6. Good News (6)
6. Good News (6)
- Dalkak.
"What am I going to do? I've already decided."
- Dalkak!
According to the knowledge dwelling in my mind, there were a total of four ways for a necromancer to utilize the corpses of enemies obtained in battle.
The first was to completely melt the entire body of a dead human, refine it with mana through fate, and then feed it to the dungeon core to increase the mana available for constructing the dungeon.
The second was to sacrifice everything, including equipment and soul, and convert it all into 'coins' that could be used to purchase various goods.
And the third was to subjugate the corpse itself or its soul to use as soldiers, a technique of the necromancer themselves.
The fourth was to use parts of the corpse as material for strengthening existing soldiers.
Among these, the second method could also be used by dungeon lords of other lineages, but the rest were methods exclusive to undead-type dungeon lords.
Of those, the one I intended to use first was the last method, which hadn't existed in MLD 1.
Perhaps, with the passage of time, the necromancy within the world of MLD had evolved as well.
"Let's see... 「Sacrifice Appraisal」."
Following the knowledge that surfaced in my mind, I manipulated the mana of the dungeon core, which had been idly overflowing within my body.
A small sphere of billowing black mana, wreathed in leaping purple lightning, floated up above my palm.
I grasped the sphere, burst it, then spread the remnants wide and moistened my eyes with them.
『Name - Jack Miller』
『Job & Grade - Apprentice Warrior』
『Attributes - Stamina 12, Technique 6, Endurance 8, Magic Power 4, Resistance 5』
『Traits - Explosive Power』
『The remains of an adventurer warrior possessing abilities good for his grade. The physical body is of superior quality.』
『The head has been severely damaged, so if used as a sacrifice for undead, the grade will be lowered or abilities cannot be fully expressed.』
When I raised my eyes and looked at Jack's corpse, the information he possessed in life surfaced in my mind like memories, and simultaneously a message window appeared before my eyes.
It might look shabby compared to the stats my skeleton possessed, but this warrior's stats were certainly high by the standards of novice adventurers I knew.
Even setting other things aside, looking at Stamina 12 alone, it was a stat value that could easily cover about three basic dungeon units.
All the more so because, unlike basic dungeon entities, it wasn't strange for novice adventurers to have one or two traits from the start.
Probably, if Lemia hadn't let herself be distracted by the goblin zombie, she could have stalled my soldier sufficiently.
Of course, if they had completely ignored the goblin zombie, I would have controlled it and held a knife to Sonia's throat.
『Name - Remiah Olas』
『Job & Grade - Apprentice Archer』
『Attributes - Stamina 8, Technique 10, Endurance 6, Magic Power 12, Resistance 6』
『Traits - Moonlight Capture』
『The remains of an adventurer archer possessing abilities good for her grade. Both physical body and soul are of superior quality.』
『Almost no damage.』
'So she was an archer, not a rogue or hunter.'
I had thought of her that way since she used a crossbow and daggers, but it seemed to have been a choice of equipment for convenience after all.
Lemia's stats were somewhat better than even Jack's.
『Moonlight Capture - Increases both critical hit chance and critical hit damage of thrown objects or projectiles that hit the target.』
The one trait she possessed was purple, hero-grade.
If I had to put it in words, it was a stat total reaching the level of a slightly clumsy, full-fledged adventurer, beyond the apprentice level.
Right now, if her unusable Magic Power stat was removed, Jack's side was overwhelmingly superior, but given a little more time to grow further or to serve a master and learn to handle magic, she could pull her weight anywhere she went.
'If the enemy hadn't been my skeleton, she would have returned alive normally.'
Such a talented person dying so futilely must have been like humanity losing a promising prospect.
If this was the average spec of novice adventurers these days, the battles to come might be a little more arduous.
Though the quality of the 'spoils' obtained after battle would rise accordingly.
In MLD 1 as well, corpses of people who 'possessed abilities good for their grade' had an increased chance of receiving a title when made into undead, so how outstanding their abilities were compared to the average was more important than how strong they were when alive.
Of course, since cases that possessed both were common, there was no need to pay it that much mind.
Cases of good fortune, like these ones right now, were rare.
"Come here."
- Tak.
I decided to use one of those high-quality spoils first—on my first soldier.
As if knowing what was about to happen, the skeleton knelt on one knee before me and bowed naturally. His attitude was still knight-like, a satisfying sight.
Receiving fealty from one with such a wonderful attitude, it made me feel as if I had truly become a person of high standing—if I had to put it that way.
I proceeded with strengthening him using Jack's corpse.
"「Sacrifice Strengthening」."
『Entity - Conducting strengthening on the Nameless Perfect Skeleton Swordsman using the corpse of 'Jack Miller'.』
Sswaak!
With the activation of the necromancy, the expected black mana covered the corpse, and the corpse melted into a state between liquid and gas, part of it disappearing into the ground, part moving to permeate my soldier.
The work of using the corpse of an excellent person as material to further strengthen my excellent soldier.
What result would that bring about?
『The Stamina and Endurance of the Nameless Perfect Skeleton Swordsman have increased by 1.』
『'Jack Miller's' 'Explosive Power' has been inherited by the Nameless...』
I did not need to wait long to find out about him.
『Title/Entity Name - Perfect Skeleton Swordsman』
『Attributes - Stamina 13, Technique 15, Endurance 11, Magic Power 12, Resistance 13』
『Traits - Specialization: Swordsmanship, Explosive Power』
『Explosive Power - During combat, can exert attack power of Stamina +100% value in a single necessary strike.』
"Excellent... truly."
My soldier, who from the start had specs that made it hard to believe he was a skeleton who had never undergone a single promotion.
Though it was only one 'black' trait, it was correct to consider that he, now with another trait added, had become at least one level stronger than he was before.
By MLD 1 standards, for an ordinary skeleton to subdue my current soldier, at least twenty would have to hang on to him.
And that, under the premise of keeping casualties under five with excellent direction.
"Want to test it out?"
Coincidentally, there was a good subject to test the trait on.
It was the small iron shield Jack had possessed, but the shield was plastered with various markings and symbols, whether as Jack's hobby, making it impossible to sell in that state.
Converting it to coins didn't care whether it was intact or broken anyway.
- Tak!
Shwiik - !!
The soldier clashed his jawbones together once, hard, then approached the shield, and gripping the bastard sword's hilt with both hands, thrust it powerfully toward the exact center of the shield's face.
A straight-line trajectory, created by the red light that had wreathed the bastard sword, appeared and then vanished.
Kwakang - !!
He executed the attack without hesitation while approaching, in a posture not well-suited for concentrating power, and without taking any extra time.
And yet, the iron shield that was the target of the attack split apart with surprising ease.
Clap, clap, clap.
"Satisfactory. Congratulations. That's a good ability."
It was tremendous power.
If such an attack were possible at any time, shields below a certain level would truly hold no meaning whatsoever.
Though shields were typically weapons focused more on deflection than direct impact, even taking that into account, it was remarkable.
A shield partially reinforced with iron was split so easily; a wooden shield would struggle to endure it.
That could also serve as an advantage over adventurers who formed a frontline and tightened their defense with ordinary shields.
Perhaps Jack, lacking in magic power, had kept such an attack simply as a hidden trump card. And then, hadn't he lost his life due to a momentary mistake, without even a chance to display his ability?
In my soldier's case, since he possessed far more overwhelming ability, the key point was that he could execute the same attack any number of times within the same duration, so there was no need to be overly sparing with it.
- Dalkak!
A feeling of satisfaction was conveyed from the fellow, who had seen the work he himself had accomplished.
"Now, then..."
For a while, I shared joy like that, tapping the fellow's arm, then turned my attention to the second harvest.
Lemia's corpse still had the dagger lodged in her heart.
The dagger's hilt protruding from beneath her left chest, and the blood that had flowed down and hardened. Her face was deathly pale, and her deliberately closed eyelids and lips were already dry and cracked.
The feeling of looking at a corpse was still unpleasant, but perhaps because I had already adapted, it wasn't so horrific that I couldn't bear to look, and it merely felt unsightly as a dead body.
That, rather, gave rise to an unpleasant feeling—as if I had taken one step closer to being a monster myself—but it would probably be best to grow more accustomed to such emotions.
"「Summon: Skeleton」."
Tseutseutseu...!
Without waiting further, I drew up power and chanted the established activation word, and a displeasing sound, like a snake crawling, spread outward.
The mana that covered Lemia's corpse was seen to instantly 'peel' her body away, leaving only bones in its place.
The flesh, internal organs, and so on all dissolved blackly and disappeared through the dungeon's floor.
It was not that the excess was extinguished—it had been converted to mana and absorbed into the dungeon. The part of Jack that had seeped into the ground earlier was also the same effect.
- Dalkak.
A moment later, what remained in that spot was the being that had been Lemia, now standing there as white bone.
A body less clean than my original soldier, with bloodstains still present and bits of flesh clinging to it, and Soldier No. 2, possessing a less oppressive presence.
As I looked at the new skeleton, one fact drew my curiosity even before assessing her strength.
My first soldier, whom I had simply been thinking of as 'he' until now. His—no, her—skeletal structure looked very similar to the new skeleton's.
"You... were a woman?"
It was the moment I properly realized a fact I had only been guessing at, having seen the slender bone structure until now.
- Dalkak.
The fellow simply displayed no emotion or reaction, utterly nonchalant. I looked at that face for a moment, then confirmed Lemia's information.
The fact that the child I had been unconsciously relying on, being so dependable, had been female in life was intensely intriguing, but this was important right now.
『Title/Entity Name - 'Delicate' Skeleton』
『Attributes - Stamina 6, Technique 11, Endurance 3, Magic Power 8, Resistance 5』
『Traits - Member of Necropolis』
"Hmm."
The first things that caught my eye were the attributes, which had been reduced by anywhere from 1 to half their living values, and the trait column, now empty except for the one she'd received from me.
There was no need to be disappointed.
In truth, I hadn't even expected a title, and just bringing over the Technique along with a title was a great achievement in itself.
Moreover, the lost traits would remain as potential. Probably, if raised as an archer or tracker, the possibility of them returning was high.
Since her Magic Power stat was still high, even if she later gained the power of another species, she might be able to learn one or two more support spells, or even be promoted as a mage outright, so there was no need to be disappointed here at all.
'So this is an ordinary... no, a slightly good skeleton.'
No, truthfully, I had almost been a little disappointed.
It seemed my standards had risen somewhat in the meantime, because the soldier I originally had was so strong.
"Here, these are your weapons."
- Dalkak.
After thus entrusting the skeleton who had been Lemia with the crossbow she had used in life and two daggers,
I looked at my first skeleton again.
To address one unresolved matter I had suddenly realized.
"Come to think of it, I hadn't even decided on a name for you."
It was precisely about her name.