The shadow that emerged from the ground twisted like living smoke, shaping itself into the spectral form of the Ghost Wizard I had just defeated. In an instant, the Ghost Wizard floated in front of me. Unlike before, he was not an enemy. Now, he was waiting for my orders.
[A skill has evolved thanks to a Stigma.]
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[Skill Details!]
Skill Name: Summon
Description: You can choose between summoning Skeleton Soldiers or Ghost Wizards. Each summon has a mana cost based on your Level and Power. The more powerful the summons, the greater the Mana consumption. If your Mana is depleted, all Summons will disappear.
Strength: 10
Speed: 10
Physical: 5
Magic Power: 5
Rank: Bronze
(Iron < Bronze < Silver < Gold < Platinum <…)
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It seemed that instead of my Summons evolving separately, they evolved equally and shared the same characteristics and attribute points.
Therefore, the Ghost Wizard, who had low physical power and high magic power, received a small upgrade to his attributes when he was "revived" by me. On the other hand, the Skeleton Soldiers, who had no magic power, also gained magic power.
Would this improve their damage, or would it only change something if they had some kind of magical physical damage skill?
Either way, this form of collective evolution was very good for me because it meant that when I became very strong, all my Summons would be powerful too, and not just soldiers to make up numbers in a large army.
I wasn't one to get excited, but didn't that give me terrifying potential?
Imagining a future where all my Summons were Rank-S level was exciting.
"So now I can choose what kind of soldier I'm going to use..." I muttered, arms crossed in thought.
The Skeleton Soldiers had swords for close combat, while the Ghost Wizards had the advantage of long-range attacks and magic. However, summoning several of them at once would drain my mana quickly.
What I needed to do was really focus on increasing my mana, perhaps by increasing my Intelligence?
While I didn't have time to think carefully and patiently about what I should do next, I used some of my Soul Fragments to level up.
This restored all my stats, including my MP.
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[Congratulations! You have reached level 5!]
Since it didn't matter whether I was at a higher or lower level to buy Attribute Points — because what mattered was the amount of points I had in the attribute I wanted to evolve — I thought the best thing to do now was to restore my mana so I could move forward.
+
When I felt refreshed from the level up, I summoned Ban again. My oldest Skeleton Soldier rose from the ground beside me.
Then, my eyes turned to the Ghost Wizard. He was still floating there, waiting for an order.
"Do you understand me?" I asked the Ghost Wizard.
The Ghost Wizard nodded slowly, and I smiled.
"Stay behind me. I'll protect you during battle. By the way, your name will be... Morgath! Yes, that's a good name."
['Ghost Wizard 1' was nicknamed 'Morgath'.]
In a way, it was like collecting those famous pocket monsters. I found them, "captured" them, gave them names, and sent them to attack when and how I wanted.
Then, ready to continue my exploration, I looked down the hallway in front of me and felt a strange sense of déjà vu. I couldn't say why, but every part of that underground fortress exuded a strange sense of familiarity, as if I had seen it before.
I knew I had read about Hunter Ruse coming here, but the feeling was even stronger than what I felt in Lovikalen.
"This place..." I narrowed my eyes and muttered.
A chill ran down my spine.
It felt as if something were trying to pull a forgotten memory from the back of my mind, but no matter how hard I tried to remember, nothing surfaced.
"It must be my imagination..." I muttered, massaging my temples.
However, as I continued my exploration, it didn't take long for me to find the place I had been longing to discover since I woke up alone in this dungeon: the boss room.
The door before me stood at least six meters tall, covered in black metal I recognized as burnt steel.
Burnt steel was a recent discovery in Aland—it was a material forged from steel burned not by fire magic, which would melt it like any ordinary metal, but by dark magic.
What truly caught my attention, however, were the carvings etched into the door's surface. These carvings told a story.
In the first panel to the left, four similar soldiers stood on a mountainous battlefield, clad in golden, imposing armor and raising their swords high.
Each appeared to be of a different age, judging by their varying sizes.
The youngest held a short sword, the second youngest a pair of daggers, the third an axe, and the oldest wielded a massive sword.
They stood united, ready to face an entire enemy army on their own.
In the next panel, the fourth soldier stood apart from the others. He was shown atop a mountain of defeated enemies, while the other three appeared smaller and positioned farther away.
The story continued below.
One day, a man made of shadows—faceless and exuding menace—arrived at the fortress of the four brothers.
He extended his hand to the strongest brother, and the fourth was taken to serve in this shadowy man's army.
The next panel depicted the fourth knight amidst the chaos of war, surrounded by flames and ruin.
He had apparently become a feared and respected warrior, a name that struck fear into every enemy.
When my gaze reached the final depiction of the fourth brother, my eyes widened.
The fourth brother — this warrior of exceptional skill — looked strikingly similar to the Floor Boss of Floor 15: Skerrion.
Floor Bosses were unlike ordinary Dungeon Bosses. They were stronger in every aspect and stood as the final obstacle before reaching the next floor of the tower.
"It can't be..." I muttered, stunned.
Skerrion wasn't just one of the toughest challenges in the Tower of Babel—he was the first monster ever to speak the human language.
So, if this door told his story... what lay beyond it? Could someone of equal power reside behind the boss room of the first floor?
Despite the uncertainty, I pushed the door open.
The iron door creaked as it swung open with surprising ease, revealing a vast hall.
At the far end of the hall stood four massive thrones, carved from stone.
Two were empty, but the others were not.
Seated on the occupied thrones were two colossal knights, both long dead.
Each stood nearly three meters tall, clad in armor so thick they resembled walking fortresses.
Their weapons — an axe and a pair of daggers — rested beside their thrones, along with their helmets, which no longer concealed their skeletal faces.
They were clearly dead.
Yet their golden armor still gleamed.
"How much are those suits of armor worth?!" I wondered aloud, rubbing my hands together like a greedy villain.
But when I took a step into the room, the third knight, who was supposed to be sitting on one of the empty thrones, revealed himself by stepping out from behind one of the rectangular pillars.
Unlike the others, he was alive and standing. This knight's armor was golden like the others, but it was stained with the blood of many enemies.
His cape, completely red, swayed slightly as he walked.
I looked up at his head, and the system revealed his name.
[Golden Captain Laufus - RANK C+.]
"Facing a Rank C creature won't be easy..." I said, my face showing worry, but inside I was smiling.
[800 Soul Fragments were invested in Player Attributes.]
[Constitution 7 → Constitution 12.]
[Intelligence 7 → Intelligence 18.]
[Speed 8 → Speed 12.]
[Control 4 → Control 16.]
[Dexterity 7 → Dexterity 11.]
[Strength 10 → Strength 15.]
With sixteen points in Control, my summoning ability was greater than ever.
I closed my eyes and muttered,
"Let's see if this works..."
The ground around me shook as several shapeless mists began to appear, glowing crimson.
In this mist, bones gathered in spirals, forming skeletal soldiers for battle. Their armor was simple, but each one wielded a sword.
"Eight Skeleton Soldiers to form my vanguard, but I won't stop there."
Behind me, four ghostly silhouettes appeared, shrouded in flowing cloaks. Their faces were hidden by torn hoods, and in their hands were black wooden staffs.
"Four Ghost Wizards to complete my rearguard."
The Ghost Wizards did not have a physical presence like the skeleton warriors, but they were not meant to draw attention—only to destroy the enemy from a distance.
"Wait for my command," I said to them as I looked at Golden Captain Laufus, who waited respectfully for all the summons to organize themselves.