Silas fought the Gashadokuro for several more rounds and still couldn't land a single hit.
By now he was breathing hard, sweat running down his neck, but his grip on his sword never loosened. Thunder, space, water, gale, and ice circled around him, buzzing in time with every pulse of his heart.
Draven watched from the side, his hands clenched. He wanted to step in and help, but he knew better. This was Silas's fight. He could also tell by now that the Gashadokuro wasn't trying to kill him, it was just testing him. Still, Draven didn't want to see him get hurt.
Silas's mana was almost gone. Only 154 points left.
He gritted his teeth, then made a choice. He sent his sword back into his space pouch and reached in for something else. He pulled out the beautiful pen.
The moment it appeared, the atmosphere in the hall changed.
Even the Gashadokuro flinched. The massive skeleton looked at the pen with real wariness, and its huge body actually shook.
Silas moved the pen through the air. It flared with a bright golden-white light, so brilliant that the whole throne room turned white. The light condensed, and the pen reshaped itself into a long feather pen.
Silas's eyes turned the same golden white.
He wrote on the void itself.
A powerful voice rang out inside the throne room, not from Silas's mouth but from the world. The pillars shook. The air grew heavy. Even the divine elements around Silas trembled.
Both Gashadokuro and Draven stared at him with wide eyes.
A slow smile spread across the boss monster's skull.
Silas wrote while the deep voice announced the every words he wrote in the void,
(Year 10232, Luminus Calendar. Month of the Wolf, 22nd day.
Silas, the owner of Gashadokuro, has appeared in the Labyrinth of Gashadokuro. Take control of him.
Gashadokuro submits to its new master...)
"Ephemeral Edict!"
The skill activated on its own.
The pressure became so heavy that Draven dropped to one knee instantly, unable to stand. The same weight slammed down on the Gashadokuro. The giant skeleton's knees buckled and its huge body crashed to the ground, the marble cracking under it. It looked up at the figure standing before it, and its soul-fire trembled just from meeting Silas's gaze.
Silas stood in the center of it all, feeling immense power flooding through him. His whole body shone with that golden-white light.
Draven looked up at him from the floor and grinned despite the pressure. This was his boyfriend, the one who had gained this terrifying power after his class changed.
Silas looked down at the kneeling Gashadokuro and spoke only one word.
"SUBMIT!"
The Gashadokuro bowed its massive head low to the ground. He was afraid, yes, but inside, his dead heart felt something like joy. The new master he was about to serve was just as terrifying as his old one.
Although he couldn't remember his old master's face, Gashadokuro still remembered exactly how terrifying he was.
Silas looked down at the huge skeleton kneeling before him.
"Master," Gashadokuro said, his deep voice echoing. "I submit to you."
A green magic circle flared to life above the monster's skull. At the same time, Silas's right hand burned hot as an identical circle branded itself onto his palm. The seal snapped into place, and Silas felt the authority settle over him. He could command Gashadokuro now, absolutely.
With the seal formed, the level 50 dungeon boss became one of Silas's trump cards.
The time limit ticked down in his head. 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
The feather pen reappeared in Silas's hand from the void, and the golden words he had written faded away like they were never there. The bright light vanished, and his eyes faded back to their normal dark color. But the aura of dominance didn't leave. It clung to him like a cloak, so dense and heavy that even a level 90 being on this planet would feel shaken standing near him. It was the lingering effect of the skill.
Silas suddenly swayed, dizzy from the mana drain. Draven was there instantly, pushing through that crushing aura like it was nothing. A thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth from resisting the pressure, but he still caught Silas from behind and held him steady.
Silas turned and saw the blood, and his chest tightened. He immediately pulled the lingering aura back into himself and cupped Draven's face with his hand.
Draven just shook his head with a small smile, telling him he was okay.
They both turned to look at Gashadokuro, who was still bowing his head to the floor.
"Stand up," Silas commanded.
The giant stood in one smooth motion and looked at Silas with pure reverence. After the magic circle, his loyalty belonged to Silas and Silas alone.
Silas studied him. The most interesting thing wasn't his level or his size. It was that Gashadokuro was something Silas recognized from Earth.
The Gashadokuro is a giant skeleton spirit from Earth's folklore, said to be formed from the collected bones of people who died from starvation or in battle without proper burial rites, especially soldiers left on the field. When the resentment in those bones builds over years, they fuse into a single colossal skeleton, often fifteen times taller than a person, that roams the countryside late at night.
It is invisible until it is too close, and is known by the chilling clattering sound of its teeth and bones. The creature hunts lonely travelers, silently reaching down to snatch them up and bite off their heads to drink their blood, driven by the endless hunger it felt in life.
And in this case someone dressed it in a general's black and gold robes and a tarnished crown, turning a pile of the dead into a single, thinking king of skeletons.
Silas finally asked the question that had been burning him. "Can you tell me how much you know about the Book? And tell me everything about your master."
Gashadokuro lowered his head. "Master, I do not know much about the 'Book'. I only knew of its existence because my old master owned it."
"As for my old master, I do not remember much about him. I cannot even remember his face. I only remember the day he ordered me to wait inside this dungeon for you. He said someday someone would come to take me with him, and that person would be the new owner of the 'Book'."
Silas watched him closely. He could tell the monster was speaking absolute truth. There was no lie in those words.
He asked again, his voice lower. "Then who are you? Why is something I know from my past life here?"
Draven's head snapped toward Silas, confused. Past life? What past life? Was Silas not from this world?
Gashadokuro answered simply, "My old master created me."
Silas's eyes widened. "Created you?"
"Yes, master," Gashadokuro said. "I do not know how he did it, but my master truly created me."
Gashadokuro continued, "Not just me, master. He created countless skeleton generals, captains, and even soldiers."
Silas frowned. Draven stayed right beside him, his arm still around Silas's waist to help him stand.
"Are the things we just fought and killed all made by your master?" Silas asked.
Gashadokuro shook his huge skull. "No, master. They are just a bunch of copies. My master's creations are perfect, like me."
Silas was about to reply when a sudden notification rang clear in his head.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host, for subduing the monster created by the last owner: 'Gashadokuro'.]
[Gashadokuro's status is sealed by the last owner. The System is now granting you the Lifting Talisman for the First Seal.]
A small golden seal materialized in Silas's palm, warm to the touch. He stared at the monster in confusion. This terrifying thing he had just fought, the one he couldn't even touch, was actually still sealed by the previous owner?
He let out a slow breath. "I'm going to lift your first seal. Be ready."
Both Draven and Gashadokuro looked at him, Draven with confusion, Gashadokuro with complete reverence.
Silas raised his hand, and the golden seal floated up and landed gently on Gashadokuro's forehead.
The moment it touched, the seal broke.
A terrifying aura, the true pressure of a level 90 being, exploded through the hall. The marble floor split, the fire torches almost went out, and the air turned to lead.
Silas reacted instantly. He released his own lingering aura of dominance, the aftereffect of Ephemeral Edict that could shake even level 90s, and used it to meet Gashadokuro's pressure head on, shielding Draven so he wouldn't get hurt.
When the light faded, Gashadokuro had changed. He was even bigger now, his bones thicker and darker, his crown sitting straighter on his skull, and faint runes of power glowed along his ribs. Some of his locked skills had returned too.
Silas looked up at the true form of his new servant and murmured,
"Divination."
Silas's Divination window opened in front of his eyes.
[ Gashadokuro (Folklore from Earth, created by the last owner of 'Arcanum Universa')
Level: 90 (Sealed)
Strength: 543 (sealed)
Stamina: 400 (sealed)
Agility: 487 (sealed)
Mana: 720 (sealed)
Intelligence: 200 (sealed)
More stats will be released when the owner completes his next class change.
Skills:
1. Rage Strike: Can strike the enemy using his black katana with ten times its normal power.
Restriction: can be used every 15 seconds.
2. Summon Legion: Can summon his own legion to fight.
Restriction: for now, only 1,000 Skeleton Generals at Level 80, 20,000 Skeleton Captains at Level 70, and 400,000 Skeleton Soldiers at Level 50 can be summoned. ]
Silas stared at the terrifying status screen, his eyes going wide in surprise.
Draven leaned in, worried by his expression. "What is it?"
Silas told him everything, reading the numbers out loud.
The more Draven heard, the wider his grin became. He didn't know all the details about Silas yet, about the Book or his past life, but he understood this much perfectly. Silas had just gained a huge army of his own.
He squeezed Silas's waist and laughed quietly. "With this, the war against those higher ranking nobles just got a lot easier for you babe."
Gashadokuro dropped to one knee in front of Silas, the floor cracking under his weight, and bowed his crowned head.
"What is your order, my lord?"
Silas just shook his head. "For now, I don't have any orders for you. I can't take you out like this. You're... you're too big."
The giant skeleton looked up at him. "Master, I can become invisible if you wish."
Silas nodded. "Then become invisible. I'll call you when I need your help."
Gashadokuro immediately bowed deeper, his violet eyes flaring once in acknowledgment. Then his massive body faded like smoke, disappearing completely in front of the two of them.