Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Episode 5
Unfortunately.
The Necromantic Mana I had infused during the fifth trial had dissipated.
If that had been possible, I would have poured in as much Necromantic Mana as I could during these trials and packed the undead full of internal energy.
It seemed the reset—restoring my Necromantic Mana and healing the undead—also erased whatever power I'd infused into them.
It was a little disappointing, but I accepted it.
And while seated in meditation, I controlled the undead.
Undead.
How far can they go?
That was what I wanted to find out.
Since my undead had been able to use the Yang Family Spear Art without trouble.
This time, let's try a formation.
[Three Transformations Spear-Severing Formation is deployed.]
A system message appeared.
At the same time, the three undead raised their spears and took formation.
The lead Gnollberd's halberd came crashing down with monstrous force, but the undead at the center of the formation smoothly moved its own halberd—the one I'd taken from the Gnollberd I killed earlier, since it was better quality than the ratmen's spears—and knocked the attack off course.
Boom!
The gnoll's halberd was knocked off course and slammed into the ground. Naturally, the creature was off balance, and the undead on the right side of the formation smoothly thrust its spear.
That spear bit into the creature's throat like a snake.
Shunk!
"Grrrk...."
The first exchange killed one gnoll instantly.
The two Gnollberds that charged in after it also rushed in bravely, but the result was the same.
"Skree!"
One of the two died instantly.
The remaining one was gravely wounded.
What I learned in the process.
Once the martial formation was active, the system applied a boost.
My control became easier, and the undead's physical abilities increased.
Indeed. So this is how the Dimensional Tower's awakening abilities work?
Well, now. This was interesting.
I looted the halberds and armed the undead, then finished off the one that was gravely wounded and gasping.
The whole exchange was over in the blink of an eye.
-What did I just see?
-Isn't this insane? Isn't this insane? Isn't this insane?
-He killed 3 Gnollberds that easily?
-F-- lololol, I'm so dumbfounded I can only laugh.
-The Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign is the strongest! The Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign is the strongest!
The viewers were going wild.
I could see a new enemy being summoned.
Now. How far can my undead go?
* * *
In the seventh trial, a gnoll unit burst out.
Three carrying halberds. Two carrying shields and swords. And one carrying a bow.
It was enough to make me wonder if anyone could actually clear this.
"SKREEE!"
"Grrrrk!"
They fell like leaves in a gale before my three undead and their spear formation.
And with good reason.
They moved like warriors and knew some martial arts, but their skill was only at the level of third-rate martial artists.
They were nowhere near good enough to face my Walking Corpses, which were using peerless divine arts.
Their halberd work was nothing more than straightforward swings up, down, left, and right.
They had the form, but every move was obvious. They were strong, but they weren't fast.
They had no finesse. That was the problem.
By the principle of softness overcoming hardness, my corpses' spear formation cut them down with ease.
On top of that, I could grant them Necromantic Mana and have them use it like internal energy.
And thus.
I reached the eighth trial, which no one in the world had ever cleared.
From what I'd heard, the gnoll unit I'd just wiped out was similar to what normally appeared on the supposedly uncleared eighth trial.
-Wait, a gnoll unit appears in trial 7?
-Wasn't unit-scale spawns originally trial 8?
-F-X-k, he actually cleared it.
-What the hell is this Three Transformations Spear-Severing Formation?
-Is Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign a god! Is Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign a god! Is Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign a god! Is Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign a god! Is Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign a god! Is Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign a god!
-I heard some places had orc units spawn.
-Just orcs? There are lizardman units too, all sorts of stuff.
-Then why is this trial 7?
What the hell.
Why is the difficulty raised one extra level only for me?
That's too much, system.
This is discrimination!
Or what.
Does this Dimensional Tower recognize that I am a reincarnator?
Well, it could.
I had been a pretty big deal in the martial world in my previous life, but even I couldn't pull off a miracle like the Dimensional Tower.
Even if I'd successfully ascended to immortality, I still wouldn't have been capable of creating something like the Dimensional Tower.
It would not be strange if the creator of the Dimensional Tower knew my past life's personal information.
Anyway, that was how I reached the dreaded eighth trial.
I waited, wondering what would come next.
Then the enemy appeared.
-It's a lizardman!
-But why only one?
-Is Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign heading into uncharted territory?
-Only one makes it even more suspicious?
This time it was not a gnoll but a lizardman.
But instead of a shield, it carried a curved crescent blade.
But I knew the moment I saw it.
This one.
This one knows martial arts quite well.
[Combat begins.]
The creature attacked.
And I saw it.
Tsssss!
A cold gleam clung to the creature's crescent blade!
Blade qi!?
Dimensional Tower, you crazy bastard! You're sending out at least a first-rate or peak-level master here?
-It's a sword-qi skill!
-Crazy! A lizardman using a sword-qi skill?
-Emergeeeency! Aura Blade has appeeeared!
It's not sword qi, it's blade qi, you idiots! Well, what would the viewers know. Sword or blade, it's all the same to them.
While the viewers were making noise, the lizardman's body vanished with a flash of light.
A skill, huh? That was even more surprising than the blade qi.
Pop!
And the creature appeared right in front of my eyes.
Oh! So it's trying to kill me directly, the sorcerer controlling the corpses! Impressive!
Flash!
However.
The creature's crescent blade couldn't cut me; I had shifted slightly aside and let the attack miss.
Tsk tsk.
It could use blade qi and still telegraphed its swings that obviously!
How stupid!
I can dodge that much even while seated!
The creature's expression turned to shock.
In that moment, I extended my hand.
The creature's guard was completely open.
In other words, it was full of openings.
"Necromantic Mana Arrow."
Bang! Bang! Bang! BOOM!
Three black spheres shot from my hand, stretching into long arrow shapes as they flew forward.
The arrows pierced through the lizardman's heart in an instant.
"SKREEE!"
With a scream, the creature became a corpse on the spot.
The eighth trial.
Cleared.
"Today's lesson. If you let your guard down, you go down in one hit."
At my words, the stream chat exploded.
-I damn near pissed myself;;;
-Wait, he dodged that?
-Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign! We must worship him! Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign! We must worship him! Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign! We must worship him! Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign! We must worship him! Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign! We must worship him! Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign! We must worship him!
-Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch! Jiangshi Punch!
-If you let your guard down, you go down in one hit! I shall engrave Corpse-Spirit Martial Sovereign's sage words deep into my heart!
The viewers seemed surprised by what just happened, and their reactions were heated.
The viewer count had already surpassed 2,000.
It was rare for a newbie to draw this many viewers....
Well now.
I'd ended up making quite a flashy debut, even though I'd never expected anything like this.
[You are the first to clear the 8th trial.]
[Bonus rewards are being generated.]
[You may claim the bonus rewards after completing the tutorial.]
Whoooa~.
So I was the first to clear the eighth trial? I had heard rumors that no one had cleared the eighth, but I never imagined it was truly the case.
Lucky me.
I had heard rumors that first-clear rewards were extremely generous.
To think it would turn out like this.
It had blade qi and even a teleportation skill, so no wonder it wasn't easy to beat.
Someone with abundant combat experience and some knowledge of martial arts could take it down, but....
But to think no one had cleared it.
Humanity of this life. I had a pretty good idea of your level now.
It was so dull that I got bored.
Anyway.
Winning while seated in meditation like this won't be easy from here on, will it?
[The next enemy is being summoned.]
The moment I thought it wouldn't be easy, an enemy burst out.
This time, no lizardman appeared.
It was an orc.
But it was not just any orc.
Its body had black skin, and it carried an enormous axe.
Light streamed from both its eyes.
I knew what that was.
A Black Orc!
Orcs originally have green skin. That's why in the West they're nicknamed green skins, right?
But those with black skin like that were said to be a higher species among orcs.
Apparently orcs evolve into that when they age?
So their builds are also larger than ordinary orcs.
It looked to be about 2.2 to 2.3 meters tall.
And the muscles? Thick and burly like a gorilla's.
-F-X-k, that's a Black Orc?
-Crazy, why is that here?
-RIP, Corpse-Spirit Demon Sovereign bro.
-He can't win this.
-The lizardman with Aura Blade and Blink earlier was scary, but this one he really can't beat.
-A rest-in-peace death beam for the Corpse-Spirit Demon Sovereign.
Well, well.
So everyone's already writing my obituary, huh?
In that case. Shall we try something here?
"Everyone's saying I can't win, so how about a bet?"
I watched enough GodTube myself to know how this stuff worked.
For example.
For example, tweak a few channel settings and you could open a betting pool.
I made it right away.
1. He wins. 1 DP
2. He loses. 1 DP
DP is short for Dimension Points. It's a kind of money that can be used inside the Dimensional Tower. And it's extremely useful. It's mainly used to purchase Dimensional Tower items.
The items purchased that way sell for high prices in reality.
It could be called the main source of income for awakened individuals.
It could even be exchanged for cash, though currently it could only be exchanged for US dollars.
Because the United States had conquered the Dimensional Tower to the highest floor.
"For the record, I'm betting my entire tutorial reward on myself winning. Make your picks."
Even if an awakened person had nothing on hand, they could borrow against rewards they'd receive later and stake them here.
It was essentially a line of credit.
-LOLOLOLOLOL a newbie opened a betting board LOLOLOL
-Sensei, you've got confidence, I'll give you that, but impossible is impossible. I'm putting my vote on you losing.
-All in on the favorite! How's a Necro supposed to beat a Black Orc?
"All right, then. Closing the betting now."
And the betting results?
1. He wins. 9%
2. He loses. 91%
Wow, you people are predictable. Then again, a Black Orc really is on another level.
I dusted myself off and stood up.
A Black Orc.
It wasn't the kind of small fry I could kill sitting down, so I got up.
I took up the crescent blade I'd stolen from the lizardman earlier.
And the Walking Corpses were already in the Three Transformations Spear-Severing Formation.
[Combat begins.]
The Black Orc exploded forward in a burst of speed.
I could also see energy rippling on the axe it held.
Axe qi!
Indeed. So this is the uncharted ninth trial!