Chapter 404: Success Proof

Back in the crypt, a figure was dimly illuminated by crystal torches. This figure was Ed sitting on his throne.

The situation in the crypt had quickly stabilized and even with the constant influx of adventurers Ed was still able to make new outposts. This was all thanks to Trench and the other named skeletons.

'They did a good job managing everything' The regular white skeletons they used in battle were also the skeletons they had gathered for Ed. It was unfortunate that a good chunk of them perished in the recent battle but there were still more than enough for 10 or so outposts.

That was because there were 143 skeletons left over even after that short encounter. As for what types of skeletons these were turned into… A good chunk was turned into the bone brutes, but these brutes were also properly supported by armament skeletons.

The ratio was approximately 1 brute to every 4 armament skeletons. They were split up into 11 outposts. The rewards for each of these outposts varied but were quite good in Ed's mind. Most of the outposts had two or three magic weapons at suitable for C-class adventurers.

The amount of weapons changed with difficulty. The number of skeletons was not perfectly even for each outpost, it made sense to scale the reward.

'Now it's time for the upgrades' The outstanding skeletons had to be rewarded. That included Survivor who, although had perished, put up a good fight.

Still sitting on his throne, Ed called over every skeleton in the vicinity. They filled up the temple, but somehow it still felt rather empty. This was their undead city, but it was so barren. There were less than 30 skeletons in it.

'This won't do' Ed thought frowning inwardly. He wanted to upgrade all of these anti-skeletons and he would be doing just that, but their numbers had to be made up somehow. Some of them must have perished in his absence.

'I don't want to use some gathered skeletons from the future' Those skeletons were practically booked for the outposts.

'Using some to restore the numbers here means less outposts' He didn't have the opportunity to return often, or at least it was always too unpredictable.

Looking at the anti-skeletons all kneeling before him, Ed couldn't help but quickly assess them.

[Prairie (Sword Anti-Skeleton)]

[Brutus (Mace Anti-Skeleton)]

[Iron (Death Knight)]

[Scavenger (Sword Anti-Skeleton)]

[Pioneer (Sword Anti-Skeleton)]

[Callow…]

These assessments appeared useless at first glance, but Ed's reason for doing them quickly appeared before him.

[Trench (Earth Anti-Skeleton Mage)]

{ An undead mage harnessing the power of the earth and having affinity with death. Trench was also made a leader by their liege. }

The assessment seemed normal at first glance, but having scanned everyone else, Ed knew that there was a peculiarity in Trench's assessment. It was the death affinity.

'If I can turn him to a lich like the boss…' Then he could raise some simple undead and make up for some numbers. Even if these undead were for some reason temporary or extremely stupid, as long as the anti-skeletons didn't have to use the regular white skeletons as cannon fodder, Ed would be profiting.

The problem was how to do that. He hadn't killed any monsters that could summon others, never mind one that could raise them out of the ground. At most there were skills that called nearby monsters of the same species to assist.

'Hm? Wouldn't that be useful for gathering more skeletons?' Just like that, Ed was able to quickly start making plans for the anti-skeletons of both the mage and warrior types.

With that thought in mind, Ed grabbed the consciousnesses of the chosen named anti-skeletons and entered the system space.

[<(General) Rallying Cry lvl. 0> has been branded]

The rallying cry skill was branded into most of the named skeletons. They all usually had leadership positions and if they were in a bind, they could always try to get some fodder to help them out. Ed had no idea how they would hear the rallying cry, but it would surely be of help.

'Now I have to investigate the range and effectiveness of this skill' The range would determine just how useful it was. If the skeletons were affected, another thing was how intrusive it was and if the skeleton types could be more targeted.

If the rallying cry affected those already nearby, it would be nothing short of annoying. In fact, it could distract the nearby skeletons just enough for their opponents to attack and kill them.

'This is definitely an issue of skills downgrading when tied to a certain species' The effects couldn't be guaranteed to have the same effectiveness. Sometimes, the effects would be different altogether.

Apart from this rallying cry skill which Ed now had to put to the test, he also branded a couple of generally useful skills.

[<(Skeleton) Calcium lvl. 1> has been branded]

[<(Skeleton) Calcium lvl. 0> has been branded]

Ed found out that some magic moles had an extra skill related to the strength of their bones. Ed wasn't sure if it somehow helped them dig or what, but it certainly came in handy for skeletons.

[<(General) Fire Resistance lvl. 0> has been branded]

Fire resistance was a great skill to pass onto the anti-skeletons as they were susceptible to fire. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough ink to brand all the anti-skeletons with it.

Apart from these noteworthy skills, Trench, Blaze, even Drench who was seldom mentioned, all received skills more prone towards magic while the likes of Scavenger received skills geared for close combat and also mobility.

These skill upgrades didn't come alone however, they also included a boost in intelligence, or rather memory. Ed took the time to merge some skeletons consciousnesses into all the named ones.

With so many regular skeletons dying or losing their bodies to be made into brutes… Ed had a surplus of skeleton consciousnesses. If he didn't add it into the likes of Trench who were already showing great reliability where would he use them?

Creating new skeletons was well and good but if he wanted to reduce his losses investing in the skeleton's memory and intelligence was worth it.

'Their intelligence seems to be tied into their consciousness after all' While it seemed to vary, Kenny Jr. being an example, generally the skeletons would grow smarter with the increased health of their consciousness.

Ed speculated that this was simply due to having no brain. They were like pseudo-consciousness beings if they weren't ones already. Their intelligence was independent of a body.

With the basic housekeeping done, Ed now had to plan out something.

'How will I kill the humans?' The dungeon had warned him not to let go of the humans and it also sent him to the crypt with an agenda.

'No, how will I NOT kill the humans?' If he wanted Brennan to have an alibi, he needed some of them to be left alive after he put up a 'fierce resistance'. Though that also brought the question of how to make his act believable.

'Hmm… I can discuss this with W…' Now that they both had the spiritual mark skill and marked one another, a conversation was possible.

'W, can you hear me?' Ed transmitted, this was a long overdue test. Ed waited for a bit, holding in his excitement, and he held this excitement in for a while. Still, he did eventually hear a response.

'Yes I can' Was the response he received. He was elated but also disappointed.

'These transmissions across space have 5 minutes of delay' This was pretty fast considering the level of the skill but… it was very hard to hold an actual conversation with this much delay.

'Discussing simple matters could take an hour with this delay' It wasn't like a helpful discussion could take place within two or three exchanges.

It was troubling, but Ed quickly stopped viewing it as a problem. If he couldn't discuss it intently with W, he just had to inform him occasionally. W could offer tips and suggestions, while Ed could kill time by continuing to think about ways to improve his plans.

'Good, that'll do' With W being an insider, his plans could even be adjusted appropriately based on the actions of the humans.

Suddenly, Ed was feeling pity. He was trying to come up with a plan to NOT kill them, but he had to go through all this trouble.

Fortunately for the humans, Ed's skeleton body was relatively weak. By itself, it could compare to a peak B-class or bottom A-class individual which while fearsome, could still be killed with appropriate numbers.

The humans stood a chance to win against Ed, but that was in the scenario that he didn't bring his entourage of modified skeletons.

With them in the fray… winning was nothing but a dream.

'Ok, my failure plan needs a couple of things…' The first priority was how to leave his modified skeletons behind without alerting the dungeon.

'I don't think the dungeon can hear my thoughts without the system snitching' In that scenario he could work together with W to make it just so happen that he was caught with his pants down.

'The second thing…' To convince the dungeon he was trying his best, he still had to kill some combatants. With so many outposts scattered around, the odds of Ed having reinforcements in the area where the humans came from was high.

'The dungeon won't mind tactical retreats I am sure' Yes, this plan for failure was rather loose but… wasn't bad planning the best way to guarantee no results?

'If you fail to plan, you plan to fail' All of this would be worth it once Brennan could become king and Ed's knowledge could expand immensely.