With Bruce's death, Mark had lost a valuable source of information. He considered returning back to the dark cavern where the beetles were. Perhaps these items would help him survive there.

But both artifacts couldn't be used at the same time by his animated undead. For Bruce to unleash the magic contained inside them, Mark needed to send his own magic towards the items, and he just didn't have the mana pool for that. Maintaining Animate Dead reduced his maximum capacity.

It was enough to prevent him from reanimating the skeleton knight, even with its damaged body. He kept that corpse to the side. It would still be helpful when he decided to test other forms of magic on it.

Mark moved on to studying his two artifact's powers. When steadily fueled with magic like the torch, the Helm of Ruined Light gave off a beam of light, similar to a flashlight. A higher dose of magic drastically intensified this beam, burning whatever it hit.

Meanwhile, the Sword of Ruined Light's blade gleamed with a sharper edge. But to sustain this effect required much more magic than the passive form of the helmet. Switching between the two artifacts took time, so Mark decided to prioritize the more cost-effective light source instead. He activated the light and directed Bruce to press onwards. Returning to the dark cavern was probably not the best idea considering his various deficiencies currently.

According to Bruce before his death, new enemies were ahead, who were able to completely crush him and Jonah at first contact. Goblins. It was a hunch, but Mark figured there was a better path to progress his skills through them rather than the insects behind him.

He took the Helm of Ruined Light and secured it onto Bruce's skull. One thing he noticed when fighting the other undead skeletons was that their heads were more vulnerable than other spots in their body. Especially if their eyes contained flames. Reducing the integrity of the skull was a powerful way to debilitate the undead's connection to their body. Hopefully this helmet would give Bruce some much-needed protection.

With Bruce leading the way, Mark trailed behind at a great distance, letting his minion stay just out of reach. This way, he would be best prepared to react depending on how quickly Bruce took damage.

He traveled for a good distance down the tunnel before he found another room like the ones before. It contained another sword-and-board Raised skeleton at Level 3. By using Bruce alone, Mark was able to practice his combat skills on this monster while managing to save quite a bit of his magical reserves.

Even when inactive, the sword proved surprisingly effective on bone. Though the blade was held back by the rusted shield, it cut cleanly through the undead's body. Mark killed it easily even with Bruce's mediocre way of handling the weapon. Under his active control, the two skeletons had similar combat skills.

This encounter barely slowed him down. After analyzing what he could from the corpse, Mark journeyed ahead to discover more and more rooms. Inside them lived many types of undead, in larger groups, and with varying levels of strength. They ranged from packs of undead beasts to a pair of giant skeletons with shields.

That fight was the only fight tougher than his encounter with the skeleton knight. Although they lacked the same defensive power, their speed and weapon size became a major advantage over Mark. Their undoing came from the tunnel's short height - the two giant skeletons were unable to pass through.

Mark was then able to summon his portal inside the room, forcing one of them into his portal before he gained the advantage in that fight. Fortunately, their shields were much harder to use effectively with their size, making it easier to get past their defenses. He guided Bruce to slay them cleanly.

None of the creatures he faced had a level higher than 3, however. Most were below that level. After clearing six of these rooms, Mark received a breadth of experience to push him to Level 6, but it wasn't yet enough for level 7. He distributed his stats based on his deficiencies, placing four points into Intelligence, two into Vitality, and three into Endurance.

Mark Winters - Level 6

Class: Mage (Common)

Stats

Strength: 6

Dexterity: 5

Endurance: 10

Vitality: 9

Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 6

His pocket plane was full of the many corpses he collected after each battle. One day, they'd be of use, he told himself. Since he had so much space inside his pocket plane, it was wasteful to let them continue sitting inside dark empty rooms. Some were placed near the mushrooms to rot. Mark hoped the corpses would help fertilize the earth, even if they did nothing else.

He exited the pocket plane and continued traveling, but then stopped. The environment around them had slowly but surely changed. Occasionally, a piece of wood could be found buried somewhere in the walls or floor. But now there were many more pieces scattered around, showing the presence of civilized craftsmanship.

Mark was not yet confident in fighting a band of goblins who knew every nook and cranny in these caves. His current ability was only enough to face a few monsters at a time. If Bruce fell early, Mark could still slay a couple of goblins by himself, but any more would overwhelm him easily.

So he turned back. It was better to hide in his pocket plane and improve his abilities some more. After having fought many battles, he was growing closer to an upgrade.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

The spell Magic Missile contained many possibilities from its base form as a projectile. His speed of spellcasting had already increased to half a second, and he often managed to streamline the spell for speed. By altering the flow of his magical energy, Mark could also give it additional features.

Mark only took a few more half-hours of practice to perfect his variations. A slight spin gave the projectile additional maneuverability, and a quicker injection of magical power gave the Magic Missile amplified size without lowering casting speed. After effortlessly casting all types of Magic Missiles in rapid succession, the skill upgraded.

Magic Missile (Common) -> Enhanced Magic Missile (Uncommon) - An active skill for mages who have delved deep into the workings of Magic Missile. Precision and power increased.

He also practiced controlling two undead creatures at the same time. The weight on his mana increased, but Mark finally felt confident enough to face down a goblin ambush. He'd still need to play it smart though. Rushing them head-on would never work no matter how much he improved.

Finally, Mark did his best to increase the speed of summoning his pocket plane. His idea was to keep the corpses inside as a reserve. But only being able to access them after a period of concentration left him defenseless. Shortening this time down was the most he could do, and Mark managed under fifteen seconds.

He animated one of his skeletal beasts - a hound - and sent it forwards as a scout. In many ways, these undead creatures lacked the same abilities as their living counterparts. Since they were only made of bone, their attacks did not have the same amount of weight behind them. Still, their speed made them useful enough.

Compared to the hound, Bruce's sword and shield made him much more effective as a generalist fighter who Mark could hide behind. Once the beast fell, he planned to immediately open his portal and animate another skeleton to help him fight. This one would carry the skeleton giant's larger shield as its sole purpose, increasing his defense against arrows.

Not long after entering an area with broken wood scaffolding, his animated hound died. But when Mark tried to open up his portal, his senses cried out in alarm. He immediately swung his body heavily and dodged an arrow aimed at his neck. Then he hid behind Bruce's shield and saw three goblins stream out from the tunnel ahead of him.

With a cold sweat, he realized these goblins were much smarter than he expected. They must've detected his undead beast early, but instead of killing it immediately, recognized the taint of magic and ignored it. He had still fallen into their trap.

But the narrowness of the tunnel and Mark's own practice with Bruce allowed him to block the other two arrows from reaching him. He opened his pocket plane, animated the body he wanted, and stepped back out.

Then he identified the creatures. Mark's new Identify spell had a much higher range and a swift cast time. It only took a second for him to understand what he was facing.

Feral Goblin - Level 3

Mark was too well protected, so the goblins had to come closer. He made sure his first move was a devastating one. After concentrating on strengthening two Magic Missiles to its limit, he threw them out. They slammed into one of the goblins caught off guard as it was drawing another arrow.

Good, they still have flaws. The cloud of their kin's blood barely fazed the other goblins from firing off a barrage of arrows. Mark was still pinned behind the two shields, but he had to take the risk and finish them off before more arrived.

He controlled Bruce to advance. The goblins were swift to dodge a sword swing, but Mark was able to score another kill with a well-placed Magic Missile.

Then he saw a light approaching rapidly. Mark's eyes widened in sheer panic as he ran backwards as quickly as he could. The Fireball rocketed directly into his shield skeleton and exploded, blowing it into pieces within moments. Only ash remained.

Mark immediately projected a chunk of magical energy straight through Bruce and into the helmet it was wearing. Light flickered, then blazed brighter than even the Fireball. It poured into the third goblin who was fleeing in fear, then traveled deeper into the tunnel, revealing more goblins ahead.

In the front was a brightly dressed goblin carrying a crackling stick. It was Level 4, and so was the bodyguard by its side. He counted four lesser goblins around them as well, but then an arrow came flying in Mark's direction, preventing him from Identifying the rest.

The Feral Goblin Mage seemed unable to fire its spells rapidly. It pointed its finger at Mark to command its brethren to attack, then it simply stood there with eyes closed. Meanwhile, its bodyguard stayed close by.

Two dagger-wielding goblins moved closer while two other archer goblins peppered Bruce with arrows. Mark had to assist. He stayed near his portal, preparing an attack but ready to rush to safety at any moment.

When the dagger goblins became a bit too eager, his Magic Missiles blew their heads clean off. But the goblin mage had already charged up a new fireball. To deflect it, Mark made Bruce throw his shield and roll to the side, both of them managing to escape slightly singed.

Mark dodged the arrows flying his way by quickly stepping into the pocket plane. Close to the exit lay a tiger-like beast, the quickest of all his possible corpses. He cast Animate Dead on it and sent it charging out the portal. Then he tossed a new shield to Bruce, who was able to catch it.

As a skeleton, the tiger feared no arrows. It directly dashed into the pack of goblins and began slicing. The bloodshed frightened the goblin mage, who chattered at its bodyguard while pointing at the undead. In response, the goblin bodyguard ran forward. It hurled a spear at the tiger and pulled out a sword for the melee.

But even as a skeleton, the tiger was heavier than the goblin bodyguard. Mark controlled it to knock the goblin back, then had it pounce away to finish off the archers. He had regained the advantage in this battle.

Mark unleashed a swarm of Magic Missiles, holding nothing back. They rained down onto the goblin party and interrupted the goblin mage's concentration. Though the bodyguard managed to block many of his spells, its shield was beginning to splinter. As soon as his tiger slit the last archer's throat, he commanded his minions to advance.

There was no way out for the goblin mage. It could not fend off attacks from two different directions, even with a bodyguard. After its shield broke, the fight was over. His minions claimed their heads and brought them back.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 7.

Exhaling rapidly, Mark smiled at the great victory and picked up the goblin mage's crackling stick. It was also an enchanted item, an Uncommon Staff of Fire built to support that type of spell. Though it felt more like a wand in his hands, Mark sensed a change in his magic.

Mark was now confident enough to place a point into Wisdom this time, increasing three different stats by one.

Vitality: 9 -> 10

Intelligence: 15 -> 16

Wisdom: 6 -> 7

He was glad to have put three points into Endurance. Even after traveling so far and with many battles in-between, his body remained as energetic as ever. Forging ahead was still possible.

These goblins had to have a home for him to loot. With one mage dead, Mark was only wary of them having more. After dragging their headless bodies into his pocket plane, he continued walking with Bruce and a skeleton tiger by his side.