Immortal Macro

Dante conveyed to Virgil the necessity of flexibility and intelligence in choosing where to summon him. It wasn't just about safety or convenience; it was about strategy. The ability to summon each other in a continuous loop opened up a realm of tactical possibilities – from traversing great distances quickly to strategic repositioning mid-battle.

The strategy of leveraging their summoning ability to its full potential was a game-changer. Dante realized that upon each summoning, their skills refreshed, presenting an opportunity to fully deploy their skeletal army at the outset of a battle. This meant that they were not only able to summon the maximum quota of skeleton warriors, but also to arm them with newly conjured weapons. Furthermore, they could enhance all of them with boosting skills each time! This tactic, though it came with the unsettling experience of continuous respawning, promised a massive tactical advantage. By maximizing their summoning and conjuring capabilities, they could enter each battle with a fully prepared and armed force, ready to engage the enemy with renewed vigor and strength. And should the need arise, they could reset the battlefield at any moment, unleashing their full power anew – a true immortal army!

Beneath his determined exterior, a wave of thrill and fear rippled through Dante. However, he recognized that a certain level of ruthlessness towards himself was essential for survival and progress in this world. This was the reality he had unknowingly yearned for – a world where magic was as real as the ground beneath his feet, where his deepest fantasies were no longer confined to the realm of imagination. There was a fleeting, whimsical thought that perhaps this was all an elaborate dream, a coma-induced fantasy back on Earth. But the vividness and tangibility of his experiences here spoke otherwise.

The exhilaration Dante felt in this strange, unpredictable world was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Back on Earth, his life had been a tapestry of mundane routines and fleeting moments of excitement. He remembered the days spent in the monochrome corridors of his university, where the most adventurous thing he did was debate philosophy with his classmates. Weekends brought small reprieves in the form of hiking, camping and rock climbing. Dante would scale the heights of rugged cliffs, each ascent a battle against gravity and his own limitations. Yet, even as he stood atop those earthly peaks, a part of him yearned for something more, something beyond the horizon of his everyday world.

Dante recalled his childhood fascination with tales of knights and dragons, wizards and warlocks. He would spend hours lost in books, imagining himself as the hero of those fantastical stories. His reality back then was a world bound by rules and conventions, where magic was confined to the realms of fiction. Yet, here he was, in a place where magic was as real as the air he breathed.

The caverns around him, with their eerie beauty, were a stark contrast to the city parks and artificial climbing walls he used to frequent. The crunch of bones under his feet was a grim yet honest reminder of the brutal nature of this world. It was a far cry from the well-trodden hiking trails and manicured landscapes of his past. Here, survival was raw and unfiltered, a test of will and strength that Dante had never known he needed.

He thought about his family and friends back home, wondering how they would perceive this new version of him. Would they recognize the Dante who now found solace in the heart of danger, who thrived in the chaos of this unearthly realm? His parents had always encouraged him to find his own path, but could they have ever imagined a path as surreal as this?

In this world, Dante's long-suppressed desires and dreams were coming to life. The adrenaline of survival, the thrill of uncovering hidden paths, and the satisfaction of overcoming insurmountable odds were experiences that resonated with his very soul. Here, he wasn't just Dante, the university student with a penchant for outdoor activities; he was a summoner in a world of magic—if a slightly unconventional one.

The realization that he belonged to this bizarre and treacherous realm was both liberating and daunting. A smile of realization and acceptance crept across his face as he embraced his new identity. This world, with all its perils and enigmas, was not just a temporary escape from reality. It was a revelation of his true essence, a mirror reflecting the part of him that had lain dormant, waiting for a world like this to awaken it.

***

As Dante and Virgil journeyed onward, each battle became a crucial lesson, slowly but surely acclimating them to the intricate dance of their summoning loop. Each skirmish was an opportunity to fine-tune their coordination, transforming them into a more adept and synchronized pair.

During these moments of constant battles against walking bones, Dante often contemplated the peculiarities of their abilities. He wondered about the underlying mechanics, particularly the Mystique stat. It didn't seem to have a linear progression; a Mystique of 20 didn't necessarily double the effectiveness of 10. Perhaps, he thought, there was an unseen base stat at play...

Their latest encounters with level 5 skeletons had been less of a challenge and more of a demonstration of Virgil's growing skill. The skeletons, now sporting shields and superior equipment, were a noticeable step up but paled in comparison to Virgil's enhanced stats and refined technique. Indeed, Virgil's technique and adaptability in combat were growing, something Dante noticed. He was not a fixed entity that followed the same routine in every battle. Dante saw in Virgil someone who used countless battles to polish his technique, learning where and how to strike, which moves were most efficient, and which wasted too much time. He observed Virgil's strikes dealing more damage, always targeting the weak points of their skeletal foes.

It was a significant boon. While Dante expected his only summon to possess intelligence similar to his own, he had not anticipated it being so skilled in the art of combat. From the outset, Virgil had shown a proper fighting style, but as he leveled up and went through more and more battles, that style was slowly being refined into a unique and proper style of his own. Dante was looking forward to what stage he would reach in the future.

As the last of the enemy skeletons crumbled to dust, Virgil's triumph was marked not just by their victory but also by his ascension to level 6. Dante, observing the aftermath while lost in deep thought, finally opted for the 'Strength Infusion' skill, a strategic decision aimed at enhancing both Virgil's and the summons' combat abilities. 

He shifted his gaze to Virgil's battered and slightly cracked shield:

Shield: Hide-Behind-Me Metal Shield (R1 L3)

Durability: 23/250

Weight: 8.8 kg

"Looks like it's on its last leg," Dante noted, seeing the shield's battered state. "But hey, if it breaks, Virgil can just dodge more – good for his reflexes." Dante decided against replacing it; the cost of a new shield didn't seem worth it. They would soon outgrow it, and higher-level shields were too pricey and not an immediate necessity.

He noted Virgil's physical superiority, now amplified by the boosts, over the skeletons of the same level. It was a clear testament to their growth after countless skirmishes.

Name: Virgil

Class: Undead Summoner

Level: 6

HP: 145

MP: 153

Might: 24(+5)

Finesse: 24(+5)

Mystique: 42

Essence: 51

He was quite satisfied with the new skill, as the added Might was a significant boost. Now, his level 3 skeletons were effectively as strong as their level 5 counterparts, with only 1 point less in Might, but an extra point in Finesse. Coupled with the coordination and active control from Virgil, as well as the effective level 2 blunt weapons, they could easily dispatch level 5 skeletons and hold their own in battles against level 6 ones.

Reflecting on their financial gains, Dante pondered the interesting scaling of Tutorial Coins. The system was straightforward: the higher the level of the enemy, the more lucrative the coin reward. Level 1 skeletons dropped a modest 1 TC each, while those at level 2 doubled that. By level 3, each skeleton was worth 3 TC. The increase became more pronounced at higher levels; level 4 skeletons yielded 5 TC each, and level 5 skeletons generously contributed 7 TC apiece to their growing hoard. It was akin to a 50% increase per level, a rewarding system that motivated them to tackle increasingly difficult challenges.

With a current balance of 1560 TC, Dante felt a mix of pride and pragmatism. "At this rate, we'll be skeleton tycoons in no time," he thought, half-jokingly. This financial progression, while secondary to their primary goals of survival, exploration, and gaining strength, offered a tangible measure of their journey's success.

Resolved to press on, Dante pondered the advantages of their refined summoning loop strategy. What initially began as a complex and hard to get used to process had now evolved into a highly efficient system, playfully named the "Immortal Macro" by Dante. It included summoning all available summons, enhancing each with boosts, and equipping them with weapons, all executed within each cycle of the loop. The process culminated with Virgil boosting and arming himself in the final iteration.

Crucially, the loop always ended with Dante summoning Virgil. This was a deliberate tactic, ensuring that Virgil always had his summoning skill ready to instantly bring Dante back in case of an unexpected demise. If the loop concluded with Virgil summoning Dante, there was a significant risk: Dante was much more vulnerable and could be unexpectedly 'killed' before Virgil's summoning skill had recharged, leaving them in a precarious situation.