Chapter 8 - Leveling Up

CLACK! CLAKC! The giant skeleton walked past the corner. He had done that thousands of times, and no one interrupted him.

Thud! Aron lunged from behind the corner, keeping low and striking at the skeleton's left knee.

GROWl! The giant skeleton noticed Aron and swung his sword down, missing him.

CLANG! The sword hit the ground, cracking it and getting stuck.

Aron ducked and swung at the giant's left knee that he was putting forward, "Bones without muscles, our joints aren't the best," He struck him down.

[Swordsmanship] [Level 2] [S-Exp: 2/20]

As the skeleton fell to the ground as his knee shattered, Aron swung his sword up, cutting him across the shoulder.

[Swordsmanship] [Level 2] [S-Exp: 3/20]

And then stabbed down and pierced the back of the skeleton's skull.

[Swordsmanship] [Level 2] [S-Exp: 4/20]

^Before I forget, give me some.^ Aron could see the green flames rushing from the skeleton and to his body, getting sucked into his bones and making them stronger.

[Absorb Dead] [Level 1] [S-Exp: 9/10]

[Necrotic Mana: 19/20] [Level 2] [S-Exp: 1/20]

[Level 3] [Exp: 6/40]

Aron could feel his bone quacking as he leveled up, and this time he didn't need to walk all the way to the guild to see it.

{You have leveled up: Please chose a skill}

[Undead flames] [Speak to Animals] [Draw Cut]

^Three skills, one for me being an undead now, the other is for my tamer class, and the last one is for my sword skill. I already can do a bit in melee, so something ranged would be helpful.

[Undead flames] [Level 1] [S-Exp: 0/10]

Aron then extended his boney hand toward the wall, concentrating, [Undead flames]

SWOSH! A gust of green flames rushed out of his fingertips, charring the wall.

[Necrotic Mana: 18/20] [Level 2] [S-Exp: 1/20]

^So it uses my Mana. Does that mean I will die if I ran out?^ He scratched his skull, sighting without lungs, "Let's level up a bit. I'm sure people outside would try hunting me down. I need to survive until I find a way to turn back into a human...Wait, why would I want that?"

Aron could feel his mind clouding, shaking as he thought about it. "I should try to become a human again...No. Being undead is better...but what about the church..." His head started throbbing, and his bones felt weak, "Forget about it. I will think later when I'm strong enough to survive."

He went deeper into the cave, killing every skeleton he faced.

One week later...

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[Name: Aron of Lostville]

[Level 8] [Exp: 42/300]

[Class: Tamer] [Secondary Class: Necromancer]

[Necrotic Mana: 440/460] [Level 9] [S-Exp: 390/460]

{Skills}

[Tame Monster] [Level 1] [S-Exp: 0/10]

[Swordsmanship] [Level 9] [S-Exp: 450/460]

[Accursed Tendons] [Level 8] [S-Exp: 120/300]

[Necrotic Muscles] [Level 7] [S-Exp: 200/220]

[buried Rest] [Level 7] [S-Exp: 120/220]

[Undead Soul] [Level 4] [S-Exp: 45/60]

{Spells}

[Raise Dead] [Level 1] [S-Exp: 0/10]

[Control Dead] [Level 3] [S-Exp: 10/40]

[Absorb Dead] [Level 9] [S-Exp: 412/460]

[Undead Flames] [Level 6] [S-Exp: 50/140]

[Undead Shapshift] [Level 1] [S-Exp: 0/10]

[Bone Dance] [Level 8] [S-Exp: 165/300]

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Aron rested beside the wall, staring at the ceiling with a smile crossing his lipless face. ^How long have I been here? A few days at least, I'm sure Mary is worried sick. Will she get scared seeing me like this?^

His eyes flashed green. ^I can kill and turn her into an undead.^ He then stopped, punching his own head. ^What the hell was that? Why would I kill her?^

"This is bad. I'm losing touch with reality." He sighed, "Of course, killing her is best,"

CRACK! He smashed his head on the ground, "That isn't it!" CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

"Oh god, bless my soul with the strength to strive. In your name, I shall not waver, so please have mercy on my soul." He looked at the ceiling, "And get the hell out of the death world,"

CRACK! He swung his head down, cracking the ground.

"I better focus on clearing the dungeon. That's why I can keep my mind off anything else," He mumbled to himself, standing up and walking forward.

The dungeon shape quickly shifted from a cave into brick hallways, leading him to a massive gate.

"I heard about those, dungeon boss." He mumbled, looking to the left and right.

Dungeons are living creatures, not structures. The monsters inside protect the creature's organs and digest food for it.

At the start, adventurers raid the dungeon for the monster parts and minerals, but after a while, more of them die inside. The raid's goal shifts to collecting treasures left by previous failed adventurers.

From what Aron saw till this point, he was the only one who got this far into the dungeon as he didn't find any more corpses after the necromancer.

"The boss, should I take him on? I only found medium undead. So he might be weak?" Aron touched the door, "I have a bad feeling,"

He pushed the door open, walking into the darkness with worried steps. ^I might be immortal. But I would die if he killed me.^

CLANG! The door slammed shut, scaring Aron who quickly turned, blasting a fireball at the door.

As the fireball reached the door, it exploded in a magnificent green flare, and he could spot two Giant skeletons standing beside the door.

^I missed,^ He gasped.

CRACK! The ground behind him shattered, and he could sense something massive coming from his right side.

Aron lifted his sword, blocking the surprise attack, and hearing bones crack.

BAM! His body got blasted away, hitting the wall and leaving a mark. When he fell to his knees. The room ignited, and he could see it clearly.

"It's the worse case possible," He growled.

The creature stood on four massive claws, had large bone wings, and two horns coiled back. Its long tail whipped from left and right as it grunted at Aron. The bone dragon stared at him with a red flame burning in his eyes.

Aron stood, seeing the two Giant skeletons rushing to stand beside the dragon. He lifted his sword and swung it around, igniting it with his green flames.

"I already died once. And I have no intention of dying another time." He took a stance.