When a group of people, monsters, animals, floating eyeballs… what have you, need to go somewhere. There is always a choice of transportation. Whether it be riding, flying, or outright breaking reality to get to a place faster. But not everyone is satisfied with the available transportation options.
For example, I am currently sitting atop a floating monstrous undead bat thing, relaxing upon some nice leather padding I had placed atop its back.
Moving a little bit, I look to my sides, finding several more of my flying minions flying alongside me, keeping within formation with my own mount in the center. It's amazing really how overpowered undead in a dungeon really are. No sunlight to slowly make them decay nor any signs of stamina exhaustion. They are the literal perfect mounts.
But even so, with flight and unlimited stamina, barely any distance is actually being moved.
I lean over, looking down towards the ground.
Leading our procession is the most powerful of the Gejada kind, Zorren, the [Berserker]. When I had mentioned that we could fly to our destination significantly faster, the man had taken one look at my undead and stated that he will walk.
Next to him is my trusted mule, walking mindlessly forward while Jessica holds tightly to the side of the undead.
Jessica, finding that Zorren refused to fly, took the opportunity to walk alongside him, stating clearly that she would rather walk instead of flying above ground.
Granted, I can't necessarily blame her, considering she never flew before and the lack of night vision can make your first flight a harrowing experience when you can't even see the floor unless it is alight with those weird glowing fungi.
Which by the way are not edible and that my strengthened stats do not make me immune to such things as diarrhea.
It was a harrowing experience that had me struggling for several hours over a hole in the ground. By the end, my ass was burning… and my shit was glowing… it was a very weird experience.
Regardless, the past week was actually quite fun as I had built and started training my small army of Gejada [soldier]s. Yes, I made them get that class, though I did try to see if they can get the other tier one classes like [Lieutenant]. Unfortunately, it seems the regular population of this world needs a starting class to rank up.
So yea, with my guidance, most are all over level ten in the [Soldier] class, though Jessica stated that you require about level twenty before the class [Lieutenant] or level fifty for [Captain] to become capable upgrade options, a rather annoying endeavor, but quite understandable since such upgraded classes tend to be stronger with skills increasing the capability of the soldiers under them.
And that is a whole other complicated subject as they aren't going to rank up naturally. I would have to choose leaders and guide them to such a class. Because apparently, it is fully normal for a [soldier] to reach extremely high levels without ranking up to anything… or that is at least what Jessica had told me… because she knows the military extensively…
I just realized I never asked why she knows so much…
Sighing, I shake my head and call up my system information.
Quasi Eludo
Level 43 [Necromancer]
Level 30 [Hero]
Level 32 [Noble]
Level 29 [Enchanter]
Raise Undead
Advanced Analyse
Skeletal Renewal
Enhanced Undead
Bone Telekinesis.
Advanced Mana Sense
Enchant
Enhanced Structural Enchantments..
Undead Eyes
Undead enrage
Lightless Undead
Minor Undead Modification
Create Skeletal Guardian
Split Concentration
Converging Mana
Enhanced Trainer
Strength
23
Dexterity
36
Stamina
32
Perception
245
Endurance
14
Vitality
227
Mana
938
M/regen
3.83
Affinity
13
Intelligence
489
Willpower
3047
Soul
4143
Lots of skill, mostly from my [Necromancer] class, but much less from the others, which I found out is because Tier two classes give more skills and stats per level than Tier one. But that they are also much harder to level due to them starting out at a level exceeding a hundred.
I didn't… which means this list is going to get unbearably longer… but the mana is quite nice, though it would be nicer to get a higher mana regen rate… or a class that increases my physical attributes.
Whatever, not like I can do anything about it now.
Though I do find it annoying that my second highest level class is [Noble]. Apparently, I just have to order people around correctly and bam, experience. So ordering my undead as well as training people properly counts.
Which is also why, when I passed level 30, I gained the skill [Enhanced trainer], which increases the leveling speed of those I train... by an amount I have no idea about as I have no point of reference. Even the skill description is extremely vague.
[Enhanced trainer]: Those under you who follow your methods of training will have increased learning and leveling speed.
As you can see, it is kind of vague. No numbers or an----
I stop, my eyes widening in realization.
What if I designate hunting and killing monsters a part of my training orders? Will that counts as well? Would they be able to level faster from hunting thanks to my skill? I'll need to test that.
But that's for another time, my army is safely practicing formation back at the city while I am heading towards the dungeon boss which protects the area required to move to the next level of the dungeon.
I lean over my mount.
"OYYYYY Zorren, how much longer? It's been several hours. I'm getting booorrrrreeeeeddddd."
The Gejada, strong, big, built like a freaking armored truck, look's up to me, glaring at me while a hammer/club thing rest upon his shoulder.
"Soon," he says, turning away from me, continuing to walk forward at his slow pace.
Ahhhh, Zorren, what a weird guy. Though he has anger issues, which Anathema states is because of his class, he is actually a pretty nice guy. He thanked Jessica for healing the injured Gejada, making sure the guy did not end up a cripple. And then, when I asked him to help me kill the dungeon boss without the army, he was all too happy to comply. Apparently, he had lost many good friends a long time ago when an entire group of over a hundred Gejan attempted to kill the boss. Thus, he doesn't want any meaningless death of his people. Or at least that's what Anathema explained to me.
Granted, he also said he will kill it alone, but I wasn't going to let the extremely over leveled and powerful [Berserker] fight such a powerful and deadly monster on his own.
That would be utterly unethical.
Such a thing would not be something a [Hero] would ever allow.
And it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that such a large and powerful monster would be a great minion…
***************
Catching herself from tripping, Jessica tightens her grip on Mule, noticing an increasing number of bones jutting out of the ground.
Grunting, she keeps her eyes looking down, avoiding bones as best she can, but the number seems to be quickly increasing.
She frowns, turning towards mule who just walks forward with ease, his weight and size are crushing the bones in front of him with ease.
Jessica immediately moves behind the undead, following it while staring at its illuminating coverings.
Quasi had taken several of the glowing fungi, the same ones which gave him severe diarrhea and covered Mule in it from head to toe, turning him into her own personal light source.
Which was great for her, except that it attracted predators, which thankfully were not a problem for Quasi to take care of.
But now, there hasn't been any attack for the past hour, only the increasing number of bones dotting the stone floor.
"We are getting close, you should stand back," Zorren says, turning towards the [Priestess].
Nodding, Jessica stops, ordering Mule to stay by her side and protect her.
The undead just stops, its glowing purple eyes staring forward, unmoving like a statue.
Zorren continues on as Jessica huddles close to Mule, her eyes moving up as she watches twenty purple glowing dots in the sky continue to head onward.
Normally, Jessica would have felt fear, been scared of being left alone. But instead, she feels calm, her eyes now looking towards Mule's purple glowing skull and the spider upon its shoulder.
************
So the boss of the dungeon is… well, quite huge. Its size is similar to a three-story house while it seemingly weighs over fifty tons. It literally looks like a massively overgrown lizard… with sharp claws, huge teeth, and a massive hammer on its head. Oh, and it is staring at Zorren with all eight of its eyes.
Yup, it noticed us, probably a while ago, and considering the several fresh corpses of monsters around it, it is not currently hungry.
Unfortunately, its nest is located directly next to an opening which leads downward, the passage to the second level of the dungeon, a rather problematic location.
The monster, noticing that Zorren is still heading in its direction, finally gets up, crunching the bones around it. Its mouth opens, razor-sharp teeth are revealed as it tastes the air with its long tongue.
[Advanced analyze]
Lacerta, Guardian of the first floorLevel 117
Lacerta is the guardian and first line of defense against those who wish to travel through the Dungeon. This monster was created to be capable of fighting and killing anything upon the first floor with ease. Its scales, powerful and hardened, make it nigh impenetrable against even the sharpest of weapons. Combined with its excessive stamina, great eyesight, and unyielding senses, this beast thrives upon the first floor of the dungeon, easily feeding upon the Desbats who are disabled thanks to its light attack.
Light attack? That's it? No more description? Just that it disables Desbats?
My thoughts are momentarily stopped as I look down, watching as Zorren lifts his massive hammer, holding it easily with one hand.
Right… so you're just gonna smack on it? Is that really your plan? Not th-
I stop as Zorren starts to glow, steam rising from his body as he continues to walk forward, Lacerta finally taking the small Gejada as a threat. Zorren's size quickly seems to increase, muscles spasming out as he gains two inches in height and bulging muscles, making him seem buff, even through his scales.
And then Zorren's bad arm starts to move, the one which had been always hanging at his side. It wraps around the hammer, enforcing its grip.
What just happened…[Advanced Analyze].
Zorren
Level 173 [Berserker]
Zorren, a veteran warrior of the Gejada, he has lost his tail, lost the people he was required to protect, and now lives in shame, his presence tolerated because of his sheer level.
Strength
93(223)
Dexterity
28(96)
Stamina
147(735)
Perception
73
Endurance
54(162)
Vitality
120
Mana
110
M/regen
0.5
Affinity
0
Intelligence
73(7.3)
Willpower
321
Soul
260
Tail Loss: The tail of a Gejada is a note of pride for the people, but more so than pride, it helps in balance. -20 Dexterity
Unusable Arm: Having lost an arm, strength has been reduced. -20% Strength
Berserkers Rage: Ignore all physical and mental debilitating effects. Temporarily Increase Strength and Dexterity by 200%. Temporarily Increase Endurance by 300%. Temporarily Decrease intelligence by 90%. Temporarily Increase Stamina by 500%.
Ok ok ok. So granted, I did figure he had abilities that made him stronger, abilities that would allow him to fight better. Something he was keeping hidden from me. And I really truly believed I could handle him in a fight regardless of what it was.
But [Berserkers Rage]... that's such an overpowered skill. I mean come on, the only drawback is intelligence? Really? Why would you need intelligence if your stats alone lets you faceroll people?
Ok ok ok, jealousy, I do feel jealousy. A lot of it. It's really annoying and I guess humbling to find out that I have an extremely long way to go before I actually become truly strong.
I sigh and shake my head, looking back down watching as Zorren bends his knees… and then the stone under his feet shatter as he jumps forwards, rocketing towards the overgrown lizard at a speed I can quite easily follow, but at no point would I be able to replicate.
The lizard, to its credit, reacted even faster, its tail flicking out, extending, and then slapping the enraged [Berserker] right out of the air.
The berserker's body accelerates away from the boss, slamming into a pile of bones, causing them to break and shatter from the impact.
My mouth hangs open, outright surprised at what just happened, only widening even further as the bone dust disperses, revealing Zorren in all his lizard glory.
The [Berserker] stands back up, bone dust falling off his body as his face becomes even angrier, the hammer still grasped firmly in his hand.
And then he roars, jumping forward again, causing the Lizard to flick its tail out, smacking Zorren again.
This happens several times, the boss monster seemingly amused while Zorren is just constantly trying to ram into the thing… which isn't working.
I see... so that lack of intelligence is pretty detrimental. He seems to be incapable of adapting. Or I guess not smart enough to.
Welp, I guess I'll try to help him out.
Before I do anything though, I activate [Converging Mana], lowering the cost of all my spells by a decent amount while quickly grabbing my staff.
Finally ready, I mentally call up my mana reserves, sending it quickly downward, entering several dozens of enchanted bone shivs at once, creating a connection.
So here's the thing about my [Bone Levitation] skill, the mana consumption to create the connection is significantly more than keeping the connection up. That initial mana consumption is also depended on distance. So if I am within a meter of the bones, the consumption is much less, even more so if I am touching them.
Funny enough, the consumption decreases even further if the bones have been enchanted by me.
It's weird, I know. I still don't exactly know why, but it's convenient.
Ordering my bones outside, they quickly fly out, dispersing at my call with ease as I keep a mental connection to all of them, something made quite a bit easier since I have [split concentration].
Though in reality, what I am doing should be practically impossible for a mere mortal since each specific bone needs a continuous connection to function properly, making more bones harder and harder to control.
And I would agree, humans cannot partition their minds to several dozen different connections.
Instead, I cheat.
Mana is just a form of energy that is changed and given meaning. It is usually formed based on your subconscious thoughts. But what if that connection of spell and power source was more automatic? What if ongoing orders are automated with barely any conscious thought?
Well, I give you programming, the ability to create set orders. If this were a skill, it would be called [Mana Programming] or something. Unfortunately, it seems that it's not. Which is fine.
Anyhow, since I have a photographic memory, mentally calling up a created program and inserting my mana into it is fast and instant, allowing me to do such a thing as ordering all of my currently floating shivs to spin, increasing the centrifugal force and hopefully allowing me to penetrate those scales.
Once they are spinning adequately, which is where air resistance starts to restrict the speed, I mentally order my floating bones to accelerate, quickly ramping up speed towards the boss.
Surprisingly, the boss notices my swarm and moves its body, protecting its head while my bones strike it dark scales… causing scratches… but not penetrating.
"Fuck…" I say aloud, watching as several of my bones are cracked on the floor, the impact breaking them even though they were strengthened by [Enhanced Structural Enchantments].
At that same moment, Zorren screams, jumping forward and getting knocked back again.
"Yea Zorren, you keep doing that. It's completely working."
Zorren ignores me completely, his anger focused on the monster which has been smacking him around like a tennis ball… a very sturdy tennis ball.
Sighing, I order my swarm of undead forward, mentally guiding them towards the bosses exposed regions.
The boss, on the other hand, notices this immediately, half of its eyes looking towards the swarm.
The hammer atop its head quickly raises, revealing a neat white crystal, and then just as quickly, the hammer strikes down at an incredible speed.
And I finally understand what it meant by a 'light attack'.
A literal flashbang goes off from the impact, Illuminating the entire battlefield, causing me to literally scream and cover my eyes as all of my photoreceptors in my eye are activated, causing me to go blind while feeling severe pain...
Very annoying, especially since everything is white except for a floating blue box that is still somehow visible.
You are under the status effect 'blind'. You cannot see for the next 273 seconds.
Annoying, yes, but I have a workaround.
[Undead Eyes]
At the activation of my skill, I take over the eyes of my mount, seeing through them instead, allowing me to see the battlefield.
At this point, my undead have swarmed the boss, causing the monster to panic as it attempts to cover its eyes, one already having been poked out.
I smile, enjoying the fact that undead don't need eyes to function at all. Just the magic running through them is enough. And since they are also undead, pain is something they also do not feel.
So yes, apparently the boss is not used to its ability being ignored.
But still, it seems that the size and scales of the beast are more than enough to stop my minions from doing any truly permanent damage.
Luckily, I just need to distract it.
A sound reverberates through the clearing as Zorren's strengthened legs allow him to rip open the ground with a jump. The jump has him travel several hundred meters within a couple seconds, allowing him to slam his hammer into the distracted bosses side.
Like shattering glass, the scales on the boss break while the sheer force of the blow, sends the monster careening quite a distance away. But even with such a powerful strike, the monster is still very resilient as it quickly gets back on its feet, blood and ichor dripping from its left side as many of its cracked and broken scales had impaled the beast, quickly enraging it.
Again it activates its ability, sending a wave of extreme light from its head, only to be ignored as I order my remaining minions to swarm once more. With quick reflex, the boss's armored tail flicks out, striking one of my undead, the sheer force breaking its body.
But that's the thing about swarm tactics, you can only handle so many at once. The minions quickly latch on to the boss, aiming for its eyes while I order another to move towards the now exposed left side.
As my minion gets into position, I activate another ability.
[Undead Enrage]
My undead's entire body starts to glow a purple light as its body strengthens significantly.
With another mental command, my enraged Desbat strikes its long claws into the exposed flesh, ripping deep into the boss's body.
And then the boss screams, quickly starting to shake as signals of pain are sent into its brain.
The beast starts to thrash as I do my best to keep my Desbats from falling off.
But very quickly, that is not needed as Zorren dives from the air, his hammer striking downward, impacting the bosses skull, forcing it on the ground with a rather loud impact.
Surprisingly, the skull does not break, but the boss's body stops moving, the impact rattling its brain, forcing it to shut down.
Taking the opportunity, I order my enraged Desbat to the monster head, guiding it to shove its long claw deep through the eye and into the bosses brain, causing a system message to display in front of me.
Congratulations! You have defeated Lacerta.
For being the first [Hero] to kill this boss, experience gain has increased.
For single-handedly killing the boss, experience gain has increased.
Several more messages of level-ups and such show up in front of me, but I suppress them for later as I turn and look at the [Berserker] who is systematically raising his hammer and slamming back down on the boss's skull, yelling the entire time.
I fly closer while ordering my surviving minions to take flight, the enraged minion already disintegrated once the effect ended.
"ZORREN. IT IS DEAD!" I yell, activating my [Loud Voice] skill to make my words heard.
The [Berserker] stops, his hammer resting on the monster's skull, the skin having been slammed away, revealing black bones with several cracks spreading through it.
Zorren looks up, his eyes boring into mine, unmoving, watching me as I sit on my mount waving my arms with a smile on my face.
As he stares, the steam emanating from his body starts to slow, decreasing in intensity as his own muscles stop bulging, blood red eyes going back to his normal ones.
As his skill fades, he blinks… and then plops down on the ground, unconscious.
I stop, looking at the body face first on the floor.
I shake my head, snorting at the [Berserkers] idiocy. The cocky guy wanted to fight a boss on his own, knowing he will pass out after...
… Allowing any roaming monster to finish him off.
*Sigh*
Every time I go to any world, I always somehow meet these people. Cocky idiots who think they're the best and that nothing can truly stand in their way, more than willing to risk the lives of others for their own beliefs.
And such people piss me off, so much so that I am debating on ending his life then and there. I have no qualms about killing, even people who are innocent. If I have to end the life of one innocent to save many more, I sure will. I have lost too many friends to continue with that perfect hero mindset.
Unfortunately, I need him to guide me through the dungeon's levels safely… so letting him live is an unfortunate must.
Flying down towards the boss, I wait as my mana maxes out.
A giddy feeling takes me as I extend my staff, my mana beckoning to my call as I activate one of my most favorite skill.
"[Raise Undead]."