Claudius Fern Frierant had an Exclusive Skill since he was born—[Dead Call].
It allowed him to resurrect a dead person to become his personal slave. Of course, this slave had neither the will nor the mind that they possessed when they were alive.
They were merely husks of their former selves.
In essence… Undead.
He knew he was special since he was a kid, and his family agreed.
He was given the most luxurious upbringing, and after practicing his Skill for years, more offshoots arose, until he finally gained the Necromancer Apprentice Class.
It was a C-Tier Class, but for a man in his late teens to have advanced that far already, it was an amazing feat worthy of celebration.
Thanks to this Class, and the Privileges that came with them—along with his pre-existing Skills—he became quite the prodigy.
Everyone said he matured a lot faster than his age, and for a while, it was considered a compliment.
But… Claudius soon understood that it was more of a curse than a blessing.
The Miasma involved in Necromancy had inadvertently caused his body to age a lot faster than it normally would, causing him to appear like a man in his thirties despite being a late teenager.
Of course, this process only became much worse the more he utilized his power.
At a point, he decided to stop in order to prevent any further aging.
But… the Dragons came.
They burned his home to the ground and took everything that mattered to him in the blink of an eye.
He wasn't strong enough to stop them.
He couldn't do anything but run away, escaping from the only place that he had grown to love.
'If only… If only I kept becoming strong, would I have been able to stop them? Maybe I could have at least saved my family! Maybe…'
Those thoughts remained in Claudius' mind as vestiges of regrets that would never leave him.
It was because of these thoughts that he abandoned his looks and health, considering them to be vanity, instead focusing on the pursuit of strength.
He joined the Mercenary Gang, and after years of practice, he eventually advanced his Class to a B-Tier Class—Junior Necromancer.
Despite reaching such a height, he kept this Class a secret and kept growing in strength.
—Even to the point where he was confident that he had surpassed the Deadly Three.
Claudius didn't care for ranks, though.
All he wanted was the power to protect himself, and provide for his every need.
Once he reached such a height, he stopped his climb to power, but at that point it was too late.
He already had the body of an elder with a young man's mind.
This was the price for power—the cost of gaining nigh unrivaled strength!
Was it worth it?
The answer was simple.
YES! Of course, it was worth it all.
And now, as Claudius stood in front of the Compound Corpse, he desired to demonstrate it once more… the value of his power.
He desired to prove to himself, and the world, that his actions were correct.
To attain strength, one had to sacrifice everything!
*********
"Abyss Call: Knights Of Black!"
As Claudius utilized one of his three Undead-based Skills, [Abyss Call], black circles began to appear on the ground.
The black shadows were about ten inches from him, and there were three of them.
From within the darkness emerged three tall entities who donned full-plated armor.
Their armor was pure black, though signs of rust and gleams of purple appeared in several areas of their metallic forms.
The three Knights Of Black Stood, each with a weapon of speciality—a Sword, a Lance, lastly Bow and Arrows.
They instantly took battle stances, with Claudius right behind them as their summoner.
This was the power of [Abyss Call].
With this Skill, Claudius could summon the Undead he had already made prior to the event.
Of course, there were certain limitations to [Abyss Call]—like the total number of Undead he could store in his abyss, but this was his go-to Skill.
This was specifically because it didn't require Miasma to flow through and into him, hence it didn't affect his body.
His two other undead-based Skills—[Dead Call], and [Ultimate Sacrifice], were the opposite.
Since Claudius already had a wide variety of Undead in his abyss, thirty-nine in total, and others which were in his territory back home… he didn't need to utilize his other Skills.
It felt like a waste having them, but the safest option remained [Abyss Call].
"Attack!" Claudius commanded, and his loyal soldiers of the dead instantly obeyed.
They expertly rushed forth, instantly taking formation without any need for some kind of remote control.
No… these were experts.
Depending on the skill of a Necromancer—specifically their Class and its Privileges—it was possible for the Undead to possess the abilities it had back when it was still alive.
In essence, the Skills and experience—things as minute as muscular memory and instinct that had been honed over one's lifetime—could be used by the Undead.
Theoretically, it was possible to bring back the intelligence of a previously living entity, though that was a level that was too high for the current Claudius.
Perhaps a Senior Necromancer could pull that off, but not him.
For Claudius, he couldn't completely bring everything over—just vestiges, like their combat experience and one or two Skills.
Any Undead he made would always be weaker than their living counterparts.
Even with that…
'These three Knights are the strongest warrior-type Undead I have in my arsenal.'
… Claudius knew his minions wouldn't disappoint him.
~WHOOSH!~
Just as he expected, the three expertly traversed the obstacles that stood before them as if they were nothing.
The Compound Corpse was too slow and bulky for it to catch the nimble Knights, and thanks to their combined efforts, they easily subjugated it.
How? Well, by going for the four limbs, they were able to render it immobile.
After that, the knight with the sword decapitated the gigantic thing, thus ending its false life.