Ed used the zombies as target practice for nearly two hours before stopping. His adept throwing skill had leveled up twice during that period.
'I better try something else'
He remembered the one skill he did not use yet.
'Not Swordsmanship, thought manipulation!'
Ed had only read the description before putting it aside last time, he was thinking it might be some sort of psychic power.
'Let's review it again'
[Thought Manifestation lvl. 0]
Your thoughts can affect reality.
He was still a bit skeptical about how it could be used. If it was some sort of psychic power it would be named differently.
He grabbed one of the daggers and looked at his palm while thinking.
'Can I make it sharper?'
Ed stared intently at the dagger but nothing happened.
'Is the level too low or am I using it wrong? I guess if I could I would be manipulating reality rather than affecting it'
He couldn't wrap his head around it no matter how he tried to affect the dagger. He let out a mental sigh and put the skill aside.
'Sounds really useful but I can't use it right now, I should level up basic transmission instead.'
Ed put away his daggers and headed for one of the many exits. He traversed a few corridors and rooms before finding a group of skeletons. It was a room with many miscellaneous items, nothing stood out to him.
Three of the Skeletons were holding swords, he judged them to be sufficiently smart. Even if they weren't, thanks to the improvements of his basic transmission skill he would still be able to command them.
'But smarter is better'
There was no need to put in extra effort when looking for minions.
'But then again... the more the merrier'
Although his previous squad was decimated in a very short amount of time, they still made a difference. Leveling up his basic transmission should help him survive future encounters.
'If I had an army of skeletons I wouldn't need to be afraid'
He couldn't depend on the lich forever, he needed individual strength.
'Well... I guess I can't really call that individual strength'
He approached the three skeletons and sent them a simple message. Follow me. They understood his intent and complied.
[Basic transmission has leveled up]
'Looks like it was already close to leveling up'
He would let out a wry smile if possible. His old squad was the only company he had in awhile making him ever so slightly attached.
'Should I name these three?'
He glanced at each of his new followers.
'Let's not'
He didn't want to get attached.
[Mental Fortitude has leveled up]
Ed ignored the message and continued on his minion gathering journey for the next four hours. He had amassed a total of 12 skeletons during that period. It became easier and easier to gather more skeletons as the skill improved.
[Basic transmission has leveled up]
[Basic Transmission has met the conditions to advance, Advance Basic Transmission Skill? Y/N]
Ed got exactly what he had been waiting for shortly after gathering skeleton number 12. He could now tell that level 9 was the max level for sure.
'Yes!' He didn't hesitate to agree, there were no downsides.
[<Basic Transmission lvl. 9> has advanced to <Transmission lvl. 0>]
'All it did was remove the basic part... show me the new skill'
[Transmission]
Skill holder can send their thoughts and intent to conscious beings.
'I might be able to talk to people now!'
If he tried that before, he would have been turned into a pile of bones. The range and function of basic transmission was extremely limited when it came to communication with hostile creatures.
If he wanted to tell an adventurer that he did not intend to fight he would first have to be close to the adventurer. The adventurer would take his approach no matter how relaxed or harmless as trying to attack them.
What monster would want to talk to humans? None! They want to kill them! The only monsters that are not driven by a desire to kill are those outside the dungeons. Those monsters are comparable to wild animals rather than killing machines. It is also why dungeons can't be allowed to expand, the monsters would attack humanity without mercy.
Ed sent messages to his new followers expressing his delight over the skill's advancement. His messages were met with confusion.
'You guys are no fun'
The life of a dungeon mob is one of extreme boredom.
'Well, I don't think the humans would listen to me anyway'
Even if they did listen, the dungeon wouldn't. It would give him a harsh penalty without a doubt.
Ed was still in the room where he got skeleton number 12, he only got one skeleton since the others were not worth the effort.
'But maybe I can now'
He sent a message to all of the wild skeletons in the room telling them to follow him. They all abided without much trouble. Except for one, it was too far to get the message but the range was still much better than before.
Just like that, he added five new additions to the cannon fodder squad. Ed nodded in satisfaction at the skill's new prowess.
'Things are looking up'
Leading a Skeleton army might just be possible now.
'That would definitely alert any humans that come in the future though'
If that happened he would be exterminated without a doubt.
'As long as the dungeon survives I'll still be able to respawn though'
It would seem that as long as he was part of the dungeon he wouldn't die. All he had to do was follow the rules and commands of the dungeon and he wouldn't be punished. Going against the dungeon was like going against the law and breaking the law could result in jail time.
'I guess it is not too different from my past life'
The 24-hour isolation was just like going to jail. Both of them can make you insane if you stay in them long enough after all.
Ed decided to continue walking around the dungeon for the remaining 6 hours of cooldown. He would accumulate an army to attack any adventurers.
***
It was a new day and Samuel was inside his office as usual. He was reading over some papers he had received a couple of days ago.
'This is unexpected'
The scouts did manage to retrieve a lot of William's items before disappearing. Samuel was reading over a report on those findings.
Some of the items found included letters and books. William was receiving letters from his family and also from his teacher. He kept all of those letters inside of his robe.
'I didn't expect him to have such a formidable teacher'
Samuel was thinking that he might not need to do anything after all. William's teacher was a well-known hermit, he was even called a sage by some.
Samuel has a family, he would avoid danger whenever possible. He wasn't always like that, it was after he started a family that he tried to keep himself safe. Samuel used to put the safety of friends above himself in the past but it was just not possible anymore.
'I might need to send him a message'
Just because he sent the message, it didn't mean he would agree. And if he didn't agree, Samuel would put himself at risk without making too many excuses.
Clearing the dungeon would indirectly protect his family, there was no need to make excuses.