Chapter 36_ Special Skeletons (4)
"That's right."
As soon as Lexus spoke, the question marks on the skeleton's head disappeared and the name Igris appeared there.
(#A/N: The name should be Overgeared Skeleton One in the novel but honestly it felt so lame to hear and read so I'll use the name of the super cool Marshall of the Shadow Army.)
Looking at the second skeleton, Lexus knew that this one was clever, but its physical abilities were very low compared to Igris. It could use martial skills properly, but there wasn't much of an effect.
"Since skeleton 2 is a candidate to become a magician, I'll call you Ainz."
(#A/N: The name's reference was obviously from Overlord. Well for more clarification, you can try searching it on your own and I'll leave that to your resourceful imagination.)
'Braham is really favorable to these skeletons?'
The prideful Braham even advised Lexus to raise the skeletons well. That's right. The skeletons were recognized by the legendary undefeated king Madra and the legendary great magician Braham.
"Hey, you two want to control these two?"
Lexus curiously asked both Madra and Braham. With the Great Sage evolving into a legendary skill, it is now possible for the two to utilize the Sage Link they had with Solomon to manually control Lexus' pets or summons. However, someone like Mumud would be excluded from this ability.
It's just like a video game character on a PC or mobile device, where players can control the actions of their virtual avatars. The two legends were somewhat intrigued by his explanation.
「 Interesting. In that case, I can freely defeat anyone while controlling Ainz. 」
Braham amusingly concluded and Lexus simply nodded. For Lexus, it would be greatly beneficial for him. It would allow Igris and Ainz to learn their skills while the two were in control of them. Having them agree in excitement of the sudden entertainment, system messages appeared.
[You have succeeded in strengthening Igris.]
[You have succeeded in strengthening Ainz.]
Lexus smiled in satisfaction.
'It was worth the investment, though.'
His gain was big.
The Skeletons' Combat AI will be definitely high with the two legends controlling them and now they could fight better than average players.
There was more.
'This is a lot better than I thought.'
Igris and Ainz had one absolute advantage over players.
The penalty upon death!
If they were totally destroyed, they could be summoned again immediately using their master's magic power and summoning them has no cooldown time at all. Though the mana consumption was massive that surpassed even the consumption of the basic spells of Braham's Enhanced Magic, it was just that worth the cost.
In other words, just like Lich Mumud, Igris and Ainz could fight with no fear of death.
This was a huge advantage.
At times, it was necessary to give up one's life. For players, it was a game; thus, it wasn't the hardest thing for them to risk losing one's life. But for Lexus who had now become an NPC or for all NPC's generally, the biggest risk was death. As a result, all battles were planned around lowering the number of deaths to as low as possible. But for Igris and Ainz, this risk of death was pretty much non-existent.
In any case, Lexus found the skeletons more than satisfactory. With Braham and Madra controlling over Igris and Ainz, he was elated. At the moment, however, Lexus didn't have the time to enjoy daydreaming.
"Now, I'll have to obtain the Insane Dragon's Iron. With that mineral, upgrading Pavranium will officially commense."
He would have to enter a dragon's nest again to find a rare mineral to create a superior form of Pavranium. With that in mind, he began his journey to the Insane Dragon's nest that was located in a very far away land.
•~×~•
A skeleton landed on the back of a bear, swiftly stabbing the bear with its sword. Then, it bounced off like a spring, stepping on the bear's back and leaping away.
Kwuoo!
The bear raised its body up. It was originally to shake off Igris from its back, but it was a beat too late thanks to the Igris's quick movement. After gently landing on the ground, Igris swiftly moved away, hiding among the trees.
Having lost sight of Igris, the bear let out a furious roar while flailing its arm in the air. It was fully showing its anger. What halted its fit of rage was…
Thwack!
A magic missile flew to it. The basic spell accurately struck the bear's nose. Because of this sudden magic attack, the bear shook his head in confusion.
Kuo?
By the time it turned towards the direction the magic skill had come from, Ainz had gotten in to position. The moment the bear stared at him, Ainz threw another magic missile towards its right eye.
Thwack!
Just like before, the magic missile hit its mark perfectly.
Kuooo!
The angered bear lowered his body, standing on its four legs again. Then, with its mouth opened wide, it charged at Ainz. Of course, it didn't bother to look around. Then Igris moved and repeatedly slash the side of the bear charging mindlessly. The power behind the sword of Igris was strong enough to rip off the bear's flesh. Moreover, there were clear marks of the Igris's slashes, as if it had been done five times before.
[10,000 Army Massacre Sword (Degraded) Lv. 1]
[Quickly attack the target 5 times.
Every strike that hits will deal 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30% of your physical damage respectively (can't distinguish between friend or foe) in a 10 meter radius.
Skill Resource Consumption: 500 mana, 20 sword energy.
Skill Cooldown Time: 10 minutes.]
Those who have not trained above a certain level cannot afford the backlash. The bones of Igris are too weak to endure the shock of the full swordsmanship, the original. That is why Madra could only implement an altered deteriorated swordsmanship to suit Igris, which minimizes the burden by intentionally dispersing the power.
Kuoooo!
Even while letting out a pain-filled roar, the bear didn't stop charging towards Ainz but before he did anything, it crumbled like a puppet whose strings were cut.
Damage accumulated, and its health had finally fallen to 0.
Then.
[The level of Igris has risen!]
[The level of Ainz has risen!]
'Excellent pace.'
It took 5 days for the skeletons to reach their current level. At the same time, it was an excellent speed, it showed Igris and Ainz' real ability and the source of Lexus' self-confidence.
'The level-up speed is as good as since I become a sword saint.'
The teamwork with of Igris and Ainz continued to improve through battles.
[Name: Igris
Level: 50
Health: 17,440/17,440 Mana: 1,840/1,840
Sword Energy: 1000/1000
Strength: 1,090
Stamina: 1,090
Agility: 1,090
Intelligence: 920
Remaining Stat Points: 0
Skills Learned:
Undefeated King's Swordsmanship (Degraded) Lv 1, Master Sword Mastery Lv. 2, Pain Nullification Lv.Max, Abnormal Condition Resistance Lv.1, Cold Resistance Lv.1, Heat Resistance Lv.1, Corrosion Tolerance Lv.3, Physical Attack Tolerance Lv.5
Weapon: Demacia
Secondary Weapon: Ixtal
Armor: Ionia.]
In normal level calculation, Igris should only have 250 stat points and that points should be divided to the four basic stats. However, as Madra easily acquired and leveled up the skills, Igris gained the corresponding stats bonus from raising the skill levels.
(#A/N: Resistance rank: Tolerance » Resistance » Nullification.)
Furthermore, Igris's movements were far better than a normal Skeleton Warrior. Also, as it was Madra who's in control of Igris, the skeleton naturally obtained the Master Sword Mastery as the swordsmanship that Igris was showing was at Master level.
Then because of it, Igris obtained the title that Lexus wasn't able to.
[Great Swordsman]
* The closest person to becoming a sword saint in this age.
* When a blade type weapon is equipped, attack power will increase by 40% and attack speed by 10%. This effect is applied separately from the Sword Mastery skill effect.
(#A/N: I've slightly altered that Great Swordman is a title which can only be obtained by Swordsman type class holders after doing some related quests or if the Sword Mastery surpasses the Advanced level and reached the Master level.)
[Name: Ainz
Level: 50
Health: 12,480,/12,480 Mana: 2,060/2,060
Strength: 780
Stamina: 780
Agility: 780
Intelligence: 1,030
Remaining Stat Points: 0
Skills Learned:
Braham Enhanced Magic (Degraded) Lv 1, Master Magic Mastery Lv. 2, Pain Nullification Lv.Max, Abnormal Condition Resistance Lv.1, Cold Resistance Lv.1, Heat Resistance Lv.1, Corrosion Tolerance Lv.3, Magical Attack Tolerance Lv.5
Weapon: Gelmer Staff
Secondary Weapon: Lusat Orb
Armor: Ionia.]
Just like Igris, Ainz who was controlled by the soul fragment of the legendary great magician also had monstrous stats compared to his level. Though his other stats were lower than Igris, as Ainz was walking to the path of a magician, it couldn't be said that he is inferior against Igris.
•~~~•
While continuously traveling by foot to his destination as he didn't had the coordinates to use teleport, Lexus raised his head and saw that the sky is now turning dark.
Looking around from where he was standing in the middle of a forest, Lexus was able to discover the entrance to a cave. As Lexus entered the cave to rest for the night, a notification window flashed.
[The Vampire Duke Marie Rose is visiting this space.]
[Marie Rose's evil influence makes your magic power turbid. All types of spells and skills aren't available.]
[You have resisted.]
"…?"
Lexus was bewildered. The notification was totally out of his expectations.
[Blight of Misery has been equipped.]
[Brilliance has been equipped.]
He unconsciously equipped two of his swords. Both radiated the aura of being enhanced to +10.
"Nice to meet you."
A woman slowly appeared from the shadows of the cave. She has glossy black hair that waves like silk. Her long hair reaches her buttocks. It was a coexistence of purity and decadence. Marie Rose's face had a variety of charms.
「 Y-You…! 」
Lexus could feel Braham's soul shook frantically. The woman smiled and as soon as Lexus saw her red eyes, many notification windows appeared in front of him.
[You have encountered Vampire Duke Marie Rose.]
[Marie Rose's evil influence makes your magic power turbid. All types of spells and skills aren't available.]
[You have resisted.]
[A vampire's gaze will subdue lower species. You will lost your willpower and control over your body.]
[You have resisted.]
[Marie Rose's attraction is absolute. Her charm is so high there is even high odds of both genders being attracted.]
[You have resisted.]
Vampire duke, Marie Rose. A direct descendant of the founder Shizo Beriache and the one with the strongest magic power. Seeing the notifications, Lexus felt a bit tense.
'I'm a bit of trouble aren't I?'
Looking at her figure, Lexus could feel that his super sensitivity was sending him all kinds of warning. Clearly sensing the unexplainable danger, Lexus grimly thought. His body was drenched in sweat but it's not because he was scared. It was the result of the super sensitivity reacting to the danger that Marie Rose carries.
Seeing that he was being in a disadvantage situation, he murmured unconsciously.
"Super Sensitivity."
[Super Sensitivity has been used.]
[100% of your mana has been consumed.]
[For the next 10 seconds, all senses transcend cognition.]
[Agility is increased by 5% in every point of super sensitivity and you can 100% predict the behavior of the target.]
[Duration will end in ten seconds.]
Lexus was slightly surprised that this was possible as he didn't know about this. At first, he knew it was just a stat that gives him a super sensitive sense but it seems like he was mistaken.
He didn't expect that he could activate this skill when this should only happen in its passive form. However, as the situation was beneficial for him, he didn't linger on the thought too much as he then focused. The moment Super Sensitivity was used, Lexus became even more cautious than before.