The gray expanse of the desolate land stretched out before Alex as he stepped out of the mist of the [Undead Land].
Dead trees stood crooked like skeletal fingers grasping at the sky, and brittle grass, colored an unnatural gray, crunched beneath his feet.
"Can you take me back?" Alex asked, turning to Alphox, who still hovered beside him, his enormous form casting a long shadow across the landscape.
The dragon turned its cold eyes to him, then without so much as a second glance, said, "No," before vanishing into his [Shadow Pet Space].
"Damn."
Alex sighed, his breath curling in the cold, desolate air.
Alphox had saved him from the [Undead Warlord] not too long ago, but there was something about the dragon that made him uneasy.
It was difficult to think he would need to keep that dragon around for long...
Shaking off the thought, Alex turned his attention to the glowing notification still hovering in front of him.
His fingers twitched as he opened the details of the newly acquired skill he extracted from the warlord.
...
[Undead Skill: Aura of Death]
[Description: Grants surrounding undead allies a deathly aura that increases attack damage by 100% and defense by 200% for 30 seconds. Can only be applied to undead creatures summoned by the caster. Cooldown: 1 minute.]
...
Alex blinked in surprise. "Huh... so I can buff my skeletons just like that?"
It was strange, but also incredibly useful.
If his minions could grow stronger through skills, then they might actually be able to help him out more and not remain powerless against strong foes.
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. Experience magic on m-vl-e-mpyr
This could change his entire strategy.
He made a mental note to experiment with the skill as soon as possible.
After dealing with the skill, Alex shifted his attention to the attribute points he had gained from leveling up.
Without hesitation, he dumped all of them into Spirit to maximize his mana pool and magic skills damage.
Satisfied with his decision, he quickly glanced at his status window:
...
[ID: FateBreaker]
[Level: 37 (21,470/28,000)]
[Occupation: Mage; Assassin]
[Class: Unparalleled Mage; Beginner Assassin; Apprentice Undead Lord]
[Talent: Extraction (SSS); Undead Lord (E)]
[Pets: Alphox (Primordial Shadow Dragon, Tier 4)]
[Attributes: Vitality 736; Strength 1932+ 1500; Agility 932 + 1000; Spirit 3557 + 1000]
[Skills: Grand Fireball lv9 (Intermediate); Crimson Shard lv7 (Intermediate); Boulder Smash lv7 (Intermediate); Stone Barrier lv2 (Intermediate); Inferno Tempest lv2 (Intermediate); Lightning Bolt lv1 (Intermediate); Poison Resistance (Passive); Aura of Death (Undead).]
...
By the way, skills, whatever their rank are or how much damage they do are always spread between 5 categories: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, High-tier and Max-tier.
Every skill starts at [Basic] tier, no matter what, through upgrading it with skill points and mastering its usage, it will evolve.
Most of Alex's skills were Intermediate, meaning they could still be evolved three times before reaching the max.
Alex's eyes widened.
This was a game-changer.
He quickly opened his [World Map], which expanded in front of him in a translucent blue overlay.
As the map unfurled, he noticed new glowing dots had appeared on it—each marking a location he had already visited.
There were exactly five available points:
[Dawn City]
[Undead Temple]
[Toxic Forest]
[Novice Village 666]
[Undead Land]
Excitement surged through him.
Alex didn't hesitate.
He clicked on [Dawn City]
[Do you want to fast travel to 'Dawn City'?]
"Yes!"
In an instant, the world around him warped.
He felt a brief sensation of weightlessness as the desolate land disappeared, replaced by the bustling streets of [Dawn City].
He had appeared right by the entrance!
The city's towering walls loomed in the distance, and the familiar hum of life filled the air.
"Hey, that guy just appeared out of nowhere!" someone muttered nearby.
"Are you dumb? He probably used a teleporter," another scoffed.
Alex ignored them, too preoccupied with the implications of his new ability.
What he had just gotten was something beyond anything possible.
With only two [World Maps] in the entire world of Universal Descent (3 counting his), it means that only three people were able to do that.
The only other way players can travel easily was either: from a fast pet, using a vehicle, or using a [Teleporting Warp].
For example, shops in [Dawn City] sold [Dawn City Warps], which you could use to instantly teleport back here if you're outside of battle.
But using those was expensive, and each use consumed one, meaning you couldn't do it infinitely.
Without wasting time, Alex opened the map again and clicked on [Novice Village 666].
Another flash of light, and he was standing at the entrance to the small village he had first started in.
He repeated the process, testing each location, then teleporting back to [Undead Land], right in front of the black mist he had just escaped from.
Every time, the teleportation was flawless—seamless, instantaneous.
Finally, he returned to [Dawn City] and let out a long breath.
This perk was the real deal.
After unlocking a new location, he could teleport there anytime, no longer constrained by the slow travel methods of others.
"Alright," Alex murmured to himself, opening the map once more, his eyes lingering on the distant dot marked [Toxic Forest].
He needed to cross that place while the event was happening again if he wanted to reach [Bell City] and continue his journey.