Her eyes flashed yellow with determination, focus sharpening as she faced a life-changing decision—one that could affect her chances of clearing the dungeon. With a flick of her hand, she formed the circuit; the spell frame and inner patterns materialized almost instantly.
A notification pinged in her mind.
Normally, pings were reserved for new alerts or unexpected events. Other notifications floated within her consciousness, needing manual checks but generally deemed unimportant—like when her mana reached full capacity.
The summon skeleton spell frame pulsed brightly, and the energy binding her to Dummy D. was severed in an instant. A blue glow illuminated his bones before dimming, causing parts of his body to fall apart. The soul flames within his eye sockets flickered and vanished into mist. In less than a second, Dummy D. was reduced to a pile of bones—unmoving and lifeless.
As the mana began to dissipate from his remains, Enya gathered it up, channeling her own mana to initiate the spell once more, this time directed at the demon rat.
The spell flashed, and the residual mana in the air flowed toward her spell circuit. She was now recycling the mana from Dummy D.’s circuit to reanimate the demon rat. Slowly, the rat’s body began to rumble, and its flesh started to melt away.
Ping!
Another alert sounded, but Enya was in the midst of her casting and couldn’t check it. Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t important, not like before. Her dispel and recast were working perfectly fine, so she didn’t expect anything bad.
The fur and flesh slid down the spike, and the bones within the corpse shifted, floating through the air, enveloped in an intense blue glow. The skeletal remains drifted to the ground, snapping into place to form an exact replica of the demon rat, size and all—now as a skeleton.
Once the process completed, Enya turned her attention to the third new notification that appeared, this one clearly announcing her successful activation of the spell.
Skill: Summon Skeleton has been activated.
You have successfully summoned a Level 8 Skeleton.
Would you like to give a name to Level 8 Skeleton?
[Accept/Decline]
Enya sent the mental signal out and confirmed her selection of a name.
System Notification: Name ‘Stupidface SqueakyMcgee’ has been registered to Level 8 Skeleton
Name: Stupidface SqueakyMcgee
Level: 8
Type: Mutated Quadruped Skeleton
Class: Unassigned
Power Rating: 496
Enya’s jaw fell. The sheer power rating of the demon rat—now going to be known as Stupidface, was nearly 500. That was significantly higher than the original 100 or so that Dummy D. had when she first resurrected him.
But now that she thought about it, she never rechecked their stats. Surely the power rating must have gone up since their levels had also increased now.
With a flick, she pulled up Walnut’s stats.
Name: Walnut
Level: 8
Type: Humanoid Skeleton
Class: Unassigned
Power Rating: 136
Walnut went from a power rating of 56 to 136, an 80 point increase from when he was level 3. It was much higher than before, but the sheer strength of Stupidface was baffling. Obviously it was going to be strong, but… this strong?
Enya moved the screen over and checked the next notification she received.
New Spell Notification: Summon Skeleton [E+] has ranked up to Summon Skeleton [D-]
Summon limit has increased from [2] to [4].
Mana cost reduced from 20MP to 18MP.
Enya froze. Her spell had ranked up in the middle of her casting it to dispel Dummy D.’s connection with her. That meant she didn’t need to dispel Dummy D. just now. This also meant the past hour she spent deliberating between who to get rid of, and the inner turmoil she had to suffer making the decision was all for naught.
“Arghhh!!” she shouted. She stomped her feet rapidly on the ground and clenched her fists. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” All the mental acrobatics she performed, all rendered meaningless in a single second.
image [https://i.imgur.com/ZiLMGqb.png]
After throwing a two-minute tantrum, and still with a pout on her face, she looked at her last notification ping.
Skill: Recast [Active] has been learned.
Target an active spell cast by you and shatter the spell circuit, and then immediately recast the spell with no mana loss. Spell cast speed is dramatically increased based on your familiarity with the original spell.
[Mana Cost: 0MP]
[Cooldown: 1 second]
As she absorbed the information, a new sensation settled into her mind, the knowledge of a new skill becoming instinctual. Initially, it didn’t seem like a powerful ability. It was essentially just a shortcut for resummoning a minion. Convenient, sure, but a bit underwhelming. The more skills, the better, I guess, she thought.
Her gaze drifted to Walnut, who was pacing back and forth around Stupidface, inspecting its sizable form. Stupidface was shorter than Walnut, yet stood at the same height as Enya. Despite this, she was certain Walnut would be no match for it in a fight; he would probably be obliterated in seconds.
Gradually, her tension eased, and she forgot her earlier frustration about wasting an hour in the study contemplating who to keep alive.
“I guess I get to keep everyone,” she said, a smile breaking through her pout.
“Squee?” Stupidface squeaked as Walnut began poking at the bony rat curiously.
With a crouch, she removed her backpack and rummaged inside for a mana potion. She glanced at Dummy D.’s lifeless form, her eyes returning to their normal hue as she took a large chug of the disgusting potion.
image [https://i.imgur.com/ZiLMGqb.png]
The hallway creaked ominously, heavy footsteps echoing as something massive approached, followed by an army of shuffling steps. Rocks and debris crunched beneath its weight, announcing the arrival of a small five-person squad as they moved down the corridor.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
They passed by Pell’s shop, where the four of them lingered outside while Enya ventured in. She opened the closet door and stepped inside. A few crates were scattered about, most of them empty, but she quickly spotted several potions left behind. Without hesitation, she decided to take them, tucking them safely into her backpack.
Next, she located the map Pell had mentioned in his note. It was crudely drawn but navigable, depicting a simple pathway. The single sheet of paper was divided into four boxes, each representing a map of one of the upper floors.
With nothing else to gather, Enya carefully stowed the map in her backpack and returned outside.
Standing in front of the shop, she surveyed the group, her gaze locking onto one figure in particular. With a childlike glee, she raised both hands into the air. “Up!” she exclaimed.
The enormous skeleton lumbered forward, wrapping its massive hand around Enya and lifting her effortlessly. Before she knew it, she was perched on the arm of her newly resurrected minion—the hulking skeleton.
Name: Bonehead
Level: 8
Type: Ogre Skeleton
Class: Unassigned
Power Rating: 334
Although Dummy D. hadn’t been revived as a dire skeleton, the demon rat had emerged as a ‘mutated quadruped’ skeleton. It appeared that the reanimation process considered the physical constitution and build of the creature, which explained why the dire zombie had been classified as a normal humanoid zombie—because it wasn’t different enough. In contrast, the hulking zombie stood out as something completely different.
The hulking zombie was a colossal giant, towering just a few centimeters shy of the dungeon ceiling. Getting it out of the workshop and up the stairs had not been a simple task, but she managed it in the end. Unfortunately, returning to the study was now unsafe; the stairs had been crushed and was now a slide of spiky stone. However, moving it outside had been easier, thanks to her new skill, ‘Recall,’ which allowed her to dispel it and summon it outside by rearranging its bones.
One important thing that she noted, was a limit of her spell. She couldn’t simply just grab a bone of a giant, and resurrect it in its entirety with just 18 points of mana. Because the zombie was so massive, the spell had to weaken its entire structure just to have enough power to reanimate it.
Skill: Summon Skeleton has been activated.
System Notification: Bone mass reconstruction exceeds limit of current skill level. Bones shall be formed with -60% density to compensate.
Once she revived the hulking skeleton, she realized that Dummy D. was the only one who she hadn’t checked the stats of since his reanimation.
Name: Dummy D. Dumb Dumb
Level: 8
Type: Humanoid Skeleton
Class: Unassigned
Power Rating: 273
He had certainly grown stronger, but Bonehead and Stupidface were still significantly more powerful. Still, Dummy D. was closer in strength than she’d initially thought, which felt a bit deceptive. Enya could easily imagine Bonehead—a massive ‘Ogre Skeleton’—slamming down his fist and crushing Dummy D. in a single blow, but the power rating told a different story. Bonehead’s bone reduced density probably affected his power rating. If she were stronger, the hulking skeleton may have been able to kill the demon rat instantly in a single blow.
image [https://i.imgur.com/ZiLMGqb.png]
The group pressed on in their journey through the darkened hall, Enya unsure of the exact location of the staircase but confident in her general route. They blindly ventured into the shadows, Walnut and Dummy D. leading the way with their glowing skulls that illuminated the path. Enya perched on the arm of Bonehead, who held her in a slight crouch, while Stupidface walked alongside her to the left, moving at a deliberate pace, ready to guard their rear.
As they traveled, they encountered a solitary zombie shambling along. Dummy D. sprang into action, swiftly dispatching the creature. With the size of her growing army, nothing in this part of the dungeon could pose a threat—especially since the only thing that had been a challenge before was now firmly under her control.
After a brief nap, Enya stirred to find her minions halted before the staircase leading down to the next floor. Previously, she had been forced to leave her pillow behind, but now that she had a giant skeleton to carry it for her, she’d brought it along. Taking advantage of the situation, she nestled snugly within Bonehead’s arms, and drifted off to sleep as her tireless minions pressed forward.
Bonehead crouched down, allowing her to hop off. She gazed at the staircase, a ominous pit of darkness spiraling downwards. The hallway they occupied had become a dead end, with nothing but pitch-black behind them. None of the torches lining this side of the corridor were lit, and the walls bore the marks of decay, dotted with scattered remnants of bodies—some mere bones from the undead, others still fleshy and grim.
This was it. Her first step toward conquering the dungeon, descending deeper into the unknown. Pell had mentioned that some of the upper floors housed different types of undead, like flaming skulls or floating wisps. Enya’s books primarily detailed the more mundane undead, such as zombies and skeletons, leaving her with little knowledge of spiritual beings like wisps. She had no idea what awaited her on the next floor.
Turning to her companions—Bonehead, Stupidface, Dummy D., and Walnut—she took a moment to appreciate their presence. “Wait…” she started, a thought surfacing in her mind. “I’m—”
Before she could finish, a wave of sensation washed over her. No, it wasn’t merely a thought. She recognized the feeling from before.
The world around her blurred, and a vision engulfed her—a scene frozen in time. As her visions past skill activated, her surroundings merged with her imagination, and her senses surrendered to the skill. The vision lasted only about three seconds, and nothing shifted within it. But the realization of the scene—its significance—hit her like a cold splash of water.
Her face contorted in horror. She had forgotten something. She had forgotten someone.
“I FORGOT PELL’S SKULL!”
image [https://i.imgur.com/ZiLMGqb.png]
After an hour of backtracking, Enya finally returned to the staircase, clutching Pell’s skull against her chest. “I can’t believe I forgot Pell…” she murmured, a hint of shame creeping into her voice. Walnut sidled up beside her, patting her shoulder in a gesture of understanding.
Her face still wore a pout, but she refused to let it dampen her spirits. “Okay, guys, it’s time to go down. Dummy D., you’ll lead the way so you light the path, followed by Stupidface. I’ll follow behind you two, and Walnut will walk alongside me. Bonehead, you’ll be in the back since you’re so big.”
Everyone gave a nod, rattle, squeak, or a… deep rumble? to her commands.
Fortunately, the staircase was spacious enough to accommodate Bonehead’s large frame. The only concern was whether he was heavy enough to bring the entire spiral staircase crashing down. Enya could only hope the stairs wouldn’t be too long.
With their plan set, they took their positions and began their descent. Dummy D.’s glowing skull illuminated the path ahead, the spell in full effect against the surrounding darkness.
Thankfully, their destination wasn’t too far off. After about a minute of winding down, they arrived at the entrance of the next floor. As Enya stepped into the new space, she was immediately struck by how bright it was. Multiple torches lined the walls, most of them lit, casting a warm glow that contrasted sharply with the shadows of the previous level. The stone floor and walls retained the same design and material as the upper floor, but everything appeared far more robust and less damaged, as if the dungeon quake had never touched this level at all.
A low rumble echoed behind Enya, signaling that Bonehead had successfully made it down the staircase. Walnut stood beside her, while Dummy D. had his dagger drawn, on high alert. Stupidface moved with a pounce-like grace, ready to spring at whatever might emerge from down the hall.
Enya’s fingers tightened around Pell’s skull, anxiety prickling at the back of her mind. Anything could be lurking in this new level, and she had no idea what to expect.
As they continued down the hallway, Enya noticed something unusual about the floor. After roughly two minutes of walking, she realized there were no branching hallways. The corridor stretched straight ahead, unchanging and seemingly endless. Did the different floors have different layouts? she pondered, curiosity and unease swirling within her.
The hallway was eerily quiet, the only sound being the soft clacking—and large stomp, of her minions’ feet. Everyone was on high alert, the unsettling atmosphere weighing heavily on them. Perhaps it was just Enya’s own nervous energy reflecting off her undead companions, but the tension was palpable.
Before long, they arrived at an enormous ornate door. Its surface was a canvas of beautifully inscribed engravings—flowery petals intertwined with abstract shapes and animals that danced across the stone like a living painting. Enya marveled at the artistry, captivated by the door's intricate designs.
Yet, despite the beauty captured in its engravings, the door bore a different significance. Enya began to piece together the unsettling silence of the floor, the absence of monsters, and the solitary corridor leading to this massive door that towered over even Bonehead, nearly another meter in height. A sense of foreboding settled in her stomach as she realized that this door might hold answers—or dangers—far beyond her imagination.
This was the boss room. The sixth floor didn’t hold another type of undead, like playful undead puppies or even cunning liches. No, this was the final challenge before she could reach the dungeon core and save Pell.
Enya’s fingers tightened around Pell’s skull, her heart racing with a mix of fear and determination. No… there has to be another floor. There’s no way this can be the boss room already. I need more monsters to fight... this...
Her gaze darted around the vast hallway, scanning every tile, crack, crevice, and shadow lurking in the corners. The flames flickering atop the torches seemed to sway in unison, as if whispering warnings that everything she was about to face would be unyielding and formidable.
This was the end of her quest—the demon king to a hero’s blade.