It was dark. That was Ed's first impression as he returned to his skeleton body.
'Hm?' He then realized the reason for this. A large portion of the torch crystals he placed had fallen and cracked open on the bare temple ground.
Ed stood up from his throne. That was also when Iron finally noticed Ed's return. As to not show any disrespect, it immediately stepped in front of Ed and knelt solemnly. Ed could feel that Iron was longing for something and Ed, seeing the worn-out state of his armor thought he knew what it was.
'You want to be stronger, right?' Some would think that all he wanted was a new piece of armor but Ed could sense some ambition. As to why that was Ed would never know. Perhaps unlocking the requiem skill had significantly improved his understanding of skeletons, there was no way to be sure as the skill's description hadn't detailed hard facts.
Iron after what Ed assumed was some consideration nodded and then instantly prostrated himself against the ground. How could he be so brazen when facing the lord! But he knew what he wanted and he knew Ed could grant it so it went for it anyway.
'You'll have to wait' But whether Ed wanted to do so was another matter. If it was true that undead could suppress and detect those stronger than themselves then that also meant that the undead had an instinctual drive to not just cling to life but to grow stronger. If Ed wasn't careful he could find himself being stabbed in the back by his own skeletons.
'Although without the system's help none of you would be any pressure' Ed was considering letting things develop to find some challenge but how could the things he created surpass him if they depended on him entirely? Was it really possible for them to grow stronger than him? Was he not immortal inside of the dungeon anyway?
What Ed needed were humans! Humans were the only ones that knew how to incapacitate the dungeon, that knew to be wary and cunning and that could actually hold a candle to his strength!
'I don't want to grow arrogant....' Those haughty words came from the fact that he knew he had grown complacent. His belief that the skeletons couldn't threaten him as long as he was in the dungeon was proof enough.
But that was more than enough self-reflection, Ed motioned for Iron to move aside to which the skeleton quietly abided.
'Let's see how the rest are doing' Ed stepped out of the temple. The torches which had fallen on the ground could be replaced later. At least until Ed was able to find why they fell exactly, though the answer came far easier than he had anticipated.
The earth shook as a powerful fiery explosion sent skeletal limbs flying. That was however nothing more than the final death throes of an unwilling adventurer.
"TAAAK- Urgh" The bloody blade of a sword impaled his exposed neck and his body almost immediately turned dull and lifeless. The adventurer fell to the ground with a thud, his facing showing a hint of surprise as well as worry at the thought of what death might entail.
'I came at a good time' Ed thought as he continued approaching the group in a relaxed manner. He would surely be receiving another human soul for his eventual level up. It had been a good bit since his last and that one had not yielded him any skill either.
The skeletons, who couldn't miss his presence even if they wished to, were overwhelmed by Ed and quickly knelt.
'Be at ease' Ed transmitted before shifting his gaze at the gear of the deceased adventurer.
[Golden Age (Magic armor)]
A set of armor crafted by an expert armorsmith, the golden age set provides a significant bonus to the power of all magic types.
Ed's attention had been ceased by the gear following the realization that it held magical properties, as someone who now wanted to improve his craftsmanship equipment of such caliber was worth a lot.
'I'll have to start carrying all this loot into the system space' Previously Ed didn't have enough space so he had to sift through what was and wasn't useful but after purchasing the storage+ upgrade he could safely say all of the items he was looking to store would fit.
That also reminded Ed to look at the new spoils of war. For a reason entirely unknown to him, the dungeon had not called him to deal with those adventurers. That meant that the skeletons were killing things on their own and had prepared him a stockpile!
'When I put it that way I guess the dungeon does have a good reason' If the anti-skeletons could handle it, why send Ed? It would be mismanaging its resources if it played its trump card against even the weakest of small fries.
Plus, Ed was using that small fry killing time to hone himself and strengthen those around him. It was a no-brainer what path led to the best benefits. Maybe that was the reason the dungeon could tell as well…
[Ring of Fate (Common Ring)]
[Fire Flag (Magic Cloth)]
[Aggrieved (Magic Greaves)]
There was a lot more new equipment some magical in nature but much of them had rather small effects. The fire flag was said to ignite a fighting spirit and the greaves were magical due to their punny nature.
Ed continued to scan here and there and finally picked out some nice things for himself.
[Staff of Earth]
[Robe of stars]
[Bracelet of Strength]
The effects of these pieces of equipment were just as solid as their safe name choice. The robe of stars decreased mana consumption of space spells while the staff of earth added extra firmness to earthen spells. The bracelet of strength went without saying.
After everything was taken care of, Ed turned back to the skeletons. Surprisingly, he was down to a mere 21, or so a quick glance would tell him.
'I'll have to start manufacturing skeletons again' Ed would also need to find out if there were any related system upgrades.
But now was obviously not the time so Ed decided to scan his surroundings and he quickly noticed that his original goal for going there was gone.
'Were my zombies killed?' If there had indeed been constant attacks from adventurers then without a doubt the zombies would be one of the first to charge and definitely one of the first to die. They were lacking in the brains department.
Fortunately, all hope was not lost. Ed could still summon up at least one zombie, though he had to hurry. The male adventurer with the gaudy yet well-rounded equipment was not the only victim of the anti-skeletons, those corpses had started to be eaten by the dungeon though.
'ûlîn tee oð ðdhono wruiþ' Ed began chanting an eerie requiem which aroused the patiently kneeling skeleton as well as caused the fallen adventurer's body to twitch as he was slowly brought back to life.
Though concentrated on the skill chant, Ed didn't forget to scan what was happening with his sith sense skill. All along Ed was unable to see much however other than a mist-like substance that permeated out of the corpse's head.
'Is it the consciousness slowly fading away or something?' If it was, that meant trouble. Even after the full incantation, the fleeting mist continued to escape the head.
'Borrowed time huh…' It was Ed's only conclusion for the phenomenon. But if that conjecture was correct then Ed probably couldn't raise a graveyard from the dead, only the recently deceased who would still have a consciousness however faint or fleeting could be temporarily brought back.
'Not good enough' Ed wouldn't be able to perform any significant experiment on zombies when faced with such unfavorable conditions.
Any experiment would for one cost a human soul as the sixth skill suggested the spirit was being spent to keep the zombie up and running. That was expensive, he couldn't afford to spend that willy nilly unlike the consciousnesses of the skeletons and the orcs. It wasn't that humans were worth more except that… they were!
The souls of the humans were scarce when compared to the ample amount of orc consciousnesses and skeletons he had collected. So even if he didn't think of orcs and skeletons as lesser to humans the value they had was guaranteed to be greater by this alone.
The only way for the experiments to be viable was if he had many human souls but he had yet to figure out a way to keep those for himself. So far, it seemed like the system collected them and used them to upgrade his consciousness.
'Hold that thought, isn't leveling up too expensive?' Was it possible that the system was fleecing him? Ed didn't know if he should be angry considering that it could have left him as a level one chump, could this be considered a type of generosity?
'Bah! I'll let you off this time' Ed had enough problems as it was. For now, he would need to find a way to fleece the humans into coming for him. He could get both pressure and their souls, it was a win-win! ...for him, he would get both the wins.
Ed thought for a bit and remembered the previous encounter he had with humans. They wanted him specifically. So what was it that he had?
'They want my bone' Yes, they wanted Ed's bone. That meant that if Ed wanted to satisfy their needs this was one of the potential avenues.
'But killing myself isn't effective…' This meant that the idea would be left on the backlog unless Ed could somehow start growing his own BONES-!!!
With the skill the dungeon gave him and the forge it just might be possible!