±

    Asra still seemed tense, but a slight smile appeared on her face.

    ¡°I just wanted to see if you would notice.¡±

    Jay shook his head, sitting cross-legged again, ¡°Well I didn¡¯t, so congrattions on being sneaky. Now, will you hold me up for a moment? Make sure I don¡¯t fall off.¡±

    Asra looked a little curious as she crouched by Jay¡¯s side and held his shoulder. Before Jay closed his eyes he nced around onest time, trying to see anything through the fog, though all he could see were dead trees.

    He nned to use the [Host] skill on Red, but tried one of Red¡¯s guardian skeletons. However, as the world turned ck and white, Jay found himself seeing through Red¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Damn, I guess it won¡¯t work with sub-constructs. It¡¯s like we don¡¯t have a direct connection¡­ At least I can give them minds.¡± Jay thought.

    He didn¡¯t look around himself, but willed for Red to turn its head around. This way, Jay didn¡¯t take direct control, and Red would keep marching forward and focused on carrying the tform, not letting Jay¡¯s physical body fall.

    Now that they were much deeper into the fog, Jay could see they were moving into a swamnd, and all around them were ashen-gray trees; all of them dead, and most having burned, ck-charred trunks.

    Further into the fog, just outside of Red¡¯s shade vision, were some odd floating lights. They looked almost like luminous orbs, except they were floating and moving around.

    (Red, keep looking around.)

    Red slowly turned its head, and Jay saw more of these strange wisps of light, and as Red nced behind the party, it seemed there were many of them gathered there.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Jay thought, ¡°they know we¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll assume they¡¯re unfriendly, but I won¡¯t let them know I know they¡¯re here.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t sure what these lights were, and neither did he know how they could sense him and Asra. He assumed it was the sounds of clinking bones and the skeletons squelching their bone feet through the mud, but it could¡¯ve been anything.

    (Blue, send one of your underlings after one of those lights. But don¡¯t attack them.)

    Jay assumed that most sentient creatures would attack the undead, even if they meant Jay no harm. He would attack most monsters, so that is probably what other things would assume of his monstrous skeletons, so he would not let the skeletons attack these mysterious wisps of light even if they did attack first. He just wanted to see what they would do.

    Jay exited the host skill, returning to his body as he sensed Blue¡¯s smaller skeleton moving towards them.

    *Vrrrr woosh!*

    Suddenly a bright burst of orange light illuminated the nearby fog. A giant ball of me coated Blue¡¯s sub-skeleton.

    Asra ducked behind Jay, who had already taken out his shield. His necrotic gauntlet also glowed, ready to release his own mana in the hopes it would disrupt the enemy¡¯s attack. He didn¡¯t realize it while in shade vision as every was ck and white, but the lights he saw through the fog were orange.

    Jay still sensed Blue¡¯s small skeleton moving, and despite being level one, it had survived the scorching attack.

    The other skeletons had paused their march and lowered Jay and Asra¡¯s tform, dispersing around them in a defensive circle, but after waiting for a few moments, there was no other attack.

    (Bring your skeleton back.) Jay ordered to Blue.

    Blue nodded, and in a few seconds the little skeleton was sprinting back.

    Asra was silent and waited for Jay to make a move, trusting his decision. At Jay¡¯s side, Red was on his left and Blue was on his right, and at the side of each of them were Red¡¯s guardian skeletons.

    Asra suddenly sensed something sprinting through the fog at high speed¡­ Yet none of them were ready for whatever; Jay didn¡¯t raise his guard, neither did any of the skeletons.

    ¡°Come on, Bob¡­¡± Asra frowned and stepped forward, in front of Jay readying her slender silver sword.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Jay raised a brow, seeing her stand at his side.

    The skeleton suddenly appeared from the fog, a ck char covering its bones. Although it was injured, it looked more deadly than any of Jay¡¯s other bone-gray skeletons, even the ones with animal skulls.

    Asra was already swinging downwards at it, but at thest moment saw it was a skeleton.

    ¡°Oops.¡± She thought and quickly stashed her sword away.

    Yet before her sword connected with the skeleton, or could disappear into her inventory, something else deflected it.

    Red¡¯s ossein sword had appeared out of nowhere and parried her sword away.

    ¡°What the?¡± Asra opened her mouth in shock, yet she was speechless at the skeletons quick movement.

    ¡°Shit.¡± Jay thought, (Dammit Blue and Red, I thought I told you all to run and attack slowly around Asra, make her think you¡¯re weaker than she realizes.) Jay frowned.

    ¡°Bob, how¡­¡±

    ¡°Shh.¡± Jay raised a hand.

    ¡°He dare to shush me?¡± Asra started at Jay in disbelief, ignoring all threats in the fog. For a moment she even forgot about how fast the skeletons could truly move. This husk had just shushed her, it was unbelievable.

    The burned skeleton stood before Jay and kneeled before its master¡¯s master.

    Jay analyzed its body and checked its health first, seeing that it lost 3 health from the me attack.

    < [Feeble Creature - Level 1] >

    (Sub-construct of Blue)

    [Type - Undead]

    HP - 7/10

    <[Skills]>

    [Undeath] (Passive)

    [Shade Vision] (Passive)

    <[Description]>

    [An abomination, its existence spits in the face of life and death. Execute with extreme prejudice.]

    ¡°Hmm. The attack must not have been too hot, and it didn¡¯tst for longer either. It was just a weak,rge attack, probably meant to sear the enemy¡¯s flesh to cause pain and shock, or perhaps merely a distraction to escape¡­ seems like I¡¯ve found out why all the trees are charred.¡±

    Yet before Jay could analyze and n, Asra stepped between Jay and the small skeleton, pushing it aside.

    She seemed angry, but there was also something else. Perhaps concern in her eyes.

    ¡°Bob¡­ if you were to shush me in front of other vampires, they would kill you on the spot. And I wouldn¡¯t protect you.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Jay raised a brow, confused by her sudden change in behavior. ¡°Killed on the spot for a shush? She wouldn¡¯t protect me?¡± he thought.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I shushed you, but the situation called for it. And I hate to make excuses, but it¡¯s usually just me and my skeletons, and other than giving orders I rarely have to talk with others at all so things like that may slip out.¡±

    ¡°Just remember it, and be careful. Especially when we are around other vampires.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to.¡± Jay nodded, though he couldn¡¯t help but wonder why she didn¡¯tmand him not to. She had him under her vampiric control after all, or at least she thought she did, yet she chose not to use her powers.

    ¡°She¡¯s a vampire, but she doesn¡¯t act human¡­ or like a cunning beast either.¡±

    Asra stepped back to the side, but Jay let his eyes linger on her alluring dark hair for a few moments longer.

 Chapter 318 Corrupting Flame

    Before Asra noticed Jay ncing at her, he turned back to his ck-charred skeleton.

    "Maybe if it had a shield, it wouldn''t have beenpletely engulfed in mes." He thought, "I''ll get the elder skeletons to craft them shields after they have enough bone tes covering themselves."

    While he could have kept crafting their shields himself, he didn''t want to simply be the craftsman for an entire undead army. However, he decided he would continue to craft special items for his most prized undead - the ones he directlymanded.

    The charred skeleton was only level one, and didn''t yet have the bone eater ability to heal itself from eating, and while Jay could have used [Shell Restoration] he saved his mana instead.

    "I wonder if I can teach shell restoration to a skeleton?" he nced at Archers, considering if he should try to teach it or even train it into a healing skeleton.

    "Hmm, I''ll wait for the next skeleton. I need a ranger for now." Jay thought, but before he could n his next moves, something dared to attack them directly.

    *Fwoosh! ~*

    A ball of fire suddenly steamed through the fog. They aimed it at the charred skeleton in front of Jay. Perhaps they came back to finish the job.

    Yet before it could do any damage, Red dashed forwards, raising its iron shield.

    The ball of me burst across the shield, creating two shes of fire on either side.

    The licks of fire turned nearby grasses to ashes, but the attack was stopped.

    Jay heard a quiet groan of pain from Asra by his side, but gave out some orders before checking her.

    (Blue, capture one of the lights in the fog. Try to capture it alive, but if it''s dead, that''s okay too.)

    Blue nodded, but stayed at Jay''s side. Its smaller skeleton dashed away back into the fog, and Jay sensed its other smaller ones also move towards the lights. Blue also sent Dark off to investigate.

    Usually Jay would kill most monsters he encountered, but because Asra heard whispers, he was sure these had intelligence. Perhaps he could reason with whatever ''they'' were?

    Yet they also attacked his subordinate and nearly burned him, so he would have no problem ying these things. What he wondered was if these lights could actually be in.

    "Are you alright?" he asked Asra.

    "I''m fine, but those mes are dangerous. I sensed a different type of mana in them. That me doesn''t just burn. It corrupts... or curses. Maybe both."

    "Corrupts?"

    "After it touches your skin, it will cause decay, or at least cause it to change into something else. You won''t be able to heal it."

    "So¡­ is it like time, hex, or death magic?"

    "Neither. I don''t recognize it at all. It''s too foreign... too alien. It almost doesn''t feel like mana. Compared to your necromancer mana or my vampiric mana, it''s far more different. If my and your mana are like neighbors, then that one is living in another country, speaking anothernguage."

    "Hmm, I see. At least it doesn''t disrupt my mana or hurt the skeletons too much."

    "Don''t be so sure about that." Asra said, ncing back into the fog.

    Another wave of me lit up the fog as the charred skeleton made it to one of the lights.

    (Lead us out of here.) Jay ordered his guards.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    The skeletons assembled back into marching formation, but Jay and Asra now walked in their midst.

    There were more lights behind them than in front, so instead of going backwards, the skeletons guided them straight ahead, deeper into the fog.

    More waves of heat lit up parts of the fog as the skeletons tried to close in on a target, but this only caused more lights to move closer and another fire ball came from behind them.

    Sweeper cut it in half with its sword, but a sword against fire did nothing and the ming ball burst across its skeleton, coating it in mes.

    "Shit." Jay nced back, feeling some of the warmth on his skin.

    Only one fire ball came from behind, but Jay felt like they were getting too close so he picked up his pace, urging the skeletons forward. Asra didn''t look concerned or frightened, but more like she was either ready to fight or escape into the fog, yet it was obvious that staying with Jay was her safest option.

    Ahead of them, Jay sensed Dark and the smaller skeletons had chased away some of these mysterious lights, and Handy led Jay forwards through the gap they had created.

    Another fireball came burning through the fog and was barely caught by Sweeper, who was diligently protecting the rear of the party.

    (Lamp, find us a way out of this fog, or at least somewhere with none of these damn lights.) Jay ordered.

    Lamp was still out there somewhere, scouting in the fog. After the order, he sensed Lamp speeding further away, heading deeper into the fog.

    *Fowwsh! ~*

    "Gh-hrrmm¡­" Asra groaned in pain.

    Another fire ball sted them from behind. Sweeper cut through it with its sword, but it had nearly no effect on the non-physical ball.

    The ball continued past Sweeper, and Blue stepped back to take the hit.

    The ball of tainted me burst through its rib cage, but Asra was too close.

    A lick of me seared the back of Asra''s leg.

    She only made as much as a whimper, but Jay could tell she was in an inspiring amount of pain as it boiled and ate into her skin.

    Her hand trembled as she reached out to him, her fingers gripping his coat tight.

    "Get me out of here." She whispered as she closed her eyes in pain.

    Jay didn''t want the party to slow down, but Asra could barely stand. Despite the tenseness of walking blindly through the fog, Jay kept his mind clear and immediately gave orders.

    (Blue, carry Asra. Red, send your two guardians to the back, make sure they intercept the fire balls with their bodies. Handy, lead us towards Lamp. Red, stay by our sides.)

    "Let Blue carry you." Jay whispered, taking her hand and helping her into Blue''s boney arms as he stashed Blue''s sword away.

    "MMmm" she weakly cried. Jay checked the burned leg flesh and noticed that it wasn''t healing.

    "Fuck¡­ she was right. I might have to cut it outter." he thought.

    With Asra in Blue''s skeletal arms and mobile again, Jay turned and marched through the fog as they tried to escape the lights.

 Chapter 319 Barrier

    As they went deeper, the ground turned wet, and soon his steps made squelching noises. A few times Handy slowed down and turned back to signal Jay, stopping him from stepping into a puddle, pond or mud.

    Undermand of Jay, Blue had sent Dark and its five underling skeletons further ahead to drive off any lights and clear a way through.

    Lamp was even further ahead, but it was ignoring these elemental-like beings as it searched for a way out, or at least a safer area.

    [20 Exp]

    Jay received arger exp notification and guessed that the skeletons had some sess killing at least one of these beings. Though it could''ve easily been something else.

    As he walked, more of the ground-leeches sprang up, but Red and Handy sliced them in half before they could hope totch onto Jay''s legs. It was a good thing they didn''t possess immunity to shing attacks.

    While Jay moved, he couldn''t help but feel like he was walking into a trap. These things had swarmed behind them, cutting off their escape from the fog.

    Perhaps they were curious or attracted to the bursts of me and the subtle changes in ambient mana, but Asra said she heard them whispering.

    "I guess it wasn''t some psycho-hypnotic effect of the fog. Maybe she truly did hear whispers." Jay thought.

    While it meant these things had intelligence and he could reason with them, it also meant they were capable of crude battle tactics such as this.

    "But are they trying to lead us somewhere, or simply stopping us from leaving the fog?" Jay wondered.

    So far, the bulk of them wereing from behind, and there was no sign that they were being funneled into a trap. They were not being pushed on every side.

    As Jay passed by more of the gray dead trees with charred tops, he thought of ways he would escape this crude battle strategy.

    He had a few advantages, which was that the skeletons could y these things. His troops were much more organized and could respond to orders instantly. With enough mana he could re-summon and redeploy them at will, and none of these enemies had faced his spells or his helminth''s necrotic bolts. There was a chance they were weak to them.

    He wasn''t sure how strong his goblin wand''s spells were either, but was sure it would be enough to take these low-level enemies down. Of course, he assumed they were low level as they couldn''t kill a level one skeleton.

    So far, they were only a danger because of the non-healing properties they inflicted. They also had range on their side, and the cover of the fog protected them from being seen by human eyes, but that was it.

    "If we head to the left or right, we may escape the fog sooner and leave their crude battle strategy. Going around the fog will suck, but it''s better than going wherever these things are trying to send me." Jay thought.

    Jay had Handy veer left, not going directly left from where they were standing but turning left enough so that Jay could dodge whatever could be ahead.

    (Lamp travel further left.) Jay ordered.

    As Jay went deeper into this foggy swamp-likend with dead trees, he wondered why the trees were scorched and dead, but the leeches, frogs, and lizards he had seen were left alive.

    "They aren''t killing everything. Could they be attacking because of the skeletons?" he wondered.

    While he could have shouted or tried to chase one down himself, the risk of attracting more light and getting an unhealing injury was too much.

    "But if these beings are whispering, they are quiet for a reason. Either to ambush me, or because they''re hiding from something else in here¡­"

    Jay marched on at a jogging pace for another twenty minutes. More stray fire balls assaulted them from behind, but there were much less of them around as they moved forward.

    Yet theck of enemies trying to guide them into a trap caused Jay to wonder.

    "Maybe they just didn''t want us to leave the fog. But why trap us in here?"

    Lamp had still not rejoined the party. It was doing arge circle around another area, which they would have walked right into if Jay didn''t divert his path to the left.

    He sensed his scouting skeletons in front all had stopped. Cautious as he was, he slowed his pace to a walk.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    (Blue, is it safe ahead?)

    Blue nodded back, while Asra was in its arms, and only frowned from the pain she was in.

    Jay moved them forward and soon found why Dark and the other scouts had stopped.

    An enormous cliff stood against them like a high fortified wall. Some of the moss had tried to climb up the side, but even it could get no grip on its smooth surface.

    "Dammit. A natural barrier." Jay thought as he walked up to the cliff wall, pressing his hand against it. It was almost perfectly t.

    Looking up the wall, it was hard to tell how high it went in the heavy fog.

    (Red, can you see the top?) Jay pointed to the cliff.

    Red nced up, but turned back with a headshake. Thankfully, Asra didn''t notice their secretmunication as her eyes were closed from pain.

    "Hmm¡­" Jay checked the bloodpass, the [Guidance].

    The cliff surface was pointing in the same direction as the red line on its surface.

    With no other choice but to follow along the side of the cliff, Jay sent Dark and Blue''s five sub-skeletons forward first, both to scout and to drive off any of those lights.

    Unfortunately, the skeletons were yet to bring one of the enemy''s dead bodies back, but Jay doubted they even had bodies.

    They continued their journey, but after a while, the cliff curved right, sending them closer to the area that Lamp was avoiding. This cliff was like a natural barrier funneling them into the mouth of a beast waiting for its next meal.

    Jay wondered if the lights nned this or if it was simply chance¡­ but his paranoid nature had him cast aside the idea of it being a chance. It made sense why they only blocked them off from behind.

    (Dark, I want you to go into the area that Lamp''s avoiding, and when youy your eyes on what Lamp was avoiding, let Red know. Red, give me a nod when Dark is ready.)

    Without a sound, Dark bolted off into the fog. Even though it didn''t have a ss choice yet, it was much quieter than the other skeletons, which sometimes sshed through the puddles.

    Both Dark and Lamp were his more ndestine, stealthy skeletons.

    "It''s a shame Dark wasn''t there when the parasite knights were storming over the bridge above us." Jay thought, remembering when he had gained the [Stealth] skill in the savagends dungeon. "But I''m sure they''ll both get it in time."

    Lamp returned, but other than therge patch of fur on its back, it was still naked, missing its skin suit. Like some of the other skeletons, it had also suffered some charred bones, but despite the mes, it had preserved its fur patch.

    Seeing that it was still fine, Jay sent it to assist Dark with its observation mission. He wanted to know what Lamp was avoiding.

    Jay continued slowly, following along the side of the cliff, which was slowly turning right and guiding them nearer to what Lamp was avoiding.

    "Seems like I''ll be heading towards Dark and Lamp soon, anyway." He thought.

    As he went, he noticed that the ashen-gray trees also had less and less burn marks, less charring. Previously, they seemed like a fire elemental had nested on the top of their trunks, but now some of these weren''t burned at all. Yet they were all simrly missing their branches and had died. Maybe they grew without branches, but it was hard to tell as they had been dead for some time.

    "Seems that none of those lights want to live near here¡­" Jay thought, "There''s definitely danger ahead. Maybe I should just head back, fight through the lights and find a way around all of this bullshit¡­"

    He nced back along the cliff, wondering how badly these fireballs actually hurt. The unknown mana infused into the spells was causing more pain than a searing ember, but he didn''t know what Asra''s tolerance for pain was like. By the looks of it, she was fighting against it as she clenched her fists and jaw. A light sweat appeared on her forehead.

    "Hmm. I''ll check on the enemy''s level first. The skeletons will reveal everything soon."

 Chapter 320 Shifting Wounds

    Jay sent Sweeper and Red''s two guardian skeletons further back so they could keep the lights away while he waited for Dark and Lamp to investigate. He would need to stop for a while to use the host skill on Dark, so it was necessary to keep them back.

    Asra was still in pain, unable to walk as her leg wouldn''t heal. In Blue''s arms, she had locked her eyes shut, focusing on breathing steadily.

    Dark and Lamp bolted through the fog, creating whispers in the swamp grasses as they rushed past, and it wasn''t long before they made it to the area that Lamp had avoided.

    Jay and Asra only walked a little further along the cliff before Red tapped Jay''s shoulder and nodded, giving the signal that Dark was in position.

    Jay released a loose pile of bones from his gauntlet sat down, not wanting to get wet, dirty clothes from the damp, muddy ground. He was d he received no death notifications of his undead as he thought of Dark and activated his host skill.

    "Alright, now I''ll see what Lamp was avoiding¡­"

    He leaned back on his pile of bones and closed his eyes as the world turned ck and white.

    His dark green eyes nced at his skeletal hands holding twin daggers. The marsh grasses seemed higher, but it was just because Dark''s body was shorter.

    The grasses it hid behind were on the edge of arge ck swamp filled with stagnant water, silently bubbling away as whatever lurked in the depths slowly rotted.

    Some of the dead, limbless, ashen-gray trees were defiantly standing in the water, but even they were not free from the putrid decay slowly creeping up their trunks.

    In the middle of this small ckke was arge mound, sticking out like a tiny ind or a giant''s stepping stone.

    And this was when Jay found what the skeletons were avoiding.

    An ancient log cabin., Its main beams impossibly remained standing even while its walls were rotted and filled with holes, and it was through these holes that Jay saw another human.

    "Ah, so they were avoiding a human¡­ I suppose that''s not really necessary anymore, but they could have amunication crystal. Hmm¡­" he wondered, gazing at them through the eyes of Dark.

    They had dirty skin stained from the swamp. Tangled, wiry hair ran down their back in clumps. If not for the tattered dress, it was hard to tell it was a woman and not some sort of troll. She was fat, with arge hunched back and broad shoulders, almost looking like a boulder in a dress. This swamp woman seemed at home here, among the decay and slithering creatures lurking around.

    As she meandered around the outside of her decaying cabin, she stopped by the edge of the ck waters and pulled up fraying rope from the ground, which traveled into the swamp waters. As she hauled it out, green and ck bits of weeds and slime clung to it, and soon, she had her prize. A small cage emerged.

    Jay wondered what the cage could be made from, to survive this rotting swamp. It looked like wood, but as she touched it, it seemed to be covered in a sort of fur, or scales of some kind.

    "¡­ Leaves?" he wondered, squinting. He noticed some of these scaly leaves also forming part of her crumbling house.

    Inside the cage, a few different creatures wiggled around. A shell-rat, a snake reed, and one of those leeches that Jay had been avoiding.

    She first pulled the snake reed out and looked a little disappointed, as it was nothing but a squirming nt creature. While it was carnivorous, its body was only fit for a nt eater.

    Next, she took out the shell-rat. While it was shaped like a rat, a tough brown shell, an exo-skeleton, covered its body. It had thick stocky limbs and its mouth was more like a grinding hole of a crab than a set of animal jaws, while its bug-like eyes pointed forwards rather than being on the sides of its head. It had a pincer at the end of its centipede-like tail, and with no expression, she cracked its tail pincer off and threw it back into the cage.

    She waved her fingers slightly. Jay didn''t miss the small action as some leaves shuffled around and bound the pincer to the side of the cage, sticking the new piece of bait in ce.

    "Leaves." He thought, finding out she had some control over them. He found her form of mana craft, seeing her use a sort of nature-based magic.

    "But how strong can her powers be? And why does it seem like these fog lights fear her? Surely they could burn up these leaves and y her."

    Next, she took out the leech, but before it could sink its spiny teeth into her, she covered it with a sheet of leaves, trapping it inside.

    After tossing the trap back into the ck waters, she took her two wriggling meals inside.

    Jay ended the host skill.

    He jumped off his bed of bones and added them back to his gauntlet, happy that none of the wet ground could hope to touch his clothes.

    "She doesn''t seem like the type of person to be carrying amunication crystal¡­ actually, she doesn''t even seem like she canmunicate, but I''m just making assumptions. It''s probably better not to risk it."

    He got their party moving again, along the edge of the cliff.

    Jay doubted she could see through the fog better than his skeletons, but he moved as quietly as he could.

    No more fire balls or sts assaulted him or his skeletons, and he guessed the harassing lights were too frightened of this woman to get any closer. Even the five sub-skeletons he sent back were not finding any enemies.

    "Just what would someone be doing out here that isn''t diabolical¡­" he thought, "And not to mention the whispering voices of children."

    Jay and the skeletons walked until the deep body of water stopped them from going further. It stretched all the way from the cliff to where Dark and Lamp were hiding.

    "I could just make a bridge of bones and get past," Jay thought, gazing over the swamp, tempting himself with an easy escape.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    But Jay nced at Asra. She was still in pain from her unhealing leg. With no enemies chasing them, he waited a moment. Other than the gentle bubbles of swamp gas, it was silent. Peacefully silent.

    He stood closer to her and whispered, "Asra, we have some time. Let me cut away the flesh that won''t heal. There''s no other way." Jay said.

    While he sympathized a little with her pain, he wanted to set Blue free from carrying her.

    Asra nodded back, frowning.

    Jay made another pile of bones for her to lie down on.

    "Hopefully this works." He thought.

    Jay took out his old coat for her to bite down on and slowly removed her leather boot, rolling up her ck pants.

    "I''ll be fast."

    Asra nodded, putting part of his coat in her mouth as she grabbed his leg, and Jay felt her hand turn to ws as she got ready to drain some of his blood.

    "Do it." She muffled through the coat.

    Jay started by cutting around the scorched area, going to the bone. He then pulled her burned flesh back and cut away under it, using his knowledge of butchering to expertly remove the tainted flesh without damaging Asra further.

    While many would shy away from surgery, he felt nothing as his de moved across her pristine, pale skin. Perhaps because of being a butcher, or perhaps because of his necromancer ss. He wasn''t sure. But he didn''t care either.

    Asra''s wound didn''t bleed as much as Jay expected, and healed much faster than he himself did. He attributed it to her vampire race. But she was not immune to pain.

    She had clutched his leg tight from the pain as he cut away, but after he stopped cutting, she began releasing it slowly, feeling like she could breathe normally again.

    The wound healed fast¡­ but Jay found a problem. The operation was not as sessful as he thought it was.

    Instead of healing back to normal, it healed back with the charred burn marks on it, which started causing her pain again.

    "What the fuck¡­"

    His eyes widened in horror as he watched her own skin grow back into ckened, charred flesh.

    "Something''s wrong. Very wrong¡­" he thought, trying not to look shocked and rm her.

    "Bob, it still hurts." Asra said, as she looked down.

    As she saw her leg, and for a moment she looked as hopeless as she was shocked, and scrunched her eyebrows.

    Jay nced at the piece of flesh he had cut away, still holding it in his hand. The burn marks had gone, but they had not disappeared. They simply moved.

    It was like they jumped from the piece of flesh he cut off and transferred back onto her leg.

    "What kind of twisted magic is this¡­ the mana crafter who made this should be hunted instead of me." He thought, still looking in disbelief. The flesh he had cut out seemed to be unharmed and pristine.

    Of course, he tossed it away. Cannibalism disgusted him, especially after seeing the tribe of them in the savagends.

    "I wonder if swamp woman made this disgusting mana craft?" he scratched his chin, looking toward her swamp ind.

    "Ah¡­ maybe not. This was from a fireball of the lights, and it seems like the lights don''t serve her, but fear her, so perhaps she doesn''t control them."

    Something about it made him wonder, though. How could these lights which could cause such heinous wounds fear this leaf-wielding woman?

    Asra closed her eyes and leaned her head back, trying to get used to the pain once more. Jay couldn''t tell what she was thinking, but he didn''t want to ask.

    He had Blue carry her again and got the skeletons moving, but this time, he headed towards Dark and Lamp, who were still hiding in swamp reeds and grasses, observing that woman through the fog on the swamp ind.

    "Don''t worry Asra, there''s another way." Jay whispered, trying to sound like he wasn''t lying.

    Yet as he walked, he realized that talking to the swamp woman would not be so simple.

    "Hmm¡­ how do I make contact without rming her¡­ she probably wouldn''t know I''m a necromancer, but I need the skeletons for protection. If she''s hostile and high level, she could probably kill me on the spot, so I need my bodyguards."

    "Dammit¡­ how should I get to her without causing a fight and having to execute her? I need her help after all." he nced at Asra''s charred leg, pursing his lips.

 Chapter 321 Vile Waters

    "Maybe she can heal Asra, but is it worth the risk..." He thought, walking through the swamp grasses at the edge of the water.

    "Hmm... But I can minimize the risk, and before I try anything, perhaps I can test the swamp woman''s strength." He nodded.

    As he walked towards Lamp and Dark, Jay thought of a few problems with making contact.

    - There was a slight chance she had amunication crystal and would warn Astrata, which would send mage hunters directly to his location, whom he had worked so hard to escape, concealing and throwing them off his trail. Or so he thought.

    - She could be so powerful that she could crush him and his skeletons. He didn''t even know what kind of magic she could wield.

    - Like the lights stalking them, she may be capable of causing wounds that don''t heal, wounds that shift back to the victim no matter if they cut their leg off.

    If he went himself, it would be too risky, but if he sent his skeletons, she would react with fear or aggression. If he went with his skeletons, the same would probably happen, and it would still be just as risky.

    Jay made it to Dark and Lamp, and since there were no lights pursuing them anymore, he had Blue recall its five sub-skeletons.

    Jay made sure they all moved slowly and quietly in order to not alert the hunchback woman with their tapping bones as he began the first steps of his n.

    (Archers. Go.) Jay ordered, pointing into the swamp water, giving the level one skeleton a series ofmands.

    The skeleton moved slowly into the water, not causing any sshes and only causing as many ripples as the decaying gas bubbles.

    Archers kept moving slowly as it sunk deeper into the water and disappeared.

    The only traces of the skeleton were the bubbles it released with each step, and gentle movements of water. Otherwise, it waspletely silent and undetectable.

    As it waded through the ck waters, Jay sensed it moving about 20 feet deeper, watching bubbles making a patch across the surface until he could no longer see through the heavy fog.

    Yet, after a moment, Archers stopped.

    "Hmm?"

    He heard more bubbles bursting on the surface as exp notifications suddenly appeared.

    [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp]

    [Your skeleton has been in.]

    Jay took a few steps back from the edge of the water.

    "Dammit." He thought, frowning. "A swarm of tiny creatures must''ve feasted on its bones."

    Jay re-summoned Archers, hastily made it some daggers, andmanded Blue to send two of its sub-constructs in with it.

    "If they can''t get past a few swamp creatures, I''ll need to send some bigger skeletons in." Jay thought, watching the three of them enter the murky waters again.

    More bubbles rose as they moved under the water, and soon enough, the notifications began again.

    [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp]

    [A skeleton has been in]

    Larger bubbles burst to the surface, causing sshes. Jay could only hope that the woman didn''t see it or get suspicious.

    [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp]

    [Your skeleton has been in]

    [1 Exp] [1 Exp]

    [A skeleton has been in]

    Jay was getting annoyed as he watchedrger bubbles bursting on the surface, making a loudermotion, but he noticed something interesting about the notifications.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "A skeleton¡­ ''my'' skeleton has been in?" Jay raised a brow, seeing that the death notifications were slightly different.

    "Well, it''s good there''s a distinction between the sub skeletons dying and my own." He nodded, a little less annoyed.

    It was time to send in somerger skeletons. The smaller ones only had about ten health, while the ones like Sweeper and Lamp had fifty-five, with a bonus twenty health from their spectral armor.

    (Sweeper, you can lead the way.) Jay ordered, summoning Archers back again.

    He also released some extra bones so Blue could summon its two dead skeletons back.

    Usually Jay would be low mana by now, but Archers was a level one skeleton, and only needed five mana to summon. It also needed about half as much bone mass as other skeletons, but with the hundreds of thousands of leftover Helvetian skeletons in Jay''s gauntlet, it was negligible.

    Sweeper slowly trudged into the water, readying its weapon as the three smaller skeletons followed it.

    Since it was heavier, it set free many more of the trapped swamp bubbles, but because the skeletons had already passed this way, it wasn''t too loud.

    Since Sweeper was taller, it was thest to disappear, and sank lower into the abyss.

    "I suppose I should look for other ways to cross." Jay thought, ncing around. Even before Sweeper entered battle, he was thinking of axe designs to hack down a dead tree, which he would use to float a skeleton across.

    It would annoy him to send a few skeletons far enough away so that he wouldn''t be able to hear the chopping noises of the axes.

    Suddenly, the water started sshing again.

    Muchrger bubbles rose to the surface as Sweeper and the three skeletons engaged whatever was down there.

    [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp]¡­ [1 Exp] x21

    [A skeleton has died]

    [1 Exp] x 18

    "They seem to be doing better this time." Jay thought.

    Still, he was preparing himself to craft a bone axe.

    Over the next few minutes, bubbles continued to rise to the surface as many exp notifications came in.

    Yet the water settled down.

    The exp notifications slowed to a stop until there was one finalrge one.

    [30 Exp]

    "Hmm, wonder what that was." Jay scratched his chin.

    Unfortunately, nothing floated to the surface other than bubbles, which also stopped.

    (Sweeper, escort Archers to the other side and thene back. Blue, bring your sub skeleton back. I want to inspect it.)

    Blue nodded, and the sub-skeleton returned.

    While it came back, Jay made sure that Sweeper and Archers continued to crawl to the ind, and to move slower the closer they got to it, as to not rm the woman with rising swamp bubbles.

    In a few moments, the ck water rippled and the skeleton''s skull rose out, stained a few shades darker because of the vile waters.

    Yet as it got closer, it wasn''t the only thing that was exiting the swamp, as some things clung to its bones, too. The leftovers of the underwater battle.

    Jay finally saw what the skeletons were fighting under water. Or at least, the remains of them.

 Chapter 322 First Command

    The skeleton had chunks and chips of bone missing.

    Much of its rib cage had been eaten, and some of its harassers were still clinging to its body.

    Short, yellow curved beaks, shaped like parrot beaks, had dug into the bones and stuck there while trying to chip off whatever they could. Their bodies were long, ck and slimy like eels. They were skinny though, about as slender as an arrow shaft while their beak-heads were about the size of a sword pommel.

    All of their bodies had been severed by the bone weapons, so it was hard to tell how long these creatures grew to, but it wouldn''t matter if there were hundreds of them, and about fifteen of their corpses clung to the skeletons body.

    Ugh, gross little things¡­ Jay thought, stepping back from the water and the skeletoning out of it.

    While it was a sub-construct of Blue''s, he found that he could un-summon it.

    Jay gathered the bones into his gauntlet, and released a few fresh sets so Blue could summon its sub-skeletons back. Blue would need some time to recover its mana, but at the moment they had time as they waited for the other skeletons toplete their mission.

    On the swamp ind, the dark waters rippled as a small skull slowly rose out of the water, only showing its glowing green eyes above the surface.

    As per its masters instructions, Archers kept most of its body in the water, and covertly slid itself slightly onto the muddy bank, hiding its head behind a rotted log and some swamp grasses. While stealthily traveling underwater it had gathered some handfulls of muck and decaying ck leaves which it piled onto its body, to hide its ashen gray bones. Its bones were already a few shades darker from the ck water.

    After it was sufficiently concealed on the edge of the woman''s ind, it let its eyes go dim, hiding its presencepletely.

    Further behind it, Sweeper lurked below the waters, ready to fend off any more of those bone-eating eels which may try to eat Archers lower body before itpleted its mission.

    Jay sensed them stop moving, so he guessed they must be in position. He briefly used the [Host] skill on Archers, and while looking through its eyes, he saw it had a good view of the front door of the woman''s rotting cabin, and happy with its positioning he ended the host skill.

    Jay nced at Asra, seeing her wincing in pain.

    "I''ll get you fixed up soon, Asra. The lights don''te near this area, so I''m sure she''ll have answers."

    "Mmh, She?" Asra raise a brow, trying not to show any signs of pain as she wondered what Jay was talking about.

    "Oh¡­ the lights throwing fireballs had stopped chasing us when we got closer to this swamp." Jay pointed across the water, "just past this fog and over the water, there''s a woman living on a small ind¡­ arge, beastly-looking woman. I''m betting she knows something about this wound you have. The lights are avoiding her, after all."

    Asra still frowned in pain, but against Jay''s expectation, she didn''t show any doubt in him or question anything. Instead, she nodded, epting his n and trusting him as she closed her eyes.

    Jay raised a brow. She¡­ trusts me? Even while she''s in pain she doesn''tsh out at me or put me down?

    Jay wasn''t sure what to think as he nced at her, watching her for a moment. She seemed so different to the humans he knew, and he wondered if it was a vampire-thing or an Asra-thing.

    I suppose I''ll find out when I meet other vampires¡­ If I meet them at all.

    While Jay wanted to venture into the clutches of a vampire academy, and feast upon the knowledge of vampire-style necromancy, he couldn''t be sure of his safety. He wondered if, if he decided not to go in, what would he do with Asra?

    Of course, there was always the option of bing so powerful that he could send his skeletons to storm the school and take whatever he wanted, waiting in a safe location, yet that woulde with its own difficulties - Jay didn''t want to make himself an enemy of an ancient race of vampires who would, perhaps, be proud enough and have long enough memories for vengeance. And these ancient beings would certainly have their own high-level powerhouses which could take decades to catch up to.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Yet for now, his priority was to help Asra.

    With Archers in position, they waited.

    Jay hadmanded Archers to give Red a signal when it saw the swamp woman again, but now he was just waiting.

    Within ten minutes, he was sitting down in a bone pile, running his fingers along his sword. Releasing a small amount of mana from his fingers, about the size of a candle me, he traced them along the de, while manipting the mana to squeeze and sharpen the edge.

    Jay sighed as more time passed and there was still no signal, so he gave the skeletons something productive to do.

    (Dark, Lamp, Handy. You can go out and hunt some lights) Jay waved his hand, shewing them away. (Blue, send the sub-skeletons to assist).

    The three skeletons crept off into the fog, each of them taking different directions. They left slowly to keep their noise to a minimum.

    Blue nodded to Jay andmanded the sub-skeletons. It pointed its skeletal finger into the fog, and all seven sub-skeletons left - Blue''s five and Red''s two guardians.

    Huh¡­ Blue canmand sub-skeletons of others? Jay raised a brow. Themander role seems quite useful. I wonder how the chain ofmand would be affected if there were anothermander.

    Jay decided to test something.

    (Red, bring your sub-skeletons back.)

    Red nced at Blue and then looked into the fog, and within a few seconds Jay sensed the two guardian skeletonsing back.

    (Alright, let Blue use them for now.)

    Red nodded, and went back to its normal guard stance, keeping its gaze over the ck swamp in case anything sprung out, and its two guardian skeletons disappeared into the fog again.

    I see¡­ Red''smands take priority over Blue''s orders, but Blue can give them orders while Red doesn''t need them, he nodded, scratching his chin.

    Quite an efficient system as an elder skeleton like Red can decide for itself if it needs them, and any surplus troops can be used by themanders.

    Blue waited by Jay''s side, and he gave it one more order.

    (Try to bring some of their bodies back. I want to see what these things are.)

    Blue nodded, and Jay hoped they would bring something back that wasn''t mangled beyond recognition.

    I wonder what their bodies look like? It seems that they float and at least part of them are made from mes, or at least they emit mes from a part of their body, Jay thought, wondering if the burned tree trunks were like their homes or nests.

 Chapter 323 Leaves

    Before the skeletons could bring a corpse of the me-beings back, Red gave Jay a signal with a nod.

    Archers saw the swamp woman leaving her shack, and alerted Red. In a few seconds, Jay was looking through its eyes, using the host skill.

    (Archers, make sure you hide your eyes) Jaymanded, while seeing the world in its ck and white vision.

    As the green glow from Archers eyes dimmed down, he noticed that the world seemed to get darker, and he couldn''t see as far through the fog.

    Huh, so there is a trade-off. The more their eyes glow, the better their shade vision works¡­ fairly simr to luminous orbs.

    Yet Jay didn''t dwell on these thoughts as he had been waiting for this woman to leave her shack.

    She didn''t seem rmed in the slightest, so he was sure the presence of his skeletons and himself across the swamp were still undetected.

    The woman yawned and scratched her belly as she looked around her ind, not noticing the hidden skeleton that Jay was hosting to analyze her.

    [Hegatha - Level 27]

    [HP - 100%]

    [MP - 0%]

    Dammit, level twenty-seven?

    It was concerning as she would be much more powerful than Jay, but something seemed odd.

    Zero mana? Hmm¡­ If she wasn''t just resting, then what was she doing? She either used up her mana, or perhaps¡­ something is wrong with her mana? Jay wondered, deciding it needed further investigation.

    I wonder if he has something to do with the fog or the lights.

    He ended the [Host] skill, leaving Archer''s body.

    In case Asra was watching or listening, Jay walked up to Blue and began to whisper his orders to it.

    Blue, recall Dark, Lamp and Handy. Surround the ind with Archers and Sweeper, but stay under water¡­ and leave Red with us.

    Red, bring your guardians back to guard us.

    I''ll keep Blue''s five sub-skeletons out to keep hunting those lights, Jay thought.

    In the meantime, I''ll wait to see if her mana goes up. I''m pretty sure I saw her controlling the leaves before, but¡­ I can control the skeletons even when I have zero mana, so there''s a chance the leaves could be some kind of constructs¡­ or even sentient? Jay wondered.

    Or maybe she''s just low mana, at least that''s the simple exnation, he thought with a nod.

    After a few moments the skeletons returned. A few had scorch marks on their bones while others were untouched, but none of them had any corpses to present to Jay.

    He had not received any exp notifications either, so it seemed they were unsessful. Perhaps the lights were avoiding them now after realizing their mes couldn''t really hurt the skeletons.

    Jay would have done the same thing, and thought the fog lights probably had as much intelligence as the skeletons, if not more.

    Under Blue''smand the skeletons assembled, and formed a singe file line as they crept into the water.

    If they''re in a line, only the one at the front will cause swamp bubbles to release, Jay thought, nodding approvingly.

    He was d that Blue had been watching and thinking for itself while he sent Sweeper and Archers across the first time.

    I wonder just how much Blue picks up as it watches me and carries out my orders? Jay watched Blue''s body slowly disappear into the dark swamp waters.

    (Red, is she still outside?) he asked.

    Red nodded its skull.

    Jay used the host skill on Archers again, and analyzed the swamp woman who was still outside her shack. She was meandering about, collecting some ashes from an old fire pit, along with mushrooms near the waters edge. Jay couldn''t tell what she was doing, but as neither of the ingredients were magical, it didn''t matter to him<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    What was important was her current mana. It was still at zero percent.

    A cunning smile appeared on Jay''s face as he ended the [Host] skill and waited for the underwater skeletons to get into position.

    Not long now¡­ he thought.

    Jay waited by Asra''s side as he sensed the skeletons sneaking around the edges of the ind, a lurking threat right under the swamp woman''s nose.

    He had put out a pile of bones for Asra toy on, so she wouldn''t get wet on the ground, and so none of the vile swamp bugs would get into her wound.

    (Blue, wait till she gets close to the edge of the water.)

    Jay gave the order as a sort of guidance, a rmendation, though he was sure the skeleton would''ve already had the same idea, and he left the rest in Blue''smand.

    Jay stared across the still-water, into the fog, and suddenly, he heard sshing soundsing from the ind.

    Blue executed the n.

    Here we go, Jay thought.

    He quickly used the [host] skill on Archers, and watching what was happening through its eyes.

    Skeletons burst out of the dark waters, covered in slime and muck which didn''t bother them in the slightest.

    They surrounded the swamp woman who was shaking and barely able to find her feet. She gripped her mushrooms so tightly in shock that she crushed them.

    She scrambled back to the safety of her hut, but another skeleton appeared, dashing around the side of the rotting shack and cutting off her exit.

    She wouldn''t have made it anyway.

    wed skeletal fingers had clutched her ankle like a snare.

    Two others grabbed her wrists, and pulled her to a stop.

    "Help me you stupid things!" She growled, with her wretched raspy voice calling to the rotting shack.

    Hmm¡­ what is she called for? For a level twenty-seven, her strength is pretty weak. Maybe I''ve over-estimated her.

    While Jay watched, more skeletons jumped on her and held her down, but something began toe from the rotting hut.

    It didn''te out through the doors or windows, but was part of the hut itself.

    The leaves¡­ I was right. They''re constructs?

    A stream of floating leaves flowed through the air towards the skeletons, and after a moment the stream of leaves grew into a river, like giant flying curtains.

    Each leaf was about the size of a thumb and seemed like a giant swarm of insects about to consume whatever was in their path.

    The leaf swarm met the swords of two skeletons, and as the swords whipped through the air they didn''t cut many leaves apart; they were simply too light. All they managed to do was bat a few away, but it made no difference to a swarm of hundreds, maybe thousands, of these sentient leaves.

    I wonder, will Blue try to escape into the water? I suppose it depends how dangerous the leaves are.

    Jay decided to let Blue make the decisions. He was curious to see what it would do, but also wanted to train its mind.

    Through the eyes of Archers, Jay could see that many of the sentient leaves were dry and curled up into crunchy-looking balls, while others seemed plump, green and flexible. It was easy to tell they were old and gray or young and green, but most of them, about 90% were of the old and dried-out variety. They would not survive a little water.

    But how are they dried out in this thick, humid swamp? Jay wondered.

    The two skeletons were above to be engulfed in leaves while the other four held the swamp woman down.

    She has low strength, so she must be a mage¡­ but what kind of mage? And how dangerous? ¡­ And what will you do if she is dangerous, Blue?

 Chapter 324 Amber Shadow

    [30 Exp]

    It was Blue''s sub-skeletons that had imed a life, as the other skeletons were preupied.

    The swarm of leaves engulfed the two skeletons, Dark and Handy.

    They were both still covered in slime and muck from the bottom of the swamp, and the dry leaves quickly absorbed all the darkened swamp water, uncaring that it hurt themselves.

    It was hard to tell how much the water would hurt the leaves, but Jay was more worried about the skeletons.

    Their entire frames were covered by leaves; every single one of their ribs, their jaws, even the insides of their skulls were not free of them.

    The leaf-covered skeletons were still shing away, but their movements got slower as the leaves clung to their bodies and tried to hold them into ce.

    Next, the leaves changed tactic and tried to lift them up, attempting to float the skeletons into the air.

    They had sess with Dark. The leaves coated every part of its bone. They pushed and pulled it into the air.

    But before they could take it higher, a skeletal hand grabbed Dark''s leg.

    Handy had reached out.

    Handy was arger skeleton and its body was covered in swamp slime, weighing it down.

    While Handy couldn''t see what its hand was grabbing, Blue could. Blue had instructed the skeleton with perfect precision, as if Blue was in control of Handy''s body making it easy to save Dark from floating into the sky.

    Yet Jay just assumed Handy could still see, even though its glowing eye-sockets were filled with wriggling leaves.

    Thankfully, these sentient leaves could not float the skeletons.

    So, the leaves do nothing. What else can she do? Jay waited and watched, while the skeletons pinned her down.

    They would probably be dangerous if they covered my body and suffocated me, but the skeletons don''t need to breathe, making them pretty useless. But it doesn''t exin why the fire-lights would fear her or her leaves? Her leaves would burn up in a second.

    The swamp woman, under the grip of four slimy skeletons, continued to struggle, panting, her face red and her hands shacking as she feared for her life. To hold her shuddering body down with more weight, the skeletons had each nted a hand into the rotting dirt, digging them into the soil and using their own hands as anchors.

    The panicked woman soon ran out of energy, and her fear began to turn back as she realized the skeletons weren''t attempting to kill her and eat her flesh, as she thought they would.

    They were simply holding her still.

    As she stopped struggling, all she could see was dirt, as they had pushed her onto her stomach, the only thing she could her was the sounds of her leaves trying to pull a skeleton away. They sounded like hissing grasses shifting in changing winds.

    Hegatha tried to catch her breath and think clearly, and this was when she heard something else drawing near.

    The sounds of sshing water approached, as if lots of rocks were being thrown into the swamp waters en masse.

    And then, she heard something that was almost as alien to her as the skeletons. Something she had not heard in a very long time. A human voice.

    It had been such a long time since she heard a voice, it was something she had almost forgotten, the warm, dangerous sound of another. It seemed like a dream or even her panicked imagination. It felt so ufortable to even be observed by someone else as she had kept herself hidden for so long, it was as ufortable as the pile of skeletons on top of her back.

    But still, it called out, hidden somewhere in the fog.

    "Hello? Hegatha? Listen, I''m not here to hurt you. I need your help." Jay said, trying to imagine what he would want to hear if he were in her predicament.

    "I''ming across. I will not harm you if you don''t harm me... but be warned, if you try anything, I will have the skeletons drag you into the water and hold you under."

    After that, we''ll see who suffocates first, Jay thought.

    Hegatha grunted, grabbed a handful of dirt tightly, and she grit her teeth, straining her body against the skeletons.

    "Well?" Jay called.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Why?!" a raspy yell came back through the fog.

    "Why what?" Jay replied.

    "Why should I help you?"

    Hmm¡­ yes. Why should she? Jay wondered. He didn''t want to jump straight to threatening her. It was the simple solution, but it would leave a bitter taste in his mouth if he did.

    Sullivan''s flimsy noon nket doesn''t make up for the time I was threatened, though it''s funny how he came to try and appease me.

    "I''m sure we can arrange something. It looks like you don''t have much in the way of shelter? Or I could get you off this ind?"

    "No. Just leave!" she grunted back.

    Ah, this crazy woman, Jay thought, but heard something clinking behind himself.

    Suddenly, the sub-skeletons had appeared, and while they were covered in scorch marks, they were not empty-handed.

    Delicately gripped in two bone fingers, one of them had a prize for Jay. A tiny amber-colored marble. Slightly misty and see-through. But it wasn''t made from amber, sap or ss.

    Crystal maybe? Jay wondered, grabbing it from the skeleton.

    This is good but I thought I told you guys to bring me a corpse back?

    Yet before analysing it, he had to deal with Hegatha; holding the amber sphere in his fingers, Jay called out again.

    "What do you know about the floating lights? The un-healing fire? The branchless burnt trees? The children''s voices and the amber marbles?"

    His voice traveled through the fog, and for a moment, there was silence. As Jay started into the shadowy mist, he scratched his chin, wondering if she heard him.

    Maybe she''s thinking¡­ all the sounds of the rustling leaves have stopped.

    "How did you escape? Who sent you?!"

    Escape? What is she talking about¡­

    Seeing Asra in pain, he had enough of this woman''s maddened rambling. While he hadn''t confirmed it yet, it did seem like she was doing something diabolical with children, and he wouldn''t stand for that.

    Jay was standing in the middle of the swamp on a half-built bridge of bones. He had released thousands of skeletons so far to make this bridge of the dead, and could only just see the bank of the swamp ind under the fog.

    To finish the bridge across, he released thousands more of these bones, all of them sshing into the water like andslide.

    He did a quick check of his gauntlet, which held hundreds of thousands, and finally, it went down one percent.

    [66%]

    He periodically turned back to add some back into his necrotic gauntlet, but it threatened to destabilize his bone foundation so he couldn''t salvage them all.

    Meanwhile, something below the surface began eating away at the bridge. Because of this, many bones were lost to the swamps dark waters, and soon hundreds of bone-eating creatures gathered as the waters rippled, filling up with bubbling as the abyss consumed this feast.

    Red''s guardian skeletons stepped off the bridge first, followed by Jay stepping onto the ind too, with Red by his side who still carried Asra.

    I guess we won''t be making too many trips across, Jay thought, ncing back at the turbulent waters and his gauntlet.

    I can''t keep using these bones so wastefully. He raised his necrotic gauntlet, his necrotic mana pulling as many bones back from the waters as it could.

    Now¡­ we''ll see if this woman will help, or if I''ll need to force her to, he frowned, not really wanting to threaten her intopliance.

 Chapter 325 Contractor

    Archers left its stealthy spot on the bank, pushing its covering of leaves and dirt off to stand alongside Red''s two guardian skeletons.

    Asra watched patiently as Jay carried out his ns, not raising a questioning brow or even shaking her head. She didn''t look worried, and it seemed she trusted him. Since losing trust in so many people, Jay thought trust was quite valuable, so it was quite ttering that someone would dare to trust him, and he would not hurt that trust by treating it cheaply like so many others did with his.

    Jay nodded at Archers as it stood by their side, and it nodded back.

    (Archers, nod at Asra too.)

    Asra was in pain, but Jay thought he saw the hint of a curled lip behind her aching frown when it nodded at her.

    Is she growing fond of the skeletons? He briefly thought, having more pressing matters to deal with.

    The swamp woman was still pinned down by his skeletons, and had been for a while now.

    She''s either beginning to calm down or ept her fate, but I don''t want to make her more crazy than she already is.

    Jay could only just see her thick body through the fog with his own eyes. It was hard to tell after looking through the ck-white shade vision, but her skin had a healthy sprinkling of pigmentation, and was both pale white or stained ck from the swamp, there was hardly any color to it at all. If not for her hulking size, she would seem sickly and frail.

    Jay made sure that Blue covered Hegatha''s eyes so she couldn''t see him. As for the leaves she controlled, they had stopped trying to lift the skeletons and were floating over the swamp waters - not protecting her, threatening the skeletons or Jay.

    Odd, she''s not using them for either defense or attack?

    He called out to the swamp woman "You asked before if I escaped? Escape what - you? And who do you think may have sent me?"

    "Just kill me, fiend!"

    Fiend, does she think I''m a monster? Hmm¡­ I suppose I can''t me her, Jay nced at his skeletons.

    The woman was quiet, ready to ept her death.

    "Listen, I''ll let you analyze me to prove I''m human, but if anything weird happens, my skeletons will drag you into the water and disassemble you. I imagine whatever is lurking down there will immediately smell your blood and finish the job."

    Jay slowly walked closer, taking the risk, he held his hand behind his back. In between his fingers were three teeth, each of them beginning to tremble with necrotic energy.

    Three unstable teeth spells were brewing.

    (Blue, uncover her eyes.)

    Jay slowly went closer, using his analyze skill repeatedly until he was close enough to get a notification.

    [Hegatha - Level 27]

    [HP - 100%]

    [MP - 0%]

    She gazed back, watching the approaching shadow with widened eyes, breathing faster, until finally, Jay was close enough to analyze too.

    [Bob - Level 4]

    [HP - 100%]

    [MP - 34%]

    Her fists rxed, releasing the dirt, as she saw that Jay was truly human.

    Instead, she raised a brow, how could he be controlling skeletons? Skeletons that were a much higher level than him?

    She closed her eyes for a moment letting out a sigh, as she was not about to be finished off and killed, and while an intruding human in her territory was not a wee sight, it was better than the alternative.

    Meanwhile this human was only level four, and had the nerve to question her.

    "What do you want?" She red at Jay.

    "I already told you. My friend needs help. The fires attacked her with an unknown fire, can you fix it?"

    "No. The damage is permanent." She spat.

    Fuck. Well it sucks to be Asra¡­ I guess I''ll have to ditch her since she will just be a hindrance¡­ though she has been kind enough, so maybe I''ll get a skeleton to carry her home¡­ if she can offer me something valuable, Jay thought.

    The swamp woman grunted and pushed her head up slightly, "Well? Are you going to leave now?"

    Jay nced at Blue, and the skeleton knew what Jay wanted. It grabbed the back of her head and pushed it back into the ground.

    "What do you know about the lights in the fog? And is the fog your doing?"

    "Nothing, and no." She huffed.

    How could she not know? I don''t even need to use my liar''s blood skill to smell such obvious bullshit, Jay thought.

    < [Deceiver''s Scent] >

    [Blood carries the stench of lies]

    She just doesn''t want to help me¡­ I wonder if these little amber balls will change her mind?

    Jay still had the amber sphere that the skeletons had brought him, but he didn''t need to risk bringing it closer to show her.

    (Sweeper.) Jay ordered his skeleton near, giving it a fewmands.

    The skeleton dashed over and carefully grabbed the translucent sphere from Jay, delicately holding it in the tips of its bone fingers.

    Sweeper took the sphere over to the woman, and Blue let her head up slightly so she could see.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Sweeper held it before her eyes. Even in the dark fog the amber sphere had a subtle shine to it, like it was tempting her with a gleaming wink.

    Jay didn''t say anything as he watched her mouth open wide. He thought she looked confused, but waited for her to speak. He wanted her to admit her lies as much as he wanted her to help Asra, but for some people, the former was much harder than thetter.

    The harmless amber sphere seemed to make the woman as excited as she was deranged; she was licking her lips with widened eyes.

    "That''s mine!" she yelled, breathing faster as her eyes stuck to it, pushing her head up and trying to push off the skeletons again.

    (Sweeper, bring it back. But bring it back slowly.) Jay smiled cunningly.

    "Wait! I can help your friend, just give me that!" she called, fighting against Blue''s skeletal hand on the back of her skull.

    She sounds so desparate¡­ Jay thought, seeing her pleading.

    "I thought you couldn''t help? Also, I think you know where I got this from¡­" Jay lied.

    He didn''t know where the skeletons plucked this tiny sphere from, but he guessed it was loot from one of the lights.

    The woman puffed, "I''ll help. I just need more of those¡­ bring me those and I''ll fix her."

    The sentient leaves she controlled slowly began to move, but instead of returning to the woman or the skeletons, they went back to her rotting house, filling in the holes in the walls once more.

    "I''ll make a deal with you. You help my friend, and I''ll bring you more of these. But let''s talk terms - how long will it take you to fix their un-healing wound?"

    Jay, as distrustful as he should be, believed this swamp woman would probably heal a part of Asra''s wound, and then keep Jay gathering these odd little amber spheres for much longer than he ought to.

    And, she seemed annoyed by the question as she angrily grunted.

    "Let me see the wound first." She called.

    Jay snapped his fingers, and Red brought Asra closer, closer than Jay was standing. In Red''s arms, Asra was about five yards away from the swamp woman.

    It was close enough for the woman to use dangerous magic, but Jay didn''t mind, as he wasn''t the one in Red''s arms.

    Besides, Asra could use her vampiricpulsion to control the woman, but as she got closer, she didnt.

    Asra had been listening, and held her leg up to show the woman.

    Jay noticed the small detail. So, it seems that Asra can only use it on one person? He thought.

    The me wound was a small patch on the back of her lower leg. Only a lick of me had brushed past her skin, but because of the foreign, otherworldly mana, it was enough to cause excruciating pain.

    "Hmm¡­ a few weeks."

    Jay scoffed, "A few weeks¡­"

    She''s lying again. Jay passed Sweeper his needle of hunger.

    (Use the side which makes them feel full.) Jay winked.

    The skeleton took the needle, dashed over and pricked the woman''s ankle, drawing some blood.

    The woman didn''t even react to the needle. She probably thought it was just another swamp bug getting an easy meal, and was used to random stings and feeding probes.

    "A few weeks, huh?" Jay called.

    "Yes." She lied again.

    Sweeper brought the bloody needle back, and before he even brought it close to his nose he smelt a stench which even made the swamp smell like a perfumed pce.

    "Don''t lie to me again." Jay said, his face still twisted in disgust, "This is your only warning."

    The woman''s eyes widened as her brows furrowed. Her lies, her deception, was all she had left to bargain with.

    "A few days." She grunted bitterly.

    "Good. And how many of these do you need to heal her?"

    "None."

    Jay grinned broadly, but he didn''t let the woman see.

    So she needs none? This fucking liar¡­ but I suppose I am somewhat of a liar myself. Neither of them know my real name after all.

    "So, you want these as payment?"

    "Yes¡­ I want.. I need every single one of them."

    "Why?"

    "It''s not for you to know."

    "What?"

    "You won''t understand. Just get me as many as you can, or you''ll regret it some day."

    Jay couldn''t smell any rancid smell of blood. She was telling the truth.

    While he didn''t want to believe her cunning words, he had to.

    The blood didn''t lie.

 Chapter 326 Another Cull

    Jay looked out into the fog as he questioned this swamp woman.

    "How can some strange, floating mes cause harm to the entire world? They can''t even stand up to my skeletons."

    "Don''t try and understand. If you don''t want to help, just leave." The woman scowled.

    Jay sighed, (Let her up but stay close to her.)

    "I''ll send my skeletons to collect as many as I can. You will heal Asra within three days. Three of my skeletons will stay near you in case you try to harm us."

    She stood up, not even bothering to brush the dirt and rotting leaves away from her tattered, moth-eaten clothes as she red at Jay with bitter disdain.

    "Fine. Am I allowed to move?" she snapped, looking around at the skeletons. They still had their hands gripping her arms and shoulders.

    Jay nodded, and the skeletons surrounding her gave her some space. She walked closer to Asra, and strangely, she brushed away some hair from Asra''s eyes.

    I can''t make sense of this woman, Jay thought. For a moment he thought he saw a hint ofpassion in her eyes, even though one eye was milky, and the rest of her form was grotesque.

    Her pale skin was covered with scars and blemishes, while her face was no stranger to a fewrge moles, each with their own long whiskers poking out.

    Poor Asra¡­ Jay thought, not wanting to be touched by such a mountainous, rugged woman. He stepped back, and decided he would avoid swamp woman Hegatha for the forseeable future.

    "Bring her into my home." She said, ncing at the skeleton.

    Red, carrying Asra, didn''t move. Why would it obey a stranger?

    "Go on." Jay pointed, and as Red went in, Jay gave it some hidden telepathic orders.

    (Think for yourself, Red. Don''t let her harm any of us, but do what it takes to help Asra.) Jay silently coached Red as it walked into her stinking hut.

    Two other skeletons, Blue and Sweeper, followed them inside. Hegatha was huffing and frowning, looking annoyed at having some many¡­ things, inside her house, but she didn''t dare toin. Having three skeletons following her into her shack was better than being dead.

    I think I''ll stay out here, Jay nodded, thinking the air was probably much fresher, despite the putrid gasses endlessly spilling from the swamp.

    Alright, I better work on my end of the deal¡­ but should I wait on the ind with Asra and Hegatha, or on the other side of the swamp? He wondered.

    Bubbles and waters continued swirling, as something below was still feasting on the bone bridge Jay had dumped.

    If I go across I''ll just waste more bones, and I''ll need toe back to give her the amber spheres anyway. But if I stay, the skeletons will have toe under water with them and if something attacks them, some amber spheres could be lost.

    Jay wondered what he could do, but as he watched the swirling waters, he could only think of one solution.

    Looks like we''ll need to ughter our way out, he thought with a shrug, and began counting his troops.

    Blue, Sweeper and Red were with Hegatha, while Blue''s five sub-skeletons were still out hunting the lights, across the water. This left Jay tomand with five skeletons and Red''s two guardian skeletons:

    Lamp, level 4. Shepherds crook and gut knife.

    Handy, level 4. Bastard sword.

    Heavy, level 2. Ossein arming sword and heavy shield.

    Dark, level 3. Slender dual daggers.

    Red''s level 1 guardian skeletons. One bone dagger each.

    Archers, level 1¡­

    After assembling the skeletons before him, Jay made two piles of bones on the edge of the water.

    One was for himself, which he ced hisfortable chair on top of. He didn''t want any creeping, crawling bugsing to seek his body warmth, and it was better to sit atop a barrier of bones than directly on the rotting ground.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As for the second pile of bones? These were for summoning and crafting weapons of course.

    Sitting on his throne, near the water''s edge, Jay got them into formation.

    (Face the water. Lamp and Handy, stand on either side of Heavy. Dark and Archers, stand behind Heavy. If you think other weapons will work better against whatever is down there, now is your opportunity to craft them. Red, have your guardians escort these.)

    Handy was the first to step out of formation. Stabbing itsrge two-handed sword into the ground, it began to craft itself a short sword.

    Archers stood eagerly by Handy''s side, and was soon rewarded with a slender dagger, crafted by Handy, too.

    I guess its champion role let it craft a two-handed sword, so crafting smaller versions and copying my swords were easy for it, Jay thought.

    (When you''re all ready, advance in the swamp. Protect each other and y whatever is down there. Leave nothing alive. Lamp and Handy, you will make the decisions down there. Feel free to retreat and eat the bones when you need to.)

    Lamp and Handy nced at each other, then at the smaller skeletons and then faced the water, slowly moving forward. The enormous bone pile Jay had left had attracted so many little bone-eating parrot eels, and now, the natural predators of these eels had gathered too.

    The skeletons bravely marched into the water, but as it got waist-high, they were already shing and stabbing, sshing everywhere.

    [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] x 7

    Seems like a lot are down there, Jay thought.

    Lamp and Handy did most of the killing, while Heavy nted its heavy shield down, acting as a tasty bulwark.

    Swords came scraping across the shield as the level four skeletons cleansed it of the grinding beaks feasting on it.

    [1 Exp] x 9

    [1 Exp] x 5

    Dark had crouched into the water, stabbing between the legs of the taller ones in front.

    [1 Exp] x 6

    It was a wall of piercing des. Whether the eels attacked high or low, a swift sword would not be too far away from severing them.

    Archers was not doing so well, but its small dagger was stained with some odd color of blood, so it was at least doing something, though it was hard to tell exactly what that was as the water was up to its neck.

    [1 Exp] x 3

    Red''s two guardian skeletons were only slightly taller than Archers, and were simrly struggling. Jay had not given them minds yet either so their killing efficiency was dismal, and would probably not increase very much.

    [1 Exp] x 4

    The skeletons had started with shes, but soon found that stabbing worked better, and would cause less sshing.

    [1 Exp] x 27

    In a few minutes, they learned another trick. They began to hold the tips of their des in the water, luring the bone-eating creatures closer to their bone swords before striking.

    [1 Exp] x 34

    Jay also had his doubts about Lamp using its cumbersome sheperd''s cook, but it seemed that it was using it to attack something other than the tiny bone-eating eels.

    Every so often, Lamp would nce into the deeper waters and immediately raise the spear-end of its sheperd''s crook, then stab with all its might.

    It''s¡­ keeping something away? Jay wondered, curious as he watched this small detail amongst the endless stabbing, shing and sshing of swords.

 Chapter 327 Broken Trap

    [1 Exp] x 102

    Every dead eel only gave one exp, but their numbers were almost endless. The skeletons did not advance further than waist-deep, and after another 200 in eels, they began their retreat, needing to heal and fix their mortal frames.

    To retreat, Heavy would lift its shield from the ground while Lamp and Handy would help to push it back through the water, and would m it down again as they culled more eels.

    Jay wasn''t sure why they would retreat so quickly as they had only been out there for a few minutes, but the skeletons were not the only things being eaten.

    All the dead bone-eating eels had attracted the flesh-eating fiends of the swamp, andpared to the bone-eaters, there were many, many more the flesh-eating varieties.

    Oh shit, Jay thought.

    The skeletons marched back out of the water as the swamp became turbulent, and a feeding frenzy began. A new feeding frenzy - of flesh.

    The dark waters of the swamp made vision useless. Everything lurking here relied on scent, taste, warmth or movement, and even a drop of blood would be like a shining beacon, calling in all who were hungry.

    The blood from hundreds of dead eels created their own distinct velvet-purple patch in the ck water.

    Jay had set things in motion which could not, and would not be stopped. He had set the stage for a perfect bloodbath.

    Suddenly the water went perfectly calm.

    Even the skeletons knew what was about to happen. A primal fear had gripped all its hidden dwellers, all those hiding in the rocks and filth as the waters went still.

    *Fwoosh!*

    Bubbles erupted. The waters burst into a rabid mess of death and tearing.

    Giant fins, beaks and jagged teeth. Tentacles, shells and pincer ws, all shed above the surface in waves of carnage.

    It was every vile and hungry maw for itself. All as hungry as the next.

    Sshing blood and bubbles only served to draw out more predators lurking in the swamp, who then added their own blood to the cesspool.

    Jay scratched the back of his head. Ah¡­ Oops, shit¡­ well I guess this will fix the bone-eater problem. Jay shrugged, watching from his throne which had a front-row seat to the chaos.

    It was hard to see exactly how many things were dying and perishing, and it became so violent that small waves began top against the shore.

    Hmm some giants are fighting? Jay thought, seeing tworge wavesing from either side and meeting.

    *Fwoosh!*

    A giant tentacle shot from the water, sending dark rain over the swamp.

    The ck tentacle had crimson barbed ws lining its side, and another one emerged. It held up in the ded jaws of something which resembled a scaly wolf head, somewhat simr to a dragon.

    Hmm, maybe I should move back¡­ Jay thought.

    In front of Jay''s bone pile, just under the water, hidden leeches raised their heads from the decay, tempted enough to leave their holes and swim into the blood-filled abyss.

    They added their hungry maws to the frenzy. The loss of life was uncountable.

    Well¡­ I can''t help but feel partly responsible for this, Jay scratched his head, nodding slightly.

    "Gah!" a shrieking voice called.

    Hegatha came out of her shack, hearing all the crunching and sshing.

    Three skeletons chased after her as she ran to her rope and pulled it from the dark waters. Yet unlikest time, there was no trap at the end, nothing but a snapped stick tied to the rope.

    She red at Jay, "How am I going to get food now?!" she yelled, pointing to the water.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Uh¡­ I''ll make you a new trap? It shouldn''t be too hard."

    Hegatha grunted, "Two new traps! Two!" she held out three fingers.

    Jay sighed, "Fine." and shook his head.

    "Hmph." Hegatha sneered, marching back inside while Jay watched her and the three skeletons leave.

    Just focus on healing Asra you crazy old crone.

    Making a trap shouldn''t be too hard anyway¡­ I suppose I can''t use bone though because there''s things here that eat it.

    While the waters continued to rage, Jay left his throne to inspect the end of the rope. He took his sword and scraped it along the rope, getting off some of the ck muck.

    Huh? Jay raised a brow.

    The rope was mostly ckened, forever stained by the insipid swamp, but a few golden glints of light sparkled back.

    A golden rope? Seems a bit too¡­ luxurious? Hmm, maybe she stole it and fled for her life? Jay nced across her rotting shack, seeing her cursed and miserable existence. If that''s the case, the theft was definitely not worth it¡­

    At the end of the rope was one snapped stick, still barely attached to it.

    Hmm, normally it would be easy to find some sticks, but the trees out there don''t have any branches. Jay scratched his chin.

    So where did she get the sticks? If she got them before the lights burned all the trees, then she was here before them. Maybe she''s the reason the lights are here? I suppose it would exin why she knows how to heal Asra.

    Curious as he was, Jay went back to his throne, which was still perched on a pile of bones, overlooking the pool of death.

    He closed his eyes, picturing Red, and he felt weightless as the world went ck and white. He used the host skill.

    Red was inside the rotting shack at Asra''s side, watching Hegatha closely. Unfortunately, its shade vision revealed every disgusting, darkened corner of this shack, all the trash and toenails piling up over the years, and many other things were better left unseen.

    A few bundles of dried mushrooms hung around the house. Some water-filled jars were randomly ced on shelves, which hosted a number of different wriggling and swimming creatures, some looked humanoid, like tiny stick-insect goblins, while others looked like disemboweled organs, still pumping and squeezing.

    Asra was lying on an old stained table, and Hegatha stepped closer, ignoring the skeletons as she held her left hand out over Asra''s leg. Some leaves from the walls floated down into Hegatha''s right hand, and she slowly began to crush them in her palm before bringing it to her mouth.

    Shes¡­ eating them? Jay thought.

    Each time Hegatha ate a leaf, her hand above Asra''s leg would glow, and the burn marks would begin to catch fire, though it gave off no light.

    A ck me? Jay thought. He was watching through the skeleton''s shade vision, so everything was ck and white - yet the me made nothing shaded lighter.

    Even as it burnt, the me seemed to be feeding on the wounds. It seemed so backwards as the charred flesh started to disappear, little by little.

    After a few minutes, Hegatha grunted. "That''s enough." She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and sat by Asra''s side.

    With nothing else to see, Jay ended the host skill.

    A ck me that eats burns, but why eat the leaves? Jay sat in his chair, trying to make sense of it as he watched the chaotic waters in front of him continue to tremble.

    I better get her some more sticks for another trap. Or something like them. It will be good practice for the skeletons craftsmanship, too.

    After eating some bones, the group of skeletons in front of Jay had assembled again were ready to go into the water, but they were waiting for the feeding frenzy to stop. In the meantime, Jay gave them some other tasks.

    (I need rocks. Stones. About the size of a fist. I want a pile of them here.) Jay pointed on the ground next to his throne.

    (Also, Red, leave Asra for a moment and join us outside.)

 Chapter 328 Two Minds

    The skeletons would not question their master.

    If Jay was taking them off the grand duty of culling, and putting them onto something as lowly as rock-collecting, they would give him as many rocks as he needed.

    They all darted off to different parts of the swamp ind, all of them except for Red''s two sub-skeletons, which didn''t yet have minds.

    Red left the rotting shack and dly rejoined its master''s side. While it didn''t have any expressions, it seemed to stand more proudly, puffing its chest out and pulling its shoulders back as it guarded Jay.

    Jay couldn''t help but curl his lip slightly.

    (Red, I''ll be giving your skeletons minds.) he nced up at Red from his throne.

    Red nodded, and immediately, its two guardian skeletons left their weapons on the shoreline, stepped onto Jay''s bone pile, and knelt before the throne.

    (Which one first, Red?) Jay smiled.

    Red nced back at Jay with its lifeless green eyes. Jay couldn''t tell what it was thinking, but after a moment it pointed to the one on the left.

    Jay held his hands out, hovering them at either side of its skull, and began to form its mind.

    His mana condensed and swirled like a storm around its head, like a thick green river, then disappeared, and left the inside of its skull gleaming like a night sky, with many little beads of green light running through.

    As the skeleton began to shake and convulse, Red held it back from Jay, who was already at work forming the mind of the second one.

    Jay wanted Red there, as it was the one in direct control of these guardian skeletons. He wasn''t sure what the sub-skeletons would do if they were given a mind.

    (Don''t give them any orders until I tell you to, Red.) He ordered, wanting to test something.

    Red, holding the second skeleton in its arms, nced up at Jay, and after a moment it nodded.

    After the skeleton stopped shaking, Red stood back by Jay''s side - though it stood slightly more forward, closer to the water, between its sub-skeletons and Jay.

    Well that''s not a good sign¡­ Jay pursed his lips.

    The two skeleton guardians began looking at their hands,ing to terms with reality in their own way. Next, they noticed the bones they stood on, Jay''s throne, and finally their swords which were back on the shoreline.

    Each of them stepped back to grab their swords, curiously traced their bone fingers along the de, and then nced at each other.

    Then, they did something quite odd. They froze, locked into a stare.

    They both stood perfectly still as they stared at one another, not sure what to do. After they had their swords, it seems like that was the end of their insticts.

    Hmm, perhaps a part of their base instinctes from Red? Jay wondered. And maybe Red has no instincts of its own? He watched them for a moment longer.

    "Hello?" Jay held his hands out.

    The skeletons bodies were still frozen, but then, they slowly turned their heads, their necks creating little clicking noises.

    Hmm, so this is how other people feel. Jay thought, shuffling ufortably in his throne.

    Yet the skeletons fixed their eyes on Red, not Jay. They each stood side by side, with their swords lowered. It was like they were standing at attention.

    Red nodded at them, then turned to nce at Jay, and knelt in a disy of respect. In a moment, the two guardian skeletons were on their knees, copying Red.

    Ah, I see¡­. Jay thought.

    (Alright Red, give them all the orders, rules, andmands necessary.) Jay waved his hand.

    Maybe I should start calling themws instead of rules, he scratched his chin, thinking that his ws'' would need more thought, as he was sure skeletons like Lamp would find all the loopholes to enact a culling of the innocent to harvest their skin. Until then, he would have to watch over them, making decrees as he went.

    Red began giving them directions, nodding, pointing and doing all sorts of gestures, while other times it simply stared into their eyes,municating telepathically somehow. Jay wasn''t sure exactly what they were saying; perhaps they needed basic definitions, like what exactly a human was, or what it meant to kill something, or to die. Thankfully the entire teaching process was quite fast, only taking as much as a minute.

    (Alright, now send them off to gather rocks, too.) Jay ordered, keeping Red at his side.

    It didn''t take long for a small pile of rocks to form at his side, most of them covered in ck filth after the skeletons dug them from the swamp''s decaying earth.

    Jay watched as they piled up, but he didn''t need many rocks for his purposes.

    (That''s enough. Return to duties.) He ordered, and the skeletons left their digging holes, reunited with each other and prepared themselves to enter the water again, to cull more of the lurkers of the depths.

    Hopefully making an axe won''t be too hard, Jay thought.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    While the skeletons could''ve used swords to hack trees down, the axes would make things much faster, and it was better to learn the blueprint now while he had some free time. Plus, with Red at his side, the skeletons would learn too.

    Jay remained sitting on his throne, and reached down, tugging out some bones from the pile he was sitting on.

    He released some necrotic mana from his gauntlet, making some molten bone which he formed into a sturdy shaft, about the length of his shoulder to his wrist.

    (Red, grab one of those rocks. Hold it here.) Jay pointed to the end of the shaft.

    He melded the stone onto the end with more molten bone, and then melted other bones around the rock, covering it and fixing it to the shaft.

    After that, it was simple to form this heavy end into an axe-head shape, then to sharpen the ded side.

    Bone was light, but Jay could make it heavier by flooding it with mana, liquefying it, and condensing it. He wouldn''t need a stone at all. However, it was much more simple to just add a rock into the craft, saving himself a lot of mana and bone by doing so.

    After tracing his fingers along the de a few times, and fixing more bone between the head and the shaft for reinforcement, his creation was ready.

    < [Bone Logging Axe - Level 1] > (Stone)

    [5 Damage]

    [400% Logging efficiency]

    [Lifespan] (Passive)

    - Requires necrotic essence to maintain it''s form

    [Current lifespan: 48 hours]

    "Not bad." Jay nodded, handing it to Red to inspect.

    (Made sure they only use it on trees.) he ordered.

    Red nodded and inspected it, giving it some test-swings, and after it seemed that it was done, Jay stashed it back into his inventory.

    Now, after they''re finished killing everything in the water, I''ll need about seven axes. I suppose the smaller skeletons will need hatchets, Jay thought.

    (Red, get me a handful of pebbles about the size of a ring.) Jay said, pointing to his finger, and the skeleton scurried off to another part of the ind.

    Jay stepped off his throne and walked down the bone pile to the ck dirt. He dug a small hatchet-shaped hole, which was really just a smaller version of an axe, and filled it with bones then melted them together with a small stream of mana.

    Some of the molten bone overflowed but he simply scraped the excess away.

    Red came back just in time, and Jay pointed into the molten bone, making Red drop the smaller rocks in.

    The small handful of rocks scattered into the hatchet-shaped hole, and before it could solidify, Jay made a smaller shaft for it, about the length of his elbow to his wrist.

    cing the shaft into the mix along with some extra molten bone on top, he dispersed his mana, and pulled his new hatchet from the hole.

    He needed to make some finishing touches to make it even-sided, even-weighted and to hide some of the rocks which poked out, as well as giving it a sharp de edge, but after checking the damage of the hatchet he was satisfied with his first try.

    < [Bone Logging Hatchet - Level 1] > (Rocks)

    [4 Damage]

    [400% Logging efficiency]

    [Lifespan] (Passive)

    - Requires necrotic essence to maintain it''s form

    [Current lifespan: 24 hours]

    "Nice, four damage, I was actually expecting three" Jay held it while talking to Red, "only one less than the axe. With the logging bonus it should do 16 damage to trees, while the axe will do 20. It must be a little better quality since I took more time with it, and smaller objects are a little easier to work with, too." He nodded, and nced at Red.

    Red stared at Jay for a moment, and then nodded back, causing Jay to gently smile as if he were greeting an old friend.

    I''m d there''s someone I can share my thoughts and aplishments with¡­ now, we just need to get through the water and start our deforesting operation.

 Chapter 329 Basement

    ?

    [30 Exp]

    ¡°Blue¡¯s skeletons got another kill.¡± Jay nodded, and started to dig more hatchet-shaped holes, matching them to the shape of the first hatchet, shaft included.

    While Jay dug three molds out and filled them with bones, Red was on pebble collecting duty, gathering small rocks about the size of rings; anything smaller would slip through its fingers.

    (Red,e here.) Jay said, filling another mold with bones. Red dashed to Jay¡¯s side while he was crouching down, pointing to the molds.

    (Release your mana into the molds until the bones are molten.)

    Red nodded and crouched down, letting its necrotic green mana flow from its hand, causing two of the molds to give off a faint glow as the bone filled the mold. Jay sprinkled the smaller pebbles in and dispersed the mana from the mold, solidifying it.

    For the third hole, he had to fill it with mana from his own reserves as Red ran out before it couldplete all three.

    ¡°Alright, that makes four hatchets and one axe.¡± Jay nodded, and began fixing up the new hatchets, bringing them up to his standard.

    In the meantime, Jay instructed Red to polish its squire armor, making sure its gear was in order before sending it away.

    (Red, switch out with Blue. I need its mana.)

    Blue was still guarding Asra and Hegatha. Red darted away to the shack, and stopped at the door, pausing while looking back at Jay.

    Perhaps there was some adoration in its eyes - but seeing that everything was in order and that Jay was safe, it went inside, sending Blue out after it.

    Needless to say, Asra and Hegatha were quite confused seeing one skeleton enter only to rece another. Other than Red¡¯s shining armor, it really didn¡¯t make a difference, or so they thought.

    Blue was at Jay¡¯s side in a moment¡¯s notice; it watched and waited as Jay dug out tworger molds for axes, mostly using his necrotic gauntlet and a hatchet to dig into the dark earth.

    Before Jay could finish his second hole, Blue had already began to add bones into the molds, having gleaned some information from Red - though it already had experience making armor tes with this method, so making a tool wasn¡¯t much different.

    Jay nodded, and Blue filled the first mold with mana, melting the bones. As Jay dropped a heavier stone in, Blue tiled its head to the side in wonder, seeing this new idea. Stones in bones? It was simple to do, but simply absurd.

    Yet it wouldn¡¯t question its master - not that it could.

    Blue started to pack the second hole and make the molten axe while Jay watched.

    He pointed to the stones, (Do the second one yourself).

    Blue hesitated, perhaps doubting itself, but grabbed a stone and watched Jay as he dispersed the necrotic mana in the molten bone right as the stone disappeared. This would ensure that the stone wouldn¡¯t touch the bottom of the mold and stick out the other side of the axe.

    Blue cautiously lowered the stone in, not wanting to fail its master. It seemed to have trouble dispersing the necrotic mana, perhaps because it was not used to doing such a thing - an undead creature dispersing its own life force would be insanity in any other situation.

    Yet Blue seeded, and two roughly-shaped axes were formed, each with heavy axe heads. Blue grabbed one and felt the weight of its chopping end, bobbing it up and down in its arms and then giving it a swing before looking at the heavy axe head with the stone inside - needless to say, it was impressed by the simple trick of embedding a stone inside.

    Jay decided to do the finishing touches himself while he had Blue watching at his side. He added some reinforcing bones between the head and the shaft, made the handle smoother, and ran his mana-infused fingers along the de to sharpen it, then finally checked its stats.

    < [Bone Logging Axe - Level 2] > (Stone)

    [6 Damage]

    [420% Logging efficiency]

    [Lifespan] (Passive)

    [Current lifespan: 72 hours]

    Nice, that should be about¡­24 damage to trees? Jay thought, doing some hasty calction before stashing them away, while sending Blue to make another.

    Jay didn¡¯t expect Blue to get it in one go, but nevertheless, he sent Blue away to craft one more because he wanted four axes in total. Even if it failed miserably, a low quality axe would still be better than using swords. Probably.

    The other skeletons, tasked with culling the swamp waters, began their march back in after therger predators stopped fighting and sshing around. After a few moments they were fully submerged without even having to stop to fight anything. Everything was dead - at least, the bone-eaters were.

    As the skeletons traveled across the abyss, a series of notifications came through and Jay knew exactly what was left, thest hungry mouths still standing after the frenzied bloodshed of swamp creatures and titans wasplete. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [8 Exp] x 23

    Eight exp. The leeches.

    (Dark, stay under the water killing leeches) Jay ordered, deciding his assassin skeleton would need practice, to be adept at fighting in extreme conditions.

    While the skeletons could see perfectly in the darkness, the swamp waters were cloudy with muck, forming an opaque barrier, and this would be good training for his assassin - helping it to rely on the feel of its body and the flow of water. Tracing the subtle movements of prey.

    Jay quietly watched the water for a moment as he sensed Dark break off from the group, and thought to himself.

    Dark will hunt the leeches - and despite being the smallest, the ones trampled underfoot, and the scavengers of the swamp, it¡¯s the leeches that had thest bite. Perhaps there¡¯s a lesson there, maybe we need to be like the leeches? Jay scratched his chin.

    Blue finished another axe for Jay while the group of skeletons reached the other side of the bank.

    Jaymanded the group first, (Collect the sphere that Blue¡¯s skeletons left, ande back.)

    For good measure, Jay brought them back again to make sure the path was clear. Once they came back to Jay¡¯s side he gave them their new axes while the amber sphere.

    ncing back at the shack, Jay decided to drop the spheres off with Hegatha before leaving, while checking on Asra to make sure she was well fed. He put his throne back in his inventory and stored the bone pile under it back into his ring before going to her hut.

    He didn¡¯t bother knocking as there were holes around the door.

    ¡°Hegatha? I have some spheres for you, and I¡¯m checking on Asra before I leave to hunt.¡± He called, but to no answer.

    Red opened the door, but there was still no answer from anyone. Asra was asleep on the table while Hegatha had simply disappeared, along with Sweeper.

    Jay nced down, scratching his chin.

    He could sense Sweeper somewhere below them, so Hegatha must have had a basement, though looking around the room, there was no apparent way down.

    Maybe she¡¯s using the leaves to cover up the entrance? He guessed, walking into the house.

    Jay made sure Red held the door open as he brushed past the skeleton, not wanting to touch anything that Hegatha had touched.

    Jay stood over Asra, who was lying on the table, and wondered how anyone could be sleeping in this stenching shack.

    ¡°Asra?¡± he whispered.

    She must be exhausted from the pain. He gently tapped her shoulder, ¡°Asra?¡±

    No response.

    Jay nced at Red, giving his skeleton a regretful, awkward smile, then looked back at Asra again, reaching out his hand towards her face.

    ¡°Asra, wake up.¡± He squeezed her nose.

    After a moment her cheeks filled with air, and her eyes opened widely.

    *Gah!* She breathed heavily, pping away Jay¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Jay, what the hell are you doing? Don¡¯t do that.¡± She furrowed her brows, angered to be awoken.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he whispered, ¡°I¡¯ve juste to feed you before I go hunting. You haven¡¯t told her what you are I presume¡­ Are you okay here?¡±

    ¡°No I¡¯m not okay, and of course I haven¡¯t told her. Just hurry up so we can get out of here...¡± she pouted, ¡°And give me that nket you have.¡±

    Jay couldn¡¯t help but smile, ¡°here.¡± He gave her the nket and then leaned down so she could ess his shoulder.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± She frowned, snatching the nket, and then reached up, pulling his shoulder closer.

 Chapter 330 Three Traps

    ?

    Jay nced down at her dark silky hair with its subtle sheen of crimson. It seemed so soft and clean, even in the humid swamp air.

    As she suckled on his shoulder, Jay raised his arm - but stopped himself.

    Wait, why do I want to pat her hair¡­ what¡¯s wrong with me? He shook his head.

    In a few moments she was finished. She licked the wound, and tucked herself into his nket. She wasn¡¯t impressed with Jay¡¯s antics, and the wound on her leg and the stinking shack only added to her misery.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon, Asra. Red, guard her.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡± Asra mumbled back.

    Jay left and Red closed the door, standing by Asra¡¯s side. Jay could still sense Sweeper somewhere below them, but decided to leave it to its duty.

    I¡¯ll drop off the amber spherester, he shrugged.

    Initially, Jay had Red, Blue, and Sweeper guarding Hegatha, but after seeing Hegatha¡¯spliance while healing Asra he decided to keep Blue with him.

    With Asra safe, Jay walked back to the edge of the water and gave Blue some instructions.

    (Blue, I want your sub-skeletons patrolling the depths, killing anything down there that eats bones. I also want them pushing any corpses further away from here. I have a bridge to make, and I can¡¯t have it copsing when the corpses under it dpose or get eaten,) Jay pointed to the water.

    I will just need a few guards to stop it from degrading, so Blue¡¯s minions should do the trick.

    The group of skeletons waiting by the shore had a bone snack to heal themselves, and received their new axes and hatchets; some were still appreciating these new tools, and now they understood why their master sent them to gather rocks.

    Jay sent the group back through the water onest time, to truly make sure any bone-eating eels were truly dead, then stepped to the water¡¯s edge and began construction of a second bridge.

    One that wouldst this time.

    Simr to other constructions, he dumpedrge bones down first, letting them stack up and form the foundation. Blue was sent to test it, jumping and stomping to make and unstable bones shift and copse until they fell into a stable position.

    Once the foundation was ready, Jay added gradually smaller bones until there was a tyer of pebble-like bones on top, and in no time, his bridge was finished. He took more care this time as he wanted the bridge tost longer.

    Jay slowly made his way across the foggy ck water, each step sending a few bone pebbles falling off the bridge and into the water - most of these ¡®pebbles¡¯ being finger bones.

    Stepping onto the other shore, the band of log-cutting skeletons had already left the water, and Jay could already hear axes hitting wood, echoing through the fog.

    ¡°Good¡± he nodded, whispering to Blue.

    For Jay¡¯s purposes, just one tree trunk would do, but he let them cut a few down so they could get used to logging, and hopefully gain some experience.

    (Bring the tree trunks back once you¡¯ve cut them down.) Jay ordered, waiting patiently on the side of the bank.

    While he had to do some culling to collect the spheres, he trusted the skeletons would be able to cull a significant portion of enemies - especially since Blue¡¯s smaller skeletons could manage to y the fire lights. It would be no problem for the higher levels.

    While waiting, Jay analyzed one of the amber spheres.

    < [Breaking Shard] >

    [?]

    [?]

    [Unknown]

    < [Description] > <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [Unknown]

    ¡°A breaking shard?¡± Jay raised a brow. How can it be a shard when it¡¯s a sphere? He wondered, rolling in between his fingers. And what¡¯s the difference between unknown and a question mark? The only other thing I have with a question mark is thatrge starry gemstone, which is probably an egg.

    Jay rolled the amber sphere between his fingers as it let off a slight shine, even in the gloomy fog.

    Hmm, if this is an egg too, then what is Hegatha doing with it? ¡­ Well, I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t mind - or notice - if one goes missing, Jay thought, and his lips curled into a smile.

    After a while, the skeletons began to bring some tree trunks back. Each trunk was ashen-gray, about 20 feet tall, and the top had a smoldering ember - the same smoldering burn as Asra¡¯s wound.

    It was odd to see the embers as the tree didn¡¯t shorten or burn up. It remained the same length, even as the ember smoldered and smoked.

    Jay had them dip the burning end into the water, and it released some hisses and bubbles for a few seconds before dying down, but after they pulled it out again, it returned to a hot glow.

    ¡°It¡¯s like it¡¯s frozen in time?¡± Jay guessed. He had seen time magic before, when Kel was practicing, but it was nothing like this. And it didn¡¯t exin how Hegatha was fixing Asra¡¯s leg by eating crushed leaves and without using mana.

    ¡­ Hmm, I¡¯ll figure it outter, he shrugged.

    (Cut off the burnt ends, and put them in a pile near the water, then cut the logs in half down the middle) Jay instructed.

    So far, the skeletons had gathered two logs. There was a group of smaller skeletons using hatchets and were still cutting another tree, so Jay sent Lamp away to help them finish it off and drag it back.

    After the skeletons cut the log down the middle, he had them cut along the middle pieces again, then again and again. Much of the log split down the side and broke away, but it didn¡¯t matter - all he needed was to make some sticks.

    After the skeletons cut the logs into sticks, he had enough to make the two or three of the traps that Hegatha wanted - but joining them together would be a problem.

    Knowing that Hegatha used her sentient leaves to stick some bait to the trap, Jay guessed that she probably used them to hold the trap together too. It wasn¡¯t something he was capable of, and using bone to make the trap was no option.

    But I can¡¯t always rely on magic, he nodded. I shouldn¡¯t.

    Jay sent the skeletons out again, this time, to gather the long swamp grasses and the reeds from the water.

    The swamp grasses were either barbed or covered with tiny hairlike fments which pierced the skin and caused itching. Some were simply full of a viscous poison. Over the years, even these grasses had grown resilient to the harsh swamp, ustomed to the world of hungry maws around them, still clinging to life despite the rotting decay and theck of sunlight.

    Yet the skeletons weren¡¯t deterred in the slightest, easily bringing bundles of grasses back after a few swings of their axes and hatchets.

    The next step wasn¡¯t hard - to instruct the skeletons to strip away the green parts covered in the barbs and needles, leaving the tough spine of the grasses, which they twined together.

    Creating something which resembled a cage wasn¡¯t hard to make, and while the twine and the quality of construction wasn¡¯t great, Jay didn¡¯t care that much. These traps weren¡¯t for him, and he certainly wouldn¡¯t be eating anything caught in them either.

    As a bonus, he would also give Hegatha the bundles of chopped pseudo-sticks and the long fibers left over from the grasses.

    If she¡¯s not happy with my work, she can do it herself. He shrugged, holding one of the traps.

    Suddenly, a mischievous smile appeared on Jay¡¯s face. He quickly sent a skeleton into the water to grab one of the corpses left over from the feeding frenzy while he dipped each trap into the swamp waters, making them look like they had been used.

    The skeleton came back with a mangled jellyfish that had thick, green, snake-like tendrils, and dark purple veins covered its body.

    Ugh, I hope that tastes better than it looks, Jay frowned.

    He carefully ced it into a trap before sending them back with a skeleton, its feet tapping across the bone bridge towards Hegatha¡¯s front door.

    ¡°Now¡­ we can get on with the hunt.¡± Jay nced at his skeletons, and they assembled before him.

 Chapter 331 Construction

    ?

    ¡°Hand in your axes and hatchets.¡±

    The skeletons turned in their tools and readied their weapons, their des gleaming before their eyes. It seemed that they knew what wasing next.

    After gathering the logging tools, Jay took them a little further away from the swamp water.

    Getting to slightly drier ground, he made tworge bone piles. One, for his throne, and the other for his skeletons.

    After assembling himself a little outpost, he sat in this throne and began give hismander orders.

    Blue stood by Jay¡¯s side while the rest of the skeletons knelt.

    ¡°Blue, you¡¯re in charge of them. I want you to hunt as many of the ming lights as possible. I don¡¯t care how much any of you get injured - I want you to prioritize aggression and killing speed. That bone pile is for eating, and if any of you die I¡¯ll just re-summon you¡­¡±

    Jay took out his crucible; therge bone bowl he used for fire pits.

    ¡°¡­ When you gather more of those amber spheres, ce them in this.¡± He pointed to the crucible.

    Jay waved his hand, shewing them away - but he gave onest, silent order.

    (Keep Lamp and Dark patrolling nearby. Just in case.)

    Blue nodded, and the rest of the skeletons rose to their feet.

    Blue began to craft some extra daggers for the smaller skeletons, while therger ones bolted off into the fog. Jay sensed all of them charging away, all except for Lamp and Dark, which lingered just out of sight, hidden in the fog.

    After receiving new daggers from Blue, the smaller ones paired off, probably to hunt in packs, and thest to leave was Blue, which gave Jay a respectful bow before disappearing.

    Jay had a slight smile as he listened to their bones clinking away into the heavy fog, and the sound slowly disappeared until it was quiet.

    ¡°Ahh,¡± He rxed, leaning back into his chair. ¡°It feels nice to be alone.¡± He whispered to himself, and a gentle smile appeared as he let his eyes close, drifting off into a short nap.

    [20 Exp] [20 Exp] [8 Exp] [8 Exp] [8 Exp] [8 Exp] [8 Exp] [8 Exp] [8 Exp]

    Some timeter, Jay heard some amber spheres tapping and rolling into his crucible, and he awoke to a number of exp notifications.

    Before he could crack his eyes open a skeleton rattled away, disappearing into the fog before Jay even realized which one it was.

    Probably Blue.

    He nced around at the fog, then the bones below his chair, d he didn¡¯t spot any slithering bugs crawling up to burrow into his ankles.

    Stretching his arms, he left the throne to gather more of the breaking shard¡¯s; the amber spheres.

    ¡°Ahh¡± he yawned, ncing back at his throne, which was really just a chair on a pile of bones.

    It¡¯sfortable, but kind of pathetic. I need to make a room or something. If it¡¯s bone, then I should be able to use living blueprints and easily pack it away.

    The fog was getting darker, and Jay had overslept, but he was determined to make himself a room for the night.

    As for going back to the ind and sleeping in the shack, well, that was not an option.

    The smell is bad enough, but who knows what a lonely old hag would do? Jay shrugged, he would rather sleep outdoors.

    (Dark,e closer and witness me. You can teach the otherster.) Hemanded, knowing Dark and Lamp were still close, protecting their master from the shadows.

    Dark sprang from the fog without much noise at all, and its glowing eyes appeared before its skull did.

    Scary little bastard¡­ Jay thought, then got to work.

    ¡°If I want to store it as living blueprints inside the gauntlet, it will need to be all bone. First thing I¡¯ll need is a floor¡­ Dark, dig out arge square for me, about one inch deep.¡± Jay pointed to the ground, and the skeleton got to work while he marked the boundary.

    The hole was a 10 foot-wide square, and would be filled with molten bone and made into a single floor panel.

    Jay watched Dark as it dug, and using ws and daggers to move dirt was a problem, making it more time consuming - as well as that, there were some gash marks in the dirt, which would leave sharp edges all over the bottom of the floor once it formed. For now, it didn¡¯t matter as it was a floor, but if this were a wall it would look quite bad - at least on the outside. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Hmm, it¡¯srge enough to roll out my swag inside, andter I could add a desk for study, Jay thought, already nning out his room.

    As Dark slowly cut the dirt out, the idea of having a portable room was something that made his heart begin to flutter, and he could only imagine how much easier it would make traveling. Jay couldn¡¯t stand to wait any longer.

    I better help Dark out, he thought, but didn¡¯t bend down to get his own hands dirty - of course not - he was a necromancer.

    Jay quickly grabbed some bones and melted them into a t semi-circle shape. He attached it to the end of a long femur bone, and created the world¡¯s first bone shovel. Another novel tool.

    ¡°Here.¡± Jay held it out, and Dark tilted its head to the side in wonder - but then sprung forwards. It threw its twin-daggers into the ground. They pierced the earth near Jay¡¯s boots,nding perfectly next to each other as it grabbed the shovel.

    With the shovel, it was able to dig out a t hole, and easily removed the excess dirt.

    Jay smiled as he watched, keenly waiting for his creation. While the fog grew darker, he took out his luminous orb. Adding a little mana to it, it released afortable warm orange glow that chased away his sleepiness along with the dark.

    Jay usually would have worried about whatever was out there seeing his light, but after using shade vision and looking through the fog himself, he knew that only Lamp was close enough see its glow.

    [8 Exp] [8 Exp] [20 Exp]

    More leeches and another light. I wonder if they¡¯re more active at night.

    After Dark finished the square 1-inch hole, Jay had it fill in the gaps it daggers had cut, and tten it out with its new shovel, and then he began phase two.

    (Lamp, Blue,e back.)

    Jay took a piece of bone from his pile and held it over the square mold. When Lamp and Blue returned, Blue attempted to help fill the hole, but he didn¡¯t let them add bones directly to the hole.

    (Wait. Do it like this¡­)

    Jay added mana to the bone in his hand, and let it melt away, drooling and dripping into the mold. This would stop the solid bones from making dents in the dirt, which would have shown upter once it solidified.

    The skeletons both nodded and grabbed bones, melting them into the mold too. They ran out of mana before it was finished, but made it past the half-way mark, which Jay was quite pleased with.

    Alright, I can finish this myself.

    (Return to duties.) Jay waved his hand, and after Dark got its daggers back, the three of them disappeared into the fog.

    Jay melted more and more bones into the mold until it was full. To fill in the hole, he guessed that he went through about ten skeletons worth of bone, each of them were of the helvetian variety that were left over from the revenge pact.

    The bone square was all melted, but each melted part was added separately, which would cause cracking problems, especially if he were to walk on it.

    ¡°Okay, here we go.¡± Jay talked to himself, taking a deep breath as he held his hands out.

    A glowing cloud of necrotic mana formed between his hands, and grew into arge ball, going up to his elbows.

    He crouched down, lowering it and holding it over the bone square.

    The insipid mana quickly dived into therge bone mass and began to melt it together.

    Jay released his control, and for a moment the entire square glowed green.

    Somewhere between liquid and molten, it became perfectly t, and Jay saw his reflection in it for a moment. But under hismand, the mana dispersed, leaving a perfectly t bone te behind.

    Yet that was not all Jay had gained from this giant crafted te.

    < [Research Acquired] >

    [Necromantic Construction]

    [1%]

    ¡°Necro¡­mantic?¡± Jay raised a brow, seeing his new line of research.

 Chapter 332 Fateful Day

    ?

    Howe? Why did I get it now? Jay wondered, looking at his necromantic construction research.

    Unfortunately, analyzing it gave him no description, and no additional information.

    Maybe the sleeping spot and the bone crucible were too small to count as construction - or perhaps they didn¡¯t count as construction since they¡¯re not part of a building? Construction research huh...

    I suppose the bridge didn¡¯t give me any because all I did was dump bones down¡­ huh.

    Looking around, it was night time, so Jay got on with his project.

    Using living blueprints, he stashed therge bone square into his gauntlet, then stepped over to his bone pile and put his throne in his inventory - then he brought out the square again.

    Therge square panel fell onto the pile of bones, but to Jay¡¯s annoyance, it tilted to the side and slid off.

    ¡°Ah, I need foundations¡­¡±

    (Dark. Report.) he ordered.

    In a moment, Dark appeared again, and in another short moment, it already had new orders and began digging.

    This time, it was a rectangr shaped hole. About 14 feet long, three inches wide, and three inches deep - a beam shape.

    To keep the square floor te stable and t, Jay only needed support beams long enough to reach each corner of it, about 3 feet high off the ground - but he decided to make them long enough to reach the roof he was nning.

    It would be structurally stronger if each beam went up past the floor and connected to the walls above it, helping to hold them in ce. At least, that was the logic behind it.

    Jay stashed therge bone square away, and began to fill up the beam-mold with bones while Dark dug out the other end.

    They were an efficient team, and while a construction worker would be useful, he still wanted an assassin, so he quickly returned Dark to the fog once it was finished, letting it blend with the shadows nearby.

    Now, I want more of that research¡­ Jay thought.

    He copied his process before - melting bones into the long beam-mold, then creating a cloud of mana over it which seeped into the bone structure and made it mix together thoroughly.

    This time, Jay decided to grab another bone and swirled it through the liquid bone, mixing it all together for good measure. He slowly dispersed the necrotic mana and the ghostly glow left the beam as it solidified.

    [Necromantic Construction Research - 2%]

    ¡°Nice,¡± Jay nodded, ¡°So my theory is correct.¡±

    He checked his mana, too.

    [MP: 98/148]

    Just making the beam was arge hit to Jay¡¯s mana, and he felt slightly empty, though it was nothing like the feeling of being light-headed when he was extremely low mana.

    Jay made two more of these beams, but he only gained one more percent to his necromantic research.

    [Necromantic Construction Research - 3%]

    [MP: 58/148]

    [MP: 18/148]

    ¡°Ah, so making the same thing over and over again means I will be less likely learn anything. Makes sense.¡± He shrugged, storing the beams away as living blueprints.

    He only needed one more, but each beam took 40 mana, so he would need to wait for regeneration, or pull his skeletons back. Thankfully, the wait wouldn¡¯t be too long as he now had mana regeneration from choosing the path of mana.

    For now, his mana regeneration passive was level 15, which gave him 1.5 mana per minute. It wasn¡¯t much, but it wasn¡¯t negligible, and with enough investment into his mana stat, it would only grow, along with his library of necromantic constructions, blueprints and research.

    *Tap*

    A skeleton dropped another amber sphere into the crucible, then disappeared before Jay even turned his head.

    ¡°Hey, wait a second!¡± Jay called, and the skeleton appeared from the shadowy fog, stepping into the warm light of the luminous orb. It was Handy, the champion.

    Jay pointed to the beam-mold, ¡°dump your mana into this.¡± He ordered.

    The skeleton marched over, plunged its two-handed sword into the ground and held its hands over the mold.

    As the cloud filled the hole, Jay released bones into it. The necrotic mana made them hover for a moment before they melted into the hole. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Handy used all its mana, and afterpleting its task it bowed to Jay, grabbed its bastard sword and left.

    ¡°Good job, Handy.¡± Jay whispered as it left, and used some of his own mana to finish the beam-making process.

    [Necromantic Construction Research - 4%]

    [1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp]

    Ah, something attacked Blue¡¯s skeletons. Seems like some bone-eaters came back? Jay thought, identifying the one-exp notifications as the bone-eating eels near the swamp bridge.

    (Blue, if your sub-skeletons at the bridge need help, feel free to send them some backup.)

    Thankfully, there were only three eels in, so it seemed that there were not many eels left - at least not near the bridge, so Jay went back to work.

    As to whether Blue would send backup, well, that was up to the it.

    Okay, I have four beams and onerge floor panel. That should be enough.

    Jay took them all out and checked their measurements again, noting that each beam was 13 feet long, and the square panel was 10 by 10.

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll be living in a cube for a while. But that¡¯s okay, it¡¯s much better than sleeping outside all the time.¡± He nodded.

    [20 Exp] [20 Exp] [20 Exp]

    ¡°Seems like the skeletons found a fight,¡± he smiled, then thought about how he would assemble these parts together.

    *BRRrr~ GRRrrooooo~ *

    A deep rumbling suddenly rolled across the skies above.

    Jay looked up into the sky, seeing only foggy darkness.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡±

    He couldn¡¯t see anything, but a cold breeze suddenly shifted the air, touching his cheeks.

    A storm wasing, and at the worst possible time.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t even got walls or a fucking roof yet,e on?!¡± he yelled into the fog, which gave no answer other than more rolls of thunder.

    [20 Exp] [20 Exp] [20 Exp] [20 Exp]

    Can¡¯t see the clouds. Too hard to predict how much time I have before it starts raining¡­ He nced back towards the swamp water.

    Asra will be fine under the noon-leather nket. I need to think about myself¡­ I¡¯m not going to let myself freeze in this shit-hole swamp.

    He immediately sent for backup - if he was about to craft a shelter he would need mana.

    (All skeletons except for Red, Sweeper, Lamp, and Blue¡¯s sub-skeletons are to finish what you¡¯re doing and report immediately.)

    e¦Áglesn?¦Íel Every skeleton was summoned except for those guarding the bridge, those with Hegatha and Asra, and Lamp who lingered nearby, hiding in the fog.

    [20 Exp] [20 Exp]

    More of the fire lights died as the skeletons finished up a battle. The skeletons were giving it their all so they could return to their master¡¯s side.

    Jay walked over to his bone pile, and added more bones until he had a tform raised up to his waist.

    This should keep my feet dry... Hopefully.

    *t¡­ t¡­ t-t t¡­*

    Jay suddenly frowned, hearing faint taps of rain in the fog around him. The storm was beginning and he still didn''t have a roof over his head.

    Handy and Blue were the first to return, and Jay began to put his n to stay dry into action.

    ¡°Im not getting fucking frozen again¡­ never again.¡± he whispered to himself, nodding slowly with an unblinking stare; his flesh and bones still remembered the shivering chill from the bottom of the Lon mountain path, on that fateful day.

 Chapter 333 Extraction

    ?

    More rain began to tap against the muddy ground, and he could hear it sshing into the swamp water nearby.

    Jay let out the square te from his gauntlet. ¡°Handy, Blue, hold this up, quick.¡± He ordered, pointing at the giant bone te, and pulled out a beam next.

    The other skeletons hadn¡¯t returned, and Jay nced at the empty molds for the bone beams and the square, then at the skeletons awkwardly holding the square on its side.

    If he wanted to stay dry, there wasn¡¯t enough time to make a roof te.

    ¡°Ah, fuck it. It will have to do.¡± Jay frowned, and attached the very bottom of the beam to the corner of the square te.

    Some melted bone was all it took to connect them, but to add some strength he hastily plucked some femur bones and made triangle supports between the beam and the square te.

    The rain began to sprinkle as Jay attached the second beam, and as he was reinforcing it, more skeletons returned.

    ¡°One on each corner, now!¡± Jay yelled, dumping the two other beams down, each of them mming onto the dirt.

    There¡¯s no time to make a new roof panel. The floor will have to do.

    Red¡¯s two sub-skeletons grabbed a beam and helped Dark move it into ce, attaching it to another corner of the square bone te. Under Blue¡¯s supervision and guidance, they copied Jay, and with Dark and Blue¡¯s meager mana reserves they managed to sessfully attach one beam, then moved onto the next.

    Jay added the support bones, saving what little mana he had left.

    Dark ran out of mana, but Handy could still help. Even though it had the champion role, it had a small amount of mana.

    Jay helped to attach thest beam and while attaching the support bones he began to feel dizzy, getting closer to the bottom of his mana pool.

    ¡°ce it on the bone tform. Move.¡± He pointed, rubbing his head, and wobbling with a side-step.

    Blue noticed that Jay seemed¡­ odd. Master was not walking straight - so it did something odd itself. It stood by his side and held its arm out.

    It confused Jay, to see its skeleton holding its arm out like a butler, but as he reached out and grabbed it, he understood what it was trying to do.

    ¡°Ah. Thanks, Blue.¡± Jay smiled.

    It was small things like this that made Jay appreciate his skeletons even more. It was the little actions like this that truly showed their loyalty, and it was something that Jay was not used to, so he appreciated it all the more.

    Blue held Jay up while the skeletons took the structure and moved it on top of the bone tform. It was an assembly of the bone floor te with four square beams attached at each corner.

    Jay¡¯s efforts had resulted in a 10 by 10 foot square panel ced atop four 13-foot beams, each connecting to a corner, making a roof over a waist-high pile of bones.

    As they ced it onto the bone pile, they pushed bones apart to dig the beams down into it.

    Jay was a little disappointed, as he had nned to attach the square te approximately 3-feet up the beams. This way, it would be a floor with enough ground clearance for level one skeletons to dash under, and there would be 10-feet of beams rising above the floor, which he could attach more 10x10 wall panels to, forming a cube room.

    Now? The rain ruined his ns - to stay dry, the floor would be the roof.

    Before stepping under the new shelter, he stopped and nced at it for a moment as rain began to tap on his head, admiring his construction.

    ¡°This is¡­ shit.¡± He frowned. ¡°Uneven, weak, nted, tilting, wobbly shit.¡±

    He shook his head, and crawled onto the bone tform as the rain began.

    All the skeletons stood around him, the rain trickling down their skulls and past their jaws as their green eyes faintly glowed, looking at their master¡¯s miserable frown.

    A small wind gust blew some rain which tapped against Jay¡¯s feet - even though he was under the roof.

    ¡°You¡¯re fucking joking.¡± His face turned bitter, as he knew that if a little rain could get to his feet, then his boots would be soaked after a while.

    For a moment he gave up, looking at his skeletons staring back at him - then he sighed, and while clenching his jaw from a mix of bitter anger and frustration, he got to work again. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Without thinking things through or really caring about possible downsides, Jay began releasing bones around himself, piling them up until they got to his knees. He had Bluee and help him up, stepping foot on new heights and stomping the bone down, then began the process again, and he eventually made it close enough to touch the roof of his new construction.

    The bone tform quickly went from a waist-high t arrangement of bones to arge piled heap, nearly six feet tall.

    ¡°Now, I can have a damn rest.¡±

    He added some more bones down to make a t top, ced his rectangr sleeping spot down and got his sleeping swag out.

    Adding his clothes and boots to his inventory, he slipped inside as the rain began to beat down on his skeletal roof.

    He was still frowning, but he closed his eyes, he enjoyed the warmth and the soft tapping above. The rancid smell of the swamp and its sticky humid feeling all but disappeared.

    He seeded in making himself a dry ce to sleep.

    (Return to duties. Blue, stay close.) he ordered, with his eyes still closed.

    The skeleton feet tapped away across the wet ground and Jay drifted off to sleep. Lamp and Blue kept him safe, though there wasn¡¯t anything out there that posed a threat.

    The fog and the fire lights acted as barriers. Everything that ventured into the fog from the outside world would be injured with un-healing fire, and would need to flee or perish. Whether a high level beast or a curious de deer, nothing would want a painful, un-healing wound - and certainly not a handful of these wounds.

    The rain continued through the night, but Jay was exhausted from the journey and slept through it all, tucked away inside his swag.

    ***

    ~Mirror Reality 34~

    Norgim nursed a cup of winter tea as he stood with Evelynn, looking out through a pane wood window and watching some students in the stone courtyard below.

    ¡°Norgrim, it¡¯s still too soon. Thest portal wasn¡¯t even one week ago and you want to go again? The mirror reality can¡¯t handle it.¡±

    ¡°It will need to. He¡¯s out there alone in the wilderness. We need to get to him before something else does, and we can¡¯t afford to let a necromancer, a human necromancer, be lost to some beasts snack - or even worse, if the mage hunters catch him.¡±

    ¡°I want to save Jay as much as you do. I know it¡¯s already costly enough using the warp charges, but can you please at least wait till the clouds stop shuddering, and the color returns to the distant mountains?¡± she frowned, looking at the students below.

    ¡°We will wait as long as we can. Rest assured, I won¡¯t risk the safety of our students or the mirror reality just so we have another weapon on our side.¡± Norgrim nodded, and ced his empty cup on his desk.

    ¡°Hang on a moment.¡± Evelynn said, and opened thetched window to call out below.

    ¡°You two! Stop that immediately!¡±

    Two students looked up as they were caught, and broke theirbined spells, causing a rock to explode as it smashed into the ground.

    One had made a small portal above another and tossed a rock inside, causing it to pick up speed as it endlessly fell through the portals. The other formed a cylinder around the portals and sucked the air out, which let the rock endlessly speed up in the vacuum.

    Evelynn shook her head and gave them a disapproving look, then slowly closed the window.

    She sighed, closing thetch, ¡°Our students aren¡¯t weapons. They aren¡¯t kids either. They¡¯re just young people who have had their world turned upside down.¡±

    ***

    ¡°Lara, we¡¯re going out again. Thanks to William we have his location, much further south than before. It¡¯s an un-ported area, so we will end up somewhere nearby. We¡¯ll be in unknownnd, so we¡¯re bringing three orren to find a dungeon we can hijack to get back.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Lara said, her eyes narrowing on a map. She was still angered by her failurest time, a blemish on her perfect record, and this time she was not going to be so trivial about the extraction.

    ¡°How long till we leave?¡±

    ¡°The portal will be ready in about a day. I¡¯ve been setting it up since we got back, but Norgrim still hasn¡¯t given the order.¡±

 Chapter 334 Hijacked Portals

    ?

    Loki was a third academy student. Slender, tall and with jet ck hair, he often went unnoticed, blending into the background.

    As for his variant ss, it was a peculiar ability to switch two objects of equal size or mass. It started out weak, only able to switch two objects about the size of an apple - but as his powers grew the ability gave him the power to switch humans. Unfortunately, it was still a long way from being useful inbat, so he could only rely on his cunning to get himself some exp, and today, his craftiness in speech-mastery had paid off - he and some other weaker students were given an escort through a dungeon: Smiley, aka Matheson.

    ¡°Just wait a second.¡± Smiley red at some weaker adventurers with him, making them stop in their tracks right before a dungeon entrance.

    Smiley was still trapped inside mirror reality 34, and had not given up on his escape.

    Every day he tested ideas, tested people, and questioned students. He was slowly cultivating a wealth of knowledge, listening and secretly learning, and after ¡®good behavior¡¯ he was granted ess to various sses offered to the students.

    The ¡®good behavior¡¯ he was practicing? He asked if he could help students through dungeons.

    Because he was trapped here, and had a paralysis parasite attached to his spine, they gave him a lot of free reign, so his request didn¡¯t raise any red gs.

    To protect him from the students he was given a special position as a trainer-assistant, leaving him with authority somewhere between a student and a teacher.

    Unfortunately, because some students couldn¡¯t use their powers during sword training, they were left vengeful after he crushed them, and a few small things had already happened which kept his senses heightened and alert at all times: The students began to curse him.

    He found that he kept tripping when he walked up stairs. No matter how slowly or carefully he ced each foot, he would trip on at least one step whenever he tried to ascend a set of stairs. Another changed his hair from golden blond to a deep blue color whenever he ate food.

    The curses were annoying at first, but quickly grew much more insidious, such as when he picked up a de he would have a strong desire to cut himself with it, and the desire would only go away once he drew blood.

    It was as much a test of his will as it was his sanity, but despite the curses, his anger didn¡¯t re up. He learned to remain calm, calcting and cold while he stored up his wrath for two things: working out and sword training.

    The mirror reality students were as much of a test as any dungeon, and little did they know that they were slowly forging him into something stronger. Something that looked nothing like Matheson a few months ago.

    Today would be the second time he took a group of three students into a dungeon.

    One of them sighed, ¡°Come on. You know we had to beg Evelynn to get you, let¡¯s get this over with.¡± An adventurer asked.

    ¡°Loki, just be quiet and wait.¡± Another one said, holding their hand up as they watched Smiley thinking.

    Loki nced at the third adventurer with them, who said nothing and looked away, then nced at Smiley.

    Smiley was scratching his chin, stepping into and out of the dungeon entrance. Loki noticed that his eyes were not just looking at the dungeon entrance notifications, but darted to the side, like he was trying to see something in the air around them.

    ¡°Is there something wrong with the dungeon?¡± Loki asked.

    ¡°Be quiet.¡± Smiley said, ignoring them all as he thought to himself.

    A dungeon entrance in a mirror reality¡­ they can¡¯t have copied an entire dungeon¡­ so is the dungeon a copy or will this take me through the dungeon entrance in the real world¡­? He wondered, then pointed to one of the students.

    ¡°You. Go in first. The rest of you wait.¡± Smiley demanded.

    One student stepped forward and epted the dungeon invitation - a ck void surrounded them and they suddenly disappeared into a silver shimmer of light.

    All of them watched the student disappear, except for Loki, who watched Smiley¡¯s eyes widen for a fraction of a second.

    Smiley found a clue.

    The other dungeon entrance did the same thing - they disappeared into a ck void followed by a silver shimmer¡­ so this is a portal to the real entrance... Smiley thought.

    Loki patted the other student on the shoulder and smiled, ¡°You can go next,¡± and then turned to stare at Smiley¡¯s reaction again. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    This time, as the student disappeared, Smiley¡¯s lips slightly curled.

    Loki raised a brow - he didn¡¯t even think this person had emotions; Smiley was more like a cold stone than a human.

    ¡°You discovered something.¡± Loki said slowly, removing his fake smile that he used on other adventurers.

    Smiley looked back at Loki, right into his eyes with an unblinking stare.

    ¡°Go in.¡±

    Loki said nothing as his eyelids slightly lowered and his shoulders slouched, and he disappeared into the dungeon entrance.

    ¡°So they can¡¯t copy dungeons¡­¡± Smiley whispered, his lips slightly curled, then stepped closer to the entrance.

    But will it teleport me directly into the dungeon, or to the dungeon entrance, and then into it?

    Smiley kept his eyes wide open during the portal teleportation, hoping to see a glimpse of the outside world before entering the dungeon.

    Unfortunately, the ck veil of void wrapped around him, and there was nothing except darkness before he found himself inside a dungeon.

    Smiley sighed as he found himself in the dungeon. Two students were looking around the dungeon for threats, but Loki was looking directly at him.

    ¡°What.¡± Smiley red.

    ¡°Nothing¡­¡± Loki looked away.

    Together, they began to go through the dungeon. Smiley didn¡¯t give much guidance, or really seem to care. He waited at the back of the party and let them fight for a while, but became annoyed and began to fight through it himself.

    The monsters in this dungeon were bamboo demons, but were very low level and could only take on forms that resembled humanoid stick insects - easily cleaved apart by Smiley¡¯s sword mastery.

    Smiley did some observing and watched the students fight, and even felt some pity of Loki.

    Loki¡¯s skill was hardly threatening, and didn¡¯t contribute a lot to the team, as all he did was swap nearby trees with the bamboo demons. The bamboo demons were swapped away before they could strike his allies, and while it was useful because it bought a second inbat, a shield would have done the same.

    It¡¯s no wonder he¡¯s here. What a useless ability¡­ but there¡¯s nothing stopping him from learning how to use a sword - he just won¡¯t put in the effort to be stronger, replying on his ss instead. It¡¯s a wonder theybeled him a variant in the first ce. What a pitiful person, Smiley thought, watching Loki with a disdainful frown.

    They reached the end of the dungeon and fought through a few waves of enemies while they protected something called the ¡®moon altar¡¯, and finally, the dungeon was over as a portal appeared.

    Simr tost time, Smiley sent the students out one by one, as he keenly watched the portal, and likest time, Loki wentst.

    But as the other two disappeared, Loki stopped.

    ¡°You¡¯ve noticed something about the portal? I see the way you look at it. You put less concentration into fighting the demons.¡±

    Smiley red, then tilted his head towards the portal, gesturing him to enter.

    ¡°I can help you¡­ I know you have restricted ess to a few areas of the academy, but I don¡¯t.¡±

    Smiley raised a brow.

    ¡°Just think about it.¡± Loki said, then disappeared through the portal.

 Chapter 335 Sweet Nothings

    ?

    *~BRRrrrCRrrrr*

    Thunder continued to echo through the night as the heavy rain began.

    It smells a little more bearable, Asra thought.

    She slowly opened her eyelids, revealing her purple eyes as she looked up at the patchy rotted roof above.

    The sentient leaves constantly shifted in the roof, fluttering about and covering and holes.

    I guess the rain doesn¡¯t hurt them, only the swamp water does? Asra thought. The roof seemed more like a shifting fur coat of some beast, and after watching for a moment she sat up, and pushed open the noon-leather nket she was still wrapped in.

    She nced around the room.

    Now, where is Hegatha?

    The only one with her was Red. d in shining armor, its ghostly green eyesy on her, continuing to watch her as it had beenmanded.

    ¡°Red, where is Hegatha?¡± Asra whispered. She only expected a head nod or some other unintelligent behaviour, perhaps it wouldn¡¯t even understand her words.

    Yet, she was mistaken.

    Red tilted its head to the side. Perhaps she surprised it - someone other than Jay asking it questions? How odd.

    But maybe Red was just thinking. After a moment, it stepped back, tilted its skull forwards and pointed its sword down at the floor below.

    Asra raised a brow, ¡°Hegatha is dead?¡±

    Red thought for a moment, and after the cogs turned in its mind, ity its sword on the table and then, mimicing Jay, it curled all its fingers into a fist, each of them gently tapping - then, it pointed its index finger out, and pointed down again.

    ¡°Oh, I see. Under us.¡± Asra slowly nodded, and Red nodded back as it reimed its sword from the table.

    Yet Asra kept looking at Red, into its eyes, and then through them at the star-like traces of light beads moving around on the inside of its skull.

    Jay¡¯s skeletons are smarter than I thought¡­ she watched it for a moment longer, then hopped off the table.

    What is this witch doing here? She wondered around the room, looking at collections of wriggling organs and other creatures in jars.

    The floors were hardwood nks, with more of the tiny sentient leaves jammed between, filling the gaps like a thick y. Yet with each step she could feel the wood push down slightly and her vampiric hearing would have heard a gentle creak if it wasn¡¯t raining so heavily.

    However, the rain provided another advantage - she could smell something strange now that the fog was gone. It was sweet and fragrant, like honey mixed with flower petals.

    Following the scent into the corner of the room, the leaves on the wall began to shuffled as she got closer, revealing arge oval shape behind it.

    A mirror. Large enough for Asra to see her full body in, though the reflection was not of herself.

    The mirror showed a thick fog in a dimly lit room; a few small luminous orbs barely glowing on the opposite side.

    She could see Hegatha¡¯s back, but her bulky body was only a dark silhouette, sitting down in front of arge stone, shaped like a pyramid. The stone itself was as tall as Asra, and gave off an alluring feeling - one that was like a sense of adventure, persuading people to draw near and get lost in it, and made Asra want to sit before it like Hegatha did.

    Unfortunately, Asra couldn¡¯t see exactly what was on the front face of the pyramid as it was blocked by Hegatha¡¯s enormous body, but there was a stream of smoke rising from somewhere in front of Hegatha.

    ¡°Hello?¡± Asra called, but to no answer.

    Some of the smoke passed through the mirror surface, but no sound.

    So only sight and smell can cross? Asra thought, stepping closer to the mirror. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    In the dark room, she noticed something familiar - a pair of glowing eyes, ghostly and green, staring back at her.

    If Sweeper can do it, I can too. Asra shrugged, and then went to step through the mirror - but as soon as her boot touched the mirror, the room turned to darkness.

    She didn¡¯t step through the mirror, but found herself in the dark room with Hegatha, holding her boot against the mirror.

    Oh, it switched sides like I were a reflection. She turned around, hoping Hegatha didn¡¯t notice her, but there was no chance she would as Hegatha was whispering something

    Her voice sounded so sweet and gentle, as if it dripped with honey and perfume, but what she said sent shivers up Asra¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Come now, I have a world to show you. Filled with children and things to destroy¡­ Just a little deeper, hidden in the forest. Come, there are many magical treasures, just a little deeper, some powerful enough to open the break, to tear it apart.¡± Hegatha whispered.

    Asra was going to listen for a moment longer, but Red appeared in the mirror. Her eyes widened and she gestured for it to stop, and to stand back.

    But Red had already went to press its skeletal finger against the mirror, and suddenly its clicking bones entered the room.

    Before Hegatha could turn around, Asra touched it, and appeared on the other side, back in the shack. She blended into the shadows for a moment but then quickly went and sat on the table.

    A few secondster, Hegatha appeared.

    ¡°Is everything okay, dear?¡± she asked, and her voice still sounded sweet and gentle.

    Asra nced at her, and raised a brow, ¡°huh?¡±

    Red appeared again, giving Asra some sense of security.

    Hegatha coughed, ¡°Bleh. Me hungry.¡± Her voice returned to a rough, coarse voice of a pigmanoid creature.

    Hegatha grabbed something wriggling from one of the jars, crushed it in her fingers and then disappeared into the mirror again.

    Asra continued to stare at the mirror, making sure Hegatha wasn¡¯t about toe back through, and another shiver went up her spine as she thought about Hegatha¡¯s fake voice.

    I need to warn Jay.

    ***

    Three young bounty hunters waded through nts in the forest.

    Looking out through the thick forest canopy, they headed towards a cluster of small mountains, criss-crossed with streams, valleys and rivers which formed a grand maze of simr hills.

    *~Shring*

    Linc sliced a giant flying insect into two halves, which spilled green goo on the ground.

    ¡°Estra, are you sure? We¡¯re the only ones going this way. Everyone else is going further west.¡± Linc frowned, and rubbed the edges of his de across a mossy tree trunk.

    ¡°Yes. I hear his heart beating clearly, and who else would it be? Jay was living alone¡­ and apparently he had all his ¡®fun¡¯ with Anya at the adventurer association. So it has to be him.¡± She shrugged.

    Linc sighed. ¡°I heard the mage hunters found something interesting that way, but they¡¯re not letting anyone through.¡±

    Vanderby chimed in, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Once we¡¯re rich, we can investigate all the interesting things we want.¡±

    ¡°Mm. Once we¡¯re rich.¡± Estra nodded, and Linc marched forwards again, roughly guided by Estra.

 Chapter 336 Castle Function

    ?

    Mmm, I love the sound of rain in the morning.

    Jay thought, but kept his eyes closed, still tucked away inside his sleeping bag and not wanting to remember where he was¡ªwhat he was.

    Without leaving thefortable warmth, or even sticking his head out of the swag, he quietly pulled summoned small strips of meat from his inventory and began to chew.

    Hmm, this a good start to getting breakfast in bed. But it can always be improved. First I¡¯ll need a grand double bed, filled with the perreton wolf tails¡­ ah, but I¡¯ll need silverware and tes, too. A butler will be easy enough, as I can just use skeletons, but I¡¯ll need a room first¡­ in a building. He thought, swallowing juicy piece of meat.

    ¡­ But why stop at a building? I don¡¯t see why I can¡¯t have an entire castle. If I get strong enough to stand against the mage hunters, I don¡¯t have to hide. There would really be nothing to stop me. I suppose I should take a lesson from the savagends dungeon and create an underground castle though, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t have a small tower or two on top, which will let me wake up in the early morning sunrise. Besides, I don¡¯t want to live in a sticky, humid darkness like Hegatha.

    Over night, the rain had slowed to a sprinkle, still lightly tapping on the bone-te roof. Some of the fog started to reappear, but it was still nowhere near as thick as it was.

    [1260 Exp]

    A notification greeted Jay when he slowly opened his eyes. But thendscape caught his attention, the heavy deluge of rain caused some changes.

    What the¡­ He thought.

    ¡®Land¡¯ scape was not urate. Blue was standing in water going up to its rib cage, acting like there were no problems at all. It slightly disappointed Jay as it didn¡¯t warn him about the rising water.

    Perhaps Blue didn¡¯t see it as a threat. The bone tform Jay slept on was high, closer to the roof and about 6 feet above the water, so Jay was still a few storms away from being drowned.

    ¡°Well this changes things.¡± Jay said, sitting up in his sleeping bag. ¡°I guess now I have my own ind¡­ Shit. The ind. Asra.¡±

    Yesterday, Jay had marched the skeletons away from the shoreline and into the fog, so if it was up to Blue¡¯s ribs here, then Asra, Hegatha and the entire ind would be underwater.

    (Blue, find and save Asra¡­ Red¡­) Jay ordered, then paused.

    ¡°Red and Sweeper are still with her.¡±

    He quickly used the host skill, seeing through the eyes of Red. The world turned to ck and white, but was mostly dark.

    Inside the rotting shack, Red¡¯s skull tilted to the side, watching over the noon-leather nket which slowly raised and fell.

    Huh? No water? Jay thought. It wasn¡¯t what he expected at all. Asra was tucked away inside the noon-leather nket, sleeping soundly. There was no flooding, even though the ind was downhill from Jay.

    Asra was impossibly safe.

    (Blue, return to me. False rm.) Jay ordered, and ended the host skill.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a magic barrier or something to block the water? I¡¯ll need to get closer to investigate. In the meantime, I have some amber spheres to gather.¡± Jay said, and nced down from the tform into the water, and found¡­ nothing. His bone crucible had floated off.

    ¡°Fuck. You gotta be kidding me.¡±

    He frowned, shook his head, and tucked himself back inside his swag. ¡°I did enough today. I think that¡¯s enough. Asra¡¯s fine¡ªgoodnight.¡± He said, and closed his eyes for a few minutes longer.

    Yet, as if the answer his thoughts, a skeleton sloshed through the water, an amber sphere gripped between its boney fingers.

    Jay opened his eyes and watched from his toasty sleeping spot. The skeleton stopped next to some swamp grasses that barely peaked above the water and a tree trunk, then dropped the sphere next to them before zipping away through the flooding waters again.

    ¡°Ah, found you.¡± Jay said, smiling. His eyes narrowed, then he pointed at the crucible and issued somemands.

    (Blue, drag the crucible back over to me. Don¡¯t let any amber sphere¡¯s fall out.)

    Jay left his bedding, ready to try this day over again while Blue went over and began to pull the heavy crucible over.

    Jay looked around from his tform, wondering how he would get back to Asra without getting wet, how he would get past whatever barrier Hegatha had that stopped water from flooding the ind. Of course, the existence of a barrier was purely assumption, but Jay didn¡¯t see any other way. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The solution to reach them is simple, I¡¯ll just have the skeletons carry me over on my throne. Ah, but the water will get deeper as we approach the swamp ind. As for the bone bridge, it¡¯s probably underwater by now? Jay thought.

    He could still sense Blue¡¯s sub-skeletons guarding the bridge from bone-eating eels, so thankfully it hadn¡¯t been washed away. The bone bridge itself was only made about half a foot above the water, and after walking further away from the swamp yesterday, Jay guessed he was another two feet higher, while the flooding water here was about three-feet high.

    So¡­ if we get down to the shoreline, the floodwater will be about five to six feet high. Jay thought, scratching his chin.

    If they carry me above their heads, I think we can make it work, it¡¯ll just suck¡­ but stepping foot into the water is not an option.

    Jay remembered the swarms of leeches that left every hole and darkened pit during the feeding frenzy yesterday. Every morsel of flesh and every drop of blood was like a beacon calling thousands of these blood suckers from their burrows. He would not dare to even dip his boot near the shadowy waters.

    Yet, before calling the skeletons back from hunting to assist him, he heard a quiet voice. Something whispering from his feet.

    ¡°Recalibration¡­plete. Assessing damage¡­¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Jay jumped back. He quickly stashed his swag in his inventory, thinking that something had crawled into it.

    At his feet, all that was left was his rectangr-bone sleeping spot, the pile of bones under him, and his backpack.

    Nope, not taking any chances, he thought.

    The helminth sensed Jay¡¯s tension and its slender skull appeared, perched on his shoulder as a shimmer of ghostly green, ready to defend its master from whatever it was.

    (Dark report.) Jay ordered, and stepped onto the very edge of the tform, cing one hand onto a beam supports to stop himself from falling off the side.

    The voice came from his bag again, continuing to whisper.

    ¡°Appendage growth discontinued¡ªemergency recycling initiated. Parameters¡ªlost. Laws¡ªlost. Hostpact¡ªlost. Internal ledger¡ªlost. Routines¡ªlost. Subroutines¡ªlost. essing istion use¡­ Error¡ªlost. Initiating rehabilitation¡­ Initiating damage assessment.¡±

    (Dark, hurry the fuck up ande open my bag.)

    ¡°¡­ Damage assessmentplete. 7% core functions remaining.¡±

    ¡°Core functions?¡± Jay whispered, raising a brow¡ªhe didn¡¯t expect that whatever was in the bag was listening, much less that it would reply to him.

    ¡°Core functions remaining: Language modeling. Memory management. Mana sync. Mana cycling. Mana growth factors. Residue dissimtion. Master bonding key ess¡ªerror¡ªkey missing... error. Error. Key regeneration protocol activated.¡±

    Jay slowly took a breath in, not willing to say another word as his bag may respond again and say some other weird things.

    Dark finally appeared, pushing through the water which was up to its shoulders. It climbed the tform, getting its body out of the water, but before it reached Jay, it paused for a moment¡ªit received an order.

    (Remove all that stuff from your bones.)

    After wading through the waters all night, the skeleton had picked up a stray passengers. Bits of swamp grasses, moss, reeds and slime all clung to its bones like little streamers.

    There was no way Jay would let Dark approach his sleeping spot, lest he get an infestation of swamp lice, flesh-eating spores, or whatever else may be living here.

    Dark began to clean itself, sliding its own daggers across its bones to cut away the debris while the helminth watched the bag, its transluscent slender skull glowing visibly. Jay patted it and watched the bag too.

    ¡°Just what have you brought me¡­¡± he whispered to his ethereal parasite, his eyes narrowing on the bag¡ªthe only item inside was one that didn¡¯t store inside his inventory.

    There¡¯s more to Vdore¡¯s little desk ornament than I thought.

 Chapter 337 Short

    ?

    Dark climbed up the side of the bone pile while the bag continued to whisper.

    ¡°Key formed. User ess avable. Please remove advisor key.¡±

    ¡°Key?¡± Jay said, raising a brow, ¡°Be gentle, Dark.¡±

    Dark¡¯s skeletal ws slowly curled around the bag opening, gently pulling it open.

    Jay stepped around the side, peering in. The ck cube was¡­ different. It had shrunk and deformed¡ªor reconstructed, into a sphere shape, a palm-size orb. Though there was a slightly raised part of it poking out with squared edges.

    The key? Jay thought.

    (Dark, slowly pull that square part out.) Jay ordered from behind his death-walker¡¯s sentry shield¡ªstanding behind it as a safety precaution. There was no telling what Vdore¡¯s ck cube¡ªwell, ck sphere¡ªwas capable of. He couldn¡¯t be sure if there was a booby-trap or a self-destruct.

    Dark¡¯s slender white fingers grasped the tiny bit poking out and gently pulled¡ªyet the orb didn¡¯t let go.

    Hmm¡­ it either won¡¯t let go, or it doesn¡¯t think Dark¡¯s bones are living?

    Someone living would have to pull it out, and Jay didn¡¯t want anyone else having whatever this key was. Jealousy drove Jay; If it was a prize, it was his, and his alone. After all, he did have to ughter an entire tribe of cannibals for it.

    He slowly stepped forwards, holding his shield up, and reached around Dark¡ªthe skeleton would take the force of the st.

    Gritting his teeth, he hoped his arm wouldn¡¯t be de-materialized. He gently touched the key, then gripped it lightly. Slowly, he pulled, and this time, the key budged, smoothly sliding out from the ck orb.

    When it was half-way out, Jay ripped it and jumped back then held his shield up, crouching behind it. Yet there was no st.

    Ah. I was just being paranoid. Good for me. He thought.

    He slowly uncurled his fingers and looked at his prize. The key was like a polished ck gemstone, smooth and perfectly square at either end of its long prism shape. Its edges were finely cut, almost sharp, and there was something enjoyable about running his fingers over them.

    The ck orb sounded again, ¡°Key distributed. New master recognized. Input name?¡±

    Jay peeked over his shield at the harmless ck orb sitting on the bag, then nced at the key in his palm and paused for a moment.

    ¡°Ah, Jay.¡±

    ¡°Ah Jay ¡ª Name epted. Hello, Ah Jay.¡±

    ¡°Wait, it¡¯s just Jay.¡±

    ¡°Name epted. What are your orders, Just Jay?¡±

    He shook his head, ¡°My name is Jay. Now, what orders can I give you, what can you even do?¡±

    ¡°Jay¡ªName epted. essing routine list¡ªerror. Memory fracture. No routines avable¡­ Initiating memory recovery¡ªerror. No mana source¡ªcannot recycle more of self. Shutdown imminent.¡±

    ¡°Mana. You need mana?¡± Jay asked, raising a brow.

    ¡°Require mana source. Shutdown imminent.¡±

    Will necrotic mana even work? Jay wondered.

    (Dark, hold it and release your mana.)

    Dark picked it up in both hands, its bone fingers wrapping around the ck sphere like it was in a cage, and a faint glow of green mana circled around the orb. The green gas seeped into it and the shiny ck outsideyer of the sphere turned clear.

    For a moment Jay could see its insides¡ªglowing runic symbols mixed with borate tapestries of meshes, talismans and mana-craft diagrams. It looked more like a tornado filled with magic debris, but there was a satisfying structured order about it, which caused a string of excitement to dance in Jay¡¯s heard. He couldn¡¯t look away. He would not.

    ¡°Mana sensed. Drawing into mana reserve. Cycling¡­ Initiating memory recovery.¡±

    Seems like it¡¯s fine for now, but I ought to take some precautions. Jay thought, and took a deep breath in.

    ¡°Ah, ck orb, what should I call you?¡±

    ¡°Current name¡ªprototype 117. Input new name?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Your name is¡­¡± Jay said, and nced around the swamp, wondering what it should be called. Something like ¡®John¡¯ would have been too in for his liking¡ªbut the swamp gave some inspiration.

    ¡°Leech.¡±

    ¡°Acknowledged. Current name¡ªLeech.¡±

    ¡°Leech, do you have any way ofmunicating over long distances, such as amunication crystal?¡±

    ¡°Running self-diagnosis¡­ Negative, but this can be incorporated.¡±

    ¡°No need. Do you have any weapons or way to attack, traps or a self-destruct mechanism?¡± <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡°Negative, but these can be incorporated.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, no need for now. Just work on fixing your memory.¡±

    ¡°Acknowledged. Current memory repaired¡ª0.001%¡±

    ¡°How much¡­ uh what was it, mana reserve, do you have?¡±

    ¡°Mana reserve: two mana left.¡±

    Jay checked Dark¡¯s mana pool.

    [0/7]

    Hmm, so five mana only gave it 0.001%. That means it will need¡­ five thousand just to reach one percent? Damn¡­ it¡¯s gonna take so long. Perhaps I can automate the process, but will it even be worth it?

    Jay asked, ¡°Leech, what do you remember so far?¡±

    ¡°Runic trantion.¡±

    ¡°Care to borate?¡±

    ¡°Runic trantion: The ability to read runguage, runes, and to guess the oue of rune craft.¡±

    ¡°And rune craft is?¡±

    ¡°Runes are symbols that resonate with mana. Rune craft is a series of runes arrayed in a pattern, and are linked together by a mana scribe to produce a magic mechanism¡ªmost of which are traps or locks.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ well, let me know if you see any traps¡­ ah, also, don¡¯t speak around anyone except me. Remain silent, I don¡¯t want others to think you are anything but a trinket.¡±

    ¡°Acknowledged.¡±

    It seems it has some things to teach me. It must have learned a lot from Vdore. This is exactly what I need¡ªthe mana cost will be worth it.

    Next, Jay set up a way to feed the ck orb with a semi-constant stream of mana, but not from himself.

    (Blue, if any of the skeletons are full mana, have them hold the orb and coat it with necrotic energy.)

    Blue nced up at Jay from the waist-high water and nodded.

    (Ah, also, bring me the breaking shards from the crucible.)

    [15 Exp]

    Hmm, good. More exp. I wonder what they¡¯re killing? Jay thought. He was sure that the fire-lights dropping the amber spheres only gave 20 exp.

    Blue crouched, stuck its arm into the water and began collecting the amber spheres from the submerged crucible while Jay finally left the cover of his shield and picked up his bag, which he tossed down the side of the bone tform. Itnded just above the water so Blue could stash the sphere¡¯s inside.

    Dark still held onto the ck orb, and Jay didn¡¯t let it put it down¡ªJay wouldn¡¯t carry it himself, so for the time being, its caretakers were the undead. Not that it cared.

    Jay did a quick check of the ¡®key¡¯ that Leech had made before stashing it away.

    < [Master Key] >

    [Linked - Leech]

    [The holder of this key is the master of Leech.]

    So, I¡¯m its master? Good. Another one for my ranks of minions, but at least this one can speak.

    Jay stashed it in his inventory, then watched as Blue collected thest of the amber sphere¡¯s into his bag.

    (Blue, recall Lamp, Handy and¡­ actually, that¡¯s all for now.) Jaymanded, then turned to his assasin skeleton.

    (Dark, leave the orb there and go to watch over Hegatha. Sweeper, guard Asra. Red,e back once Sweeper is guarding Asra.)

    For Jay, it wasn¡¯t too hard to keep track of. Red and Sweeper were guarding Asra and Hegatha. He simply switch out Red with Dark, while Handy was hunting the fire lights. As for Lamp, it was watching nearby.

    Jay needed at least four of his tallest skeletons to carry him above their heads, so he needed Red back. Since Hegatha was tame, it was almost a waste of manpower¡­ well, skeletal-power.

    Apart from Blue, Red, Lamp, Sweeper and Handy, all the others were level three and below, and too short for the task.

    ¡°Now¡­ to get to Asra.¡± He nced down at the water below.

 Chapter 338 Leaf-Blood Hunger

    ?

    Dark dived off the tform and plunged into the murky waters below, swiftly retrieving its daggers and vanishing without a trace like a novice assassin. Only Jay felt its presence heading towards the swamp ind. ¡°Be careful down there,¡± he murmured to himself.

    Jay grabbed the ck orb, Leech, and held it for a moment.

    Huh...? he examined it closely. I can sense something¡­ like it¡¯s one of the skeletons. Perhaps the necrotic mana it absorbed became a part of it?

    He held the orb up to the light, examining its dark surface. Interesting.

    As he looked at it, Lamp returned and Blue had finished gathering the amber spheres into his bag, so it was time to act.

    Jay faced his gauntlet down and began to pull bones back into it, slowly lowering his tform down, closer to the water. Handy returned next, along with another skeleton which Jay didn¡¯t realize was there until it reached its hands out of the water.

    ¡°¡­Heavy?¡± Jay raised a brow.

    Heavy slightly climbed up the tform, and pointed at the ck orb.

    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± He smiled, understanding that Blue had brought Heavy back so it could deposit its mana into Leech.

    ¡°Don¡¯t drop it.¡± He warned, handing the orb to Heavy. Jay continued adding bones from below his feet until he was close to water level. Blue patiently watched as its master descended like a heavenly figure. Jay reached the bag at its side, and stashed away the amber sphere¡¯s as though they were an offering.

    [Breaking Shard] x 52

    ¡°Nice work.¡± Jay nodded to hismander, and Blue nodded back.

    While he had expected more shards, there were other things out there that needed killing, which diverted his skeletons attention and giving him extra experience.

    The fire lights were giving him 20 exp, and as for whatever creatures were giving him 15 and 30 exp, he couldn¡¯t be sure¡ªbut neither did he care about whatever slimy wriggling creature would be lurking in this ursed ce. Instead, his attention was focused on the musty smell that filled the air, the humid feeling that clung to his skin, and the faint sound of flowing flood water, the water that he would be traversing.

    Jay took out his throne and ran his hand along the armrest with a slight smile. It was the only sign of civilization in this ce. He checked the supports and added a series of notches and bumps along them, ensuring his skeletons would have a sure grip. The thought of falling into these parasite-filled waters made him tense, and while the skeletons hadn¡¯t dropped him yet, he didn¡¯t want to take any chances¡ªand if they did, the grudge he would hold against his loyal minions would be a long and bitter one.

    By the time the throne was ready, Red appeared. Its armor was still shining even though the dark waters tried their best to stain it.

    ¡°Red, recall your guardians. They¡¯ll help to guide us. I don¡¯t want any of you to fall or misstep while carrying me.¡± Jay said, and Red stood by Blue¡¯s side and nodded.

    The skeletons cant see underwater, so the smaller skeletons will need to scout the ground with themselves before I get carried over it.

    This was Jay¡¯s n, anyway. As for how well it would work, well, he would find out.

    Jay sat on his throne and had the skeletons leave the water, ascending the bone tform to stand by his side. They carefully lifted him up and Jay stashed away the necromantic construction: the roof with the four beams.

    Next, they stepped into the water. The skeletons held him at shoulder height at first, keeping their master about a foot above water.

    Jay shuffled and turned, reaching out with his gauntlet, stashing thest of the bone tform and the bone crucible away, and under his instructions the four skeletons lifted him higher.

    They had to drop their weapons to amodate their master¡¯s needs, but for them, obeying any of hismands was an honor. Besides, he could make more weapons for them if they didn¡¯t craft them themselves.

    Jay nced down, guessing he was about eight feet above the water. His skeletons truly were trying to hold him as high as possible, pushing his throne high above their heads.

    It was a little shaky and didn¡¯t feel very secure, but Jay didn¡¯t have much choice.

    (Go slowly. Very slowly.) he ordered, gripping the sides of his throne.

    With each step forward he could feel his teeth slowly clenching tighter, but there was some relief as Red¡¯s guardian skeletons returned from hunting.

    Heavy still held Leech, the ck orb, and followed along - albeit fully submerged underwater. The only sign of it was the top of its necrotic barbute helmet pushing against the water. A little white dome following them around.

    (Blue, use Red¡¯s guardians to guide us. I don¡¯t want a single one of you to misstep. I don¡¯t care how slowly we go, just don¡¯t let me fall.)

    Jay didn¡¯t look over the side of his throne, but knew that Blue would have nodded. He sensed the smaller guardian skeletons moved forward and begin to step left and right, feeling the terrain with their feet, perhaps even their hands. Each of them stirred up more clouds of ck grime as they crawled and darted around. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The journey towards the swamp ind was slow, but mostly uneventful. They had to turn a few times, dodging something that Jay couldn¡¯t see, though if he had to guess, it was probably a ditch, and as they drew nearer the ind the skeletons skulls became fully submerged.

    ¡°Hmm, this isn¡¯t too bad.¡± Jay nodded. It was slow but the sounds of gentle flowing water through the skeletal arm bones holding him up was quite rxing. All he needed was a little sunlight and he would probably tilt his head back, close his eyes and rx.

    Yet anyone who could see Jay right now would have to pause in wonder as they witness skeletal hands holding his throne above the water, silently drifting its way through the swamp as if it were a magic boat.

    ***

    ~A few minutes prior~

    ¡°Red? Hey where are you going¡ª? Red!¡±

    Asra mmed open the rotting door, chasing Red outside. Yet the skeleton was already jumping away.

    *Ssh!*

    Thest she saw of Red was a shimmer of its shining armor, disappearing into the swamp waters.

    ¡°Why?¡± she said, pouting.

    Without any warning, Red dashed from the shack and dived right into the swamp water.

    Bob? Has the husk found a way to disobey me? Did he just abandon me? She thought, frowning, but a momentter she dismissed the thought.

    Sweeper appeared at her side, and now, she couldn¡¯t help but worry about this husk, the human named Bob who was not scared of her in the slightest. She threw up her arms and shook her head.

    Wait why am I worrying¡­ he¡¯s a husk. I just need him to get me back home¡­ Yes, that¡¯s why. He¡¯s a useful tool. And a nice snack. A tasty snack¡­ She thought, thinking his undead mana gave his blood a delectable vor that agreed with her nervous system.

    Asra nced down, rubbing her hand over her stomach, feeling hungry. She went inside andy back onto the table, wrapping herself in the noon-leather nket. From under the nket she nced at Sweeper, looking into its skeletal eyes for a moment. He better be ok.

    Heavy footsteps creaked the floor. Hegatha appeared from the mirror portal. Asra narrowed her eyelids closely together so it would look like she was sleeping¡ªbut had them open just enough to see Hegatha¡¯s bulky figure plodding around.

    Hegatha turned to Sweeper and scratched her head, wondering why the skeleton had just left her side. The skeleton¡¯s neck croaked as it turned its head and nced back, giving up the empty, hollow stare that it always did.

    ¡°Geh.¡± She grunted, waving her hand dismissively and ignoring the skeleton again. ¡°Dumb.¡± She said.

    Hegatha look up at the roof and opened her fist, and from her palm some new leaves flew up into the roof. Asra opened her eyes a little wider and noticed they were all green, young, tender leaves. About five in total. The rest of the leaves in the roof shuffled around to give them room, almost like they were weing them.

    New leaves? She¡¯s making them? Asra thought.

    Hegatha turned around but Asra shut her eyes. She felt Hegatha touching her hair, stroking it silently. If Hegatha didn¡¯t look like such a beast, whisper like a witch, and live alone in a swamp, perhaps Asra would even rx in a moment like this.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Asra blurted out, opening her eyes and pulling her head away.

    ¡°Hmph. Nothing. Show me your leg.¡±

    Asra narrowed her eyes for a moment, not trusting Hegatha in the slightest as she tried to read Hegatha¡¯s nodr face. Yet Hegatha had a job to do. Asra frowned and revealed the wound, letting Hegatha get to work again.

    Likest time, Hegatha hovered one hand over the wound. Some older gray leaves flew down which she crushed and swallowed, then began the healing process.

    She eats them when they¡¯re old? Asra thought, trying to make sense of this woman¡¯s odd magic.

    With the pain fading, and little else to do, Asra had time to think, time to wonder and time to plot. While Asra didn¡¯t care too much for the husks, she wondered what Bob would do with the information she had gleaned about Hegatha¡ªthe strange alluring whisper of Hegatha that sounded like a sweet young woman rather than a beast, and the whispering children¡¯s voices they heard in the fog. Not to mention the underground room which had something like an altar.

    As for hunger, well, she definitely wasn¡¯t tempted by Hegatha¡¯s blood. Not in the slightest.

 Chapter 339 Asras Revenge

    ?

    Asra gingerly touched the wound on her leg, feeling some of it scabbing. Most of the charred flesh had disappeared, and the wound no longer seeped fluids.

    She nced up and noticed Dark, the assassin skeleton, standing in the corner of the room. It had made it to them and stood silently, watching them both, though Hegatha ignored the small skeleton andpleted the healing session, pulling her hand back with a grunt.

    ¡°Geh, that¡¯s enough.¡± Hegatha said, and got up to go outside.

    Asra sat up from the table and followed Sweeper out after her, watching as Hegatha walked back and forward on the ind, checking the edges of it for something¡ªpresumably searching for more ¡®food¡¯ washed up from the storm.

    Yet, Asra¡¯s eyes were soon drawn across the water, looking for any signs of Jay, expecting him to appear. It was still overcast with clouds, and the fog was returning but she waited in the doorway, not risking a sunburn.

    Hegatha nced at Asra, and seeing Asra¡¯s sombre eyes looking across the swamp, she let out a few mocking cackles, ¡°Heh! He won¡¯t be back for days, get used to being alone!¡±

    Asra red back at Hegatha, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    Alone like you? She thought.

    Hegatha went back to her business, gathering ashes from a dead fire pit and mushrooms, then tying up Jay¡¯s traps with her golden rope.

    Asra continued to watch the water, hoping to see the ripple of a skeletoning back out. It was different after the storm, a little more see-through than before since it had been diluted.

    I won¡¯t let myself end up alone. Time will heal my wounds but I don¡¯t need to heal alone. Asra thought, remembering someone whom she had lost, Denmir.

    Whether Denmir died to the blood-vine bear or something else, Asra couldn¡¯t be sure. Denmir was from a different vampire n, and their ns hated one another, so Asra often thought that their love was destined to fail, even if they did run away together.

    Movement came from the water. An insignificant ripple. It was so small that she nearly missed it. A figure began to emerge from the fog. A throne, narrowly held above the water. It was like an answer to her thoughts, an answer to Hegatha¡¯s taunting, and Asra couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    There he was, carried by skeletal hands, only their wrists showing above the water. His slow speed over the water hardly caused a ripple as they drifted him to their ind. So he can float now? Asra thought, her mouth slowly opening in wonder.

    Yet in no time, her smile turned to a cunning smirk as she noticed Hegatha¡¯s back was turned¡ªshe hadn¡¯t noticed Jay silently gliding over the murky waters, his throne pulling up to the ind as if it were a boating to dock.

    ***

    The bridge is underwater, but still intact, Jay thought, sensing the mass of bones. He was d they hadn¡¯t been washed away or eaten up, and could still sense Blue¡¯s five sub-skeletons below the surface, patrolling for any of those pesky bone-eating eels.

    Red¡¯s two sub-skeletons moved forward cautiously, leading the way for the throne.

    As they plodded across the bridge, Jay couldn¡¯t help but wonder how the ind wasn¡¯t submerged, but it wasn¡¯t long until he had has answer.

    The ind came into sight, and it looked just like it always had. The water level had not risen¡ªat least not for the ind.

    The ind¡­ floats? Jay thought, his mouth slightly opening while seeing the shoreline which hadn¡¯t changed at all. There was no magic barrier blocking the water, and it seemed that it probably wasn¡¯t magical at all. Just an odd floating ind.

    So she lives on a floating ind, in a foggy wilderness swamp, surrounded by fire creatures. Got it. Makes sense. He thought sarcastically, wondering how someone¡¯s life choices would even lead them to this, down a path of wrong choices to end up in a situation such like this.

    You would probably have to never make a single good choice? Jay thought, Or perhaps make a single bad one over and over again.

    Unless it was a teleportation curse binding her here, or the work of some malevolent mindsmith, then Hegatha would have no one to me but herself, and Jay offered nothing but pity. Apathetic pity.

    The skeletons brought the throne closer to the ind and finally walked up its steep shore. Before they could leave the water, Jay stood up and jumped off, d to be standing on the ind once again.

    I probably should have just made a shelter here. He thought, looking around, and spotted Asra waving at him¡ªyet she was not saying a word. She was strangely¡­ silent.

    Asra? ¡­ She came to greet me? He raised a brow, and slowly took a few steps forward. Thought it wasn¡¯t any normal greeting. She began waving her hands and pointing at Hegatha, a devilish grin on her face. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I guess she wants me to talk with Hegatha first?

    Jay meandered over, his set of six full-grown skeletons following closely behind, still obediently carrying his throne. Hegatha heard the footsteps, the light patter of feet from the skeletons.

    ¡°I told you he¡¯s noting.¡± Hegatha said, a fat grin on her face as she turned around. ¡°You¡¯re gunna-¡±

    ¡°Hello-¡± Jay murmured.

    ¡°Geh!¡± Hegatha jumped back with a yell,pletely surprised, her foot knocking one of the traps into the water, one that wasn¡¯t attached to a rope.

    Seeing Jay and six sets of undead, ghostly eyes ring at her. Each of them had a sense of imminent death about them. It was like turning around to see a bear on its hind legs, about to crash onto you with its ws.

    Laugher came from the shack, Asra grinned as she looked at Hegatha who was like an animal that had been caught in one of her own traps.

    ¡°Yo-y-you-you don¡¯t do that!¡± Hegatha yelled, her hands shaking in startled fury while pointing at Jay and Asra. But she kept pointing her grimy finger at Asra for a moment longer. She wasn¡¯t sure how, but she knew this was Asra¡¯s fault.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do what?¡± Jay shrugged. ¡°I was just dropping off your little balls.¡± He said, holding out his hand and dumping fifty of the amber balls, the breaking shards, in front of her.

    Her eyes bulged and a big toothy grin formed on her face. She dropped to her knees and began plucking them from the dirt, forgetting all about the trap, the skeletons, Asra, and Jay. Jay never thought he would see her this happy. In fact he wondered how anyone could be this happy in such a situation.

    Hegatha pulled a ss jar from her inventory and began dropping them in, not caring that the jar was still filthy from whatever she had stashed away in it earlier. Jay looked at the grimy jar she tossed them in.

    I guess she doesn¡¯t eat them¡­ actually, maybe she would eat the filth? He wondered.

    Hegatha continued to smile as she filled the jar and stashed it away, then without look at Jay she made a quick trip back to her shack and disappeared into its shadows, while Asra stepped out and greeted Jay.

    ¡°Hi. How¡¯d you sleep?¡± Jay asked.

    ¡°I sleep during the day, remember?¡±

    ¡°Ah, right. Well it seems like everything¡¯s in order here. How¡¯s your wound?¡± Jay asked, ncing down at her leg.

    Asra hid her leg behind the other one. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± She blushed, stepping back.

    ¡°Good.¡± Jay nodded, d that Hegatha was keeping up her end of the deal. ¡°We¡¯ll leave this hole as soon as possible. I think we¡¯re clear of my pursuers but it¡¯s better to be safe.¡±

    Asra quieted her voice. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine once we reach Luna, but I¡¯m more worried about Hegatha. We need to talk.¡± Asra said, ncing towards the shack.

    Jay narrowed his eyes on the shack and immediately stored the throne in his inventory. The skeletons moved into a circle formation around them. They skeletons and Jay acted and moved into position so fast that it seemed like it was rehearsed.

    ¡°Are we in danger?¡± Jay whispered, readying his sword.

    ¡°No, just calm down.¡± Asra whispered back, holding her hands up, and leaned in closer. ¡°I think she¡¯s connected to the fire. She makes those leaves somehow, and to heal my wounds she eats them. Andst night I found her whispering to an altar, like she was trying to lure someone.¡±

    Jay nced back at the shack and sensed Dark¡¯s skeletal body suddenly teleport underground somewhere below the shack.

    ¡°Leave it with me.¡± Jay nodded, ¡°We¡¯ll get you healed before trying anything.¡± He said, wanting to go and use his [Host] skill in secret. The more secrets he kept from Asra, the better.

    ¡°Mm. Come back to the shack and feed me.¡± Asra said, zipping back to the shadows.

 Chapter 340 Little, Tall Loki

    ?

    ~Mirror Reality 34~

    Loki couldn¡¯t help but grin as he walked down an empty academy corridor.

    He had just visited some students that had allsight-type abilities, ones useful for spying and prying knowledge. In the space of a day he found out all he needed to know about the one they called ¡®Smiley¡¯, also known as the smiling demon, Matheson.

    Yet there were a few things these ¡®spies¡¯ didn¡¯t know: Smiley had a keen interested in dungeon portals.

    Smiley¡¯s interest in the mirror reality¡¯s dungeon portals was obvious to Loki. He wanted to escape, probably hoping to hijack or break them somehow, and Loki had to admit, it seemed like a smart n; if Smiley could enter the dungeon, break the portal, he would most likely exit into the real world. ording to their understanding of these anchored portals, anyway.

    Ultimately, neither of them understood the rules,ws and intricacies that made these portals work. But Loki didn¡¯t care, he just wanted to get stronger. And if Smiley was a tool to do so, he would use that tool.

    There was one problem though¡ªSmiley didn¡¯t want his help. In fact, it seemed that Smiley despised him. So Loki came up with a n, making the most of his own weak powers, cunning speech, and guile.

    While Loki¡¯s ability to switch simr-sized objects was useless inbat, it had excellent applications for theft, and people often wanted something they could not possesses, so bargaining with the students was simple, especially in the boring mirror reality. A few empty promisester, and he utilized another variants ability to help him slip by unnoticed into the teleport conduit area, where the active warp charges powered the dungeon portals.

    While the warp charges were highly controlled by the academy, they didn¡¯t even take notice of the empty ones. And why would they? They were empty vessels, good for nothing. They had even left them lying about in the room. Uncounted and ignored, just like Loki.

    Once he was in the conduit area, the powerhouse for the anchored dungeon portals, it was a simple task to switch a full warp charge container with an empty one.

    No rms were tripped, and no one was the wiser as he left with a warp charge, safely tucked away inside his inventory.

    While he wanted to pause for a moment to gaze at the strange bluish-purpe energy that crackled with red bolts, he quickly went to find Smiley to enact his next steps of his n. The empty promises he made to the spies and the cloaking students would need to be fulfilled sooner orter; Loki was on a time limit.

    ***

    Lannister nced at Lara, then back at Norgrim. ¡°What do you mean we¡¯re pausing? I just spent thatst five hours getting the portal ready.¡±

    Norgrim sighed, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. For now, the it just can¡¯t take more unanchored portals. One of our anchors already depleted an entire warp charge.¡±

    Lannister closed his eyes and tilted his head back, facing towards the ceiling for a moment and sighing. Even Lara was surprised as he was usually the moreposed one of the two of them.

    ¡°Just let us know when to leave.¡± Lara said, pushing Lannister on the shoulder and guiding him out of the room.

    ¡°Just wait till the resonance cracks leave the sky. It won¡¯t be long.¡± Norgrim said before they left the room.

    The resonance cracks were the first signs of damage to the mirror reality. They would disappear as long as the reality was stabilized, but it would only be stabilized as long as its mirror was anchored to the real world, both in time and space¡ªas for matter, well, it was a product of the mirror reality. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As for where this alien matter came from? Well, no one cared since it worked.

    ***

    Smiley was given a damp basement room that had a musky stench to it, it was hardly an upgrade from the pitch-ck prison cell he was first captured in. But despite the unweing room, he had a visitor: Loki.

    Even with the warp charge as a bargaining chip, Loki felt small before Smiley¡¯s disdainful gaze. Loki was the only one who noticed Smiley¡¯s odd behavior around the dungeon portals, so he was the only one who was a loose end. The information he had was a double-edged sword, and as he stood in Smiley¡¯s room he felt like he had displeased a king who was deciding his fate: death sentence or torture.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t Loki that Smiley disdained, but the weakness of cunning, trickery and lying. It was not a path to true power, nothing but an illusion¡ªjust like Matheson¡¯s wealth and his noble title; a hrious lie that kept him weak.

    If he didn¡¯t look at Loki with such a despising stare, he would probably beughing instead. Yet after an ufortable silence, and then another one, Smiley finally spoke.

    ¡°So, the little worm has found an apple mixed into the shit it usually eats. What do you want for it?¡± Smiley said, narrowing his eyes.

    ¡°I want to level up, to be stronger.¡± Loki immediately answered, his eyes widening, showing traces of an intense desperation.

    Smiley¡¯s lips curled. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± He said with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll run you through the bamboo dungeon three times.¡±

    Loki grinned, ¡°Three levels.¡±

    Smiley grinned back. ¡°Three levels.¡± He said, sure that Loki would level up three times within as little two dungeon runs.

    Plus, Smiley knew he would get half the exp too so it wasn¡¯t much of a loss at all.

    ¡°How do I know you¡¯ll honor your end of the deal?¡± Loki asked.

    ¡°You don¡¯t. And a weakling like you can¡¯t stop me, so I¡¯ll level you up three times, and then you¡¯ll give me the warp charge. But if you don¡¯t honor the deal, I¡¯ll slit your belly and hold you down while the bamboo demons feast on your innards. This is the deal.¡± Smiley said, narrowing his eyes again, though he didn¡¯t see any traces of fear, any nervous sweats or shivers from Loki.

    ¡°Deal.¡± Loki said, narrowing his eyes right back, trying to match Smiley¡¯s gaze.

    Smiley¡¯s lips curled slightly, ¡°We¡¯ll start this afternoon.¡±

    Loki grinned and left without a word. His ns wereing to fruition.

 Chapter 341 A Dazzling Masterpiece

    ?

    ¡°You heard what Norgim said. As soon as the clouds clear of resonance fractures, it¡¯s pretty much a green light.¡± Lara said with a smile, patting Lannister on the back.

    Lannister sighed, ¡°Jay could have moved on by then. We might as well wait for the next report from William. This was a waste of time.¡± He said, pointing at the borate manaweaves, hexagrams and other parts of the portal that were ready to send them near the savagends dungeon, through an unanchored portal.

    Lara smiled slyly, ¡°You don¡¯t understand. When the sky clears, it¡¯s ¡®pretty much¡¯ a green light.¡± She said, winking.

    Lannister raised a brow and looked at her. Seeing her mischevious smile for a moment, he smiled right back.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ that¡¯s basically what he said.¡±

    Lara shrugged, ¡°Basically.¡±

    ***

    Asra held a satisfied smile as she pulled the noonleather nket around herself and went back to sleep, satisfied after a good feed. She took more blood than usual, but Jay had just slept so he wasn¡¯t feeling too drained and began tomand.

    (Blue, hunt the fire lights. Leave Red and its two guardians to protect me, and your five minions to protect the bridge.)

    Jay was certain the flood water would recede, so he kept the bridge guarded for now.

    Blue nodded, and most of the skeletons scampered off, diving into the water¡ªthey were heading directly to their weapons, the area they dropped them earlier to carry Jay¡¯s throne.

    ¡°Ah, Heavy¡­¡± Jay nced around and spotted his heavily armored skeleton. It was still holding Leech, the ck talking orb stolen from Vdore.

    Jay had Heavy set it down away from the shack behind a rotting log, so that Hegatha¡¯s greedy hands wouldn¡¯ttch onto it, and Asra¡¯s curious eyes wouldn¡¯t gleam at it.

    We might actually finish my construction project today. Jay thought, seeing that his mana was full after a good night¡¯s rest.

    Asra was guarded by Sweeper, Hegatha guarded by Dark. Jay didn¡¯t really care if either of them saw him crafting, but the more secrets he could keep, the better.

    (Red, it¡¯s your turn to dig.) Jaymanded, and began crafting it a simple shovel.

    Jay already had a roof with four beams, so crafting a four wall panels was a simple task, and together they bothpleted all four in record time. As for the floor panel, it had to be partly melted on each of its corners and slotted into the four beams, then attached, repaired, and reinforced with more triangle bone struts joined to the beams.

    Each edge of the cube was sealed with a healthy drizzle of melted bone and expertly molded till each corner was square. Taking some inspiration from Leech¡¯smand key, he made sure each joining wall was refined to a perfect edge, only stopping once they had a sharp, satisfying feel when he ran his finger across, scraping the dirt and oil off his fingertip.

    [Necromantic Construction (7%)]

    Jay stood before his construction, and used living blueprints a few times on it, storing it in his gauntlet and making it appear again. There was something so satisfying about watching the cube impossibly fold up into a smaller version of itself and disappear into a sliver of green gas, then do the reverse when he brought it out again.

    It was a 10 by 10 foot cube, with four 3-foot stilts poking out of one side. These were the 13-foot beams Jay had made, and were the supports to hold it above the ground. The cube unpacked from the living blueprints skill in random rotations, often falling sideways and sometimes upside down, but Jay found that he could apply a little mana and spin it upright before the blueprint skill ended and it unfolded. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡°Now we just need a door.¡± Jay said to Red.

    Red looked back, its hollow eyes offering up nothing but its detached stare.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right. We¡¯ll need a staircase too.¡± Jay said with a nod.

    The cube room was perfectly sealed at every side, airtight. Jay was tempted to drop it in the swamp to see how it would float, but for the sake of his mobile room and personalfort, he restrained himself.

    Instead of crafting a set of stairs, he made a ramp. It was a simple thing to just make a smaller rectangle and meld it to the structure.

    As for the door, he chaneled his mana into his fingertip and pressed it into the wall, but instead of pulling his finger down and melting out a rectangle shape, he stopped himself.

    It wouldn¡¯t have been straight.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he took a step back, wondering how he would make a straight line to follow, then gave Red somemands.

    (Red, get one of your guardians on the roof.) He ordered, pulling out the length of ghost silk twine the skeletons had crafted.

    The skeleton sprung up and jumped onto the roof with little effort, and caught the twine. Instead of giving order, Jay nced at Red, hoping it would understand. He paused for a moment, then frowned as nothing happened.

    (Dangle the twine over the side and have the other guardian pull it tight.)

    The skeletons obeyed and Jay finally had a straight line. He adjusted the skeletons so it was horizontal¡ªor at least looked horizontal, and lined it up with the hole he poked through. Finally, he began to trace his finger along the twine and make a straight line. The rest was easy and by the time Jay had to cut thest line to form the rectangle door, the guardian skeletons adjusted themselves.

    ¡°Good.¡± Jay smiled, and a momentter the rectangle door b of bone fell away, mming onto the ramp andnding in the mud.

    Yet this only led to more problems: attaching the door with some type of hinge.

    Jay never really even looked at hinges, they were something he used every day without any thought. As for crafting some from bone, he wasn¡¯t sure if he even had the skill level level.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± he pursed his lips and scratched his chin as he looked around.

    ¡°Oh, right.¡± He turned to the shack. It was decaying, old, but still had a door, and it would have used simple hinges too. Jay stashed away his construction project and went closer to investigate.

    The door hinge was simple: A cylinder that goes into a loop.

    Shouldn¡¯t be too hard. I¡¯ll have a decent room¡­ no, a house, made in no time. Jay thought.

    Asra didn¡¯t wake up again, but Hegatha was still shifting about in the shack, and Jay nned his next steps, to begin his investigations of this strange woman.

 Chapter 342 Final Touch

    ?

    Jay walked away from the dpidated shack, plotting his next steps.

    First, I¡¯ll finish my portable room and workspace. Next, spy on Hegatha. All while gathering more breaking shards. Come to think of it, I can pretty much run my entire operations from my private room. Jay thought with a smile.

    There was only a few things missing: a number of skeletons capable of lifting his room and the rest of his necromancer castle.

    He took out his cube room again and marvelled at it for a moment as it stood a good three feet above the ground. He took the door b he cut from one of its walls.

    (Red, hold this up) He ordered, and attached some cylinders to the side, reinforcing their connections with bone.

    Thankfully bone was light, so Jay doubted they would break. Perhaps they would grind away after some use though.

    He attached three along one side, and then to the door frame he made some long cylinder rings for the cylinders to slot into. Basically he just made more cylinders and stuck his finger into them, making a hole, which he attached to the door.

    Once they were ready, he helped Red to guide the door¡¯s cylinders into the ring-holes.

    No, it wasn¡¯t a perfect fit, but it wasn¡¯t hard to readjust, and Jay figured out the trick to connecting doors as he went: put the cylinders in the rings, and then attach the rings to the door frame.

    As for any gaps, it was easy to fill them with a little bone and mana. The finishing touch was the most important; he quickly melted a bone with tworge ends over the door, making a door handle.

    ¡°Nice work, Red.¡± Jay said, nodding as he looked at his masterpiece.

    Red nced at Jay as he stepped onto his ramp and opened the door for the first time.

    *Grrr~*

    It groaned as he pulled. It didn¡¯t swing open like he imagined. Instead he had to fight it, putting a foot up against the wall and pulling.

    ¡°You bastard piece of crap.¡±

    He huffed, and stamped his foot against it. The door opened after much effort.

    Jay shook his head and stepped inside the white room. He looked at the empty walls around him, the floor and the roof.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ so in.¡± He murmured. The only ce he really wanted to look was out the door.

    ¡°I think I need windows.¡± He said. But after seeing how poor his door was he decided against it. Jay didn¡¯t want to have to bash his fists against a window just to open it.

    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t have any ss either. It would have to be an open hatch.¡± Jay frowned.

    As for lighting, he still had a dim luminous orb which he made a little wall-mounted holder for by the door. He would¡¯ve preferred to embed it in the ceiling but he knew it would just fall out once he used living blueprints to store the room. At least, he assumed so.

    Jay nced at the empty corners of the room. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a little bare. I suppose I can change that though.¡± He smiled.

    Jay got to work. He pulled out his sleeping spot, the rectangr b hey his swag on, and set it atop four tiny stilts in the corner, turning it into a bed frame. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Next, a desk. He had Red dig a smaller rectangr shape and in no time he had a rectangle bone b. Fitting it to the room was pretty much the same as the bed except that the stilts to support it were higher. The stilts themseves were bone of course; everything was¡ªeverything had to be.

    He joined the back of the desk to the walls in the corner so nothing could slide through the gaps.

    Next was a chair for the desk, which was just a long rectangle joined to a few other squares.

    Jay pulled it up to his desk and sat on it.

    ¡°Hmm, just as I thought it would be. Notfortable in the slightest.¡± He said, shaking his head. He leaned his head on his palm and rested his elbow on his desk.

    ¡°Perhaps I should¡¯ve went with the flesh path of necromancy. At least then I could have fur seats¡­ real, living fur seats.¡±

    Jay leaned forward and stuck his finger on the wall. Adding some mana to it, he cut open a tiny hole to look through.

    ¡°Ah bone isn¡¯t bad. I suppose I wouldn¡¯t be able to make walls with flesh. As for a spirit house? Forget about it.¡±

    Jay tried to imagine how spirit construction would even work, but then he thought of a problem: you would need spirits as building material to construct. He quickly dismissed the idea as it didn¡¯t make any sense, and one again, was d he had chosen bone as his path.

    Sure, blood or spirit may have been a good choice if he were an undead monster, but he was a human. He needed support.

    [20 Exp]

    ¡°That was fast. They found some enemies already.¡± He said.

    As Jay was talking to himself, Red stood in the doorway and peaked in, perhaps curious about what its master was doing.

    ¡°Don¡¯te in. Out.¡± Jay said, holding his hand up and pointing outside.

    Red¡¯s body was just underwater in the filthy swamp. Not to mention its bone feet were covered with dirt. Jay knew he had already tracked a displeasing amount of dirt inside, which wasn¡¯t much, but to him, any amount was displeasing.

    He had a fond appreciation of cleanliness, especially after all the times his face had been covered in bile and juices.

    Jay held his palm on the desk and melted a shallow groove into it, which he ced Leech in. It wasn¡¯t a perfect fit but it didn¡¯t need to be.

    [60 Exp]

    As for his ns, the skeletons were already busy ying more of the fire lights. Now he just had to work on the next part of his n.

    (Red, make sure no bugse in.) Jay ordered. He took out the chair part of his throne and set it up next to the ufortable bone chair, resting his feet on it instead. He gotfy and leaned his head back, letting his body go limp as he pictured Dark, his assassin.

    Let¡¯s see what Hegatha¡¯s doing with these breaking shards, he thought, shutting his eyes.

 Chapter 343 Rune Copy

    ?

    The world turned ck and white as Jay saw through the eyes of Dark, using the host skill.

    Dark was much shorter than the higher level skeletons, and it only made Hegatha¡¯s body look more giant and mountainous. Unfortunately, the giant moles and warts on her body were easier to see with Dark¡¯s shade vision.

    Hegatha didn¡¯t notice Jay¡¯s presence while hosting Dark¡¯s body, even as he turned its head around, scanning the room.

    Broken pieces of pottery had been swept into a corner, and Jay could tell it came from smashed y jars, as many of them were still standing around the room in the corners, along the walls, and on shelves lining every surface.

    Why would she need¡­ hundreds of y jars? Jay thought. He knew she kept her food in ss jars upstairs, so his only guess was that these were for spell ingredients.

    Either that or she has a pottery hobby.

    As for spells, Hegatha was chanting something as she sat before the stone altar holding an amber sphere; a breaking shard.

    This strange altar was the only thing in the room apart from a mirror on the wall and hundreds of y jars covering the walls.

    Jay watched as Hegatha continued to chant, and the mirror teleport flickered. Some leaves appeared from the mirror and coated the amber sphere.

    As she brought the leaf-covered ball closer to the altar, the leaves began to steam. She ced it down as the leaves sizzled, the amber shard melted with the leaves and Hegatha leaned closer as a string of smoke began to rise.

    The amber fluid melted a chunk out of the altar, and together they both disappeared, leaving no liquid behind. It was like it had be one of the acid-filled shards that Jay had scavenged.

    The smoke changed from a thick whiteness to a blueish glow of mana released from the melted dent, and before it could float too far Hegatha suddenly breathed it in deeply, taking a deep breath and not letting any escape. She sat there for a while, holding her breath as it absorbed through her lungs.

    Dark tilted its skull to the side, Jay watching through its eyes, both of them curious about what would happen next.

    Hegatha leaned back from the alter, gasped for breath, then took out another amber shard and began chanting whatever spell or manacraft this was supposed to be. Without must rest she repeated the process.

    Jay turned to the mirror on the wall. It was more interesting than whatever this ritual was, and Hegatha still had fifty of the orbs to get through.

    Dark stepped closer to the mirror, its nimble steps silent in the underground room.

    The mirror, which was a two-way teleport between the shack above, was a special one. In its reflection Jay could see arger skeleton standing over an old table with a noonleather nket on it; Sweeper and Asra. But what made it special was how it teleported.

    Around the edges of the mirror were a series symbols, and the only one that was different was one at the top, a triangle with a vertical line going through it with a circle on top of the line.

    Runes? Jay wondered.

    Two other triangles were etched into the wall but were faded and empty. Obviously, the mirror-teleporter didn¡¯t need whatever those ones did.

    Well, since I have the time. I might as well¡­

    Using Dark¡¯s eyes, Jaymitted these strange symbols to memory, hoping they were runes and not some other kind of magic-resonatingnguage.

    He returned to his body and began to scratch his gauntlet¡¯s w into his desk, etching down as much as he could before venturing back into Dark¡¯s body to record more of them.

    Each time he came back, he added more of the symbols to his desk. Jay began to notice some repeating symbols, then after a few trips he found that they were in sets of seven, repeating around every side of the oval mirror. As he went around he found that these sets were all the same, all seven symbols the same except for one at the bottom, which was an infinity symbol with a vertical line through it; almost like two balls on either side of a mirror. ¡Þ <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The infinity symbol and the triangle symbol were the only ones that weren¡¯t in the repeating sets of seven, meaning Jay only needed to copy nine unique symbols in total.

    At first, Jay was copying the mirrors shape when he etched away, but decided not toplete it after he found the pattern. After scratching the infinity symbol into his desk, along with a set of seven, and the triangle symbol at the top, Jay leaned back, scratching his chin. He turned to the ck orb on his desk, Leeches.

    ¡°Leeches, you said you can read runes?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Jay.¡± The little ck orb said.

    ¡°So, are these runes?¡± Jay said, tapping his desk.

    A small part of the cube raised up with a tiny round hole in it. But what it said next made Jay frown.

    ¡°Error. ipital functions degraded. Vision failed. Repairing¡­¡±

    With a sigh, Jay closed his eyes and leaned his head back in his chair.

    ¡°How long until you fix your vision?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Hello? Leech?¡±

    ¡°Vision¡­ 3% repaired. 100% repair requires additional mana. Must suspend memory recall and repair.¡±

    Jay plucked up the talking orb, and it closed its single eye-port. He stepped outside and handed it to Red.

    (All your mana. Now.) Jay pointed.

    Jay would have done it himself but was low after crafting four wall panels, a floor panel, a ramp and everything else in the bone room. Not to mention the host skill, which burned through mana.

    Red plunged its sword into the earth and clutched the orb. A cloud of mana appeared and quickly mixed into the orb, its surface bing clear for a moment.

    (Good.) Jay nodded at Red, taking the orb back.

    ¡°Now, what percent are you?¡± Jay asked Leech.

    ¡°3% repaired. Current mana reserves are sufficient for the entire process.¡±

    ¡°Tell me when you¡¯re done.¡± Jay said.

    A watched pot never boils. Jay thought, pursing his lips as he went back inside. He ced it back on his desk, leaving it be for now.

    With a desk to study at and time to kill, Jay decided to make the most of these few quiet moments, making the most of his short time here. He took out something he had been saving for a while, and began to study.

 Chapter 344 Necrotic Whispers

    ?

    A few hours passed in the misty swamp.

    [585 Exp]

    The skeletons made good progress over the course of a few hours, and Jay had recouped much of his mana pool. The storm cleared and the fog had risen again, returning thend to a thick gloom.

    It was hard to tell if the waters had began to recede, but now that Jay was on the floating ind it didn¡¯t matter.

    Red fervently stood guard outside Jay¡¯s new house. It sent its skeletal guardians back to guarding the bone bridge, but thankfully there were no signs of the bone-eating creatures anymore, not after the massacre and the storm.

    As for Jay, his head was finally safe from any rain drops, wind or bone-eating eels. Leaned down over his desk, he was happily studying intricate patterns in a hexagonal honebed prism, which had tiny artery-like tubes passing through it.

    [Skull-shield Projector Research - 33%]

    It was delicate so he took his time. The hexagon was a piece of bone he had pulled from a skullshield projector, and studying how it worked was the first step to helping him make his own, or at least his own version.

    Currently, his scrimshaw skill was not high level enough, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t gain research in this intricate craft.

    After spending a few hours he found patterns in its structure; the arteries in the center were slightly thicker than the ones in the outer shell, but as these arteries went upwards, they branched off and fed into the smaller ones, getting smaller as they went until they all became as tiny as hairs.

    [Skull-shield Projector Research - 34%¡­ 35%¡­ 38%]

    Jay gained more and more insight as he studied it, and tried to visualize how mana would flow through it, picturing it like a river.

    ¡°It¡¯s like the main channel feeds all the smaller ones, shrinking and branching into nothing.¡±

    [Skull-shield Projector Research - 40%¡­ 41%]

    Finally, inspiration struck.

    ¡°It¡¯s like a reverse-river? Normally rivers form after a bunch of smaller streamsbine into one, but this is backwards¡­ The energy flows up the thicker arteries, branches off and turns into tiny hair-like fments? So maybe the shield is like the clouds?¡± Jay said, ncing outside at the fog and water.

    ¡°If the water is forced up the rivers, up the streams, then where would it go? The rain. The clouds. It¡¯s like it forces the clouds into existence, making them thicker until they can block out the light.¡± Jay said, slowly nodding. ¡°Well¡­ except with mana instead of water.¡±

    < [Critical Research!] >

    [Skull-shield Projector Research - 65%]

    ¡°Critical research?¡± Jay said, and raised a brow, ¡°Did I just critically-hit research?¡± he let out a chuckle, and wondered if there were ways to increase his critical research chance.

    Probably by wearing sses and walking around holding books. He thought, lightly smiling. I think that¡¯s good progress for now. How long was I studying?

    Jayy his head back for a moment and massaged his temples, rxing his mind after a good two hour study¡ªthough he felt like it was thirty minutes at most. But when he checked his mana and found that it was almost full, it confirmed it.

    He stashed away the skull-shield¡¯s hexagonal core and left his desk. Stretching his legs felt satisfying after a long study, and he went outside and stood with Red for a moment.

    (Blue, send Archers back.) he ordered, and then talked to Red.

    ¡°So, how are things going out here?¡±

    Red turned its skull towards him, stared for a moment with its hollow eyes, then turned away and kept scanning around the swamp, looking for threats. It was as diligent as ever. Yet Jay kept chatting to it.

    ¡°Ah, good. I¡¯ve been making good progress inside too.¡± Jay said with a nod, and watched the swamp waters with Red for a while, saying whatever came to mind while the skeleton listened. Maybe.

    Some of the grasses lining the ind¡¯s edge uncoiled andshed out, catching stray bugs escaping from their flooded nests after the deluge. Others evaded the carnivorous reeds, only to turn and feast on them in return, a vicious circle of life¡ªa small circle, but a circle nheless.

    Finally, some ripples appeared in the water. Followed by a torrent and then a ssh, a white skull rose from the depths, its ghostly eyes the only light that escaped the darkness. Archers returned.

    As for its purpose of returning, it would find out soon enough.

    Jay began to take out some bones from his ring¡ªnot helvetian skeletons, but parts of all the other specimens he¡¯d in along the way: Silt wolf bones, a soap rat skull, perreton wolf wings. For good measure, he threw in some of the ck marsh bones along with the remains of arge crab-shell centipede that had washed ashore.

    ¡°Stand here.¡± Jay said to Archers, pointing at his mismatched pile of bones.

    The skeleton didn¡¯t hesitate, but perhaps it should have.

    Jay chose this nimble skeleton, which was still level one, for one specific reason. It required less mana to summon.

    Since Jay had upgraded [Summon Feeble Creature] to [Summon Lesser Undead], he didn¡¯t need to worry about using smaller skeletons anymore either.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be over before you know it.¡± Jay said, winking.

    He watched its hollow glowing eyes for a moment, and it almost seemed like he would enjoy what he was about to do. A sly smile formed, and he slowly raised his gauntlet.

    *Snap*

    Jay snapped his fingers. Archers¡¯ body fell apart. The dark green joints turned to ash and left another skeleton behind.

    Jay plucked some of the helvetian skeleton bones away, ensuring that when he re-summoned, it would used the other bones from many different creatures. Needless to say, the skull-shield projector was not the only thing he would research today. The only difference was that this required mana.

    A string of necrotic gas left his gauntlet¡¯s fingertips and mingled with all sorts of bones, selecting suitable ones for necromancy purposes. Twisting and popping cartge, melting bones and joining, jamming and fixing them to each other. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The rat skull took its rightful ce, crowning the multi-colored body, which had a few different colored ws at its finger tips¡ªmost of them blue.

    [Chimera Research 32%]

    However, its glorious form was short-lived.

    *Snap*

    The bones fell back to the cold mud, only to be twisted, abused and used again.

    [Chimera Research 33%]

    [Chimera Research 34%]

    Jay un-summoned and re-summoned without concern.

    Each time, Archers came back different. A mashed mess of different body parts. The only pieces that didn¡¯t mingle with the monstrosity was the crab-shell centipede.

    I guess shells don¡¯t count as bones. Jay thought, but continued his merciless summoning.

    ¡­[Chimera Research 37%]

    A steady stream of floating ashes began to drift out of the bone pile, from the mana that filled gaps in the bones, flying off into the swamp.

    The bone mass was slowly being used up. Each twist, mold, pop and jam causing more of it to grind away, lost to the harsh summoning process.

    Yet this was a simple fix, as Jay simply added more of the various bones, aiming to keep an equal ratio between all types of corpses.

    ¡­[Chimera Research 39%]

    With his research going smoothly, Jay began to notice changes, patterns¡ªor perhaps, it was something that was there all along, he just didn¡¯t have the knowledge to grasp it, or the trained eye to see it.

    The stronger blue bones seemed to nearly always form the ws, lower spine, neck and shoulder joints, while the weaker bones formed things like the ribs. He wouldn¡¯t have noticed if they weren¡¯t blue in the first ce.

    One of the two lower leg bones, the tibia, was blue most of the time, while the lower arm, alsoposed of two bones, used at least one blue bone too¡ªpreferring the stronger radius over the ulna bone.

    Hmm, the shin and the lower arm bones. Interesting. Jay thought, his eyes narrowing inquisitively.

    It was obvious that his own necrotic mana was revealing something to him. These were the parts of the skeleton that needed the stronger bones, the most reinforcement.

    The majority of the ws being blue was also a pretty clear sign too. And with this realization, his understanding took a giant leap forward.

    < [Critical Research!] >

    [Chimera Research 59%]

    ¡°Twice in one day.¡± Jay said.

    Yet this also caused him to wonder about how research worked. He had gained it previously without even looking at the skeletons when he used mass summoning. Without even thinking about it, he had gained research.

    Jay gazed down at his gauntlet, fingers flexing slowly, the sharp ws a testament to the mountain of corpses he stood atop. He nursed a small ball of glowing necrotic gas in his palm, mesmerized by the eerie green glow that flickered like ghostly mes.

    A single question lingered in his mind, taunting him with its insistent curiosity.

    How did the magic know where to ce the harder bones? Can mana learn? Does it think?

    It seemed so scandolous to even consider, but as he studied how the skeletons could learn without minds, how theymunicated silently, how he could sense their presence, he couldn¡¯t shake the thought.

    Jay took a deep breath in, trying to calm his swirling thoughts, stopping himself from jumping to conclusions.

    ¡°The mana knew where to ce each bone, how to make them stronger¡­ when it made them, it learned and passed it onto me. I gain experience when they kill things. When I formed the skeletons minds, maybe all I was doing was connecting my mana with reality, bringing it a step closer to understanding the world. A another step into the world.¡± Jay whispered to the green orb in his hand, making it shift around his fingertips, stretching it and making it dance across his gauntlet.

    This dark-green energy was the force that guided his necrotic powers, like a mysterious entity that possessed a keen understanding of the skeletal anatomy.

    As he held the mana, he felt a connection with it that went beyond control, a symbiotic rtionship that made him wonder if he was merely a vessel for its power.

    The thought of being a puppet sent a chill down his spine, like an undead hand lightly tracing its cold fingers over his neck, pulling and swaying him, manipting his thoughts.

    But he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this was really just a deeper part of himself, pushing him forward. After all, his eyes had seen numerous skeletons slid under his butcher¡¯s des.

    I control it. It¡¯s a part of me. But is it me? He wondered.

    Ash from the bones floated around him for a brief moment, a reminder of his own fleeting mortality, pulling him from his existential panic.

    Jay dispersed the mana and lowered his gauntlet with a final thought.

    Whatever this is, it will outlive me.

 Chapter 345 Asraâ€™s Frailty

    ?

    Archersy as a mismatched pile of bones at Jay¡¯s feet.

    Jay had plenty of mana left and he wasn¡¯t even feeling drained from re-summoning it numerous times. It only needed five mana to summon, and Jay still had over 90 to work with.

    Satisfied with how much he had learned, he gave himself a break and used [Mass Summoning], dumping the rest of his mana into the pile of bones.

    The energy coalesced into a dense orb that crackled with necrotic power. The bones, like lifeless twigs, began to stir and rattle, awakened again by the power that surrounded them. This was the most Jay had dumped into the mass summoning spell, and slowly, they lifted into the air, their pale surfaces aglow with the eerie green light that flickered and danced through them.

    The floating bones orbiting the nest felt familiar, a pleasant reminder of his necrotic ring. Of course, as a gauntlet with thousands of bones inside it was too risky to shift it into its orbital form; it would probably cause another storm.

    The bones floating around the nest of mana began to merge.

    ¡°Hang in there, Archers.¡± Jay muttered, feeling a wobble. His mana reserves had depleted rapidly, the strain of the spell weighing heavily on his mind and body.

    Jay stepped onto the ramp of his single-room house, sitting in the doorway and watching the spell work its wonders.

    I wonder if Archers gets a different ss after all this abuse? Jay thought.

    Archers appeared before him, its bones ttering and clicking as it rose into the air. He wondered if the poor skeleton was feeling the effects of the constant un-summoning and summoning, but with a single thought, Jay mercilessly willed it to un-summon again, its form dissolving back into the bone pile.

    To automate the process, Jay made a second bone pile nearby, filled with another assortment of obscure bones from different creatures. Every so often Jay motioned for Red to toss a few more bones into the mana well, trying to keep the ratio¡¯s of odd bones equal.

    Jay was determined to learn more about his craft, the pursuit of necromancy, so even while he was light-headed he continued to watch intently as the bones shuddered and shifted, waiting for the next cycle of summoning and un-summoning to begin.

    The day marched on and Jay leaned back, watching the spell like it were a crackling firece¡ªrather than the dark, abominable offense of raising the undead that it actually was.

    After a lunch of unidentifiable meat, Jay nned to spy on whatever Hegatha was doing in her basement. After Archers¡¯ body rose and fell like thepping waters, Jay gained 18% more chimera research, bringing it to 77%.

    When Archers rose the few final times, the different bones assembling its body had be distinctly distributed, each of them finding the perfect ce in its body like it were a patterning together each time, and it made the skeleton appear as if its own body had a mirror image of itself going down the center. The chimera skill was developing, so Jay¡¯s mana gradually mastered the perfect bone cement and distribution.

    Jay gained enough mana to use [Host], but before using it, he nced at the shack, hearing something.

    Deep creaks sounded. Jay sensed Dark¡¯s presence above ground; there was movement inside.

    Jay stood in his own doorway, watching while he idly chatted to Red.

    ¡°Seems like she¡¯s finished melting the breaking shards into that ck altar-thing?¡± Jay said.

    Red nced up to Jay, cked its jaw once and turn to look back at the shack.

    Jay look at Red and raised a brow, guessing that Red said ¡°Yep¡±¡ªIn its own way.

    ¡°I better check on them.¡± Jay said, turning to his bed. Red nodded and stood guard at the door while its mastery down.

    Jay wouldn¡¯t enter Hegatha¡¯s shack voluntarily. Dark and Sweeper were still assigned to guard Asra, so he wasn¡¯t worried about her safety either. He simply wanted to [Host] to avoid Hegatha and her nauseating abode. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ***

    Asra¡¯s eyes were gently sped shut, dreaming of sweet sunlit meadows or cold stone castles plunged in shadows, but even asleep a vampires awareness was sharp enough to sense a husk drawing near. Especially such arge one.

    Before Hegatha¡¯s sausage-like, dirt-covered fingers could stroke her hair again she snapped her eyes open abruptly sat up, staring at Hegatha.

    ¡°Here to¡ª Huh?¡± Asra said, her mouth slowly opening in shock. Hegatha had changed.

    Her skin was clear of moles, with fewer freckles. Some of the bumps and lumps across her neck had either disappeared or deted. Her ckened toothy mouth was not so ckened and not so toothless anymore.

    Hegatha slyly smiled as she walked past Asra, who couldn¡¯t help but ask questions.

    ¡°What happened to you? You¡¯re¡­ cleaner?¡± Asra asked.

    Hegatha replied with her lips curled in a proud smile as she walked past.

    ¡°None of your business.¡± She said, as if it were a matter of fact.

    Even Hegatha¡¯s voice had changed¡ªit wasn¡¯t so raspy and biting. There was a subtle, gentle sweetness in it. Asra thought it was simr to the alluring voice she heard from the previous night. The one that sent a shiver up her spine; the voice Hegatha used to lure someone¡ªor something.

    Hegatha crushed another writhing piece of meat and chewed it down, so she wasn¡¯t too different. With the piece of slimy meat dangling from her lips she lumbered over and sat by Asra¡¯s side, still chewing.

    Asra squirmed out of the nket and pulled herself away on the table.

    ¡°I feel much better. You don¡¯t have to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Nonsense. Give me your leg. I have a deal with Jay.¡± Hegatha said, pulling on her clothes.

    Some leaves fluttered down from the ceiling into her palm, which she quickly crushed and swallowed with the remainder of the slimy morsel of meat.

    Sweeper tilted its head to the side, and stepped around Hegatha to see better.

    Asra looked up at the skeleton, sighed with a frown and gave in to Hegatha¡¯s demand, not wanting to ruin Jay¡¯s ns.

    Besides, the wound was still a scarred mess which pained her whenever she bumped it. She needed more of these special healings.

    With a frown Asra looked up into Sweeper¡¯s ghostly eyes, hoping it could at least tell Jay of her suffering here¡ªbut she also didn¡¯t want him to see her sorry state.

    I¡¯ll just need to trust him. Asra thought, looking at Sweeper tilt its head and look around more than it usually did.

    Him and his weird skeletons.

 Chapter 346 Empty Control

    ?

    Hegatha chewed on leaves, ignoring the bitter tang while feeding the energy into Asra¡¯s wound.

    Asra gasped as her skin began to tear and knit back together, and after a moment her furrowed brows softened in relief.

    Hegatha breathed out slowly, her body feeling lighter. She jumped to her feet, not exhausted like she usually was after one of their healing sessions. Hegatha exited the shack, feeling the sticky mist on her skin. The fog was back. More sticky and smelly than it ever was; the rain and flooding somehow made it worse.

    She looked around the shoreline, about to run some errands on the ind, but her gazended on a white object. Jay¡¯s bone room was hard to miss.

    As she drew closer, she realized it was a giant white cube. Her steps slowed as she approached the giant object, wondering how it could have washed up from the storm, or how it could even exist¡ªIt was much toorge to store inside an inventory.

    Each of her heavy steps were measured. The skeleton standing at attention outside the white box came into focus, its skull swiveling back and forward looking for threats. It was clear that Jay had already imed the cube.

    The skeleton guard suddenly twitched, it skull clicked and locked onto Hegatha. She narrowed her eyes and took another step forward, defiantly challenging it.

    It response, its body snapped into abat stance. Red raised its shield and crouched. It nted a threatening step forward, its bone foot stamping into the mud and kicking up muck while pointing its sword as a warning.

    Hegatha halted in her tracks. Red¡¯s shining armor filled with awe and splendor was arrayed against her. But Red was not to the only skeleton on alert.

    Behind her, Sweeper still followed, but like Red its stance also changed¡ªit was crouching as if about to strike; its bone sword pulled back alongside its chest and ready to spring forward, the tip pointing perfectly at her spine as if it had done this a million times.

    Hegatha froze and held her breath for a moment, not wanting to test the creations of the one supplying breaking shards. The tension was palpable as her arm hairs raised. One step too far would be all it took.

    She leaned back and dragged her foot backwards over the dirt, and the skeletons went back to normal as if nothing ever happened.

    She quickly left the strange structure, d she didn¡¯t anger the undead any further. Thankfully their forgiveness was as decisive as their aggression.

    Hegatha went to check her two traps and gathered whatever else she could from the shoreline. Mushrooms, driftwood, reeds, stones, y, bugs¡ªall had a part to y in her purposes, and she usually considered them prizes after the storm swept them up, but ultimately they paled inparison to getting more of those sweet, sweet amber shards.

    Walking around, Hegatha flexed her legs and stretched her shoulders back, feeling much more nimble than usual. The twinging pain in her knee and the dull ache in her shoulder disappeared after absorbing her powers back from over 50 shards. She knew she would get more of them, and at any cost.

    If he cares about healing Asra¡¯s shifting wound, then there will need to be more wounds. She thought, her lips curling slyly.

    ***

    Smiley¡¯s rapier sliced through the air with a swift, controlled motion, the de shing as it tore through a jagged, bamboo face of a demon. The creature''s yellow spines and green body shattered into a thousand splinters, falling to the ground with a soft rustling sound that echoed through the silent forest.

    Smiley stood there, watching as the remains of the demon scattered in the wind.

    With a calm, measured gaze, he scanned the forest, searching for any signs of movement, making sure it was safe before he turned his sword away.

    At his side was only one student¡ªLoki, who looked down the edge of Smiley¡¯s sword which was now pointing at him. Smiley¡¯s eyes red at him, filled with murderous intent.

    ¡°That¡¯s three levels. My warp charge. Now.¡± Smiley demanded, the rapier was held perfectly still.

    He was not only able to y Loki, but willing. Smiley had no problem taking out another weakling, another reminder of his own weakness.

    Loki kept calm. Without even stepping back he raised his palm, and the miraculous object appeared.

    Shaped like a wooden keg, its sides were jade green ss while its ends were sealed with a deep green lichen metal.

    Inside the ss cylinder a powerful energy hummed away, though it seemed like two energies rather than one¡ªin one moment the energy was an orb ofpping blue waves, in the next it was a red lightening storm of chaotic crackling power. The two energies fought each other for existence but neither side could win.

    Smiley¡¯s eyes widened and he paused for a moment, enthralled by the unending battle of the energy barely trapped behind ss. His sword even lowered by a hair¡¯s thickness¡ªperceptible only to himself. Seeing Smiley watching in awe, Loki¡¯s cunning grin began to show itself.

    ¡°Three levels for this thing. Pretty good deal huh?¡± Loki said.

    Smiley ignored Loki, lowered his sword and reached out. But Loki pulled his hand back.

    ¡°Wait a second. You need to ask yourself something: How did I get this warp charge to enter the dungeon without anything happening hmm?¡± Loki said. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Smiley¡¯s eyes narrowed with suspicion. He grabbed Loki¡¯s arm and spoke slowly, his voice lowering into a threat.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste my time with bullshit. The container and your inventory stopped it. Now hand it over.¡±

    Loki took a nervous breath, ¡°Ah, sorry. Just¡­ Look, to use it, you need to extract it first. A-and I think we both know what you¡¯re nning¡­ but you still need to extract it otherwise you won¡¯t get anywhere. And I can make that happen.¡± Loki said with a nod¡ªbut then his face twinged in pain.

    Smiley began to squeeze and Loki let out a whimper. Falling to his knees, Loki handed over the warp charge.

    Smiley¡¯s lip curled as he gazed at the warp charge in his hand for a moment. This object was a trophy to his freedom. It disappeared into his inventory and he released Loki from his grip with a push, sending him falling into the splintered bamboo.

    ¡°Know your ce.¡± Smiley said, narrowing his eyes with disdain. He willed to exit the dungeon, and as the dungeon exit surrounded him he left with a finalment.

    ¡°If I need you again, you¡¯ll serve me.¡±

    Loki frowned, pushing himself off the ground and brushing off the splinters. Dazed, he stood in silence¡­ then his brows crunched, his teeth clenched in scornful anger as he whispered.

    ¡°Scum. Outsider. Non-variant, prisoner scum shit.¡±

    He looked out into the bamboo forest and screamed, ¡°Know your own fucking ce!¡±

    His voice echoed, and a sound came back from the forest. A cracking branch. Some bamboo trees shifted.

    Loki¡¯s eyes widened and he willed to leave the dungeon before another bamboo demon answered his call. When he got outside the dungeon, he was surprised Smiley wasn¡¯t there. He assumed Smiley would be experimenting already, and he scoffed.

    ¡°Idiot.¡± Loki murmured, and headed back to campus grounds, kicking rocks as he went while he nned his next moves.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get Heather whatever stupid trinket she wants. Then Smiley wille back and I¡¯ll ready to bargain for more levels with Heather in my pocket.¡± Loki said, nodding to himself. He left the forest the dungeon was in and saw the third academy¡¯s pointed stone towers and castle windows, each of them giving off a soft glow, inviting him home. But before he could find Heather, something attacked.

    *Thud*

    A heavy blownded in his guts. Loki curled and fell back. His head hitting the dirt.

    *Crack*

    A blownded in his stomach as he clutched himself on the ground, tasting blood while a whispering voice came to his ear.

    ¡°You said you¡¯d steal Asra¡¯s weapon.¡± The faceless voice said.

    Loki frowned and didn¡¯t bother getting up. Instead he continued to cough, letting spit drip from his lip in an attempt to look weak. But he wasn¡¯t worried. He made many empty promises, and knew this invisible person was here to collect on one of them.

    The invisibility power was one he used to steal the warp charge. Loki coughed out a plea.

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll get it, I just need more time. Please¡­ I can get if faster with your power¡ªif you want it faster?¡± Loki said, holding his arms across his belly, bracing himself for a beating.

    A few more kicks to the body, some begging, along with spit in the face, and it ended.

    ¡°I¡¯ll lend you my power once more, but if you don¡¯t get it, I¡¯ll send The Others after you.¡±

    ¡®The Others¡¯ were a secret student club that originally started as a few friends having fun. One of these variants were be able to temporarily transfer the skills of one person to another. Because of their mischief in times past, each member of the group had their powers blocked while on academy grounds¡ªso they could only negotiate and transfer their powers to ¡®others¡¯ if they really wanted something in the academy. This was how they got their name: ¡®The Others.¡¯

    Sounds of footsteps left. Loki was left alone¡ªyet even after the beating he began smiling.

    During the assault, he had not only bought himself more time, but even convinced this person to lend him their invisibility powers again.

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be using them to steal Anya¡¯s powerful crossbow. No. Loki could snatch that any time he wanted¡ªwhat he needed was more warp charges.

    Loki already had a good understanding of Smiley¡¯s character¡ªSmiley was someone who relied on himself. He would try, fail, and then he would need more warp charges. Only then would he listen to Loki¡¯s new scheme.

 Chapter 347 Stepping Out 1

    ?

    A wooden door mmed open, and Lara stomped her feet into the teleport area.

    ¡°Lannister, the resonance cracks, they¡¯re-¡± Lara blurted, pointing at the sky¡ªbut Lannister didn¡¯t even look up from the borate runes and glowing mana-filled diagrams in front of him. He raised his hand, hushing her.

    ¡°I know. Are you ready?¡± Lannister said.

    Lara paused her march, checked her pockets and her inventory onest time before replying.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been ready since yesterday.¡± She said, sighing.

    ¡°Good. We¡¯re leaving.¡±

    Lannister proceeded with the teleport ritual, stringing together the magic, measuring distances in his mind¡¯s eye, connecting his teleport spell to two of the three warp charge conduits in the mirror reality, which bonded the mirror reality to the real world.

    The magic came together. An infinitesimal point of nothingness tore a vertical line into reality. Spinning at unimaginable speeds, chaotic energy bore a hole open, bringing a silvery mirror into existence.

    Lara pulled out amunication crystal, informing Norgrim of their departure.

    ¡°Hi. It¡¯s Lara. You said we could leave when the resonance cracks disappeared, so we¡¯re leaving to hunt¡ªI mean find Jay.¡±

    ¡°What?! Lara you!-¡± Norgrim¡¯s voice began to hum back through the crystal, but Lara pretended she heard nothing, and continued to chatter.

    ¡°We¡¯ll wait an extra few days in the real world before returning, to make sure the reality keeps stable.¡± She said, and while still holding themunication crystal in her hand, she jumped through the silvery pool.

    Lannister held a regretful smile as he looked around the teleport area onest time, then jumped through after her.

    ***

    ~Real World¡ªSomewhere near the savagends dungeon.~

    Dust kicked up and swirled around the bright portal, a violent crackling noise came from the edges of it, which was like a lightning storm around the silvery calm surface. A gentle ripple gave way to amunication crystal, the dainty hand grasping it tightly in anticipation.

    Lara appeared with a sly smile, her eyes scanning through the root-covered forest for any signs of movement or imminent danger.

    Lannister stepped out behind her. He clicked his fingers and the portal began to shrink, disappearing into a warping ripple in reality until all traces of it were gone. The dirt and dust that swirled around like a small whirlwind fell to the ground, the violent humming disappearing with it.

    ¡°Finally. We¡¯re back.¡± Lara murmured, her eyes still scanning the forest.

    Lannister nodded, and pulled out a small pouch. It looked more like a coin pouch, but Lara knew exactly what it was.

    Lannister reached in and pulled out threerge white seeds, then scattered them across the forest floor as he talked to Lara.

    ¡°Jay probably went south, so we¡¯ll head that direction. The Orren will find him once they grow.¡± Lannister said.

    Lara nodded, ncing down at the white seeds. They had already began burrowing their way into the roots theynded on. These seeds were the Orren, a magical creature bound to serve whoever sows it.

    The Orren were not a product of the academy, but were actually traded from one of the Dimerkin ns. Once these white seeds were matured, they would grow a singlerge flower which bloomed, and from inside it, an Orren would leap out¡ªmade from soft flower petals and colored shades of brown like the bark of trees, it was a cat creature.

    Grown in a flower¡¯s scent, it had a keen sense of smell, and its light, nimble form of luscious petals allowed it to quietly slip through forests with the speed of an arrow.

    Unfortunately, they were only good for tracking. Made from the most tender petals of flowers, their lives wilted away all too soon.

    ***

    The novice bounty hunters Linc, Vanderby, and Estra, continued their search for Jay, whom they still assumed to be level nine.

    ¡°Can we stop here?¡± Estra said, wiping a drop of sweat from her forehead as she climbed atop arger root. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡°Hm. It¡¯s not that dark yet. We can definitely make it across the valley before nightfall. The trees are just thick here so it seems darker.¡± Vandery replied and pointed up at the green canopy, covering them like a thick curtain.

    The trio had made it through hollow forest, passing the empty bloodvine bear¡¯s territory and entered the sprawling mountains that were criss-crossed with a maze of valleys and streams; the soil covered by its own carpet of roots.

    Linc nodded along with Vanderby, and pointed across the mountain.

    ¡°Yeah. And if we make it across this valley tonight, the sun will wake us up tomorrow morning.¡± Linc said, pointing at the mountain above them, knowing it would block the morning light if they stayed here.

    Estra nodded, but her nk face and tired eyes gave away her reluctance. She heard Jay¡¯s heartbeat growing louder with each hour they traveled. They were homing in on Jay, and keeping a good pace, so she didn¡¯t see the harm in resting, even for a little while.

    Despite being novices when it came to traveling, they were doing well for themselves, and doubted Jay could escape, he was alone and level nine after all.

    Little did they realize just how fast Jay could travel once his skeleton parade began, carrying him at a jogging pace even while he slept.

    Together they trudged down hill which became steeper as they went. Using the sloped wall of roots as ropes they climbing down to the bottom of a root-covered canyon. The roots hung down but barely touched the bottom, giving way to vertical faces of cliffs and giant boulders. They chose a bad ce to cross, but going back was as hard as going forward.

    ¡°Shh.¡± Linc whispered. His eyes narrowed.

    Further down the canyon, pebbles tapped and fell. Something shifted in the shadows.

    Linc suddenly gripped his sheath, pushing his curved katana up by a thumb¡¯s length.

    ¡°Lower your heads.¡± Linc whispered again, and the other two immediately obeyed.

    *Crack!*

    A dash of golden light bounced through the canyon, finding a target.

    Slender fingers, like wandering ck fishing rods all fell to the ground. Threerge ck hands cleanly severed at the wrist, spurting blood covering the cliff faces. Linc sucessfuly struck first.

    From beneath giant boulders and deep cliffside cracks, more of the long ck fingers began to emerge from shadows.

    ¡°Get to the wall.¡± Vandey said, raising his shield and dagger, standing in front of Estra.

    Linc¡¯s sh-step skill had sent him about 60 feet down the canyon. His de dripped, his hands shaky as he looked back. He sprinted back towards Vanderby and Estra.

    More ck fingers emerged from nowhere. All of them feeling and seeking, tapping and scratching.

    The tapping fingers swept the ground and found the severed ck hands. They clutched them, ripping them away with so much speed they were gone in a blink, barely leaving a trail of blood into the cracked shelves of the canyon.

    Linc sheathed his sword and bolted back to hisrades, running as fast as he could¡ªbefore the fingers could return to find him.

    As for hisrades, a slender finger slowly danced across the wall and closed in on Estra.

    *Dong!*

    Vanderby¡¯s shield pinned it against the cliff. It writhed against the rocks which grazed it back like sandpaper. Van¡¯s dagger cleaved, but needed two swipes to carve through¡ªunfourtunately, a dagger was not a suitable weapon for such creatures, and neither did it pair well with a shield.

    Another searching finger came close, creeping from above towards Estra¡¯s hair.

    She Estra fell down, pushed by Vanderby before it could touch her. Vanderby desperately swung around, looking for the next tapping fingers near them.

    ¡°How long?!¡± Vanderby yelled down the valley.

    ¡°14 seconds!¡± Linc yelled back, jumping away from a shadowy vein in the walls.

 Chapter 348 Stepping Out 2

    Chapter 348 Stepping Out 2

    Vanderby yanked Estra¡¯s wrist, pulling her up. A finger tapped across where she had just sat, lightly rubbing and scraping the dirt as it went.

    Further down from them Linc dashed over slender ck fingers, but was forced to stop his sprint back.

    From opposite cliff faces a number of fingers had found each other, gently rubbing one another, intertwining and making an impassable mesh. He turned back and saw one at his ankle, already tapping his shoe, rubbing it to feel its texture.

    The other fingers of the ck hand came wrapping towards his ankle like a closing snare.

    With two hands Linc brought his katana down, haphazardly shing clean through the ck finger. His de¡¯s tip sparked against the stone as he jumped. The other ck fingers closed in, capturing the freshly severed one, and before Linc¡¯s feetnded on top of them, the hand snapped away, disappearing with its prize in a blink.

    It wouldn¡¯t take long till its wounded hand would be back, searching with a vengance. Crunching bone sounds came from the walls.

    Gritting his teeth, Linc ignored his disgust, looking for a way across. But his eye caught sight of a severed hand, the one he had cut when using his skill. It was his ticket out of here¡ªthough there waspetition for the morsel of meat.

    One stray finger had already began to tap it, gently nudging on the severed hand, trying to get a response.

    Linc¡¯s eyes bulged as more fingers joined in. They recognized their own¡ªbut only for so long. They would realize this was severed flesh, and it would disappear soon.

    Come on, shit,e on! Linc thought.

    Linc was only a few steps away, but more of the wet fingers began to probe their friend, nudging and pulling. They realized, and sprung like a trap.

    In a second it would disappear.

    There was no time to raise his sword. Link pounced forward, bore down with his sword, pushing his hand on the back of the de and crashed onto it with his weight.

    His de didn¡¯t cut all the way through.

    ¡°Grah! Come one!¡± Linc push his knee on the back of his sword, digging it through the creatures hand with all his might.

    The snare closed. The entire severed hand suddenly tugged, ripping away with so much force that Linc was flung towards the cliff.

    His shoulder dashed against a rock. But this was all he needed. The hand was torn in two, leaving Linc with a chunk of the palm and two of the long fingers.

    Ignoring the pain he pushed himself up, taking his prize away before more of these slimy tappers coulde seeking.

    He hurled the piece of slippery flesh into the mesh of weaving fingers that blocked the way.

    The bleeding ck hand was like an unwee guest as it limply fell on the others. It was like it had intruded on an intimate dance.

    The fingers on either side of the cliff slowly uced themselves from one another, taking gentle care.

    They snapped around the unwee one. Each of them tugged on one of the two remaining fingers, and as they found resistance they suddenly ripped it apart, splitting it through the remains of palm.

    Each side disappeared in a sh into the opposing cliff faces. For only a moment, a mist of red blood linked each cliff together, floating then disappearing.

    Crunching bones sounded again. Linc gave each side onest nce and rushed forward again, back to Vanderby and Estra¡¯s side.

    A single dark finger found Vanderby¡¯s ankle. Van hacked it once but the other fingers were already closing it, snapping shut.

    Linc¡¯s eyes bulged and he shouted again.

    ¡°Now!¡± Linc screamed, seeing Vanderby about to get snatched away.

    Linc gripped his katana, sweeping it back to prepare for the swing.

    Vanderby and Estra knew what Linc¡¯s call meant¡ªthey lowered their heads as if they were submitting to a higher authority. Their eyes closing. But they still saw the bright sh through their eyelids.

    Linc¡¯s eyes zed and his sword and body alike turned into a golden sh.

    *Crack!*

    A gleaming burst of golden light lit up the canyon, bouncing across the canyon walls like jagged lightening. Hundreds of ck fingers all froze.

    Linc stood in the middle of them all, flicking the blood from his de. All of them fell as the same time, their wrists severed in perfect harmony.

    *huff, huff, huff*

    Linc stowed his sword then gave into his exhaustion, bending over onto his knees, panting.

    ¡°Nice one Linc.¡± Vanderby called.

    ¡°27 seconds.¡± Linc waved, ¡°Just in case.¡± He said, calling out the cooldown of his only skill.

    Vanderby nodded back, and began to stomp his shield onto five fingers wrapped around his leg, freeing himself. Estra was breathing fast, holding a spear she normally used as a backup weapon, which was even more useless than Vanderby¡¯s dagger.

    The three of them had their own strengths, but they were far too mismatched to be useful. Unfortunately, they were forced to be bounty hunters because of their mismatched skills, useless for most dungeons.

    Vanderby, had an odd shield-and-dagger ss. He was like a tanky assassin, which made him the worst of both roles.

    Linc, while powerful, only had one skill: sh-step. His ss had given him nothing else, and no other skills. It was up to him to make the most of it, and hone it¡ªLinc had learned that using the skill without a weapon in hand gave him temporary invisibility, but it came with drawbacks: it had a thirty-second cooldown, and if he couldn¡¯t sever whatever his sword touched, the skill would end.

    As for Estra, her pseudo love-type ss was useless inbat. Her skills were entirely human-centered, suited for a city rather and climbing socialdders rather than a dungeon. Of course, she was considered non-variant because her weak, longing-love magic only affected her.

    After sweating for a moment, Linc checked over his battered sword, blunted and dented from scraping against stone, and with a frown he joined the others. Without wasting more time they mbered back out of the canyon, the fingers below them slowly emerging again and snatching away the fresh tter of severed hands.

    Linc climbed first, followed by Estra and then Vanderby. Getting further up the slope they sat, recovering for a moment. However, Estra remained standing, ncing around the trees, her eyes darting around, nervous about what else may be out there. She was having doubts about the journey, but seeing how hard Linc and Vanderby had worked hard just to keep her safe, she kept them to herself.

    Scanning the forest with her eyes, she saw something.

    ¡°Guys.¡± She said, stepping back, pointing into the forest.

    It was dark, bouncing between the trees.

    Linc stood, readying his sword again.

    It came closer and hid behind arge root. The only thing sticking out was a pair of ears, twitching left and right, each ear looking like brown leaves.

    ¡°What is that¡­¡± Linc said.

    A little kitten suddenly bounced onto the root, making the forest seem like it was its own little yground. It cooed and let out an innocent whimper.

    ¡°Mew¡±

    Yet none of them lowered their weapons, waiting to see what it would do.

    The little Orren kitten stretched, curled into a ball on the root and closed its curious eyes¡ªIts mission, wasplete.

    A gentle breeze drifted through the woods, sealing the end of the day as the cold air worked through the forest.

    The little Orren¡¯s petals began to sway in the breeze, falling apart and drifting into cracks between the roots like a fading rose as its body fell apart, into petals carried by the wind.

 Chapter 349 Lannister 1

    Chapter 349 Lannister 1

    A dark rose petal fluttered through the trees like an aimless butterfly, and while its movement was erratic, it moved in one direction.

    Lara and Lannister sat by a small campfire, quietly hoveled under a rocky ledge.

    Through the darkness, the dark petal found its way home, andnded on Lannister¡¯sp, as if it were making itself atfortable.

    Lannister gently grabbed it and gave the petal a rub. The petal gave up thest of its magic and slipped away, sending him a single message: a location.

    ¡°An Orren found someone. A little further east.¡± Lannister said, watching the petal turn to dust in his fingers. Lara didn¡¯t look up from the fire.

    ¡°Seems like he didn¡¯t get far.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll probably need to apologize and exin about what happened, back in Lo. Have you tried to contact him?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s been charging the crystal. Either that or he¡¯s quite mad with us.¡± Lara said, shrugging.

    ¡°Hmm. I can¡¯t say I me him. We did kinda¡­ ditch him.¡± Lannister said. Lara¡¯s brows furrowed.

    ¡°I already told you, that fucker Matheson showed up. How was I supposed to know what he looked like? Then the mage hunters began their assault. I¡¯m surprised we made it out.¡± Lara huffed.

    ¡°Rx. I¡¯m not ming you, no one is. We¡¯ll bring Jay back this time.¡± Lannister said, patting Lara¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Mm.¡± Lara mumbled, still ncing into the fire, and floated another chunk of wood into it, slowing rotating it as she held it in the mes. He stood with his back to the fire and looked east for a moment.

    ¡°He made it this far without us. As long as we bring him back, we¡¯ll finish the mission.¡± Lannister said.

    Lara frowned and raised a brow, wondering when she became the serious one. Lannister sat by her side, his elbow touching hers, and he watched the soft mes for a moment before saying something.

    ¡°How many missions have we done together?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Twenty?¡± Lara replied.

    ¡°Twenty-eight.¡± Lannister said.

    Lara shifted her gaze to Lannister, noticing the thoughtful expression on his face. She followed his line of sight to the fire, watching the mes dance and crackle.

    ¡°Mm. What¡¯s on your mind?¡± She asked, turning back to him. Lannister hesitated for a moment, as if searching for the right words.

    ¡°I was just thinking about all the things we¡¯ve been through,¡± he said, his voice soft.

    Lara nodded, her mind briefly shing back to some of their past missions¡ªthe close calls, the moments of triumph, how Lannister was like a fussy mother keeping her in line, and everything in between.

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve certainly been through our fair share of challenges,¡± she said, a hint of pride in her voice.

    ¡°Mm.¡± Lannister softly murmured, his gaze never leaving the fire.

    Lara nced at Lannister and felt a strange pang in her chest, but she wasn''t sure why. Was it the memories of their past missions, or the way Lannister¡¯s face seemed so familiar?

    ¡°Is everything okay, Lannister?¡± she asked, sensing that there was something more he wanted to say.

    Lannister''s eyes flickered with emotion, and for a moment, Lara thought she saw something vulnerable in his expression. But then he seemed to steel himself, his features hardening, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine,¡± he said, forcing a smile. ¡°Just thinking out loud, I suppose.¡±

    Lara didn¡¯t press the matter, sensing that Lannister wasn¡¯t ready to talk about whatever was troubling him. Instead, she floated more twigs through the fire, trying to rx as she yed with the mes.

    They sat in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the forest around them. Lara watched as the fire burned lower, the embers glowing softly in the darkness. She felt a sense of contentment wash over her, despite the frustration she still felt about the mission.

    Finally, Lannister spoke up again. ¡°Hey, do you remember that time we had to cross that rickety old bridge over the river?¡±

    Lara grinned, a rush of nostalgia flooding her. ¡°Yeah? You were shaking like a leaf the entire time.¡±

    Lannister rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of amusement in his expression. ¡°I was not. The bridge was just shaky.¡±

    ¡°Yep, then it copsed. I recall saying you should just teleport us over?¡±

    ¡°Hm, I don¡¯t recall that.¡± Lannister smiled, and Lara shook her head.

    They continued reminiscing about past missions, and Lara felt her tension ease slightly. But she wondered if it was tension between herself and Lannister, or about the mission. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she thought she saw a glimpse of something more in Lannister¡¯s eyes as they talked¡ªsomething that made her heart skip a beat. But then he looked away again, and the moment was gone.

    As they settled down for the night, Lara couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was really going on in Lannister¡¯s head. She was determined to find out, one way or another.

    I¡¯ll get to the bottom of this. Maybe he wants a new partner since I failed? Whatever. The missiones first. Lara thought, her eyes closing for the night, and as she listened to the gentle burning sound of the fire, the gasses hissing out of the wood sounding like a breeze going through the treetops, she thought of herself like an old dog being given onest pat and onest treat before meeting her end¡ªwhen Lannister would ask for a new partner. She didn¡¯t want this to be herst mission.

    ***

    ~Several Years Prior, Third Academy, MR#34~

    *Boom!*

    The dueling arena shuddered as the crowd watched in fearful silence. Arge null-stone block meant to be cover crushed down onto a student, the block sinking inches into the dirt with the ttened person underneath.

    Lara narrowed her eyes and watched, levitating herself in the air with her gravity magic. But the block never moved.

    The crowd of students watching gasped as they felt the ground shift¡ªthen erupted in cheers, the arena stands burst into a roar of victory.

    An announcer¡¯s voice called frommunication crystals mounted around the stands. ¡°Lara did it, she defeated Hawker! With that, we have our duelist selected for the solo war game trials. May she bring us victory this year!¡±

    The crowd chanted, ¡°Lara, Lara, Lara!¡±

    Lara, still floating in the middle of the arena, looked around at those calling her name. They looked so unfamiliar to her. She had juste to this school a few months ago and now they called her name? Something about it was insulting; she never shared her name with them, so how dare they use it?

    She didn¡¯t frown or smile, and floated down to the arena exit, ignoring the calls of people who presumed to know her. She had training to do.

 Chapter 350 Lannister 2

    ?

    *ZZZZ*

    Lannister grinned, watching the portal humming with raw power.

    A few weeks of experimentation passed, and Lannister found his way into the mirror reality. He kepting back, drawn to this dungeon entrace since his teleport mana resonated with the strange energy linking it to the mirror reality.

    It was purely coincidence that he chose this dungeon entrance to toy with, this dungeon that kept the mirror reality in ce and aligned with the real world. It was like a bearing, or an anchor in reality, holding its existence in fixed space.

    Responding whenever Lannister tested it, he continued to probe and experiment until it finally cracked open.

    A shimmering silver portal circled with chaotic violent energy, a tunnel directly into the mirror reality.

    Normally portals did not hum dangerously or have such luminous crackling energy around its edges, but sensing some stability in his new portal, he eagerly tested it.

    First a rock, then a branch which he pulled back through, and some timeter his own hand.

    Sensing its stability and knowing it would close soon, he grit his teeth and nodded to himself.

    ¡°Just do it.¡± He coached himself, and leaned into it.

    Lannister stepped through let out a sigh of relief, and began exploring the other side.

    But there was something so¡­ boring about it. The other side of the portal offered no sense of adventure to speak of.

    Walking through a forest, simr to his own of towering giant evergreens, hearing the familiar creaks and croaks of ancient trees which mirrored the forest he left, he wondered if he actually seeded in portal travel to another world, or if he just made a fancy-looking mirror to step through.

    All the trees were giants, some of the bigger ones half a mile high, all of them filled with different climates and ecosystems as you ascended¡ªif you would bother to ascend.

    As he strolled along the forests dirt floor, each step squishing moss or leaves as he went, he began to doubt himself, and decided to turn back to the dungeon for some more testing of the portal. Yet he was stopped in his tracks.

    Lannister turned back, only to find a de pointed at his neck.

    A small dagger, the double edged de silver and sharpened, behind it a ck grip. A simple design. Yet there was no hand carrying it, it simply floated there, pointing at his neck despite having no obvious runes or enchantments.

    ¡°Fuck, cool.¡± He whispered.

    Lannister didn¡¯t feel threatened, instead he leaned on one foot, stepping to one side and the other, curious about this magic dagger as the tip of the de followed his movements. The dagger pulled back for a moment, only to recoil.

    *Swoosh!* <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The de shot forward.

    Lannister dodged to the side and narrowly missed losing an ear. The dagger gave no rest. Small, it easily spun back around and shot back again.

    But Lannister didn¡¯t dodge. He held his right hand forward, his fingers yed out and his palm open. The other hand he held facing a tree. Just before the dagger bore its way into his palm, both of his wrists suddenly flicked, rotating.

    Shimmering portals opened in his palms, and swallowed the dagger before it could slow down.

    *Thwunk~*

    A tree became the daggers only victim, cutting an inch-deep hole into the wood. Lannister hastily grabbed it, holding it still so the pesky little thing couldn¡¯t escape.

    He felt a strange force pushing back against his fingers but he pushed harder, locking it in his grip.

    ¡°Just give up. You¡¯re mine now! Mine! You hear me!?¡± Lannister called at the dagger, bringing his mouth close as he yelled at the metal, hoping whatever sentience this thing had would recognize him as its new master¡ªand to his surprise, the force pushing his fingers back stopped.

    But what was stranger was that he was able to store it in his inventory.

    ¡°Oh..?¡± Lannister raised a brow, looking at his empty hand and the hole in the tree for a moment, ¡°Good.¡± He said, nodding.

    Lannister wanted to immediately take it out, but wasn¡¯t going to risk losing such a miraculous item. He already began to think of ways to release it inside a wooden box or somewhere he could trap it¡ªin case it decided to defy him.

    Hearing another groan of a tree trunk, Lannister crouched, silent, scanning for more threats. It was apparent that he in fact was in another world.

    He cautiously stepped around the tree, using it like a shield to hide behind and holding himself close while doing a quick scan of the forest, looking for any other floating weapons that may decide to attack him.

    So, I traveled to another world? Floating weapon world? Lannister thought, naming his finding with an excited feeling growing in his stomach. He wanted to cheer, shouting his discovery across mountain tops, but decided a world filled with floating weapons probably wasn¡¯t the ce to draw attention.

    I could sell them, once I think of ways to control them. I¡¯m going to be so damn rich¡­ then I can fund more adventures into other worlds. I¡¯ll make an entire industry of floating weapons. Ah, I didn¡¯t even consider how this is going to change dungeons, the world as he know it. But how many of these weapons can I subdue?

    Saving his mana for the return trip to his own world, Lannister swiftly retreated back to the dungeon, treading lightly as he kept his senses sharp. His portal had closed but he knew the connection was still there, a single thread connecting worlds in a dormant state, waiting for him to force it open again.

    However, before he left the forest, his body became light as he leaped across roots, his feet made less and less contact with the ground as a mysterious force made gravity dry up until he found himself floating. And then, he heard a girls voice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try anything.¡± She said, ¡°Others are already on their way.¡±

    Lannister looked up to the sound¡ªa girl floated further above him, watching him with a deadly stare, her eyes sharp as she watched his every movement.

 Chapter 351 Lara

    ?

    ¡°Put me down!¡± Lannister yelled, shocked at how rude this girl was.

    Lannister knew he hadn¡¯t done anything wrong, and he wasn¡¯t aw breaker either. Perhaps she was protecting this world?

    It was immediately obvious he was in another world, but sadly, it seemed this one had been imed already. As for sentient floating weapons, he dismissed that idea. The girl didn¡¯t answer, but she was close enough to analyze, and using her name he spoke slowly, but sternly.

    ¡°Lara, I¡¯ll leave peacefully. Just put me down, and I¡¯ll go.¡± Lannister said, his frown turning into anger. The warning in his voice was clear.

    In response the side of Lara¡¯s lip curled, mocking him as she looked down. She wasn¡¯t concerned with the danger he posed, in fact, she wanted him to try something. She weed it. It would hone her skills further.

    Lannister sighed, his face softened, seemingly giving up. While he floated under her, he held one hand behind his body, forming a tiny portal.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He said, shrugging. Twisting his body he shot his fist into the hidden portal.

    *Crack!*

    The other end of the portal led to the side of Lara¡¯s head.

    She rocked her head and her body flipped. Both of them lost concentration and fell, the gravity magic giving up without her.

    Lannisternded on the roots, bruising his shoulder. Lara fell from much higher though, but before she collided with him, arge portal appeared, right above Lannister. She slipped right into it, then nearby another portal spat her out, sending her upwards.

    It was a small act of mercy to shoot her upwards from the second portal, diminishing some of her speed before she would hit the ground. Lannister preferred to slip away rather than to fight, and thetter was more likely if she came looking for retribution. Besides, he felt bad for sneak-attacking her.

    Lara flew out of the portal, but before she even touched the ground she regained her senses, floating again and looking for her target. Lannister still had his arms up, closing the portals he¡¯d just opened.

    They locked eyes.

    Lara huffed and sped towards him, but before her gravity magic could take effect he already bolted away.

    The gravity magic took effect but all too slowly. A portal swirled into existence and Lannister began to glide through, already weightless as he entered it, but having enough momentum to make it.

    Yet Lara was faster, she kicked off tree trunks and pulled herself forward with her own gravity.

    Lara had never lost a fair one vs one, and she wasn¡¯t going to let a stranger without an academy uniform beat her, especially since she just became the number one duelist among the first years.

    Sure, this wasn¡¯t a typical duel, but seeing a student prowling around without an academy uniform meant they were up to no good. She darted towards him.

    Only Lannister¡¯s legs stuck out of the portal, but Lara was still 30 feet away. She wouldn¡¯t make it in time.

    ¡°Gh!¡± she kicked off another tree, 15 feet.

    His knees were already gone, only his boots stuck out. She was losing him.

    Lara grit her teeth. Her pride fueled her. She wasn¡¯t going to let him escape. Instead of slowing down in the face of an unknown portal which could lead anywhere, she did the unthinkable and pushed herself forward, speeding towards it faster.

    Lannister¡¯s boot disappeared just as her hand grasped toward it. Her speed created a violent ripple as she shot into the portal¡ªshe felt his boot on the other side and grasped it, refusing to let go.

    ¡°Ohe on!¡± Lannister looked back, shocked that she followed him through. Lannister couldn¡¯t close his portal, not with someone inside, and Lara came crashing into him.

    The two of them tumbled in each others embrace, both rolling down the edge of a grassy hill, trampling flowers as they went.

    ¡°Ugh just let me go!¡± Lannister grunted, pushing her away.

    ¡°No. Why should I? You attacked me. We have order here you know.¡±

    ¡°I was just defending myself. Get off!¡± Lannister yelled and with a grunt pushed her away as they rolled.

    Lara went further down hill. He hastily formed another portal behind her and pushed her in, but Lara flicked her wrist right back. A jolt of gravity pulled him down, into the portal with her.

    ¡°F-faa!¡± Lannister screamed.

    Then, weightlessness. Blue surrounded them.

    The portal opened in the sky, spitting them both out above the clouds, both of them dropping like stones.

    Lara scoffed, ¡°Do you think this would kill me?! You know I can fly!¡±

    The wind roared past their ears, forcing them both to yell.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to kill you! I was just trying to go home!¡± Lannister yelled.

    Lara¡¯s expression softened. ¡°Home?¡± Her angered brows gave way to a gleam of sadness in her eyes as she began to float, stopping her fall while she watched Lannister plummet below.

    ¡°Home...¡± She whispered, feeling as empty as the skies she was in.

    Lara looked down, watching him fall. His clothes pped and pped through the whistling air. She waited for him to make another portal, intent on letting him escape.

    It was not a surprise to her that someone would want to leave the mirror reality to go home, to rekindle with their own families and loved ones¡ªif the mage hunters hadn¡¯t dashed them to pieces already anyway. Thinking that he was going to see his family, Lara rolled her tongue in her cheek with a pang of jealousy. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ¡°Idiot.¡± She murmured, watching him enter the clouds, letting herself descend after him at a more controlled speed.

    Lannister¡¯s body cut through the cloud, beginning to turn to a darkened blob, fading. But seeing his arms begin to il around, Lara raised a brow.

    Go on, just escape already. Portal away. She thought, tilting her head¡ªhe hadn¡¯t disappeared yet.

    Her eyes widened and she took a breath.

    *Whoosh!*

    She reversed gravity, instantly falling faster than she even had. Combining the natural gravity with her own, she became a speeding bolt of lightning. The air roared against her, threatening to tear her skin and blind her, feeling like it was burning.

    Lannister had already disappeared into the forest of clouds.

    Lara rushed through right after him, streaking through the mist and out the other side in an instant,nd below.

    She saw Lannister, in his hands he held an old coat which he barely gripped, using it like a parachute. But at this speed it wouldn¡¯t be enough.

    The ground seemed so far away but so close as it quickly filled her vision. Lara sped down and the horizon rose around her.

    The green sea of forest canopy became clearer and each tree began to stand out from the rest.

    He didn¡¯t even see hering.

    ¡°Lannister!¡± She screamed, but doubted her voice would reach him. It was impossible to push air out at these speeds. She reached down, grasping at him like he were about to escape through another portal.

    She pushed into his stupid parachute. He was in her reach again.

    *Fwoosh!*

    ¡°Gah!¡± She crashed onto his stupid old coat and hit his shoulder. They tumbled as she forced them together and grappled with his body.

    A few spins of their bodies and iling hands, Lara found herself grabbing him by the leg again, and hugged his knee tightly.

    The ground was spreading out as they sped towards it.

    Lara released all the gravity magic she could, forcing herself upwards, bear-hugging Lannister¡¯s leg, who was upside down. When seconds mattered it was easier to use her own magic on herself, instinctive.

    But he began to slide out of her grip, his clothes tearing. The wind still whistled dangerously past.

    ¡°Gh! Come on!¡± Lara grit her teeth, fighting gravity and her own muscles, trying to keep her grip on his leg.

    He slipped down to the foot and her muscles screamed at her to release, her shoulders feeling like they would rip from the joints. But she held on, even as her fingernails dug into his leg and ripped away.

    *Crack!*

    A branch snapped into them, Lannister taking the brunt.

    Lara ignored the leaves rushing past and heaved, squeezing him tighty and using onest desparate burst of gravity to slow them.

    The branches snapped against them, flicking past like whips but in the next moment, they stopped. Without warning they hit the ground.

    *Thud!*

    Both of them impacted. A kick of dust and leaves flushed away from the gust.

    The pain was numbing. She felt nothing, but didn¡¯t dare to move. At least not until her body forced her to, which it did.

    Lara coughed, spitting blood.

    ¡°Urrahh..¡± She weakly moaned, chest filled with broken bones but alive. She leaned her head back and breathed for a moment, trying to get a breath in, followed by another, then the next.

    Each breath was a challenge, a struggle.

    The pain wouldst a while until her health drained and their adventurer bodies healed themselves.

    A little while passed. She could do nothing but endure the pain and watch the wind shifting the leaves above, and she began to count up all the branches and twigs they snapped away on the way down. About thirty in total.

    It was a miracle they didn¡¯t hit any of the thicker log-like arms jutting out from these giant trees, each enormous like primordial giants standing against time itself. Even thought they were copies in the mirror reality, they were just as proud as their real-life counterparts.

    The pain began to leave but her bones still ached, but Lara felt something else. Lannister had been holding onto her foot as much as she held onto his, her own boot already slipped off.

    Finally, she heard something. A teacher wasing. Lara closed her eyes, rxing and letting them handle the rest, fading as she heard the junior headmistress.

    ¡°Lara?! Get them to the infirmary now -- Head wound, help him first.¡±

 Chapter 352 Follower

    ?

    *Boom!*

    A giant block of earth crashed in a roof, plummeting through it with ease. A small wooden house at the mercy of Lara¡¯s magic. The roof sunk and splintering bits of wood shot out of the debris.

    A low groan resounded from the depths of the house, then a momentter blood seeped through the windows and flowed under the front door.

    Lara nodded to herself, seeing that her guess was correct.

    The house itself was a living mimic, a gut-filled mess of organs and teeth filled its insides, while the outside looked like a perfectly inviting house toe into, and it waited for an unwary adventurer to step inside.

    The mimics were magic-immune, but theserge slow-moving targets were an easy monster for Lara¡¯s projectiles. To her, it was hardly training. She was merely grinding exp, giving her body the rest it needed.

    In a few hours, a week had passed since the incident¡ªthe incursion of Lannister into the mirror reality, and then the sky fall that wounded both of them.

    After recovering from the fall, Lara had been training diligently for the uing academy tournament, ignoring her body¡¯s calls to slow down. Every time she moved, the bruising of her sore bones groaned back, a reminder of the damage she caused herself. Normally her duels in the arena prevented injuries and most of the pain, and she¡¯d forgotten just how painful wounds could be, just how fragile life was¡ªeven with a ss.

    Each strain of her muscle weighed on her mind, distracting her own manacraft, and each time she crushed a mimic her thoughts kept drifting back to Lannister, who stilly in an infirmary bed, unmoving.

    The sky fall reduced Lannister¡¯s health to zero, his body absorbing the rest of the damage, which could be permanent if not for the hasty healing of the infirmary sses and other tricks of the variants. But he still hadn¡¯t woken up.

    Lara didn¡¯t understand why she kept thinking about him. She wanted to fight him again, but there was something else, something that made her want to hide her face, but instead of exploring those thoughts she shook her head, trying not to think about it.

    Lara meagerly trudged through the dungeon, tiredly skipping rocks at whateverrge, out-of-ce thing she saw, sending somethingrger than a stone if it moved, but after a weary sigh she lowered her head and left the dungeon.

    Slowly walking back to her dorm, a voice came to her ears.

    ¡°Lara? Lannister woke up. He wants to speak to you.¡± Evelynn said, and Lara quickly pulled out themunication crystal, stopping her walk and staring at it, grasped tightly in her fingers. She paused for a moment before replying.

    ¡°What? Why me?¡± Lara asked.

    Evelynn softly sighed, ¡°Juste to the infirmary.¡±

    Lara blinked at the crystal a few times, waiting for more information, but there was none, and she replied after a short silence.

    ¡°I¡¯m on my way.¡± Lara said, and hurried to the academy healing area.

    Lara wasn¡¯t sure what was going on, much less what to feel¡ªwhy was she being summoned? Was Lannister angry at her? Should she be angry at him¡ªor concerned? Did he die? He was an intruder so she didn¡¯t feel like she was in the wrong here.

    Lara guessed and assumed as she walked.

    Other than the fight, he has nothing to do with me¡­ Do they think I let him in, or betrayed the academy? Lara thought.

    She thought it was odd, in fact, it was inappropriate to bring her into his infirmary room. A hospital bed was still a personal bed after all, and she was a student without any healing magic.

    She wondered if there was punishment waiting, in case he did die. Lara knew her perfect record of duels she worked so hard for would sink into gray meaninglessness if she knew she took someone¡¯s life, not to mention the punishment for doing so.

    What enjoyment is there in prizes, merit, or badges when you have blood on your hands? Lara was certain there was none, and picked up her pace.

    Just outside the infirmary a number of students had crowded around, causing a stir. All of them were trying to peek inside, while the more cunning insisted they were sick and had to be brought in¡ªonly to be rejected a momentter. None of them even noticed Laraing until she passed by. Once they saw her, they made themselves small and stepped back quietly, showing a fearful respect for the first-year duel master.

    A caretaker nurse at the front desk eyed Lara up and down, and gave her a tired look. Another student trying to sneak in? <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ¡°Hi. Evelynn told me toe here.¡± Lara said.

    ¡°Oh did she? Well, let me call her.¡± The nurse said, slowing pulling out amunication crystal, tapping them over it and watching Lara for a reaction. They both knew Evelynn would punish Lara if this was a lie.

    Yet Lara didn¡¯t flinch¡ªInstead, she leaned on the desk and she nced around the room,zily picking details out. The nurse raised a brow, went ahead and made the call, and a momentter she nced up at Lara with a look of shock on her face. Lara heard thest of the conversation.

    ¡°She¡¯s the one? Okay I¡¯ll send her through. Thanks, bye.¡± The nurse put her crystal down and nced up at Lara.

    ¡°Hallway six. Bed eleven.¡± The nurse said, pointing to a hallway behind her while looking down at some paperwork, trying to hide any embarrassment.

    ¡°Six-eleven. Thanks.¡± Lara nodded and walked past into a long hallway.

    The hallway had a set of double doors at the end, both of them giving off a purple wavy hue, like a thick violet gas was clinging to its surface. However as Lara walked closer, she slowed, feeling nauseas. Her vision split into doubles, seeing two sets of double doors.

    ¡°Ah.¡± She stopped, rubbing her head and her eyes. ¡°Maybe I overdid it.¡± She said to herself.

    She looked at her own hands, and the feeling disappeared instantly. Her vision was back to normal.

    She nced up at the hallway doors again¡ªbut it was still like double vision. Two sets of double doors.

    ¡°What¡­¡± she whispered, holding her hand up while looking at the two sets of hallways behind it. Her hand wasn¡¯t doubled, but somehow the hallway had split into two.

    Lara cautiously took a step forward, holding her hand up to make sure she didn¡¯t feel nauseas and wasn¡¯t going crazy. With each step she took, the hallways miraculously splintered, diverging before her very eyes like a kaleidoscope. Hundreds of them split, thousands appeared and disappeared. Then, as she approached she noticed numbers above the sets of double-doors. She stopped for a moment and read.

    [27,182]

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Lara raised a brow, and took a step to the left.

    [15,693]

    Then another, and she watched thousands of hallways flicker in and out of her vision in an instant.

    [10,542]

    No matter how many steps she took, she didn¡¯t touch the wall at her side, and the hallway numbers kept decreasing until it finally went down to the one what she wanted.

    Why were the students trying to see inside when we have this? Lara wondered, and looked up, trying to find hallway eleven.

    [11]

    ¡°Hallway eleven, bed six.¡± She said with a nod, reminding herself as she slowly walked through the double doors.

    Behind the doors, the hallway continued for only about 50 yards, surprising Lara as she thought it would be as infinite as the number of halls. Rooms lined each wall and she found the bed she was searching for under a [5-8] sign. Evelynn was already waiting outside for her, tapping her heel.

    Evelynn didn¡¯t seem sad or grim, infact, she seemed displeased. Lara wasn¡¯t sure if it was a good sign or not.

    ¡°Lara, hello. He wanted to talk to you. I think it¡¯s best that you have a chat with him, then we tell you what we¡¯ll be doing after.¡± Evelynn said, gesturing her into the room.

    ¡°Talk to me? Okay.¡± Lara said, her face expressionless. She was d Lannister was alive, but had a feeling she was about to be punished.

 Chapter 353 Petals

    ?

    Lara felt weight bearing down on her as she slowly stepped in, and thought onest time about the mimics she had just crushed as she entered the room. At this moment she felt like one of them; strong and perfect on the outside, but weak once the illusion shattered.

    Lara paused when hearing a nurse chatting to him at his bed side. She only heard thest of the conversation but it seemed like they were convincing him to stop ying around with his portal magic.

    Lara frowned, clenched her fists, and walked around the curtain, but as she saw Lannister only a wide smile greeted her back.

    ¡°Lara?¡± He said, his eyes widening.

    Immediately, two portals formed at either side of him. He shot his arms into them and Lara felt someone touching her shoulders. Lara tensed her shoulders.

    He¡¯s hugging me? What the fuck. Lara thought, her brows creasing in confusion.

    Lara stepped back, away from the disembodied floating armsing from the portals. She thought he would look weak, small and pitifully pathetic in the hospital bed, but instead he seemed full of wonder and life. Instead, she was the one who felt weak, unable to lighten up. Unable to smile.

    ¡°Why am I here?¡± she said, ring at Lannister in his hospital bed, but the nurse answered.

    ¡°You¡¯re the only one he remembers.¡±

    Lannister nodded with a smile, and took out the dagger with the leather grip. ¡°You, and my trusty dagger.¡± He winked, showing the letter ¡®L¡¯ engraved on the bottom.

    It was the same dagger Lara had attacked him with, the one he initially thought was a sentient creature.

    ¡°Thats¡­¡± Lara said, but stopped herself. She didn¡¯t want them knowing she used a weapon to attack him in the first ce.

    ¡°Lannister put that away.¡± The nurse ordered, and he stashed it with a cheeky grin, looking up at Lara.

    ¡°So can we leave yet?¡± Lannister asked.

    Lara raised a brow, wondering why he was asking her. The nurse exined.

    ¡°You¡¯re the only person he knows, so you¡¯ll need to take care of him.¡±

    Lara opened her mouth, shocked, but before she could say something the nurse continued.

    ¡°Talk to Evelynn.¡± The nurse ordered, pointing out the door, stopping Lara from saying anything or denying her duty to Lannister.

    Lara frowned, leaving through the door without a word. Having to babysit this moron was thest thing she thought would happen¡ªperhaps it was a punishment. Of course, she would protest, however, she didn¡¯t get a word in.

    Evelynn held her finger up as soon as she barged out the door, keeping Lara quiet. She made sure the door was shut before saying anything.

    ¡°Lara, we¡¯re going to keep him with us for now. His portal skills will be an asset¡ªhowever, it seems he¡¯s got an attachment to you, so as the only person he knows, you¡¯re going to be responsible for him. I want you to monitor him and report any odd behavior. We have had him charmed and his memories searched, so he truly has forgotten everything since the moment he came here. If he does remember anything and he is a threat, don¡¯t engage him. Just contact me.¡± Evelynn said, her eyes narrowing.

    Yep, it¡¯s a punishment. Lara thought.

    ¡°But I have the tournamenting up, I need to¡ª¡± Lara blurted, but Evelynn raised her hand.

    ¡°No.¡± Evelynn shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re doing this. Look at it like an opportunity, a different sort of training.¡± She said, then began to walk down the hallway. ¡°If you can¡¯t do this simple duty, forget about the tournament.¡± She added, leaving Lara frowning by herself. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Lara clenched her fists, feeling trapped, and leaned against a wall then smacked her hand against it. She took a moment to gather herself and went back into the room.

    Lannister smiled up at her from the bed and sat up, but Lara spoke first.

    ¡°How long till you¡¯re ready to leave?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t now.¡± Lannister said, scratching his chin and looking at the nurse, hoping for an answer.

    Lara sighed, ¡°I¡¯ll be back tomorrow morning to pick you up.¡± She said, and nced at the nurse¡ªwho nodded back.

    Lara gave a single nod, and left without another word.

    ***

    ~A few days Later~

    Since leaving the infirmary, Lannister followed Lara around the academy, never leaving her side. Today they entered a dungeon, and Lara was already crushing enemies under whatever piece of rock or rubble she could find. But Lannister had concerns.

    ¡°Lara, they told us to meet at the assembly hall.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care, I¡¯ve got training to do. Just go by yourself.¡± Lara said.

    A boulder hovered in front of her for a moment, and she pulled her hand down, crushing a writhing mess of barbed vines into green paste before ncing over to Lannister.

    To her surprise, he still didn¡¯t leave. She thought he looked worried as nervously he rubbed his hands together, but after a moment he crouched down and sat by a few flowers, and began to trace his fingertips across their petals.

    He finally gave up? Lara thought. As he went silent, something felt wrong about crushing his spirit.

    Lara looked around the dungeon and saw no more enemies nearby, and sighed.

    ¡°Fine¡­ Let¡¯s go.¡± She said, rolling her eyes.

    Lannister looked up with a smile; he seemed as naive as the flowers, but Lara knew that with some training he would be a force to be reckoned with in his own rite¡ªbut that didn¡¯t make him any less of a nuisance.

    Lara didn¡¯t understand where Lannister got his uptight rule-following attitude from. In thest few days he was like a little annoying fly that kept buzzing around her head, reminding her to follow the academy¡¯s rules and instructions, most of which she previously ignored; It came with the privileges of being a prizedbat ss student.

    Instead of having him follow me, they really should give him orders to train with me. At the very least. Lara thought.

    Lannister left first, but Lara nced at the flowers for a moment. It was something she hadn¡¯t noticed¡ªor at least something she never bothered to look at.

    Lara crouched down and traced her fingers across the delicate flower tops, and gave them a smell.

    ¡°So easily crushed.¡± She murmured, then left the dungeon, leaving the flowers in peace.

 Chapter 354 Presently

    Chapter 354 Presently

    ~Present Day, Hegatha¡¯s Floating Swamp Ind~

    Jay cracked his eyes open with a smile, amused by two things her saw today from his time hosting in Sweeper¡¯s eyes.

    He used all his willpower to stop himself from bursting intoughter when he saw Asra trying to pull away from Hegatha¡¯s healing practice, pulling herself along the table. Jay pitied the young vampire, more so than when he found her in the vine-bear¡¯s cocoon.

    And then there was the moment Hegatha approached his cube-bone room. The skeletons didn¡¯t need to give her any verbal warning, not that they could. All it took was for them to crouch into abat stance and raise their weapons, and as he watched from Sweeper¡¯s eyes he could feel the fear that Hegatha showed when she froze in her tracks before slowly and cautiously stepping back. Her face looked so shocked and she didn¡¯t even dare to take a breath in that moment.

    ¡°Heh. Heh heh. Haha.¡± Jay chuckled, looking at his ceiling as hey on his bed, reying the events in his head. It was a weed release of tension, something he had built up in thest few days. At some points he felt like his life was fluid and chaotic, like everything was falling out from below him with every step he took, like the bone bridge he made, while other times his constructions and experimenting felt ordered but slow, like he was giving a set of hands the opportunity to slowly close around his neck. But this helped to set his mind at ease, at least for a moment, and he took a little while longer to rx, meditate, and replenish some of his mana.

    Jay sighed and sat up, ¡°Alright, I have work to do.¡± He said, but a voice greeted him back.

    ¡°Jay. Vision receptacle repaired. Continuing memory repair.¡± A little voice said next to him.

    Jay nced at his desk. The ck stone orb he named Leech still sat in the small indentation he made on the desk.

    ¡°Hang on.¡± Jay stood up, stretching his back. ¡°I need you to see these runes I copied. You said you could interpret runes.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Current memory repaired¡ª0.001%. Runic Trantion has been recovered.¡± Leeches said, and a small triangle with a round hole slowly raised from its surface.

    Jay raised a brow and grabbed it, holding it to his face.

    ¡°Can you see me?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°What do I look like?¡±

    ¡°Human. Male. Adolescent. Pale skin. Dark hair.¡±

    Pale skin? Jay thought, shook his head, and turned it to face the runes he had scratched into his desk.

    ¡°What do these mean?¡±

    ¡°Processing¡­ Runes identified, essing temtes. Processing¡­ Portal. Mirror type. Resonance stabilized. Passive cirction. Two-point vertical linkage. Processing¡­¡±

    Leech¡¯s eye closed back down into the cube and Jay ced it back down on the desk. He stepped into the doorway and had a look outside.

    Archers and Red diligently remained on guard. Red fervently stood at his door while Archers patrolled around the outside, its body still a mix of gray-white and cobalt blue bones of different shapes and sizes. After being summoned multiple times and with no other orders it had went onto guard duty.

    The bone well had dispersed thest of its mana from the mass summoning spell, and the once-floating bones sat in a circle on the ground like the nest of an eldritch creature, next to the pile Red had been feeding it.

    Jay hastily stashed the bones away, and seeing little other changes outside he went back inside and returned to Leech.

    ¡°So?¡± he asked.

    ¡°The triangle rune is a single location; it requires another triangle rune to interact with, forming two points to ry the portal between. This specific triangle orientation is vertical, and only allows the corresponding portal location to be above or below, requiring two to fix a portal in a vertical location.¡±

    So that¡¯s why the other two triangle shapes above the mirror portal were worn down? The mirror portal is directly above the other one. Jay thought.

    Leech continued, ¡°The other seven runes help to form the portal shape, the reflective mirror-portal type, to draw in the ambient mana to fuel it, and to stabilize it. In this configuration they must be arranged around the outside, in sets of no less than four for each side. More can be added to erge the mirror surface. These types of portal offer a practical application for short-range teleportation, and allow the user to see through to the other side before stepping through. This prevents the urence of matter-entwining and¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay I get it. So it¡¯s not too hard to make right?¡±

    ¡°It is considered hard by novice runesmiths. The runes of the lower portal must be kept in perfect alignment with the upper one, so carving them into a single surface, such as a t cliff face or arge stone, is often necessary. If either moves out of alignment, the portal will break. Also, the triangle runes must be carved at the same time. Furthermore, the portals must both be fueled with mana instantaneously to activate at the same time. This makes a runesmiths mimic tool a necessity in¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Hegatha probably used her leaves to help her carve somehow. But if she can do it, I can too.¡± Jay murmured, but Leeches continued.

    ¡°Furthermore, as long as the portals are kept in vertical alignment, they can move up and down from each other, to an extent, however its practicality offers little use in most settings, because as the distance increases, so does the likelihood of the portals moving out of alignment, and¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright Leech that¡¯s enough. Other than knocking down a wall, how do I disable the portal?¡±

    ¡°The third rune in each set of seven needs to be removed. This erodes the resonance, causing the portal to copse.¡±

    ¡°Removed? Can I cut it or scratched it out?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Go back to memory repair.¡±

    ¡°Acknowledged.¡±

    Jay leaned his hand over it and left it with some extra mana to absorb and thought to himself.

    If she is as bad as Asra thinks, maybe I can trap her underground and burn her house down. But I¡¯ll investigate further. He thought, and went outside to watch over his skeletons to pass the time while his mana recovered.

    The rest of the afternoon was quite dull. The hunting skeletons yed more of the fire-lights and returned with fresh sets of charred bones, bringing with them more of the amber breaking shards and exp notifications.

    [430 Exp]

    Jay ate more of his cooked meat, but began to get tired of constnatly chewing it, and he rubbed his lower stomach, feeling his guts felt like they were going to be blocked soon. He wondered what else could be eaten, so he sent Archers out to gather the various mushrooms. Everything in this swamp was vying for life, coated in thorns or poison and he wasn¡¯t sure what was edible so he decided he¡¯d need to ask Hegatha. But there was another option.

    Perhaps Asra could test the mushrooms? She seems resilient enough. He thought, and watched as an assortment of As for the light it gave off, Jay wasn¡¯t worried about it attracting any threats; the fog was a shield as much as it was a curtain hiding multi-colored fungus began to pile up; some of which were wet, that Archers gathered after traveling back to the shoreline rather than only from the ind.

    Jay identified a few types from the Lon forests, and began to sort them out from the pile ordingly.

    As the sunlight began to wane and disappear in the thick fog, Jay pulled a few of his skeletons off of hunting duty and had a fire constructed. The wood had to be floated across the water, making it harder to light, but thanks to the fire-lights, many of the tips still smouldered and the unnatural ever-burning embers dried out the wood and gave him a warm campfire in no time.

    As for the light it gave off, Jay wasn¡¯t worried about it attracting any threats; the fog was a shield as much as it was a curtain hiding other threats.

    Jay murmued to Red, ¡°I¡¯ll see what Hegatha¡¯s up to tonight. Then we¡¯ll see if we need to do something about her.¡±

 Chapter 355 Buying Time

    Chapter 355 Buying Time

    ~Mirror Reality 34~

    Matheson nursed the warp charge, his key to freedom, gently in hisp as he watched the raging red energy furiously burn against the calm blue energy. Since getting it he spent many hours watching it, learning its ways, meditating on his thoughts. One was as deep as the ocean, the other a consuming fire¡ªbut neither imed victory, an eternal struggle as long as it sat in the jade-green container.

    The calm never quells the rage. But the rage can¡¯t ovee it. The silent depths holds its own resilience. He thought.

    But did giving up myself make me like either?

    Stashing the warp charge away, Smiley gave onest nce at a driping from the wall. The constant tapping was unnoticable at first, but over thest few days it became louder. Every drop another poke in his mind, another shout in his ear, slowly driving him insane. He knew the tiny, insignificant droplets would either drive him forward or cause his destruction.

    With warp charge in hand, he left his pathetic dwelling and slipped out of the academy grounds unnoticed, towards the bamboo demon dungeon.

    After a quick scan of the surrounding forest to make sure there were no witnesses, he approached the entrance. He carefully ced the warp charge down and steeled himself, clenching his grip around his de as he slowly pulled the sword out. It was nothingpared to the me-sword he wielded, but to him, that ruby-gem masterpiece was just another crutch.

    They can take my sword. I¡¯ll give them my name. But they¡¯ll never take my indomitable spirit, for within my soul an unwavering me burns brighter than any possession or birthright.

    Sliding his foot back, he pulled the de back.

    *Crack!~ BURRR!~*

    A rumble of thunder broke from its gilded cage. A blue storm broke free, filled with arcs of red lightening. The tip of the de melted away.

    Smiley¡¯s hair raised. He jumped back, sensing danger as it the energy began to sear the ground around it. The dungeon entrance responded, cracking open with another rumble and a gale of wind.

    Smiley¡¯s eyes widened as he watched a portal form. Blue in the center, a ring of crackling red power around the outside.

    His only chance at escape was here. He was well aware of the consequences, the chance this may cause his death, and he epted them wholeheartedly. Ignoring all caution, he jumped right in, as quickly as he did so when he entered the mirror reality.

    Smiley felt his skin burn, his body torn and put back together, but after a moment hended on solid ground.

    *Huff huff huff*

    Blood trickled down his arms and dripped off his sword. He felt pain like this before, but grit his teeth and fought back against it while his body healed itself.

    Smiley heard a creak in the shadows; a bamboo forest surrounded him. A familiar wooden demon came charging but was cut down disappeared into nothingness.

    He grit his teeth and threw his partly-melted sword on the ground. before him.

    Smiley looked around, his eye winced as he noticed he was back in the bamboo demon dungeon. Behind him, the portal to the mirror reality was already closing; he watched as it shrank and disappeared into nothingness.

    He grit his teeth and threw his partly-melted sword on the ground. He clenched his fists and held them at the sides of his head as he closed his eyes, his face scrunching in painful anger as he knew he had failed; though he didn¡¯t shout or curse in fury.

    Another demon approached, but instead of picking up his sword, Smiley red at it, his killing intent causing it to halt in its tracks, if only for a moment.

    The demon lunged forward, its splintered-covered wsshing. Smiley lunged back with as much speed, sending his fist into its jagged face, cutting open his kunckles.

    He grabbed whatever part of its body he could and began to crunch his fists into its body.

    ¡°Grh!¡± He screamed, ignoring the pain in his hands. ¡°Grah! Graahhh!¡± He yelled in the demons face as his bleeding fists drove into its body, ignoring the pain. His fury outmatched the demon, making it seem as helpless as a straw scarecrow while its body turned the smaller and smaller splinters.

    Even as it crumbled and fell he kept pummeling, separating its body into pieces even after it died. After a moment of silence he finally stopped, leaning down on his knees with his blood-covered fists propping him up.

    Sweat ran into his eyes and began to pool up like tears. Anyone else would have cried pitifully, but not him.

    Smiley¡¯s face turned back to an empty stare. He wiped his sleeve across his eyes, stood up, patted the dirt from his knees and the splinters off his clothes.

    ¡°You failed. Try again. Again,, again, and again.¡± He whispered, and stashed his half-melted sword into his inventory before leaving the dungeon.

    Outside, he nced around the entrance. Even the melted scorched marks that the warp charge had disappeared. It was like it never happened, the only thing different were that some dark cracks had appeared in the fake sky, but it was nothing he hadn¡¯t seen before.

    Smiley knew he was back in the mirror reality, and slipped into the forest, then back to his basement room where he cleaned himself up.

    He gave onest nce at the dripping wall as hey in his bed, closing his eyes. But instead of it bothering him, he felt there was something soothing about it as it lulled him to sleep.

    ***

    Loki grinned as he held a ornamental hair clip in his hand, reading the engraving on its underside, which read Heather¡¯s name in cursive writing.

    It was easy for him to snatch it, using his switching-power to swap it with an ordinary one. With her special hair clip, he knew he could enlist her powers to help him bargain with Smiley.

    Like Loki, Heather was someone as insignificant as he was, so there was no one she could turn to for help¡ªuntil he would offer his hand to aide her in ¡®finding¡¯ the hair clip he had stolen. Her powers were to separate something into different forms, breaking them down into distinct parts. For example she could turn a bronze spoon into two smaller spoons of copper and tin, or a bamboo demon into a pile of wood and a harmless demonic shade; however without its physical body she had no way to kill a shade, making her power quite redundant, even when used on other dungeon monsters.

    However, Loki was sure she could harness her powers and separate the two energies inside the warp charges, separating them into their blue and red parts for Smiley to experiment with.

    Of course, Loki had no clue if any of it would work, and he wondered if Smiley would even seed with the first warp charge, but none of that mattered. It was all just another bargaining tool to him.

    As for the next steps of his n, he nned to steal two more warp charges this very night. Normally taking one was risky enough, but it seemed that the academy staff were distracted with something else, and a number had left to investigate the forest and the teleport staging area, leaving their warp charges with even less security than usual.

    ***

    ~Pocket Dimension, Message Ry Station~

    Between the real world and the mirror reality, a pocket dimension existed, filled with nothing but frozen white mountains and blizzards.

    Apart from the sheer icy cliffs and snow storms, only one building stood here. A grand, lonesome tower with no doors or entrances stood against the endless storm, which functioned as a message ry between the mirror reality and the real world.

    The very same ry station that Anya¡¯s father, Sullivan, had sent his message through about the variant necromancer. Its keeper, an old bald man, caressed his flowing beard as he stood facing a wall. The tower only had two spade-shaped windows, each window a link to each reality, but now, a third was beginning to appear on a separate wall.

    It began only as a vague shimmer, but its curved details and window frame were starting to show themselves. Something, or someone, was trying to connect with either the pocket dimension, the mirror reality or the real world.

    Of course, he fought it. His robes began to sway as he waved his arms into a spell, fighting back against whatever this was, chanting the spell until the shimmers of the third window would disappear. He only had to weave this spell once per week, but as the shimmering became stronger, the spell became a daily practice.

    The old wizard wondered if he was truly stopping it, or merely buying time.

 Chapter 356 Swordsmith

    ?

    ~Hegatha¡¯s Swamp Ind~

    Jay held his hands over the fire, warming them while listening to the asional crackles. The ends of the logs dripped and bubbled a sappy ooze as the moisture was forced out.

    While the fire burned away, Red and Archers had been busy. A number of rat-sized moths asionally swooped towards the light, annoying their master in doing so. That was enough to seal their fate, being cut in two or plunging themselves into the mes and setting themselves aze.

    A small family of cat-sized slugs had also made its way over, attracted to the light, their slimy forms displeasing Jay, and were just as easily cut apart and tossed back to the slimy water they crawled from.

    Jay¡¯s half-opened eyes rxedly watched as Red¡¯s ossein arming sword waved through the air, but began to frown as he watched. The reach of its de was barely high enough to find the swooping moths.

    ¡°You guys need new swords.¡± He murmured.

    He had been calling their weapons swords, as they were suitable to their smaller bodies at the time, but the skeletons were more or less human size now, and the ossein swords were really justrger versions of the bone daggers he¡¯d crafted. Heavy daggers, their des were much wider and shorter than other swords he¡¯d seen adventurers using, so at the edge of the fire he began to mold some bones together.

    I¡¯ll only need one, then the skeletons can make molds of it. He thought.

    Using his practice from crafting spears he easily formed a shaft as long as his shoulder to his fingertips. He gripped one end with his necrotic gauntlet, knowing the skeletons would need to wield itfortably with armor in the future, then added a cross-guard just above his armor-d thumb and a thickened pommel just below his grip.

    After a few swings, he thought it felt good enough, but he improved it by making the grip into an oval shape rather than a cylinder, which fit morefortably in his hand.

    The oval shape also helped him to hold the sword at a particr angle, which would help when adding each side of the double-edged de. This way, when holding the sword, he wouldn¡¯t even have to look at the de to know which way the sharpened edges would be facing. After all, it would deal nearly no damage if he pped an enemy with the t side of his sword.

    Next came the edges of the de itself. He took a more tender approach and as he slowly seeped his necrotic mana into it, condensing the bone material into a harder form of bone before ttening it and shaping its razor edges. In his older weapons he ignored that some parts of the bone weapons retained the honeb structure and other parts of the bones they were made from since it made them lighter, but now he opted for strength, knowing his skeletons could handle the extra weight.

    After some refining, he had his first full-length one handed sword; shorter than Handy¡¯s two-hander but just as wieldy. Jay gave it a few swings at some of the scorching logs, sending clouds of embers as it battered the fire.

    ¡°Nice.¡± Jay said, looking at the sword¡¯s silhouette with the mes behind it, a gleaming off its hardened shell as if it had been polished.

    He nted his feet down and lowered into abat stance, swinging it will full force, but as he struck the wood the sword shook, vibrating so much that his hand screamed at him to loosen his grip.

    ¡°Dammit. The honeb parts of the bones must have been dampening the vibration before.¡± He said, holding the brittle de in one hand and tapping the end with his gauntlet, feeling each vibration in his grip.

    It was easily to tell that it was prone to shattering, so using it as a temte, he designed a second version.

    The second version was the same in every way except for the very beginning of the process. Jay used some of the stronger blue silt-wolf bone and formed another shaft, but made it skinnier than the first sword. He encased the cobalt-blue shaft in the white bone, bringing it to the same size as the first shaft he made with the brittle sword, then repeated every other step except one.

    This time, he didn¡¯t condense the outer white bone as much as he had previously, guessing that it would help to absorb some of the vibration as well as making it less prone to shattering. The sword would get much of its strength from the internal blue shaft.

    Because he removed excess white bone to tten and sharpen the de, a blue hue emerged as the de went along, and ended in a piercing blue tip, which gave it a unique look. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Jay smiled as he held it up, pleased with the look of it, as well as that the stabbing end would also be the much stronger blue bone too, which would stop the slender point from snapping.

    As for the weight of the de, it was slightly lighter than the first brittle one he had crafted, but there was one drawback to the sword.

    It¡¯s a little too advanced for the skeletons. He thought, and neither did he want to share from his stockpile of precious silt-wolf bone, so he quickly thought of a workaround.

    The skeletons can just condense a shaft of the white bone to make a stronger internal core, then form the rest of the sword around the outside.

    Jay summoned Dark to return so it could carve a mold into the ground, then began to teach, or see, if Red was actually capable of condensing bone. Melting it to a liquid was one thing, but forcing it into a pressurized shape was another entirely, and he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it was beyond the skeletons to do so.

    While Dark returned, Red began to learn from Jay and practice alongside its master. At first, Red didn¡¯t seem to understand what Jay wanted. It crafted a bone shaft that was simrly sized to Jays, but only realized the differences after it wielded the condensed bone, feeling its heavier weight. Thankfully it only needed a tip from Jay to add more mana and to squeeze the semi-liquid bone tightly to get rid of any bubbles or cartge that may have mixed in, and in no time it had a condensed bone shaft.

    ¡°Good.¡± Jay said, d there were no problems. After Dark returned and dug out a mold, he guided Red through the rest of the sword making process, modifying it slightly to help the skeleton craft it using the dirt-mold technique.

    The resulting sword was exactly how Jay wanted. He only had to sharpen some of the edges and remove some bumps that the dirt mold caused, but otherwise he was content as he swung the final version of the de.

    < [Skeletal Sword - Level 2] >

    [11 Damage] (shing) (Piercing)

    [Lifespan - Requires necrotic essence to maintain its form]

    [Current lifespan: 96 hours]

    ¡°Hmm. Not bad.¡± Jay said with a nod.

    He expected it to be level three, but it was a product that a skeleton had made, so he was more or less happy with it. Jay remembered that his ossein arming swords did 12 damage, but those were made from purely silt-wolf bone and level three, so in a way, this was still an upgrade, which he contributed to his new design choices.

    Jay had three new swords now. The brittle one, the blue-core one, and the final design that Red crafted. Checking the stats of his blue-core sword, it did 13 damage, but was still level two. He melted the brittle sword back to bone, kept the blue one for himself, and handed the new skeletal sword back to Red.

    ¡°You¡¯ve earned it.¡± Jay winked.

    The skeleton ceremoniously bowed, epting its new sword and began killing the rat moths with renewed fury. But Jay wasn¡¯t done.

    (Blue, return to me. You¡¯ve got some swords to craft.) Jay ordered, deciding Blue and Red could do the rest of the work in upgrading his minions armaments, and that teaching more skeletons to make weapons would only benefit him in the long term.

 Chapter 357 Necrotic Circulation

    ?

    Jay sat by the fire as he watched Dark dig out a few more sword molds under his supervision. Red nced over every free moment, seeming discouraged at having to lend its new sword back for the molds, or so Jay guessed. But his guess was better than any as he had been gaining a sense of his skeletons attitudes over thest few weeks, if one was brazen enough to suggest such abominable creatures even had feelings.

    Before Blue returned, Dark had finished three molds in total. With no other orders it joined the skeletons in ying rat-moths, keeping them from bothering their supreme by the edge of the fire.

    Jay admired how Dark preferred to stick to the edge of the light, wavering between the border of the shadows as it cut open its fluttering enemies. Its bones were stained a few shades darker from the corrupting swamp water, giving it extra stealth, but the necrotic mana that permeated through its body betrayed it.

    Dark¡¯s green beady eyes were like two glowing fire flies caught in a romantic dance as they darted about in the darkness. It could control them to shine less at the expense of some of its shade vision, but the biggest betrayal of its stealth was under the skeletons ribcage.

    At the heart of all Jay¡¯srger skeletons was a binding pool of necrotic mana holding them together.

    ¡°Dark,e over here.¡± Jay said. The dagger-wielding skeleton appeared and Jay crouched down, looking under its ribs.

    Like all the other level three skeletons, it had a small lobe of glowing necrotic mana in its chest, a heart that didn¡¯t beat. Small tendrils branched out from it like a poisonous growth, going to the inside of the ribs, into the shoulder des, and down the spine towards the legs, all of them entering the bones at various points and disappearing underneath, giving the creature its life.

    A slightly thicker artery went up along the spine and into the skull, where there was the familiar glistening flickers of intelligence, a mesh of mingling stars of green lights, speeding back and forward like a nest of hungry ants.

    Jay knew it was a necessity for his creations, keeping them held together, making the inanimate, lifeless bones into functioning parts of its own body. He guessed that the smaller skeletons must have needed less of these internal strings of life, and could mostly hide it within the bones themselves, which meant thatrger skeletons would needrger mana cirction, bing more apparent therger they became.

    ¡°Red.¡± Jay said, pointing at his side. He dismissed Dark and the level five skeleton sprang over. He stashed its shining armor away and checked over its skeletal body.

    ¡°Thought so.¡± He murmured to himself, seeing arger lobe of necrotic mana resting on the back of its spine.

    The branching tendrils spreading from it were not only thicker, but more numerous. The onlyparison Jay had were the endless trees he had marched underneath, all separating to smaller and smaller branches until spreading their leaves and vying for a sliver of light. The thicker artery trailing up its spine was slightly different, as it was tter with an indentation running along the middle, and Jay guessed it would separate into two arteries as Red leveled up. Perhaps even three, given enough time.

    As Jay gave Red back its armor and it covered the glowing heart, he had an idea, and took out an old cloak from his inventory. He had tore up his coat after recing it with the Molodus coat, but he still had this cloak, which he once nned to use evading the Lon guards during the forest incident, but never made use of.

    ¡°Dark.¡± He ordered.

    The skeleton returned from the edge of the shadows again and received a new gift from its master; unique and different from any weapons or armor the other skeletons had attained.

    ¡°Wear it. And don¡¯t let it get damaged.¡± Jay said, handing over the dark cloak.

    Dark nodded back, and tenderly rubbed its wed bone fingers over the fabric before trying to put it on. It needed some help from Jay as it tried to don the cloak, but afterwards it gave Jay another nod, followed by a deep bow.

    Jay smiled, seeing how appreciative the small skeleton was of this small gift.

    ¡°Take good care of it. And no more hunting the fire lights for you.¡± He said, not wanting it toe back with a tattered cloak filled with burnt holes.

    For the time being the cloak was too big for the skeleton,ing down below its hip bones, but it was only a matter of time until it grew into its full form, and Jay was sure this would help it gain its assassin ss; something he¡¯d been encouraging it to pursue.

    As Dark slipped back into the darkness, he narrowed his eyes and slowly nodded, finding it harder to track the skeleton with his eyes. The only signs of it were the sounds of its de tearing through the air, or whenever it turned its deathly eyes back to the light. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Such a small thing helped a lot. Jay thought, noting that even the insignificant things could pay off.

    A ssh of water sounded as Blue returned from the abyss, and with Dark and Archers protecting Jay, both Blue and Red began to craft the new swords while Jay watched from the edge of the fire.

    Red cked its jaws, stared into Blue¡¯s eyes, pointed around, and waved its new sword. Jay raised a brow as he saw Red hand its sword over so Blue could test it, then together they began to craft. Red formed the condensed sword cores while Blue handled the rest, using itsrger mana pool to do most of the mana work.

    Jay patiently waited at the fireside, and decided to cook some of the mushrooms that Archers had gathered earlier. Of course, he stuck to the ones he had identified, while the unidentifiable onesy in a pile closer to the ramp of his one-room house.

    The familiar aromas of the juicy mushrooms made him salivate, and he feasted on them without worry, filling his stomach with dness, but a part of him missed the practice of sitting down at a table, eating his meal from a te instead of the old saussage-skewer he cooked it with. He reminisced of the times he ate at his quiet butchery while watching the field nearby, the mist-sheep appearing and vanishing in and out of their herd cloud of foggy families, then he thought of the other times he haggled with their shepherd for a fair price.

    I wonder how Trenly¡¯s going. He¡¯s probably imed the butchery for himself by now¡ªunless those bastards killed him. He thought.

    Jay chewed into another juicy piece, feeling the watery juices spread across his tongue, and cast the thoughts aside.

    (Blue, send one of your sub-skeletons north. Scout and see if they¡¯re getting closer.) Jay ordered, addressing a pang of worry that had been growing in his heart.

    Blue nodded back to Jay, then went back to sword-molding. Its five little skeletons were away hunting the fire lights, but sending one off to scout was as easy as a thought.

    After a while, Blue presented its crafts to Jay. Three new swords.

    Jay inspected each of them, looking for any imperfections, but he was surprised to see that it made the pommel slightly smaller, while the cross guard slightly pointed upwards.

    ¡°You changed it? Are you sure you want them like this?¡± Jay asked, raising a brow, and Blue nodded back.

    Jay shrugged, ¡°If you¡¯re happy, then nice work.¡± He said, and only had to point out a few other details on the sword, showing some parts of the de to be slightly thicker along the sharpened edges, which Blue quickly fixed.

    Jay checked over the sword¡¯s stats onest time and nodded, seeing they were as strong as the one Red crafted. He also gripped the sword in one hand and tapped the end with his gauntlet, d that there was little vibration in his grip.

    ¡°Good. Keep one for yourself, give one to Sweeper, and the other to Lamp--if it even wants it.¡± Jay said, doubting that the skin-suit-wearing skeleton would want to switch from its dagger and shepherd-staffbo.

    Blue bowed, grabbed a sword and caused Jay to smile as it copied him, tapping the end of the sword with its skeletal knuckle. It grabbed the other two and stopped by Hegatha¡¯s shack, handing one sword to Sweeper before slipping away into the waters.

    The only skeletons left without the new swords were Handy, Heavy, Dark, Archers, and the seven sub-skeletons of Red and Blue. Heavy was still too small to wield the new swords, and currently guarded the underwater bridge with Red¡¯s two guardian skeletons, posted there as Jay doubted it was fast enough the catch the fire lights. Handy, Red, Dark and Archers guarded the ind, while the others were on light-hunting duty.

    Most of the skeletons were too small for these new swords, and only Dark and Handy were the exception, as Dark dual-wielded daggers and Handy had crafted its own two-handed sword.

    With the upgradesplete, Jay sent Sweeper to watch over Asra so that Dark would go back to monitoring Hegatha, leaving it with one simple instruction that he whispered.

    ¡°Try to hide your presence.¡±

 Chapter 358 Longing

    ?

    Asra rose to see shafts of light across the floor,ing through the shrunken wall boards.

    Sweeper stood at her side, its eyes staring at her every moment, but she ignored the skeleton and got up from the table.

    Walking outside, she raised a brow as she saw the fire, then noticed the other skeletons behind it, standing in front of arge white cube.

    Bob¡¯s been busy. She thought, and walked over.

    The armored skeleton locked its eyes on her as she drew nearer, but never raised its sword, even as she passed by the fire and pulled open the door of the bone-cube house. Inside, she found Jay, his feet resting up on a bone desk and a book in his hands; a luminous orb and a ck orb next to him.

    Despite being in the swamp he seemed so rxed, which was simply infuriating. While she was suffering in Hegatha¡¯s shack, being touched and smelling the smells, he was here enjoying himself, reading a book?

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± She asked, frowning.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Jay asked, tilting his head to the side.

    Asra didn¡¯t know what to say. How could shein? How could she ask for help from a husk? She nced at the bed and sat down.

    It was a low-grade swag, like half a matress, butpared to the rotting wooden table it was like a taste heavenly clouds cushioning her backside. Jay watched her sit but remained silent.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you had this and you let me sleep in the damn dirty shack!¡±

    Jay scratched his chin, ¡°Oh, my bad.¡± He shrugged, and went back to reading the immortal book.

    Asra stared at him, expecting something more¡ªperhaps a sorry grovelling, but he gave her nothing. She groaned, then flopped herself back onto the bed, closing her eyes for a moment.

    ¡°How¡¯s your wound? Nearly healed?¡± Jay asked, but didn¡¯t take his eyes away from his book.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. One more should do.¡±

    ¡°Good. We can probably leave tomorrow then.¡± Jay said.

    He pulled out the bloodpass for a moment and checked its direction, noting that it pointed somewhere south before stashing it away again, then turned to Asra.

    ¡°I¡¯ll check on Hegatha soon. Are you excited to return home? Back to your family?¡± He said.

    Asra scoffed, ¡°Family?¡± She shook her head, ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±

    Jay decided not to ask more. Asra stretched, got up from the bed, then stood in the doorway, looking over the fire and the skeletons.

    ¡°Do you control them directly? Or do they choose to serve you?¡± Asra asked.

    Jay sensed an opportunity to misinform Asra. He wasn¡¯t sure if it would yield and results in the future, but the opportunity was here. He hid his smile and kept his voice level as he replied, ¡°They can do what they want, but each of them chose me as their master. They¡¯re as free to disobey as you are. I¡¯m actually surprised they haven¡¯t tried to kill you.¡± He said, shrugging.

    Asra¡¯s eyes widened, and stepped back from the doorway. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t?!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I can always unsummon those who disobey. But the others wouldn¡¯t like that.¡± He shrugged, still reading his ck book. ¡°Besides, I prefer it this way.¡± Jay said.

    Jay¡¯s face was straight, but inwardly he was smiling. He already began to see advantages to this lie¡ªit would make him meless if he ordered a skeleton to attack a pesky vampire. Asra or otherwise.

    ¡°Oh¡­ ok. Well keep me on their good side.¡± Asra said, stepping back into the doorway.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I think Sweeper loves guarding you.¡± Jay nodded.

    ¡°Good. Thank you Sweeper.¡± Asra said to the skeleton just outside the door.

    ¡°By the way, do you need any blood?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± She said, and nced at Red. ¡°Yes please.¡±

    Jay stashed his book away and Asra began to feed. She noticed the gross bump of parasites in Jay¡¯s arm but decided it was something the upper vampires could fix¡ªif they even let her keep Jay around. As she sipped his sweet blood, she thought it kind of made sense that Bob was level four and could control so many skeletons of simr level¡ªthey were not being controlled at all. Each were willing servants, and she wondered what it was about Bob that inspired such loyalty.

    Jay resisted the urge to pat her pristine ck hair. When she fed, something seemed intimate about it. Not sexual, but nurturing. He hadn¡¯t been touched by someone in a long time, not that something as simple as a hug was intimate, but the need for human connection gnawed at him.

    The desire to reach out and caress her hair or hold her hand, was a powerful temptation. But Jay knew that crossing that line could lead to consequences he wasn¡¯t ready to face.

    As for other connections he¡¯d had, they were superficial and fleeting. Some were even done out of social-obligation, and he doubted most people even wanted to shake his hand.

    He pondered why he even had this yearning, questioning the depths of his own longing. Was it the primal need for closeness, for the reassurance that he was not alone in this soul-crushing world? Or was it something moreplex, a desire to bridge the emotional chasms that separated him from others?

    Either way, it was toote. Past experiences had taught him the painful lessons of misced trust and shattered expectations.

    For a moment he thought that perhaps it was the bittersweet longing itself that held the most profound beauty, unrivaled by love or hate, but he cast those thoughts aside.

    (Red, stand in the door and stare at Asra. Raise your sword and hold it up until she leaves.) Jay ordered, and Red came inside.

    ¡°I have work to do¡­ and you¡¯d better leave. I think Red is jealous.¡± Jay said, tapping her shoulder and pointing at Red.

    ¡°Oh, ah, okay.¡± Asra said, stood up, nced at the bed, and quickly left.

    ¡°If you want something to do, there¡¯s some mushrooms outside. I know you can¡¯t eat them, but let me know if they taste any good.¡± Jay called out, and Asra waved her hand.

    (Red, stay in the doorway.) Jay ordered.

    That lie¡¯s already paying for itself. Alright, time to spy on Hegatha, Jay thought, and leaned back on his chair.

 Chapter 359 Manipulation

    ?

    Hegatha didn¡¯t know that Jay could see through the eyes of the skeletons¡ªeven Asra didn¡¯t know about the little trick.

    Sure, something the skeletons behaved oddly, looking around curiously as if they had minds of their own, but it was something that the women had passively, or subconsciously epted without much thought. If they mimicked humans in some way, it didn¡¯t raise any concerns; their thinking was too human-centered.

    As Jay entered the eyes of Dark he froze, finding it hard to believe what he saw. Much less make sense of Hegatha¡¯s true powers.

    The ck altar was still partly melted from when she had added the breaking shards to it, and inhaled their powers¡ªbut now, without the shards, she conducted a different ritual.

    On top of the altar, a y jar was sitting, the same type that lined the walls of the room. But it was empty, with the lid at its side, and Hegatha chanted in a sickening sweet voice that betrayed her form.

    ¡°Come now, tender ones, I have a world to show you. Filled with children and things to destroy¡­ Just a little deeper, hidden in the forest. Come, there are many magical treasures, just a little deeper, some powerful enough to open the break, to tear it apart.¡±

    Above the altar, a ck fog began to spew forward from a dark portal, seeped trails of thick smoke. The ck fog condensed and seeped into the altar. The holes that the breaking shards had melted into began to fill and repair themselves and suddenly an ethereal being appeared; a dark ghost of a child¡¯s face.

    Hegatha sprung her arms up, each hand shuddering as she fought for control. The ghost¡¯s face twisted in anger, and turned into a physical form as its power was challenged, its being began to be ripped apart.

    Jay felt more disgusted as he watched the ghostly child separate into a ming light, and a handful of leaves. Some of the leaves were charred, causing the face in the ming light to cry in pain. Hegatha moved one hand and the me floated into the jar, which she quickly sealed up.

    As for the leaves, she had them under her own control, and each of them floated to the mirror and disappeared, undoubtedly bing another part of the rotting walls and roof.

    Hegatha¡¯s face dripped with sweat, and more of her moles and skin-bumps surfaced again, returning to her grotesque body. She grabbed the y jar and ced it alongside the others.

    Dark continued to watch from the shadowy corners of the room, looking around at the hundreds of jars on the walls. Jay barely kept himself from ordering her death in that very moment.

    Asra still has to be healed one final time, and Hegatha didn¡¯t begin her ritual again, so he stopped the [Host] skill and returned to his body.

    His human skin was crawled with fury, itching with spite.

    ¡°That witch. That disgusting witch. She had the nerve, the fucking nerve to have me hunt those fire lights. All along she was the one creating them¡­ and to use children?¡± Jay grit his teeth, his fists clenching.

    Jay felt like he had be a part of her ns, another manipted pawn, and he wasn¡¯t sure if she was human children, but using children of any kind disgusted him.

    (Stop hunting the lights. Return to me but remain hidden from Hegatha and Asra¡¯s sight.)

    What he saw reyed in his head. The thought of being manipted in any way, no matter how small, was infuriating. And by such a dumb woman that could barely string sentences together. He wondered if that was just part of an act she yed.

    Jay looked over the runes in his desk once more, noting the one needed to scratch away to stop Hegatha¡¯s mirror-portal from working. But he looked up from the desk.

    Asra was right. He thought, and left to the shack. Jay remained outside, knowing his presence was enough to get Asra toe out, and whispered through the rickety old door.

    ¡°Asra, you¡¯re not safe here. Come back to my room.¡±

    Sweeper opened the door, and Asra stepped out behind it. She had a cheeky grin on her face.

    ¡°That¡¯s a little bold of you, don¡¯t you think?¡± Asra whispered. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Jay shook his head, turned and walked back with Asra following. He wasmitted to killing Hegatha but didn¡¯t let his anger show, lest Asra give Hegatha any clues, so when he got to the edge of the fire, he changed the topic.

    ¡°How were those mushrooms? Did you sample any?¡± Jay asked.

    ¡°Disgusting. That was thest time I try any husk food.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure they weren¡¯t that bad. But can you even eat human food?¡±

    ¡°I can taste it, but would vomit it up if I swallowed any. Our stomach¡¯s don¡¯t do solid food. But I can drink most of the things husks do.¡±

    ¡°Like soup?¡± Jay raised a brow.

    Asra tiled her head to the side and nced at him; the answer was an obvious ¡®no¡¯.

    Jay gently smiled and looked back into the fire, which the skeletons had maintained with a small pile of wood at its side.

    ¡°So, am I supposed to stay here now? You don¡¯t trust Hegatha anymore?¡± Asra asked.

    ¡°I never trusted her.¡± Jay sighed, ¡°She¡¯s just more dangerous than I realized.¡± He murmured.

    Asra smiled, ¡°Like I said.¡± She said with a shrug.

    Jay sent Sweeper to retrieve the noon-leather nket from the table, and stashed it in his inventory when he returned, and Asra¡¯s curious expression didn¡¯t escape his gaze.

    ¡°You can sleep in my bed during the daytime. I¡¯ll sleep in it at night. Unless that¡¯s below you¡­ but I have a feeling it¡¯s a huge upgrade from the moldy table.¡±

    Asra looked at the skeletons, ¡°If that¡¯s okay with them.¡±

    (All of you nod at Asra.)

    The skeletons all nodded, and Red bowed, causing Asra to smile.

    ¡°Looks like they¡¯ve epted you, though I wouldn¡¯t test the extent of their loyalty. They never like that.¡± Jay said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind. Thanks.¡±

    Just like Hegatha toyed with Jay, he toyed with Asra, but it was beginning to leave a bitter taste in his mouth. The thought of being in any way like that swamp witch disgusted him. His safety was a priority, but he felt that he took things too far, and that some of his tricks and lies werepletely unnecessary, their ends only resulting in a twisted satisfaction that caused his own blood to stink.

    The swamp waters had begun to recede, and the highest prodding bones of the skeletal bridge was beginning to show itself, emerging from the abyssal depths. With Asra rtively safe, Jay returned to his bed, and before closing his eyes he gave Blue a final order.

    (Blue, you can take a few skeletons to hunt swamp creatures. The unassigned ones. Leave Red, Sweeper, Dark and Archers with me.)

 Chapter 360 Unstable World

    ?

    ~Mirror Reality 34~

    Loki had been busy. During the day, he manipted Heather into helping him, and during the night, he stole two more warp charges.

    Little did the majority of the sleeping students know that the faculty staff had went on high alert and swarmed around the academy and all its facilities; the mirror reality had be unstable, with only one bridge linking it back to the real world.

    While the reality seemed stable on the inside, it was barely holding onto its link to time and space, which gave rise to anomalous activity. Low appeared gravity in some areas, high gravity in others. Time fluctuation, light stuttering, and temperature changes were the least of the threats; the most dangerous parts were pure-ck fractures that appeared, each of them void and filled with nothingness. A single misstep and your foot would disappear as if it had never existed; painless until you realized your leg had be a stump gushing blood. Even the temporal robes couldn¡¯t protect one from these voids of shattered darkness.

    The temporal robes were a product of the second academy. Each of them were covered in borate runes and shifting patterns that flowed around the robes, swaying and moving as if they as if they were living paintings. There were enough for the staff to each adorn one, but not for the students.

    Not a student, but an unwilling servant, Smiley was forced from his sleep and given a robe, ordered to patrol and mark out areas that were unstable. However, he couldn¡¯t be more thrilled.

    Smiley thought that the faster this false-reality broke down, the better. It would serve to bring him one step closer to the real world, and if he could break this world, he would do it. Consequences be damned.

    As he walked through the forest near the academy, he had one destination in mind. The bamboo-demon dungeon.

    He kicked stones as he went, and some froze, hovering in the air, while others shot off faster than a bolt of lightening.

    ¡°These things are quite useful.¡± Smiley murmured, watching the patterns on his temporal robe wave wildly in one moment, then slow to a near-stop the next.

    As he approached the dungeon entrance, he noticed something odd. The damage he had caused with the first warp charge appeared again, flickering in and out of existence. It was like it couldn¡¯t register what was real as it tried to mirror the real world, but lost connection and reverted back to the damaged state that the warp charge had left it in.

    Smiley threw a rock towards it, and itnded just as the damaged-entrance appeared. Then, the rock began to flicker with the rest of it, unsure of its own existence. At Smiley¡¯s feet, the very same rock appeared again, as if it had never been grabbed and tossed away, causing Smiley to frown.

    A little too risky. Smiley thought, casting aside ideas of entering the dungeon. On the way back towards the academy, he made sure to mark every unstable area, and even went a step further, adding a marker each time the robe¡¯s patterns so much as shifted or waved slightly.

    Smiley didn¡¯t know for certain that he had caused this, at least in part, but he guessed it was likely, and he had no problem with continuing his ns.

    What fault am I at, if I were to copse this world with everyone in it? I¡¯m nothing but a ve. They don¡¯t all give me orders, some are innocent, but they¡¯re allplicit in my unwilling servitude. They may have their reasons to keep me here, for their own safety, but I won¡¯t pay that price for them. Smiley thought.

    He pitied those who lived here, who were ignorant of his situation, but he counted them as weak. In this world, and the real world, only the strong would cease their survival, gripping it with unyielding madness until their flesh tore from their fingers, never loosening their resolve, even for a moment.

    As he nted markers down, he made a winding trail or safety, like a filter, and he began to see every trial and lesson like that¡ªa filter, separating the wheat from the chaff, the strong from the weak.

    Even the academy is like that. A filter of intelligence and strength. Only the strong, the resolved, and the crafty make it through to the end. If only they knew they were being filtered out with every meager step they took. Perhaps they would study harder. Smiley thought.

    But only those who make it hold the right to rule. If they can¡¯t push themselves to greatness, they have no right to rule others.

    Smiley solidified his resolve, determined to never give up, to use every ounce of willpower he had to make sure he seeded.

    After a night of patrolling and marking out the unstable areas, most of the staff were relieved of their duty when morning came. The students were prohibited from leaving academy grounds until after a grand assembly, where they were briefed on the situation, and told not to go near any of the markers they hadid.

    The students whispered and chattered, confused and frightened, and after the assembly, most refused to leave the academy grounds, since the academy castle was reinforced against the instability. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Of course, Loki dared to leave, and with Heather in tow. She still had to hold up her end of the deal she had with Loki, who had brought her sentimental hair clip back. Promises were hard things to break, especially promises made to someone as cunning as Loki. She still didn¡¯t know that Loki was the one who had stolen the hair clip in the first ce.

    As they approached an older building, Loki stopped.

    ¡°Wait here.¡± He whispered, and then went inside.

    Loki brazenly went down the basement steps, uncaring if he would disturb Smiley¡¯s sleep, but as he got to the bottom he saw a smile as cunning as he was.

    ¡°Have you got another?¡± Smiley asked.

    ¡°Two more. For six levels.¡± Loki replied.

    ¡°Deal. Hand them over.¡±

    ¡°Levels first.¡±

    Smiley scoffed, ¡°We did levels firstst time. This time, the charges first.¡±

    ¡°One charge now, the otherter.¡±

    Smiley circled around Loki, blocking the exit to the stairs.

    ¡°Both now, or I¡¯ll kill youter.¡± Smiley said, standing between the bottom the stairs and Loki. ¡°Or you could die now and I¡¯ll take them off your dead body. It seems that the staff are quite busy, they probably wouldn¡¯t find your body for days.¡± Smiley retrieved his sword, the tip was still melted.

    Loki tilted his head, his eyes narrowing on the melted tip of the sword. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ new?¡±

    ¡°Mm, it should hurt more when I kill you with it.¡± Smiley raised the sword back, about to strike, his killing intent surged, and Loki no longer doubted his madness.

    ¡°Wait! Here. Six levels?¡± Loki said, bringing them out of his inventory, trying to keep his hands from shaking while cing them on the ground.

    ¡°Six levels.¡± Smiley said, and stashed away two warp charges, then turned to the stairs.

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re doing it now?¡± Loki asked.

    Smiley turned and red back. The answer was obvious.

    ¡°Ah, just a second. There¡¯s someone who can help. Outside there¡¯s a girl called Heather. I think you¡¯ll find her powers useful. Take it as a sign of good faith¡­ and I trust you¡¯ll uphold your end of the deal?¡±

    Smiley¡¯s eyes softened and looked over Loki, seeing something in the timid man that, perhaps, Loki didn¡¯t.

    ¡°You cane if you¡¯d like.¡± Smiley said, and left up the stairs. Loki scratched his head, and followed shortly after.

 Chapter 361 Pocket Rift

    ?

    ~Reality Ry Station; Pocket dimension between Mirror Reality 34 and Real World~

    The old mage stationed at the tower had not slept. His flowing beard was a twisted mess, which he had nervously filled with as he paced around the room.

    He had sent a high-priority message orb to the mirror reality, but he doubt it reached it target.

    The three windows on the tower, the bridges between worlds, were unstable and flickering in and out of existence. Taking some precautions, he had burned his notes, his papers and every other document. The new window appearing was bing more tangible; its edges and frame had manifested into physical objects, while the one to the mirror reality was fading and even disappeared for a few fractions of each second that passed.

    But the old mage could do nothing. He had only one warp charge to power the tower, and its swirling energies were slowing and failing.

    Every so often, the mage nced at the window to the real world. The temptation to save himself and leave was strong, but that would use up thest of the warp charge. Without power, the tower would sever its connection to the mirror reality, causing a rebound that would destabilize it further, and lead to its copse¡ª all matter, beings, and thoughts inside would cease to exist.

    The mage knew he wouldn¡¯t sacrifice so many just to save himself, but the impulse to escape kept calling to him, luring him in.

    Each time he nced at the window he had to steel himself; he clenched his fists, shook his head and solidified his resolve.

    He sat down by his fire ce and took a deep swig of his drink as he watched the dancing mes.

    This ancient tower will be myst abode. May its walls be my silent witness, preserving a testament to my final duty.

    Letting the window fade was preferable to severing the connection, and he would make sure it did just that. But as he gazed into the consuming mes, another idea tiptoed into his mind. He lightly tapped his fingers on his armrest, then lightly beat his fist, then finally gripped the chair and pushed himself up, gritting his teeth as hemitted himself to the idea.

    He rushed down the stairs and retrieved the warp charge from its pedestal. The pedestal held some of its energy for a moment, and he rushed back upstairs before it powered down.

    The new window, the one to an unknown world, seemed to respond and materializepletely. However, as he looked through, there was only an abyss of darkness.

    He brought the warp charge nearer and cracks began to form on the unknown window.

    He nced back to the mirror reality window. Without the warp charge powering the pedestal downstairs, it was fading quickly, and was about to disappear.

    Nothing came through the unknown window, but it began to fill with cracks. Something was pushing its through, ignoring all the consequences of shattering the window.

    The old mage¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and paused for a moment. But something in the depths of his mind drove him to move again, and he quickly moved to the unknown window. His hands filled with mana as he cast his spell; each fingertip glowing blue.

    The tower was bing a bridge between the real world and the unknown as the window began to shatter. The frame started to warp and bend.

    The snow storm outside stopped its howling roar. The pure silence was only filled by a deep breath from the old mage. Peering out the only window he could see through, he saw that the snow had stopped falling¡ªsuspended in the air. Outside the tower, time stood still. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He had almost finished his spell. The warp charge began to hum and crackle violently.

    The window to the unknown gave way, leaving only an endless void. Something made of immaterial pure nothingness seeped out. As it met the material world it began to morph and change; first it too the form of a tentacle, then the tentacle grew fingers, then ws.

    ¡°You¡¯re toote!¡± The old mage growled.

    The void of nothingness didn¡¯t understand, much lessprehend as he came closer to finishing his spell.

    But after a moment, it sounded back, echoing his voice.

    ¡°You¡¯re toote!¡± the voice growled back from the abyssal void, sounding like his own voice but filled with deeper and waving undertones of disembodied souls.

    The void of darkness seeping through kept changing and morphing, and slowly turned into a humanoid shape, simr to the old man¡¯s body. It was copying him in every respect.

    Strangely, its void-shape began to inch closer to the warp charge.

    The old mage clenched his jaw, defiance etched upon his face as he ignored the creature and the relentless pressure building within him.

    With searing pain that shot through his veins, he summoned every ounce of his dwindling strength, pushing the warp charge beyond instability and into the realms of madness. He shattered the fragile barrier that held the warp charge in, unleashing a cataclysmic surge of unimaginable power.

    Reality quivered, its fragile tapestry rent and torn. The fabric of time, material, and space twisted and contorted, wailing in protest against the imminent rupture. The very air crackled with anticipation, charged with arcane energies that defiedprehension as they tried to mix with reality.

    Then, with an ear-splitting detonation, the energies exploded.

    The tower convulsed and waved as if it were a ribbon caught within the throes of a celestial storm. Colors blended and swirled, warping into hues unseen by mortal eyes. Fractured fragments of alternate dimensions bleded into existence, colliding with one another in a symphony of chaos. Gravity wavered, tugging at reality¡¯s seams, as if unsure where its allegiancey.

    Pockets of swirling energy materialized, bing portals to realms unknown. The boundaries of time warped, looping upon themselves in intricate patterns that defied logic. Spatial distortions stretched and snapped, creating fractures where the veryws of existence crumbled.

    Fleeting glimpses of forgotten worlds, ethereal apparitions of creatures long extinct, all-seeing gazes of eldritch horrors, and whispers of forgotten secrets danced upon the fringes of perception.

    The old mage stood at the epicenter of this primordial storm of everything and nothing, his very essence intertwined with the unleashed energies. He was a conduit, a vessel of unbridled might that transcended mortal limitations. The weight of his actions, the price he paid, resonated through every fiber of his being as it tore him apart.

    With a deafening roar, the fabric of this pocket reality began to crumble. The walls that had once stood strong now disintegrated into swirling mists of fading existence. Time and space twisted and folded in on themselves, creating a disorienting maze of fragmented corridors and shiftingndscapes of snow and mountains. Then finally, the pocket dimension copsed, leaving behind nothing but the void.

 Chapter 362 Stalkers

    ?

    ~Wilderness~

    Three bounty hunters hung to the tree line at the edge of a vast expanse of jagged rocks and boulders, all covered in a thick carpet of moss.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Linc asked, squinting out over the naked ne.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way around.¡± Vanderby whispered, looking left and right, then back at some boulders in front of them, and he tilted his head forward, ¡°But I don¡¯t like that.¡±

    Two giant bouldersy a hundred yards ahead, each of them had a hole on top that was pooling with blood, running down the sides and staining the moss, standing out among the green nket like red warning gs.

    ¡°Which way?¡± Vandery asked Estra, and she pointed directly across the expanse, causing Linc to give up a wry smile.

    But as Vanderby took the first step, Linc followed, with his sword already raised a thumb-length from its sheath.

    They had a bounty to catch, and they hade too far to go back now.

    ~Hegatha¡¯s Swamp~

    ¡°Bob, it¡¯s nearly daytime. Hello?¡± Asra said, prodding his arm.

    Jay moaned, shifted his body and closed his eyes, but the nudge on his shoulder didn¡¯t give up.

    ¡°Mm. Give me a second.¡± Jay rubbed his head and sat up, gathering his thoughts.

    [810 Exp]

    Jay nodded at the free exp, left his warm bed and sat on the chair by his desk. Asra promptly slipped under the covers, making his bed into hers, while Jay whispered at her side.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get toofy. We¡¯ll be leaving today, after your final healing, so I¡¯ll wake you up soon. I will have Hegatha heal you outside, then we¡¯ll leave. Here¡¯s the nket.¡± He said, andy the noon-leather on the desk.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Asra murmured, though she was already turned away and facing the wall, her eyes shut.

    As Jay sat at his desk, he felt an odd sense tingling across his skin. It was like strings of web being pulled from his body and drifting towards Leeches. The necrotic mana was being subtly drained from him, but it was such a small amount that it was almost imperceptible, and his mana regeneration could more than handle it. He rested a hand over Leeches and delivered some mana, keeping it repairing itself.

    Jay was about to ask about it draining out his mana, but paused. Asra was still awake and he didn¡¯t want her knowing Leeches could talk, so he decided to have that conversation another time and left without a word.

    Walking outside, Jay took out his throne and left it at the side of his house. Its seat was still wet from the storm, and leaving it in his inventory wasn¡¯t going to change anything.

    The fire was still gently flickering, carefully tended to by the skeletons overnight and giving out a small plume of smoke, but since he nned to leave today, he let the skeletons leave it to smolder into embers.

    After breakfast he had little to do and a lot of mana, so he began making armor tes, which the skeletons could fix to their bodies.

    Archers brought back a wealth of new mushrooms while Red stood valiantly by Jay¡¯s side, watching its master work.

    ~Wilderness~

    Lara and Lannister came to a sprawling expanse covered in a thick sheet of moss, and nimbly moved between boulders, hiding behind each of them. Every so often they carefully peered over, stalking their targets.

    They had tracked what the orren kitten found, and covertly tailed a group of three young people; Estra, Linc and Vanderby. They couldn¡¯t get close enough to see what level they were, but based on their youthful appearance they were likely below level 20.

    As for the other two orren seeds Lannister sowed, they yielded no results. They presumed Jay continued south from Lo, but these three adventurers moved slightly south-east.

    Of course, they didn¡¯t believe for a second that it was a coincidence to find them out here. The three strangers didn¡¯t analyze nts or collect samples as they went, and their clothes weren¡¯t waterproof or camouged, so they certainly weren¡¯t explorers¡ªand certainly too novice to be military.

    Lara ced one hand on the mossy boulder and nced at Lannister. He was sitting with a ring of blue around his neck, his head vanishing into a portal.

    Somewhere in the sky, an almost imperceptible dot appeared; Lannister¡¯s head, watching from above as the bounty hunters moved across the mossy ne. He had to wait till they left the thick forest canopy to get a good view, but he wasn¡¯t the only one watching them.

    Something else had crept out of the forest, stalking them. A long body covered with hairy fur moved silently as it curved between boulders, navigating them with fluid motions. Whenever its prey nced back it sunk closely to the ground, hiding its presence. Its body froze, then moved forward with skittish movements that revealed its clinical bug-like nature, and each movement from its numerous spiny legs showed its predatory instincts were honed to perfection.

    The insectoid horror¡¯s legs, segmented and covered with chitin, ended in hooks, and were the only part that weren¡¯t covered in wiry strings of fur, along with arge beak at its head and two long spines at its tail, each twitching as it moved.

    Lannister pulled his head from the portal, closed the spell and slowly held his hand up to Lara, gesturing her freeze as he whispered as quietly as he could.

    ¡°They¡¯re about to be attacked.¡±

    Lara frowned. Those three were the only clue they had, and if they had really tracked Jay this far, they could certainly lead them further to finding their necromancer.

    *Crack!* <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    A re of golden light suddenly shed from behind the boulder, causing Lara to duck as the moss around them quivered.

    *Boom!* The ground shuddered.

    ¡°We need to save them.¡± Lara said, and jumped onto the boulder.

    ¡°Lara,¡± Lannister raised a hand to stop her.

    ¡°If they be a problem we¡¯ll deal with themter.¡± She said, and nimbly dashed across the mossy rocks.

    ¡°Back! Get back!¡± Vanderby yelled.

    Linc stood at the foot of the beast. His de met the beak but failed to cut, sending a jolt of pain reverberating through his arms and only leaving a dent in its hardened chitin shell.

    The beak, deeply embedded into ground, had missed Linc¡¯s feet by inches. He had barely escaped the impact, which sent a shower of rocks and debris scattering in all directions.

    Its skittish body coiled forward, heaved and pulled its beak out, kicking rocks up with it.

    Vanderby charged, smashing his heavy shield into its underside and taunting it. But the creature didn¡¯t even budge. Linc jumped back and dashed around the side of the creature, looking for a weakness while Vanderby began to yell.

    ¡°We¡ª!¡±

    *Boom!*

    The beak powerfully dropped again, like a hammer from the heavens. Vanderby earned its ire, his shield appearing like the top of a boulder-tortoise.

    ¡°Aghh!¡± Vanderby screamed in agony.

    The powerful beak struck the shield on its side and shattered a chunk away before embedding into the ground again. Vanderby¡¯s arm twisted with the shield and snapped, a jagged bone sticking out. The weighty shield pulled on his flesh, threatening to tear thest of his arm off.

    Linc began to cut at the wall of legs at its side. A few precise shes could sever one, but each moved as a blur, and a different leg reced another before he could lock onto a target.

    As for hitting it in the same spot, it was near-impossible.

    Vanderby¡¯s eyes were widened, filled with panic. He dropped his dagger and gripped his shield, barely holding it up as his legs began to shiver. He stashed his shield away before it could pull his dangling arm off, then grabbed his dangling arm and bolted away.

    Vanderby¡¯s legs moved themselves as he ran back to Estra, barely keeping himself upright on the sloping rocks.

    The creature brought its beak out of the earth again. Its legs clicked and scraped against each other in an unsettling symphony, sounding like a nest of hissing snakes.

    ¡°Twenty-two seconds!¡± Linc yelled, but his heart sank as he saw Vanderby¡¯s back, sprinting away.

    The beast flexed its body upwards, surveying its prey. The silky, stringy fur draping down its neck bing motionless as it prepared another strike. Its body skittered forward over the rocks with agile speed, its beak poised to strike, about to sever Vanderby¡¯s torso from his legs.

    Linc grit his teeth and widened his eyes, about to watch his friend die. But his friend had abandoned him. He nced back to the forest, guessing he could make it if he sheathed his sword and used another sh step to escape. He thought it would be fair.

    But as the creature raised up to strike, its body shuddered.

    *Boom!*

    A giant boulder wrenched from the earth itself crashed into its head, knocking it down and stunning it. All of its legs stopped moving.

    ¡°Dammit.¡± Linc angrily grunted and bolted forward to cease the opportunity. He cleaved his sword into a leg until pink blood spurted on his face, but he kept hacking relentlessly, and with a crunch he finally severed a leg¡ªbut it was merely one of many.

    The legs twitched and began to move in their circadian rhythm. The creatures beaked head slowly raised as it recovered.

    Linc had taken the opportunity to attack but it was pointless. Even when it was knocked out he could barely injure it, and he nced into the forest again.

    Vanderby had left him to die, so he was prepared do the same¡ªif not for the boulder that spurred him to act.

    Linc looked around to see where it came from, but more moss and dirt kicked up as another boulder sailed through the air.

    *Boom!*

    It struck the creature, sending a tremor through the ground that rivaled the beak.

    Linc stumbled away and caught a sight of a young woman in a ck cloak, their mysterious savior darting effortlessly over the rocks with another boulder hovering behind her.

 Chapter 363 Scout Tremor

    ?

    Necrotic mana seeped from Jay¡¯s palm, the insidious gas trailing into bones and melting them into another bone te.

    Jay had adjusted the design slightly, adding a slight triangle point at the bottom of the rectangr shape.

    It was purely for aesthetic purposes since each redesigned te only gave one additional health, but at he looked across the twenty tes he¡¯d crafted, it pleased his eyes, making it worth the effort.

    Crafting all twenty took up the early part of his morning. He wanted Asra healed so they could leave, but he doubted Hegatha was awake, though he couldn¡¯t me her¡ªhe certainly didn¡¯t want to be.

    (Red, armor your guardians.) He ordered, pointing to the tes he made.

    Red nodded and gazed into the still swamp water. A ripple surged from the depths before the two guardian skeletons sprung out with a ssh, scrambled ashore and lined up at Red¡¯s side.

    Jay watched quietly as Red grabbed the tes and began to meld it onto their bodies. It welded one to their upper arms and lower arms, upper and lower leg, and one on each side of their rib cage.

    They still needed ting for the backs of their bodies, arms and legs, but Jay didn¡¯t think these stalwart guardians would entertain the idea of backing down and turning to flee. Even if they could think.

    While the guardian¡¯s weren¡¯t his hunters or monster yers, and hadn¡¯t done much fighting, Jay chose to armor them first because,bined with Red, they were hisst line of defense.

    As for Heavy, his heavily-armored tank, he envisioned it as the first of his heavy infantry, a moving fortress of unyielding bone, and he would be crafting much thicker tes for it and personally armor it, sealing every bone and gap under thick tes¡ªall in good time.

    When Red was finished Jay looked over the little guardians. Rather than being meager creations of some corrupt force, unguided and unthinking, they resembled formidable soldiers of a skeletal army. Each te added to their striking grandeur, giving an air of strength. The clinking of bones against ting added to their unwavering presence, along with the gaze of their ethereal eyes. Jay could already envision an army of them marching in unison, creating a battle march song with each step; a death knell resounding with each step. And now, Jay held authority over them.

    In each hollow eye, he didn¡¯t see a trace of mindlessness or submission, but a fierce loyalty bound to his will.

    (Good.) Jay waved his hand, and Red sent them back to guarding the bridge.

    In their march, Jay saw an embodiment of his own determination, and a culmination of his mastery over necromancy¡ªin fact wherever he looked he was beginning to see it. The sword and shield he wielded, his bone helmet, the one-room house, and the warriors that diligently served him.

    Coincidentally, Archers returned with another load of mushrooms and dropped them off by the fire¡ªbut Jay caught a glimpse of something.

    (Archers,e here.) He ordered, and the skeleton sprang over.

    As he scrutinized its bones, a curious expression crept on his face, his eyes narrowing as he observed something clinging to them, and not just the stains of ck marsh water. In the ces where the gray bones met the blue bones, a peculiar mold had taken root, clinging to the cracks.

    The mold, a delicatework of fments, spread across the nearby bone surface in intricate patterns. Its color mirrored the abyssal ck water, but as firelight gleaned over, it had a subtle red sheen.

    Jay guessed it hadn¡¯t effected the other skeletons since they weren¡¯t on mushroom duty, and the mold seemed to only grow at the border of the blue and gray bones, and like a silent invader it had found a home within Archers, embracing the decay of death.

    Jay marveled at its paradoxical beauty; it was a sign of death, spreading its tendrils out and consuming, and life, taking a defiant root in the most unexpected ces. Archers and its mold were like an odd symbiosis of life and death¡ªbut it had to be snuffed out since it was consuming his skeleton.

    Jay pointed to the fire, but before giving Archers the order to walk through the dwindling mes he paused and looked at Archers. The skeleton wasn¡¯t responding to the mold at all, so he checked it health. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    No damage? He thought, scratching his chin and lowering his pointing hand.

    Jay nced into Archers¡¯ eyes, then at the mold, and his curiosity got the best of him.

    If it¡¯s not harmful, I¡¯ll see what bes of it. He thought.

    Jay stored the mushrooms away, but before he could send Archers off to gather more, Blue came rushing to his side and kneeled before him.

    (Blue? What are you doing?) Jay asked telepathically.

    Blue stood and stared awkwardly at Jay for a moment, but then it raised a skeletal arm. Its bony fingers gave a rattle as all but one curled into a fist. Blue was pointing into the fog. North.

    Jay¡¯s eyes narrowed, (Your scout found something?)

    Blue nodded its skull and raised its sword. Jay¡¯s eyes widened, he bolted over to his throne and jumped in the chair.

    (Summon the skeletons. Get us ready to leave.) Jay abruptly ordered before closing his eyes.

    Using the [Host] skill was harder for an unnamed skeleton, but Jay still sensed it clearly as it was the only one much further to the north, and with a willful push, he entered its ck and white vision.

    ***

    A great white wall of fog loomed imposingly over a mossy ne of rocks. Unmoving and silent, it shrouded its depths in shadows. A palpable stillness filled its heavy air, broken only by an asional whispering breeze that stole licks of mist, teasing glimpses of whatever lurked inside.

    Even the simplest and most brutish creatures didn¡¯t dare venture in, their instincts stopping them from setting foot closer to the shadowy featureless fog, which toyed with perception and made rity dissolve into a hazy unknown.

    Yet, despite the hesitation of others, a figure emerged from the heart of the fog. From the shifting mist, its materialized¡ªa solitary presence defying the unknown. It moved with purpose, its glowing green gaze fixed on its duty.

    Tendrils of fogtched to its bones as it stepped out of the white wall and it gazed across the mossy ne. And after scanning for threats its skeletal body dashed forward, hiding by a mossy rock before continuing its journey.

    Sent there as a scout, Blue¡¯s sub-skeleton moved with an instinctive fluid-like grace as it darted between rocks and kept its presence to a minimum, navigating through the lowest points of the mossy carpet.

    It was ready to bolt to the next jagged rock, but froze. A tremor ran through the ground. Its skull creaked around, clicking as it swiveled, its shade vision offering up the contents of the shadows around it.

    Another tremor spread through the ground, causing it to crouch low. But, knowing its mission, it crawled atop the rock it hid behind to get a better look, and scanned the horizon.

    Another tremor resounded as a low groan in the earth, and in the distance a plume of dirt shot up. The figures that caused it were far away, appearing like tiny dots¡ªbut they were close enough to identify, and their forms were unmistakable. Humans.

    It held its body closely to the rock, hiding its presence as it monitored them, and Blue was instantly aware of its finding.

 Chapter 364 Untamed

    ?

    The scouting skeleton fixed its eyes to five humans engaged in battle.

    Jay observed from its haunting gaze as giant boulders crashed down onto arge writhing creature. He was too far away to hear the sounds of screams or screeches, but the attacks were powerful enough to send deep rolling quakes through the entire rocky ne, and he was certain the grand attacks could end him and his skeletons in one strike.

    As he watched he saw the flutters of cloaks.

    None of the humans had the hulking angr suits of ck-stone armor that he¡¯d seen elite soldiers wearing, so he wondered exactly who these people were. Adventurers? Explorers? Hunters? All were possibilities, but being this far from Lo was too much of a coincidence. He guessed they were hunting him¡ªlikely a nimble scouting force of the military.

    The creature fought to raise its battered form, but each time the weight of another colossal boulder bore down, pressing it back into the jagged rocks below. A final boulder, massive and unyielding, descended with a thunderous crash that silenced its resistance, and its struggle ceased under the overwhelming force.

    ***

    Lara¡¯s fixed her gaze on the creatures twitching body as a sickening crunch reverberated through the air. Its segmented legs shuddered, sounding like a rushing wind through treetops as the chitinous armor gnashed against itself. The head of its body was under a boulder and a stter of fluids began to pool underneath.

    But another boulder was ready, quietly floating above Lara as a new threat arose¡ªnot a bug, but a human.

    They were strangers, worthy of an ounce of distrust, but Lara''s suspicion deepened as she watched Linc raise his sword in her direction after the battle. The wilderness was awless realm, and the action of this stranger sent rm bells ringing in her mind.

    Linc¡¯s eyes filled with determination, his sword poised to strike, pointed at Lara.

    Their eyes locked, and a silent exchange of resolve passed between them; the slightest twitch of muscle was all it would take for either to attack, and each only needed one flick of the wrist to end the other.

    A silent tension hung in the air, charging the atmosphere with anticipation as the battlefield held its breath. Time seemed to slow as they sized one another up and locked onto each others movements. But the heavy silence was broken.

    ¡°Thank you for saving us!¡± A girl called¡ªEstra stood by Vanderby¡¯s side, holding his bloody broken arm straight so it could heal. But Lara kept her eyes narrowed on Linc, ignoring the girl and waiting for whatever would happen.

    Palpable killing intent still surged, feeling like a sharpened knife tracing over their nerves, but after a moment, Linc¡¯s determined expression softened, and he slowly lowered his sword.

    Lara kept the boulder hovering in the air until Linc sheathed his weapon, unwilling to take any chances. Vanderby was still in pain, but sensing the danger he spoke up.

    ¡°Are you after the bounty too?¡± Vanderby asked, and at that moment Lannister arrived, running over rocks.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lannister said, catching up to Lara and moving to her side. Compared to her, his demeanor much more casual and leaned on a boulder. ¡°You¡¯re wee by the way.¡± He added, pointing at the giant crushed bug which had stopped twitching.

    Linc rxed his posture and removed his grip from his sword, and Lara reluctantly released the boulder from her control, the intense gaze between her and Linc unbroken. Despite the apparent ceasefire, she remained on high alert, her instincts urging her to be cautious.

    The insectoid body shuddered once more, the nerves pinched from the pressure.

    Estra helped Vanderby over, but analyzed them as she went.

    ¡°Lannister, Lara, nice to meet you.¡± Estra smiled, still trying to diffuse the tension. Lannister and Lara both nodded in response, and Vanderby spoke up.

    ¡°Did you two want to team up with us? We¡¯ll be happy to split the bounty.¡± He abruptly offered.

    Linc still stood some distance away, but raised a brow as his mind raced with conflicting thoughts. Should he trust these strangers? Or was it safer to maintain his guard and prepare for the worst?

    Vanderby offered to team up with them without so much as a discussion, and Linc grit his teeth slightly, still annoyed at his tank abandoning him during the battle, however he remained silent¡ªthat creature taught them one thing, which was that they were far out of their depth. Any help would be weed with open arms.

    Lannister nced at Lara, trying to read her eyes. She blinked and slightly tilted her head.

    ¡°Sure. Fifty-fifty split.¡± Lannister said, but Vanderby replied in a cunning and smooth tone.

    ¡°Ah, but there¡¯s three of us and two of you. How about sixty-fourty? That way we all get a fair amount.¡±

    Lannister shrugged, ¡°That sounds fair.¡± He nodded.

    Linc walked closer to the group, but slowed his steps after hearing Lannister¡¯sstment.

    He agreed without argument? No pushback? No counter-offer? They could take a ny-precent cut and we would ept it; we would have no choice. Linc thought, and hid his suspicions under a facade of tiredness. Vanderby grinned, thinking he had used his sly charm to win them over.

    ¡°Excellent. So, I can tell you¡¯re the brawn.¡± Vanderby pointed at Lara, then turned to Lannister, ¡°So you must be the tracker?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Lannister nodded, and Lara¡¯s lips slightly curled, a subtle sign of theughter she was feeling from Lannister¡¯s lies.

    ¡°How about you three?¡± Lannister asked.

    ¡°Well, she¡¯s the tracker, Linc is the damage dealer and I¡¯m the tank.¡± Vanderby said, then murmured to Linc, ¡°Sorry about that by the way.¡± He scratched his head, pursing his lips.

    Linc shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± He said casually, but inwardly was furious about it. Linc could have died and all he got was a half-ass apology? It was despicable.

    However, other pressing thoughts gued his mind¡ªthese two strangers didn¡¯t seem to care about the bounty. They didn¡¯t push back or argue in any way about their cut; there was no haggling, no threats. They also had a tracker¡ªLannister¡ªso why would they need them? Would these stranger kill them once this was over and take the bounty for themselves, using him and his so-called ¡®friends¡¯ as a sacrificial pawns?

    But Linc kept his suspicion to himself, and kept his guard up and his senses heightened. With his sh step ready, he never once let Lara out of his sight.

    As for the others, Linc no longer felt any hesitation at the thought of abandoning them in the blink of an eye. After all, this was all about gold. They had ced their lives on the line for it, so the lives of his acquaintances was an easy thing to sacrifice. Especially after Vanderby had abandoned him.

    ¡°Are you ready to move? We want to get out of the wilderness as soon as possible.¡± Lannister said.

    Vanderby flexed his healed arm, ¡°Yep.¡± He said, and nced at Linc, who nodded back as he stood near the side of the group, but was a few steps further away than the others.

    ¡°Estra? Direction?¡± Lannister asked. Estra smiled, and pointed across the mossy ne.

    ¡°As I thought. Let¡¯s go.¡± Lannister said, and they began to march.

    As they traversed the mossy ne, the two groups remained divided, walking in close proximity to their own members and maintaining a noticeable distance from the strangers. The distance of a stone¡¯s throw separated them. The two groups maintained a distance, as if an invisible barrier separated them, mirroring the lingering doubt and unease that lingered in the air; however, it seemed that Linc was the only one to feel it.

    Linc and Lara remained at the back of each party, but instead of scanning for threats across the rocky pain, their distrustful sights were turned inwards, asionally ncing at one another and creating a subtle tension.

    She¡¯s some kind of earth mage. As long as she doesn¡¯t have a defensive wall ability I think I could reach her. Or I could just sh-step into invisibility and leave. Linc thought, watching Vanderby and Estra ahead of him as he plotted for what he believed what inevitable. Taking some precautionary measures, Linc sped up to Vanderby and Estra walked closer to their side.

    ¡°Hey. Don¡¯t tell them about my ability.¡± Linc whispered.

    ¡°What¡ªwhy not?¡± Vanderby said, raising a brow. Linc knew what Vanderby was like, so he lied.

    ¡°I want to save it, to impress them. It will make us all look good.¡± Linc whispered, and gave a quick nce at Lara who had her eyes narrowed on him.

    Vanderby smiled with a chuckle. ¡°Well sure. Just make sure they lower their heads before you use it. I don¡¯t want any sudden deaths to be on our hands.¡± He whispered back.

    Estra kept her mouth shut, but gave a cheeky smile and a nod at Linc¡¯s n, hoping those powerful adventurers would spread tales of their bounty hunting.

    With his ability¡¯s weakness hidden, Linc returned to the back of the party, but noticed Lara simrly began to whisper with Lannister, who kept an unassuming gentle smile on his face and a casual stride that made Linc¡¯s skin crawl.

    The trio had survived in the cities, using ckmail, secrets or errands to survive. There was alwaysw and order that they would slip under to achieve their goals, but its presence was what kept them safe.

    However the wilderness came with it own rules, and to Linc, one thing was clear: they weren¡¯t just out of their depth when it came to monsters, but also in dealing with strangers in this untamednd.

 Chapter 365 Seal

    ?

    Jay ended the host skill, grit his teeth and sprung from his chair before giving out a plethora of orders.

    (Blue, get Hegatha. We¡¯re about to leave. Extinguish the fire. Recall everyone, and all the sub-skeletons. Cover up the dirt molds. Wipe every trace we were here and gather every bone.)

    While Jay used the host skill, Blue had already recalled his four sub-skeletons. Together they entered Hegathas shack.

    The other skeletons all abruptly moved, throwing firewood into the swamp water, smothering the embers and throwing them in too, and filling in the mold holes.

    Jay entered his house and stuffed Leeches into his bag. He added his bedding into his inventory, leaving Asra lying on the bone bed frame.

    Asra sensed his panic before she had awakened, and found herself being jostled and carried in his arms with the noon-leather nket on top. As Jay stepped off the ramp, the single-room house she slept in disappeared into a wave of necrotic gas.

    (Leave the bone bridge.) Jay ordered, seeing that they were ripping bones out of it and either eating them or tossing them into the depths.

    Jay sensed that Red¡¯s guardian skeletons had went to the other shore and were likely sweeping away any signs of them being there.

    ¡°Grah!¡± Hegatha called, being pulled out of the shack, ¡°What is this?! We had deal! You promised not to hurt me if I don¡¯t hurt you!¡±

    ¡°We still have a deal. Heal Asra right now or the deal¡¯s off.¡± Jay ordered, and a surged of killing intent came from him and the skeletons currently sping each of her limbs.

    Hegatha¡¯s eyes widened. The roof of her shack, covered in sentient leaves, shuddered in response and pointed up like hairs across cold skin, but none of them left their ce.

    ¡°I¡ªYes. I will. Just let me get ready.¡± Hegatha grunted, and shook the skeletons clutching her body. Jay nodded, and they released her.

    ¡°Bob? What¡¯s going on?¡± Asra said, and pushed herself out of his arms and stood up.

    ¡°We need to leave. Here.¡± Jay said, checking the bloodpass onest time before handing it to her. ¡°You will guide us while I attend to other matters.¡± Jay said, knowing he would be using the host skill to monitor everything from his throne when they began to march.

    Asra was still waking up, and furrowed her brows as she softly took the bloodpass, while Jay nced at Red, who nodded in response, epting that Asra would be their navigator.

    Jay rushed across the bone bridge. It had surfaced after the storm, and now the swamp''s water levels were returning to normal.

    Reaching the end of the bridge, he held out his gauntlet and carefully channeled them into his gauntlet while backing up towards the ind. In moments the bridge disappeared, and he went to the other side of the ind. Bones spewed forward from the gauntlet, sshing down and making a haphazard bridge in the direction thepass had pointed until he reached the other shore. It was about four times as long as the first bridge, and took some time, but he sped up the construction by neglecting to make a t topyer with smaller bones.

    Jay scanned the other side of the shore for enemies, but as it was shrouded in heavy fog, and he guessed the firelights were also active here, attacking whatever moved with unhealing, scorching fire. But as he turned, something caught his eye gleaming amidst the darkness.

    A white feather, unstained and untouched by any grime, was poking up from the soil like a g begging him to pluck it. Jay froze, and checked around once more, looking into the sky too, but it was perfectly silent. This was the third feather he had found, and he wondered how whoever ced it here knew where he was going. He felt like he was ying into the hands of a higher intelligence, walking into an unavoidable trap, but nevertheless he grabbed it, and analysed it before stashing it away.

    < [Ritual Companion Feather] >

    < [Waking Wrath] >

    [(Hidden through sacrifice)]

    [Created by (Hidden through sacrifice)]

    Jay wasn¡¯t sure what the [Waking Wrath] skill would do, but he wasn¡¯t inclined to try it in the slightest. Besides, if it were useful, he only had three of these strange sparkling feathers, and he had other priorities to deal with.

    With the bridge constructed the bone reserve in his gauntlet dropped by a few percent, but it was still negligible.

    As he ran back across the newly formed bridge, he saw Hegatha standing outside of her shack, holding a y jar over Anya¡¯s body, her hand on the lid, about to open it. Jay¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief, his fury raging.

    (Stop her! Don¡¯t let the jar open!) His willful telepathicmand swept through the skeletons like a wave, and all of them dropped their tasks, rushing towards Hegatha with swords raised.

    Hegatha froze as des rested against her neck and wstched onto her skin, threatening to tear it all asunder.

    Blue had dropped its sword, its hands ced around the jar and holding it shut before Hegatha could try anything.

    Jay arrived, his eyes narrowing as he fixed a piercing gaze on Hegatha. He didn¡¯t want her knowing that he knew about the jar and what was in it, but that much was probably obvious by now.

    ¡°You will heal her without the jar.¡± He said lowly, a sense of threat in his voice.

    ¡°I need it to heal.¡± Hegatha replied, and shifted her eyes around to look at Jay; she wasn¡¯t willing to turn her head, not with the ring of swords surrounding her neck.

    ¡°You never needed it before.¡± Asra said, squinting as shey on the noon-leather nket.

    Jay pulled out a breaking shard. Hegatha''s eyes locked onto the shard, her gaze filled with a sick desire as he held it in the air.

    ¡°Do it the normal way.¡± Jay said, pulled his arm back and lobbed it into the swamp water. Hegatha¡¯s heart sank and her neck gently pressed against the swords at her throat.

    But Jay pulled out and held another in his palm, ¡°Or you¡¯ll never see another one again.¡±

    Hegatha frowned, ¡°Fine!¡± She gave onest nce at the ripple from the breaking shard he tossed into the water, trying to remember its location.

    As for Jay, he had no more time to spare, no more patience, and he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to force her into submission through pain if necessary, and trying to wound Asra with one of those unhealing mes was the final insult that he scarcely tolerated.

    Blue removed the jar from her trembling hands and kept it sealed, and Jay made up in his mind to seal Hegatha¡¯s fate.

    Jay let Hegatha move again, but kept Sweeper, Blue and the sub-skeletons close to Hegatha as she grit her teeth and resentfully started the final healing process. Their keen eyes watched her every movement as she crushed leaves and ate them.

    Asra¡¯s wound turned from reddish inmed skin into the pale white hue like the rest of it, and Asra nodded as the pain finally subsided.

    ¡°Good. Now, return to your basement. The skeletons will bring you the shards after we leave.¡± Jay said.

    He had Sweeper and the sub-skeletons escort her, nudging her into her shack and making sure she didn¡¯t try anything while the other skeletons brought the throne over.

    Hegatha presumed to be safe, however, Jay wasn¡¯t finished with her. She had broken the deal when she tried to burn Asra, so he was free to enact whatever retribution he could dream up, whether it be to drown her or have her cut down in a quick death.

    But like the fire-lights she had stashed in y jars to slowly burn out and extinguish, Jay decided that a slow death would be a more fitting punishment.

 Chapter 366 Hopeless

    ?

    ~Mirror Reality 34~

    Heather raised a brow at Smiley¡¯s request. ¡°So, you want me to separate this into two parts and push them into the dungeon?¡±

    Smiley grinned, ¡°Yes. Blue first, then the red.¡±

    Heather pursed her lips as she looked into the warp charge. She was a little unsure of Smiley, as everyone knew about the smiling demon, and she hadn¡¯t actually seen a warp charge either¡ªeven so, there was no telling what the blue and red energies swirling inside would do.

    But she traced a sentimental finger across her hair clip, a silent acknowledgment of the debt she owed Loki standing by their side.

    Heather began using her power while Smiley looked on from the side, though he hid his cunning grin, stifling it from appearing on his face as the blue energy miraculously responded.

    Instead of a raging storm of red lightning and blue waves that mingled together, they separated to either end of the warp charge¡ªand without even breaking the charge open, Heather extracted it, somehow pulling it through the lichen metal and green ss alike.

    ¡°See, I told you she could help.¡± Loki said with a proud smile, but it immediately disappeared after a threatening gaze from Smiley.

    As Heather directed her hand toward the dungeon portal, her muscles tensed with strain. The portal responded, eliciting widened eyes from Smiley.

    The blue energy swirled around a small point of nothingness. It abruptly copsed onto it and tore a hole open in the delicate fabric of the mirror reality.

    Drawing closer, Smiley prepared to leap through the portal into the real world. However, as his gaze met the other side, his heart sank. A dishearteningly familiar bamboo forest stretched before him.

    Smiley grit his teeth but held his temper in.

    ¡°When it closes, try the red energy next.¡± He said coldly, and his eyes narrowed onto Loki for a moment.

    ~Hegatha¡¯s Swamp~

    Jay ascended his throne with Asra at his feet who was sitting on the noon-leather nket. She would have demanded the chair, but Jay seemed far too tense to fuss around with small things like that. However, the skeletons didn¡¯t lift up the throne to begin their march.

    ¡°So, what now?¡± Asra asked with a yawn.

    ¡°I just have one more little thing to do. Give me a second.¡± Jay said, closed his eyes and used the [Host] skill.

    Asra raised a brow, seeing his body go limp and his mouth fall open, unsure if she should try to close it.

    Jay entered the eyes of Sweeper. The skeletons had taken Hegatha into the abominable basement where she chanted her sickening-sweet curses to her ck altar; where she lured children, as well as created the dangerous firelights that gued the fog, and the sentient leaves which she asionally ate.

    Unknowingly, Jay he had be an unwilling pawn in Hegatha¡¯s ns, but the connection between the breaking shards, the ck altar, or how they mixed and melted into the life-giving vapor she inhaled from it remained a mystery, so the extent of his mistakes weren¡¯tpletely apparent.

    (Blue, leave your sub-skeletons in the basement with Sweeper and return to my side with all the others.) Jay ordered.

    The four sub-skeletons moved into a formation around Sweeper, who stood with its back to the mirror. And then, Jay took direct control.

    In the bone body he turned around, gripping its sword tightly with his bony fingers. This short-range mirror teleport was the only way out of here.

    The third symbol. He thought, remembering what Leeches had told him, and with resolve he ced the tip of the sword against the wall and pushed on the back.

    The sword groaned as it scraped across the stone, cutting through the symbol with a grind.

    ¡°Hey! Stop!¡± Hegatha yelled.

    Amidst the sound of her desperate struggle against the sub-skeletons, Jay refused to divert his gaze to her panicked face. With resolute determination he pressed his sword onto the next symbol and swiftly destroyed it.

    The portal weakened; its mirror-like reflection turned into an opaque haze.

    Hegatha yelled and groaned, likely cut by a few swords, but never gave up her desperate screaming.

    ¡°We had a deal! A deal! You promised!¡± She yelled, her voice sounded pained.

    Jay couldn¡¯t reply while in the body of a skeleton, but he doubted he would have anything to say, even if he weren¡¯t.

    He ced the sword against thest symbol, and paused for a moment. It was a hard thing to ce someone¡¯s life in your hands, and then seal their fate.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing! Stop! Please!¡± Hegatha gave a final desperate plea.

    *Shring*

    A scraping of dust kicked into the air as his sword cut through thest symbol. The mirror portal, without any form of resonance, glimmered for a moment and safely shut down, turning back into the cold stone wall.

    ¡°No! No¡­¡± Hegatha called, but her voice turned weak, and all the fight she had left in her evaporated like a dying me.

    Her anguished voice sent a cold chill trailing up Jay¡¯s spine, a sensation that pierced even through his skeletal form. Compelled by a mix of curiosity andpassion, he finally turned around to witness her pitiful state.

    Tears streamed down her weathered cheeks, carving a path through theyers of dirt as it etched sorrow onto her face. Her eyes, once fiercely defiant and as unrelenting as the consuming swamp, were now empty, vacant, like they were coated with ayer of wax that dulled her untamable spirit.

    The weight of her hopelessness was a suffocating silence.

    She was unable to push past the sub-skeletons, leaving her body marked with seeping cuts, but now, there was no fight left in her. Her hands dropped to her sides and she fell to her knees.

    Jay remained as a silent observer, it was toote to question her. He could have ended the host skill, but out of curiosity, and perhapspassion, he kept listening, watching.

    ¡°Everything. I gave up everything.¡± She whispered, her voice barely audible but each word heavier than thest. Knowing the harsh swamp life she chose for herself, he could almost grasp the countless burdens, sacrifices and struggles she¡¯d faced. Jay wondered if he would say the same thing.

    ¡°At least I can give up now. At least¡­¡± She closed her eyes.

    Jay was about to end the host skill, but at that moment a strange buzzing sound filled the room.

    His eyes scanned the room for the sound, and in a darkened corner a glow began to emerge.

    Jay nced back at the mirror; still just a mundane wall covered with faded runes. Hegatha remained so lost in her hopeless thoughts of despair that she no longer responded to anything;pletely oblivious to the strange light. It clearly wasn¡¯t her doing, neither the broken mirror. As for the y jars that held more of the dangerous firelights, he hadn¡¯t heard any of them shatter, so it couldn¡¯t be one of those creatures either.

    The light pulsed and swirled, casting flickering shadows around the room. Jay¡¯s instincts kicked in, sensing the imminent danger. His grip tightened around the bone sword, his senses sharpening as the buzzing grew louder.

    In a burst of brilliant light, the energy transformed into a swirling portal, banishing every lingering shadow. Crackling energy coursed around its outside, and Jay only had a single thought.

    Shit.

 Chapter 367 Another Pawn

    ?

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t feel right. I don¡¯t know if I can control it.¡± Heather murmured, but Smiley wasn¡¯t going to let her give up.

    ¡°Just move the warp charge closer before extracting it.¡± Smiley said, and Heather did so.

    It would help a little, but just keeping it from exploding was a challenge. It was clear that the blue energy kept it subdued in some way.

    ¡°You can do this.¡± Smiley said, encouraging her as he stood at her side and patted her shoulder.

    Loki watched from afar, but his mouth fell agape. He was more shocked at thisment than the portal experiments; if he told anyone at the academy that the smiling demon encouraged someone, he would beughed out of any ss in an uproar.

    The warp charge responded to Heather¡¯s power as her mind went under strain, her brows furrowing and teeth clenching as she wrestled with the unstable red energy, but she slowly seeped it through the ss containment chamber.

    The red energy crackled and sparked, fighting furiously to escape whatever containment or power tried to contain it. By its own nature, it wished to burst into a chaotic ze, ending its wrathful existence in a self-destructive glorious st.

    The dungeon entrance began to respond, and the rubble remains from thest warp charge experiment flickered back into existence, showing the cratered damage that Smiley¡¯s first warp charge had created after he¡¯d dashed it with his sword.

    Smiley immediately sensed danger. His eyes narrowed and he instinctively lowered into abat stance, readying his sword.

    ¡°Do it.¡± He whispered to Heather¡¯s ear, and as the energy pooled on the entrance she finally released her grasp.

    Finally set free, the red power did everything it could to ignite, unleashing its raw fury.

    A p of thunder rolled over them with a pulse of energy, a red wave spreading through the entire mirror reality, rippling and tearing the fabric of the pocket dimension.

    The void rifts opened, tearing wider. Gravity intensified and loosened. Pockets of air super-heated, distorting vision into swirling waves. Parts of the forest instantly zed with fire, tree trunks splitting and cracking from the sudden heat. Other parts turned to into fractals, splitting into infinite copies and mirrors of themselves. Pockets of time hastened and slowed; everything caught between was rend into halves. The ground quaked with deep groans, unable to contend with the empty voids swallowing everything they touched.

    Despite the hellscape they created, Smiley¡¯s eyes were fixed to a gleaming red ring, hissing and spitting caustic energy as it swirled around a portal. The rings around portals were supposed to be blue, but this red ring was otherworldly, causing fear to strike his heart, a threat to his very mind and soul. He had never seen anything like it¡ªbut it was a portal nheless, and the other side was much darker than the bamboo forest dungeon. Somewhere entirely different. He had seeded, but it too dark to tell exactly what or where he would be walking into.

    The crumbling mirror reality was dangerous, but jumping into an unknown abyss was not an option.

    ¡°You did it.¡± Smiley whispered, and nced at the girl.

    At his side, Heather was shaking, hugging her arms from the danger she unleashed. Smiley would have told her off for being scared, but time was fleeting, and he had to act.

    Smiley grabbed Heather¡¯s wrist, pulling her closer to the portal.

    ¡°Take a look at what you¡¯ve aplished. Be proud.¡± He said, fighting all his senses to stop himself from running from the crackling red energy surrounding the portal.

    ¡°I. I¡ªI didn¡¯t. This wasn¡¯t¡ª¡± Heather could barely speak, but as she drew nearer, her eyes widened. The energy reached out to her, and her eyes flickered white. All her fear was reced with a dazed look.

    Something was drawing her, a curiosity that transcended logic, an allure she couldn¡¯t resist. Captivated by the darkness, she ignored all signs of danger and looked into it, pulling her eyes into focus and trying to make out any details she could.

    ¡°Be proud.¡± Smiley said, and raised his boot.

    *Thud!*

    A heavy blownded on Heather¡¯s back. Smiley had nted his boot and spartan-kicked her into the portal.

    Heather didn¡¯t scream as she went in, even as the red energy seared her skin as she passed by. Her mind was entirely consumed by something she wanted, needed to grasp. But she wasn¡¯t the only one scathed by chaotic energy.

    ¡°Grrh!¡± Smiley grit his teeth as a tendril of the red powershed out, crackling around his boot and melting the flesh within. But as Heather plunged into the abyss, he immediately refocused himself, ignoring the pain and looking into the otherworldly portal.

    Heather breached the darkness, shattering and tearing it like a veil. There was a dark membrane across it, but it no longer blocked sight to the other side.

    Heathery on the ground, writhing in pain on a cold stone floor. Smiley was ready to jump in, but froze as noticed something else, peering up.

    Haunting eyes peered from the shadows, a luminous green glow filling the eye sockets of empty skulls. A ck altar. A room filled with y jars, and arge, unmoving figure with a hulking body kneeling before the undead.

    Both Smiley and the skeletons were as confused as each other, each stopping in their tracks. And with a shudder the portal snapped close in a blinding sh.

    ¡°You kicked her? You fucking kicked her? Wh¡ªwhat was that through the portal?¡± Loki said, his voice trembling.

    ¡°Hell.¡± Smiley coldly said.

    He stepped back from the disappearing portal as his only exit closed. Whether his indecision to jump through had killed or saved him, he couldn¡¯t be sure, but without Heather, there was no way to repeat the experiment, even though he had another warp charge.

    The forest around them was burning. The academy¡¯s headmaster¡¯s voice began to sound out through the forest, calling everyone back to the academy.

    Smiley frowned. He had failed but felt like he was one step closer to his escape, but he guessed they would evacuate everyone and he would have a better chance at escape in the real world.

    Or, they would just kill him.

    With the temporal robe equipped, Smiley began to sprint back through the forest, passing by the markers he hadid and escaping the reality-warping effects of a broken dimension.

    ¡°Hey, wait!¡± Loki called, sheepishly following along. But he couldn¡¯t keep up with Smiley¡¯s speed.

    However, that was the least of Loki¡¯s problems. His fingers started disappearing, turning invisible. The Others were enacting their revenge; the academy had became unstable, allowing them free reign to cast their forbidden spells, and Loki had angered them.

    Loki passed by bushes and branches as he ran, but as he went to push them away his hands and body went right through them. Loki knew he wasn¡¯t being erased from existence, instead he was bingpletely imperceivable, though he wasn¡¯t sure which was fate was worse. He had angered The Others, and this was his punishment, a full taste of their powers with only one remedy¡ªto grovel and beg at their feet.

    Smiley kept running, ignoring the calls of Loki¡ªuntil they turned to a distant murmur, bing nothing but whispering echoes. And a few momentster he wondered what Loki looked like, who Loki was, until the name slipped from his mind as if it never existed.

    The crystal-projected voice summoning all students back to the academy became distorted, sounding slow and deep in some parts of the forest, or fast and high-pitched in others.

    Numerous voids began springing up through the mirror reality, pushed up by some unknown force as the trees rejected the ground.

    One sprung up before Smiley, blocking his path; the other side of the tree fell into ck nothingness and pulled in the earth, leaving only a deep pit behind.

    The colorful patterns on the temporal robe were shifting and buzzing frantically, as if they were trying to leap from the fabric and run for cover.

    The robe¡¯s patterns were an early warning sign of reality instability, but no matter which way Smiley turned, the patterns never stopped moving.

    He grit his teeth and pressed on, following the safety markers he¡¯did to the best of his ability, as swiftly as his feet could carry him. He saw some students along the way, but without a second nce he brushed past them, uncaring for their looks of shock and horror as the world crumbled, and uncaring if they followed him or not.

 Chapter 368 Wretched

    Chapter 368 Wretched

    ~Hegatha¡¯s Basement~

    All four sub-skeletons went on high alert as a crackling portal formed in a darkened corner of the basement. Jay¡¯s eyes would¡¯ve widened if he wasn¡¯t in the body of Sweeper; instead, its hollow eyes glowed a little more brightly.

    But the portal appearing without warning wasn¡¯t the most shocking thing¡ªfor through the portal he saw a familiar face, one that made him scowl as it looked down on them with little regard. Blonder hair, blue eyes, and an upturned nose with a disdainful re.

    Matheson. Bastard. He¡¯s helping them to find me. But how? Jay thought, and the Sweepers jaw clenched in anger.

    It was as rming as it was puzzling, but none of it mattered if they found him. Jay had to move.

    However, Hegatha rose to her feet. Her body glowed with a coating of energy, distorting the air around her. The other girl in the room, Heather, began to scream in agony. Her body convulsed and boiled, morphing and remolding itself withrge bumps as the skin turned to boils and warts.

    Jay wondered if he should save Heather, but it was already toote. The mirror portal was sealed. She would likely be food for Hegatha, if the girl survived whatever energies were warping her flesh. But before Jay could do anything Heather and Hegatha¡¯s bodies slid across the room, drawn to each other like strong mas. As their hands touched, Hegatha screamed in joy.

    ¡°I¡ªI remember!¡± Hegatha¡¯s eyes shot open, broken from her hopeless stupor, even as Heather wailed in agony.

    Each eye filled with swirling red energy, resonating with the portal.

    Heather¡¯s face scrunched deeper in pain while Hegatha¡¯s grinned with tearful joy. Their skin melted together like hot butter, pulled into one another and mixing in a disgusting mess.

    Jay didn¡¯t know what he was witnessing. He could feel their bones, snapping and mixing together faster than his necrotic mana could hope to achieve. Heather¡¯s face crunched in horrifying suffering, twisting into a pain that Jay never wanted to witness. He was tempted to end Heather¡¯s suffering out of mercy with a slit to the throat, but it was toote to save her. Their bodies was already connected and merging.

    Hegatha was doing much better, grinning widely in unfathomable ecstasy, moaning in a sickening pleasure. Their heads touched and so did their minds. But Hegatha never stopped yelling.

    ¡°I remember everything! I am Heg! Heatha!¡ªHeather! I am Heather!¡± She screamed as he mouth and eyelids dripped with blood.

    Heather? Jay thought, but before he could remember the name the red portal snapped shut, crashing on itself with a powerful pulse of red energy.

    Heather and Hegatha¡¯s merged bodies disappeared with it. Wherever they were sent, he couldn¡¯t be sure¡ªbut it didn¡¯t matter.

    The wave of energy traveled over Sweeper, and as it touched the skeletal frame Jay felt a searing pain, as if the skeletons body was his own. In that moment he thought he had gained its senses but he was sure they couldn¡¯t sense pain, so this was something else.

    The pulse pushed into his chest, a hammer to his guts. It separated soul from body, and since his grip on the skeleton was only by the mere [Host] skill, itpletely detached him from his minion.

    His mind span, writhing with pain as he left its skeletal body. But he didn¡¯t return to his own. The immaterial force sent his mind spiraling into abyssal darkness. Jay was alone again.

    ~Mirror Reality 34~

    The academy castle shuddered.

    It was not as secure as they thought. Deep cracks trailed through the walls and pebbles flickered out after dying runes giving up thest of their energy.

    Nothing could withstand the assault on reality itself. Darkness cannotprehend light, and so the immaterial cannotprehend material, swallowing everything up with little resistance.

    As Smiley ran, a glow of red energy trailed from his boot, searing his foot and making each step cut an unstable path into the realm, only serving to break it apart further.

    But that was what he wanted. If he couldn¡¯t be free, then no one could. If he died here, then at the very least they would know what it¡¯s like to be caged in, controlled and hopeless, powerless to escape.

    However, as Smiley entered the academy¡¯s courtyard, he didn¡¯t see the signs of misery he was anticipating. Some even looked hopeful, which sickened him. A number of students surrounded the teachers, with Norgrim at the center.

    ¡°Find them and bring them here.¡± Norgrim said, and a few students dashed away into the academy corridors. But as he saw Smiley, his eyes narrowed, and he whispered to Evelynn. After receiving instructions from Norgrim, Evelynn marched over and blurted out an order.

    ¡°Go to the teleport staging area and bring back a warp charge. There are others who went so there will be a marked path.¡± She said.

    ¡°Why would you need a warp charge? Shouldn¡¯t we all be heading there to escape?¡± Smiley asked, but Evelynn¡¯s gaze turned cold, unwilling to exin.

    ¡°You have your orders. Hurry up and go.¡± She said, but it was obvious she was hiding something.

    ¡°Sure. Ok.¡± Smiley shrugged, raising his eyebrows as if he didn¡¯t care about the oue. Evelynn¡¯s face turned bitter, but he turned away before it could change into a full-blown scowl.

    Smiley jogged back out of the stone gate of the academy and moved around the wall, out of sight. He saw the markers left by others who had the temporal robes, but he stopped by the wall.

    They¡¯re not desperate enough. Not yet. But it¡¯s only a matter of time. Smiley thought with a devilish grin.

    As he waited by the crumbling wall its runes glowed brighter, trying to resist whatever forces were at work against it.

    He also saw other people in the forest¡ªnone of which were moving, frozen in time with desperate looks on their faces, their robes caught in an eternal flutter of stillness, while others weren¡¯t so lucky; some were left the ashes of torsos and floating body parts, some had merged into rocks and trees as pockets of reality lost all logic, rhyme or reason. Even with their powerful variant sses, most of them were no match for the world they found themselves in.

 Chapter 369 Smileys Gambit

    Chapter 369 Smiley''s Gambit

    Smiley grit his teeth as the chaotic red energy cut into his foot, but he continued to suppress any sign of it. He grown used to pain, and even mocked it, thinking it paled inparison to the workouts he¡¯d put himself through on a daily basis.

    Though nothing couldpare to the parasite when it dug into his neck, which was ced there by Sylvia, the so-called parasite queen. It was his own little inbuilt kill-switch, keeping his life in their hands. As if being trapped here wasn¡¯t enough.

    Smiley leaned against the wall while watching the world crumble. zing fires swept through the forest, only stopped by rifts of void, pockets of frozen time and other areas where the temperature reached absolute zero. Other teachers ran out wearing temporal robes, finding the trail of markers leading to the teleport area, but none of them turned back to see Smiley by the wall. His presence was masked by the sense of danger spreading through the realm.

    Those fools. Smiley thought. He knew how far it was to the teleport staging area, about a five-minute sprint, but after fifteen minutes no one had returned yet. But seeing more leave was a good sign, the faculty were getting nervous.

    As for seeking a warp charge, he guessed they must have a teleport gateway somewhere in the academy, so it was obvious why they didn¡¯t make an ill-fated attempt at rushing to the staging area, and as he watched one of the safety markers get swallowed in a sea of mes he wasn¡¯t worried in the slightest. It just meant that others wouldn¡¯t return from the teleport staging area, and with no concerns about them returning and saying he never even went there, he stepped away from the the wall, did some pushups to make himself seem exhausted, and entered the academy again.

    As he walked towards the courtyard he noticed a trail of safety markers leading along the side of the path he had traveled, but the patterns on his temporal robes were still waving frantically no matter where he stepped.

    In the courtyard, no more students were present. They had all abandoned it, leaving only a trail of markers into the administration building.

    Maybe I waited too long. Smiley thought. He dashed across the courtyard, following the trail into the building and up the stairs to higher floors.

    Finally he heard signs of life, hushed whispers in the hallway outside the headmaster¡¯s office¡ªNorgrim¡¯s abode.

    As Smiley turned the corner, eyes lit up with hope.

    ¡°He did it! The demon did it!¡± A student called. All heads turned his way, but he only met their gazes with a cold re.

    They did nothing to save him, and now he was supposed to save them? It was sickening. An intrusive thought shed through Smiley¡¯s mind, an idea to pull out the warp charge and cut it to pieces before their eyes. But he didn¡¯t hate them enough to him to seal his own fate with them.

    As he walked by their cheerful faces, he remembered a thankful smile he once received when ying treants at Lo. Genuine smiles of gratitude were so alien that it made him suspicious. He thought that no one was truly thankful; a smile was just the tool of the cunning totch onto him. Though he couldn¡¯t help but feel a twinge of guilt, as he had caused all of this. Nevertheless, his face remained cold, his re disdainful.

    Evelynn stood outside the door of Norgrim¡¯s office, and her once-bitter face had turned to a gentle smile as she saw a sign, a hope approaching.

    ¡°You did it?¡± She asked.

    ¡°I have a warp charge.¡±

    Evelynn held out her hand, expecting him to hand it over. But Smiley fought against his instinct to submit to her higher level, grit his teeth, and pushed out words that were almost too hard to say.

    ¡°How much is it worth to you?¡±

    Evelynn¡¯s mouth dropped. Her brows furrowed in anger. All the students went quiet and stared as they felt a thick tension fill the air.

    ¡°You dare? Bargain for it?!¡± She yelled.

    Evelynn wouldn¡¯t entertain such an idea. She raised her hands up at her sides, and shadows emerged from her feet, spreading across the floor.

    Smiley felt her killing intent and jumped away, raising his sword and preparing to fight. The shadows of flowers, nts and trees appeared, each swaying in an imperceivable wind. Smiley positioned himself behind other students, and the shadows spread over them, coating their bodies in shadowy leaves, but harmlessly so.

    Shadow forest? Smiley thought, wondering what her ability could do. But a figure emerged in the shadow forest, a human one,shing out desperately and trying to w at his feet. He sensed that if those shadows touched his body, he would share the same fate as that pool soul. Smiley dashed further back, not letting it touch his body and nning his attack.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Norgrim yelled from behind the door. He had sensed everything and mmed the door open.

    The ambient mana surged then disappeared, leaving no traces behind, and no unusual shadows. Norgim applied his full mana control, and anyone trying to manacraft failed, unable to keep their mana fixed and attuned as it slipped from their fingers before signs of it could materialize.

    Evelynn frowned, and tried to exin herself. ¡°He wants to bargain for the warp charge.¡±

    ¡°Is this true?¡± Norgrim said with a disheartened frown while looking at Smiley.

    Smiley¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Freedom for freedom. I want this bug out of my neck, then I¡¯ll leave unharmed through the portal. Is that so much to ask?¡±

    Norgrim pursed his lips and his eyes trailed across the students, not wanting to let them stay here any longer or to kill someone in front of them; it would certainly lower morale. There was also the chance of harming the warp charge. But for just a single moment his eyesnded on Smiley¡¯s boot, causing him to raise a brow and whisper to Evelynn. Evelynn couldn¡¯t help but ncing at the boot too, but she kept her mouth shut.

    ¡°We wholeheartedly ept. Step into my office. Eve, bring Sylvia.¡± Norgrim said to both of them. Evelynn nodded and went to Sylvia¡¯sboratory.

    Sylvia was still packing up her research, and in the middle of her room, a monster¡¯s body twitched on a stone b as tiny bugs crawled across it. At first, Slyvia didn¡¯t ept the request toe with Evelynn, and kept stashing things away, but after Evelynn exined further, she grit her teeth and left her precious experiments behind.

    Smiley scanned the room for threats as he entered, but Norgrim had dispersed the ambient manapletely, making it safe from any magical traps.

    As Smiley stepped into Norgrim¡¯s office, it was different. Norgrim¡¯s table was pushed against a wall, his carpet rolled up to the side, and in the middle of the room was a circle filled with runic engravings, cut into the stone floor. It seemed that it had always been there, hiding beneath the carpet. At its side, the runes connected to a pedestal which undoubtedly was where the warp charge would sit.

    ¡°We¡¯ll let you leave, unharmed and free. But do you really have it?¡± Norgrim asked.

    Smiley closed the door behind him, stepped away from Norgrim into a corner of the room and raised his hand, and with a sly smile, he made something appear but it wasn¡¯t a warp charge. A shiny blue skull appeared in his hand.

    Smiley raised a brow and tilted his head to the side, surprised that Norgrim didn¡¯t try to snatch it away as soon as it appeared¡ªbut he sensed nothing. No mana and no tricks. Norgrim only raised a brow, confused for a moment, but knowingly nodded the next, understanding the level of mistrust that Smiley had for them¡ªit was zero.

    After stashing the skull away, Smiley made the warp charge appear, but only for a glimpse, which was enough to satisfy the headmaster. Norgrim¡¯s eyes lit up with a smile as he watched its red and blue energy dancing for a moment before it disappeared back into Smiley¡¯s inventory. In Smiley¡¯s possession was their hope, perhaps their only hope, of escape.

    Norgrim could have easily killed Smiley and taken it, if not for the unstable red energy on the boot. If the warp charge was dropped, it could respond and unleash more voids, killing the students, breaking the warp charge and cracking their only portal in the process. Plus, it would look bad if other students had to walk past his corpse before entering the portal; perhaps they would defect, many didn¡¯t feel safe around the other students even before the event. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the love-magic subus student who enchanted Smiley the first time he arrived there, so his only tool was a promise, and the price to pay for the charge was small.

    ¡°I¡¯ll grant you your freedom, and I promise no harm wille to you. And rest assured, since the mirror reality is crumbling there¡¯s no need to kill you. They won¡¯t be able to trace your mana signature back here if ¡®here¡¯ doesn¡¯t exist, so it¡¯s fine.¡± Norgrim said with a nod.

    Smiley nodded, but didn¡¯t rx his tense muscles. Lies always sounded the best when you wanted to believe them. The door opened and Evelynn rushed in with Sylvia.

    ¡°Hello. Ready for another operation?¡± Sylvia grinned. She seemed to be the only person enjoying this. Smiley red back at the short girl for a moment, then pointed at Norgrim and Evelynn.

    ¡°You two leave. No one enters until Sylvia exits again.¡±

    Evelynn was about to raise her finger in disapproval but Norgrim put a gentle hand on her shoulder, pointed to the door, and they both left without a word.

    ¡°Get this over with. And do it quickly unless you want the reality to copse first.¡± Smiley said coldly, took off his temporal robe and leaned over the table as he bit down on the shy robe, uncaring if his gnashing teeth would damage it or not.

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take long. Try to rx.¡± Sylvia shrugged and trailed her delicate fingers on the back of his neck, interacting with her hateful creation.

    First it started with a grunt of pain, but screaming shortly followed. Outside the office, Norgrim put his hands in his pockets and gave up a wry smile as the students looked on in fear, and he wondered if this was much better than passing a dead body on their way to freedom.

    The bug utched itself from the nerves in Smiley¡¯s spinal cord and burrowed its way out through the spinal column. His body trembled with pain and his head swirled in agony. Fingernails ripped out as his hands tightly gripped the desk, left in the wood as a memento. The agony caused his eyes to roll back into his head, and time seemed to stretch into eternity, but only minutes passed.

    Smiley didn¡¯t pass out this time, though his arms still trembled as he pushed himself off the desk and took some slow deep breaths.

    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± Sylvia said, and showed him the bug. ¡°Hello?¡± She tapped his shoulder with a smile. ¡°Meet your little friend.¡± In Sylvia¡¯s messed up mind, she thought after spending so much time with the bug, he would have befriended it. Though nothing could be further from the truth.

    Smiley slowly opened his eyes, strings of spit trailing from his mouth. He stepped closer and slowly reached out, gently cing his hand under hers.

    ¡°Hello.¡± He whispered, wrapping his fingers under hers.

    *Crunch!*

    He clenched her hand, stopping her from pulling it away. But Smiley wasn¡¯t satisfied. He brought his other hand down in a fist, mming it into hers and sending a stter of green everywhere.

    ¡°Hey, you asshole!¡± Sylvia yelled, gritting her teeth. Smiley took a deep breath and smiled as his body recovered.

    ¡°You would¡¯ve done the same thing.¡± He whispered.

    Sylvia frowned as she held a pile of goo in her hand. She took a moment to wipe it on the wall and went to the door.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Smiley said, stopping her from opening it.

    ¡°What? You want another friend?¡±

    ¡°Watch this.¡± Smiley said, hoping she would be intrigued enough to keep the door shut.

    The warp charge appeared and ced it on the pedestal. A trail of runes lit up, traveling down the side and lighting up the circle on the floor. The runes began to spin around each other as a single point of nothingness cracked open into a crackling portal.

    Norgrim sensed the mana, and the door to the room opened as soon as the portal did. Thankfully Sylvia was in front of it, giving Smiley just enough time to give up a disdainful grin.

    ¡°Wait! There¡¯s something on your¡ª!¡± Norgrim yelled.

    But it was toote. Smiley¡¯s only bargaining chip was out, sitting on the pedestal and ready to be plucked away by whoever wanted it, so he slipped through before Norgrim could finish his sentence.

 Chapter 370 My Responsibility

    Chapter 370 My Responsibility

    The room fell silent. Slyvia stared at the portal, then at Norgrim. Norgrim¡¯s mouth fell open in shock¡ªno, maybe in defeat. He looked so lost in that moment, but his eyes remained fixed to the portal.

    ¡°You bastard. You little bastard.¡± He faintly whispered.

    The portal began to change. It turned from blue to a deeper shade of purple, tainted by the chaotic energy on Smiley¡¯s boot.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Sylvia said, but Norgrim was murmuring to himself.

    ¡°Blue, normal. Green, time reverse. Yellow, age reverse. Orange, locationless. Red, forward¡­ purple¡­ what the hell is purple. Blue and red?¡± Norgrim scratched his chin, rambling quietly to himself.

    ¡°Just wait outside, dear.¡± Evelynn said. Sylvia shrugged and left the room. She had experiments to finish and gather up.

    Evelynn closed the door, ¡°So? It¡¯s purple?¡±

    ¡°It will send us into the future. Not too far, hopefully.¡± Norgrim said, frowning, ¡°But we will lose so much time. All the students we could have gathered. The mage hunters will have new technology. I can¡¯t. It¡¯s too much.¡± Norgrim began to massage his temples, closing his eyes into hopeless grief. But Evelynn wouldn¡¯t let him wallow in it.

    ¡°Stop that. You have a responsibility to these students. We need to leave. Purple, blue, green, it doesn¡¯t matter. That¡¯s our way out, and we¡¯ll take it. And we¡¯ll need you on the other side.¡± She said.

    ¡°Mm.¡± Norgrim said, slowly opening his eyes and nodding. He hadn¡¯t only lost his academy, but the entire mirror reality in a single day. Not to mention all the loyal staff and teachers who had be like a family to him over the years. Then there was also the vige living in the mirror reality, the natives; those who weren¡¯t students but had no desire to fight. He couldn¡¯t protect them, and there was no way they were making it to the academy. But he took a deep breath andposed himself.

    ¡°Sorry. Let¡¯s get to safety. The studentse first.¡± He said, marched out into the hallway and mobilized the students, guiding them all into his office and through the portal.

    Sylvia was thest student to pass by Norgrim, but she was the only one with a smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You said I couldn¡¯t harm him, but you said nothing about tracking him.¡± Sylvia winked, and both Evelynn and Norgrim gave up a softugh as the women both went into the portal, leaving Norgrim as thest soul to enter. But he paused.

    He stepped away from the portal and approached his window, giving onest longing look across his beloved academy, and stroked his fingers across the windowsill. For a moment he wondered if he should leave. They wouldn¡¯t know if he decided to stay or if he got caught here, and understood why captains went down with their ships¡ªit was love. It was a part of them that couldn¡¯t just be ripped out.

    But he sighed and shook his head. The students were a part of it too, and his duty to them was not over.

    ¡°My responsibility.¡± He murmured. It was hard to turn away from the window, each step to the portal felt so slow and sluggish. But heposed himself, and with a final sigh, entered the purple portal.

    ~Great Wall of Fog, Rocky ne, Astrata~

    Three bounty hunters along with Lara and Lannister stopped at the edge of a thick fog. The thick gray curtain stretched into the skies and loomed over them like a fortified wall.

    Estra looked over to the other group, ¡°It¡¯s that way.¡± She pointed into the fog. Linc nced over too, locking eyes with Lara. There was still some tension but they both kept quiet.

    ¡°We don¡¯t sense anything. Let¡¯s keep moving.¡± Lannister said. The separate groups passed into the thick mist. The edge was like a thick membrane, blocking any vision from outside. The humid air made each of their eyes squint, and Estra coughed for a few moments.

    ¡°Stay closer together.¡± Lannister called, and the groups moved nearer until they could see each other¡¯s shadowy silhouettes.

    Linc didn¡¯t like being closer to them, and kept his eyes peering towards Lara. The suspicion between them was still strong, but he didn¡¯t think the other group members could sense it. Linc was suspicious of Lannister too, but couldn¡¯t read him or his intentions, even after they walked for hours over the rocky moss-covered ne. He seemed as agreeable as Estra, and perhaps more innocent. Each step Lannister took seemed like a child walking through a garden, his eyes filled with wonder as he looked over the deep forests and lofty mountains. When he saw the smallest of the most insignificant flowers that were not even blooming, he would crouch down and take a closer look, and his awe and wonder renewed with each footprint he left behind. Yet Lannister wasn¡¯t lost in his own world; he was always the one to talk and urge them forward, guiding them under Lara¡¯s watchful eye, who was always nodded in agreement with him. Their connection even caused a string of jealousy to stir in Linc, and he wondered if he would ever have that trust with Vanderby and Estra, but after what happened during thest fight, he doubted it; they hadn¡¯t even checked if he was injured from that giant bug.

    Estra whispered, ¡°We¡¯re getting close.¡± But the quietness was short-lived.

    ¡°Down!¡± Lara called.

    A zing ball of mes waved past, hissing through the air, passing between both groups.

    A dim illumination appeared in the fog. Only one orange glow, then more shifting lights appeared, spreading wider like they were guarding a wall.

    ¡°They¡¯re trying to separate us.¡± Someone said.

    Another fireball came, then another. One narrowly missed Estra, and another licked Vanderby¡¯s shield as it passed by, hissing through the air.

    ¡°Linc?¡± Vanderby called.

    ¡°Not yet.¡± Linc sternly replied, hoping the others would keep their cool. He nced at the silhouette of Lara and Lannister between barrages of fireballs. The two strangers were like shadows in the fog, and moved fast. A zing ball shot towards them, which they dodged¡ªbut Linc wanted to see what they could truly do, so he stalled as long as possible.

    After the barrage of fire got heavier, he finally saw something new. A sh of blue light appeared as quickly as the fireball came, then disappeared in the blink of an eye. As for the fireball, it also disappeared.

    So I¡¯m not the only one hiding something. Linc thought, and dodged more of them whizzing past.

    ¡°Dammit Linc can you just do it?¡± Estra murmured, trying to hide behind Vanderby. It wasn¡¯t just Lara and Lannister who were feeling the brunt of the assault.

    Wanted only when I¡¯m needed. Linc thought, his eyes narrowing into a disdainful stare thatnded on the back of Estra¡¯s head.

    ¡°Just a little bit longer.¡± Linc said. He heard a whistle of rushing air resounded asrge head-sized stones shot into the fog. Lara was attacking with her earth-magic. The illuminating lights responded, breaking apart and spreading out further to escape the high-speed stones, and the barrage of fireballs intensified with a vengeance.

    Vanderby crouched lower, hiding behind his shield which he¡¯d pushed into the dirt, with Estra hugging behind him. Fireballs burst across it and searing mes washed over the sides, barely sparing their skin from the heat. The shield was heating up.

    Linc had high agility, enough to dodge them for now, but he wasn¡¯t sure how long they couldst behind that shield, especially since the lights were gradually moving to their nks.

    ¡°Grh!¡± A grunt resounded from the silhouettes, causing Linc to smile. Lara was hit. Guiding arge number of stones to chase her targets had sapped her concentration. She was dodging them, but it was too much for her to handle.

    More of the blue light shed around them, but Linc couldn¡¯t tell exactly what it did. The fireballs simply disappeared whenever it made contact; a peculiar skill, which he guessed was one of Lannister¡¯s defensive ones.

    With high dexterity, dodging the bright fireballs was easy enough, though if there weren¡¯t other human targets to draw some of the attacks away, Linc doubted he wouldst long. However, in the thick fog, more lights were appearing. Lara¡¯s stones cleared a few away but it wasn¡¯t enough. They appeared faster than she could kill them.

    Linc had to act¡ªbut the longer he waited, the more enemies he could take out in one sh of his sword. However if more appeared, he would be a sitting duck. His sh step was his only skill after all, and came with a long cooldown.

    When the fireballs soaring through the fog began to sound like an endless screech, he decided it was time. He took a deep breath, and pushed his sword out by a thumb¡¯s length.

    ¡°Lower your heads. And make sure you call out to me afterwards so I can find my way back to you.¡± Linc whispered, gripping his sword tightly. They were already lowering their heads and cowering behind the heavy shield like helpless children, so he merely said it to keep them quiet.

    ¡°Wait, what about the others?¡± Estra said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell them.¡± Linc said, dashing toward Lara.

    Estra frowned, but another fireball flew past. She tucked her head down and huddled closer to Vanderby, hoping to get closer behind his battered shield.

    Linc dodged balls of fire and mes on the ground, which were effortlessly burning even in the damp dirt. Something about the mes caused his danger sense to heighten, but against his own intuition he continued.

    Linc was about to get a closer look at that blue skill, and if Lara showed and signs of aggression, he would use his own secret weapon before they knew about it. If it was a harmless skill and Lara didn¡¯t threaten him, then he would urge them to lower their heads, and use his sh step.

    However, just before calling out, the darkenedndscape began to brighten. At the beginning of the fight, the sun was like a dim white circle, barely visible as it hung above, but miraculously the fog thinned with little warning, and the sun shone through in full radiance.

    The first shafts on sunlight began to kiss the ground, which had missed its warm light for quite some time. Without warning and without wind, the fog was clearing, disappearing as if it were an illusion, and Linc paused as he waited to see those strangers skills more clearly.

 Chapter 371 Strangers

    Chapter 371 Strangers

    The barrage of fireballs stopped as the sky opened up. Even the me-light creatures paused their attack to see what was going on. Thendscape finally revealed itself, uncovered from the gloomy darkness. It was as bare and deste as one would assume, though even here there were signs of life.

    Darkened mud, thorny nts, and many little creatures skittered around to find shelter in the shadows of anything they could. White-bark trees stood separately, each dead or dying, and each worst than thest. At the tops of each of tree was a smoldering ember, slightly smoking. All of them like candles that had been blown out.

    As for the fire-like entities that dwelled at their tops, they had abandoned their resting ces. Each of the fire lights burned hotter, enlivened after the sunlight gleamed through. It was a sign of freedom from the fog, and now that all the shadows were clear, it was easy to see their targets.

    Without any fog to hold them back, they descended on the adventurers with renewed fury. But their anger wasn¡¯t filled with revenge; this was a celebration of the breach of their foggy prison.

    Linc¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the mes clearly. There was faces in them, all of them grinning with malevolence. His sword grip tightened, but he still hadn¡¯t used his sh step skill.

    ¡°Hold! We can take them!¡± Lara called, but her voice was strained. Linc could tell she had been injured, and by the sounds of her voice, her battle against her pain was more intense that this one. But the situation was getting worse.

    More and more fireballs whizzed past, more urate than before, faster, hotter. Other ming creatures saw the battle from a distance and joined in on the celebration.

    Linc strained every muscle to sidestep three of them, duck under another, and press his body to the ground to escape many more. Each ball of me was scarcely dodged, and each of Linc¡¯s hairs curled, singed from the heat. The area he dodged in was coated in wailing mes, and the space he had to move in was constricting.

    Despite the pressure, Linc moved closer to Lara and Lannister. Finally he saw their ability. A blue ring shed into existence as it swallowed a fireball and disappeared. He guessed it was a type of defensive portal or some kind of absorbing shield magic. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but either way, the blue ring took a moment to form, and he reasoned that it wouldn¡¯t be useful against his own secret skill.

    ¡°Grrh!¡± Lara grit her teeth as more mes coated her side, burning and melting the leather and flesh together before they each dripped off her body. But she held on, knowing that pain was temporary.

    Lara guided floating rocks across the battlefield with deafening speed, each of them whistling through the wind faster than the balls of me.

    Each rock passed through the firelights and caught alight, leaving gaping holes in their elemental forms. But it wasn¡¯t always a kill. Some of the me entities perished, and others reformed. There was a weak point, but whatever it was, was not always hit.

    However the numbers getting in were still not enough, even if she could clearly see the targets. What started as a small line of them turned into an engulfing wave of fire that was about to engulf them. Linc already knew it was not something they could win, even with his hidden ability.

    He nced over to Vanderby and Estra. Each of them were still huddled behind the shield, expecting him to handle it. But why was it always him? Couldn¡¯t they do anything useful? As he stood alone between the two groups, he realized he didn¡¯t need them. Perhaps he never did, and his opinion of them turned sour.

    Pathetic. Linc thought. He was d to see that at the very least, Estra had readied her bow, but she hadn¡¯t even knocked an arrow to fire. Not that it would help. If Lara, who effortlessly crushed the giant bug, had trouble killing them with her high-speed stones, trying to kill them with arrows was akin to insanity.

    The realization dawned on Linc. They were all out of ce here, out of their depths. They should have never left the bosom of the city streets, where each alleyway sheltered them or provided their next opportunity. But their naivety and greed had made fools of them all.

    Linc was close enough to hear Lara¡¯s huffs and groans as she fought against the pain and enemies alike. He had never seen such resoluteness confined in a single person. She dodged as best she could but wasn¡¯t fast enough. The fire lights prioritized her, the only one standing and attacking them, and other than Lannister¡¯s portal, Lara had no real defense¡ªbut it was better than Vanderby who didn¡¯t even raise his shield to protect them all. But Linc didn¡¯t use his skill. He suddenly felt threat grip his heart and clutch it, and it all came from Lara.

    Linc stepped back as he heard her words, and a sense of coldness creep up his spine, breathing on his neck.

    ¡°Lan, n B.¡± Lara whispered, pushing out the words just a little too loudly.

    The blue portal shed open again, but this time it didn¡¯t close as they stood behind it. Lara finally dropped her hands and gave up the attacks against the fire lights. She turned and stared at Linc with the same look she had after the giant skittering creature died; a hunter eyeing its prey. Her eyes were empty. Detached. As cold and mechanical as the bug she¡¯d in.

    Linc leapt further backwards, his hand still tight on his sword. He pushed his senses to their limits and scanned the rocks, looking for any sign of movement. He knew she was an earth or rock manacrafter of some sort, so the threats woulde from those.

    *Crunch!*

    ¡°Gh-gaaah!¡± Estra screamed. Linc spun his head back to the others.

    Vanderby¡¯s shield copsed to the ground. Blood flowed after the sickening crunch. His hands poking from the the shield were limp, his body ttened. But there was no rock atop it. It had simply drove down into his body.

    Linc took in a quick cold breath as he watched Estra scream. More fireballs hurtled towards her, and without the shield she would be nothing but ashes. Yet before mes could touch her body, she was pulled from the ground and floated over to Lara, her limbs iling from the speed.

    Lara fixed her eyes on Linc, but instead of crushing him, she raised a brow. He had taken his hand off his sword. It was a sign that he admitted defeat, one she knew well, and decided to give him a swift death. She raised her hand to crush him under his own weight, but before she could lower it, he disappeared.

    *Fshrew~*

    A gasp of whispering wind sounded. Linc vanished.

    Little did Lara know, Linc had a single ability. With his grip on a weapon, he dashed through battlefields like a shooting star, cutting enemies down in one swing. But without a weapon, he disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but a whisper of wind behind.

    Invisibility or not, Lara wasn¡¯t worried. She had an invisible wall of crushing gravity raised around her. If this was a sneak attack, he would die shortly. But after a few moments, nothing happened.

    ¡°Your friend is pretty smart.¡± Lannister said, holding Estra in his arms. She tried to push herself out, but was no match for his higher level strength. All she could do was cry and weakly beat her fists against him, even as more fireballs whizzed past the edges of the portal.

    ¡°Quick.¡± Lara said, trying to hold her side as she bent over in pain. ¡°It was for the mission. I already told you I won¡¯t fail again. Give me some time to heal.¡±

    Another portal formed behind them, and with their captive they stepped through.

    On the other side a gentle breeze greeted them. The sounds of hissing fireballs disappeared, reced by a sweet silence and an aroma of flowering nts. A nearby mountain was as good of a ce as any, and from there they could see the swarm of firelights crashing onto Vanderby¡¯s corpse, leaving it as a zing fire. The portal snapped closed before any invisible threats coulde through.

    Lara grit her teeth, held her breath and scanned the surroundings, but sensing nothing, she copsed to her knees and fell backwards.

    ¡°Ugh.¡± She weakly groaned.

    Lannister raised a brow, ¡°You pushed yourself too far again.¡±

    ¡°It was for the mission. I already told you I won¡¯t fail again. Give me some time to heal.¡±

    Estra remained silent, too fearful to speak. Lannister put her down and she curled her arms around her knees, but her teary eyes watched every movement of her captors, expecting a flick of Lara¡¯s wrist and sealing her life at any moment.

 Chapter 372 Eyes Closed

    ?

    ¡°How long do you need?¡± Lannister said.

    Ten minutes had passed since they arrived in the lonesome field of flowers, a small respite atop the mountain. A sheer drop was on one side, and a rugged climb on the other.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I got hit pretty bad. It still hurts.¡± Lara weakly moaned, trying to hide her pain.

    ¡°Alright just let me know.¡± He smiled, and began to trace his fingers across the flower petals and watch bees hopping between them. Lannister didn¡¯t mind the detour. They needed to wait a few days before returning to the mirror reality anyway, so he began doing what he enjoyed the most¡ªmarveling at the world and the riches it offered.

    Estra quietly watched him, unwilling to break the silence. She sat amidst the flowers and hoped they would forget about her, but that was just a desperate, hopeless, maddened wish. Yet it was one she clung onto as she watched how carefree Lannister was.

    Lannister walked around the flowers, curiously looking at whatever he found. He reminded Estra of a child, captivated by the smallest things, and for a moment she wondered if he would even find a pair of sticks to toy with. But as his captive, she hoped it didn¡¯te to that, as sticks always led to stones, which begged for targets to be thrown at.

    Lannister¡¯s trail through the flowers was more chaotic than the bees; turning, twisting and crossing itself. But every so often he lifted his head and called to Lara.

    ¡°Are you ready now?¡± He asked, and Lara would reply without any sense of annoyance in her voice.

    ¡°I need more time¡ªIt still hurts.¡ªNo.¡ªNo.¡ªNot yet.¡±

    Lannister never seemed to get bored, and Estra wondered if anything could break his spirit. And then, she saw something in him change.

    As he twirled a flower in his hand he abruptly froze, tossed the flower away and dashed over to Lara. His carefree expression disappeared, his eyes intense and single-minded, wholly focused on Lara as he crouched at her side.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you ok? Really ok? Lara.¡± He blurted. Esrta stood up and watched, holding her breath. Something was wrong, very wrong. She nced across the mountain, wondering if she should make a run for it¡ªor if she could even survive out there. They hadn¡¯t taken away her weapons, so there was a chance. But she couldn¡¯t bring herself to leave, not after witnessing how easily and quickly Vanderby was crushed.

    Lara groaned, her eyelids barely open as she weakly raised her hand, ¡°Somethings wrong. I need the infirmary.¡±

    ¡°Say no more.¡± Lannister jumped up and golden runes appeared in his hands. Hey them a few feet above the flowers in a floating circle, and using magic he created an borate mesh, connecting them at various points across the circle as he crafted the stage for his portal above the flowers.

    Lara continued to groan and weakly held her side. She was holding on well before, but now she looked horrible. Her skin turned white, her eyes sunken, and it seemed that her HP had dropped to zero. The real damage to her body had begun. Blood continued to flow as charred burning marks continued to eat whatever flesh attempted to reform for a final time.

    Estra watched the portal runes beingid; it was soplicated and confusing that she had to blink and shake her head a few times. She simply couldn¡¯t make sense of it. Some runes wererge, as big as wagon wheels, while others were the size of marbles, and yet they all had a role to y within the portal architecture.

    ¡°Get ready to move.¡± Lannister called, and the circr stage of runes began to gleam with a blinding light. He didn¡¯t give a single thought to how this would affect the mirror reality.

    Above the runes a swirling point of nothingness materialized. Blue crackling energy began to swirl and try to pull it open.

    ¡°No no no. Come on, it was perfect.¡± Lannister said, sounding panicked for the first time. But he stepped back slowly.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong.¡± He whispered, dropping his hands to the side.

    The swirling crackling blue energy intensified, trying to rip open a rift. Arcs of chaotic energy lept from the portal, frustrated and furious that they couldn¡¯t tear open the portal.

    Lannister turned and bolted towards Lara, jumping on her body and covering her. Estra¡¯s hairs raised on end as she felt danger, and she also hit the ground as quickly as she could.

    A deafening crack sounded as blue light red, sending a bright sh over the entire mountain. Stray tendrils of energy hissed as theyshed out light thick lightening bolts. Everything they touched vanished.

    The golden runes underneath the portal withered, their glow softened and then disappearing into nothing.

    *Boom!*

    A deafening roar tore open ear drums. The mountain shook and the field cracked open. The portal expanded and copsed on itself, pulsing with a wave of heat that turned the flowers brown. The pulse of energy had nearly knocked Estra unconscious, but she didn¡¯t dare to lift her head until the shaking stopped. She found her hands clutching, digging into the earth. After a short while her HP healed her ear drums and she still heard echoes of the boom, still bouncing between the mountains. If other bounty hunters searching for Jay wanted a clue, they had just received it.

    Estra finally pushed herself from the ground and blinked to cure her fuzzy vision, and examined the damage. A perfectly spherical crater was left in the earth where the portal was. A little further away boulders rolled down with deep thuds. But this wasn¡¯t the only change.

    Streaks of ck lightening appeared in the sky, ripping through it and freezing in ce. Something felt wrong, like her very soul was being threatened. And then she saw the source of her existential terror.

    Further down the mountain, in the swamp they had escaped from, a spire of ck nothingness appeared, like a torn piece of a starless night, breaking out of the earth. It was as tall as the mountain itself, stretching into the sky. The tendrils of frozen ck lightening spread from the top of the spire like a great tree, casting that old swamp in shadows once more.

    The fire lights that had escaped their foggy prison had dashed out across the rocky ne, but now they changed direction¡ªthey all had turned back and sped towards the spire.

    ¡°What¡­ What is happening¡± Estra whispered. Across the horizon and throughout thend, more of the ck spires appeared, each standing proudly and shooting their own tendrils into the sky, daring all to approach their splendor, and each gave off a feeling of dread that make her chest feel hollow. Now, she doubted any bounty hunters woulde their way.

    Estra looked around for help, for anything or anyone to make sense of it¡ªbut Lannister¡¯s eyes were fixed on Lara. He only had one concern, even if the world was filled with those terrible ck spires.

    ¡°Lara, I couldn¡¯t connect. I failed. Somethings wrong, I dont. I don¡¯t¡ªI couldn¡¯t¡± Lannister shook his head as his eyes began watering.

    ¡°Shh, don¡¯t cry. It¡¯s okay. This is the life we chose.¡± She ced her palm on his cheek, ¡°Just let me see your smile.¡± She said with a gentle voice, but Lannister was lost in thought.

    ¡°If we go to a city, maybe we could get you healed. Just hold on.¡± Lannister said, and a portal formed behind him, but as he grabbed Lara¡¯s arm she felt heavy, too heavy to lift.

    ¡°Stop.¡± Lara whispered.

    ¡°Why? Just let me! You can be healed!¡± He tried to pull her up again, but she resisted.

    Lara weakly blinked her eyes and titled her head to look him in his eyes. Her gaze was filled with a tenderness that was new, but familiar to Lannister, one that could melt any heart with its warmth. Behind her hard exterior and tempered attitude, a soft soul stepped forward.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you put yourself in harms way. Not for me.¡± She said. Lannister grit his teeth and fought back his tears, but it became harder each time Lara spoke.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die. I don¡¯t want to leave you behind¡­¡± She took a strained breath, ¡°Please forgive me. For all the times I hurt you.¡±

    Lannister took a deep breath, fighting his tears away. ¡°You never hurt me. You healed me.¡±

    Lara smiled and stroked his cheek, and something appeared from her inventory. A small book.

    ¡°You opened my eyes. Never close yours.¡± Lara weakly murmured and held the book up. It was a journal, filled with sketches of flowers, bugs, mountains and waterfalls; the journal Lannister had forgotten, taken from him when he entered the mirror reality and lost his memories all those years ago.

    Lannister grabbed the book from her shaky hand, and her hand fell down as soon as he took it. Under Lara¡¯s loving gaze, Lannister looked through some of the pages. The images seemed to call out to him, but Lara was more important. To Lannister, the beauty in Lara¡¯s soft eyes could neverpare to a thousand of the drawings in the journal. He wanted their silence tost forever, but the rising of her chest slowed, her grip on his hand lost its strength. Her smile softened and waned. Her eyes, which were locked with his, became empty.

    Lannister froze, not daring to take a single breath, keeping his eyes locked onto hers as he felt his heart rend and sink. He didn¡¯t want to move. He wished time would stand still, but his vision clouded with tears. He spent his time looking at the wonders of life, the movements of bugs and beautiful trees, but now, he was confronted with death. His hands trembled as an unstoppable tidal wave of grief crashed down and swallowed him whole, and he had nothing to brace against it.

 Chapter 373 Reach

    ?

    ¡°Bob? Hello?¡± Asra poked his cheek.

    It had been a few minutes since he passed out, and still hadn¡¯t woken up. After a few more pokes Asra frowned, wondering why he was in such a rush but now he was basically sleeping. Surely sleeping wasn¡¯t his top priority? Nevertheless, her pokes became more relentless. But a tension filled the air.

    The throne shifted, and Asra stepped back from Jay as the skeletons all went on guard. She froze, wondering if she had crossed a line with all her poking¡ªbut they pointed their swords towards Hegatha¡¯s shack.

    Asra raised a brow, equally wondering what had put the skeletons on high alert, and d that her pokes hadn¡¯t made her an enemy of the undead. However she wasn¡¯t going to wait around and find out.

    ¡°Bob, we need to move.¡± Asra pinched his hand, but froze again, stepping backwards from Jay, though it wasn¡¯t the skeletons causing her to pause her assault on his skin. The shadowy swamp became brighter.

    Across the swamp, a shaft of sunlight light gleamed, unimpeded by the fog and shimmering on the water. Asra¡¯s eyes widened as more light broke through. She jumped over to the nket, wrapping it tightly around her body and covering her head just before a gleam of lightnded on the throne. The gloomy darkness disappearedpletely, and the suffocating thick fog gave way to a less-suffocating stale air.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± Asra murmured, but the skeletons holding the throne suddenly shifted, pointing the throne directly toward the old rotting shack. The skeletons didn¡¯t like it either.

    Again the throne shifted as a deep boom resounded through the earth and a light appeared from the soil, a wave of red energy surged up through the dirt. The red energy carried its own killing intent, and the sight of it caused a cold fear to trail over Asra¡¯s skin. There was something sinister in the energy, more than killing intent, but emotions of hunger and authority. Even as a vampire she felt its chill.

    Asra responded instantly, her natural instincts to hide from sunlight moved her muscles on its own and closed herself within the noon-leather nket. The magic-blocking material was the best ce she could possibly be. But to her own surprise, there was another instinct at y which drove her closer to Jay, the one who protected her all this time. She wouldn¡¯t let it harm him either.

    The thick light passed harmlessly over the skeletons and as it went around the noon-leather it warped like a bubble being squished from one side as it wrapped around. Its presence was suffocating, and she felt like it wanted to cut her off from the worldpletely, detaching all things and leaving her forever alone. She was close enough to Jay to protect his body, but even after this he didn¡¯t awaken. The throne shifted again, but this time, it wasn¡¯t because of the skeletons.

    A shudder spread through the floating ind, sending ripples and smaller waves that stirred up the swamp.

    As the red energy spread through the swamp all sorts of creatures left their mud burrows and fled. Waves ofrger slumbering monsters sped through the waters, all of them ignoring their painful hunger as they made every effort to get away, sliding and mbering over one another. Carnivorous nts curled up and closed their hatches, poisonous flowers and leaves closed and fell off. For once, their next meal was not their top priority. Every instinct was telling them to flee.

    Asra¡¯s face was cloaked in the nket. The red wave had passed, but it wasn¡¯t the end. If anything, it was just a taste.

    An even stronger overwhelming pressure pushed on her back, cold and sinister as it wrapped itself across her body more tightly than the nket, and sank deep into her inner being. Its terror felt like a rope around her neck, inching itself tighter with each passing second.

    She sank to her knees, her hands trembling. She didn¡¯t know what to do, what she could do against a threat she couldn¡¯t even see.

    She fought her body to take the slightest peek, but she couldn¡¯t bear to turn around. Every sense and muscle in her body was telling her to curl up into a ball and die¡ªcertainly not to look back. But against all emotions, she logically made ns, and put them into action, step by harrowing step.

    She took out the bloodpass and peered into its smooth surface, using it like a mirror to catch a glimpse, and she dropped it as soon as she caught sight of it.

    A spire of nothing. It wasn¡¯t merely a ck shadow, it was void. All-consuming, empty and endless. And she could feel its hunger. It wanted her to be a part of it, to marvel at its endless majesty.

    Asra snapped her head down and clutched her body, trying to make herself as small as she could. She didn¡¯t want to utter a word, but the skeletons didn¡¯t move. The throne didn¡¯t even shake¡ªthe skeletons sensed threat, but not fear. They were as happy being here as anywhere else. Asra found it hard to breathe in its presence, but against her own sanity, she called out from the nket.

    ¡°We¡± She took a deep breath, ¡°Need to move.¡± She whispered, but the skeletons didn¡¯t respond.

    Asra peaked up at Jay. Still passed out, though his hairs stood on end. The ind tilted, and the shoreline moved closer.

    ¡°It¡¯s sinking. Red, if you don¡¯t want Bob to drown we have to move.¡± She said.

    Red¡¯s neck creaked as it surveyed their surroundings. Jay had made Asra their navigator after all. Blue¡¯s bones began to twist and creak too as the skeletons had a silent dialogue. The water crept upwards and reached the feet of the skeletons. Logic was on Asra¡¯s side, and it seemed that the skeletons were at least sensitive to that.

    ¡°The ind¡¯s sinking. He¡¯ll die if we don¡¯t leave.¡± Asra repeated, her voice filled with desperation as she called from within the nket.

    Finally the sweetest sound she¡¯d ever heard came to her ears. The bones of all the skeletons began to rattle.

    They epted my order. She thought, quietly breathing a sigh of relief as the throne turned, wobbled, and began a swift march to the bone bridge Jay hadid down.

    Asra¡¯s body still trembled. She couldn¡¯t bear to peek out from under the nket. The fear radiating from the ck spire was still pressing on her, and leaving its presence felt like she was in defiance of a king, as if she¡¯d spit on a royal¡¯s face while their guards held their swords at her neck. Even if the sunlight was burning her to ashes she doubted she would be able to move, and could only rely on Jay¡¯s skeletons.

    After crossing the bridge, she finally lifted herself and huddled near Jay¡¯s legs, a hand on his knee.

    ¡°Bob, wake up. By my hold, Imand it.¡± She said, and her vampiric eyes glowed. But Jay¡¯s eyes remained closed.

    Tears began to well in her eyes, though she didn¡¯t know why. He was just a husk, a useful tool. Her captive and food. How could he be anything more than that? But she wanted nothing more than for him to awaken. He hadn¡¯t just been all those things, he had been more. Not once did he fear her, and even talked to her casually as an equal. It was oddly refreshing.

    ¡°Please.¡± Asra whispered.

    ***

    Jay¡¯s consciousness was lost, his mind separated. Endless darkness engulfed him. He looked down to see that he had no body or hands, then wondered which way ¡®down¡¯ was. He no longer felt a connection to his body, or to the world.

    Yet something about the detachment was so freeing. He knew he had to escape, but he wondered if he wanted to return at all; there was little desire to do anything but rest there, wherever ¡®there¡¯ was. All he had was his thoughts, painful thoughts of struggle and loneliness, but the emotions from them were dulled and already disappearing. But something else became more tangible, something holding his very soul, a strength thaty deeper.

    The words or the immortal book were with him, inscribed on his inner being and holding onto him, keeping his mind in a sense of peace, and perhaps, even love. How could words love him? It was odd, but he epted them. They were a shield against the emptiness, a refreshing river overflowing with cooling waters, a light that could not be hidden as they hemmed in his form, stopping it from dissipating into nothingness.

    Woes offort, escaping the circles, satisfaction and wisdom, rejecting truth for an endless maze of lies. There dwells a monster living in all of us, and to live we walk the endless dance between chaos and order. Jay thought, remembering each lesson. He realized that once he left his body, these lessons had be his only possessions, and now, his only treasures, guarding his soul. He knew some of them urged him to continue, but ultimately it was his choice.

    Jay, and Lannister, were both lost. One in a void of darkness, the other in grief; though there was little difference. Each was as empty as the other, and nothing the world offered could satisfy the endless void they both felt.

    All the prodding from Asra wouldn¡¯t bring Jay back, and all the gentle nudges from Estra wouldn¡¯t be felt by Lannister. Even though she was at his side, they were worlds apart. But even in the darkness of grief, if only one would only look up and open their eyes to search, there remains a flicker of hope, a faint glimmer of warm light calling us home. Do we dare follow it?

    * * *

    ~End of Book One~

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