“And then, whoosh!” Enya exclaimed, her arms soaring through the air as if casting a spell. “And then bang! The sword flew super fast and hit Mr. Rat—or, um, the demon rat!”
Her excitement was palpable as she recounted the events from her recent adventures. She eagerly shared her journey from meeting Pell, exploring the labyrinth with him, to her encounters with Mr. Bones, the eccentric skeleton who had been so helpful. She recounted how both Pell and Mr. Bones had met their untimely ends, her voice tinged with sadness and regret.
Enya didn’t skimp on the details. She covered every major event, her emotions a rollercoaster as she narrated. One moment she was bubbling with happiness, the next she was in awe, and soon after, her story took a darker turn with sadness and fear. Mr. Walnut, connected to her through their mystical tether, felt every shift in her emotional spectrum. Their bond was deeper and more profound than Enya had yet realized.
“And then, that’s when the bracelet glowed, and my spell got like, really, really strong. And then… BOOM! A giant bone spear shot out of the ground!”
Walnut nodded thoughtfully, absorbing her story with attentive interest. Even though he wasn’t a mage, he grasped the essence of what Enya was describing.
After a few more animated minutes, Enya finished her story. “And that’s when I summoned you—created you? Well, whatever it is. And that’s where we are now,” she said, stretching her arms wide to encompass the room around them.
“Pell mentioned that something might be inside of the stairway, something like a lab… or… maybe another study or some type of chamber? Maybe even a shortcut to the boss room? Or at least, something like that. I can’t quite remember. And, um, I didn’t want to go alone, so that’s why I summoned you. I was hoping you could come with me.” She paused, her gaze shifting towards the wall. “There’s also that zombie I’m pretty sure is still behind there…”
The skeleton nodded in understanding, acknowledging her concerns.
Enya’s face brightened with a smile. “Great! Just give me a moment to get everything ready and then…” Her voice trailed off as she contemplated the darkness that shrouded the stairway entrance. Despite her Absolute Focus skill, she couldn’t pierce through the veil of darkness. It was unsettling, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. “Then, we’ll head down the stairs.”
She busied herself with reorganizing the items strewn across the floor. Pell’s backpack was moved to the side, and she emptied out everything that didn’t seem immediately useful.
Enya had already read all of Pell’s books. Some were enjoyable, others not so much. One, in particular, was filled with overly complicated language and pompous phrasing—something that reminded her of the noble speech she’d encountered. The thought of having to speak like that herself in the future sent a shiver down her spine.
Essential supplies were packed with care. Health potions and mana potions were a must, so she gathered them up and packed them tightly into the backpack. Just in case of future emergencies, she set aside one bottle of each—health and mana potions—and placed them neatly against the wall for easy access.
There were three cans of food left. Enya calculated that she could stretch each can over two or three days if necessary. It wouldn't be ideal for her health, but it would keep her from starving. Pell had once mentioned that people could survive much longer without food than without water, a fact he brought up whenever Enya complained about the lack of tasty options. Thankfully, health and mana potions also quenched her thirst, and she still had plenty of those.
Across the room, Mr. Walnut was examining the assortment of small swords and daggers. He picked up one sword with chipped edges and a broken tip, leaving only two sharp points at the top. The sword seemed extremely fragile, but its handle was intact, allowing for a decent swing.
After a few experimental swings, Mr. Walnut tested the sword against a solid surface. With a casual swing against the wall, the metal shattered into pieces. He proceeded to test the remaining shabby swords and daggers. Of the three swords, only one was still usable. It lacked a hilt guard and had a double-edged blade that was dull on one side. The missing hilt guard was not a concern since Walnut lacked pain receptors. The dull side of the blade was inconvenient but not a deal-breaker.
When it came to the daggers, Walnut was more pleased. Both were in relatively good condition compared to the swords, and he was satisfied with their quality.
The daggers had lost their sheen but were free of any chips or damage. Their handles, though showing some slight wear, remained in good shape. The scabbards had protected them well, suggesting that the daggers hadn’t seen much use in heavy combat—daggers weren’t typically used for slashing against armor or other weapons like swords.
Mr. Walnut used a small cleaning rag, tearing it into strips to fashion makeshift straps. He tied the daggers to his left and right thighs, ensuring he had quick access to them if needed.
With his preparations complete, Walnut approached Enya, who was finishing up her backpack organization. She adjusted the straps of the oversized backpack, which kept slipping off her shoulders. She gripped the top portions tightly to keep it in place.
“Okay… I think I have everything I need. Are you good too?” Enya asked.
Walnut nodded in acknowledgment.
“Alright! Then… here’s the plan,” Enya said, her voice dropping to a whisper as she leaned in closer to Walnut.
image [https://i.imgur.com/ZiLMGqb.png]
Enya moved swiftly to the bookshelf, crouching to inspect King’s Revolt, the book that controlled the shelf’s locking mechanism. She concentrated deeply, her eyes flashing a vivid yellow as mana surged into her hand.
In one smooth, practiced motion, she yanked the book from its spot and dashed backward, her gaze fixed on the edge of the case. The wall rumbled and the bookshelf began to slide, its creaking echoing through the room.
A guttural, strained noise filled the air—a sound Enya had anticipated. As the shelf slid further out, the noise grew louder. A rotted, decayed arm emerged from the darkness, accompanied by the unsettling sound of broken vocal cords.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Enya braced herself. She had only one chance to make this count. Though Walnut was ready to back her up, a successful strike would make their task much easier. Patience was key—her absolute focus would handle the rest.
As the shelf ground open, the mutated zombie’s torso came into view, now wide enough to push through. Mana surged through Enya, gathering in her hand as a spell circuit spun into existence. A dense circle of magic and mana flared into being before her palm.
“GrAArAGHH—”
The zombie’s growl was abruptly silenced as Enya unleashed her spell.
With a clawing swipe, Enya brought her hands upwards, channeling and guiding her spell to exactly where and how she wanted it. She made sure to summon it off to the side, preventing the spear from blocking the entrance down.
Crack!
The ground beneath her cracked and fissured outward. The room shook as a massive bone spear erupted from the floor, piercing through the earth like it was made of paper. Enya expended 8 points of mana for this attack, her most potent use of the spell yet, not including the bracelet.
Shhhrrrik!
The bone spear impaled the zombie, tearing through its rotted flesh and any remnants of bone still clinging to its form. The creature was lifted off the ground along with the spear, which continued its deadly ascent through its back. A fountain of blackened, filthy blood erupted from the zombie’s torn flesh as the white bone spear, now stained crimson, reached the ceiling. The spear’s pointed tip punctured the stone roof, embedding itself several centimeters into the stone. The zombie was trapped between the expanding base of the spear and the hard stone ceiling.
The entire attack happened in an instant, and the zombie’s struggle was even shorter. Its arms flailed uselessly to its sides, and its blood-soaked body came to a halt, motionless.
System Notification: You have landed a killing blow on Dire Zombie (Level 2)
Enya blinked at the scene before her, a mixture of awe and surprise etched across her face. “Wow,” she said, unable to find any other words. She glanced over at Walnut, who stood beside her. He met her gaze with a nonchalant shrug, raising both arms with palms up in a “what can you do?” pose.
The original plan had been to use her bone spear to restrain the zombie temporarily, giving Walnut the chance to attack from a distance with his sword. She had not anticipated that her 8-mana bone spear would obliterate it in a single strike.
System Notification: You have received 34 EXP.
Experience has been automatically allocated to “Unassigned”.
Enya was astonished by the amount of experience she gained from defeating this level 2 Dire Zombie, especially considering she had received less from the level 4 regular zombie in the hallway. Though Pell had helped with that fight, she had still earned the majority of the experience. The fact that this zombie, which was two levels lower, yielded even more experience puzzled her. Was it because it was a ‘Dire Zombie’? What exactly made a dire zombie different?
System Notification: Your level has increased from level (1) to level (3).
Experience Remaining Until Next Level: 11/33
She had reached level 3 with that kill, completely skipping past level 2 in its entirety.
Despite her success and narrowly avoiding danger, a new issue presented itself. “Uh… Hey Walnut… Could you, um, clean up all that blood before we head down there? I don’t… want to dirty my shoes or dress,” Enya asked with a sheepish smile.
Walnut turned to her, a slight wince crossing his skeletal features.
image [https://i.imgur.com/ZiLMGqb.png]
After a few minutes of diligent cleanup, the blood was mostly cleared away, at least, enough for Enya to walk without worry. The zombie remained suspended from the ceiling, impaled on the bone spear. The spear would eventually dissipate, causing the zombie's body to drop and land messily on the floor again, but Enya had no idea when that would happen.
“Alright, I think we are—” Enya began, only to pause as Walnut pushed the last of the cleaning rags to the corner of the room.
“Wait…” Enya murmured to herself. There was actually something she could do here.
Enya crouched down and set her backpack on the floor. She fished out a mana potion, taking a generous swig that left her grimacing at its awful taste—a flavor she knew she’d never quite get used to. Walnut observed from the corner, his skeletal gaze fixed on her as he anticipated what she was about to do.
With a surge of mana flowing into her palm, Enya formed a spell circuit, her eyes glowing as she began to cast. The zombie’s body on the bone spear trembled and writhed, its decayed flesh pulling away and compressing. After a minute of unsettling movement, all that was left was a pristine white skeleton, parts of it slowly reconstituting with the mana’s influence. With a final plop, the skeletal frame dropped to its knees before rising to its full height to face Enya.
Skill: Summon Skeleton has been activated.
You have successfully summoned a Level 3 Skeleton.
Would you like to give a name to Level 3 Skeleton?
[Accept/Decline]
“Yes!” Enya cheered. She now had two skeleton minions to guard her. Having Walnut by her side was comforting, but with this new Level 3 Skeleton, she felt even more empowered. She was well on her way to becoming a true necromancer. Curious, she decided to check both the details of Walnut and her new summon.
Enya pulled up and looked at another screen, something that she could apparently do.
Name: Walnut
Level: 3
Type: Humanoid Skeleton
Class: Unassigned
Power Rating: 56
Enya squinted at the screen, absorbing the details. Walnut had leveled up from 1 to 3, just like she did. A thought struck her: did summoned minions always match her level? If that was the case, then as she grew stronger, so would her minions. This was further evident by the fact Walnut’s power rating also rose by 10 points. The correlation seemed pretty clear now.
She closed the stat window and turned her attention to the new skeleton. Naming it was the next challenge. Considering its history of nearly killing her and hurting Pell, she decided on a name that reflected her feelings.
Name: Dummy D. Dumb Dumb
Level: 3
Type: Humanoid Skeleton
Class: Unassigned
Power Rating: 98
“Woah,” Enya marveled. Dummy D. Dumb Dumb’s stats mirrored Walnut’s, but its power rating was significantly higher. “Wow. You must be really strong, huh?” she mused, glancing between the screen and the skeleton. “You’re almost twice as strong as Walnut, if that power rating means what I think it does.”
Walnut, standing to the side, pouted visibly. He crossed his arms and glared at the new skeleton, clearly displeased with the attention Enya was giving it rather than him.
“Aww…!” Enya exclaimed, rushing over to hug Walnut. “Don’t be jealous, Walnut. You’re still my favorite—third favorite skeleton, right after Mr. Bones and Pell!”
Walnut continued to glare at Dummy D. Dumb Dumb, his arms stubbornly crossed.
“Okay, okay. You’re my favorite skeleton,” Enya reassured, tightening her hug around the childlike skeleton. It was one of the rare moments she had the chance to hug someone; Pell was never fond of it, and she didn’t see Mr. Bones often enough.
Walnut eventually relented, uncrossing his arms and giving Enya a gentle pat on the head. Her face lit up with a big, goofy smile.
“Alright! Walnut, give Dummy D. Dumb Dumb your spare dagger, and let’s head down the stairs!” she announced with enthusiasm.
At the mention of parting with one of his daggers, Walnut’s mood darkened again. He slumped and pouted, clearly reluctant to relinquish one of his weapons to the new skeleton.