I mash my spirit in frustration, this guy played me. It makes sense now the separation! He must have seen me die already and choose to save what he can of himself. The time I have remaining, I can either wait for someone who is immune to Decimation which is basically impossible in a low-level undead area like the maze. To throw away my Immortality is a risk I am not prepared to make. Resurrection is a key method of undead ranking up, I know of no other method. Being able to move between bodies is key But I really don't have another choice I could be stuck here for years maybe even forever.
Desecrating my own spirit is all can do this will limit me to one life but I do it. I just have to get a golden ticket or two maybe some power stone. The golden ticket will be the hardest to get as they are only rewards at the Undead Academy in Moribund. This academy was created after the undead we subjugated by a demon lord since then no undead lord or higher has been under the control of the living person demon or otherwise. Power stones are the other hand could come in handy as they are consumables that can boost base stats, perform out of class skills and do other useful things like temporarily changing ones element.
With the crack on my bones starting to show I get to work Desecrating myself. The heart-shaped souls stone responds to the combination of both spiritual and magically energies. I peel myself I never thought spirits could feel pain how wrong I am. It feels exactly like peeling my skin with a potato peeler. I even have to force harder to make sure the soul stone twists the way I want. It is a complicated shape If I'm going to experience pain there is little else that can make it worse. The shape I go for is one I saw. One of the most feared Dread Lich to ever live. Way before my time Merlin the Dread Lich created a completely original magic pathway.
Normal magic pathways form over time on the undead and allow them to eventually use magic. What he did was to throw this out the proverbial window and built a new structure that concentrated all the Magic pathways in the skulls. That is why when you usually destroy an undead you have to destroy the head. They all for the most use a lesser version of Merlins' pathways. I was a Paladin who had performed great deeds have seen Merlins' Necrobic and have a firm grasp on what and why he designed it, I of course am going to alter them. Firstly fuck Merlin when I had read his Necrobic I was trapped in limbo for ten years. It might have only been a second in-game but it felt like ten years. This is why I am intimately familiar with his theorise. Limbo is his personal hellscape built to allow him to experiment endlessly. Created to harvest the souls of the innocent and power the Neocropilus a flying Warmachine that has been lost over the ages.
I start with the crown setting expanding it, I plan to fill it with another soul gem preferable of a high ranking entity. Where the soul stone will sit Soulstone tendril run like horns from my brow up. Similar smaller jagged points encircle my head. At the back directly opposite to the crown setting is the support setting. This travels down my head into my spine in future it will grow as I grow eventually forming a frame that encapsulates my skeleton structure. This ties me to this body and I will have to strengthen it bit by bit. If Only I could be a Bonesmith but it is incompatible with skeletons, we can use other methods.
The third setting is inside my skull where most of my Soul Stone Surrounding my spirit essence which has been corrupted with Decimation. I weave a series of seals using the very structure of the soul stone to replicate a self-perpetuating seal. This should allow me to use it at will turning into a weapon.
[!!!Fors struggling against your fate ????? awards his blessing]
[Title Earned: Rising Horseman]
-?????? is impressed by your fortitude. They have chosen you as their candidate to become the fifth horseman. This is a great honour for you.-
-Decimation Sealed by ??????-
[Error divine intervention]
-Decimation is unable to sealed-
A hand made of bone covered in a golden light reaches into my head and inserts something. I can't perceive it but I know it's there a device that connects to my essence directly.
[New Input detected, updating system settings...]
[Error Divine Intervention]
[You are cursed!]
[Input registered System updated]
-Decimation will now convert to death touch-
I'm am perplexed by what I just saw as the system through blow by blow commentary on those pulling the string of my fate. It seems I was right there is more than one God concerned with my fate. Originally my reason for trying to control Decimation is because it acts like a curse. So if Decimation kills I don't experience points.
By the time I am done, I'm a hollow shell of a Skeleton. I look like a person who moved one peacefully and their bones never once enjoyed the embrace of unlife. I never thought that as a Lifeless one I would be bound to a skeleton.
I sit up tired I'm running low on Magic power, it makes my thinking fuzzy. My vision is exactly like that of a normal skeleton. Which is to say poor and pathetic I open a specific skill window
[Character Information]
Name: /⋋⋤⋽Pluto Young?
Title: Rising Horseman
Level: 0
Rank:[1]
Type: Skeleton [F]
Exp: 0/10
HP: 118
MP:118
[Basic Stats]
Strength:1
Vitality:1
Intelligence:1
Focus:1
Dexterity:1
Luck:2
[Skills]-
Death Touch - level 1
[Passives]
-Sealed Decimation - ??????
-Domination- Control spirit -
-Desecration- Reconstruction-
-Dread- Threat Generation + 100%
[Resistance]
n/a
[Weakness]
Holy Damage - 400%
Blunt force - 200%
[active illness]
Brittle bone syndrome - [-150% to physical damage]
I have never heard of a Rising Horseman, the four that exist already are demigod tier monsters. Kletis used to have one as a servant. I never knew what happened to it but without it, I was able to conquer him. The Horseman are mythical in the undead ranks this will allow me to attend the academy in Moribund. That is the only requirement for admission is to be the holder of a title. It could be troublesome at my current rank as most undead are usually rank 5 before they become a titleholder. Who cares about other undead this is my path to power. The rewards will allow me to rise and conquer the world. Also of added benefit is that the Title gives me exponential growth which is not explained but my health and magic have increased by 18% that is a huge boost instead of a hundred so I can infer the rest like strength increase. Then there is my one and only skill. Death touch works as a sure kill skill but when my enemies have only one per cent health remaining. this is an amazing skill later on.
I need to investigate my strength without a cure for my brittle bone syndrome I will do close to zero physical damage. Shit, as a level zero I don't even have any skill trees open yet, I have to kill ten monsters on the second floor where I will have a disadvantage. As lifeless I'm affected by consecrated grounds even unholy ones. This is a quirk from the war between Undead and Lifeless but that is long over and most undead have a fair impression of Lifeless ones. Looking around the tunnel I wonder what happens if I go further as a Lifeless I should be immune to the Shade Stealer that lives there. These low-level ghosts are only after the living. I wander the damp tunnel it is filled with what I can only hope is some kind of liquid ectoplasm. Otherwise, I'm walking in Shade Stealer shit. I look at the bottom of my foot it has a huge hole where some of this muk has settled.
I still have a way to go so there is little to no point in cleaning it out. The walk is lonely I am debating with myself which is better to do. When I get to level one I can choose any of the three skills trees based on my paths. Of course, given where I am it makes a lot of sense to get Domination. By unlocking it I will get one Domination slot. I can then capture one of the Shade Stealers, or rather I can only dominate spirits for now given my low rank and level. The problem is that I'm not sure how to spread my stats then because I will not be involved in direct combat. This sounds appealing to me but also risky depending on the type of ghost I get its ability to possess a physical being like a zombie or ghost will depend on my luck and focus. In the early stages, I can grow this way build up a ghost army. Plan B is to choose the Desecration path and try and fight the corrupted meat bags. The problem with either plan is that it doesn't give me a clear way to get to level one.
I freeze standing deathly my luck can't be that good. In front of me is a Ferry Moth. The Black and gold dust coming off its body means it has a soul in it. The Ferry Moths act as guides for Souls at rests sometimes a Ferry Moth will accidentally Ferry a restless soul. This causes the Ferry Moth to suffer eventually killing it and the soul. The process after this is rather complicated but if I can kill it it will definitely have enough experience to help me level up. Two souls for the price of one. Ferry moths are extremely skittish especially towards the undead who often feed on souls.