According to the book the first step is to draw a circle big enough to contain the skeleton. The circle has to be perfect and drawn with my blood, and the lines have to be thick enough to contain the power needed. To be honest this takes me longer than I like to admit, drawing a perfect circle is hard.

When I finally do draw one perfectly I then find it isn't big enough to lay the skeleton out inside it so I have to start over. Several times during this I have to stop and eat and rest because I have lost too much blood. Yet I can't just drain my blood into a container and then draw it because once it starts to clot the lines won't be even.

So I keep cutting my palm repeatedly and trying to draw the circle like a kid playing with crayons. Eventually I wise up and cut a circle in the floor with Blitz, once it is right I then trace over it with blood. That works much better and I manage to complete the circle finally.

Once I lay out the skeleton in the circle the next step is to add a bunch of symbols around the outside of the circle in blood. This time I am smarter about it and practice the symbols first before putting them in place. This part takes me three days, there are a lot of very detailed symbols to draw.

Next is charging the circle and the symbols, this involves pouring power into them until they glow. This part doesn't specify the type of energy needed, but it probably means mana. I just have to hope that my demonic power is an acceptable substitute.

The next couple of days are spent pouring power into the circle and meditating to recharge. In all it takes five thousand demonic power or so before the circle and symbols start glowing. I am starting to wonder if this ritual is beyond my abilities, maybe it isn't meant to be used by just one person.

Then again, it is working so far, so I may as well keep going and see what happens. The final part is ten pages that I have to chant repeatedly, but first I have an extra option. It will allow me to select skills I want to sacrifice to give them to the skeleton.

This is where all the weapon skills I lost would have been really handy, but I still have a few skills I can give the skeleton. So I go through my skills and select the ones that have to do with using a shield since I want the skeleton to be a tank.

Skill Removed: Shield Basics

Skill Removed: Shield Bash

Skill Removed: Sword & Shield

'Hmm, that's all that I have left really. Should I give it some of my crafts that I don't use often? Nah, I will eventually use them.'

With that decided I start chanting the spell from the book, the chant is ten pages long and I have to repeat it sixty-six times. That number somewhat worries me but I'm already at least part demon so what can it hurt? It takes me almost thirty-six hours to finish the chant, as I am chanting it for the last time the words disappear.

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When I read the last word for the last time the entire book vanishes and the entire room shakes. The circle and symbols which had been softly glowing red erupt into a huge glowing mass that completely covers the circle. The glow darkens until it is pure black and changes to look like dancing flames.

'Maybe I'm going to get to eat a demon sooner than I thought!'

This looks very much like what I would picture a demon summoning looking like. Since I doubt it would be a high rank demon I am not too worried, I figure I can take anything below rank five fairly easily. Suddenly everything goes quiet and the flames freeze in place.

Then the black flames condense around the skeleton like a cocoon, it looks kind of like black liquid metal. It is a really cool looking effect, and the fact that no demon showed up is a plus. Although I was kind of hoping for a demon I would be able to beat up and eat since I can't do much about my core on my own.

Then again a combat pet that can't die unless I do is probably even more useful in the long run. I may have to put some work into leveling it up, but I have no problem investing time into something to increase my power. I can be patient when I need to, it's just a lot harder when I am stuck underground!

Just then the black stuff starts pulsing and I hear a throbbing sound, it takes me a minute to recognize it as a heart beat. I quickly notice that with each beat the black cocoon is getting smaller, it seems to be compressing around the skeleton. A few minutes later there is just the skeleton which is now pure black, all the bones are visible now.

The small bones I didn't bother to carve are now visible and the skeleton seems complete. The black stuff slowly seeps into the bones, except for a blob floating in the ribcage about where a heart would be. As the stuff soaks into the bones they return to being white, once the entire skeleton is white the blob floats out of the ribcage.

It starts to worry me as the blob floats towards me, the book didn't mention this happening. Then again the skeleton is supposed to be connected to me, so maybe this is what will link us. I stand still and let the blob approach me, I stiffen up when it enters my chest, but surprisingly there is no pain.

After it enters my chest I quickly enter meditation and use the inner world to look and see what is going on inside me. I am fairly surprised to find a second heart in my chest, the only difference is it is pitch black. It doesn't seem to be doing anything, I don't think it is going to affect me.

Connection to skeleton completed! -135 DP!

DP: 585/585

The black heart pulses and I drop out of meditation as I feel pain in my head and start feeling dizzy. I can't be sure if it is from the spell completing or from losing demonic power since this is the first time it has happened.

'Almost an entire rank's worth of demonic power? How is that fair?'

I am distracted from the pain as the skeleton stands up, it doesn't quite look like a normal skeleton. I carved the head with draconic features as a king of tribute to the drake who provided the bones. The spell didn't erase that, if anything it perfected the idea.

The skeleton stands six feet tall, and as much as a skeleton can it gives off an impression of bulk. The bones are all thicker and heavier than a human skeleton would be, I wanted it to be as durable as I could make it. The fact that it was made from massive drake bones made that fairly easy to accomplish.

All in all, I am quite impressed with how the skeleton turned out, although I am still mad about how much DP I just lost. The circle and symbols have all disappeared and the room looks exactly as it was before the ritual. Now from what the book said I just have to command the skeleton and get it to recognize me as its master.