After three bends in the tunnel, Mark found another skeleton loitering in the area. It appeared more intelligent than the first. For one, it swiveled its skull in all directions randomly, while stumbling around in an attempt to patrol. But it still lacked sight and hearing.

Mark moved a greater distance away this time. To try and learn necromancy from the skeleton's body, he needed it to remain relatively intact. He wanted to disable it with his magic spells alone.

The skeleton didn't even sense him completing his first Magic Missile before it smashed open a hole into its body. Its body careened to the side, but Mark did not relent. Magic Missiles streamed down the tunnel and chipped away at its arms and legs.

Even without limbs, the skeleton continued to drag itself forwards. While it slowly inched his way, Mark stepped forwards, maintaining his sight on the tunnel ahead of him. His aim hadn't been the best. Some of his spells thudded the wall loudly, and he hoped nothing heard those noises.

Mark quickly dragged the skeleton's body back into his cave. Then he plunged his hands full of swirling magic into the monster's body, trying his best to get a different response. All he received though were constant screens. They appeared in front of him like a computer infected with a virus, displaying the same text.

Eventually, the monster expired. Mark thought it would last longer but the integrity of its body was much too damaged.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 2.

He did gain something out of his experiment, though. A new level. With it came three additional free stat points for him to distribute. It was time to start making decisions on how he should be distributing his points.

Mark stared at his status screen. In this strange environment, he still lacked the confidence to dump all his stats into Intelligence. There were still too many unknown variables for him to proceed safely.

He knew he had to put some points into Vitality. With only two bread loaves and water bottles remaining, he probably needed to scavenge for food underground to last the entire three months. Digesting this type of food couldn't be easy, so these points were aimed to ease that transition.

Strength and Endurance were less necessary stats. They were more helpful for someone who'd be farming on their own, but he planned to delegate this to his minions. As a lone Mage, more Dexterity would also help with his movement, but he didn't need it currently. Though every stat was key to his survival, Mark had no way to raise them all. He needed a focus.

Intelligence was probably one of his core stats. It had to be his primary focus. First, Mark checked his gray inner space, and was surprised to see three little balls of light dancing inside. Were these his stat points?

He opened his status screen, distributing one of his points into Intelligence. A light orb correspondingly slipped towards his head. Mark let it hit him and immediately saw a small change in his magical spark, almost too small to notice. But it was there.

Mark placed a second point into Intelligence and the third into Vitality. They rushed into his head and body respectively, surprisingly in different locations. After a brief tingle, somehow, the air seemed less dusty when Mark left his inner space.

Only Wisdom remained a mystery for him to understand. What were its concrete effects? He needed to gain a few more levels to experiment safely. And to do that, it was necessary for him to delve even deeper into these tunnels.

After placing the skeleton's body into his pocket plane, Mark continued onwards. The environment around him was starting to widen bit by bit. But his breathing became heavier the more he wandered. He even saw clouds of dust becoming visible from the light of his torch.

Some of the walls contained openings to small caves. Though they were empty, Mark wondered if other people had been inside them. His curiosity outweighed his fear, and he continued to rapidly move deeper into the tunnels, only slowing down whenever he heard scraping in the distance.

Mark came to a stop once a distinct opening appeared ahead of him. After three empty ones, something told him this one was not. He watched the space warily.

Footsteps. They were soft, but his hearing had managed to pick them up. He tossed his torch inside and waited for the monster to appear.

It was another skeleton. Yet this one carried both a sword and a shield. Its grinning skull and flaming eye sockets made it look so much more threatening than the previous two he had fought. Mark hung back, observing for opportunities as it wandered around the room. But when he saw its face turn towards him with flickering eyes, he knew his old tactics wouldn't work.

A Magic Missile soared towards the skeleton's skull, and it raised its shield to block. His spell only created a small dent.

"Definitely smarter," Mark said. He frowned. This skeleton acted almost like a seasoned warrior, unlike the clueless skeletons from before.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

It continued to approach him with shield held high, and steps so steady he almost thought it was still alive. But closer observation revealed its flaws. Its speed never changed, even as Mark jogged backwards, and its posture remained rigid while it moved.

The magic powering this monster might've been at a higher level, but it couldn't be too high. Such a risk was manageable considering the insights he could glean from its corpse.

Three Magic Missiles tried to slip past the skeleton's defenses, but it turned and blocked each hit in quick succession. Mark quickened his steps and moved behind the monster, only for it to turn with him. They continued this dance for another few rounds before he noticed it had barely taken another step forward.

Mark's suspicion prompted him to toss out a stray Magic Missile at the skeleton's back while continuing to run in circles at full speed. Unlike what he expected, its eyes did not follow him this time. Instead, its turning stopped midway, when it raised its shield to block.

It can't block the Magic Missile and continue tracking me, Mark observed. Charging another Magic Missile in his hands, he sent it soaring towards the skeleton's legs. It smashed apart its knee and forced it to stumble forwards.

Mark was on top of it within moments, his foot coming straight down onto its skull. One stomp broke its nose; the second crushed its eye socket. A Magic Missile prevented the skeleton from immediately raising its weapons to defend.

But the undead monster was much stronger than he had expected. It continued to push itself back up, forcing Mark to resort to more heavy-handed methods. A few more stomps carefully targeted at the skeleton's skull dimmed the flames inside its eyes.

Its movements became more sluggish. Mark's muscles ached, but he kept an iron grip on the monster's limbs. Still, its strength was much greater than his, and even though he held the advantage, he only managed to pour a small dose of mana into its body before his arms began to give way.

Mark was forced to finish it off to prevent it from regaining control. He collapsed onto the corpse a moment later, panting. Although a slight pain had re-appeared in his temple, he was beginning to adapt to the effects of spellcasting.

Pushing through the exhaustion was easy enough. He had also learned how to send many tendrils of magic to roam around the body, upping the speed for whatever he was doing. There seemed to be a slight response - different from the system screen, causing him to grin - and then it all faded away.

[Skeleton] - A humanoid corpse. Raised by necromancy, it slowly decayed over time and eventually fell to blunt damage.

Raised? Mark almost missed that key difference between this corpse and the other two skeletons. This undead monster was not animated, but raised. It was a hint to the existence of higher-level magic which gave it its intelligence.

Mark understood little about the magical forces bound to the skeleton's body. His attempts revealed little, since they disappeared within seconds once the skeleton was confirmed dead by the system. But if he sought more out, he could study them further, and perhaps discern the inner workings of necromancy from these skeletons. The effects might be even better if he could somehow capture one fully intact. It needed to remain alive for a longer period of time.

A scraping noise returned in the distance, distracting Mark from his thoughts. Accompanying it was a soft scuffling noise. Whatever that was, it sounded like it had moved closer to his position.

Mark became silent, but he could not tell which direction it came from. He picked up his torch and looked back and forth from the two tunnels. Was it coming from behind him?

Straining his ears to the limit, Mark crept back to the entrance and peeked back into the darkness. He only had to stop for a moment before he realized the sound was coming closer - and fast.

Mark ducked back into the room with the skeleton and hid in the corner. The scraping drew closer, accompanied by harsh footsteps, and within seconds, a humanoid figure slipped past the opening. Dirt trailed behind it, parted into two thick lines.

The sounds immediately paused, but they hadn't faded away. The monster had stopped just outside the entrance to his room. A sound broke the silence: the sound of a pig snorting.

It's the monster. It's trying to smell me, Mark realized. Without a moment of hesitation, he sprang up and ran deeper into the cavern. The monster was too fast for him to escape backwards. He had to take the risk to go even deeper into the mines.

A roar came from behind him as Mark traveled down the tunnel and into a bend. He pumped his legs as fast as he could. Its grunts still became louder and louder, until they almost touched his back. The thing was so much faster than him - but it was also dumb. As he turned a corner, it crashed into the stone wall instead.

Mark, thankful for the brief respite, eyed the monster as it struggled to tear itself free from rock. He wanted to possibly exploit its weakness but was immediately taken aback by its appearance. The head of a pig and the muscular body of a human stood firmly against the wall. Two long, bladed weapons were clenched tightly in its hands, buried deep inside stone.

A Magic Missile splashed against the orc's head and fizzled out. It appeared to do no visible damage, and Mark started to back away. Without waiting for the monster to free itself, he continued to sprint away even faster.

Another howl of rage erupted through the tunnel, and Mark's blood ran cold. A massive force blasted him off his feet, sending him tumbling. Fortunately, he caught himself before he could fall down the ledge. The tunnels had finally opened up into a yawning pit.

He had to make a choice. Run in another direction, continuing to follow the unending tunnels, or drop into the pit. But even though Mark could flee elsewhere, there was no guarantee he'd be able to escape from the orc. He wasn't a Rogue who could hide, nor was he a Warrior with good speed or endurance.

He looked backwards. The monster was still making horrific noises, trying to shove itself out of the wall. Mark did not want to face this thing again. He threw down one of the skeleton's bones he had picked up and heard a slight noise.

The drop seemed to be survivable. With no better alternative, he lowered himself over the ledge and fell.