An Infernal Monster

The Infernal Hound Skeleton stood up.

'How long... Was I out?'

Mark felt dizzy.

'Still... Can't remember a thing. Someone... There was someone. A dream? No, it felt like... That person, it was someone... Someone important-'

Suddenly, something entered the room.

It was defeated right away.

'Does it happen every time I fall asleep? Every time I Evolve?'

Mark thought about it for a while, but his memory was hazy.

'I can't remember her face, nor who she is...'

Therefore, he decided to focus on his current condition.

'[D-] Rank, huh? So I'm stronger than that Inferior Demon? Show me my Stats.'

[ Stats:

Strength: 12

Agility: 25

Sense: 30

Vigor: 12

Endurance: 40

Mana: 55

]

'Lost some Strength and Vigor, but the rest shot up. Mana especially. Mm. Strength sure isn't a Skeleton's strong point...'

Mark walked around in the dark room with his, now, smaller body.

'My bones are black... They look sturdier than before. How many Evolution Points do I have left? Also, some info on the new Skills would be nice.'

[You currently possess 2775 Evolution Points.]

[ Demon Senses: [D] Rank Skill.

The user can detect living beings, sounds, heat, and Mana in his surroundings much more easily. A Skill that belongs to Demonic and Infernal Beings.]

[ Infernal Breath: [E+] Rank Skill.

The user can breathe out a powerful stream of Infernal Fire that shall burn his enemies to a crisp. Mana Cost: 40 Mana Points.]

[Intimidating Stare: [E] Rank Skill.

The user will appear much more intimidating due to his bloody-painted eyes. Weaker Monsters will feel an innate sense of fear coming from the user. Monsters as strong as the user will be less inclined to fight. Monsters stronger than the user will see the user as a threat.]

[Burning Claws: [E] Rank Skill.

The user's claw attacks will leave a burning after-effect on the wound inflicted that will burn it with Infernal Fire.]

[Infernal's Corrupted Touch: [E+] Rank Skill.

The user, belonging to the Demonic or Infernal species, can use his power of Corruption to bring back the dead's Skeleton. One Monster can be brought back from the dead at a time.]

'That's pretty good. But that last one...? Bringing back the dead? How would that even work?'

[You must use your Skill on the Monster's body.]

[Its Skeleton will rise.]

'What? WHAT? What happens to the rest of its body?'

[Only the Skeleton lives.]

[The rest is an offering to the dead.]

[It is therefore lost.]

'What are you talking about? That's no good... Means I'll have to choose between devouring or reviving them... I guess it's fine. Good thing I can only revive one Monster at a time. Having an army sounds good, but devouring strong Monsters sounds better.'

Mark made his way out of the cave.

His new Passive Skill "Demon Senses" helped him pinpoint the location of nearby Monsters right away.

Mark walked towards the circular area.

The first Monster he found was a Hobgoblin.

Mark stealthily moved until he was just behind the Monster.

He slashed its back with his fierce claws twice.

After blood flowed down the Hobgoblin's back, raging flames appeared on the wounds.

[You have defeated one Hobgoblin. 50Gold Coins and 100Experience Points earned.]

'In two slashes...?'

Mark devoured the weak Monster.

The next enemy he found was an Orc.

These already did not pose a problem when he was an [E-] Ranked Monster.

'Let's try that Infernal Breath...'

While standing behind the Orc, Mark opened his mouth.

A powerful stream of red fire exited it.

The Orc's whole upper-body was turned burnt to a crisp.

[You have defeated an Orc. 70 Gold Coins and 140Experience Points earned.]

'Must not... Get cocky...'

Part of him wanted to run and fight the Floor's Guardian, but he resisted that urge.

Instead, Mark put his paw made of bones on the Monster's burnt body.

The next instant, its skeleton stood up.

Mark immediately jumped back.

[You have brought one Monster from the dead.]

[As a base parameter, the Orc Skeleton will gain 30% of the Experience Points the Monsters it kills drop.]

[The other 70% will go to you.]

'As a base. So I can change that?' Mark thought while cautiously staring at the Orc Skeleton.

[Correct.]

The Orc Skeleton was huge.

It had very wide shoulders and stood at about 2 meters tall.

The huge skeleton got on one knee in front of its master.

[You can check the Orc Skeleton's Status.]

'I don't think I need to.'

Mark walked towards the Orc Skeleton and circled around it for a bit.

'So it won't attack me?'

[Correct.]

He used his paws to push the Orc Skeleton.

The latter let itself fall to the ground.

'So it's really on my side?'

[Correct.]

'Huh...'

Mark stared for a bit.

'Can I order him around even though I can't talk?'

[Yes.]

Mark stared at the skeleton, doubtful.

'I guess... Umm. Follow me. Don't fight.'

The two walked for a bit, until,

[Your Unique Title "The Devourer" is resonating with one of your Skills.]

[Your Unique Title "Evolving Monster" is resonating with one of your Skills.]

[Your Skill "Infernal's Corrupted Touch" is resonating with two of your Titles.]

[Your Skill is evolving...]

'What? Usually, Skills evolved right away. What do you mean it's evolving?'

A couple of seconds later,

[Your Magic Skill "Infernal's Corrupted Touch[E+]" has evolved into "The Devourer's Corrupted Touch[C]".]

'Oh. Wow. [C] Rank? What's the difference between the two?? It must be something amazing...'

[The Monsters brought from the dead are Evolving Monsters.]

[You can now bring back three Monsters from the dead.]

'They can evolve too?'

Mark turned towards the Orc's Skeleton.

'Don't tell me I have to share my food...'

[The Monsters can Evolve after defeating a certain amount of strong Monsters.]

'So by amassing Experience Points?'

[Correct, but not exclusively.]

'What else, then?'

[That information is unavailable.]

'Whatever. I take it they just need to gain Experience Points. I don't really care about Experience Points anyways. You can take 100% of what the Monsters you hunt drop.'

[Your Revived Monster shall gain 100% of the Experience Points dropped by the Monsters it defeats.]

'Alright. So now there's that "Corrupting Bomb" Skill to try... What else? The rest are Passive Skills so they're whatever. I'll take my time and check other stuff.'

A few seconds later, Mark sensed a Black Wolf approaching.

'Kill it. If you can't, I'll make it my Revived Monster instead of you. Since we're both dogs, I wouldn't mind having it instead... If you kill it, bring me its body.'

The Orc Skeleton approached the Black Wolf and both started fighting for their lives.

'It'll really do whatever I tell it, huh?'

Mark stared at the fight for a bit.

'Show me the available Body Modifications.'

[Available Body Modifications:

1) Thorned Bones: 1000 Evolution Points.

2) Demonic Fangs: 1600 Evolution Points.

3) Demonic Claws: 1200 Evolution Points

4) Demonic Wings: 5000 Evolution Points.

5) Demonic Horns: 2500 Evolution Points.

]

'Kind of disappointing for some reason... Wings are good for running away. Horns can be an offensive asset. Thorned Bones is pretty cool though. I'll get that.'

The bones that made up Mark's body got stretched out at multiple points.

Sharp thorns appeared on his bony body.

They looked more like spikes than thorns though.

Mark's whole body was covered with these dark thorns.

'That'll be a good defensive addition, but... I feel like a porcupine now.'

Mark raised his gaze.

The Orc Skeleton was still fighting the Black Wolf.

The Monster was bleeding a lot, but the skeleton wasn't in such good shape either as many of its bones were cracked.

'The choice should be obvious. An Orc is an [E-] monster, a Black Wolf is [F+]. Obviously, an Orc Skeleton would be stronger than a Black Wolf Skeleton... Not only that, but wolves use their claws and fangs to fight. Skeleton Monsters are a bad match for them. Still, I wonder if the skeleton of an Orc is stronger than an actual Black Wolf. Anyways, show me the available Skills.'

[ Available Skills:

1) Slash: Slashing attacks do 25% more damage. Cost: 200 Gold Coins.

2) Fire Bomb: Grants the ability to shoot explosive Fire Balls. Cost: 5000Gold Coins.

3) Stone Armor: Grants the ability to cast temporary armor on the user's body. Cost: 4000 Gold Coins.

4) Merging Bones: Grants the ability to fuse Skeletons together. Cost: 10.000Gold Coins.

]

'How many Evolution Points do I have left? How many Gold Coins?'

[ You currently possess 1775 Evolution Points and 3235 Gold Coins.]

'I'll exchange all my Evolution Points for Gold Coins.'

[You have exchanged 1775 Evolution Points for 17'750 Gold Coins.]

[You currently possess 20.985 Gold Coins.]

'I'll buy Merging Bones and umm... I guess I'll buy all of them really.'

[You have obtained the Passive Skill: "Slash[F]".]

[You have obtained the Magic Skill: "Fire Bomb[F+]".]

[You have obtained the Magic Skill: "Stone Armor[F+]".]

[You have obtained the Magic Skill: "Merging Bones[E+]".]

'Which should I try first...'

[Your Revived Monster has leveled up!]

A second later, an unmoving Monster was thrown in front of Mark.

It was a dead Black Wolf.

'So you won, huh?'

The Orc Skeleton stood proud, although it had lost an arm in the process.

Many of its bones were broken.

'Let's try that then...'

Mark felt hungry, but a lone Black Wolf was far from enough to satisfy his hunger.

He touched the Black Wolf's body with his paw and the Orc's Skeleton with the tip of his tail.

'Should work like this. Merging Bones...'

The dead Monster disappeared.

A Skeleton appeared from where the Black Wolf had been lying before.

The next second, its bones were broken and reassembled.

They turned into an arm and bone fragments.

The arm took the place of the Orc Skeleton's missing one, and the bone fragments closed the cracks in the Monster's bones.'

'So this is basically a Healing Skill for Skeletons...'

[Correct, but not exclusively.]

Mark sensed an approaching Hobgoblin.

He opened his mouth and a Fire Ball appeared in front of it.

[You have defeated one Hobgoblin. 50Gold Coins and 100Experience Points earned.]

[You have leveled up!]

Mark used his Skill on the dead Monster.

Its bones were superposed on the Orc's Skeleton's arms and shoulders, making them sturdier and bulkier.

'So this Skill can even make him stronger...'

[Correct.]

'It's not an Evolution, but this is good too... You're stronger than a Black Wolf. Go beat some Monsters and come back to me later. Go that way. Oh, wait. Can I see the Items I can buy?'

[ Available Items:

1) Healing Potion: 5 Gold Coins.

2) Iron Sword: 50 Gold Coins.

3) Wooden Shield: 50 Gold Coins.

4) Venomous Potion: 25 Gold Coins.

5) Pouch: 10 Gold Coins.

6) Iron Mace: 75 Gold Coins.

]

'Nice. Since I've been on four legs for so long, I forgot about weapons... I'll buy a Pouch and an Iron Mace.'

The two Items appeared in front of Mark, before falling to the ground.

'Kill the Monsters you see and put their bodies inside the Pouch. Use that Iron Mace, if you think it suits you.'

The Orc Skeleton was ordered to stay near the crossroad(♀).

Mark walked towards the circular area.

'It probably can't beat Orcs. The circular corridor would be too much for it. Although it is armed now so...'

Mark devoured the usual Monsters he found on the Tenth Floor.

As he didn't find any Inferior Demons, the Monsters were easily dealt with.

They did team up against him though, since he was now a [D-] Ranked Monster.

Mark revived a Winged Kobold and a Black Wolf.

'Tsk...'

Despite what Mark had hoped, the Winged Kobold Skeleton could not fly.

Still, he gave it a Pouch and sent it towards the Orc Skeleton.

The Black Wolf Skeleton, however, stayed with Mark.

'This is how I looked like before, huh?'

It felt strange for some reason, staring at the form he used to have.

'Don't worry. I'll make you stronger than those other two!'

...

The Infernal Hound Skeleton stood with its three Revived Monsters.

The first was an Orc Skeleton armed with an Iron Mace and a Wooden Shield.

Its whole body had been strengthened as layers of bones from different Monsters were added to it.

It also had developed a tail of bones, which was not useful at all.

The second Revived Monster was a Winged Kobold Skeleton.

As its wings were strengthened with the bones of other Winged Kobolds, it could now fly.

Mark assumed it was the effect of a Passive Skill.

The Revived Winged Kobold had also developed a hard carapace that protected its upper body.

The carapace came from Paralyzing Centipedes.

The third and most impressive Revived Monster was the Black Wolf Skeleton.

Although it didn't look like one anymore.

The Black Wolf Skeleton had been reinforced by strictly using the bones from other Black Wolves.

Mark learned that by using a dead Monster from the same Monster Species as the first Revived one, more bones from the dead one were used to strengthen the Revived.

The Black Wolf Skeleton's body had grown in size.

It looked ferocious.

And hideous.

From its ribcage, two extremely sturdy-looking skeleton arms had been formed.

They came from the bones of various Ogres.

The Monster had also developed the Ogre's "Self Healing" Passive Skill.

Mark felt good about having strong Monsters fighting for him.

'What are their Ranks?'

[The Revived Monsters are not Monsters usually found in Dungeons.]

[Their approximative Ranks are:

Modified Orc Skeleton: [E-]

Modified Winged Kobold Skeleton: [E-]

Modified Black Wolf Skeleton: [E]

]

'Good. All of them have beaten an Orc 1-on-1 so that's enough. How come they can't Evolve yet?'

[Conditions for Evolution have not been met yet.]

'I am by far the strongest Monster on this Floor. Still, fighting the Boss Monster that is the Floor's Guardian seems risky. I would rather have these guys Evolve before that...'

Somehow, after cleaning up most of the Dungeon's floor, Mark only needed to wait about 20 minutes before finding Monsters once again.

It was like they appeared at different random locations, as long as Mark was not near that location.

He let the three Revived deal with all the Monsters.

The only thing Mark did, was devour the fallen Monsters after that.