Ander grabbed his head and returned to the realm of the undead.
The news about the artifact had been too much for him to handle. It would be a lie to say he wasn't keen on getting his hands on it. But Ander knew his own limitations—he was just a level four skeleton mage!
But wait, according to the soul bond contract, if Ander was summoned to the main plane, he could use the master-servant contract to summon all his subordinates there too.
So now, he had: a level 10, self-absorbed, skeletal overlord; a level 5 Daggama who was diligently practicing the 'Nine Yin White Bone Claw'; a level 6 Magellan who was floating around burping from overeating; three bone mastiffs causing chaos in the skeleton graveyard; and a dozen or so giant axe skeletons ranging from level 2 to level 4, merrily practicing "group beating" and turning the air into a cloud of bone powder...
Ander suddenly remembered that after upgrading to level 4, his spiritual power had greatly increased, and he could summon about fifty skeletons. He'd actually managed to gather that many once before, but a sudden outburst from the skeleton overlord had wiped out most of them.
Afterward, Ander had been busy with basic infrastructure in the skeleton graveyard and had completely forgotten about this detail.
"...Damn it! I'm going all in for the artifact!" Ander made up his mind and rallied his vicious dogs and servants, preparing to "convert" other undead to serve him.
"Master, what are your orders?"
Ander's undead minions nodded eagerly. The highest-ranked skeleton overlord stepped forward, asking cautiously. It was terribly worried since the stone pillars it had been supervising had collapsed—three out of four. It feared Ander might find out and give it another beating. Although after being beaten, Ander would just use the "Bone Resurrection" spell to rebuild it, and skeletons didn't feel pain, the overlord's intelligence had grown to the point where it didn't want to lose face, especially with Daggama and Magellan around who could now mock it.
"What else can we do? Hunt!" Ander replied irritably. For the artifact, he was willing to take any risk. He planned to level up before the Boen Magic Tournament began, and he needed to replenish his skeleton army. Ander estimated that by leveling up to five, he'd have enough skeletons—about 150—making his chances much better.
Theoretically, magic users above the intermediate level were not allowed to participate in the Boen Magic Tournament, as it was intended to give new magicians a chance to rise. Most aristocratic families' mages weren't interested in such brutal competitions, preferring the more refined "Sky City Magic Tournament."
Ander speculated about what kind of artifact Kristina's unlucky grandfather had obtained. Maybe after getting the artifact, he could find a way to take it from her and then give it to the god of death, Haiderich, once he reached level 10?
While traveling with his undead army, Ander wondered whether he should hide in the main plane with his current skeletal appearance. It would be too conspicuous and could provoke disgust from ordinary people. He also needed to figure out a way to restore his physical body.
Of course, Ander had another idea in mind: before coming back, he'd teamed up with Kristina to issue a mission at the Thieves' Guild. He'd seen the receptionist there—such an ample bust, he couldn't help but imagine himself touching it... too bad he didn't have a body anymore.
Damn it. He figured he'd have to meet that receptionist a few more times. Sure, Kristina was the one officially issuing the request, but it would be Ander, disguised as a skeleton soldier, behind her, eyeing that receptionist's big chest, thinking about how much he wanted to touch it... but without a body, he might as well be dead.
"Damn it. I miss my body... I miss the old me..." Ander sighed deeply. He was determined now, but all the undead creatures he had selected were in trouble.
First, the already scarce skeleton mages in the graveyard were caught by Ander, no matter what. He'd grab them indiscriminately, shake them until they froze in fear, and then send his three vicious dogs to knock them down. If they dared to resist, they'd be torn apart limb from limb by a horde of undead servants.
Finally, after all the skeletons were knocked out, Ander lazily approached them, casting the Necromancy spell on each one as they lay terrified. In no time, he had gathered a whole army of skeleton mages. Though most of them were level zero and useless, their low-level spells—things like "Accelerate Decay," "Bind Bones," and "Rotten Cloud"—would still come in handy.
For the artifact, and for restoring his body, Ander was willing to risk it all. He calculated that there were less than ten days until the Boen Magic Tournament started, and with his new undead army in tow, Ander was working non-stop in the undead realm.
Every day, countless undead were slaughtered and absorbed into his power. Now, it wasn't just skeletons he was interested in. Ander had set his sights on zombies as well. After fighting in the skeleton graveyard for three days with little progress in upgrading, he decided to take his undead army across the Blackwater River and head north toward a zombie cave.
The entrance of the zombie cave was wide enough to let ten horses pass through side by side. Hundreds of zombies wandered around inside. Ander had never bothered with them before. For one, he didn't want to risk provoking a zombie lord in the cave, and for another, he wasn't in a rush to level up—he'd been focused on strengthening his subordinates. But now, with time running out, he couldn't afford to wait any longer.
Zombies had much stronger soul fires than skeletons, at least twice as strong. Ander now saw them as nothing more than energy sources. And whether there was a zombie lord in the cave or not, he didn't care anymore.
He led his undead army, stopping at a safe distance, and quickly got them into position. Then, he sent his ghostly servant Magellan to approach the nearest zombie at the edge of the cave.
Zombies were slow and sluggish, and they didn't notice Magellan at first. As the ghost flickered between its physical and ethereal forms, it taunted the zombies, leaving small, pinprick wounds on the zombie's face.
The zombie, confused and enraged by the pain, let out a low growl and went after Magellan. But Magellan was already darting away, leading the zombie right into the trap.
"Necromantic Terror!" Ander gave the order. The skeleton overlord, Red, was the one to carry it out. The zombie halted, bewildered for a moment, as Red's aura of fear swept over it. But the effect was brief. Zombies weren't particularly affected by such tactics, and only a few seconds passed before the zombie charged after Magellan again.
But those precious few seconds were all Ander needed.