Alaster’s chest heaved, struggling to catch his breath. But he did not let it hinder him. He continued to march forward, his Undead right behind him.
Behind him lay fifty Devils in their dark red armor. It had been a hard-fought battle. Each one was stronger than his Blackguards and even moved the Minotaurs with each of their blows. Alaster didn’t even bother counting how many times he had to resummon his Undead. And yet, he had long since grown used to such battles. That did not make them any easier.
Even with all his Abilities and Levels improving, each battle was one where even the smallest mistake would spell his death. However, even if the battles were still intense, Alaster had earned quite a bit.
[Class: Death Knight
Level: 43<49
EXP: 52%<84%
Health: 1,115/1,155<1,290/1,290
Health Regeneration: 26/min<28/min
Mana: 1,215/1,215<1,305/1,305
Mana Regeneration: 26/min<28/min
Abilities: Striker Type, AOE Type, Minion Type, General Type
Passives: Pain Tolerance, Blunt Resistance, Regeneration, Magic Resistance
Bonuses: Horde, Death Pact, Soul Domain, Split Mind, Swap, Soul Seal, Blood Price, Dead Embrace, Last Stand, Imbuement, Blood Aura, Reaper, Fine Control, Dark Sight
Stats:
Strength: 200<219 Wisdom*: 268<286
Dexterity: 186<198 Intelligence*: 223<241
Constitution*: 211<238 Free Points: 0<30]
Even without the extra levels, Alaster had improved his Strength and Constitution. But he only glanced at that. His attention was at his Dexterity. It was now time to get all his Stats above two hundred.
He quickly put fourteen points into Wisdom, bringing it to three hundred. Another fourteen into Constitution, raising it to two hundred fifty-two. And the last two into Dexterity, triggering the final Two Hundred Bonus.
[Dexterity 200 Bonus Unlocked: Seeker Sight
Level 1: 0%
None will avoid you.
Range: 2 Meters]
Alaster’s vision split. He could suddenly see everything in a two-meter radius. Even behind him. Alaster was racked with a headache. Even closing his eyes didn’t do anything. Alaster crumpled to the ground.
However, Alaster was accustomed to such pain. It was similar to the pain he felt when his mind split the third time. And his three minds helped him to adjust to the new Bonus.
Breathing hard, Alaster immediately began to experiment with the Seeker Sight. After an hour, he found that he could even see past solid objects. Not like he was looking through it, but like he was right there, seeing it with his own eyes.
Every fleck of ash floating through the air, he saw from every direction within a two-meter radius. He could even see himself from every direction.
‘Wow, I’ve gotten tall.’
And he had. His training with Richter, coupled with the battles in the Dungeon, had caused his body to grow quickly. He had always known he would be taller than many. But now, while most men were just short of six foot, Alaster stood comfortably at six foot three, and he was all muscle.
The muscle wasn’t bulky but did still appear as if he regularly lifted carts above his head. Instead, he appeared like he was perfectly capable of sprinting and flipping through the dense forest with ease.
[Death Pact] had finally created a helmet. Alaster had taken it off when he first got it and thought it looked menacing and even a little creepy. But coupled with the armor and the way he was seeing it now; Alaster had no doubt it would terrify many. Especially if he was their enemy.
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[Death Embrace] had reached level ten, reducing the Mana Upkeep from fifty per minute, to ten per minute. Alaster could now comfortably keep the Bonus active constantly.
‘Gotta remember to do that. Would have been a massive help in that last battle.’
[Imbuement] had surpassed level ten, and now generated a Mana Shield around him during use that would protect him from blows, reducing his Mana instead of health. Though the Shield would fail to protect against any attack that would deal more than a quarter of his Total Mana Pool.
[Dark Sight] had doubled in range when it reached level ten. He could now see in the dark with perfect vision up to ten meters away. Coupled with [Seeker Sight], he doubted much would be able to sneak up on him, if anything.
[Necrotic Bolt] had surpassed level twenty, finally morphing into an Adept Ability. Now, Alaster could summon three bolts, plus one per level of the Ability past level twenty, all for a total of five mana. He could currently summon four bolts. They were still quite weak compared to his level, but now he could simply use quantity over quality.
[Raise Undead] was now level forty, raising his Minion Limit to twenty-six, doubled due to the Legion Evolution.
[Bone Crafting] Finally reached level twenty, but the only real change was that now it felt almost natural to manipulate the bone. Alaster hardly had to think about it. However, it could now surpass standard steel in strength.
However, in the end, the two greatest changes were to [Meditation] and [Undead Soldier], both reaching level thirty.
[Meditation] had reached level thirty, and now, instead of the Mana Regeneration increasing one per level during use, it now increased two per level. Even greater, it had recalculated the previous levels. [Meditation] could now regenerate seventy-eight Mana every minute.
Alaster had heard rumors that once a Regeneration surpassed one hundred twenty, it converted to per second. It was only rumors, and he had not thought about it when Aila had been there. He was not certain if it was truth, or just rumor. Though it would be an interesting change.
[Undead Soldier] had reached level thirty, meaning the Minion Limit raised one, and he could now choose another Class of Undead to Summon. Every level, he could see the standard Undead Soldier becoming stronger, faster, and more durable. The feeling they gave off gradually turning from weak and fragile, to powerful. Though their strength was still in numbers, of which he could raise five.
[Summon Undead Soldier
Level 21<30: 64%<34%
Summon the Dead to fight for you.
Max Minions: 4/5
Mana Cost: 50]
[Summon Undead Soldier Evolutions]
[Level Thirty Evolutions Available
1. Summon Undead Rogue.
Soldier will move quicker.
2. Summon Undead Sergeant.
Soldier will be stronger.
3. Summon Undead Shield Bearer.
Soldier will be more durable.]
Alaster’s eyes immediately focused on the Sergeant option. Sergeants led soldiers in the Military. They weren’t the ones making the orders, instead they were the ones who ensured the ordinary soldiers completed them.
Alaster didn’t even consider the other two. He didn’t need to. He had already considered them at the previous evolution. Alaster immediately selected the Sergeant option.
[Summon Undead Sergeant
Level 1: 0%
Summon the Dead to fight for you.
Max Minions: 1/1
Mana Cost: 100]
The only difference the Sergeant Spell had over the other Third Method Summons was that it cost one hundred Mana instead of fifty. The Summoning Method was also similar. It just faded into existence.
The Sergeant stood a little taller than the standard Undead Soldier. Besides their height, the only difference was an iron pauldron that they wore on their right shoulder, just as rusted as the rest of their equipment.
Yet, the true difference lay in the way the other Summoned Undead reacted to the presence of the Sergeant. They all stood in a line and stood taller and straighter. The Soldiers held their swords to their shoulder and the shield in front of them. The Warriors held their axes against the front of their shields. The Archers and Longbowmen held their bows against their shoulder, the string out.
Alaster watched intently as the Sergeant slowly walked down the line, glancing at each one, occasionally adjusting the Undead when they didn’t suit it. At the end of the line, it stood at attention, similar to the Soldiers.
‘I’d laugh if it wasn’t impressive.’
Alaster had not commanded any of them to do any of this.
“Sergeant!” He called, causing the newest Undead to take a single step forward.
“How many can you command effectively?” Alaster asked, emulating Lukas when he talked to his men.
The Sergeant shoved its sword into the loose black earth and held up five fingers, then it made a fist, and held up five fingers again.
“Ten? If ordered, could you command more?”
It pulled its sword out and thumped it against its shield like a salute, before returning to attention.
“You can? But not effectively. Then until I can summon a total of ten Soldiers and Warriors, you are also in command of the Longbowmen. I will handle the Archers. Are you capable of commanding them?” Alaster asked, pointing to his Custom Undead, who had been forced into formation by the Minotaurs before they took position at the rear.
The Sergeant shook its head, hanging it in disappointment. Like it was saddened that it wasn’t up to par.
“That’s alright. I wouldn’t want you to, anyway. They will do the bulk of the fighting. I want you to keep your men out of the way, attacking the flanks or rear. However, if I can resummon your men a lot easier than rebuilt these ones. So, if you see an opportunity to protect them or distract the enemy and allow them to counterattack, I want you to do it. Understood?”
The Sergeant saluted once more.
“Good! Dismissed.”
As one, all the Summoned Undead saluted, before relaxing to their usual states.
Alaster released his Stallion from the [Soul Domain] and mounted it while he watched his Summoned Undead mill about.
‘They are more active with the Sergeant around.’ Alaster noted.
Normally the Summoned Undead were just like his normal Undead before they were given a Mind, which he could now use a total of fifteen hundred Mana, instead of the thousand Mana he had grown used to. The increase had improved their intelligence, but not by much.
However, now with the Sergeant present, they acted more like his Blackguards. Still simple and certainly not lifelike, but more than just mindless constructs.
It was fascinating but did not mean much to his current predicament. He was still in a Dungeon he really didn’t have a right to be in.
After that last battle, Alaster was now level forty-nine. But it wouldn’t matter if he reached level fifty. He wouldn’t be able to advance to Expert until he left the Dungeon. And with the advanced Rank of the Dungeon, there was no escape unless he defeated the Boss.
Rolling his shoulders, Alaster grabbed his black halberd from where he stuck it in the ground.
“Forward!” He ordered.
He had lost track of how many days he had spent in the Dungeon. The blood red sky never changed. But by this point, had defeated four roaming parties of Devils. With all these new changes, he was interested in seeing how the fifth would fare.