The bits that were too small he fused together and the ones too large were intentional. Thus, the seven wisps were split into sixteen after some minutes of hard work. Each of the wisps of different sizes, or they at least looked like they were.
'There's no way I am doing math' How do you measure balls of light? Is it the area of a sphere? Or was there some intricate formula necessary to measure light?
Ed shook away the thought and grabbed every wisp. Although the quantity was higher, he was still able to conjure enough arms of light to grab each. Their sizes weren't too large now after all.
Ed walked out of the forge and entered the spirit room next door. He threw the new wisps in and they floated about aimlessly. It probably had something to do with having no personality.
Ed didn't think too hard about it though. He couldn't afford to waste time thinking idle thoughts. He thus swiftly exited the system space and found himself in the eerie dungeon.
The skeletons were still aimlessly wandering around and Ed's feet were loitered with items. All was well.
'Let's assimilate this' Ed hadn't forgotten to increase his attributes. He reached for a common-looking sword. It seemed to be made of a regular iron but the craftsmanship itself didn't seem half bad.
'Not that I can really make that judgement' Ed muttered as he activated the assimilation skill.
[Assimilation on cooldown]
[Strength +3]
[Constitution +1]
'That's kind of low isn't it?' Ed asked as he saw the acquired attributes. The orcs' worn axes gave the exact same amount so it was only natural he would think this.
'Is it because it's a regular sword? Or maybe the dungeon spawned items are special?' Ed didn't think too hard about it and simply decided it was likely the latter. He would only be able to find out the truth if he ever learns the dungeon's manufacturing method.
'That makes it sound like it's a factory' Ed said inwardly as he approached some of the skeletons. He was going to give them the same treatment as Kenny Jr.
He first approached a shield bearing skeleton. The skeleton only watched as he put his hand on its head. It then collapsed into a pile of bones forcing Ed to duck down to revive it.
Ed decided to start with the largest wisp. He would move his way down and compile the results internally. If he were to find the upper limit one might think it pointless to continue doing this but...
Ed also felt it was important to more or less acknowledge how intelligent one would be at each level. This arguably served no purpose and could be said to be nothing more than curiosity. But knowing this could help him understand how these wisps worked and how to better put them to use. Smarter wasn't always better.
As soon as the consciousness was inserted, the skeleton's skull showed small cracks. They started to spread around its skull before inevitably cracking open. Ed activated his sixth sense and quickly grabbed the wisp. He returned it to the spirit room.
He wasn't willing to bet on whether or not the wisp would fade away like the others. The answer was likely yes.
Ed stood up and decided to speed up the process.
'Come' Ed transmitted his thoughts to 15 new skeletons. They all went over and Ed started the process.
After a good two or three minutes, he was done.
'They didn't survive until the seventh' Ed pondered over the results and observed the nine new and improved skeletons. As they had no memories, they seemed to be very curious.
It reminded Ed of small animals entering a person's home. Except that it was the skeletons of the deceased in a creepy dungeon.
'Eh, that's not a good comparison' Ed quickly dismissed the thoughts.
He now needed to test their intelligence, their capability to listen to orders. In a way, he already tested this. The memoryless skeletons didn't even know to grab their weapons. He really wanted to cry at the sight, he would be able to do much more if it wasn't for the fact that the bodies break down.
'I wonder if the system space will have a way…' Upon reaching this thought, Ed realized that it already might have.
'Can I use the forge to reinforce their bodies?' Could he make a bone and steel alloy? The forge wasn't a regular forge, it used weird white flames and was capable of melting consciousness. He felt this wasn't too much of a stretch.
'I'll have to try that some other time' Ed made a mental note of it.
If he didn't get to it then... maybe he would earn a sub-skill that worked in this area in the future? It seemed quite reasonable if you considered that soul calling was seemingly laying down the groundwork for spirit insertion.
Ed transmitted his thoughts to the smarter skeletons and gathered them in front of him. Most of them were holding swords so Ed decided to use this as a direction.
'I've only held a sword before though…' Ed wouldn't forget his level negative one skill, how could he?
'Pass me your sword' Ed instructed Kenny Jr.
The fellow was one of the dumber ones as his consciousness was only made up of two skeletons. Still, he could be said to be somewhat of a mascot as he often acted rather lively.
Kenny abided by his decree and quickly passed him the rusty blade. Ed grabbed the sword and then called up the smartest of the bunch.
He hadn't chosen a name yet. Recycling the previous names with only jr. next to them wasn't exactly creative… So for now, he would only be number nine.
'Let's spar' Ed transmitted and told nine. Its response was a bit of confusion as it clumsily held its blade. Ed then realized that things might not work very well if he went this direction.
Putting aside his attributes, this would still be an easy trashing for number nine.
'Their intelligence seems to be only a level lower than the goblins' The goblins in the orc plains had left him a mild impression. They weren't very clever but they were still able to follow the orcs' lead and have emotions.
Regardless, that only applied to number nine. The others could barely be said to be living.
'I wonder if intelligence is what determines whether or not they are considered life...' That question seemed rather philosophical, Ed had no plans to answer it for the moment.
Ed was only looking as his opponent fumbled with its grip, he lamented the coming days. If he couldn't find a way to strengthen their bodies quickly then he just might suffer.
***
Count Flamewood was once again inside of the Freedom Union. The reason was simple. His adventurers hadn't been found yet!
"Why is no one willing to take on the task?" The count asked Khal who was seated in front of him sweating bullets.
"Erm, well, the last couple of expeditions have been less than fruitful. Most of the adventurers here are averse to venturing in because of this." Khal told the Count while hoping he didn't bring up their previous meeting. Khal had essentially promised to get him experienced adventurers… But none of them wanted to! How was he going to defend himself?
"Does this mean we will have to look for adventurers outside of town?" Aden Flamewood asked pensively.
"I'm afraid so…" Khal replied.
There was then a short bout of silence before knocking sounded at the door. The door then opened, the knocking was merely a formality.
"Good Morning Mr. Flamewood" It was Miller who had just entered who said this. He also expressed his sincerity with a deep bow.
"Ah, hello. Weren't you the one at Duke Lansworth's side?" Count Flamewood returned the greeting before demonstrating his keen eye and memory. As expected of a man who often dealt with alchemy.
"That is correct Sir. Your vision is praiseworthy." Miller politely replied before shuffling over to Khal's side.
"The royal family has sent a decree" Miller leaned in and whispered to Khal whose eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"What is it?" He hurriedly asked.
"They will be sending some of their knights to clear the dungeon. I suspect that includes a small scale army following the latest failure."
The initial purpose of sending in those adventurers was to clear the way towards the next boss. They wanted to gain a foothold early on to quickly finish the dungeon. It was a request of Eon so the king wouldn't dare try to delay it. Of course, others didn't know this.
"An army?!?" Khal yelled in a hushed tone nearly jumping out of his seat.
"What about our borders?" Khal followed and asked.
The Bosque kingdom was currently being eyed by the Volcan empire on its northwestern side. The tension was actually quite high and there was an active fear of war in the kingdom.
"I am also unsure about this. You might need to ask your brother, Duke Lansworth, on the matter" Miller naturally had no way to know what the people at the top of the kingdom were thinking.
"Ay, I guess you are right..." Khal was a bit reluctant to talk to his older brother. Their relationship has always been rather strained. Regardless, the situation was rather abnormal and concerned the entire kingdom. He couldn't put it off because of that.
Miller then swiftly left and Khal was left to deal with the Count. His nervousness was gone as his mind was in other places.