Monarchs and Maidens

Navigating the terrain ahead presented a veritable laundry list of dire challenges for Dante. First off, the battlefield was as flat as his chances at a stealthy approach, offering absolutely nowhere for him to duck and cover. It was the kind of openness that left him exposed, much like a sore thumb in a lineup of manicured fingers.

Secondly, the undead summoner's aura, expanding a grand 50 meters across, far outstripped Dante's and Virgil's summoning range. This mismatch was like bringing a knife to a gunfight, only to find the gun had a much longer barrel than anticipated.

Third, this aura wasn't just a show of power—it actively drained the life force (HP) of any non-undead foolish enough to waltz into it. Given Dante's current level 1 status, stepping into this domain was akin to diving into a pool of acid; his HP could be sapped in mere seconds. And as if to add insult to injury, the pain accompanying this HP drain was excruciating. For someone whose most intense physical ordeal a week ago involved dodging pedestrians on campus, Dante found this new level of suffering unfathomable.

The most grievous pain he'd previously encountered was, well, a not-so-swift beheading in cold blood by his own ally. Then, of course, there was the arrow incident, an unexpected arrow to the leg, the unpleasant experience of a sword unceremoniously stabbed into his back, and even a skeletal hound biting his butt during a rather chaotic skirmish. Aside from these tutorial calamities, his experience with pain in the old world was limited to some minor injuries while rock climbing and a broken bone from a youthful bicycle mishap. Now, facing a domain that threatened to inflict pain far beyond his darkest imaginings, Dante recognized the magnitude of his predicament: He was fucked.

Indeed, there was a seemingly straightforward strategy to navigate the perilous situation: let Virgil engage the enemy forces solo. Dante had the capability to continuously resummon Virgil from a safe distance whenever his health dwindled. Granted, Virgil's inability to blink directly into combat posed a limitation, yet his undying nature afforded him the relentless endurance to charge at the enemies, gradually wearing them down through sheer perseverance.

However, this approach was fraught with complications. Firstly, the enemy's strength was formidable; a mere trio of these skeletal warriors could significantly challenge Virgil after teaming up, not to mention the added pressure from archers and beasts. This daunting defense meant that Virgil struggled to even approach the enemy summoner without requiring a tactical resummon back to recover.

The second, and perhaps more critical, issue was the enemy summoner's capabilities. Not only could the adversary easily replenish fallen minions, but he also wielded the power to summon two skeletal minions simultaneously, doubling the pressure on Virgil. This ability to rapidly reinforce his ranks turned the battle into an uphill struggle for Virgil.

Thirdly, the mechanics of the domain added an extra layer of difficulty. Even if Dante remained outside the aura's reach, Virgil's entry into the domain marked both of them as targets. Enemy archers, with lethal efficiency, could quickly kill Dante, forcing a respawn before Virgil could land a second blow after appearing in combat. The swiftness of these takedowns left them in a cycle of defeat and resummon, hardly making a dent in the enemy's defenses.

Theoretically, Virgil's status as a summoner himself should have given them a tactical edge, turning the tides of battle with an army of his own undead minions. This could have been their ace in the hole, their secret weapon... if only Virgil's summons weren't, to put it bluntly, useless. Despite the added boosts, they were more like fragile vases in a bull shop. 

In the rare, glittering moments that could be considered the zenith of their brief, unglamorous careers, Virgil's summons might just survive two hits—if, and only if, the enemy was caught off guard, perhaps daydreaming about what undead skeletons daydream about, or momentarily softened by an unexpected wave of compassion.

But alas, such highlights were as rare as a vegetarian vampire. More often than not, a single, precisely aimed blow was sufficient to scatter them across the battlefield, their aspirations of grandeur and durability dashed in an instant. The stark reality was that Virgil's minions were less an 'army' of terrifying warriors and more a collection of walking, barely talking, targets—each one dreaming of the day they could brag about surviving more than one hit, a dream cruelly cut short by the harsh reality of their existence.

Thus, Dante faced a serious problem: while leveraging Virgil's immortality and summoning abilities seemed like a viable strategy, the reality of their situation revealed a complex web of tactical challenges. The enemy's superior summoning capabilities, coupled with the detrimental effects of the domain and the frailty of their own summoned allies, created a scenario where traditional strategies were doomed to fail. In this intricate dance of power, resilience, and strategy, Dante and Virgil were compelled to rethink their approach, searching for a breakthrough in a seemingly insurmountable situation.

***

"So, you are the guide they mentioned?" Thaleia found herself facing a frail girl, one who seemed ill-suited for battle and more akin to a priestess. Given the knowledge her goddess had bestowed upon her, she surmised this must be the guide in question.

The 'priestess' met her gaze and offered a comforting smile before suddenly lifting her delicate arms to perform some sort of enchantment, conjuring symbols out of thin air.

Initially, Thaleia tensed, her warrior instincts kicking in at the sight of the unknown and potentially perilous magic. Her hand gravitated towards her sword, driven not by fear but by a readiness to confront whatever might come. In her world, the unfamiliar was always a latent threat, each surprise a potential trap.

Yet, as the symbols formed and their meanings became clear, not as threats but through an unspoken understanding, Thaleia's stance softened. Her wariness gave way to profound curiosity. Raised in a society that prized the physical—metal, might, and mettle—the realm of magic, particularly one so visually mesmerizing and intellectually engaging, struck her as extraordinary. This revelation aligned with her goddess's forewarnings of magic's presence in this new world, but witnessing it firsthand was still awe-inspiring.

"I understand," she addressed the 'priestess' with newfound respect. "I will heed your counsel, Seer Alice," she added, offering a slight bow. "You may call me Thaleia, Amazonian Guardian of the Wilds."

***

Dante, despite the dire straits, wasn't entirely out of options. His foresight to save the Skill Points he'd accrued was about to pay off. Currently, he had 2 SP at his disposal—not a vast treasure trove, but potentially enough to turn the tide in their favor. The dilemma, however, was deciding which skills to enhance or acquire:

Available Skills (SP: 2)

Summon Skeleton Archer (R1 L3) (1 SP): Summon a rank 1, level 3 skeleton archer to fight by your side. Limit: 2, duration: 300 s, MP cost: 20, CD: 140 s.

Strength Infusion (R1 L2) (1 SP): Adds 10 points to the Might attribute of a summon. Duration: 200 s, MP cost: 15, CD: 110 s.

Agility Infusion (R1 L2) (1 SP): Adds 10 points to the Finesse attribute of a summon. Duration: 200 s, MP cost: 15, CD: 110 s.

Conjure Bone Weapon (R1 L3) (1 SP): Summons a rank 1, level 3, 1-H bone mace, bone sword, bone dagger or a 2-H staff. Duration: 340 s, MP cost: 12, CD: 140 s.

Conjure Bone Armor (R1 L1) (1 SP): Summons a rank 1, level 1, bone armor. Duration: 300 s, MP cost: 5, CD: 180 s.

Firstly, Virgil's weapon situation was far from ideal. His current stats had outgrown a Level 2 weapon, rendering it more of a liability than an asset. Were it not for the ability to reconjure the weapon upon each resummoning, even durability would pose a significant issue. Additionally, Virgil's left arm remained underutilized, lacking either a shield for defense or a suitable two-handed weapon for increased offense. This gap in his armament led Dante to prioritize upgrading the Conjure Bone Weapon skill.

It's worth mentioning that Dante once experimented with having Virgil dual-wield his one-handed mace, and intriguingly, Virgil proved capable of doing so. However, their established 'Immortal Macro' strategy introduced a significant complication. Whenever Virgil was re-summoned, he appeared unarmed and without any buffs, which required him to re-apply the boosts and conjure a weapon each time he reappeared. This meant that Virgil was limited to wielding a single weapon until the cooldown period for the Conjure Bone Weapon skill elapsed. Given that Virgil was often re-summoned before this cooldown ended, he was invariably found fighting with just one weapon in almost all engagements.

For the second upgrade, Dante wavered between Strength Infusion and Agility Infusion. While Virgil's combat prowess was significantly enhanced by his Finesse, Dante reasoned that Finesse alone was insufficient without the Might to support it. Moreover, increasing his skeletal summons' resilience to withstand an additional hit or two would allow them to better serve as distractions and makeshift shields.

After weighing his options, Dante's decision was made:

Conjure Bone Weapon (R1 L3)

 Summons a rank 1, level 3, 1-H bone mace, bone sword, bone dagger or a 2-H staff. Duration: 340 s, MP cost: 12, CD: 140 s.

Strength Infusion (R1 L2)

 Adds 10 points to the Might attribute of a summon. Duration: 200 s, MP cost: 15, CD: 110 s.

"And there go my savings," Dante murmured, the weight of his decision pressing heavily upon him. He harbored a gnawing concern: if this gamble failed, he would be cornered into a singular, dire option—a path he desperately hoped to avoid.

The crux of their predicament lay in Virgil's race against time to bridge the 30-plus-meter gap to the enemy summoner upon each summoning. Dante's vulnerability to the enemy archers' swift takedowns compounded the issue. Though Virgil could persist in battle even post-Dante's downfall, his own defeat would spell their doom. Thus, retreating to re-summon Dante and sustain the 'Immortal Macro' became a necessity whenever Virgil's vitality waned. 

Positioning Dante beyond the archers' reach was a theoretical solution, yet not without its flaws. An overly distant Dante meant Virgil faced the arduous task of sprinting across to the enemy, going through the entire 50-meter radius domain. 

In response, they devised a new tactic: positioning Dante just outside the domain's influence, using skeletal summons as makeshift bone shields. This tactic afforded Virgil a tad more time before Dante's fall, although the skeletal summons' fragility limited their effectiveness. However, the boost in Might now granted the summons additional resilience, giving Virgil a slightly extended window of opportunity.

Crucially, the infusion of added Might and the acquisition of a suitable weapon significantly bolstered Virgil's combat strength. Now, armed and more formidable, Virgil was poised to confront their challenges with renewed vigor.

Name: Virgil

Class: Undead Summoner

Level: 8

HP: 207.5

MP: 198

Might: 31.5(+10)

Finesse: 30(+5)

Mystique: 54

Essence: 66

Dante's gaze returned to the imposing figure of the monarch seated upon his old throne, the very embodiment of silence and pride. The skeleton ruler's eyes, though devoid of life, seemed to project an air of superiority, as if the entire world lay subjugated beneath his feet. There was something in that steadfast gaze, a depth that hinted at centuries of dominion and undisputed rule, compelling Dante to reflect on the gravity of the challenge before him.

Dante just hoped, with every fiber of his being, that their new strategy would suffice.