NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51: Box Containing Soul Fragment
"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?"
But no answer came back. Irona still hadn't managed to wipe the bewildered expression from her face. Meanwhile, Ferda wasn't that surprised.
Because that was the true ability of 'Resurrection of the Dead.'
=====
[Ability]: Resurrection of the Dead
[Grade]: Hero
[Stage]: 3/10
[Effect]: Can revive the dead as undead. Additionally, it's possible to revive combat-incapacitated undead once more. However, if the target's body has vanished or is in an unrecoverable state, the skill won't activate.
*Magic Consumption:
[3/25/135/450]
[General/Great Person/Hero/Legend]
=====
Back when he was reviving the rat swarm in the underground waterways.
Instead of summoning the dead, Silvan had gained a skill called Resurrection of the Dead.
'At first I thought it was just similar to summoning the dead.'
The point about reviving the dead as undead was the same. But it had one additional ability. Like the scene he'd just witnessed, reviving combat-incapacitated undead again.
'No need to worry here.'
Silvan's army was already dominating the battlefield. The number of archers had decreased significantly too, so the battle would end soon.
Watching the situation, Ferda turned around. Slipping quietly to the back, he brushed past Irona and whispered softly.
"I'll be away for a moment."
"What?"
"Please take care of Silvan."
She turned her head at the sudden words.
But Ferda wasn't there anymore. No, she couldn't feel his presence at all. As if he'd never been there from the beginning.
***
Ferda moved silently.
Passing through the battlefield that had entered a lull, he headed beyond the dim fog. On the way, he could see some undead wandering around, but they couldn't perceive Ferda at all.
The reason was simple.
He was using the stealth skill 'Hide Walker.' Unless they had higher dignity than Ferda, it was impossible to detect his presence. The reason he was acting alone, separated from the group, was because he had something to find.
'It should be about time for the boss to appear.'
The dungeon's monsters seemed to be running out. There was no basis for this. It was just intuition. Then it would be time for the dungeon boss to appear. So he planned to get a look at who the dungeon boss was first.
'If it's an undead with dignity...'
He could literally just leave it barely alive and bring it to Silvan. Then Silvan would handle the rest.
The problem was if the boss wasn't an undead. If it was some unidentified monster like the one handling nets, it would be better to just eliminate it.
Of course, he'd also thought about this. Why not have Irona kill it, then revive it as an undead?
But this carried risk. If Ferda accidentally dealt the killing blow, the boss would transform into an item due to Equivalent Exchange. Then explaining that would become ambiguous again.
'In that case, it's better to secretly kill it and receive it as an item.'
First monopolize it, then if there's something useful, he could hand it over later with some excuse.
And if by chance it seemed useful, he could just drag it along while keeping it barely alive.
Either way, acting alone was convenient for expanding his options.
Stop—
Just then, Ferda's steps halted. A wall could be seen beyond the fog. A wall made of dark gray stone. And beside it, a large stone gate could be seen. Touching it, he could immediately identify what the stone gate was.
'The dungeon's exit.'
Going through there would let them escape from this place.
Silvan would be happy to know. Ferda burst into laughter and turned around. Now that he'd found the exit, it was time to find the dungeon boss. He began looking around again.
After acting alone like this for about ten minutes.
'Found it.'
He finally discovered what appeared to be the boss's lair.
Ferda inhaled, then immediately held his breath. At the same time, he erased his presence. Since Hide Walker's duration had ended, this was the best approach while it was on cooldown.
Hiding his body in the shadows, he moved stealthily.
But before long, his face crumpled.
He couldn't feel any presence around. In other words, the dungeon boss wasn't here.
'Where did it go?'
With calm eyes, he looked around again. Just then, his foot caught on something. Probably a stone. Just as he was about to ignore it and pass by, something glinting entered his vision.
"This is..."
Looking closely, it wasn't a stone but an old tombstone. Someone had carved sentences on the tombstone's surface, and somehow the letters were glowing. Sentences written in Elvish. He gently lowered his head and read the sentence carved on the tombstone.
[To my beloved daughter, Radina Wigders.]
"Radina?"
Ferda frowned.
Because the name of this dungeon he was in was 'Radina's Cemetery.' Then maybe the boss was buried somewhere near this cemetery? Thinking this, Ferda carefully examined the area around the tombstone.
Then he discovered that there were sentences carved behind the cemetery too.
[From your inadequate father, Heron.]
At that moment, Ferda's face hardened.
Heron. A name that appeared in the original work.
Not just a simple extra or supporting character, but a powerful enemy who had threatened Silvan's life. Ferda quietly closed his mouth and recalled the contents of the novel.
"Serneck Forest burned. There was nothing that could stop the army of disaster. Silvan swallowed his tears and forced himself to turn away.
'Silvan! It's dangerous!'
At that moment. Suddenly Irona embraced Silvan. Soon arrows struck her back in succession. With a short scream, someone walked out from beyond the burning forest.
A figure in an ashen robe. Seeing him, Silvan's complexion turned deathly pale.
Because he was truly the one who had burned the forest.
One who had once loved the forest more than anyone, but now hated the forest more than anyone. A noble high elf, but now an ugly undead.
It was Forest Keeper Heron Wigders."
The first season of the original work "The Savior."
It was a scene that appeared when they failed to prevent the first great disaster.
"Having something like this here means..."
Did it mean this dungeon's boss was Heron?
Thinking this, his heart began to race. Because Forest Keeper Heron in the novel was an 'undead with dignity.' Also, in life he had been strong enough to be called a divine archer.
Just then, a system message suddenly appeared.
=====
[Notification]: Analysis rate has reached a certain level.
*Current Analysis Rate: [55 / 100]
*Analysis Result: [Dungeon Boss: Heron Wigders]
=====
His prediction was correct. Having confirmed the dungeon boss's identity, Ferda gently raised the corners of his mouth.
'If we could put Heron under our command...'
That would be a real jackpot.
Getting a strong ally from the early stages. With a satisfied smile, Ferda heightened all his senses to the maximum.
To find out if there was something near or under the tombstone.
After a moment, he discovered one suspicious object.
"This is..."
A black box the size of a palm. It was tightly sealed, so forcing it open was useless. It seemed to have some magical treatment, so Ferda let a little magic power flow.
Before long, the Yggdrasil System completed its analysis.
=====
[Name]: Box Containing Soul Fragment
[Grade]: Hero
[Type]: Sealing Tool
-A soul fragment is sealed inside. To release the seal, the owner's permission is needed. Analysis of the soul trapped in the box confirms it as 'Radina Wigders.' However, be careful as the seal will break when the time expires.
[Owner]: Heron Wigders
[Duration]: 198 days 14 hours 53 minutes
=====
A box containing the soul of Heron's daughter, Radina.
The moment he confirmed its identity, he had an intuition that keeping this would be useful later. As he put the box into his inventory.
Ruuuuumble—
A roar and vibration could be felt from afar.
Gauging the direction, it was where Silvan had been. What was this? The battle should have ended by now. Suddenly he had a bad feeling.
"...No way."
Ferda's pupils trembled faintly.
Soon he immediately turned around.
***
Not long after Ferda disappeared.
The battle ended ridiculously easily. It was a natural result since they had easily overwhelmed in numbers. When there were no more enemies to eliminate, Silvan's fierce army quickly became docile. They just stood in the middle of the cemetery waiting for their master's command.
At this scene, Salaman let out honest admiration.
[Amazing. I've never heard or seen such a battle.]
[Right.]
Sior also clapped his wings together with a surprised face.
[With just that child, couldn't we solve the forest's problems too?]
At those words, Irona nodded silently.
At first, she couldn't hide her anxious heart. It was natural since it was a place where over a hundred warriors had lost their lives. But after entering the dungeon and seeing Silvan's performance, she realized it had been needless worry.
'In just half a year...'
He'd gained tremendous abilities. Though he was a half-elf, with this level of ability, couldn't he be recognized by the clan too?
With small expectations, Irona's eyes lit up.
Meanwhile, Silvan looked around as if searching for someone.
"Huh? Where's Ferda?"
"Hmm? Ah, he did say he'd be away for a moment earlier..."
She hadn't heard exactly where he was going. He'd disappeared before she could ask the reason for leaving.
"I see. Got it."
Meanwhile, Silvan nodded obediently. Seeing how he accepted it without suspicion, Irona asked with a puzzled face.
"Do you know where he went?"
"Huh? No, I don't know?"
"Then why..."
"He must have left for a reason."
Strong faith was evident in Silvan's voice. They'd only been together for about half a year, yet he showed such strong trust.
Irona slightly protruded her lips with dissatisfaction.
Just then.
[Irona!]
Salaman shouted urgently. Soon the sound of something cutting through the wind could be heard. It was very fast and powerful. Its target was Silvan. Irona reflexively adjusted her grip on her spear and swung it directly.
Boom—!
With a strong impact, an intense explosion sounded in midair.
Just before the explosion, Irona saw its identity. A black arrow made of nether mana. Soon puzzlement appeared on her face.
'...Warning shot.'
Judging from the trajectory the arrow had flown, if left alone, it probably would have stuck in the ground at Silvan's feet. Why give a warning shot, abandoning the advantage of surprise? She thought about it but couldn't know the answer.
Because the spirits' warnings continued again.
[Another one's coming! This time it's magic!]
At those words, she immediately looked up. Slower than an arrow, but at a speed that couldn't be ignored. It was Bone Spear, a type of powerful dark magic. And this time it flew targeting not Silvan, but Irona.
"Salaman! Breath of fire..."
If she deflected that, bone fragments would scatter everywhere. Then Silvan would be harmed. In that case, it would be better to burn it.
But there was someone who blocked the way before Salaman.
One of the seven sin evil spirits. It was Squishy.
Gulp—
Squishy swallowed the Bone Spear whole. Soon crunching sounds could be heard. He ate it as deliciously as if chewing chicken bones. Then Hardy and Spiky blocked Silvan's front.
[Are you alright?]
[Are you injured anywhere?]
"Mm-hmm, I'm fine. Are you okay though?"
Silvan's gaze turned to Squishy. Was it okay to swallow magic? With that concern, he made a worried expression.
Then the answer came from an unexpected place.
[Squishy eats these things well.]
[That's right. He probably can't eat enough of them.]
Hardy and Spiky answered instead. Soon Squishy, who had returned, also nodded as if agreeing. Then that was fortunate. Reassured, Silvan looked in the direction the sudden attack had come from.
Step, step—
At that moment, two shadows appeared from beyond the fog.
The first thing visible was a figure in an ashen robe. Seeing he was holding a longbow, he must be the one who shot the arrow.
Then a skeleton in wizard robes was also visible. Looking at the staff in his hand, he was probably a Lich. Then the Lich's teeth clattered as they struck each other.
"Foolish invaders who don't value their lives."
Would this be the sound if you scraped marble with a sword? An unpleasant sound squeezed through rotting teeth. Soon blue light blazed angrily from his hollow eye sockets.
"To dare rebel against the king, trusting in petty necromancy!"
At that rebuke, Irona's face hardened.
It wasn't an ordinary undead. The fact that it could speak meant it had some dignity. Tension colored her expression just then.
Something grayish blocked the front.
It was the three spirits. Trembling, they soon shouted in voices filled with anger.