Lv1 Skeleton - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

'Alpeon, where are the spiders?'

I visited the termite hill first thing in the morning . The spiders were definitely supposed to be here according to my ownership view, but despite going to the spider's allocated chamber, they were nowhere to be found .

'They don't like termites, so they hide in their cocoons . '

It seemed like they were within the cocoons which were fixed against the wall . Even if I had the ability to view statuses, I wasn't able to locate them .

The ability of Legol, one of the three spiders, was a skill which blocked my ownership view .

'That's a pretty useful skill . '

'Indeed, a desirable power . '

'Alpeon, could you please bring over the three special one's you mentioned yesterday?'

'They will arrive soon . '

I approached Cocoons .

'Legol, Arin, Hattan, show your faces . '

'Forgive us Lord, we have no faces'

Are these kids serious, quite cheeky aren't they? Time to put them in their place .

I gave one of the cocoons a hard poke .

Shhhh Tuk,Tuk

Surprised, they fell awkwardly out of their cocoons, flat on their backs .

'Lord, are you purposely trying to embarrass us?'

'Was it not you three which ignored me?'

'… . '

They kept silent, actually they were still young children so I felt they were quite stubborn .

'Come follow me, we will be going somewhere during the next few days .

As I was instructing them, Alpeon's message appeared in my mind .

'The children have arrived . '

I couldn't believe my eyes, they were about one and a half times larger than an ordinary termite . If they were to stand up right it would be about the same size as me . Also, instead of the usually transparent milky white color, their carapace had a golden lustre to it .

It seemed like those who gained abilities from the Root's nectar would also have a color similar to it . Their Powers were also roughly twice that of a regular termite but there levels were still low so I expected there would be room for growth . Their translucent golden wings hanging on each side added to their majesty, and likened them to some imperial knights .

'Mir, Tagan, Jenna, do you all possess telepathy?'

'That is correct, Lord . '

I has heartened to hear their voices ring in my mind . Each of them had some unique abilities so we would be able to coordinate best if we could all communicate through telepathy . It seemed like prioritizing quality over quantity was the right choice, and the results were humongous termites .

'You guys will follow me today, is that alight?'

Termites had excellent loyalty, a Hierarchical system was second nature to them, and they responded quickly to commands .

'Alpeon I'll be borrowing these children for about 10 days, is that alright?'

'Of course, may I ask where you will be going?'

'I'll be heading to the neighbouring territory . '

Alpeon was surprisingly quick to understand my intentions .

'Go, Mir, Tagan, Jenna, Regal, Arin and Hattana . '

Tak Tak Tak

I was headed back towards the where I first came from, leading my 6 strange minions .

Tak Tak Tak

Shhhhi Shhhhi

I was intent on conquering the Catacombs where I came from, while raising my personal strength and nurturing my unique minions .

'Lord, why do you also take along these eight legged traitors?'

Jenna, the only female of the termites, asked telepathically .

'They are part of my objective this time around, same as you . '

Jenna seemed to be pouting as she clacked her mandibles strongly while walking away . On our way there, after about one hour of traveling, the bickering between species was becoming unbearable .

'Jenna, Arin!, come stay near me . '

They were the two most troublesome . Both were female and their talents were unique, so they had personalities which didn't allow them to back down .

'You two are on a time out, so behave . '

They walked on each side of me, like punished children .

I had quite the headache, in order for the races to coexist within the Pit in future, it was imperative for the younger generation to be on good terms . But, it didn't seem like they were off to a good start .

Well, one thing I can try to foster better unity, is to find them a common enemy .

I led to the Catacombs through the hole .

'I will award the one with the best performance by doubling their portion of nectar, so work hard to kill many monsters . '

I could see that they had gotten excited . An increase in nectar was the best reward for them, as it would improve their future prospects . On foreign species such as myself, the nectar seemed to only provide new abilities such as telepathy . However, for locals like them, it would revamp their entire constitution, much like an evolution .

He who received a double portion would certainly be ahead of the pack . Not to mention that these six were already unique among their generations and were like seeded candidates to lead their respective races . If they could one up their competitors, their position as future ruler would be all but assured . Although it was a bit irresponsible of me, at least the Spiders became noticeably more serious .

I took the children with me towards the iron door I had discovered early on .

'Jenna, I'll be needing your help . '

In fact, this was one the main reasons I had them follow me to level up .

'Shhhhi shhhi

Jenna was capable of spitting out a highly acidic secretion, much like the previous King's . Likewise, Arin was able to send out poisonous web shots, just like Bianca . I valued them highly for their toxic skills, and was planning to use them as part of a combo .

Still, the door was thick and sturdy, although the acid abilities did melt away part of its surface, it held strong

'Your turn, Hattana . '

This was the second step .

'Freeze!'

Chuuuuooo

It froze the door by bombarding it with spiderwebs which had both, ice and cold magic properties .

'Mir, Regol, join me for the last step and release your flames!'

Shwooo! Ptuii!

"Inferno! Inferno!…"

Harrrr! Ptuui

Mir had the ability to spit out a lava-like secretion while Regol could send out flaming spider webs . I topped it off with several Infernos and the door finally gave out .

Jiiiiiiik

Despite it being a thick steel door, it finally couldn't stand up to our triple-tiered combo of Acid, Ice and Fire . I finally learned that the door was about 15 centimeters thick, and I would have had no chance at getting through it if I had been alone .

'Great, time to conquer the Tomb I was born in . '

I stepped through the door with my six powerful minions in tow . On the next floor, we encountered the black half of a giant chessboard . The pieces were stone statues, somewhat similar to the gargoyles I'd fought previously .

I looked around carefully before walking down the stairs, we were no longer within the confines of my Pit, so I couldn't access their Status page as easily .

'Would it be possible to gain ownership here?'

Actually, another reason why I was so hell bent on getting past this Iron door, was that I wanted to take ownership of the Tombs as well . Compared to the open area of the Pit, the Tombs were easier to hold and defend with their narrow tunnels . It would make a great fallback point in an emergency situation .

'Let's all enter the floor together at the same time . Before the statues have a chance to prepare themselves, Legol, Arin and Hattan, try to restrict their movements with your webs . Mir, Tagan and Jenna, climb along the ceiling and drop some black pockets on them .

Everyone nods in agreement .

'Alright, let's go!'

Thud! Thud! Thud! Shick! Shick! Shick!

As expected, once we crossed the threshold of the stairs, a new iron gate fell down behind us, blocking our retreat . The statues before us slowly began to awaken, shaking off the dust . All the pieces of a chessboard: pawns, knights, bishops, towers and the King and Queen, began to move about .

'Regol, Arin, Hattan, get a move on!'

I had underestimated the inexperience of these young spiders . Their hesitation to charge out towards a new enemy, had caused them to miss a precious opportunity to restrict their opponent's movements .

Ptuii! Ptuii! Ptu!

When they finally shook off their indecisiveness and shot out their webs, they were easily countered by the Knight's and Bishop's magic .

'Ugh, these guys!'

Arin quickly fired a web at the feet of the advancing pawns, trying to make up for the previous mistake . At least she managed to make the eight pawns trip up, but the stronger backline was only stymied for a short time, as they stumbled over them .

Kung, Kung

Fortunately, the golden termites waiting on the ceiling performed their duties well . They dropped the six black pouches on the line of pawns . The pouches broke like eggs on the stone statues, except that instead of it being yolk that poured out, it was a corrosive liquid which melted the pawn's stone bodies .

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As the backline of chess pieces stepped over the pawns which were still sprawled on the floor, they were able to largely ignore the liquid . The young spiders who had erred at the start of the fight, rushed up to redeem themselves . Unfortunately, faced with the high defenses of the stone pieces, their attacks had little effect .

Ptuui!

Jenna tried using her acid spit against the Rook, but it also had a limited effect .

'These stone statues seemed to be difficult opponents for my insects . It should be an interesting fight . '

I sent them all a message through Telepathy .

'I will sit back and judge your performances, so work together to defeat them . '

I retreated to the back and crossed my arms, intent on remaining an observer .

The golden ants kept trying to drop black pouches, to almost no effect . The spiders tried a more active approach, running around and trying to create traps with their spider webs . However, they were frustrated to learn that their opponents, the stone chess pieces, would always break out by working in unison .

'You'll never win if you guys don't cooperate… . '

I had expected for the six of them to cooperate together and defeat the stone pieces with their combinations, but sadly it was not the case .

When I finally realised that they would have no chance of winning and that the situation would soon get dangerous for them, I ordered them to retreat with my Telepathy .

'Back off you idiots!'

I cast my magic, aiming for the center of the chess pieces .

"Inferno!"

True, the stone pieces were very heavy, but when compared to bosses like Bianca, they were still a bit lighter . The vacuum effect from my inferno pulled in all the pieces into a cluster .

'Throw out your skills in the same order we used to break down the door . '

I was still enthralled by the devastation of the Acid/Ice/Fire combo we used to break down the iron door .

The stone chess pieces crumbled under the onslaught .

[+1622 experience points] … [+415232 experience points] [You can now learn new magic]

[Level increased 34 35]

'Legol, Arin, Hattan, you guys get minus two points . Mir, Tagan, Jenna, just the minus one . You three spiders hesitated too long so that was minus one point, also none of you cooperated as a team so minus one point for everyone . '

'…'

It was silent as none dared to talk back .

'Hm, actually Arin performed quite well so you'll be spared the penalty this time . '

'Huh why? If it wasn't for that spider girl, things wouldn't have been so difficult!'

Jenna's telepathic message was burning with hostility .

Jenna, minus one point for promoting internal discord, anything else to add?'

It seemed like there were many obstacles to overcome before they could function well as a cohesive unit . As I walked around the hall, looking for the stair to the next floor, I opened up My Status page to view my new magic selection .

Name: Chompy (Johra) Gender: N/A Status: Normal Race: Lich/ Undead Class: Wizard Rank: H+ Level: 35/50 HP: 1417/1426 MP: 2933/3441 Attack: 101 (+2) Defense: 832 (+2) Agility: 122 Intelligence: 1027 Luck: 9 Charisma: 7 Unique Skills [Resurrection Lv 1] [Night Vision Lv1] [Falling resistance Lv1] [Magic Chanting Max] [Fire Shock Max] [Lesser Slow Max] [Fireball LvMax] [Acid Resistance Lv2] [Identification Lv1] [Sage's Wisdom Lv1] [Weapon Enchant Lv4] [Armor Enchant Lv3] [Sunlight Resistance Lv1] [Physical Resistance Lv2] [Inferno Lv8] [Water Sphere Lv1] [Necromancy Lv7] [Lifesteal Lv2] [MP Regeneration Lv3][Lightning Resistance Lv1] [Corpse Explosion Lv8] [Possession Lv1] [Stun Resistance L1] [Telepathy Lv1] [Mind Reading Lv1] [Spiritual Connection Lv1] [Death Stare Lv3] Titles [Rat Trapper] [Hit-and-Run] [Savior Lv3] [Coldhearted Lv2] [Dragon Slayer Lv1] [Ant Exterminator Lv14] [Spider's Bane Lv3] [Giant Killer Lv1] [Wizard of the Pit] Skill Selection [Magic Research Lv1] [Polymorph Lv1] [Meditation Lv1]

'Hmm? Am I seeing things… it seems like this skill opens up a lot of possibilities . '

Recently I had been somewhat disappointed with my skill selection . Since I had become a Lich, I had expected to have overpowered skills and the ability to create my own spells . But, at least with magic research my hopes were rekindled .

'I still didn't know how the spell worked, but my expectations were high . I wish I had Sage's Wisdom …'

Although Polymorph and Meditation were interesting, for me there was only one clear choice .

[You have learned Magic Research Lv1]

[You can now select a spell to be the target of Magic Research]

It looks like I even get to choose which spells I want to focus on, thank God it sounds easy to use .

Opening up my Status window, I selected 'Inferno' . It had been my go-to spell for quite some time now and it was both powerful and flexible in its uses .

Having been walking for some time as I multitasked with the Status page, I had finally arrived at the staircase leading to the next floor .

'You guys take care of this door . '

I stepped back to evaluate their teamwork .

Kuajiiiiiek

Much to my surprise, they were able to break down the door on the first try . It seemed like their cooperation had already improved somewhat, making me feel proud .

'Let's head down . '

I went down the staircase followed by my six insects, unsure as to what we would encounter next .