Hugo nodded and left Bones to ponder his words. He harbored no doubt that Bones would soon unearth the solution to his quandary. Eagerly anticipating their arrival at their destination, Hugo looked forward to sharing the world's secrets with someone.
Turning back to his golems, Bones observed them in silence, carefully mulling over Hugo's counsel. While he had grown more adept at transitioning between his golems, he conceded that he had become too immersed in experiencing the skirmish through their eyes over the past few hours, neglecting to view and analyze their progress from a detached perspective.
As the Voidstalkers mocked his minions, toying with them, Bones observed keenly. After a while, a distinct pattern emerged: the Voidstalkers relentlessly targeted Murdok and Harmony, while actively avoiding Skully.
This was the breakthrough Bones had been waiting for, the key to unlocking the solution to their training exercise. Now, all he needed was to unravel the mystery behind this behavior. Delving into a deep analysis of his golems, Bones scrutinized their differences, focusing on those pertinent to their current challenge. Murdok, the brute force of the group, wielded physical damage, while Harmony commanded lightning with electrifying precision. Yet, it was Skully's unique ability to infuse his weapon with mana that set him apart.
But could it truly be that straightforward? Lightning spells also relied on mana, so why weren't the Voidstalkers avoiding Harmony's attacks? There had to be a crucial distinction between Skully's method and Harmony's technique.
Bones focused his attention on Harmony, carefully analyzing her combat techniques. Forced into close-quarters combat, she abandoned her usual bow attacks in favor of formless lightning spells, creating arcs of energy that stretched from caster to target. Despite the lightning's formidable power, Harmony's spellcasting speed fell short. The Voidstalkers would vanish precisely as her spells were unleashed, giving the illusion that her attacks had no effect on the enemy.
Realization dawned on Bones: it wasn’t that Harmony’s spells lacked impact; rather, she struggled to hit her targets. Comparing her performance to Skully's, Bones concluded that Skully's precision and proficiency in delivering rapid, mana-infused attacks made him a greater threat.
"The answer lies in attacks imbued with mana," Bones declared. Hugo nodded in agreement, acknowledging the truth in Bones' words, and inquired about his strategy for dealing with foes too swift for his golems.
Bones responded confidently, outlining a simple yet effective solution. He instructed Harmony to keenly track the Voidstalkers' anticipated location and release a pulse of mana in that direction upon their appearance. Following this, Skully was to execute a spear attack infused with mana immediately afterward.
The newly devised tactic proved devastatingly effective. As the Voidstalker materialized, Harmony's mana pulse struck it, causing the creature to stagger before it could fully solidify. Then, in a display of precision and power, Skully thrust his mana-infused spear, piercing the Voidstalker with unerring accuracy and leaving a gaping hole in its form. The creature's body dissolved into a swirling cloud of smoke, melding seamlessly with the dark particles that permeated the surroundings.
Hugo cackled with approval at Bones’ tactic, motioning for them to persist as they pressed on toward the looming and fearsome jagged mountains. With the introduction of Bones' strategic adjustment, the rhythm of battle shifted dramatically. Harmony and Skully executed their maneuvers with flawless coordination, even refining their tactics on the fly to enhance their efficiency in dispatching the now vulnerable foe.
Meanwhile, Murdok refused to relent, his movements a blur as he swung his weapon through the air in a futile attempt to connect with the elusive Voidstalkers. Despite the lack of success, Bones couldn't bring himself to recall Murdok. Instead, he left Murdok free to pursue his own course of action, unwilling to stifle his indomitable spirit.
In the midst of combat, two hours later, Bones received an unexpected notification from the system, indicating that Skully’s skill, Mana Manipulation, had reached its maximum level in the basic tier and was ready for an upgrade. Surprised, Bones halted his steps, prompting Hugo to turn to him with a quizzical expression. Upon learning of the sudden development, Hugo made the decision to end the training session prematurely, declaring that the golems had achieved their objective. He then instructed Bones to recall everyone except for Skully.
"What does the upgrade say?" Hugo inquired, his curiosity piqued. Bones scrutinized the system message, his body language betraying a sense of surprise.
"Well? Don't keep me in suspense, Bones!" Hugo urged, unable to contain his impatience.
"Alright, alright. For someone as knowledgeable as you, you sure are impatient!" Bones quipped before summarizing the contents of the system prompt. "Basically, the system is telling me to infuse Skully with Soul Spark if I want to upgrade Mana Manipulation. There's no mention of the consequences of fusing Skully's core with a spark again, nor if I will suffer a penalty for using the skill while in a weakened state. What do you think?"
Hugo muttered "interesting," twirling his mustache in contemplation. He then apologized, admitting that Bones knew best how Soul Spark worked, and that his insights wouldn't be of much help this time.
Faced with a dilemma, Bones pondered whether to wait approximately a month before using Soul Spark or to risk it and try using it now. Recalling his previous failed attempt months ago, where nothing happened after trying to use the skill twice in a row, Bones decided to give the fusion a try. The worst that could happen, he thought, was that the skill wouldn’t activate.
Bones excused himself momentarily, to which Hugo replied, "Sure, go ahead." With a nod, Bones had Skully turn his back and kneel. With a swift motion, he shaped a hole in the skull, revealing the golem's core. Gently pressing his hand against it, Bones concentrated on using Soul Spark. Hugo sensed the skill activating, mana coursing through Bones' body before merging with the golem's core. After half a minute, the process was complete, and Bones exhaled, turning to Hugo with a smirk.
"Congratulations! Now we know you can upgrade shared skills as well! How are you feeling? Any detrimental effects from using the skill?" Hugo inquired, relieved to see Bones looking well but still concerned.
"I'm fine," Bones assured him. "The system informed me that the weakened status is extended—I have no idea for how long though."
Bones withdrew his hand and closed the golem’s skull, satisfied that the upgrade was successful. He then displayed Skully's status screen, ensuring everything was in order:
Status
Attributes
Name: Skully
Race: Elite Lizardman lvl 44
Soul Core: [Growth-type]
[Soulbound]
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Core capacity: [10 000/10 000]
Hp - /
Mp - /
Sta - ∞
STR: 132
AGI: 176
END: 44
VIT: 88
INT: 1
WIS: 1
Free points:
Innate abilities:
Greater Strength [+2 STR per lvl]; [advanced]
Greater Agility [+2 AGI per lvl]; [advanced]
Increased Health Regeneration; [basic]
Advanced Spearmanship; [advanced]
Basic Shield Mastery; [basic]
Confirming the successful upgrade, Bones briefly glanced at Murdok's status screen as well:
Status
Attributes
Name: Murdok
Race: Orc Warrior lvl 48
Soul Core: [Growth-type]
[Soulbound]
Core capacity: [10 000/10 000]
Hp - /
Mp - /
Sta - ∞
STR: 192
AGI: 1
END: 96
VIT: 192
INT: 1
WIS: 1
Free points:
Innate abilities:
Greater Strength [+2 STR per lvl]; [advanced]
Greater Vitality [+2 VIT per lvl]; [advanced]
Increased Health Regeneration; [basic]
Reinforced Body; [advanced]
Advanced Two-handed weapon mastery; [advanced]
There were no changes in Murdok's stats, but he already had plenty to begin with.
"Everything in order?" Hugo inquired, sensing Bones' preoccupation with inspecting the status screens.
"Yes! The next steps are acquiring second-tier bodies for Skully and Murdok, and advancing Harmony’s skill to master tier. They should advance, right?" Bones affirmed, excitement evident in his voice.
"I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t - time will tell!" Hugo replied, sharing in Bones' enthusiasm. He then inquired if Bones had considered what kind of bodies he wanted for his golems next.
"Not quite. I didn’t have a chance to really experiment with different bodies in fear I would break my golems. Do you know if the bodies have to be explicitly of the lizardmen and an orc?" Bones asked curiously. The question had been on his mind for a while now, but he hadn’t had anyone to ask about it.
"I believe they don’t have to be of the exact species, but they have to be of the same type. Skully’s core should be compatible with bodies focusing on agility, while Murdok’s on strength. As for skills like weapon mastery, it doesn't necessarily have to match your golems' core, but it would be best if they did," Hugo explained.
"I see…so, hypothetically, I could use the skeleton of an abomination for Murdok’s golem core?" Bones speculated, considering the possibilities.
“Oh?” Hugo raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “An abomination you say…Hypothetically, you could.”
“I didn’t consider it until I saw barkeep Al’em. He is huge…And if the skeletal frame matched his body, coupled with potential Bone Armor upgrade to Hulking Armor, Murdok would be a force to be reckoned with.” Bones shared insight into his plans for Murdok. Instead of trying to cover for his weakness of being slow, Bones opted to make him as big and menacing as possible.
The two continued their trek, exchanging ideas on how to further improve Bones’ golems and discussing the possibilities of crafting different constructs for various situations. As they progressed, the soft ground beneath their feet gradually gave way to hard, dark rock. The mountain chain loomed before them like an unclimbable wall, guarding whatever secrets may lay on the other side.
“We’re climbing that? Couldn't the Reaper carry us?” Bones shamelessly inquired, sensing Hugo's eye roll.
“Are you perhaps tired?” Hugo quipped, amused by Bones' suggestion. Bones remained silent, gazing upwards toward the peak.
“Are we climbing all the way to the top? I’m fine with moving horizontally, but climbing vertically is a chore,” Bones commented, eliciting a blank stare from Hugo.
“It’s a few hours' climb. You'll survive. And on our way back, I can instruct our escort to fling you down,” Hugo retorted with a smirk, teasing Bones about his aversion to climbing.
Bones began climbing effortlessly, his fingers deftly gripping the rough surface as he ascended. Meanwhile, Hugo presented an odd sight as he clung to his cylinder hat and monocle while propelling himself upward. Surprisingly, he managed to pass Bones, leaving him momentarily stunned with his mouth slightly agape. However, Bones quickly regained his composure and increased his pace to catch up.
Halfway through the climb, Bones caught up to Hugo as the latter halted his ascent. Hugo had discovered an indent in the mountain large enough to accommodate all three of them.
Bones joined him and the Reaper, settling himself between them. Curious about Hugo's fast climbing technique, Bones inquired about his secret. Hugo chuckled, dismissing any notion of secrecy and explaining that he was essentially pushing himself upwards with his hands rather than "climbing" in the traditional sense.
As Bones pondered whether he could attempt the same method, the thought of potential failure, slipping, and falling crossed his mind, giving him pause.
"Are you not concerned about missing a hold and falling?" Bones questioned, leaning forward and peering down. "It is quite a long way down," he muttered, feeling a twinge of unease.
Hugo agreed it was a long way down, but he wasn't worried. Puzzled, Bones pressed for more information.
"I might have been using telekinesis as a failsafe protective measure from falling off," Hugo finally admitted.
"What? That is like, the most important aspect to your method of climbing!" Bones exclaimed, surprised by the revelation. Shifting the topic, he focused on Hugo's ability to use telepathy, wondering what other secrets his companion might be keeping from him.
"Your knowledge transcends the world of the living, and your ability to identify is even more impressive! And now, you even used telekinesis. Hugo, that contract I signed, did you sign one as well?"
"Hm…how long did you wait to ask me that? Nevermind, since you did ask, it means you probably have some sort of idea by now. I did sign a contract, swearing loyalty to both masters. In exchange, I gained access to information I wasn't otherwise privy to. This information was crucial for uncovering the truth, which I plan to share with you at the top. My contract links me with the masters, allowing for a telepathic connection between us and a certain amount of authority in Necropolis," Hugo revealed, shedding light on his own commitments and the unique bond he shared with his masters.