The zombie hadn't intended to use this but one of its heads was about to be lopped off. [Moon Walk and Sun Fist].
The temperature dropped all of a sudden and the zombie was nowhere to be seen. The ranger gawked at the inhuman speed. She had expected it to be slow and cumbersome. Now she'd over-extended himself.
She felt the wind being knocked out of herself. The zombie was right beside her and had planted a right in her solar plexus.
Before the ranger could recover there was a left hook with such force that the ranger was knocked out. The zombie's entire body was covered in a silver glow except for his fists. They were so bright that it appeared as if there was a sun encased in them.
The glow disappeared and the internal conversation started.
(2) How much of an essence bead was that?
(1) One-seventh.
The right head growled at that. This was not good. He didn't have an unlimited supply of essence beads. They'd tried to cultivate in order to obtain essence beads but it had been a forgone process.
The zombie picked up the ranger and slung her on his back. It'd happen in a matter of seconds. The party tried to chase after them but Jester screeched and stopped them in their tracks.
By the time, they recovered, the zombie was gone.
...
..
.
The two-headed prowler was thinking. It was a dual process with lots of back and forth but the decision was simple. They needed to get stronger using this system. Using the high quality essence beads was out of the question.
They needed a base of ops in order to obtain any useful information from the ranger. The hyenas were infesting the tunnels like rats. They had to head back into the hidden room.
(1) Again...
(2) Come on, we have to go.
They allowed the slime to swallow them up and they were deposited back into the cave. They decided to not talk about the process.
The bright red floating crystal was still there. It hummed along in its own world with a slight rotational speed. The rotation was imperceptible but there.
They rummaged through the ranger's items, everything useful was deposited on the side. She was quite helpful and brought along some rope. The zombie tied her up and covered her eyes.
Now, it was not impossible to cultivate with this body, the problem was two-fold. Scanning through it revealed that it did not have a single meridian. Creating new meridians from scratch required essence and that wasn't available here. It was a chicken and egg problem.
Stolen novel; please report.
They'd accumulated about 60 coins in this trip.
[Name: Unnamed]
[Title: Dungeon Monster]
[Title Buffs: None]
[Strength: 7]
[Magical Power: 6]
[Agility: 5]
[Vitality: -]
[Skills: None]
[Coins: 60]
[Would you like to upgrade agility?]
[AG 5 > 6]
[50 Coins have been Consumed]
The zombie moved around. There was a change in speed, that was interesting.
The right head yawned, (2) Let's Soul Search her. She probably knows more than that idiot.
(1) Hmm, we should do it but its going to cost us essence...
(2) It's an investment, whatever, we get out of her is going to be worth it. We can bind her on top of Jester's construct.
Building on top of an existing construct would not require much essence. Thus, the decision was made.
The zombie killed it, this time with a dagger which made quite a mess. The same construct used to bind Jester bound her up. It looked like a rotating circle with angular plates. Peer into it for too long and you might just see something looking back.
[You've been Rewarded 200 Coins]
Double as much. That was an interesting thing. How did the status system calculate that and put it in numbers.
The zombie decided to hold off on dumping it into anything. They had a new thrall. The meticulous interrogation took close to four hours. Jester returned and was put back in his coin. The party had decided to leave, it was understandable but now, the zombie knew the way out.
Severing a being from its physical vessel subjected it to great pain, it was a natural reaction. They decided to bind her to her dagger after the questions were over. It was a beautiful piece with a long black blade. The material was Gint ore according to the ranger.
Soul searching her had been invaluable. Her breadth and scope of knowledge was beyond compare, it seemed as if Jester had been living with one eye closed and his brain turned off. It was true, the poor creature's brain was malformed.
The most valuable find apart from the intel was the series of skills, the ranger had mastered. Her strongest skill was toeing the line between the magical and the physical. It was called [Power Shot]. It focused the body's momentum and power into a singular shot. Strength, agility and magical power were the three stats it was dependent upon.
The zombie addressed Jester, (2) Oi, do you know any skills?
J- "N-no, I-"
(2) You useless piece of sh-t.
That had been a prodigious misuse of essence, letting his soul dissipate would've been the better choice.
[ST 7 > 9]
[MP 6 > 8]
The zombie spent the next few hours learning the skill, he had the foremost expert on it right beside him, teaching him everything.
Soon enough, there was a familiar box in front of his face.
...
..
.
Dempsey walked out of the dungeon, the sloping, craggy, rocky ground gave way to smooth polished floor. There were tall walls on her left and right. They were smooth with red tints. The rows of soldiers on top, with the cauldrons every twenty steps gave her a sense of peace. They were empty for now but in case of a dungeon rush, they would be filled with tar oil.
She was in a dismal mood, they'd just lost an invaluable member, not to mention that creature they'd encountered.
That beast was intelligent.
It's roving eyes, that spirit it'd released upon them and the pleasure it found in tormenting them was horrifying.
There was a series of granite counters. People were skinning the beasts, handing over their portions to the tax collectors. The lower floors had living creatures. Those imperious gazes, with the quick hands ready to grab a bribe to let something through were keen.
They monitored the loot and were responsible for any news concerning the dungeon, anything out of the ordinary meant ripple effects beyond anyone's comprehension.
She took a deep breath and steadied herself. This was the moment she decided to embark on a campaign that would change her life forever.
Dempsey didn't forgive easily.