“I can get you out of here,” a voice echoed from another cell.
Everyone turned to the right. A shadowy figure cloaked entirely in black sat motionless inside. No face, no hands, no legs—nothing was visible beneath the fabric.
Without hesitation, Leon activated his skill.
<Inspect>
[Name: Rees Krambelbar]
[Class: Magi]
[Race: Lich]
[Level: 97]
[HP: -1 /970000]
[MP: 0 / 485000]
[Description: Rees Krambelbar, once a noble who craved for knowledge but as his age closed in on him, he found the best way to continue his research and studies.
He became a Lich, an undead who holds terrifying powers, enormous amount of knowledge and thirst to know more about the world.
But being seprated from his necroheart Rees was left powerless as he can’t collect mana without it and when he was searching for it, Richard found him and enslaved him.]
“An undead, huh ?” Leon muttered, smirking.
“Huh ? You can tell ?” the figure responded curiously, rising and stepping forward.
As Rees stepped into the light, even Leon flinched slightly. A white skeleton, draped in black robes, with three glowing red eyes—one in the center of his forehead.
Although the eyes looked more like red orbs just floating in his skull.
“Fucking hell…” Leon murmured under his breath.
“People usually react like that,” Rees said calmly. “But you’re holding your composure well. Not scared of the undead ?
Any specific reasons for that ?” He asked.
“I’ve seen worse,” Leon replied with a grin.
‘In movies and mangas, I have seen things like him so much that I only felt a little surprised when I first saw him but now I don’t feel much. It’s a magical world after all and undead beings here is not a new thing.’ he added in his mind.
“So… how do you plan to get us out of here ? And what do you want in return ? Freedom ?” Leon asked with a curious expression.
“I overheard your conversation that you were having with this dark elf girl. You mentioned ‘Your Dungeon’. Did I hear that right?” Rees asked as he looked at Leon.
“You did… What about it ?” Leon asked with a confused expression.
“A dungeon you’re hiding in or did you just cleared it’s first floor and taking shelter in it or—?”
“I own it, save your argument for another day.” Leon cut in flatly.
‘He will still argue about it. I am one thousand percent sure.’ Leon thought in his mind and…
“T-That’s impossible. To own a dungeon, you need to bind with the core. To do that, you have to be—”
“A monster ?” Leon asked with a smile as he cut him mid sentence once again.
“Yes.” Rees replied as he looked at Leon.
“Not necessarily. I bound with it as a human. Now, what’s your angle ? And how do you plan to help us ?” Leon asked with a straight face.
“When I looked at you… I saw knowledge. You’re hiding it well, but it’s there in your mind, I can tell the face of a scholar.
That’s why your eyes weren’t filled with fear when you saw me, because religious people most often referred to me as the work of devil and always ran away from me.” Rees said as he looked at Leon.
“You are a walking skeleton… What do you expect ? Now get to the point.” Leon replied with a flat expression.
“Let me stay in your dungeon. Just for a while, until I find what’s mine. In that time, we can trade knowledge. I know almost every dark art, and I can teach you things that’ll crush your enemies. What do you say ?” Rees asked his voice laced with greed.
Leon grinned. “How do I trust you?”
“W-What?”
“Your words are a bit too sweet. And since you’re without your necroheart, you’re powerless. Why should I even bother with you in the first place ?” Leon asked with a smile.
“H-How do you—how do you know about the necroheart ?” Rees stammered as he looked at Leon.
“See, You were hiding things from me. I don’t think I can trust you. So maybe I’ll just leave you here to rot—” Leon started speaking but Rees immediately interrupted him.
“W-Wait!” Rees panicked.
“I was captured while searching for materials to craft a new necroheart in the Vincerel Forest since my old one got stolen while I was working in my dungeon. If I stay here, I’ll run out of soul essence soon and die.
Help me, and I’ll give you every last piece of knowledge I know about dark arts and this world!” Rees spoke as he offered another deal to Leon, this time desperation clear in his voice.
‘He broke that fast… pathetic liar,’ Leon thought in his mind as he looked at Rees.
“Hmm… hard to decide. What if you tried to-” Before Leon could’ve completed his sentence, Rees interrupted him.
“Take this,” Rees said quickly. He reached up and removed the glowing red orb from his forehead, holding it out.
Leon narrowed his eyes and casted his skill on it…
<Inspect>
[Name: Life Essence Crystal]
[Rank: B]
[Description: Found in high-level intelligent undead, this crystal stores life force and preserves the user’s sanity.
Once bound, it becomes the undead’s core lifeline. Any damage to it causes severe, irreversible harm. An undead can possess upto five of them but as they are connected to each other, even if one of them get’s destroyed the undead will suffer near death pain and maybe even loose his sanity.]
[Bound to: Rees Krambelbar]
[Life Force: 7 Days]
“It’s a life essence crystal—”
“That stores your life force, yeah. Only seven days left, huh ?” Leon said, smirking.
“H-How do you know that?! Only I should know that!” Rees gasped with a confused and worried expression as he hesitated now.
Leon took the orb out of his hand immediately and slipped it into his inventory.
“Jennifer, open the cell.” He ordered.
‘He might be useless now, but can be useful in future and he has information on dark arts. I will just give him some floor on the dungeon.’ Leon thought with a smile.
“Y-Yes…” she stammered, unlocking the gate.
*Click*
Rees stepped out. The elves and children clung to each other in sheer terror—some even crying, trembling, others hiding behind their mothers. Only Leon remained calm, unfazed.
“So,” Leon said, “that plan to get us out of here you mentioned—was that a lie too, or…?”
“N-No, it’s real. I know a teleportation spell. But…” Rees trailed off, placing his bony hand over his skull. “There’s a small problem.”