The Undead King's ethereal form pulsed with energy as he hovered above Alex, his eyes gleaming with an intensity that sent a shiver down Alex's spine.
The dark energy in the air had thickened, curling around him like smoke, seeping into his skin.
This wasn't the usual aura that came from the king—it was something else, something dangerous.
...
[Undead King]
[Tier 4 - Level 150]
[Master: FateBreaker]
...
"Do you want power, human?" the Undead King rasped, his voice deep and foreboding.
Alex frowned.
The only other offers of power he heard about in his past life were those given by the [Gods] or [Hatred Demon].
"What are you getting at?" Alex asked, eyeing the king cautiously.
"Haha, I see, you're trying to do that?" Alphox laughed, "I heard anyone who received it died."
The Undead King's grin spread slowly as he grouped his arms together.
Ding!
[The Undead King is initiating the 'Undead King Curse'.]
[As it's master, do you accept?]
Curses aren't only negative: they could also help you out.
Getting the curse of the [Hatred Demon] for example would enhance your powers by a lot, granting you new perks and a whole range of skills.
But every curse had a side effect, no matter what.
The [Hatred Curse] of the hatred demon would force you to kill people to keep going, otherwise you straight up die.
And curses are extremely advanced rituals, meaning that it's not just your character in the game that dies: it is your soul.
If your soul dies, you die in real life too, that is something the curse givers didn't tell you, and how the [Hatred Sect] as well as the [Gods] tricked thousands of people into giving them power.
A price to pay for immense power.
Alex's heart skipped a beat.
It sounded insane!
But the thought of gaining more power, of having abilities that could push him past his limits—it was tempting.
"And what's the catch?" Alex asked, narrowing his eyes. "This doesn't seem like the kind of deal that comes without a price."
The Undead King chuckled darkly, "Ah, you're sharp, human. Yes, there is a price.
The merging of our essences will grant you power, but it comes with a counter curse. A side effect, if you will."
Alex clenched his fists, he didn't like the sound of that. "What kind of curse?"
The Undead King floated closer, his voice dropping to a low whisper, "A curse that will amplify certain... desires."
"Desires?" Alex's brow furrowed, his gut twisting with unease.
This sounded more and more like a bad idea, but he knew what his options were.
Without more strength, his progress in the dungeon would soon stall.
He could feel it—the monsters were getting tougher, and he wasn't getting stronger fast enough.
Still, he had to know, "What kind of desires?"
The Undead King's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Let's just say... I was not always an undead king. When I lived, I was an incubus, Alex."
Alex blinked. "You were a what?"
The king's grin widened, and he said no more.
"Haha-" Alphox laughed, "You should have seen him back then!"
"You should manage with your new army," the king smiled as he faded away, "Doing that used too much energy, I hope you can manage everything else yourself."
"Sure," Alex sighed, and now only Alphox remained beside him.
"Hm..."
Swiftly ignoring him, Alex opened up the new 'Undead Lord' talent panel.
...
[Undead Lord Talent (B-Rank)]
[Max Skeletons: Increased to 100 skeletons.]
[Stat Scaling: Skeletons now have 50% of Alex's stats (Max reached)]
[Summoning a single skeleton now costs 1,000 mana, no matter the type.]
[Mass Resurrection: Ability to summon all 100 skeletons at once for 100,000 MP.]
- - - - -
[Greater Skeleton Upgrade: Every fifth skeleton summoned is a Greater Skeleton with enhanced stats and abilities.]
[HP: 15,000]
[Strength: 3,000]
[Defense: 3,000]
[Cost: 5000 Mana]
- - - - -
[NEW UNIT: Bone Knight: Every 20th skeleton summoned is a Bone Knight, a heavily armored skeletal warrior.]
|HP: 20,000]
|Strength: 4,500]
[Defense: 4,000]
[Cost: 7500 Mana]
- - - - -
[NEW UNIT: Spectral Wraith: Every 30th undead summon will be a Spectral Wraith, a ghostly, agile assassin that phases through physical attacks.]
[HP: 10,000]
[Strength: 7,000]
[Agility: 6,000]
[Spirit: 5,000]
[Special Ability: Phase Shift – Can become intangible for 5 seconds, avoiding all damage.]
[Cost: 10,000 Mana]
...
"Holy..."
"Impressive!"
[Your favorability with "Alphox" has yet again increased!]
With this, he could truly become an undead lord!
Ding!
[All your skills will evolve once.]
This meant that he wouldn't need to use any skill points for all his abilities to increase to the [Advanced] tier!
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Alex was excited to see what his newly upgraded skills would look like.
After all, each [Advanced] skill required 50 skill points to evolve!