Over the course of the next few moons, the three made good progress blocking the undead and getting stronger. They couldn't get any new skills by absorbing undead, but all three now had at least one stat above 100. If they were human it would take time to adjust to this rapid increase in power, but as half-spiritual entities their ability to adapt was outstanding even among the world's myriad races. This was because they were more in tune with their souls so their software could quickly get used to the upgraded hardware.
Furthermore, though Ein and Jeanne weren't able to increase the level of any of their skills, their fighting abilities improved as their the daily experiences they piled up. While humans were known for their talent, these three grew at an even faster pace now that they weren't human. However, Brad was obviously the most impressive of the bunch since he was able to unlock two new skills.
[Hand-to-hand combat (Rare)
The pinnacle of standard unarmed combat techniques.]
[Fortify (Rare)
The body is as hard as the user can imagine it.]
These skills were common for brawlers like Brad, but both were signs that one was an expert in fist fighting. Especially Hand-to-hand combat since it was a requirement for one to take the next step in becoming a martial master.
One 'day', the three were facing another group of invaders but this group was different from the rest. Not only were there more of them, there was also one who was stronger than any they had faced before.
While leaving the strongest one to Brad, Jeanne and Ein took care of the undead warriors that followed it. Unlike when he fought them for the first time in front of his master, Ein danced gracefully as he beheaded and bisected his foes.
His movements as he went from parrying a blade to slicing through a neck were so smooth that it seemed as if the undead warriors were offering themselves to him. His swordsmanship was now leagues above what it was like when he was still human, but this could be inferred just from the change in skill description.
[Swordsmanship (level 4) (Rare)
One who has stepped on the path to becoming an expert in the art of the sword.]
The level of the skill seemed lacking when compared to the levels of Jeanne's magic skills, but despite being only a rare skill, the potential of swordsmanship could it take to epic rank.
For better reference, the current strongest swordsman had only reached level 9 and level 4 was enough for Ein to become an accomplished knight.
'Hehe, how ironic.'
Ein remembered wanting to be a rich and popular knight when he was human, but it was only after he died that he got this strong.
'Or maybe it's because I'm no longer human.'
As he was distracted by random thoughts, Ein allowed an undead to creep up behind him, but he still effortlessly stabbed the undead despite not facing it. However, as he pulled out the sword and confronted an incoming blade, the stabbed undead remained standing. After all, while not as tenacious as normal zombies, undead warriors wouldn't die just from a stab through the chest.
It held its sword up to cut down Ein, but just as its arms were raised, an almost imperceivable swing from Ein cut off everything above its shoulders. By now there were less than five undead left before him, but he heard a sneer from behind.
"Hmph, disgraceful. I can't believe you're taking so long against opponents like these."
It was nothing strange for Jeanne to get on his case, but he still grimaced.
'Ugh, when he comes back I need to ask master if he can split us up because I cannot deal with her constant nagging.'
Taking a glance to his left, he noticed that there was only ash left of the ones that served as Jeanne's foes so he couldn't say anything to get back at her either.
'Tch, I'll hurry up so she can stop bothering me.'
Ein kicked back an undead warrior and then returned his sword to its sheath while keeping his hand on it. Ein entered a sword drawing stance and as if lured in, the undead warriors surrounded him and attacked all at once. But at the same time as they were about to swing down, Ein swung three times and cut them all into pieces. These three swings were so fast, a sudden wind blew around him at the same time as the diced-up undead fell.
"Took you long enough."
Without much time to celebrate his victory, Jeanne said her comment. After sheathing his sword again, Ein glared at her as he walked towards her.
"Can't you stop complaining? It's not like he's finished either."
"That's because his opponent isn't as weak as ours. Hmph, what a stupid excuse."
Ein tried to come up with something else to say but after losing to her in a war of words too many times before, he learnt how to just give up. While standing beside her, Ein watched the battle between Brad and the skeleton knight.
"Do you think he can win?"
"Of course."
Ein raised an eyebrow at her immediate answer and went on to ask with a playful smile, "Are you sure that's not just your feelings talking?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm just wondering if you still have feelings for him. Like when you were human."
Before responding, Jeanne looked at Ein like she couldn't believe he could utter such stupidity, but luckily for him he didn't notice it.
"...I do remember loving him when I was human, but I can't really feel like it was me. It was as if I was watching from a third person perspective, as if I was just a spectator in my past life. It should be same for you, right? Unless you still want to sneak into my draws."
Ein's expression briefly showed disgust but he quickly got rid of it when glared at by Jeanne's cold eyes. Once she saw him pretending like it didn't happen while whistling, she sighed in exasperation before continuing.
"The only love I feel now is for master, though it may not be the same. And so when I say that I believe he can win, it's because I know he's strong enough."
Brad was focused on the enemy in front of him, but he still had enough leeway to notice that the other two were finished with their targets.
'I should hurry up then.'
The skeleton knight was an armoured skeleton riding a bony horse with black iron plates. Normal logic couldn't be applied to these creatures so it wasn't strange that the skeleton knight could swing a sword half as big as it was despite lacking muscles. And it also wasn't strange that Brad could dodge and block the broadsword wielded by the skeleton knight despite the difference in height and mobility.
Brad could dodge its wide swings that went 'whoosh~' like fierce winds by predicting its simple movements. While undead at its level would have a decent amount of intelligence, it couldn't compare to the cunning of humans.
However, its power was still a threat that should blow Brad's upper body apart even if he was tougher than before. The only reason why Brad could stay standing after being hit by heavy blows which he couldn't dodge, was due to Fortify.
In theory, Fortify had no limit on how hard the body could be, but it had very strict requirements on imagination so most could only become as hard as rock. And something like common rock would still shatter before the skeleton knight. But despite only recently obtaining it, Brad had already taken it a step further. While others would think of rocks or metals as references, Brad remembered the scales of the Forest Dragon. Dragon scales, which were said could only be overcome by the most legandary of weapons.
"Grraa!!"
Brad narrowly evaded the skeleton knight's diagonal slash, but had to block the upswing that came at him. Though sudden, Brad was only pushed a few steps back before stopping.
"Fuu~, I guess training stops here."
Even without Fortify, Brad would have been fine with Spirit Form despite its cooldown time, but he was obsessed with getting his Fortify to catch up with the image he had.
'Even though I should know it won't be that easy.'
Brad shrugged his shoulders before getting into an offensive stance and waving his hand at the skeleton knight. It couldn't talk, but it had enough intelligence to see this as a taunt, so it screeched with an ear-piercing voice and rushed towards him.
This time, Brad stood firm to confront the charging horse with his fist tightly clenched at his waist. Any normal person would be sure that Brad wouldn't be able to stop a charging horse, even if it was just bones. However, Brad was not occupied by such a reality.
"Grraa!!!"
"Ha!"
In the collision of man vs horse, Brad won. His straight punch slammed into the head of the horse and not only smashed its head, the skeleton knight was also blown away as its ride was wrecked.
When Brad used the reinforcement technique, he wasn't super fast like Ein nor was his fist covered with a faint light like his master, but his explosive boost in power was above both of theirs.
"Graaa...?"
While he wouldn't mind another round, Brad decided to put a swift end to this battle. Before the skeleton knight could regain its wits, he walked over and crushed its skull with his foot.