Wind rushed past Leon as he fell down the dark pit that he had been pushed into. He had no idea how deep it was, but just by thinking of how many seconds he had already been falling for, he knew that he was going to lose a large chunk of his Health Points, if he did not die, that is.
Ten more seconds passed as he tried, but failed to slow himself by forcing his sword into the hardy wall. The walls were too tough for him to easily breach. Another five seconds passed before a thought flashed through Leon’s mind. He rolled up his body and prepared himself for the inevitable crash. His intuition screamed at him that he was about to collide with the ground, and he acted accordingly.
Bang!
Only a moment later, his body collided with the rocky ground with an epic bang that echoed through his ears and rattled his bones.
[-1110 Health Points.]
[Health Points: 760]
Leon had no blood to cough out, but his brain went blank and he lost the ability to think as a numb feeling washed over him and remained for an unknown amount of time. Unknown to Leon, who’s mind had gone blank, a couple of hours passed before he managed to wake up again. Enough time had passed for him to regain some of his lost Health Points, but it was not enough for him to make a full recovery.
[Health Points: 1001]
[Durability +10]
Although his fall had been catastrophic, he had at least made some gains. His Durability had gotten a decent boost. The largest boost he had seen at a single moment.
“Gah… God, that was scary…” He mumbled to himself as he sat up and rubbed his head. He could feel a slight crack running from the top of his skull, all the way to his eye socket. It was a bit unnerving to know that his skull could have been nothing but broken bits of obsidian bone, but at least the worst case scenario had not occurred.
He spent a few more minutes recuperating before he finally stood up.
“I should probably try and find a way out of here. Maybe I might also be lucky enough and stumble upon something that might be suitable as a catalyst for my Race Advancement.” He mumbled as he made his way through the dark cave. Thankfully, he could see in the dark, as one of the perks of an Obsidian Skeleton Soldier. That made it much easier to navigate through the darkness that would have left him blind if he was still a human.
“Being a different race sure has its perks.” He commented as he made his way deeper and deeper into the darkness.
Fifteen minutes passed before Leon spied a hint of light from up ahead. Inside his mind, he prayed that there was not another wave of millipedes waiting for him, and his prayers were answered when he stepped into the open cavern filled with bright blue crystals that illuminated the area.
The cavern was empty, save for the black pool of water that swirled in the center of the cavern. Leon eyed the pool of black water warily before turning his gaze to study the crystals that lined the walls. He had seen them earlier, but didn’t have the chance to study them before because he was immediately besieged by the wave of millipedes.
He took a few steps closer to the closest crystal to him before placing his bony fingers on its surface.
[External Mana source found. High Grade Mana Crystal.]
‘Oh?!’ A wave of surprise washed through Leon, and he felt a flutter within his mind. ‘A High Grade Mana Crystal. Now that should be of great value, and it might be something that can act as a catalyst for my Race Advancement.’ He whistled.
‘Indeed, that is a prime material for a Race Advancement, but I know something better.’ A smooth, feminine voice swam through Leon’s mind, and he jumped in fright!
“Who’s there?!” He raised his sword and waved it around just to make sure that there was no invisible monster hiding beside him.
‘There is no need to worry. I am too weak to even harm you as I am.’ The voice spoke again directly into Leon’s mind. Something shimmered in the corner of Leon’s vision, and a long, winding body of silver chitin and hundreds of legs appeared in the corner of the cavern.
Leon jumped back and took a peek at the path he had used to enter the tunnel. He could easily try to escape, but he doubted he would succeed.
‘Wise choice. You won’t escape from me, but I do not plan on fighting you. Instead, I need your help.’ The voice told him with a hint of a laugh present within the depths of its voice. It thought his plans to escape was amusing. How insulting!
“What do you need my help for? From what you say, I don’t stand a chance against you. What use do you have for someone who is much weaker than yourself?” Leon asked the silver millipede that had curled up its upper sections at the other side of the room. The wire-thin antennae at the top of its head flicked about and it tilted its head while facing Leon.
‘Indeed, you are weaker than me, but that does not mean that you are useless.’ It spoke with a fluent tone. ‘As I said earlier, I need your help. You are the only one who can help me with my problem. Do you accept?’
“Do I have a choice?” Leon asked doubtfully.
‘No, you do not. Do you accept?’ It replied simply and asked its earlier question.
“Alright. I’ll help as long as I don’t need to become your lunch. If you try to eat me, then I’ll do my best to kill you or at least gravely injure you before I die.” Leon gave in to the silver millipede’s demands, but not before stating his stance.
‘I am glad you are forthcoming, and your reply means that you are not a dumb undead. That makes me glad… I am Silver Ghost, Mornica, the Queen of the Ghost Millipedes. Or rather, the former queen. That matters little at this point. The reason I need your help, is that I am dying, and I need to find a new life in order to survive.’ She began to explain after stating her name.
“Find a new life? How can I help you with that?” Leon asked, perplexed. He had no idea what Mornica meant by her earlier statement.
‘The only way for me to continue living at this point is to become an undead, but I do not wish to become a simple, mindless undead. For that, I need an Undead Lich, or something similar, at least.’
“I am only just an Undead Soldier. I can’t help you with that.” Leon shrugged.
‘Haha! I can see that, skeleton. But that is why I preferred to approach you instead of attacking you the moment when you appeared here. I want to extend the opportunity to use these High Grade Magic Crystals, as well as this Obsidian Pool to boost your Race Advancement to unprecedented levels. I assure you, you will not regret it one bit.’
Leon remained quiet for a few minutes as he contemplated what she said. When a couple of minutes had passed, he finally spoke.
“And if I get an advancement to a race that can help you, what exactly do you want me to do?” He asked.
‘I want you to make me your Spirit Companion.’