"Come forth, my little minions." Leon called upon the souls of the now dead millipedes before him. He felt his own soul shake and tremble, and his mana went down as if someone was sipping it from a straw.
The corpses of the two Royal millipedes, and most of the other Ghost Millipede Soldiers around him were suddenly set ablaze! An eerie breeze blew through the tunnel, taking with it the ashes of the burnt corpses, and in place of those corpses, pitch black millipedes were left. The two Undead Royal Millipedes were slightly smaller than before, as was the same with the soldier variants.
Like the loyal summons they were, they clicked their mandibles and waited for Leon's command.
"Well done, master." Nedra complimented as she stepped up beside him. Leon nodded at her, and he could feel a sort of connection that linked her together with the other millipedes snap into place. The same thing had happened with the other Millipedes under his command, and when he asked her, she had told him that it was part of her abilities as a Millipede Queen.
Leon had accepted this response, as it made perfect sense to him. Also, he basically shared Nedra's thoughts, as she was his Spirit Companion, so he could tell that she was not lying to him or holding back any vital information.
With this new group of undead summons at his beck and call, Leon felt much more assured about his safety down here. He called up the status page of the soldiers and royals to see how strong they were.
[Summoning Appraisal]
Race: Undead Royal Millipede
Level: 1
Health Points: 500
Mana: 50
Skills: None
Titles: None.
---
[Summoning Appraisal]
Race: Undead Royal Millipede
Level: 1
Health Points: 350
Mana: 50
Skills: None
Titles: None.
---
[Summoning Appraisal]
Race: Undead Millipede Soldier
Level: 1
Health Points: 350
Mana: 15
Skills: None
Titles: None.
---
The stats of the numerous Undead Millipedes unfolded before his eyes. The Royal Millipedes, as they were quite weak, and were fresh out of the grave, had very low stats. In fact, the normal Undead Millipedes that were currently following him could give them a run for their money! The only thing that would help the Royal and Soldier variants would be the fact that they had a higher starting point. Leon was sure that as they leveled up, their stats would begin to balance out again.
With a nod, Leon set off with his new summons trailing behind him. Before long, they arrived at the cavern that held the dark pit which led to the Obsidian Pool.
"Is there no better way to get down there?" Leon couldn't help but ask when he stared down into the darkness that not even his innate Night Vision could peer through.
"No. My former master intentionally put it down here. He usually descended with the help of a mana disc, but... Your control over mana is still... basic." Nedra replied. After that, she went over the edge and began climbing down.
Leon, meanwhile, had gotten struck by a chord of inspiration. He turned to face Kaladin, and the Obsidian Skeleton Mage immediately understood what his master required of him.
"I do not know if I can successfully form a mana disc, but I shall try." Kaladin bowed his head slightly.
"Don't worry, I will help. If we can't do it, then we can just climb down on our own." Leon assured the loyal mage.
"I forgot to tell you that creating the discs my former master did requires an expertise in Barrier Magic." Nedra's voice drifted up from the pit, freezing Leon and Kaladin in place.
If Leon had an eyebrow, he was sure it would be twitching rapidly right now. He could feel the amusement from Nedra bleeding into the mental connection that they had, and he could tell that she did not expect him to be able to form a mana disc right now.
"Let us just climb down. We can work on it later." Leon sighed and gave in. He summoned a couple of his Undead Millipedes and he and Kaladin held onto one each as the millipedes climbed down the pit, submerging them into darkness.
The climb was very slow, and only after about twenty minutes did they finally reach the bottom of the pit. That just went to show how quickly Leon had fallen back then. He felt a chill run down his exposed spine as he thought of how his skull could have shattered into pieces if his Durability was any lower.
Nedra waited for them to reach the bottom, and once there, the group made their way through the tunnel at the bottom of the pit that led to the Obsidian Pool. As they walked, smaller High Grade Mana Crystals began to appear, lighting up the way.
"Here we are." Leon said when the group eventually reached the cavern with the Obsidian Pool. When he examined it, he noticed that the pool that had partially dried up after his usage of it seemed to have been 'refilled'.
Nedra noticed his confusion and chose to explain.
"My former master had placed the Obsidian Pool down here not because he was trying to hide it, but mostly because he needed a power source for it. The source of its power is the special cavern with the runic inscriptions that I took you to last time, and after the pool is used, all it needs to do is draw power from the inscription to refill itself." She said as she walked around the pool.
"Oh, I see." Leon nodded as he rubbed his bony chin. "Well, let us begin." He looked around and summoned all of his max level Undead Millipedes. He directed them to enter the Obsidian Pool, and the moment they all did, the pool shone with a dark light. They had begun their race advancement!