12 Chapter 12: Upgrades, people, upgrades

I used ID Create which had somehow updated once again to reenter the Crypt dungeon. While the zombie dungeon had cadavers they weren't what I was looking for. The crypt was clearly designed for a necromancer. And that is really the aspect of my build I should lean into I feel like.

There is a reason why necromancers are always feared in every setting.

I appeared back inside the dungeon. And immediately summoned my undead once more. By the end of this, I needed my create undead at level 25 at least. So many of my current advancements are locked behind the intermediate level of CE control.

The moment they appeared I got them into formation and commanded them to advance as I kept cursed energy enhancement active. When we encountered enemies I stood back and spammed grave buster over and over. Whenever my CE got below 20% I drank the minor mana potions in my inventory.

Though sometimes I had to wait out my regeneration as consuming too many potions in a timeframe can cause potion sickness. Regardless I rampaged throughout the crypt. Granted my exp gains were not the greatest as they were split between me and the undead that killed the enemy but I was still leveling fast.

I noticed that my undead steadily evolve as they level up. Fido was fucking huge right now reaching my chest in height at level 30 as deserving of my first undead.

As for the Skeleton warriors their armor looked less damaged and their weapons have changed to steel also they officially have higher physical stats than me. Well without CE enhancement that is.

I would hold them down with grave buster and my skeletons would rip the draugr apart. In the process, I got multiple treasures from the chests and drops.

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[Apprentice Cloak]

Simple cloak worn by apprentice mages.

+ 10% CE regen rate.

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[Ring of Resist Plauge]

+ 20% resistance to diseases

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[Template Card: Skeleton Archer]

Skeletons capable of wielding simple bows, they have lessened close combat capabilities but they aren't a bad shot. Have less str but higher agi than their warrior counterparts.

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Of course, it was not that useful without corpses to raise as the mobs in the dungeon cannot be targeted by create undead. The regen rate was nice and so was the added disease resistance. There was also a singular gacha token but I really didn't like those.

I dont know if it's just my luck stat or whatever but other than the mirror all I got from my 4 gacha roll was.

[Magic Mirror] Which is the actually useful item of the bunch.

[Quality Perfume] It is literally just a bottle of good-smelling perfume.

[Katana] This one was decent, it is a high-quality durable katana with a sharp edge and very resistant to dulling. But it isn't as good as Tozama.

But the most concerning one was this.

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[Companion Card: Juri Han]

Summons Juri Han into your world.

Note: Summoned companions aren't automatically bound or loyal to you.

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What the actual fuck am I supposed to do with that? I know she is a girl from Streetfighter but what do I do with that? I mean I could summon and kill her for a corpse but that just felt like a waste so it just sat in my inventory.

After a while of relentless murder, I reached the boss's room. Inside the room was a skeleton mage holding a book and wearing fancy robes. A level 30 boss. Without waiting, the moment I stepped into the room I released a cursed fireball at the skeleton. In response to the ball of flame gunning toward itself, the skeleton released an icicle from the palm of its hand, largely mitigating the spell barely taking damage from what remained of the fireball.

It proceeded to launch more icicles that were blocked by my skeleton warriors' shields. My rotten strays dashed forward to bite the Skeleton's ankles along with Fido while I cast grave buster to interrupt the spell it was casting.

Just as one of the strays was about to bite those ankles 3 icicles pierced its body, killing it. The skeleton mage started floating and dashed backward while sending my icicles toward my strays. But as it was focused on my strays I dashed out from behind my skeletons using Enhancement. The skeleton tried to shoot another icicle toward me but Fido without orders jumped in front of me and tanked the icicle while I slid under Fido and rushed at the necromancer.

The slippery bag of bones tried flying away but I used grave buster to hold him down and thanks to his meager strength he couldn't get away. Just as I reached him he put an icicle in my stomach causing intense pain to me just before I beheaded it with Tozama.

It is a shame that I lost 2 undead but the rotten strays weren't really pulling their weight anyway. Who knew plague damage in a crypt wouldn't do much? I should restrain on summoning the other two unless I am in a non-undead dungeon.

I looked over the drops while healing Fido and the others with my cursed energy.

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[Book of Death]

Allows you to change your class to Necromancer.

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Necromancer, this is the actual key to necromancy. But on the other hand am I willing to give up my current class? While it may have sucked at the beginning it has now started serving me well.

[Secondary class will be available at level 50]

Oh, now I just feel embarrassed. At least there is another drop to smother my embarrassment. A skill book.

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[Icicle Lance Lv. 1/100]

Cost: 25CE

Create an icicle lance and launch it at your target. Dealing half cold and half piercing damage (Int x 0.5) with a 5% chance to inflict frostbite.

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Now I had a more precise and less costly method of attack which was great as well as greater elemental coverage. After looting I went down a floor.

The draugr got stronger and now had proper armor on them so I had to now actively participate in fights. I mainly used Fido to hunt down the archers while I weaved between my skeleton warriors and spammed icicles.

It was hard and tedious and the fact that my undead can't naturally regenerate their HP was annoying. I have to manually imbue them with CE every time they get damaged.

After the battle I had gotten 5x Draugr Bones and 1x [Template Card: Skeleton Thief] And inside the chest was a longsword that dealt necrotic damage and 2 Minor health potions.

Although it wasn't particularly "difficult" just yet. I am as soft as something that is very soft. My robes provided me little protection and I just needed a few swings from a level 30 draugr to crumple like a bag of wet tofu.

Granted I can 1 to 2 shot most draugr with a cursed flame but I don't have enough mana to just spam cursed fireballs. I nearly had a heart attack when I got hit once and saw my health bar go down to 60%.

From there on, I started employing full grinding tactics. Making my Skeleboys focus on full defense while I spammed icicles, my headshots counted as critical hits so they won't down quicker if I could aim.

Alright! I am not leaving until I achieve level 25 on create undead!

...

*Gasp* *Wheeze* *Huff*

I did it.

[Exhaustion: All regeneration lowered by 200%]

I feel like a goddam corpse but it is okay. Because I did it. I managed to reach level 25 in create undead. And in doing so I also reached level 42. Create Undead is very hard to level up as I have learned.

I also discovered that some skills change their level description when they reach certain levels and some of my cursed techniques can unlock sub-skills. For example.

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[Summon Undead]

By spending additional CE you summon undead to fight for you without creating them using remains. Summoned undead can stay summoned for some time before perishing.

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And.

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[Icicle Lance Lv. 33/100]

Cost: 35 - 105 CE

Create up to 3 icicle lances and launch them at your target. Dealing half cold and half piercing damage (Int x 0.8) with a 10% chance to inflict frostbite.

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[Grave Buster Lv. 34/100]

Summons several skeletal limbs that burst out of the ground and grab onto the target. The strength of the hands depends on intelligence. The hands can persist for up to 34 seconds before disappearing.

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The summon undead part sounded good but it was a bit too expensive for my tastes. I could either create a singular undead or launch the mothergucking ball of seething inferno at them.

Considering I could also probably evaporate a goddam car with my full-power cursed flame I will leave up to you what is the better option. And now that I had finished the Intermediate Cursed Control quest so many things opened up to me.

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[Quest Complete!]

[Quest: Cursed Energy Control(Intermediate)]

It is time to increase your control over cursed energy. Step into the next stage of the world of Jujutsu.

Condition:

Get your Innate Cursed Technique: {Create Undead} to level 25

Acquire a Cursed Technique extension: Complete(Grave Buster)

Rewards:

Skill [Simple Domain]

Skill [Curtain]

Skill [Cursed Energy Control(Intermediate)]

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[Simple Domain Lv. 1/100]

Cost: 250CE

You can erect a simple domain of cursed energy around yourself. Your perception inside the domain is expanded. When inside a simple domain it interferes with sure hit abilities. The domain is dispelled if the user's feet leaves the starting position of where the domain is erected.

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[Curtain Lv. 1/100]

Cost: Varies.

Erect a curtain of cursed energy that can be imbued with a variety of effects. Curtains cannot be perceived by anyone that hasn't awakened magical/cursed energy unless specified by the user. It can also be used as a physical barrier or a method of concealment. They can also be bound to objects to act as their core.

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[Cursed Energy Control(Intermediate)]

Reduces the cost of all Jujutsu by 12.5%

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I also defeated the bosses of floors 2 and 3 which were respectively a Skeleton Warrior and Archer. The warrior dropped a strength crystal and nothing else while the archer dropped a template card of [Skeleton Ranger]. I also got a template card for [Skeleton Wizard] while grinding.

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[Skeleton Ranger]

Min. Level: 50

Slots Used: 2

Skeletons proficient with the use of ranged weapons. Possessing intermediate levels of archery they are very efficient bowmen. They have the skill of eagle eye that gives them superb perception.

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[Skeleton Magician]

Min. Level: 25

Slots used: 3

Requires a magical corpse of at least low rank to raise

Magically attuned skeletons with intelligence that are capable of using magic. The amount of spells they can possess depends on their level.

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And then there were my Stat perks that I got for reaching 50 vitality and 50 agility.

[Healthy]

+10% Regeneration rate

[Dextrous]

+20% level-up speed with all production skills.

Overall, I would say this dungeon raid was a success. Although acquiring magical corpses will be a pain in my behind I think I will manage somehow. All that is left is to roll these dammed gacha tokens.

!If you liked the chapter then drop me stones!

Authors note: Your comments and interactions helps motivate me so please write what you thought about the chapter in the comments. I am open to suggestions to help improve my fics.

Also, if anyone has interesting ideas for the random gatcha I will be glad to include those ideas if I like them. You can also recommend characters for the occasional companion card mc may pull from the gatcha.

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