Chapter 7 Abyssal Unification

'I'M SORRY, WHAT??'

[After your second Evolution, you were awarded a Skill Point.]

'Really? I had no idea. What are those for?'

[Skill Points can be used to upgrade Skills.]

'So I can upgrade any Skill I have using it?'

[Correct.]

'Ummm... Show me my Skills.'

Mark thought about which Skill to upgrade while his Revived Monsters defeated numerous Monsters.

'My strongest offensive Skills are "Corrupting Bomb" and "Infernal Breath". "Merging Bones" is also a very good Skill. Still...'

There was only one real option.

[You have used one Skill Point.]

[Your Skill "The Devourer's Corrupted Touch" is evolving...]

'Hope I get something good...'

[Two different Evolutions are possible.]

[Would you like to choose one? Otherwise, the System will choose at random.]

'I'll choose of course!'

[ The Skill's available Evolutions are:

1) The Devourer's Undead Army.

2) Evolving Guards of The Abyss.

]

'Can I get more info on them?'

[Negative.]

'The first one seems like an upgrade in the sense that I will be able to have a lot more Revived Monsters. The second one is different. Evolving Guards, huh? You can't have an army of guards, right? I'm not sure what that Abyss is, but I basically have the choice between an army of weak Monsters or a couple of strong ones.'

Mark made his choice a bit later.

'I don't want ants fighting for me.'

[Your Magic Skill "The Devourer's Corrupted Touch[C]" has evolved into "Evolving Guards of The Abyss[B+]".]

[You have obtained a new Title!]

[You have obtained the Title "Minor Lord of The Abyss".]

'What's that Title? Also what's new about my Skill?'

The next instant, bones hit the ground.

Mark turned around.

It was his Revived Monsters.

Unmoving bones on the ground.

'Shit... Did I lose them?'

[Correct.]

'So I don't bring back Skeletons anymore?'

[Correct.]

'What do I bring back? Tell me about the Skill.'

[ Evolving Guards of The Abyss [B+]: A Magic Skill that grants the ability to revive 3 dead Monsters by coming into contact with the remains of their body. Those Monsters will come back as Abyssal Monsters that will follow their Lord's orders. They shall be the Lord's Guards. The Guards Evolve after obtaining a certain number of Experience Points.]

Mark proceeded to use his new Skill on two of the bodies in front of him.

A dark and red aura rose from the bones.

That aura engulfed the two dead Monsters and expanded.

[You have brought back two Monsters from the dead.]

When it faded, two Monsters stood.

One was what looked like a red Orc.

'Scary...'

Black sharp horns were on its head.

It truly looked like the devil incarnate.

Its upper body was covered with armor made of bones.

The Orc had a long and thin tail.

The other Monster was a red wolf with black spots here and there on its pelt.

Its ribcage was protected by sturdy-looking bones.

'It lost those Ogre arms, but that's okay. They weren't useful in the first place. Had those arms been longer and able to reach in front of him, then they would have been a great addition. I bet you guys got stronger, huh?'

The Orc bent its body.

It took the Iron mace and the Wooden Shield on the ground.

'Picking up your weapons already, huh? Anyways, you two can go wild in a bit. For now, bring me either a dead Orc, Ogre or Small Golem. Go.'

The two Abyssal Monsters followed the order.

'I guess I'll use the third one on me...'

Mark put his paw on the Winged Kobold's Skeleton's unmoving body and used his "Merging Bones" Magic Skill.

The Skeleton's wings were separated from its body and were attached to Mark's.

He spread them wide and flapped them a bit.

After taking off, Mark fell to the ground a couple of seconds later.

'This is tough...'

[Congratulations!]

[You have developed a new Skill.]

[You have developed the Passive Skill "Aerial Movements[G]".]

Mark tried flying once more.

This time, thanks to his new Passive Skill, it was a bit easier.

'I hate this. This body is obviously not made to fly. At least, not using wings made of Kobold bones. There was that Body Modification... Demonic Wings? Maybe I'll get it. Anyways, this can help dodge attacks, I guess. I'll try to upgrade the Skill a bit.'

...

The Abyssal Orc came back shortly after.

It was pulling the body of an Ogre on the ground.

[Your Title "Minor Lord of The Abyss" is resonating with one of your Skills.]

[Your Unique Title "Evolving Monster" is resonating with one of your Skills.]

[Your Skill "Merging Bones" is resonating with two of your Titles.]

[A new Skill is being born...]

Mark waited, but no further message came.

'I guess this one will take some time. Anyways, good job.'

[You have brought back one Monster from the dead.]

The Ogre's green skin became red and two black horns appeared on its head.

'You too can go. Kill every Monster. Take these. Bring me back a bunch of small Monsters.'

The horned Monsters followed their Lord's orders.

'Too bad my Merging Bones Skill can't create armor. The wolf and the Orc only got armor because the bones were part of their old bodies...'

Right after that, the red wolf appeared.

With a dead Orc on its back, it was pulling another one from its mouth.

'Would you look at that... You're trying hard. Mm... I ordered you to get one, so how come you brought two? I guess it doesn't really matter. I'll use these two to strengthen your armor then.'

And as soon as Mark did touched the dead Monsters,

[A new Magic Skill is born.]

[You have developed the Magic Skill "Abyssal Unification"[C].]

The bones from the two Orcs extended the wolf's already existing armor.

It now covered its legs, neck and shoulders too.

'Looking good. What does that Skill do?'

[ Abyssal Unification [C]: The ability to fuse together two Abyssal Monsters that are your Underlings. The Skill can not be used on Unified Monsters.]

'No way... This is good. Really good. I'll soon have the ultimate Guards.'

Mark looked at his Revived Monster.

'I'm keeping you. The other two might get fused together though. Go. Defeat all the Monsters you see.'

The red wolf took off.

'Maybe I should name them. Although, that doesn't matter since I will be changing them and fusing them a lot...'

Mark ran in the direction the Orc and Ogre had taken.

'I have to fuse them now. Otherwise, it's wasted time and Experience Points...'

They were found pretty easily thanks to the "Demon Senses[D]" Passive Skill.

As soon as they noticed him, the two ran towards Mark.

Each one put a full Pouch in front of him.

They were full of diverse Monsters, but none that Mark hadn't seen before.

'That's good, but we'll take care of it later. Stand close to each other and give me a hand each.'

The two Monsters obeyed right away.

Their hands were basically touching.

The Infernal Hound Skeleton raised its paw and touched both hands at once.

Suddenly, the two Abyssal Monsters felt an extremely strong gravitational pull towards one another.

A red aura engulfed the two Monsters as they fused into one.

[You have used Abyssal Unification.]

[You have given birth to a new Abyssal Monster.]

[Your new Guard is a "Four-Armed Abyssal Ogre[E]".]

The red aura faded and the huge Monster appeared.

It was three meters tall and had red skin.

Its fangs looked fierce.

Four muscular arms.

Its upper body and legs were covered in bone armor.

A lone black horn was on its head.

The Monster took a knee in front of its Lord.

'You really look like a devil. How should I call you...'

The one-horned Monster raised its head towards its Master.

'Devil... Demons... Hell... Sinners...Oh. Sinners. Sin. That's your name from now on.'

[You have bestowed the name "Sin" upon one of your Guards.]

'Alright, Sin. You have four arms, so take these.'

Mark bought three Iron Maces and a Pouch.

'Don't forget to bring back some Monsters. A bunch of Hobgoblins and Winged Kobolds. Others don't interest me. Go wild.'

​ The Monster took the weapons gracefully and sprinted, happy to wreak havoc.

'So this is the form I could have evolved into... Although I would have been a normal Four-Armed Ogre. Anyways, this is tricky. I can only fuse Abyssal Monsters together. I have an uneven number of Guards. I can fuse the wolf with some other Monster, but I won't be able to fuse my third Guard, since my other Guards would, then, be Unified Monsters...'

...

[Your Passive Skill "Aerial Movement[G]" has evolved into the Passive Skill "Flight[F]".]

'Finally...This practice thing really isn't fun. Although it will come in handy for sure. I wonder when I'll be able to fly for real, in an open place... Anyways, those guys leveled up a lot. Hey, can I order my Guards from afar?'

[Yes.]

'I should have known... Alright, bring me a dead Black Wolf.'

The Revived Monsters took their time as Black Wolves weren't common, but both brought a Black Wolf of their own.

'I only needed one but this is good too.'

Mark revived one of the Black Wolves.

Two of Mark's Guards were now Abyssal Black Wolves, except that one of them had armor.

He fused both of them together.

'I wonder what this will result in... The Orc and the Ogre fusion resulted in an Ogre with the Orc's armor. The Orc's body must have been used to make Sin's second pair of arms...'

[You have used Abyssal Unification.]

Two ferocious heads stared at Mark.

[You have given birth to a new Abyssal Monster.]

[Your new Guard is a "Two-Headed Abyssal Wolf[E]".]

The Two-Headed Abyssal Wolf was twice as large as Black Wolves.

Its pelt was completely red.

Of course, it still had the bone armor that protected its shoulders and ribcage.

The Guard looked much tougher.

'Looks very cool. Let's hope it's strong too. Can I see his Status?'

[ Name: None

Species & Level: Two-Headed Abyssal Wolf Lv1 (0/400exp)

HP: 400/500

Endurance: 200/200

Mana Points: 400/400

Stats: Strength: 30

Agility: 29

Sense: 25

Vigor: 40

Endurance: 20

Mana: 40

Skill(s): Acute Senses.

Pierce.

Abyssal Bomb.

]

'Look at those Stats! You're strong and have a Mana Stat, this is perfect! Can I get info on that last Skill?'

[Abyssal Bomb[E+]: The user can shoot burning bombs made of Abyssal Flames. Mana Cost: 70 Mana Points.]

'Wow! This is really good! Alright... Umm? From now on, I'll call you Cer. From Cerberus.'

[You have bestowed the name Cer upon one of your Guards.]

Mark revived the last Black Wolf.

'Alright, Sin, Cer. You two can do as you want. Just stay away from the Guardian. As for you, stay with me.'

Mark fought various Monsters alongside his third Guard.

He let the Abyssal Black Wolf take all the Experience Points.

Mark did not kill one Monster.

He only weakened them to make sure his Guard could handle them.

Mark, of course, devoured the fallen Monsters.

...

Some time later,

[Your Guard has leveled up!]

[Evolution is available for your Guard.]

[Possible Evolutions:

1) Abyssal Dark Wolf.

2) Great Abyssal Wolf.

]