Seeing the final bits of Vorgarag's body being consumed by darkness, Ed decisively jumped off the wall. The earth reached out to catch him under his manipulation and he managed to safely land on the ground.
Somewhat absentmindedly, Ed walked over to Sharog.
"I'll be resting at home. The battle was quite arduous…" Ed said slurring the end of his sentence. Sharog showed hints of concern but ultimately nodded, She and the other orcs were now about to carry Shel away to a room. Shel obviously couldn't just rest on the ground while her injuries recovered.
Ed remained to watch for a bit before leaving with hurried steps. He couldn't wait around, not anymore anyway.
He entered his designated home and jumped onto his bed. Duma's disappearance was odd but he didn't pay it much mind. He also wouldn't fault Duma if he were to find out he merely escaped from the battle. There wasn't much he could do to help anyway.
'I want to be recalled' Ed told the dungeon through his thoughts. There was a period of silence that followed his wish.
[Recalling Champion's Soul]
But soon the dungeon answered. Ed's consciousness wavered and his eyes turned heavy. His body plopped on the bed and when he finally regained his clarity he was inside of the vast black. The void showed no signs of changing.
[Champion has met the conditions to level up, initiate level up? Y/N]
'Yes' Ed replied. There was no need for idle thoughts and dialogue, this was what he came for after all. He already had a plan to prevent a similar accident. Not only that, but he wasn't willing to let go of Vorgarag just yet.
'What a lousy teacher, he didn't finish his teachings' Ed jested. But he should have expected something like this. For the orcs, unfinished teachings were the norm.
[Champion will be put to sleep]
'Sleep, I need that' This was Ed's final thought as his vision of the black abyss disappeared and his mind was put to rest.
***
Treading down a gravel path was a carriage. The galloping horses were carrying none other than Count Flamewood and his son Felix.
"Felix, I will let you enter the dungeon but you are not allowed to go anywhere near the boss room you hear me?" The count, Aden Flamewood, told Felix.
He had used all of his connections to learn about the situation in Arbor town. He obviously didn't miss the information regarding Augustus and the Lich. Either of these undead beings were more than enough to wipe the floor with his son. Luckily, neither of these two creatures were his goal.
"I know." Felix said rolling his eyes as he looked out the carriage window. His anger had simmered down but he was still feeling resentful.
"It's good that you know it." The count told his son as he sized him up for a reaction. Felix didn't bat an eye though and continued to watch the green scenery outside. The Bosque Kingdom had a rich Flora so the sight never turned dull.
Only the galloping horses and the sounds of a distant river could be heard as silence reigned in the atmosphere.
This atmosphere was maintained until 20 minutes later. They had reached their destination, the Freedom Union branch.
"Thank you, Carlton. Make sure to find a nice inn while I converse with the necessary officials." Aden told his servant as he and his son exited the carriage. His servant only bowed in response before taking the carriage away.
They entered the union and expressed their reason to visit. They were immediately ushered towards the main office.
"Ah, Lansworth. I and your brother are quite close in the noble circles you know" Aden Flamewood said after he entered the office with his son. He had recognized the nameplate outside and knew who was inside.
Felix however was completely uninterested so he rudely found himself a seat.
"Mr. Flamewood there is no need to be so respectful, please have a seat!" Khal who was sitting behind the desk hiding a bottle of wine said cheerfully. His status was lower than the count's since he hadn't inherited any noble title. He had to maintain his image.
"In that case, I shall." The count sat opposite to Khal.
This placed a bit of pressure on Khal as he had sent Miller to do some mundane tasks for him. He thus decided it was best to get rid of the count as quickly as possible.
"Mr. Flamewood, if you may please tell me what you came here for" Khal's words were kind and refined but in reality, his heart was full of tension. Enough so that his wine bottle nearly escaped his grip. He was blessed with a top-notch bullsh*tting skill though so neither his words nor expression was seeing through.
"In that case, I'll get right to the crux of the matter. The sample you sent was processed by my alchemists and they have found incredible potential lying within it. I came personally to tell you the news." The count said with an amicable and bright smile. Khal was full of cold sweat as he found the count's words confusing.
What sample!?!?
"Ah, I am glad your people processed it so quickly. Your territory is surely full of talents. I take it you need a party of adventurers, yes?" Khal promptly and professionally replied. Even if he didn't do any of the work he was still the one that dealt with people. He knew what the logical next step might be.
"Hahaha yes. As expected of the brother of the great Duke Lansworth." The count said pleasantly and with a laugh.
"I will settle this matter immediately. A longterm stay, right? Hmmm… There is a party exploring the dungeon right now. I'll try to poach some of 'em once they return. They'll have plenty of experience so you may rest assured." Khal replied with a warm smile.
"Then I am truly at ease. My son shall be joining them you see" The count directed the conversation toward the topic of his son which put Khal in a tough spot.
'Ah damn it, just get out of here!' Khal complained internally. He was really tempted to take a sip of his alcohol right now.
***
Ed regained his vision and thoughts. He was awake. And he was deeply confused.
The black void he was expecting was nowhere to be seen. His entire vision was dyed an oppressive red. This deep red color invoked in him a deep sense of danger and discomfort.
'Is it a new skill?' Ed wondered. He tried to deactivate it and the place regained its usual black hue. His curiosity was aroused as a result.
'Status' He commanded.
[Name: Edw#&!]
Type: Level 6 Consciousness.
Health: 700/700
Bodies: Skeleton, Orc
~Skills~
[Transmission lvl. 4] -Show info-
[Mental Fortitude lvl. 5] -Show info-
[Assessment lvl. 0] -Show info-
[Assimilation lvl. 5] -Show info-
[Thought Manifestation lvl. 1] -Show info-
[Language lvl. 1] -Show info-
[???] -Show info-
[Eloquence lvl. 3] -Show info-
[Sixth Sense lvl. 0]
Visible life is given a glow that corresponds to its expected strength.
Passive: Self activates when encountering dangerous signals.
Active: A peek into the paranormal world.
His health as a consciousness had reached 700 and some of his transferable skills had leveled up. Nothing was out of the ordinary there so he changed his focus towards his new skill.
'So that was my passive skill in action' Ed could now tell why his vision had been a different color. This likely had to do with his current location.
'This should be the dungeon's mind space' This meant that Ed could easily be squashed like a bug in this place. The danger was evident and clear.
But given that it said life signals and expected strength what it was analyzing wasn't how likely he was to die. It had nothing to do with his current location but rather how much of a threat the dungeon itself was.
'I am not your match' Ed thought simply. He wasn't bothered by this since his previous scuffle with it had already asserted this point.
'...a peek into the paranormal world' Ed muttered inwardly as he thought about the active skill's description.
'This should mean I can see ghosts and such. But I would be willing to bet that also includes consciousnesses' The skill's overall description included the word life which was enough to advocate this point.
Ed was happy.
'This is exactly what I need' His plans involved improving the conditions of the skeletons especially their intelligence.
'If I can see their consciousness I might be able to insert it back after refining it' Once he did, he would just have to teach the skeleton's things ranging from how to use weapons to critical thinking. In a way, he would be creating a skeleton civilization.
All of this would help his secondary goal. Getting Vorgarag back. Ed didn't know the range of his soul calling sub-skill. He could only hope that Vorgarag's consciousness was absorbed by it. If not he might need to confront the dungeon which the sixth sense skill proved was not a good idea.
'This seems a bit medium-term… I wonder if I will have the time and resources…' Ed was still considering how the dungeon might react to his plan or the subsequent events.
He had at one point surmised that dungeon needs some sort of energy to summon himself and other mobs. That meant that if he constantly encountered adventurers on the third floor and died repeatedly the dungeon might pull back.
'I can't allow that' Ed thought solemnly. What were the odds the adventurers decided to stay on those floors anyway? At most, they would pass by, right?