Seth grasped his hands and released a few times thinking for a second
'I still feel a bit weak, even though I healed'
("You noticed already? Remember what you did utilised your spirit energy, check with the vision.")
He did so and noticed his aura was only slightly fainter than it should normally be.
"It really is weaker… even though the ability used mana as well?"
("Spirit magic is more unique than normal magic in that it consumes your spirit energy as well, though normal magic uses your spirit to construct the sequences it doesn't consume it")
"Normal magic uses spirit?"
("Ehm, well I'll explain that later when I'm going to teach you some spells for now just keep in mind to not haphazardly fire that [Spirit Sword] off because you'll drop to the floor dead tired quickly")
'So not only is it a drain on my mana but also spirit energy, of course such a useful ability won't come easily'
He sighs at how nothing comes without a price in this world before walking over to the fallen guard, bending down he starts to take the armour apart piece by piece before laying the underlying skeleton bare and reaching into the ribcage pulling out the sphere inside.
[Black Essence Core – Dead]
'It's dead? Why… I guess because I stabbed it with [Spirit Sword]? I'll have to avoid that if I want them intact in the future I guess, I don't entirely know the difference, but we'll see after I eat it'
("You collect the cores? Come to think of it I didn't see what you did with the one from the pig, do you have a storage device somewhere?")
Seth inwardly snickered, it appeared the spirit didn't realise what he was about it do.
"As if I'd have something like that, I'd be picking up weapons left and right if I did!"
Without another second passing he once more popped the blood red core into his mouth, once more the feeling of strength surged through his bones towards his core.
("YOU ATE IT?!")
Ignoring Silva's outcry next to him, Seth focused on the messages that sounded in his head.
[Mana Core Consumed]
[Calculating…]
[Mana distributed, Mana and Health recovered]
[Stat increase:
Strength +3
Agility +1
Dexterity +2
Perception +2
Stamina +1
Mana +5]
'Another good bonus, but that thing weas definitely stronger than the royal soldier skeleton yet the stats were lessened, was it because it was 'dead' and not 'dormant'?'
("Good god you really are a monster, aren't you?") Silva couldn't help but scoff slightly after witnessing what he just saw.
Seth just shrugged his bony shoulders.
"Did the walking bag of bones with a core not clue you in?"
("I mean I've never seen a skeleton walk around and talk as much as a human does, so I assumed you were maybe something closer to a human but in the end, I wasn't right I see")
"I don't know what I am honestly, even now I'm feeling I'm learning more about skeletons that I initially thought, do you know I have a sense of touch?"
("Really? How intriguing if all skeletons are like that then that means they may not necessarily be made of human bones but something different… not that it'd be useful to learn or anything but an interesting fact nonetheless")
"Anyway, this guy's armour is decent, so I'll take it!"
He happily started putting on the pieces lain strewn about the floor until he was fully donned in it, it resembled a lighter version of what you'd see from the medieval era pieces it was red with gold trimmings and the crest for the Reverie royal family printed on the chest piece, that along with the square shield and the longsword he has he finally felt equipped for the first time since he woke up.
He put on the helmet which resembled a reverse bucket with some angles and a t slot for his eyes to see and felt the part, although there was a slight problem.
"This really is slightly heavy"
("Well of course, that kind of stuff is used by some of the best trained soldiers you'll have to get used to it")
"There's another solution!"
He quickly remembered he had unused points to use and went ahead and put them to use.
[Strength 23 > 33]
"Much better!"
("Did you just… People usually hesitate to throw their points in to things, but you just went ahead like that… sigh kids…")
"Ah it'll be fine; strength is a useful stat in the first place, and I keep getting outclassed, so I really feel like it's a good idea"
("Well, if you say so")
'Speaking of stats, I haven't checked my status in a while'
[ Name – Seth
Race – Undead [Skeleton (Human)]
Level – 16 (0 points)
Health – 100% Mana – 100%
Current Status - Normal
Titles: Missionary
Stats:
Strength – 33 Perception - 12
Intelligence – 20 Vitality - 17
Agility – 16 Stamina - 24
Dexterity – 12 Mana – 68 ]
[Abilities:
Stubborn Will [Blessing]
Smooth Sailing [Blessing]
Far-Sight
Spirit Sword
Spirit Sense
Spirit Communication
Spiritual Pact (1/1)
Identification
Mana Vision
Life Sense
Lesser Devour
Reinforcement
Reconstruction
Crushing Strike
Core Overclock]
'Looking good so far! I'm already building up a nice set of skills, but that's weird, '[Spiritual Pact 1/1]'? Can I summon more spirits eventually? What are the conditions?
"Hey Silva, has anyone ever had more than one spirit in a pact at one time?"
("Not as far as I know, you'll never need another with me here anyway") The capybara 'hmphed' to display his dissatisfaction, he felt his ability was being doubted.
'Well, not that I can do it anyway that's another thing for the future I guess'
"We should keep on going then I guess, hopefully there aren't any more enemies here like the last, touch wood"
("There's no wood here")
"It's a saying, geez"
They decided to keep going down the long hallway before reaching a crossroad, on the wall there appeared to be a painting but all that was left was a golden frame almost in pieces and barely tatters of the original picture making it unseeable.
"Left, or right?"
("Your choice")
"Left it is then!"
'I know this isn't a maze, but I always go left!'
Carrying on they kept seeing remains of soldiers every now and then, the walls desecrated with marks and broken decorations leaving nothing much intact, they eventually came to a large hall that looked like it had been in a grinder to put it lightly, there didn't appear to be a single piece of wall or floor intact, and many pieces of the upper floors had fallen through leaving barely any area to traverse.
"Looks like left wasn't the right way after all damnit"
They went back the way they came and took the right path; it wasn't too different honestly many of the side rooms they passed were completely destroyed from the inside leaving nothing to find so they kept traversing further into the castle.
Reaching a more closed room near the back end they entered and saw many remains of storage boxes opened or trashed, even further in where parts were seemingly gated off, they were torn from the hinges and rusted away by time.
"Was this one of the treasuries?"
("Could have been, I doubt there's anything left though")
Seth used all his senses, mana, life and spirit to observe the room, but he saw nothing abnormal, he even started to turn over pieces of debris or scraps of metal the survived the test of time to see if he could find a single thing but the only thing he found was a bronze coin that was tucked between two tiles and hidden under a scrap piece of metal.
He couldn't help but grip the familiar designed coin.
'Not only was the castle attacked but it seems they took everything worth more than a penny in this place, whoever 'they' were'
"But was it before or after the whole place fell?"
("What is it?")
"Never mind, just thinking about how this place fell in to such a state"
("It's truly a travesty, though this kingdom wasn't part of the world last time I went to the material plain it's still sad to see such a place become like this.")
"It wasn't? You must be incredibly old then because as far as I know the Reverie kingdom had quite a history"
("Reverie was its name? Interesting.")
"You know something about them?"
("Eh just a nag at the back of my mind it's probably nothing")
'Again, don't mention it if you're not going to share!'
"Whatever, since there's nothing here i'll just go somewhere else, I'm thinking that heading for that massive spire is probably a good idea, if it remained in such good shape after all this then it should have been highly reinforced and protected"
("Good idea, just to forewarn you again I'm fairly sure what I sensed came from the centre of the castle as well so tread carefully")
"Now you tell me?! I thought we'd be able to avoid any more trouble but screw that idea I guess"
("Well I'm still not sure if it's trouble or not, like I said, we'll see")