BXBX NOVEL Chapter 172 - Skeleton Mage
Chapter 172 – Skeleton Mage
The stats of the undead were similar to his own, and they were the standard of this world. However, some variations interested Nikolai.
[Skeleton Soldier (Lvl. 1)]
[Rank: Common]
[Vitality: ∞]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 10]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Mana: -]
[Skill: Basic Swordsmanship.]
The three stats, strength, agility, and intelligence, were similar to an average adult man. However, vitality had an infinity sign, meaning this monster could not die. As for mana, it was empty because this skeleton was no mage.
"An immortal army," pondered Nikolai. "I am not supplying it with any mana more than the initial summoning. This means that I can grow this army, and my strength will only increase, no way in decreasing."
This was a terrifying ability. Nikolai could not see a way for him to grow weaker from here on now. Val was a sealed god for a reason, but this made Nikolai wonder why he said those words.
"You are a better fit for this power."
Nikolai repeated the words, trying to understand why. As he had no way no knowing, Nikolai decided that time would reveal the truth. The skeleton disappeared into the darkness and reappeared in his pocket dimension, waiting to be summoned.
"This summoning should have certain probabilities, right?" smiled Nikolai. "There was a rank in the skeleton\'s stat, and it should mean that I might obtain a higher rank monster."
[Uncommon undead monster can be summoned for fifty lost souls. There is a 2% chance of obtaining this monster from a common summoning.]
The system answered his doubts, and the percentage was low. However, Nikolai had a lot of fate points after he snuck into Celestia. The number sent chills down his spine every time he looked at it.
[Fate Points: 12849]
"…" blinked Nikolai, and the number changed again. "This must be a prank by the system, right?" he laughed in disbelief.
[Fate Points: 12852]
Nikolai could only attribute this change because this was a future that did not happen in their past life. His actions of angering Celestia changed the world, and this, in turn, made him earn Fate Points.
However, the number was absurd. This meant that Nikolai could change abysmal percentages into a hundred. And the fate points were still increasing even though he was not doing anything.
This was… a jackpot.
Nikolai was never lucky in his past life, or rather, he was always unlucky. This life was different. Luck was something he could control.
"Then, let us summon an uncommon monster, shall we?" gulped Nikolai as he raised his hand toward the cube. Ten Lost Souls left his body and flew toward the cube, and he sacrificed them and his fate points.
The cube began to spin faster, turning into a great sphere of darkness that was about to destroy everything. Then, the souls seeped into the cube and began to crack again.
[You have obtained an uncommon undead monster, Skeleton Mage (Lvl.1).]
Nikolai looked at the cube breaking down to reveal the skeleton mage, wearing a robe and holding a cane. There were flames in his eyes as he stared at him, and it hurried to kneel.
"Ha," Nikolai couldn\'t help but laugh at the absurdity. The kneeling skeleton was much more powerful than the Skeleton Solider, and Nikolai obtained it for a fifth of the price. His laughter did not cease because no one could stop him with this.
***
[Skeleton Mage (Lvl. 1)]
[Rank: Uncommon]
[Vitality: ∞]
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 5]
[Intelligence: 20]
[Mana: 30]
[Skill: Chaos Arrow]
Nikolai sat on a large rock as he chewed on his food. It took a while for him to get hungry, but it was always a welcomed feeling. It reminded him that he was still not a monster yet.
The stats in front of him belonged to the mage, with two other skeletons. Nikolai did not summon another mage because these idiots did not know how to handle a sword. They would be torn apart as soon as the enemy got close, and they needed protection.
However, their skill was called Chaos Arrow. Nikolai realized that it was a dark skill, and he was relieved. As that woman called it, the monsters in The Great Unseen were all dark beings.
"That is to say," Nikolai swallowed his food. "The dark beings of this future are a lot more than the ones in my past life. This is a worse fate than the apocalypse of a million monsters."
The dungeon break should be happening in a year, but Nikolai was not sure about that anymore. These dark beings would eat the monsters before they could even touch humans.
"The Great Unseen," frowned Nikolai. "Are you going to delay the end or bring it forward?" this was a tricky question to answer.
Nikolai remembers that when he first got his system, he knew that there was a limit for how much he could change the future before there was no future to change. The amount of fate points he received and is still receiving was plentiful. However, they had a price.
"The future has changed beyond recognition."
Nikolai sighed as he turned away from his system and looked at his three followers. The mage was practicing his spells on the skeleton soldiers, destroying them repeatedly.
"There must be a hierarchy between them," the scene awed him. "They listen to his commands even if I did not ask them to follow them. This is for the best, though."
An army needed a hierarchy to function. Nikolai could not command all his undead on his own. He needed generals to lead different sections. However, that was in the far future.
Now, he only had three soldiers to follow him around. Of course, Nikolai could defeat them, but the catch was that they did not die. That means that Nikolai did not need to worry about them.
The mage waved his staff and drew a circle that summoned a black spear of darkness that flew toward the skeleton. Nikolai watched the upper torso of the skeleton turn into smithereens before it regenerated.
"They are not truly immortal, though," frowned Nikolai. "An attack of holy light can destroy the darkness that binds them. When that happens, they will die."
His lips pressed into a thin line as he watched the proud mage flaunting his skill to his subordinates. They were monsters, but Nikolai thought that they were cute for some reason.
"Gather up, my cute undead," smiled Nikolai as he called, and the undead ran toward him before kneeling on the ground. "This darkness is your home. Now, we will start hunting, which will be the great beginning of our army. Are you ready?"
The skeleton could not talk, but they started stomping on the ground with eerie laughter. Nikolai laughed at their excitement before he commanded them to advance.
"The hunt of the living begins."
***
Nikolai sat on the ground far away as he watched his skeletons. Their appearance scared whoever their enemy was, but their strength was lacking.
Crunch. Crunch.
A giant bear was eating one of his skeletons, turning it into a snack. As the bear was eating him, an arrow struck its chest and destroyed it. The bear fell to the ground, dead.
Nikolai changed the probability, and the E-rank monster dropped a crystal. His stats were still his major flaw, but Nikolai noticed that everything his undead monsters touched would appear in his pocket dimension.
"This is convenient," muttered Nikolai before he noticed that his skeleton was taking longer to regenerate. It must be because some of its bones were in the bear\'s belly. "However, it is still regenerating."
It might not be instant, but the regeneration was complete in a few seconds. This was a terrifying ability befitting the infinite vitality these monsters had. However, rather than having a strong life force, these monsters had none to lose.
"Well done, now go and kill others," Nikolai waved his hand, and the skeleton ran into the darkness excitedly as if he was allowing them to play.
Nikolai had to do some research of his own. The bear that has just died did not generate any Lost Souls for him. This might mean that the souls needed to be… human.
However, that was not accurate to assume as well. The system was precise with its labels, and there was a reason that it was named Lost Souls.
These were those who remained in the world. Therefore, Nikolai had to do a few experiments to understand how to grow his army. However, it was hard to do so without knowing where he was currently.
"There is still my payment," remembered Nikolai as he looked into his subspace. Then, from the countless carriages, he took the one that looked the biggest and most luxurious to take out.
The carriage appeared, and it was the same that the young woman crawled out from. There must be documents to pinpoint his current location and what he needs to return to Rohan.. After all, he still had people to save and others to kill.