His eyes landed on the culprit: a skeleton holding a bow, already nocking another arrow.
This time, seeing it coming, he was able to dodge. He glanced at where the first arrow had hit him; it hadn't even penetrated his bandages. He was tougher than he thought.
Near the skeleton archer, he saw a pile of bones. Out of nowhere, their skulls glowed red and the bones began to clatter together, reassembling into standing forms.
He looked back to where he had come from. 'Will the ones I smashed wake up too?... No, it must just be the skull.' Seeing how they formed from the head, he tightened his grip on the hammer as the newly-formed skeletons began to run toward him, producing a humorous sound of bones clanking.
Clank~!
Crank~!
He chuckled a bit, a dry, rasping sound, and began to run, hefting the heavy hammer to meet the skeletons in the middle of the hall.
He started his swing before they were even in range, knowing the weapon's momentum took time. By the time the arc descended, the skeletons were upon him.
The hammer caught one square in the skull, shattering it to dust. The blow's follow-through caught another in the ribcage, shattering its spine, but he noticed the skull still glowed red and saw the bones twitch.
He promptly stomped on it, crushing the skull. 'So easy...?' It was surprising how fragile a human skull could be.
[You've killed a Level 1 Skeleton]
[You've killed a Level 1 Skeleton]
He ignored the messages as he dodged another arrow. He noticed now there were two skeleton archers, and more were forming from bone piles further down the hall. A grim smile stretched beneath his bandages. 'Bring it on.'
And he began swinging, even wilder.
He was genuinely having fun. As he smashed and bashed skulls, a dark sense of liberation washed over him. After being trapped with only his own tormented thoughts for so long, it felt profoundly good to unleash violence on someone else. He doubted skeletons counted as people, which made it even better.
As he smashed through the horde, he noticed some required a double-back; his first blow would shatter their bodies, but a second was needed to crush the stubbornly glowing skulls. He was wondering if he needed more force when the next message made everything clear.
[You have killed a Level 2[T1] Skeleton]
[You have gained Exp]
So, the tougher ones were a higher level. It made sense. He adjusted his strategy, putting more power into his swings.
[You have leveled up to Level 3]
[All stats increased by 1]
[2 Unallocated stats]
The rejuvenating energy surged through him, a fresh wave of strength that made the heavy hammer feel lighter in his hands. He roared, a sound of pure fury and joy, and waded back into the fray with even more brutal force.
.
.
.
Time passed in a whirl of splintering bone and clattering collapses. Iskar continued his undead-on-undead violence, feeling more free and powerful than ever. The arrows from the skeleton archers thudded into him, but they merely bounced off his toughening bandages, doing little more than annoy him. He was a force of pure destruction in the dark hall.
He continued mowing down the skeletons until he reached the other side of the hall. Finally, only the two archers remained.
Clink!
An arrow bounced off his chest. He locked his gaze on the skeleton archer, stretched out his hand, and focused.
[Absorb]
A thin stream of energy, cold and sharp, flowed from the skeleton into his palm. The skeleton's form wavered, then collapsed into a lifeless pile of bones.
[+1 Physical Power]
[You have killed a Level 2[T1] Skeleton]
He looked at the final archer and wasted no time, repeating the process. The skeleton almost seemed to shrink, its posture wilting in a way that looked... sad.
It gave the impression of a foe that had no way to beat him, which was surprising. They were both Level 2, and he was only Level 3; the gap didn't seem that big. 'Maybe their inherent physical strength is just that low?'
[+1 Physical Power]
[You've killed a Level 2[T1] Skeleton]
[You have leveled up to Level 5]
[All stats increased by 1]
[2 Unallocated stats]
He finally checked his status again.
═══════════════════
Name: Iskar Sirius
Age: 1[Body] 10000[Soul]
Race: Primordial Undead [Mummy]
Level: 5 (1%)
Overall Tier: 1 [F](Lower Realm)
═══════════════════
Physical Power: 19 > 22[F]
Magical Power: 18 > 21[F]
Spirit: 11 > 14
Energy: 110 > 140
═══════════════════
Unallocated points: 6
He was growing steadily, even though he was still in Tier 1. He wondered what Level he needed to reach to advance.
Seeing the 6 points, he felt it was fair to distribute them evenly. He allocated 2 to each primary stat.
Physical Power: 22 > 24[F]
Magical Power: 21 > 23[F]
Spirit: 14 > 16
Energy: 140 > 160
Unallocated points: 0
Seeing the growth, he smiled, a dry crackling of bandages. The direct increase in his Energy pool confirmed his theory: it was dictated by the Spirit stat.
Now feeling fully strengthened and renewed, he pushed open the next door. It revealed a descending staircase. But before he could descend, he saw drawings etched into the wall.
He saw a crude stick figure walking down beneath a temple. Deep inside the temple was a symbol... a sun? He couldn't tell. It looked like a sun, but in front of it stood a larger figure... the stick man... destroyed the sun... and the temple crumbled, setting him free.
He didn't know if he was interpreting it correctly, but it certainly sounded like the way out.
Following the drawings down, he noticed more details. The larger figure from before was a female, seemingly a queen. The next panel showed her being overwhelmed by a flood of undead... and a group of 11 figures turning their backs, abandoning her... The queen was then sealed below...
He paused. 'Just how strong is this thing I'm going to have to fight?'
He finally reached the end of the stairs. The moment he entered the new chamber, he didn't get a chance to survey the room before he saw... what he was sure was a ghost. It was a translucent, wispy figure, floating just above the ground.
He swung his hammer fast, the motion easier now with his increased strength. But when it landed on the creature's head...
Swish.
The hammer passed through the phantom's head as if it were smoke.
"What the hell!?"