A Performance to Die For!

She could see it; the entire fort was within her grasp. It worked. It had actually worked. Without wasting time, she quickly memorized the positions of everyone before the skill's duration ended. She had already seen the prompt appearing in the background, and a smile was lighting up her face. Her hunch had proven correct.

After the duration ended, she checked the new description of the skill first:

Clairvoyance (R1 L3) (Basic Mastery)

Reveals everything within a volume of 1,200,000 cubic meters, excluding entities at or above rank 2.

---The geometric center of the space must be less than 120 meters from the caster.

---Only entities completely within the selected volume can be detected.

---Applies the current level of True Scan to detected entities.

Duration: 6 s

MP cost: 25

CD: 440 s.

It had also come with a very much welcomed title:

Title gained: Skill Master (Rank 1)

Awarded for achieving basic mastery with a rank 1 skill

Award: +3 All stats, 1 SP

She was feeling very satisfied with herself at this moment. Her hypothesis that the concept of mastery could be extended to skills had proven correct. She had noticed the lackluster effect of the skills and guessed that there must be a way to improve them beyond the usual level-up. Then she thought of applying those concepts of mastery, which could be gained for a weapon or footwork style, to the skill itself. And it worked brilliantly. After several practices over the last couple of hours, she had finally felt a qualitative change when casting the skill. She had been trying to displace the area—or volume—of effect to a place not centered around herself, but she encountered some resistance from the skill itself, a resistance that had finally been overcome.

Now, the location and space where the skill was cast were up to her, with limitations, of course, but the possibilities seemed endless. She had a certain understanding of math, a skill she had learned from the books read to her by the literate maid in her care, so she knew a bit about geometry and volume. In any case, she would get the hang of it with time.

For now, the last cast of the skill had not been a sphere but a more efficient rectangular volume encompassing the entire fort. It was amazing when she saw it. And it was not only this skill; this fact she had just learned meant that all other skills should be able to be mastered too, right? There were great hopes for the future.

"Ehh… did you find something odd, Seer?" Oh, and this companion of hers could probably benefit too. Nice, she would now have to work as a tutor.

***

"A chicken, what an interesting animal that one, don't you think?" Dante heard the voice he had been missing for a while. The one and only chess-loser-that-becomes-my-mentor.

"How was the vacation? Any lady with nice femurs and hip bones you fancied?"

"Well, I see you're livelier than expected," the skeleton continued, "It's a 'nice' fort you have here, by the way. But… why does it feel like it's just two rocks away from crumbling down?"

Dante laughed. It was nice to engage in the jabbing game again; it reminded him of university.

"Well, if you gave me a better fort, it would have been too easy, right? There must be some challenge, you know. Not like the chess I played during the induction; man, that was lame."

The skeletal guide cackled, a sound that seemed to stir the air with a cold whisper. "Challenge, you say? I suppose watching you scramble to defend this pile of stones is more entertaining than any chess match could ever be."

Dante shot back with a grin, "Scramble? Please, I've been strategizing. You might learn a thing or two about real tactics if you paid attention instead of rattling around."

"Oh, I pay plenty of attention," the skeleton retorted. "For instance, I've noticed that the second most expensive item you've bought so far is a trash bin. A really good display of 'strategy' indeed."

Dante thought for a second, and it was kind of true; after the map, his most expensive single item bought was indeed the trash bin.

"Okay, that was a good one," he laughed. "So, what are you up to? Any tips on managing a castle and an undead army?"

"Not much, just hanging around and occasionally offering dubious advice," the skeleton quipped. "As for your castle, well, you already know, don't you? And for the undead army, remember, they're not just soldiers; they're also potential entertainers. Who needs a jester when you have a skeleton that can play the xylophone on its ribs?"

Dante couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity. "You know, I never thought of it that way. Maybe we could start a circus instead of waging wars: 'The Dancing Skeletons: A Performance to Die For!'"

"Say no more."

New Side Quest: A Performance to Die For!

Create a skeleton circus and make it famous throughout the Kingdom.

Optional: Kill the Bone King out of laughter.

Reward: A high five from the greatest skeleton to have ever existed.

Dante, absentmindedly looking at the screen, exclaimed, "The hell, you can create quests just like that? And what's with that reward? At least give me a few SP and stats for the effort."

"And what will you do exactly with either of them?"

"Fucker," Dante smiled.

"Anyway, have some fun and enjoy your time here. I have a hunch it's gonna be a while…" his voice echoed away.

"And there he goes," Dante mused, somehow appreciating the conversation. It had lifted his mood in its own way. And the idea of using skeletons for fun was seriously intriguing. He actually checked the quest again, but it had disappeared. 'So much for a bluff.'

***

"Nice!" Thaleia was pleasantly surprised by the fact that skills could be mastered, albeit not so much by the fact the Seer had done it, or how she had known about it—that was to be expected. After all, it was a Seer.

She surveyed the fort, now with a clear picture of where all the enemies were. There were 26 of them, not too many, really. She had expected more.

She had considered trying to master a skill, but was unsure how any of her three current skills could be mastered. I mean, she could master a slash forward, a stab, or footwork, but a skill that literally increased your stats? She had no idea.

The Seer had suggested she start with Heavy Strike, suggesting that the key to mastering should lie in the strike itself. The goal was to maximize the fact of the added Might and the weight of her body, to do exactly as the name suggested: deliver a heavy strike. Alice had also suggested using the duration properly, as the added Might was retained until the strike landed, allowing her a boost to physical prowess in the meantime.

It was a bit hard for her to follow all the advice. She preferred experience, after all. Repetition is how her people taught. So, she guessed she would just try to make the most of it and hope it would be mastered along the way.

And so, she set her eyes on the fort. It was time for the showdown.

***

Dante stood by the window of his throne room, casually munching on an apple, his eyes tracing the haphazard yet determined efforts of the skeleton workers below. These bony laborers, in a chaotic display of construction prowess, were attempting to assemble a barrack. Their method was far from precise; skeletons shuffled about, bricks and mortar in skeletal hands, placing them where they seemed to fit rather than where they should. It was an amusing sight, akin to watching children build sandcastles—full of enthusiasm but lacking in technique. Yet, despite the apparent disorder, progress was unmistakably made. The barrack rose, slowly but surely, a testament to the fact that enthusiasm (or perhaps just sheer stubbornness) could somewhat compensate for a lack of flesh and precision.

On the fort's other side, a similar scene unfolded with the repair work. Skeletons, armed with tools they barely understood, set about mending the fortress's wounds. Their approach to carpentry and masonry was rudimentary at best, often resulting in comical mishaps—a bone dislodged here, a misaligned brick there. However, through a series of trial and error (and numerous reattachments of dislodged skeletal parts), the fort was gradually pieced back together. It wasn't going to win any awards for craftsmanship, but it would stand, more or less in the shape it was intended to.

All would have been good if not for the fact that:

"Repairing the fortress alone takes 12 hours! And the barrack, a level 1 barrack spawning nothing more than level 1s, takes 18! This is an outrageous scam. How much am I paying for this…," he began to grumble, his mood souring at the thought of such inefficiency. But then, a lightbulb moment struck him with the delightful reminder that his labor force was comprised entirely of skeletons—free labor that neither ate nor rested. A grin spread across his face, the earlier frustration dissolving into happiness.

And so, there he was, enjoying life. Sure, it would take time, but he could afford to relax for a bit. He glanced at his current clothes and saw the nice, more appropriate outfit he had purchased. It was rather inexpensive and not regal by any means, but it endowed him with a nice 'adventurer look'—comprising some boots, a comfortable shirt, and pants. The ensemble was practical yet stylish, perfectly suited for his new life of exploration and adventure. Somehow, and to his great fortune, normal clothes did not seem to be considered equipment by the system, so he could wear them without any problem even with the Genesis Restriction:

I cannot equip, consume or use any items.

It must be noted that, although Dante hadn't literally taken a bath in more than a week, all the while traversing a murky cavern, there was no cause for alarm. Thankfully, each time he was re-summoned, he appeared with the same look and state he had first appeared in this world—with a slightly full stomach, clean, and his clothes tidy. It was really quite convenient.

That said, he was nervous he could never change clothes again, but it seemed The Game had a soft spot for him after all (maybe), and he was allowed to change clothes and appear with that instead every time he was summoned. It was a nice touch.

The throne also looked a bit better; he had added some of the cheaper decorations. He had specifically splurged on the throne, not opting for the cheapest option, but the second cheapest. He had even purchased a chess set for some entertainment, albeit playing against himself. He had hoped the jester—his good-for-nothing guide—would decide to make an appearance for a match, but the fool seemed to be preoccupied with whatever he was doing. Or maybe he was just afraid of facing him and losing again, he mused with a smile. Regardless of how many insults he hurled at him, they didn't seem to have any effect.

"Well, time to check on the people actually doing their job." 

Virgil was already close to his first target. Yes, it was time they took the offensive. With a twinkle in his eye and a devil-may-care attitude, Dante had dispatched Virgil and his motley crew of 50 level 1s—affectionately dubbed 'The Cannon Fodder Brigade.' Their mission? To seize an iron mine.

It came as no surprise that the available resources extended beyond mere wood and stone. As with everything in this desolate place strewn with bones, there was more to be found. Iron, one of the most crucial resources required for several key structures listed in the Management Screen, was among them. Thus, he had consulted the map and pinpointed an intriguing iron mine. Sure, he also needed a quarry and a sawmill, but those projects were already underway near his fort. The only venture requiring real military intervention was the iron mine.

Interestingly, it was quite amusing that the first map, despite revealing the iron mine, failed to show the camp situated directly in front of it—a nice, friendly gesture from The Game. This detail only became apparent with the acquisition of the second map. This revelation prompted him to splurge on the third map, after ensuring all essential affairs were in order. This map detailed a larger area and provided more information, revealing that the site was not just any camp, but a goblin camp!

The prospect of encountering beings of flesh and blood again thrilled him. It promised to be a very refreshing change of scenery, even though he might have to, well, kill them all. Nonetheless, the anticipation was refreshing in itself.

And so, when Virgil finally spotted the camp, while concealed behind a tree, Dante's apple fell right to the floor. The goblins were skeletons, too.

"It can't be," Dante's mouth was agape. I mean, goblins are supposed to be goblins, right? So, "What the fuck do you mean by 'skeleton goblins'?"

Dante took a deep breath to calm himself. He picked up the apple and walked over to the corner where the trash bin was located. He threw the fallen apple inside. Then, he walked over to the new throne—a chair that looked much more 'throne-like' than the last one—and sat down calmly.

"Virgil, clean the camp."