Mark's upgraded torch was enough to let him see what was in front of him. His undead goblin apprentice, two goblin warriors, and orc filed out from his pocket plane as soon as Elise and James disappeared from sight. She had looked quite jittery, which surprised him.
After all, they were both mages. She shouldn't be so scared unless there was something here which could threaten her life in an instant.
That thought caused Mark to pause. He didn't exactly feel safe with his current goblin minions. Access to stronger minions was necessary as soon as possible, which meant exploring some of the floor first. The other thing he could do was hone the summoning speed of his portal for one last time. Mark had practiced this whenever he had the time, and he felt he was getting close to a breakthrough.
He had no doubt Elise would be waiting for him as soon as he walked back up the tunnel to the upper floor. That meant he was confined to the current floor if he wanted to pass the test. If he wanted more minions, he could get them from other places before going into the test area.
Though he failed to find any dead bodies, he managed to encounter a new enemy quite a good distance away from the location of his test. A normal person could never make their way back through these winding tunnels, but he had dropped many, many "bread crumbs" out of sight. Mark kept pieces of bone in his pockets just for this moment.
Once Mark saw a silhouette appear in the distance, he stopped. It was a skeleton warrior. Level 11 this time, and its soul flames were the brightest he had ever seen. The skeleton carried a polished shield and sword. It wore leather armor and looked like a proper undead soldier.
Mark peppered the monster with his spells, but its shield gleamed with an ethereal energy. It didn't seem like an item, though. Instead, it looked more like a skill. This undead knight had the ability to harden its shield against his spells. It made sure none of his attacks hit its skull.
Even after a full barrage, no visible damage appeared. Mark took a few steps back and let his minions take over. Though sturdy, the skeleton was still no match for his orc's savagery. And his goblin apprentice's firepower was nothing to scoff at with access to the Staff of Fire.
Their spells bludgeoned the skeleton warrior's flanks and shattered the parts which it could not defend. Though this tactic was effective, their spells had broken many of the knight's bones. He could trade a few of his goblins to reanimate the knight, but it lacked his goblin warrior's durability. Heavy armor made much more of a difference than leather armor.
Mark made sure the monster kept its skill though. Since its block skill was not up to par, Mark decided to place the corpse into his pocket plane as reserves. The piles of bodies and their scattered parts were beginning to stack up high, and he had to use some effort.
"I really do need to find a use for these," he said. "Can I use them to make my own undead monster?" Taking various parts of monsters and fusing them together would possibly let him specialize some of his undead monsters. He could also try learning how to repair his undead through this type of study.
It was just a thought for now. Mark walked back out and continued deeper into the mine tunnels. He sought out undead who were less well-defended, making them more preserved after the battle. There were three in the area: three Level 12 warriors carrying different equipment. One wore iron armor, heavy but not as sturdy as the goblin's. Another donned a massive tower shield. The third only had a cloak.
Mark killed all three using his own unique methods. Working together with his orc, his goblins had superior firepower especially since skeletons lacked speed and maneuverability. By leading them around, he could slay them with no trouble.
The warrior with iron armor carried a greatsword around. Its skill allowed it to swing its weapon rapidly, enough to strike three times with enhanced speed. Those hits broke apart a chunk of his goblin warrior's armor and were almost enough to break it apart. Mark killed it before that could happen, but firing spells off with no holds barred made the monster more damaged than he'd like.
He replaced the goblin anyway and attacked the warrior with a cloak. Though it only carried a short sword, this undead was swifter than he expected. It often traveled in short bursts of speed, slicing through his goblin apprentice's throat a few times until it realized that wasn't enough to kill it. Then it tried to brutalize the small undead goblin with its pommel.
Its inability to get anything done made it far easier for Mark's orc to smack the monster squarely in its face. This skeleton warrior liked to target mages, but it chose the wrong target.
After the fight, he exchanged the badly damaged body of the greatsword warrior, who unfortunately forgot its skill, for this speedy undead minion. This one did keep its skill.
Then Mark continued onwards to the third skeleton warrior. It had a massive tower shield, and sat there waiting for him to come closer. Mark obliged, but sent in his goblin warrior first to gauge its reaction. A javelin soared out from behind its shield, sliding through the gap in his warrior's helmet and crushing its head instantly.
Mark retreated with his shortsword warrior and had his goblin mage try its best to attack. The undead warrior did not move, however. As magic bounced off its shield, it refused to do anything else except block the fire mage from attacking its flanks.
He waited until it completely turned around. Then he blasted it in its back. After a few crumbs of bone tumbled from its body, the skeleton heaved its entire shield to face him instead. But it was too overburdened to do so quickly. With Mark and his goblin mage attacking its back again and again, the undead warrior could no longer defend itself.
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The spellfire did some damage, but Mark made sure it did only enough to distract the undead. He walked closer and looked for another weak point. Near the monster's rusted helmet, there was a spot where if he aimed properly, he could strike the soul flames and not cause too much collateral damage.
Its armor was not as good as the first warrior. Once the helmet crumbled, Mark sent a Magic Missile to extinguish the monster's soul flames.
Congratulations! You have reached Level 15.
Intelligence: 33 -> 36
Mark dismissed the system and reanimated the tower shield warrior. It looked so much better than his other undead. Having an intact body made it move smoother than the damaged bodies he had been using. The difference was so noticeable Mark vowed to find a way to repair his undead as his first priority. As his Magic Missiles grew stronger, and his enemies more durable, they would be more likely to break down before he even got a chance to reanimate them. Access to healthy undead bodies was thus necessary for Mark to maintain maximal efficiency.
"That wasn't so bad," Mark muttered. "I wonder what Elise was so scared of." It was time for him to head back, and according to the system clock, only a few hours had passed.
Now, only the goblin apprentice remained from his team of goblins. Though it was weak, it still remained useful by picking up the dropped bones along the way, leading Mark back to the trial location without alerting others in the future.
Before he went into the darkness, he armed his minions properly. He checked the Staff of Fire for any changes. His cloaked skeleton warrior donned Bruce's sword and helmet. Finally, the tower shield warrior was given a set of sharpened giant skeleton bones to throw instead, along with its original javelin. It carried a torch and not a sword in its other hand to help light up the way.
Mark felt proud assembling his team. Watching the tower shield skeleton stride forward like a beacon was a sight to see. When an arrow fell harmlessly against the shield, his eyes lit up. And when his goblin mage blasted apart the skeleton archer, he smiled in satisfaction.
The Firebolts from his goblin enabled him to catch a glimpse of the cavern's appearance. Atop a massive stone structure, sunken into the wall, stood a large number of skeletons. Not all of them looked active though. Only some drew their bows and shot arrows down at his party.
Mark could try staying here and sniping them all down, but there was no time. So he relied on the tower shield to ignore the skeleton archers. As they silently moved forwards, he shivered under the repetitive sounds of arrows striking metal, but the noise faded away once they moved a certain distance. His cloaked skeleton still held its shield up high for insurance, though.
After crossing the stone battlements area, Mark's team came across a pair of wide open gates. They seemed to welcome him to a dark, abandoned castle. Wary of an ambush, he had the tower shield skeleton advance first. The undead stepped inside and scanned around for enemies, but there was nothing there. Only a closed door sitting at the opposite side of the room.
His entire team cautiously went inside. It was fine and dandy until Mark decided to step in last. Once he made it through, the gates snapped shut behind him. A group of skeletal hands rose from the ground and heaved themselves upward. Mark took the opportunity to break as many as he could, but there were too many.
Nine skeletons in total climbed up from below the floor. Five of them ended up with broken hands, but they still managed to push through the floor like it wasn't completely solid. Only the undamaged ones were any threat though, because they were the only ones who could pull out the shields and swords strapped to their waists.
After Mark blew those to pieces, he watched the other four fall to his cloaked skeleton's attacks. Its speed coupled with the enchanted sharpness of Bruce's sword made it an excellent fighter. It quickly sliced through the four skeletons and retreated back to protect Mark's flank.
Another swarm of hands appeared on the floor, but this time he was ready. His goblin apprentice had scattered some torches on the floor. By using the light they emitted, his swarm of magic missiles landed with greater accuracy, leaving only two skeleton warriors as his enemies.
Though well-armed, these skeletons seemed less intelligent somehow. Their skill in battle was far lower than even the stubborn tower shield warrior, who simply stood there to die. Mark saw them make mistakes he hadn't seen before, such as overextending against any of his fighters. It allowed his minions to finish them off much more quickly even though they had high levels.
Mark's senses were tingling. This whole situation was weird. The never-ending waves of skeletons made him focus his attention on the floor. It looked just like a floor he'd expect to find in abandoned places. Cracked, with a few bits and pieces scattered about.
But if there ever was a way to stop the undead from coming, it would be down there. The entire room was sealed off but they still rose from the ground. Mark was certain something had to be supplying them with magical power, considering the behavior of the undead he had encountered. Something was different about these skeletons.
He gazed intently as the third wave broke through the ground. Magic writhed through his fingertips at the right moment and descended to touch the stone floor. It pulsed for a few beats and returned some information.
Veil of the Murky Deep - A concealment spell designed to hide away important details and blend in with its surroundings. Modified to provide a modicum of resistance against physical and magical forces.
Mark frowned. Was the floor actually broken? He couldn't tell.
Mark had his minions fend off the undead while he carefully inspected the floors. A fourth wave of undead was beginning to rise, but he used the ripples caused by their existence to discover a loose piece of stone before they made it through. He pried it away and found a tunnel leading downwards.
The moment he entered, Mark heard something break. Bones rattled as they fell on the floor from where they had just been standing. He poked his head back out and saw the gates creak open as well. The illusion fell away to reveal a floor filled with holes. Inside them were piles of corpses, and he couldn't see the bottom.
Mark stayed silent for a few minutes. Then he continued downwards and ended up in a small room with a vibrant blue orb. Yet there was a crack running down the side, and he could tell magical energy was leaking through that crack.
Mana Core (Damaged) - The crystallization of energy acquired from a monster above a certain level. Has many uses. Was cracked long before powering a continuous spell.
Most of the description, he understood. But what was this about a certain level?