by Yuu Tanaka
“That specimen…! This is very curious. What trickery did you use?”
“Heh. I’m not just a necromancer for show.”
“Kukakaka! To think that you had subjugated my Ghost Eater!”
The being Jean had summoned was the elusive Ghost Eater. Wait, so he had it already? We were as surprised as the Lich was. The undead had previously belonged to the Lich, so how did Jean take control of it?
To control an undead all you needed was Necromancy and Control Undead. But the Ghost Eater, aside from being really strong, was previously under the charge of the Lich. No matter how skilled Jean was, it didn’t seem like something he could easily take control of…
“I am still a nobody of a necromancer. I had to use every trick in the book to secure this one.”
Jean told us the gist of it. Even the Lich stopped attacking out of curiosity.
Stefan was originally the name of a Wraith that Jean had prepared for his anti-Ghost Eater strategy. He had possessed Undead Resistance, Drain Resistance, and Erosive Fusion. His battle plan was deceptively simple.
First he was eaten by the Ghost Eater on purpose. The consumed undead would usually be absorbed into the Ghost Eater, but Stefan’s Undead Resistance and Drain Resistance prevented that from happening. He then used Erosive Fusion to take control of the Ghost Eater from the inside.
Stefan had been consumed by the Ghost Eater on Jean’s last excursion, but Jean thought his plan had failed, seeing that Stefan had not been able to take control of the Ghost Eater. Stefan was not defeated, however, and instead took control of the Ghost Eater little by little over the course of many years.
By the time we landed, Jean had made contact with his old minion.
“Kukaka! Interesting! Very well, you can become my servant once I kill you! I shall use your imagination to bring about my death wish!”
“I refuse.”
“I am not giving you the option to refuse!”
As Jean kept the Lich busy with their quarrel, we were coordinating with the Ghost Eater to eliminate half of the skeleton troops.
The Ghost Eater’s fighting ability was impressive. It might be unbeatable in anti-Undead combat. It could instantly deplete the mana of any undead it touched and use that to strengthen itself. Its foes didn’t have a chance to retaliate. The Lich had stopped paying attention to anything other than Jean, further reducing his minion’s menacing aura.
I used what little time Jean had bought for us to inspect the Lich’s abilities and think of a way to beat him. One tactic came to mind which would severely weaken the Lich with one move. I didn’t know whether it would beat him outright, but it would definitely hurt the undead wizard.
Jean, I can seal off the Lich’s Spacetime Magic. But if it’s too dangerous for you to use the Nether Lord’s Blessing, then—
It won’t be a problem.
Then start casting. I’ll adjust to your timing.
Very well.
Jean raised his staff over his head once again as I watched the Lich’s movements like a hawk.
“Nether Lord’s Blessing, come forth.”
“Hah. Again with your staff? Are you going to purify my skeletons away? No matter. You would make a fine corpse should that blessing kill you!”
“May the spirits bound by hate and resentment—”
The Lich looked smug. He knew he could use Dimension Shift to dodge the attack. Nether Lord’s Blessing also took a long time to cast. It was easy for the Lich to guess when the spell would activate. He didn’t think for a second that he was going to get purified by it.
Well, things were different this time.
Skill Taker!
I targeted the Lich with Skill Taker. Spacetime Magic wasn’t an Extra Skill so I should be able to take it—
Skill Taker successful. You have gained Spacetime Magic 7.
It worked! I took his Spacetime Magic 7!
“—be allowed to rest in peace. Nether Lord, bestow thy blessings unto the lost.”
“It’s no use…!”
Joke’s on you, idiot!
“What?! Why?!”
The Lich began panicking, unable to use his Spacetime spells. The divine light of the Nether Lord’s Blessing wrapped the undead immediately.
“Gyaaa!”
The Lich screamed in agony. It was working!
“Impossible! I cannot be defeated like this!”
We could hear the Lich’s death throes from beyond the blinding light. His mana was rapidly depleting so how was he not dead yet?
“Guaaah! Purification! My malice! Fading away! Nooooo-aaaaaaah!”
The strongest of the undead proved a worthy challenge to purify. He was filled with so much resentment that absolving him was going to take some time.
But what if it couldn’t purify him completely?
Now I was getting worried. The light faded, and there sat the Lich, squirming, but still alive. Black wisps of miasma rose out of his weakened state. He was far from being annihilated, though.
How can he still stand after that?!
But the Lich was acting odd.
“AAAAAAAAA—”
A huge amount of mana was still pouring into him. It looked like he was about to burst from the rushing waterfall of mana.
Was this because of his role as a Dungeon Master?
“He’s acting weird.”
“All of the malice in the air is being absorbed into him.”
“What do you mean?”
The one who responded to Fran was not Jean. Our necromancer was still lying on the ground, breathing heavily. He was in a critical condition despite Fran’s attempt at healing him with a Stamina Potion.
The Ghost Eater, Stefan, was talking in his stead. His speech was so clear that he really sounded human.
“It is a result of a skill that he has. Essence of Filth allows him to gather the malice of the undead around him and convert that into energy. There is also the free-flowing malice left over from when I destroyed the Malice Furnace. I have resistance to it so it doesn’t affect me much, fortunately.”
The Malice Furnace was the dungeon facility that Stefan had destroyed earlier. It was a piece of equipment which took an undead’s malice and converted it into mana. This dungeon was able to churn out huge amounts of mana thanks to all the undead that were in it. He had destroyed the machine to pieces, but the malice that was in the furnace was not gone, but simply dispersed throughout the dungeon.
The Lich continued to suck up all that malice, thanks to his Essence of Filth. The abundance of malice acted as a counter to the Nether Lord’s Blessing, every ounce of purified malice was soon replenished.
The Lich had a Unique Skill called Malice Drain which allowed him to convert malice into strength. The more malice he took in, the stronger he got.
“Gugagagagagaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—”
But it didn’t look like he was healing himself. Instead, he was screaming in intense agony.
He doesn’t look right to me.
“It must be because of all the malice pouring into him at once. He’s absorbed so much malice that he’s left without a will of his own. I doubt he even remembers the fact that he’s a Lich.”
Isn’t that bad? Was he going to go berserk?
We need to use Nether Lord’s Blessing again!
“We can’t. My master won’t last another cast.”
Can’t you use it?
“A Named Item can only be used by the one it chose. That would be my master…”
So the item was bound to Jean?! I tried shooting some spells at the creature but to no avail.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaa—”
The Lich’s screams turned into animalistic roars which echoed in the hall.
The situation was getting worse. His black aura was spreading, enveloping the entire room at a rapid pace. I didn’t have to use Danger Sense to know that stuff was bad news.
“There is so much concentrated malice to the point that it is now corporeal. The living would lose their l
ife instantly should they come into contact with it.”
You didn’t have to tell me twice! Teleport Feather—No! Newly obtained Spacetime Magic 7… That didn’t work, either! If I had the Lich’s Seal Immunity, I would probably be able to use it to get out of the room.
Nothing was working.
“Gogagagaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—”
The Lich excreted all of his pent-up malice at once as if something finally broke inside him. The excess malice looked like a tidal wave rushing toward us.
Stefan picked Jean up off the floor, still unconscious.
“I can take care of my master! But you guys…”
We’ll figure it out!
“I’m so so—”
Only a few steps in front of us, Jean and Stefan were swept up by the torrent of malice.
Fran, put all your energy into Mana Barrier, and set up some Purification Magic barriers!
“Okay!”
Jet, stay in the shadows!
“Woof!”
Change Shape!
I took the form of a giant shield. It was thin, but covering Fran’s entire body took priority right now. I also put all my energy into Mana Barrier. Our two layers of protection were going to have to do for this storm of malice. I had Overboosted the barrier with Mage, of course.
Urrghhhh.
Our barrier was creaking. Dammit, it’s going to break through at this point! Even my durability was starting to deplete! The rush of malice was beginning to chip away at my shield form.
“Teacher…”
Fran!
The malice was overpowering! Fran’s barrier was taking a tremendous amount of pressure and it was beginning to take a toll on her.
It was only a matter of time until our barriers broke down and we were drowned in the malice.
Wasn’t there anything I could do? Was there a skill I could use to overcome the situation? I still had some EP left over. Should I put it into Physical Barrier? Maybe Purification Magic?
No, there was one skill I hadn’t used yet!
I’m going to have to bet our lives on this!
Oooooh! Unleash Potential!
I used the Extra Skill I got from the Skeleton Knight, Unleash Potential. At that very moment, my body started shining and I could feel tremendous amounts of mana inside me.
I felt myself getting dramatically stronger.
This should—
Wait, no! My durability was going down a lot faster now, too! I would be destroyed in under three minutes, and I didn’t know how much malice left there was to hold back.
What should I do? Keep focusing on defense? Put my EP into Mana Barrier and Purification Magic and resist it that way?
Approaching critical condition. Requesting input.
Huh? Who’s there?
I am specimen *****. My name has been deleted by the craftsman. I do not have a name.
That’s not what I’m asking. This voice… Is that you, P.A.?
Yes. This “P.A.” that Specimen Teacher speaks of is part of my abilities. My previously frozen authority has been unlocked due to the emergency situation caused by Unleash Potential.
There’s a lot I want to ask you, but now’s not the time! We have to get out of here, quick!
Specimen Teacher will be destroyed in one hundred and thirty-nine seconds. Odds of eliminating hostile elements until then is thirteen percent. Odds of Specimen Fran expiring is ninety-one percent.
Seriously?! Then I have to put more points into Mana Barrier or Purification Magic to protect Fran! But which one? Dammit, what do I do?! P.A., help me!
Proposal: Neither.
They’re both no good?
Yes. Odds of Specimen Fran expiring with both skills is over eighty percent.
Do you have a better way?
Yes. Would you like to commence guidance?
Yes! Please, you need to save Fran!
Affirmative. Please transfer usage authority.
A-all right! There, it’s transferred! Please, help her!
Transfer of authority confirmed. Commencing guidance protocol.
My slapdash knowledge was no match for the P.A.’s; she knew a lot more than I did. Letting her handle the situation felt like the natural thing to do.
Activating Spacetime Magic, Quick Zone.
The spell slowed down your perception of time. Everything around us moved in slow motion, giving us more time to think. Good job, P.A. I never would’ve thought of using a spell I had just acquired.
Commencing protection of Fran as top priority. Using 5 EP. Change Shape is now Transform Shape.
Hey! You’re just gonna use my EP? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter now! My EP went down from 25 to 20.
Under the P.A.’s authority, my body immediately transformed. Part of me maintained my greatshield form while the rest of me began wrapping around Fran. Unlike Change Shape, Transform Shape allowed me to manipulate my volume.
I had encased Fran in armor, and not just superficially, either. I had slipped into the gaps that were left uncovered by her Black Cat Set. The additional armor boosted her defense and allowed me further reinforce her with Mana Barrier to ensure there were no nooks or crannies for the miasma to slip through. I had high hopes for this form.
Maintaining armor form may cause a drop in my calculation capabilities. Using 5 EP. Split Thinking is now Double Mind. Calculation capabilities are back to normal.
Just do what you need to!
Insufficient EP.
How?! I have so much EP left!
Using 6 EP. Identify 7 is now Identify 10. You do not meet the requirements to unlock Heavensight. Temporarily cancelling acquisition of new skill.
You could get a new skill by leveling Identify to 10, although it looked like I didn’t meet the requirements. Why would she level up Identify at a time like this?
Attempting access to Sanctuary. Success. Accessing Library.
Sanctuary? What? Was that where the gods lived? And a library…? I didn’t get it. I didn’t want to disturb her so I’d just ask later.
Received information on Heavensight in exchange for losing access privileges. Constructing Heavensight-Failed. Use EP to learn Heavensight-Insufficient EP.
She was experimenting. I’m counting on you, P.A. You can do anything you want, just get us out of here!
Scanning skills in possession. Attempting skill restructure in order to procure resources and EP.
Skill restructure?
Complete. Efficiency has increased through skill restructure. Curved Sword Mastery 1, Advanced Sword Mastery 5, Sword Mastery 10, Twinblade Mastery 2, Greatsword Mastery 1, Short Sword Mastery 1, and Dagger Mastery 1 has been consolidated into Sword King Earth 7. Punch Mastery 3,
Kick Mastery 1, and Martial Arts 3 have been consolidated into Martial King Mastery Earth 1. Groundfeel 1, Danger Sense 1, Vigilance 4, Presence Sense 5, Harvesting 2, and Hunting 1 have been consolidated into Omnidirectional Radar 3. Earthquake Sense 1, Heat Detection 1, Electromagnetic Sense 1, Mana Sense 3, Trap Sense 5...
Okay, okay, I get it!
Message abridged. Deleting useless skills to gain 10 EP.
Alright, good job. I’ll just see whatever’s left once we’re out of the woods!
Using 10 EP. Obtained Heavensight. Activating Heavensight. Pinpointed location of Legendary Skeleton. Activating Transform Shape.
After all that build up, it turned out that the skill was able to predict the path of the malice wave. Under the control of the P.A., something shot out of my body. A steel thread? She had used part of my body to produce some steel thread, and it shot out towards the remaining skeletons.
The steel thread held strong even within the storm of malice. It wasn’t going to snap since we reinforced it with Mana Barrier. It found their crystals, and pierced through them easily. Unleash Potential was doing its job, and the skill restructure probably helped too.
The thread was an extension of my blade. It cut and absorbed five crystals with one slice.
That was great, P.A.!
Crystals count is at 5521. You have ranked up. You have gained 55 EP. Total EP is at 64 EP. Using 18 EP. Raising Doppelganger from level 1 to 10. 64 EP remaining. Unlocked new skill “Rapid Processing”.
She leveled up Doppelganger to Level 10. Did she do it solely to unlock Rapid Processing?
Using 10 EP to make Doppelganger a Superior Skill. Success. Doppelganger 10 is now Complex Doppelganger SP.
She turned into a Superior Skill before I got a chance to look at it! Well, she did what she had to do. Still, I can’t help but be curious what the skill did.
Activating Complex Doppelganger SP.
Five of my human forms came out of it. The P.A. was quite skilled in using it, since my clones were adorned with clothes of this world. I thought they were going to serve as meat shields but they had turned around and covered our backs.
Dual Mind and Rapid Processing has unlocked Rapid Calculation. Using 8 EP to level up Flame Magic 1 to Flame Magic 5.
The P.A. leveled up Flame Magic now. It wasn’t at Level 10, but I guess we were going to need a Level 5 spell.
Activating Flame Magic, Inferno Burst. Charging mana to increase destructive power.
My five copies and I began casting, then fired the spells. The golden flames entangled each other, focused on a single point. The spell had a small area of effect in exchange for being a focused blast of energy, but the power of the shot was much stronger than P.A.’s initial calculations. The intensity of the flame curse was so strong that it dissipated the miasma if only for a second.
I could actually see the out of control Lich! However, the endlessly flowing miasma would soon fill the clear air and block our sight of him once more.
