Chapter 40 Reaffirming one’s forces

At present, I now have two companions who are similar to myself.

“Since this is an ideal time, let’s reaffirm our forces and examine the situation.”

I proposed.

“Alright.”

“Time is not on our side but this is acceptable.”

They both agreed.

We immediately gathered a few of the chairs and formed a circle.

Gathered here are the following members in this group:

Sylfern the Exiled Prince.

Llednar the Great Thief.

Clovis the Clown.

The aim of this meeting is to know each other’s abilities and exchange information.

Well, both Llednar and I already know each other’s abilities but Clovis doesn’t.

“For starters, I am Sylfern. A former prince. I travelled the land as a mercenary and possess some skill in swordsmanship and archery as well as some ability in knives and daggers. My power allows me to summons undead knights to fight for me. I can let others command them.”

“How many can you summon at a time?”

Llednar asked.

Although he’s seen my ability, he doesn’t know the full scope of it.

“Outside the mansion, I could summon twenty. When I returned to the mansion, I felt that I could summon twenty-five. As we progressed deeper into the miasma, I’ve begun to feel as though I could summon forty-five at present. And I believe they’re far stronger than the one’s I summoned previously.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

I explained.

“Is that so? That’s good news for us. You’ve got the manpower we need.”

Llednar said.

Indeed, thanks to my power, we now have an army to command.

But this begs the question why.

Why is my power growing as we progress deeper?

“I think our powers grow stronger the closer we are to the Heart since we number among the undead.”

I said what I thought about.

“That’s quite amusing.”

Clovis remarked.

“You see… I found a human girl. One that’s alive on the mansion a while back. She was affected by the miasma similar to poison. This malevolent aura is poisonous to the living and can mutate lesser creatures like small animals.”

Upon my words, my two companions were surprised.

“Some lass was in this mansion?”

“Then where is the girl now?”

Clovis asked me where she was.

“I escorted her outside. She’s already left.”

Both of them let out a sigh of relief.

“So it’s that you were wrongly accused huh…”

“The Exiled Prince was said to have been noble and kind… I see now that those words proved true.”

The two praised me lightly.

“Never mind that. It’s my duty to do so. And, she would have been a burden had she remained with me. More importantly, I believe that our powers growing is to our advantage.”

I proclaimed.

“If we were living humans, this malevolent aura, this miasma, would have been poisonous to us. It would be a difficult task to proceed, much less destroy the Heart. But as undead, this is like air to us. We’re like fish in the waters. This is our territory. Though I don’t like it.”

Continuing on…

“As a result, our powers would continue to grow stronger as we progress. Not just that, but our physical bodies should grow stronger as well.”

“Our bodies?”

Llednar asked puzzled.

“Let me ask you this. Exactly how are we, the undead, able to move around like we were alive?”

“Hmm…”

Llednar began to think.

“Is it because of the miasma?”

“Close, but not quite. It’s because the curse granted us dark energies, allowing us to move our bodies. And this miasma is filled with it. As we progress and stay in it longer, our bodies continue to absorb those dark energies, granting us even greater power. Consequently, if we stray away from it, we’ll continue to weaken until we can no longer move.”

It’s the same energy that allows us to use our powers.

“Think about when we were alive. When we’re tired, we sleep. When we’re hungry, we eat. This miasma is similar to food for us. If we don’t have enough food, we’ll starve to death and die. Our bodies should follow this principle.”

Hearing this, my two companions nodded as they digested the information I shared.

“Of course, this is just some thoughts I’ve had based on my conversation with my friend who already departed. Speaking of which, our regrets and dark emotions is what allows the dark energy to gather around us and be absorbed. If we lose it, we’ll move on.”

Because of that, we must hurry…

“Let’s move on to the next topic.”

“Right. My power allows me to steal anything within my sight.”

A simple ability befitting a thief.

But this power would prove useful for us.

“As for me, Clovis, my power allows me to use magic.”

“”Magic?””

Both Llednar and I expressed some surprise.

Magic.

A power wielded by very few.

Only priests and those who studied it could wield it and they are very rare…

But powerful creatures of darkness are said to wield it.

I suppose that applies to both me and Llednar.

“Yes… See this?”

Clovis raised his hand and opened his palm.

A small flame then sprouted out of his hand.

He threw it and it was caught by his other hand.

Another flame sprouted in his hand and he began to juggle them.

He was unharmed by the flames.

More balls of flame began to gather and he was soon juggling five flames.

He threw them up above and they gathered, then…

*Explosion*

They blew up.

Brightening the dark room.

“Oho…”

“An amusing trick… But quite deadly indeed.”

With this, we’ve uncovered our powers and reaffirmed our forces.

Sylfern.

Power: Can summon undead knights to battle.

Llednar.

Power: Can steal anything within his sight.

Clovis.

Power: Can cast magical spells that can aid allies and slay foes.

Combining our strengths, we will claim the Heart.