"Why is this staff suddenly...?" Skullius said as he looked at the staff and the numerous notifications he was receiving from the guidance field.
The light of Null Life Essence that was coming from the staff surprised him.
How was this staff doing this?
On the other hand, Skullius couldn't help but eye the numerous points of Null Life Essence that were calling to him.
Absentmindedly, he spoke.
"Yes. Extract it."
Instantly, from all the nearby goblins from which Skullius saw the notifications, the light of Null Life Essence flew through the air and headed towards him, penetrating his body!
Skullius felt the energy seep in, and felt a blissful sense of excitement and satisfaction.
He immediately checked how much Null Life Essence he had and saw...
360!
An additional 140 points of Null Life Essence had been extracted from the goblins that had just kicked the bucket.
Even with the excitement he felt, however, Skullius couldn't help but wonder what was going on.
The activation of [Null Extraction] in this form had never happened before. He usually had to be closer to extract it.
What had changed?
The answer lay in his hand.
The staff.
'This staff manipulates mana. What does that have to do with Null... wait!' Skullius thought.
First, he checked the range from which he had been able to extract the Null Life Essence. He had effectively seen tens of notifications for goblins that were even more than a hundred meters away!
When his thoughts reached this point, the only thing he could attribute this to was his [Basic Mana Manipulation]!
When it was still [Mana Sense] at its peak, this skill had a range of a hundred meters. After it evolved, Skullius noticed that the range increased, but by no more than 20 meters. What he gained was the ability to sense the mana in his range more effectively and to manipulate it at a basic level.
His extraction of Null Life Essence from this range was probably related to this skill, but then again... this wasn't mana. It was Null Life Essence.
Skullius looked at Red Rage, the short figure turning to him as it scratched its skull.
"Could it be because of my class...?" Skullius questioned himself as he pulled up his guidance field.
Fortunately, he could still see the explanation for the class he chose.
~~~
[Vehement Bone Nullmancer]
The one who harnesses the power of Null Life to enhance his connection to mana, solidifying his mastery of the world alongside his followers of the void that hold world-shaking power. He who chooses to walk this path will conquer kingdoms after...
~~~
"Harnessing the power of Null Life to enhance my connection to mana..." murmured Skullius.
His Null Life and mana had a connection, it seemed. Perhaps this staff had helped him enhance his [Basic Manipulation Manipulation]'s sensory of mana, and in the process, increased his capacity to draw Null Life Essence from a distance?
That seemed to make some sense, right?
As long as he had the staff, he could use [Null Extraction] from a wide range.
"Whatever! As long as I can mine...I mean harvest Null Life Essence like this, then there's no need to hesitate," Skullius barked mildly.
He looked at the moulded steps that descended into the chaos below.
It didn't seem like his existence had been made known to all those goblins.
Skullius looked at the terrain as he determined which route he should take to maximise his gains. It was dangerous, but he didn't plan to fight in the open if there was a chance that he would be ganged up on.
Just imagining all the living creatures in the area pausing their war, staring at him as he lost his stealth, and collectively crying out "Kill it with fire!", shook him.
That wouldn't happen, right?
Given that his presence was essentially null, he could just move quickly and harvest in peace.
He would grow to give this term its rightful name in the future.
After descending down the steps, the huts made a crudely arranged collection which began ten meters away ahead.
While some were set alight, with many goblins battling it out in open spaces, Skullius thought it probably wouldn't be difficult to defeat the weaker ones he saw before they could raise their voices in alarm.
"Okay, Red bro. You go first and create a path for me. You're faster. All you have to do is..."
Skullius explained to Red Rage how he wanted him to move. Sure, he could simply send his thoughts, but it somehow made him feel... lonely to do that.
He surmised that moving together with his Apostle would have more chances of attracting attention even in this chaos. The fighting was mostly populated at the very centre of the settlement with everywhere else simply having sparsely populated brutal altercations.
Red Rage was adorned in multiple sets of crude leather armour on his upper torso. It was better than the earlier animals skins that he had been wearing and for Red Rage, it would take a keen look for any goblin to identify him as an undead.
"Go, my bro," said Skullius. "And also...keep some alive for me!"
It was abundantly clear to Skullius from the first killings he had made that all experience was awarded to the one who landed the final hit. He hoped his greedy hog understood that basic concept and what it entailed.
Red Rage first picked up his bow and arrows which had been procured from the corpses of the fallen.
The short Bone Boar nocked two arrows under the shocked gaze of Skullius.
He pulled back and loosened, the arrows shooting through the air before they shot through two unsuspecting goblins that were in a heated battle.
The goblins died instantly, and Red Rage bolted down the steps, killing those that were close to seeing what he was as well.
"So much for 'leave some for me'. I guess there's not much experience there anyway," mumbled Skullius.
[Apostle 'Red Rage' has awakened 'Basic Bow Mastery']
"Great," Skullius said with zero tone of happiness or surprise. He swiped the notification away in annoyance.
This damn [Blessing of Serenity]...
He watched his Apostle skittle across the ground and reach a mud hut.
The Bone Boar balled his hand into a fist and punched the wall, breaking through it without much effort.
Skillius immediately rushed down the steps and headed to where Red Rage had made him an entrance.
Upon entering, Skullius saw five goblins that wore terrified expressions as they huddled together. They looked at him and Red Rage, evidently unable to move from the shock of having undead suddenly burst into their hiding place - one that was safe from the ruthless Black Scorn goblins... for now.
"Oh, free kills," said Skullius jovially as he pulled out his steel sword and slashed away at the heads of all the goblins.
The experience he gained was very small in comparison to the figures he had been seeing before - barely 200 in total - but it was better than nothing.
Skullius went up to the other side of the wall and punched it, creating a small hole to look through.
He saw the many green goblins he was used to seeing get killed mercilessly and wielded his staff once more.
It ignited with the Null Life Essence and almost fifteen notifications about Null Life Essence ready for the taking appeared before him.
Skullius greedily accepted and watched the light that only he and Red Rage could see at this moment, burst from multiple bodies and reach him.
Soon, he had 640 Null Life Essence Points resting in his guidance field!
"I still have to wait for the cooldown for [Unbound] to end before I can use it though," Skullius said.
In any case, the harvest here was done.
"Let's go somewhere else," he said to Red Rage, the Apostle did the same thing as before.
Red Rage peeked from the hut and sniped the goblins that were in sight before rushing into a hut that was a bit further into it the settlement.
Skullius followed and entered as well, this time not finding anyone inside.
He punched a hole through the wall again to get a better view.
'What's that?!' he thought.
In the distance and all around, stronger goblins were battling it out.
However, what caught his eye the most, was the picture of three strong looking figures that were illuminated by the roaring flame which danced behind them...