Main Skill: [Death Bond (F)]
Description: [Death understands what it means to live; life sometimes comprehends what it means to die while breathing. As it was written: To live is to die, and to die is to live—this is the purpose of existence.]
Effect #1: [The [Bonded] summon marked with this skill will have their two (2) current highest stats exponentially increase (by 13,000%), and the unaffected stats will inherit 10% of your current and corresponding stats.]
Effect #2: [Any entity the [Bonded] summon kills will trigger the Death Multiplier effect—you will be rewarded 13X of everything such as EXP Gain, Materials, and Miscellaneous.]
Effect #3: [In any case the [Bonded] does not possess human intelligence, it can learn from its sole master—the Eternal Necromancer.]
Effect #4: [If there is more than one [Bonded], the exponential increase will be fairly split among them—a current limit that you can bond with: 1/3—but the Death Multiplier will remain unaffected.]
Effect #5: [The [Bonded] effect will automatically wear off after 13 hours since its activation. However, the summoned creature marked with this skill will be implanted with the buff of Death Mark—it means that on the 13th try of using skill on the same unique creature, you will not be able to reverse it again thus the effect becoming permanent.]
Ultimate Restriction #1: [In exchange for these benefits that can tip the world's balance, especially if left unchecked, once the [Bonded] perishes, you will die despite the immortality from the Stigma: Damnation. But this also means that if the [Bonded] summons is more than one, killing them all would be required to nullify the Stigma: Damnation's immortality.]
Ultimate Restriction #2: [This skill can be used on an entity that's NOT an undead. However, once the target is marked, it can't be revoked even if the world ends. And that the increase in the two highest stats of the non-undead target will dramatically be diminished from 13,000% to 13%.]
Ultimate Restriction #3: [It can corrupt holy power.]
[Reminder: This skill can be upgraded.]
***
If there was one thing that Lucian Morgath hadn't understood after contemplating this Main Skill of his apart from the [Eye of Death (EX)], it's the last restriction about corrupting something divine.
That being said, after pondering over and over since the first time he had read these atrocious effects of the [Death Bond] that's peculiarly ranked the lowest (F), Lucian racked his thick skull on how to utilize the skill to its full extent in consideration of its risks—his death, and possibly, under any circumstances, his sister's safety.
To put it simply, before the Death Mark reached its limit, Lucian would stop the [Death Bond] with the same summons at the 12th time so that it wouldn't become permanent.
Moreover...
I thought of having another summon and hiding it away so that even if the one with me died, I wouldn't die.
In other words, if he [bonded] with two or more creatures at the same time and separated them away, it would feel like having multiple lives—the effect of his Stigma wouldn't be nullified.
But there was one problem—distance wise, what he needed was a permanent bond rather than the one chipping away after the 13th-hour mark.
With that in mind, Lucian looked at his bewildered sister, Samantha Morgath, who returned his gaze with a pair of scrutinizing pink eyes.
"Oppa... What the hell was that?"
***
"You're a Necromancer?! D-don't tell me... You weren't lying-"
Lucian shook his head, his eyes now fixated on the Burning Catcher standing amidst of goblin corpses. He then walked forward, and Samantha simply followed with a reluctant expression.
After all, Necromancers, though rare, were not, in fact, unique in that only one of them could exist in the whole world.
"You're not really lying? That you're the 13th Eternal Class? Oh my, how lucky am I as your sister!"
Lucky...
Lucian was not certain if "lucky" was the right word. To begin with, the twelve Great Families, each leader of it was the Eternal Class Awakener in existence.
It meant that if the possibility of being recruited into one of them was known to the public, which was inevitable considering the political side of awakeners, Lucian couldn't imagine the underlying circumstances it might bring towards his sister.
The awakener world was a nasty place despite the display of colorful skills.
"I am not lying. It's just you didn't believe it at first. But what's with your reaction? I expected more, to be honest."
Lucian chuckled; they treaded deeper into the Forest of Screeching Greens.
"Hah. Well..." Samantha sighed. "I may not know, but the way you're carrying yourself, it seems you're not that happy by being the 13th Eternal Class. Also, aside from Heroic-Grade class to Transcendent-Grade class, which is the precedent before Eternal, I also once heard my Family Head, Witch of Dreams, lose her smile. Moreover, at the top of the Phantasm Tower, she mostly sleeps."
Witch of Dreams...
Lucian was momentarily at a loss for words. One could say that the faces of the Family Heads hadn't resurfaced to the public for a couple of years now—no one knew why, but some speculated that this world... was merely a stage not suitable for them anymore.
"Oppa... I don't know what kind of impact being an Eternal Class would have on someone... And what clearly separates them from other Class Grade, but I hope you won't be like them in any way.
"Everyone knew that they're human gods of this world. It's just... Sigh, I will be selfish. In case you're drifting away from humanity, then at least care for me. I don't care about the others anyway."
The long silence continued. Lucian didn't expect such words to come out of his sister's mouth, and the fact that revealing it this casually within a dungeon would prompt such a sentimental reaction from her.
I thought she'd be happy. I mean she is... But I guess she had heard and seen things in her line of work.
"I will—don't worry."
Samantha's lips curved.
They then traversed the forest to end the cold night.
***
[ Ding! ]
[ You have slain the Goblin Chief. ]
[ Effect: Death Multiplier 13X has taken effect! ]
[ You have acquired 13X EXP! ]
[ You have leveled up! ]
In this crude goblin village with nothing but dead goblins, Lucian stood amidst, reading everything the system showed. Meanwhile, Samantha looked around, observing her brother's efforts.
Sensing her approach, Lucian turned his head and asked,
"Sam, look at these mana shards, how much–"
However, truly unusual, Samantha's eyes seemed to have momentarily become a cloud of swirling pink mist.
And the next moment he knew, such words escaped from her mouth, saying,
"Oh my, how easily it is to find you... 13th Eternal Class."