///XP: 500/500

///EXCESS XP DISCARDED

///LEVEL 10: CLASS UP!

///SYSTEM STATUS, OFF01

///Lvl. 10

///CLASS: SKELETON SOLDIER(ERROR)

///Skills: [ NOVA-3 PLASMA CANNON ]|[ ENERGY DRAIN ]|[UNDEAD REGENERATION]|[RAISE SKELETON, RITUAL]|[Bone Mastery, Novice]|[Play Dead]

///HP: 250/250

///ENERGY: 0/100

///Stats:

[VITALITY: 25]|[STRENGTH:25]

[ENDURANCE:14]|[AGILITY:40]

[WISDOM:0]|[INTELLIGENCE:50]

[PERCEPTION:60]|[REACTION:60]

///Skill points available: 6

///Stat points available: 6

Instead of having the information on classes presented to me via text, I absorbed the information about each class instantly, reviewing them.

///CLASS OPTIONS AVAILABLE:

///SKELETON KNIGHT

///PERQUISITES: 25 STRENGTH, or Weapon Mastery, Intermediate

The skeleton Knight class offered an automatic increase in strength and Vitality level by level. It was also a tier higher, requiring 15 extra points in strength. A normal human would have to practice for days to keep their body in the fitness required to reach the class. I did not know what equivalent was necessary for skeleton undead to reach that height; extrapolating from the books I read, I assumed that a stronger body made for a stronger skeleton.

The class would provide me with additional benefits to my strength and allow me to level weapon mastery faster. Personal combat strength would not be the most important factor in protecting Tobias— I had an entire world to fight.

///BONE GOLEM, SHAMBLING

///PERQUISITES: 25 VITALITY

A precursor class to a Bone Golem. It was a phased evolution. Over several levels, I would have to destroy or collect other Skeletons to absorb them into me and build an expanded framework. After shambling and leveling, I could progress fully into a gigantic, lumbering tank. There were different frameworks — Bone Hydras with many heads, reabsorbing fallen heads into limbs, gigantic snakes, or even flying creatures. Again, it focused on personal strength, though far enough beyond being a Golem, a Bone Titan could create its own spawn, spreading that way.

But a powerful enough Necromancer could raise Bone Titans of their own.

///BONE MAGE

///PERQUISITES:

///1: 25 INTELLIGENCE

///2: Learn 1 spell or mana manipulation

There was no contest between the classes available. This was the only one that opened the doorway to becoming a true Necromancer, a necessity if I wanted to restore AI615 to good working order in any reasonable timeframe.

I locked my selection in with a communication, directly interfacing with the system. I poured my remaining skill points into endurance, raising it to twenty, and then selected skill points to open the store.

///Intelligence check

///[INTELLIGENCE:50]

///Manual skill selection enabled

///Bone-Kinesis: Gain the ability to absorb bones into a remotely controllable swarm. Swarm size increases with level.

///Ranged Mastery, Novice…

I skipped the options that I had rolled last time, not even having to consider them this time.

///Dark Energy Bolt, Lesser: Gain the ability to send a blast of your highly attuned Dark Mana. Power increases with level. At the lesser stage, it inflicts base 50 damage, modified by Elemental Resistance and Elemental Vulnerability skills, reduced by Endurance as a percentage.

The information about Dark Energy Bolt made me pause. It was the first time I had seen an ability that did an objective amount of damage, which only raised more questions about the arbitrary nature of damage. It also mentioned Resistance and Vulnerability, though I didn’t understand why anyone would take an Elemental Vulnerability skill. Perhaps creatures with too low of an intelligence had it selected automatically. Perhaps it was an innate trait, creatures born with skills just as I was manufactured with the Nova-3 as one. Or maybe it offered some unseen advantage. From this menu, I couldn’t peruse the system for more information about the skill.

Besides that, it was weak. Beyond weak, it wouldn’t compare to the Nova-3 soon. The information it reported offered a 10% improvement per skill level invested — which meant that if I invested 10 levels into it, it still wouldn’t be anywhere near as powerful as the Nova-3, even considering the spike in power every 10 levels.

I looked onwards towards the other two options.

///Lord and Master: Increases command cap by 1 per level. Summons, creatures, and men under your command are more likely to retain morale in your presence. You inspire awe on the battlefield. Rare.

///Mana Manipulation: A basic skill that most Mage Acolytes learn before they gain access to their first class. Allows fine tuned control of mana. Reduces consumption. Increases regeneration rate, modified by wisdom as a percentage.

I placed all six points into Lord and Master, reviewing my stat sheet once again.

///SYSTEM STATUS, OFF01

///Lvl. 1

///CLASS: SKELETON MAGE(ERROR)

///Skills:

[ NOVA-3 PLASMA CANNON (LVL.3) ]|[ ENERGY DRAIN ]|[UNDEAD REGENERATION]|[RAISE SKELETON, RITUAL]|[Bone Mastery, Novice]|[Play Dead]|[Lord and Master (LVL.6)]

///HP: 250/250

///ENERGY: 0/100

///Stats:

[VITALITY: 25]|[STRENGTH:25]

[ENDURANCE:20]|[AGILITY:40]

[WISDOM:0]|[INTELLIGENCE:50]

[PERCEPTION:60]|[REACTION:60]

///Skill points available: 0

///Stat points available: 0

With that done, I finally made to leave, grabbing the body of the first goat and dragging it back through the rooms.

///YOU HAVE COMPLETED HARDRADA’S DESCENT, FLOOR ONE

///CHOOSE YOUR REWARDS

///POTION BANDOLIER, COMMON, HEALING

Set of 3 Lesser Potions of Healing. They restore 50 HP each.

///DRINKING HORN, UNCOMMON

Utility, cup. Purifies water for human consumption.

I selected the potion bandolier. It popped into reality around my torso, and I lead the undead back through the dungeon.

//CARRY THIS

I instructed the undead, gesturing towards the corpses, and the Templars dragged them. We retraced our steps, exiting the dungeon. Tonight, I would make good use of my expanded command limit.

The bodies closest to us were practically as we had left them, but as we neared the exit, the bodies were in various states of decomposition, flesh sloughing off as the dungeon reclaimed them as materials. They would still be useful as corpses.

By the time we got to the entrance room, the bones were melting on the side of the bodies. The first goat we had killed was missing an entire arm, left in a pile on the floor. I grabbed it, dragging it out. Each of the Bone Golem’s arms held a monster. In total we had collected 2 SHEEP01, 2 GOAT01, 4 FISH01, and GOAT01B. We were running out of carrying capacity.

I piled the body I was dragging onto the wagon.

“Fish?” Tobias asked, sitting on the wagon and staring as the undead dragged the corpses out one at a time. “You brought back fish?” He twisted in the driver’s seat, following me.

///INSTRUCTIONS — I played back Tobias’s voice — Take all the undead. Clear the first floor of the dungeon. Bring back the corpses.

Tobias rubbed his face.

Mathias counted the arriving party.

“We lost a Templar?” He asked.

//NEGATIVE. TEMPLAR5 IS HERE

I intercepted one of the undead dragging half of a Templar, lifting the corpse up. Gravity pulled the body’s guts out of its side.Mathias flinched at the display.

My display turned on, showing sand blowing over a desert to comfort Mathias.

//TEMPLAR5 WAS TERMINATED IN THE DUNGEON

“The fish… useless as zombies. We could make a Snake Bone Golem…” Tobias muttered to himself. He hopped down and circled the train of undead loading the wagon. “We can feed the meat to the acolytes.” Tobias said.

“Is that safe?” Mathias asked, pushing his hand back through his hair.

“Safer than starving.” Tobias replied. “5 corpses that can walk, including the first floor’s boss. Leave the Templar that was torn in half here.”

The undead carrying the other half of the templar dropped it.

Mathias stared at the pieces of the body for a little too long.