Noah walked alongside the ancient stone structure. It was apparent that in addition to stretching all the way up to the peaks of the mountain range, the base of the tower extended deeper into the Hollowed Depths.

'Why did they build such a massive tower, and how? The people from the other world were at a technological level similar to our world's Middle Ages. They must have had many powerful and skilled Touched to accomplish something like this.'

Through their shared connection, Noah suddenly sensed that Claws, who was leading the group, had stumbled upon something interesting. Curious, Noah hurried to the undead reptile's location.

'Whoa...'

The tower's stone blocks had collapsed at the spot where Claws stood. Equally interesting, there was a corpse leaning against the tower—a massive corpse, encased in thick steel armor that would make Steve's shredded plate armor look like a child's costume.

After using his ability to ensure no essence cores were present in the tower's interior, Noah turned on his omni device's flashlight and peeked inside.

It appeared to be a large hall, but only the stone remained; any items or furnishings had either been taken or had rotted away, depending on the tower's true age. The stairs leading to an upper floor had collapsed long ago.

'What is that...?'

Directing his wrist at the interior's walls, shining a beam of light on them, Noah noticed a relief that seemed to have survived, depicting a rather morbid scene—countless amorphous forms with human faces that appeared to be in agony, all moving in the same direction.

'Yeah, that's not creepy at all. I think I'll pass on exploring that cheerful place.'

Turning off the flashlight, Noah turned his attention back to the corpse, leaning against the tower's wall as if it had stopped to rest for a moment before dying.

'Was that thing even human? It must be close to three meters tall.'

Noah leaned in close and peered through the armored corpse's visor slit. The skull behind it appeared human enough, as far as he could tell.

One of the corpse's arms clutched a tower shield, while the other gripped an oversized war hammer.

'How did you die?'

As far as Noah could tell, there were no puncture marks on the armor to indicate any injury. In fact, aside from dust and grime, the weapons and armor were in surprisingly good condition, not even rusted. Curious, Noah scraped the dirt off a section of the plate armor, causing the exposed black metal to glisten in the light of Harold's torch.

'Wait, is that Dark Steel?!'

If the giant's gear was indeed crafted from the rare metal, it would explain its remarkable preservation, considering the corpse is likely at least several centuries old.

'Still, that giant was walking around wearing a literal fortune.'

Dark Steel, originating from the other world, is so rare and expensive that even powerful Touched and elite military units do not use equipment made from pure Dark Steel. Instead, it's combined with metals from our world to create powerful, yet still incredibly costly, alloys.

With a technological level equivalent to the Middle Ages, the people from the other world would not have been able to build forges hot enough to melt Dark Steel. Only Touched who had mastered their fire abilities could accomplish such a feat.

'Who were you, a king or something?'

Taking a step back, Noah knew what he had to do now as he gazed intently upon the ancient corpse.

'Rise!'

Streams of sickly green essence formed and swirled around the fallen giant, causing its chest to rise, before Noah gasped, the essence dissipated, and the giant slumped back down.

'Heh, I don't have enough essence. It's as I thought, that giant was incredibly powerful.'

Turning around, Noah surveyed his minions arrayed around him. Claws and Steve were his powerhouses, and he had no intention of getting rid of either of them. Especially Steve, his first companion, who had saved Noah's life countless times.

Harold was not particularly powerful, yet the undead ape provided a certain nurturing care during these hellish times, making Noah loathe the idea of dismissing it.

That left the remaining cave dwellers and the newly acquired four-armed devils. The former were weaker but provided a certain utility with their spears. Wishing to keep some of the cave dwellers, Noah dismissed four of them, the light dissipating from their eye sockets as their bones collapsed into piles on the cave floor.

However, when Noah attempted to raise the giant again, it became evident he still needed to free up a significant amount of essence.

Quite reluctantly, Noah turned to the rather unsettling four-armed monsters, dismissing five of them.

'This better be enough...' Noah grimaced at the high price he had to pay as he shifted his focus back to the giant corpse. 'Rise!'

Large amounts of glimmering essence poured out of Noah and swirled once more around the giant, coaxing the corpse to rise. Again, the giant's chest began to lift, yet Noah felt drained, sweat trickling down his face.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

'Just... a bit more. Rise!'

As Noah collapsed to his knees, all essence spent, a pale green light shone through the corpse's visor slit, and the giant began to levitate until he stood upright for the first time in centuries.

'He...?'

Noah gazed up at the armored giant looming above him. In fact, he never questioned why Steve was a 'he' either, as though that knowledge was innately borne from their bond of minion and master.

'What about my monsters, though? Maybe it's easier to connect with other humans? Whatever, I've got more important things to worry about right now.'

The giant scanned his surroundings, seemingly studying the skeletons around him, before his gaze settled on Noah. After a short moment he knelt, his heavy armor creaking, and lifted his war hammer and tower shield.

With a sigh, Noah attempted to rise to his feet as well, but suddenly felt horribly dizzy and lightheaded, collapsing back down and panting heavily. Harold immediately dashed to Noah's side, gently helping him up and providing support.

"Thanks, Harold..."

Given his weakened state and the late hour, Noah decided to camp beside the ancient tower. Monsters seemed to steer clear of the structure, and Noah was too exhausted to ponder whether he should also be keeping his distance.

The remaining cave dwellers and four-armed monsters formed a defensive circle around the makeshift camp, while Claws stalked the perimeter beyond for any would be intruders. Steve employed his fire ability to assist Harold in roasting the fish caught earlier, while the giant stood nearby, doing an excellent job at looking terrifying.

After removing his wet, ragged clothes to dry them, Noah sat mostly naked, awaiting his dinner. Looking down at his body, he barely recognized himself. While no skinny idol, Noah had lost considerable weight and gained muscle. Almost everywhere he looked, there were injuries in various stages of healing, as well as scars. So many scars.

The weight of what he had endured, along with the deeds he was forced to commit, weighed heavily on Noah this lonely night. He tried to muster his rage, to be angry again at those responsible, but failed. He was simply too worn out.

"Quite a catch you claimed for yourself today." As if on cue, Silas' gruff voice echoed in Noah's mind.

Shifting his gaze to the armored giant, Noah simply nodded, not in the right state of mind to deal with his incorporeal passenger.

"You've grown quite powerful." Silas continued.

'Not powerful enough though...'

Noah continued to sit in silence, and eventually, the aroma of the roasting fish fully captured his attention, providing a perfect distraction from his gloomy state of mind.

By the time Harold handed him the first fish, Noah was practically salivating. While still too hot, he sank his teeth into the crunchy exterior, which gave way to the tender flesh beneath.

'So good!'

After subsisting on nothing but questionable monster meat, the semi-normal looking fish, at least relative to this hellish world, simply roasted over a fire, tasted like the best meal Noah had ever had. After filling his belly with the rest of the fish, his mood improved somewhat.

As always before going to sleep, Noah closed his eyes and carefully scanned his body for parasites. Saving his thorax for last, he clenched his jaw as he examined his own essence core. It was true; he had grown incredibly powerful. No other Touched could gain so much power in such a short time, yet time was what Noah lacked.

Despite feeling as though the weight of the world rested on his shoulders, Noah fell into a deep slumber rather swiftly, due to how far he had pushed himself that day and his state of exhaustion. However, even in sleep, there was no respite. Horrific nightmares plagued Noah throughout the night, yet when he awoke early in the morning, he remembered nothing, save for an uneasy feeling.

With renewed vigor, Noah packed up and continued his trek. Since Silas was unfamiliar with this area, Noah chose a route based on his gut feeling.

After gaining some distance from the ancient tower, Noah suddenly felt a great sense of relief, as though a hex had been lifted from him. That place was clearly bad news, and after glancing at the armored giant marching nearby, Noah couldn't help but wonder if he was part of whatever was going on there, or if his latest minion had fallen victim to it, centuries ago.

'While we're on the subject of the giant... he's human, right? Albeit a freakishly large one.'

If he was important enough to possess a set of pure Dark Steel armor and weapons, and considering the amount of essence Noah had to expend to raise the giant, he must have been a powerful Touched, which meant he should have powers, like Steve.

'Show me your powers,' Noah commanded through their mental link.

The giant glanced at Noah, green light shimmering through the slit of his full helmet, before swinging his war hammer with an explosive display of might, smashing it into the cave wall. Dust, debris, and rocks blasted from the impact.

Noah raised his arms to shield his face from the debris. "What the duck?! Are you crazy? You could have caused a cave-in!"

After the dust settled, Noah surveyed the impact zone. The giant's war hammer had left a crater in the cave wall, while the giant himself was gazing at Noah again, seemingly unremorseful.

'Eh, whatever. So, given that display, I'm assuming the giant's Touched ability is enhanced strength? That's pretty rare. It'll be useful having my minion version of a battering ram, bulldozing through my enemies. And if I manage to make it back to The Arc—and that's a pretty big 'if'—I'll sell his armor. Me and grandma will be set for life.'

As Noah was busy making plans, another piece of rock dislodged from the cave wall, allowing a beam of daylight to pierce the dark cavern.

"No way! Dozer, smash us a way through!"

Ignoring the fact that he was commanding the giant to do what he had just reprimanded him for, as well as nonchalantly naming him, Noah looked away, shielding himself, as Dozer smashed his war hammer again and again, with more light peering through with each strike.

After using his ability to check if there were any monsters on the other side, Noah sent Claws and a couple of the four-armed monsters through the newly formed opening, then followed through. The sunlight was almost blinding after spending several days in the darkness of the Hollowed Depths. Noah squinted as he adjusted, attempting to take in the view.

As Noah's vision slowly returned, the glare of the sun gave way to a breathtaking sight. Far off into the distance, an enormous structure rose from the landscape. Stepped layers led to a flat summit, its silhouette unmistakable against the horizon.

'Schuler's Pyramid.'

Glancing back, Noah could see the spire and the mountain range. Even though he was still on its lower slopes, he had indeed managed to reach the other side. Now, if he could circle safely around the pyramid and continue north, Noah would finally reach The Arc.

He was so close... and that's what made it cruel, almost too much for Noah to handle, but it had to be done.

The knowledge that he was in familiar territory and yet would probably not live to see tomorrow was painful. However, there was no going back. Selecting a relatively hidden spot, Noah sat down on a rock, forming a tight, defensive circle with his minions around him, aside from Steve, who stood by his side.

Raising his wrist, Noah checked the display of his omni device, whose solar panels were now recharging. He hoped that perhaps he'd have a connection, now that he was closer to Arcturus City than ever before, but his hopes were dashed upon seeing the familiar 'no service' text.

With a heavy sigh, Noah nodded and issued a mental command to Steve. The loyal undead warrior paused for a moment, perhaps hesitating, before raising his greatsword, poised to behead his master with a single slash.

"Eh, what exactly are you doing, kid?" Silas asked.

"Enough, Silas. I'm weak, not stupid. It's time to settle things between us."