Chapter 314: Revelations about the higher undead

Moving closer, the other two looked between Eldrian and Pelaros, then patted Pelaros's shoulder to calm him down. One on each side. Pelaros seemed to be quite traumatized by not getting an answer and needing to wait who knows how long.

"I guess you are going to need to wait a bit more before you can get your answers," Katania said, causing Pelaros's muscles to twitch in frustration. 

"Why are you so pumped?" Evale asked, poking at one of Pelaros's bulging muscles. It fighting to escape the confines of his deep red Akro, the cape-like clothing they all wear to cover their horse half. 

Taking a deep breath to calm down, which was made harder by Evale's poking and teasing. Pelaros turned to face Evale with a frown. "Stop that." He said, which she refused.

In the end, he had to shapeshift back into his human form. Her finger landing on his chest on the next poke. 

"That worked," Evale said with a smile, seemingly having experienced this more than once. Seeing how Pelaros was not angry, just irritated, Katania released a long sigh of relief. Having thought Evale had gone mad for a moment. 

Most of the time she too forgot that Pelaros was in fact royalty, however, she had quickly recalled what could happen when he was irritated. 

"So... Now what?" Evale asked after giving Pelaros a few seconds to regain his composure. Her question caused his face to twitch in irritants. Luckily Eldrian did not stay out for nearly as long as before. 

"That didn't work," Eldrian sighed, knowing why it didn't. He had thought he had grabbed onto something crucial, and he still believed so. However, knowledge without meat did little. 

My emotions aren't something I can control. While he did manage to slightly stir the fiery orange aurora, his aura of wrath. He did not manage to do more than let it flicker a little. 

This had both confirmed his suspicion and also left him with no way of improving further. He had no idea how to go about stirring the other, and he did not have a clear enough memory to send himself into a rage for the one he had managed to stir.

Rather, he had none which he wanted to recall. And for good reason.

Still, as he mulled his thoughts, a smile grew on his face. He had a feeling he now knew how to call upon the aura of wrath. While he might become lost as the system warned in its description, it was still something that might change the tables. 

More importantly, unlike when he over immerses, or whatever really happened when he slows time, he felt quite confident this method was not as dangerous. For he at least knew what to expect, he had felt both auras before. 

At most, the damage should be emotional, not soul-like. The latter being the one he was most worried about as it was the one that could cause him real harm. He could always work through emotional trauma. 

What am I thinking?  Eldrian asked himself as these thoughts went through his head.  How can I consider emotional trauma trivial? Has the game truly skewed my perception of normalcy so greatly?

No one bothered Eldrian as he questions himself and his thoughts. While Pelaros really wanted an answer, he was willing to wait. Especially after being teased by Evale about his impatience. 

It did not happen often, and few had seen him lose his cool like that. Especially when considering how trivial the interruption actually was compared to what was going on outside. 

However, isn't it normal to be willing to undergo trauma to save someone?  Eldrian countered his own argument, finding again that the true problem was that he was too weak. That he had to rely on extremes. 

No more messing around, however long it takes before we reach the corrupted area, I am going to only train. He told himself, hoping that it would be at least a week. Else this conviction would be quite laughable. 

Taking a deep breath, he finally looked up at the two centaurettes and Pelaros. All of whom were looking at him with batted breath. 

"Have you figured out what I thought you knew?" Eldrian asked while looking Pelaros in the eyes, who was just slightly taller than him in his human form.

"That auras might be something more complex than we believed. I had had a few suspicions, it being related to souls was one of them." Pelaros replied calmly, his previous agitation nowhere to be seen. 

"Anything else?" Eldrian asked, causing Evale to nearly burst out laughing. Finding the turn of events beyond hilarious. Especially when she thought of how it was a Tier 2 elf asking the questions to a Tier 8 centaur. 

Pelaros pondered for a few minutes, Eldrian used that time to more firmly cement his next plans. He would not leave the encampment if possible, using every second to train his control of magic. He realized that while training his spear skills were important, he could do that IRL or in the virtual home. 

Beyond that, skills were hard to learn. Being a mix of magic and technique, the latter going to be the thing hardest to improve in a short time. Trying to learn skills will slow down his overall growth. While he certainly did not want to be a fragile mage, he needed a fast boost. 

"I had thought it might be something to do with conviction or another type of magic entirely. Similar to the magic of devils which influence a person directly."

Eldrian nodded and then said, "The reason I said I feel that auras can be earned, is because I have one." He paused, allowing it to sink in. For them, it meant he was a possible hero, however it was more than that. He was one who would not die in battle.

"However, I do not know how to access or use them. But..." Eldrian paused, "I think that they are actually not a singular thing."

"What do you mean?" Pelaros asked, the centaurettes choosing to not interrupt with their own questions. They had many, but most being curiosities more than true questions. Katania in fact just wanted to ask him about what his soul was like. 

"It is indeed a conviction, but more than that, it is the feeling that arises for your conviction. This conviction must be so strong that your soul will have it burned into it. A conviction your soul will carry even when you are dead."

A moment of silence followed this, with Pelaros suddenly understanding. "That's it, that is where the name must come from!"

Looking at him questioningly, Pelaros soon continued after sorting his own thoughts. "It makes sense now, we always called the unwilling, those who had been turned into undead without their consent, The Unwilling."

"However, the reason for the name was just that. That they did not wish for undeath, however, I now realize just how great their unwillingness must be."

"The process of creating higher undead, such as those who become The Unwilling or Higher undead is unknown. However, it is safe to assume that there must be conditions for it."

Everyone nodded hearing this, it was a simple deduction. Often when wars happen with undead the fallen soldiers would be brought back in undeath. However, they would all be simple zombies, a max of Tier 4. No matter how strong they were in life. 

Thus there must be special conditions for making An Unwilling. 

"These conditions, however, what if one of them is a great hatred for the undead? Such a hatred that would persist in the soul even after death?" Pelaros proposed. 

"What about those who become higher undead?" Evale asked just to fill the dead air. 

"Naturally they must have a great fear for dying, wishing to prolong their life in any possible way," Pelaros said as if the meaning should be clear. 

"So... You are saying that if someone was indifferent, then what?"

Shrugging, Pelaros replied, "Either the undead creation fails, or they simply become a lower undead. In either case, it makes far more sense why the Unwilling and Higher undead are so scarce."

"Because not only are there physical and magical conditions to be met, but also an emotional one?" Eldrian said, nodding as he found this highly likely. Especially when considering the fact that each and every higher undead seemed to have an aura of some sort. 

At least all three he knew of had some type of aura. Auras also seemed to not need to be an aura. It could also be condensed inside a person, with only some of it escaping. 

The first aura he had encountered was that of a revenant. The typical aura that affects all who were inside of the. The second was that of a lich, capable of bringing corpses to life with the wave of its hand. 

The third, and probably the most dangerous as Eldrian was concerned, was that from a ghoul. Thinking back he realized that it was similar to that of a revenant, except condensed to a point where it became a venom. Directly plunged into its prey, attacking their soul with full force. 

Wait, what about the flaming revenant?  Eldrian asked as he recalled those skeletons. Thinking back, he failed to find what their aura was, however, he was certain they must also have one. 

As he thought of this he also recalled the Alpha, whose aura had healed those of its pack. It might be the strangest aura of them all, and one of the best a commander could have.