A Rattling Monster

Chapter 56: Skeletons don't talk

That was a good surprise. To see my skeleton that I thought was useless and clumsy kill them in that way. Now I need to have a second skeleton, to see what gave him that intelligence. Is it the duration of his presence of this world? Because he managed to survive for more time than all the precedents undead. Well, most of them died because of falls or direct contact with the environment. Another possible thing is the number of victims. He has killed more than ten guards. If each time, he gains a part of the intelligence, that's close to a real human mind. Oslo, next group. If during the travel he doesn't fall, at least one of the two probability is true.

(No, no hunting, the assassin is too close. I suggest we first go to the West of Ronta. Even if there are more priests in that area, it will slow down the assassin. And after that, the night will come and the humans will leave the sewers.)

Did he kill someone?

(No, not a single victim. He always avoids them. He probably doesn't want you to know that he exists. I mean, if he didn't hear your speech about his presence or hear a guard talking about two ratmen. But he will learn it sooner or later. And at that moment, he will not patiently wait for the patrol to go or avoid it and lose time. He will butcher his way through.)

Only after dusk will I be able to raise another servant. That means I have to use all this time to kill more guards. If he evolves before I cast my spell, I will have a stronger skeleton.

(Can't you just reduce his size? Or change his form? Like grant him a dog form or even a spider form?)

What do you mean?

(Well, it is a spell created by you. So, you decide to give him the form of a human skeleton. But you can probably just create dog undead or even rat undead. That's up to you.)

That's... true, I guess. Well, for me, a skeleton is nearly always a human skeleton. But now that you say that, I can maybe create smaller bodies, that way I consume less mana. But it has to be useful, like for a spider undead, it is useless. The main weapon a spider has is its venom and in second its web. So, since I can only create skeletons of living beings, without anything else, a spider will just try to bite the guards. And bites only, without poisoning them. But the dog idea is not bad. It is smaller than a human. It is still effective. Except for a dog, you have any good ideas?

(No, and we still have to try that. I don't know if it will really work. And maybe it will still cost too much mana.)

Well for that, I will try a spider, like you said. If that cost the same as a human, the dog will not be worth it. And I will still be able to have another skeleton warrior before the sun rises. But now, let's go to the West.

And apparently, my dear and really impressive skeleton warrior is learning. In the last thirty minutes, he didn't fall, even not one time. That means he calculated his way, and took note of the weight of his equipment. But I have still no idea if it is the number of victims or the time spent alive. Now, I will try something else. Since I know he is strong, a lot stronger even that a normal human under my curse. He will directly fight a small group of soldiers. OS

(Yes, just stop saying it that way. It is making me look like your servant. I am a god.)

A god I still don't know his specialty. And till you say it, I will keep asking.

(I get it, just go left, right, forward, forward, forward.)

Thank you, and how many?

(Only 5, that's the minimal number apparently. Anything with less is either a group of only magicians or only priests. And you don't want those.)

Absolutely. Come with me, my faithful number one. To victory. And by number one, I mean the only skeleton I have. I never manage to reach number two. But let's make it happen, shall we? A new group of soldiers. The same cowards that are talking about running and abandoning their jobs. Besides the first wave that was pretty enthusiastic about the idea of killing me, the rest is more human. Not at all fanatic praying Aria day and night, expecting the blessing to come. Just some normal human, wanting to leave this city as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I happened. And I came back.

So I activate the curse before they even see us. They are reacting, feeling that something is not right. They are on their guard now. Perfect. Let the game begins. At first, they don't react to my skeleton. I tasked him to not show his face before getting close. After seeing a fellow human, they begin to relax but are still puzzled by their sudden lethargy. And a bit curious about why a lone guard is roaming inside the sewers. Not like the first group that gladly embrace my servant, those peoples have their shields raised. And finally, one of them notice the trick. I really hoped my skeleton warrior could still attack them by surprise. But it won't happen.

The order that I give this time is to kill them all. Three are in front and two at the back have their swords pointed at my undead. They discarded their shields, have taken the sword with their two hands. Without the impact of my fear, I can see that they are still well trained. Even for the guards, I would say that they are one of the best troop. But now, I want to see what my skeleton is doing.

For the first ten seconds, he hasn't done anything. That's good. If he rushed toward the wall of shields, he would have been destroyed. Five swords hit are more than enough to at least cut some bones. But he has to obey me and kill them. He only has at his disposition a sword, a shield, and the surrounding. Unfortunately, there is no rock or anything nearby. Some lettuces only. Won't be able to inflict any damage with that.

Finally, he starts to move. And he stays just outside of the reach of the backline. And there, he keeps kicking the shields. That's one way to do it. It won't really do anything, but eventually, they will be tired. That's the main advantage of the undead, no need to sleep or eat. Attacking while factoring this is a proof of intelligence. Using his strength and targeting the weakness of the enemy. Very good.

But that small spectacle brutally ended after only one minute of kicking. The soldiers were aware of the long-term strategy and they forcefully charge toward the skeleton warrior. My servant, of course, retreat progressively, not letting the two additional soldiers in the back the possibility of an attack. Seeing the movement of the undead, the guards quickly exchanged the front line with the back line, letting three somewhat tired humans rest a little.

The main problem now is; can they hold for enough time to get some reinforcements. Because we are fighting and we produce a lot of noises. Yes, that inefficient. Now, I have seen that my skeleton is intelligent, his job is done. I show myself and immediately, the former slow movements are now stopped. I order my warrior to clean this and another five victims to his account.

But no level up again. Oslo, now finds at least 15 guards in the same group.

(That number is really high; I can find a fourteen-man team near but not anything else.)

That's enough. Probably that will be enough. I quickly rush toward their position. This time, I don't lose time in planning a trap or something like that. I immediately activate my cursed wind and provoke fear inside them. As usual, they are immobilized, like some cattle is brought toward a slaughterhouse. And my servant is the butcher in charge. And yes, my prediction was accurate.

Finally, the level 3 of this spell. I get close to the undead, to see the changes. Nothing? Do you mean only newly invoked skeletons will benefit from the upgrade? That's not good. I mean, they are supposed to be expendable in the first place. But they can at least evolve. Well sorry number one, you will have to wait.

-Don't worry master.

Yes, I will not worry. Wait, Oslo, why did you just call me master? Did you not say that you are the god and me the believer?

(It was not me; I think it is the skeleton that just talked.)

Nonsense, since when skeletons have Why is he weirdly looking at me?