Ashes escaped Karvas' mouth as the last paladin hit his chest, the undead glared at the worshipper, saying a single name with a voice so hoarse it sounded like scratching metal in the middle of the night, it made the paladin's hair stand up on its end, though this feeling did not lessen the faith of the paladin towards his god- Adalsteinn.

A prayer along with an offer, then the paladin became a flash of bright light, it burned the flaming Karvas, he felt his non-existent skin slowly peel off, the light itself felt so painful that Karvas had to block his head with his arms, this caused his rage to burn, thus, mana filled his body his power slowly competing with the one given to the paladin, and just like the paladin, it had a cost, Karvas felt his body break apart as the heat started to take over, he could feel his already broken down body break down even further, his bones were starting to melt, blackened spots spawned along the now orange magma like body that was Karvas.

Karvas wasn't feral, and that was the worse part, he was able to feel everything, to the feeling of his ribs melding with one another to the feeling of his bone marrows getting cooked by both the excessive mana and the all-consuming magma.

But amidst all this, Karvas didn't give up, for death would mean his end, and he wouldn't allow himself to end like this. He had grown so much, and alongside it, he was starting to cherish his undeath, and he did not want to go back to his initial state.

With his mind still intact, Karvas lunged forward, his body alone melting the armor that was placed on the paladin's body, causing the man to scream in pain for a split second but-

A hit found its way on Karvas' melted chest, causing a hole to form and magma to get thrown everywhere, the paladin, no longer feeling pain simply took the damage without reacting to anything, for he now had channeled his god. Thus, he dodged the swipe that had come his way, the undead no longer possessing a weapon, all of three them melted down on the ground.

The paladin smiled, prepared to once again hit the undead on the now hole-less chest, he was ready to sacrifice himself in order to beat such a deadly monster, and it was worth it. For he was now able to, but sadly,

[Curse.] was muttered in a dialect that even he was unfamiliar with.

The paladin felt his body break down, the power given to him by his god starting to dissipate, slowly going to the undead in front of him, almost as if it consumed the power of his god. Perhaps that was the case as the undead regained vigor, said vigor became even more intense than before.

Karvas started to cool down, his body now a form of melded bone, now more akin to stone, than the prior material it was made up of. This new body of Karvas had new advantages but the opposite could also be said, mainly due to the fact that it was now one instead of multiple parts and layers. So to say when a massive shockwave - possibly even enough to shatter the bones that make him up, - resonates throughout his body, it would result in a shatter on not only one part, but possibly multiple. Because if he was a bunch of hollow blocks tied together by rope a few minutes ago, he was now cemented together. Thus, when a massive sledgehammer hits him, he would crumble like the brick wall he is now.

Though there are advantages, such as him being an efficient mana conductor, Karvas wasn't getting any of it, he had already deemed that what he has currently won't be enough for what he truly wants, and since his goal exists in its current state, Karvas would be getting, or rather crafting a new body in the near future, for the distant one does not require and even despises it.

Soon enough, after Karvas finishes this fight, he will lay low for months on end, and would do everything to carve his new and more efficient body- Layouts and schematics started forming in his mind, the plan was that he will not only obtain the advantages of this one, but also remove every. single. drawback.

So to say, his new body that he will craft from the material that currently makes it up would not only be an efficient spell caster, warrior, and even undead, but also become dexterous enough to craft even more of his kin, not to mention the need to add even more parts. The plan was quite complicated and would obviously take weeks for only the layout he had planned, but it would be worth it. But there is a missing component, and that would be the runes he would need in order to not only add more spells to his arsenal, but even turn his body into something that is known as a grimoire.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Though he does not know where to find a book that held such knowledge, Karvas did not care, he would find one soon enough.

For now-

The paladin, whom have given his all to his god in order to defeat the monster in front of him gritted his teeth against pure, unfiltered pain. Blood was starting to seep out of his body, ounce by ounce and liter by liter, the paladin became crimson red as he bathed in his own body fluids, though the most plentiful one was the only thing that was visible, the rest unseeable amidst all the crimson liquid he once called his blood.

Karvas, the ever so merciful undead finished the paladin, whom undoubtedly thought that his god would be the one to take him, though sadly, he would be eaten by the one that will slay him. The victor looked at all his battle wounds, uncaring about the carnage that ensued around him- A hole has found its way on his chest, though it has healed quite a bit thanks to the molten texture of his body back when it was formed, a hole is a hole non-the-less, it was not something he dared to risk having given that he will be fighting enemies that are undoubtedly stronger than the paladin before him in the near future.

After Karvas' small victory against such a force he never truly struggled with, the undead thought of things, perhaps it was truly unnecessary to fight personally? Looking at the damage of his body, regret was the emotion that greeted Karvas, ashes escaped his mouth.

Kauravas and his personal army took over the small town for a days before an army was soon seen on the horizon, Karvas was able to make quite the number of undead during his free time but sadly, his current army wouldn't be able to hold itself against such a vast force, though it can incur losses. So, concluding that he alone has the right to live another day, Karvas commanded the undead he controlled and sent them all to face the approaching army.

As for the commander himself, an undead that imitated a steed was at the opposite direction of the army, the headless creature had eight arms, positioned in a way that would be more akin to spider legs than what Karvas apparently used to build it with. Mounting his spider-horse, Karvas threw a satchel filled with all the things he needed and left to avoid the army.

Once he was upon the forest he first started in, Karvas decided to dismount, using the undead to instead scout ahead for him, for if its Life-Force is no longer felt, then sadly, he would have to take a detour.

Karvas sat at the open field, grabbing the chisel out of the satchel, he proceeded to continue carving the small wooden totem he started crafting a few days prior. For now, he did not need to use the chisel on his body, because apparently- "Magical items can be created by embuing and putting runes on the item of one's choosing." Was something that was stated on the book he found on the town, nothing else was useful except this book of random trivia but eh, thieves don't exactly get to choose what kind of items they will get. Or maybe they do?

Most of the books found within the town library is either related to agriculture, or animals. Karvas did not need all of them and only grabbed a few basic alchemy books and a bestiary he had found stored inside a locker. As for what kind of creatures are recorded there, well...

"Dragons are beings born from pure mana, for their eggs cannot hatch if it were ever placed in an environment that has a low density of the energy."

Was one of the text Karvas found upon opening a random page.

Throwing away the now decorated totem, Karvas stood up, calling the undead he left for dead on the forest when he did. Once his old mount came back unscathed, even carrying a few corpses that it decided to showcase towards its creator, Karvas rode it, leaving the open plain, Karvas hid within the thicket of trees that was the forest. After about a few hours worth of travelling through the trees, Karvas found an opening on the ground, a cave that looked to have been used by some mage a long time ago, as the inside had multiple furnitures and even a few objects that one would deem alchemical.

Kauravas did not know how fortunate this find was, if it was a gift or a curse, whether this place's location is well known or not. The new homeowner looked around the abandoned workshop, soon finding a bunch of bones bound by a now rotten rope, sadly, these bones did NOT belong to the owner, but either from some poor guy said owner decided to experiment on or, the owner's apprentice.

He voted for the latter as the bones actually possess residual mana.

Karvas prepared a fire to burn the bones, then he pulled out the tools he had gathered from his bag- A jungle knife, a few empty flasks, a trowel, and the aforementioned chisel. The books that Karvas had gathered had been placed on a table, bending the rotten wood that was called its foundation.

With everything set, Karvas prepared to prepare himself for the upcoming months, a book for studying the arcane, basic with a few missing pages, right beside him.