NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8: The Skeleton Warrior
Mind control?
No, it seemed that the demon imp had understood his instructions and was now executing the corresponding actions.
Limon ceased his playful teasing of the seemingly fearsome demon imp and summoned the information panel.
The original magic value had been 810, but now it had dwindled to a mere 504, a consumption of 300 points of magic.
The expenditure was staggering, and Limon could sense the very existence of the demon imp, which was steadily siphoning the magic within his body, albeit in a rather unobtrusive manner. In other words, summoning demons not only demanded a copious amount of magic for the initial invocation but also continued to drain his reserves to maintain the demon's presence in this world.
Thus, the need for a high magic value was now abundantly clear.
After all, this was a summoning system, and the demon was not a native creature of this realm. It hailed from the abyss, and its translocation to this world involved the utilization of space magic. It was, therefore, understandable that the magic consumption was so exorbitant.
Without lingering on such thoughts for too long, Limon's attention shifted to the information pertaining to the demon imp.
[Demon Imp
Race: Abyss
Level: 7
Strength: 14
Agility: 12
Stamina: 16
Intelligence: 23
Spirit: 27
Skills: Flame Arrow
Magic Value: 500/500]
The other attributes were rather average, with only intelligence and spirit standing out as considerably higher. There was but a single skill, Flame Arrow, suggesting that the demon imp was a mage-type demon.
There were still 30 points available for allocation...
After a moment of contemplation, Limon made his decision without hesitation and apportioned all the points to intelligence and spirit, 10 to intelligence and 20 to spirit.
The transformation was astounding. As the value of intelligence shifted, Limon was plunged into a state of emptiness and crystalline clarity. That sensation was indescribably sublime. After a brief interval, Limon managed to extricate himself from that beguiling state.
With the spirit value increasing by 20 points, Limon's magic value limit skyrocketed to 6000 in an instant.
The augmentation of the intelligence value also sharpened Limon's sensitivity to magic, enabling him to perceive the ebb and flow of magic in his surroundings with enhanced acuity.
He could sense the ambient magic in nature surreptitiously seeping into his body, replenishing the expended magic.
Glancing at the information panel, he noted that the original magic value of 504 had now crept up by 3 points to 507.
It appeared that the spiritual attribute also exerted an influence on the rate of magic recovery. In light of this, greater emphasis should be placed on the spiritual attribute in the future.
"Click, click."
Approximately half an hour elapsed, and the quicksand pool, which had previously lapsed into a state of calm, was once again stirred into agitation.
The quicksand within the pool roiled and churned, and white bones began to surface anew.
This time, the quicksand pool exuded a different aura.
Limon could detect a palpable breath of death emanating from the quicksand pool, an unmistakable signature of the power of the curse.
The appearance of the skeletons within the quicksand pool had the effect of agitating the demon imp stationed on the sand beneath the boulder. It brandished the white bone staff in its hand, bared its fangs in a menacing grin, and emitted a series of dull, guttural roars.
However, without explicit orders from Limon, it was compelled to remain rooted in place.
"Hold this position and eradicate the skeletons that make landfall."
Eager to test the capabilities of the demon imp, Limon issued a terse command.
"Raka, Raka!"
Upon receiving the order, the demon imp seemed to perk up, its demeanor brightening.
It swung the bone staff with a flourish, and a flaming arrow materialized instantaneously, hurtling towards a skeleton that had already clambered to its feet on the shore.
In the inky expanse of the dark sky, a flash of fire erupted, and the flaming arrow streaked towards the skeleton with a velocity that surpassed that of thunder.
"Crash!"
There was no explosion, no conflagration. Instead, the flaming arrow unerringly shattered the skeleton's sternum, and under the force of the impact, the entire skeletal frame disintegrated into a pile of broken bones. The flaming arrow, having dispatched the skeleton, did not vanish but instead plunged into the quicksand pool in the distance.
"Raka, Raka."
Another roar rent the air, and the staff was once again brandished. The flaming arrow, a vivid streak of crimson in the darkness, transformed into a bolt of light and homed in on another skeleton.
In the gloom, two skeletons arranged in a straight line were impaled by the flaming arrow and reduced to a jumble of shattered bones.
"Not very efficient..."
Watching the demon imp's valiant but somewhat limited efforts on the sand below, Limon murmured under his breath.
The demon imp seemed to rely solely on its fire arrows, which lacked any area-of-effect damage and could only target a single foe at a time. While it boasted a formidable piercing and armor-breaking capacity,
Facing the fragile yet numerous skeletons, its approach was less than ideal.
Limon redirected his attention to the magic consumption of the demon imp. The original magic value had been 500 points, but now only 412 remained.
It transpired that each release of a fire arrow consumed approximately 20 points of magic. Accounting for the restored magic, the 500 points of magic would permit the demon imp to launch more than 20 such attacks.
Not too shabby, all things considered.
With the demon imp by his side, Limon felt a palpable sense of relief.
Perched atop the boulder, he settled into a relaxed posture, as if he were a spectator at a grand performance.
In the darkness, the red streamer of the flaming arrows flickered intermittently, cleaving through the night sky like a celestial blade. It was a sight at once beautiful and a testament to the fierceness of the battle.
Compared to the previous skirmish, the number of skeletons emerging from the quicksand pool had undeniably increased. They were scattered and not as densely clustered as before, affording the demon imp a somewhat easier time.
"It's so easy. I should be able to dispatch a significant number of skeletons tonight."
Limon muttered softly, his eyes fixed on the demon imp's arduous struggle below.
"Huh..."
A surprised gasp escaped Limon's lips as a particularly bright blue flame in the darkness caught his attention.
The soul fire smoldering within the skull of the skeleton was the linchpin of their undead existence.
As the most fragile of the skeletons, their soul fire was typically a faint glimmer, scarcely visible.
But within the quicksand pool, Limon beheld a soul fire that burned with a brilliance that could not be ignored. Amid the sea of dim soul fires, it shone like a beacon, drawing Limon's gaze as if by magnetic force.
Compared to the ordinary skeletons that yielded no information, Limon now saw a message hovering above this particular skeleton.
[Skeleton Warrior
Race: Undead
Level: 11
Strength: 25
Agility: 21
Stamina: 35
Intelligence: 9
Spirit: 8
Skills: xx]
Just as Limon was scrutinizing the skeleton warrior, it made landfall.
It emerged from the quicksand pool, revealing its full and imposing form.
In contrast to the other skeletons, which were clad in little more than tattered rags, the skeleton warrior was draped in a layer of frayed leather armor and clutched a scimitar and a round shield in its bony hands.
It moved with a speed that surpassed that of the common skeletons, exuding an air of agility as it advanced.
The demon imp had also taken note of this new threat and was cognizant of its superior strength.
"Raka, Raka."
With a thunderous roar, the demon imp abandoned its other targets and launched a concerted attack on the skeleton warrior.
The flame arrow soared through the air, metamorphosing into a streak of crimson light as it zeroed in on the skeleton warrior.
"Dang!"
The skeleton warrior's reflexes were astonishingly swift. Instead of attempting to dodge, it deftly raised the shield in its hand.
With a dull thud, the flame arrow collided with the shield, leaving behind only a charred imprint.
The skeleton warrior merely paused for a moment before resuming its inexorable advance towards the demon imp.
It had blocked the attack?
Limon was visibly taken aback to see the shield in the skeleton warrior's hand repel the demon imp's flame arrow.
He had initially assumed that the flame arrow would pierce through the seemingly dilapidated shield, but the reality had proven otherwise.
Limon refrained from intervening. He was curious to see how the demon imp would respond.
Seeing its attack thwarted, the demon imp was incensed.
"Raka, Raka."
With an enraged bellow, the demon imp gripped the bone staff with renewed determination. This time, instead of immediately unleashing a flame arrow,
At the tip of the staff, a ball of fire was coalescing, the fire element churning and writhing with unrestrained fury.
"Lakka!"
With a deafening roar, the demon imp swung the staff with all its might, and a colossal flaming arrow tore through the night sky, shrieking as it hurtled towards the skeleton warrior. In that instant, it was as if a bolt of lightning had rent the heavens asunder, and the surrounding darkness was momentarily dispelled.
Facing the mammoth flaming arrow, the skeleton warrior once again hoisted the shield in its hand.
"Ka!"
There was no explosion, no tongues of flame. Instead, the shield shattered into a thousand pieces upon contact. The flaming arrow, unhindered, passed through the body of the skeleton warrior and continued its relentless flight, vanishing into the distant night sky.
As for the skeleton warrior, the moment the flaming arrow pierced its body, it crumbled into a heap of broken bones.
After this powerful attack, the demon imp seemed to wilt, its movements sluggish. It brandished the staff weakly and bared its teeth in a final, defiant roar at the approaching skeletons, as if resigning itself to a close-quarters brawl.
Limon checked the magic value of the demon imp and was dismayed to find that it had been depleted to zero.
Evidently, the previous charging attack had drained the demon imp of all its magical reserves.
With a mere thought, Limon severed the connection with the demon imp.
In the blink of an eye, the ground beneath the demon imp's feet fissured open, and it was swallowed by the molten magma that erupted from the chasm.
It vanished without a trace in a matter of seconds, leaving behind only a charred and smoldering mark.
"Demon summon!"
Limon intoned the incantation once more, gripping the staff firmly and waving it with a practiced flourish.
Where the demon imp had disappeared, the ground ruptured anew, and from the roiling, flowing magma, a new demon imp emerged.
This one was noticeably larger, towering over its predecessor.
[Demon Imp
Race: Abyss
Level: 15
Strength: 18
Agility: 14
Endurance: 21
Intelligence: 33
Spirit: 35
Skills: Flame Arrow, Fireball
Magic Value: 1250/1250]
Its appearance exacted a heavy toll on Limon's magic reserves, plunging him into a state of magical exhaustion for the first time.
What an astronomical consumption...
Feeling the void where his magic power had once been, Limon couldn't help but click his tongue in dismay.
It seemed that the higher the level of the summoned creature, the more prodigious its strength, and the greater the magic power it demanded.
The level 15 demon imp had drained a staggering 500 points of Limon's magic.
Fortunately, this new demon imp was considerably more potent, possessing an additional area-of-effect skill, Fireball, which would prove invaluable in dealing with the swarms of skeletons.
There were 11 points of magic remaining, and Limon observed that it increased by one point every two or three minutes while the demon imp was maintained.
In other words, the rate of magic recovery had now surpassed the magic consumed in maintaining the demon imp.
"Fortunately..."
Limon exhaled a sigh of relief as he watched the magic value gradually creep upward.
If the cost of maintaining the demon imp had exceeded the rate of magic recovery, then this summoning would have been in vain. It wouldn't have been long before the demon imp was forcibly expelled back to the abyss due to Limon's depleted magic reserves.
If that had come to pass, tonight's hunt would have been cut short prematurely.
Without magic, Limon would be powerless to wield his spells, and he had no intention of engaging the skeletons in close combat with the staff in his hand.
"Hold this position and annihilate the undead."
Limon issued a resolute command to the newly summoned demon imp.
"Raka, Raka."
Upon receiving the directive, the previously taciturn demon imp sprang into action, brandishing the staff and bellowing "Raka, Raka" with renewed vigor.
At the tip of the white bone staff, a ball of fire was taking shape, its incandescent glow a vivid contrast against the inky backdrop of the night.
In a matter of three seconds, the demon imp gave a gentle flick of the wrist, and a fireball slowly arced through the air towards a cluster of skeletons not far away.
This apparent slowness was only in comparison to the speed of the flame arrow. In actuality, the fireball's flight was swift, and its trajectory was clearly visible.
"Boom!"
The fireball made contact with a skeleton and detonated instantaneously. The resultant explosion unleashed a torrent of flames and a shockwave that rippled outwards, reducing the skeletons within a radius of three meters to a pile of shattered bones.
"Raka, Raka."
The demon imp wasted no time and swung the staff again, this time sending a flame arrow streaking towards a solitary skeleton, obliterating it with a single shot.
It was displaying a remarkable degree of intelligence, alternating between the fireball technique when the skeletons were densely grouped and the more precise flame arrow for isolated targets.
The higher the level, the more sophisticated its combat instincts.
Watching the demon imp below dispatch the undead with practiced ease, Limon felt a sense of contentment wash over him. He reclined on the boulder once more, this time stretching out fully and allowing his eyes to drift shut, dozing off in a state of relative tranquility.
This was perhaps the privilege of being a summoner. When pitted against weaker adversaries, one could delegate the task of combat to the summoned creatures and relax.
Time slipped away like sand through an hourglass. In the stillness of the dark night, the wind whispered across the desert, kicking up swirling clouds of dust.
Under the watchful gaze of the moon, the quicksand pool, enshrouded in a cloak of darkness, was periodically illuminated by flashes of fiery red light. This continued until a glimmer of light pierced the eastern sky, heralding the arrival of a new day.
As the first rays of the sun bathed the land, a hushed silence descended.
A new day had dawned...
On the sand beneath the boulder, the demon imp stood sentinel, its two golden pupils darting about, vigilant for any sign of danger.
At that moment, it suddenly wheeled around, its golden eyes fixed on the other side of the boulder. A low, menacing growl rumbled from its throat, and the bone staff in its hand trembled with unease.
"Hmm?"
The tremor that reverberated through the depths of his being jolted Limon awake. He had been slumbering on the boulder, his face obscured by the wizard's hat. With a start, he removed the hat and sat up, a dazed expression clouding his features.
After a few moments, Limon regained his composure and silently donned the wizard's hat once more.
He rose to his feet and surveyed the sand dunes from whence he had come.
The tremor he had felt was a warning from the demon imp. Although no words were exchanged, Limon could sense the urgency of the message.
It was as if the demon imp were shouting that danger was approaching and a stranger was drawing near.