Chapter 105: Minder

“ROOOAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR”

The ground shakes, the air trembles, and screams resound in the morning as Jessica and the Gejan who have been sleeping yell and jump into action. They unsheathe their weapons and look towards the sound, momentarily gaping at the sleek shape of a [Soaring Bone Dragon] roaring into the sky and causing the air to shimmer with mana.

On its back is Quasi Eludo, standing tall with his arms folded and a cocky smile on his face.

The dragon lowers its head, the mana in its skull pulsing a deep dark purple, a similar color to the [Necromancer’s] own eyes.

Almost in unison, the group turns to Orlan, the one responsible for keeping watch while they slept. He has skills that allow him to only need rest after several days. Going a few days without sleep would be fine for the Gejan. Orlan shrugs, doing his best to hide a smile at the same time.

The dragon raises its head and roars once more, forcing Jessica to cover her ears. She gives Quasi a glare.

Once the roar is finished, she sighs and fully stands up, pausing momentarily as her gaze finally settles on Mule and Joker. Joker looks like a monster from hell whose sole purpose is to brutally murder anything in its way.

And then there's Mule. Her mouth goes slack.

She slowly steps forward.

The others also begin to gape as their eyes fall on Mule.

Mule’s body has changed. He is larger, sleeker, and no longer bulky. His form now hovers above the ground as mana is constantly expelled through his back and crystalline protrusions on his arms and legs. Four wings of energy can be seen vibrating the air behind him.

Orbiting his position are dozens of disks as large as shields, spinning with potent and dormant energy so similar to the ones Quasi likes to use.

Its head turns, gazing at those now awake. A clear intelligence can be seen in its movement. It stops once it notices Jessica. Slowly, it floats in front of her and then lands on the ground. Mule takes a knee.

“Tch. Prick. You take a knee to her, but you ignore the shit out of me even though I’m the one supplying mana to you. And it's not some little amount, do you have any fucking idea how much mana a constantly flying--!”

Jessica ignores Quasi’s rant and steps forward, her arms tracing the exquisite designs now covering Mules entire body.

After a moment, she looks up to Quasi, finally done venting his rage. “How did yo-”

She stops as her gaze stops to look at the beach of the island. Corpses of monsters dott the crimson water, but her eyes are focused on the carriage sized crystals on the beach. There are enough crystals to buy an entire kingdom.

She quickly turns back to Mule and then notices that more than half of his body is crystal. Mule’s body alone contains more than most kingdoms would ever have in their treasury.

“Boom”

Eyes look up, finding Quasi looking annoyed as his hands come together for a loud and obnoxious clap.

“You can stare at Mule later. We need to get going,” he points down at the dragon he’s standing on, “so get on. We need to find the entrance to the next floor.”

The group nods, still staring at Mule who again takes flight under Jessica’s orders. They all board the back of the dragon, finding indented grooves and rails to help with staying on.

“Are you sure this is safe?” Aldonis asks warily as he sits on the ground and grabs a rail.

“No.” Jessica and Thorous voices at the same time before giggling.

“This is going to be fun!” Darrow exclaims, practically laughing with glee as he finds himself sitting next to Joker and a sleeping Peter.

Alba frowns, ”I’ve never flown before.” she says, taking a seat. Now that she thinks about it, she has never heard of a Centaur ever flying.

Once everyone is settled, Quasi takes no time to order the dragon to take off. The dragon moves towards one end of the island and turns towards the other end. Its wings lengthen to its full span before it begins running.

The air rushes past the group as its lengthy strides quickly reach the end of the island before the dragon jumps. A giant flap goes off and the air turns violent as the dragon begins to soar upward.

They begin to fly, the air rushing past them as they rise higher and higher.

The group looks out, staring in amazement at the sheer size of the ocean, stopping only to gape as Mule easily keeps up in the air.

“Hey! What's that?” Aldonis frowns, pointing down. Floating on the water are two destroyed corpses, both of which greatly resemble the dragon they are currently riding.

The group as a whole turn and look at the [Hero]

Quasi blushes, avoids eye contact, and then coughs into his hand.

“Third time's the charm.”

____________________________________

Yawning loudly, I look at the horizon, annoyed at the sheer size of the ocean. Granted, we have been flying for ten minutes so far with no landmass to speak of. I mean, sure. I can see crystal pillars glowing underwater, which I can only guess are dungeon stones, but nothing above the water for now.

“I should have slept a little.” I say softly while rubbing my eyes.

It was a good thing I tested the dragon before we flew. Minor inconsistencies caused it to veer off and crash into the water twice. Eventually, I found the problems in the wings and joints that were causing the tearing in the bone leather.

“Quasi, how did you do that?”

My thoughts are interrupted as I look at Jessica. Her finger is pointing directly at what I consider to be a masterpiece.

“Oh, Mule. Yeah. I upgraded him into an [Undead Archon]”

I take a moment to call up Mule's new status page.

Mule [Undead Gravity Archon] Level 322

This is a modified [Undead Archon] created by Quasi Eludo. This undead is currently one of a kind and has been modified extensively.

Due to extensive mental modifications, additional skills have been added. Due to the effect of [Artistic Talent], this undead has gained Greater Sentience.

Skills:

Knight’s Powerstrike

Impact dispersion

Minor Magic Resistance

Armored Charge

Armored Parry

Taunting Presence

Gravity Manipulation

Gravitational Flight

Greater Bone Levitation

Minor Bone Regeneration

Strength

122

Dexterity

186

Stamina

∞

Perception

213

Endurance

108

Intelligence

40

Mana Absorption

67/s

[Hardened Skeleton]- Endurance Increased by 25%

[Artistic Talent]- Greater True Sentience +40 Intelligence.

[Crystal Body]- Absorbs mana for magic usage.

[Bonechanting] - Obtained skill [Greater Bone Levitation]

-This undead is under the control of Quasi Eludo

One level. That's all I get for putting so much into making Mule. One fucking level of [Necromancer] and a few levels of [Enchanter], [Magic Bard], and [Bonelord]... and I guess two skills also.

But I don't care about skills right now. I am one goddam level away from a level two hundred [Necromancer]. One freakin level and I can upgrade my class to something better.

But noooo. Creating a monstrosity of magic and bone that can probably solo bosses is clearly not deserving of two levels.

“Fucking cheapstake system, how the fuck is this fair… ”

“Umm, what?”

I blink, remembering that I was asked a question.

“Right. Ok. Mule is now an [Undead Gravity Archon] which is apparently a third tier [Mage] of some form. At least, I think it is. Whatever. He cost almost all my mana to create and can now control gravity.”

Jessica slowly nods, now even more confused.

“What is gravity?” she asks.

I raise up an eyebrow in surprise before I realize the kind of world I’m in. This is a world of magic, understanding gravity as something more than a type of mana would very rarely come up, which is weird since [Gravity Mage] is a possible class the system gives. Then again, it could be that the class is very rare.

“Well, gravity is-”

“Gravity is one of the natural physical forces that affects reality on a grand scale. It is the attraction between all particles of mass and extends over an infinite distance. Despite increasing attraction at closer ranges, it remains dominant over macroscopic distances. ”

All eyes turn towards the speaker.

Mule hovers to the side of the dragon, his head is turned directly towards Jessica. Everyone but Quasi is gaping at him in utter surprise.

“Thank you, Mule, for that extremely helpful explanation, because I am completely sure that they understood everything you just said.”

“Did he just speak?” asks Thorous.

Oops.

“Right, I forgot to mention that he talks now.”

Everyones eyes turn to me and all I can do is shrug at their questioning gazes.

“He’s using gravity to create sound waves that mimic speech. It's a pretty advanced usage of skill if you ask me.”

“Negative, [Gravitational Speech] is not considered an advanced level skill.”

“Shut up, Mule! You’re not being helpful!” I yell at the undead.

“Cannot comply with order. Order ‘Shut Up’ is not a proper command.”

I roll my eyes in annoyance and throw up a middle finger towards the undead before laying down underneath a railing.

“I’m too tired to deal with you right now. I’m going to sleep. Wake me up if something interesting happens.”

As I close my eyes. I hear chatter near me, but I ignore it. Instead, I allow sleep to take me.

______________________________________

“Quasi…”

The [Hero] opens his eyes. He finds Jessica looking over him, frowning.

“We found something and it’s big.”

Quasi opens his mouth and yawns. He blinks quickly, taking a moment to wipe his eyes. He then licks his lips and takes a peek at the crystal light coming from above.

Three hours of sleep. Should be enough.

He leans up, taking stock of the situation around him. Overall, nothing immediate has happened, so he then gets up and turns his eyes in the direction everyone is looking.

They had reached the other side of the dungeon floor where a similar island is located as the one they had been on. On the island is a cave that most likely leads to the next floor.

“I figured as much. The entrances and exits of these floors seem to be on the complete opposites of the dungeon. This floor is no exception.” Quasi states, smiling as he looks at the entrance. Then he looks slightly down, towards the water and frowns.

A scaled serpent the size of a city is coiled under the water. Its fins twinkle with a clearly crystalline structure as it seems to slowly move and shift. Each movement creates waves that could sink destroyers.

Quasi gulps.

“[Advanced Analyze]” he says.

Khalaenas, Guardian of the Seventh floor. Level 436

Khalaenas is the defender of the Seventh floor. This monster was created to be the ultimate Aquatic predator. Its size makes it near impossible to kill and its ability to control currents with its mana allows it to move faster than any prey while also acting as a sonar for several dozen miles.

This monster is Dominated.

“Dominated.” Quasi says aloud as the serpent begins to move its massive body. Ever so slowly, the [Hero] watches as the monster’s head rises out of the water. A clearly serpentine head is revealed, but what is most surprising is that another monster seems to be attached to it.

The monster on top looks like a giant eel with tentacles, many of which seem to have penetrated Khalaenas scales. Its mouth is circular with razor sharp crystal teeth and it has three eyes on top of its head.

All three of them are currently staring at Quasi.

“[Advanced Analyze]” Quasi says, getting an immediate blink from the monster’s eyes upon the skills activation.

Awakened Aboleth Level 354

Aboleths are powerful psionic creatures that are able to dominate the minds of weaker prey and greatly weaken the capability of stronger prey. They are one of the most intelligent aquatic monsters and possibly one of the most dangerous.

This Aboleth has been enhanced by the dungeon and has had its psionic abilities drastically improved.

“Ahhh, fuck.” Quasi exclaims.

[Dominate Mind] Resisted.

“Double fuck,” he says as shakes his head. Someone had attempted to commandeer his mind, but had failed miserably.

“My head hurts.”

Quasi turns towards the sound, finding Alba and Jessica groaning… and the Gejan mindlessly jumping off the dragon.