Don't be fooled into thinking Zhao Lun had easily subdued that bronze skeleton with just a single round of spells. In truth, his mind had been wound tight with focus from the moment he first laid eyes on his opponent. He'd been calculating the exact order of spells, the timing, and where each would land. Only once the bronze skeleton was finally mired in the swamp did Zhao Lun have the breathing room to cast a Sense on him.
Boom!
And just like that, Zhao Lun seemed to have done something incredibly foolish. The moment his Sense landed on the bronze skeleton, his whole frame jolted as though struck by a heavy blow, forcing him to stagger backward. The ghostly white fire in his eye sockets flickered with uncontained shock—this was the first time he'd ever encountered something like this. Thankfully, while the experience had been rough, he still managed to glean some of the skeleton's attributes.
???
Race: Intermediate Undead (Spear Skeleton Mutated) ???
Strength: ??? (???) ???
Talent: ???
Zhao Lun drew in a sharp, cold breath. The slight ease he had been feeling instantly hardened into full alertness.
"Well, well, you figured me out?"
The lazy, mocking voice came from right behind him. Before Zhao Lun could react, a tremendous force slammed into his skeletal frame, sending him flying and crashing to the ground in a heap, bones scattering in all directions.
"Oh, oh—my bad, my bad. I haven't dealt with a skeletal mage in so long, I forgot how fragile you lot are."
Without even seeing the bronze skeleton move, Zhao Lun found him suddenly looming over him. The figure half-knelt, eye sockets staring into Zhao Lun's prone form with a teasing expression.
"No problem, no problem," Zhao Lun said with a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "It's clear now—your strength is far beyond anything I can handle."
He slowly pushed himself upright into a half-seated position. "I'm guessing you're not here with ill intent?"
"Oh? And why's that?" The bronze skeleton tilted his head, intrigued by Zhao Lun's sudden shift in tone.
"Because…" Zhao Lun reached up to rub his skull with his left hand—while his right hand suddenly gripped his staff and drove it straight toward the bronze skeleton's head. The motion was swift and unexpected; the bronze skeleton clearly hadn't anticipated an attack, and so Zhao Lun's staff slid right into his eye socket.
Light flared. The eye flames within the bronze skeleton blazed pure white, and from the embedded staff, magic missiles erupted like a machine gun, pounding relentlessly into his bones.
"That's why I'll never be fit to be a so-called lord."
The entire time, the bronze skeleton didn't resist—just stood there calmly taking the barrage until Zhao Lun's magic ran dry. Then, with a casual gesture, he reached up, pulled the staff free, and swatted away the two mutated skeletons who had rushed over to protect their master.
He stared straight at Zhao Lun for a moment before holding the staff back out to him.
Zhao Lun was stunned. He'd already guessed this undead was powerful, but he hadn't expected this. Even letting him attack freely, he hadn't done the slightest bit of damage. Was this kind of monster really a skeleton?
"What, afraid to take back your own weapon? That would be… disappointing."
Zhao Lun shook his head. "It's yours now. Your spoils of war."
"So you have at least a scrap of a warrior's pride? I thought you'd grab it without a second thought. Hmph, boring." With a flick of his wrist, the bronze skeleton tossed the staff onto Zhao Lun's frame. He rose slowly, spun his spear once, and with a single sweep, sent Olis and Felis—still charging and shouting about never leaving their master—flying again.
"My lord, we'll meet again. I hope next time, it won't be in a conversation like this."
The bronze skeleton turned, glanced once at this… well, it could hardly be called a "tribe," bowed his skull slightly toward Zhao Lun, then walked away. After a few steps, his figure simply vanished, leaving Zhao Lun staring in shock, more than a little confused.
What the hell was that supposed to be?
He'd thought he understood the undead world, but suddenly it seemed murky again. Were there really undead who didn't live purely for killing?
Who was that skeleton? Why had he appeared out of nowhere, roughed Zhao Lun up, and then left just as abruptly? Would he be back?
Too many questions. Zhao Lun stayed there a long moment, mind churning, but no answers came. This world was turning out to be far deeper than he'd imagined—full of things he simply didn't understand.
"Master… you okay?"
Zhao Lun snapped out of it as Olis trotted over again, tail metaphorically wagging. Felis followed at a distance; though his eye flames still lacked any warmth toward Olis, having just fought alongside him at least kept him from trying to kill him on the spot.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Olis—help me put my bones back together."
"Yes, sir!" For the first time, Olis's voice rang with firm conviction, his white eye flames sparking with excitement. He tossed aside his sword and shield and began working earnestly on reassembling Zhao Lun, entirely missing the way Felis stood behind him, eye flames burning with barely contained irritation.
Olis might not have noticed—but Zhao Lun had learned his lesson. His two mutated subordinates were basically children. If he didn't treat them both evenly, they'd end up brawling the moment his back was turned.
"Felis—take a hundred skeleton archers and go hunt some skeletal mages. I need to restock my Soul Fire reserves."
Felis, slow to process as always, froze a moment before his eye flames flared. With a spin of his spear, he charged off to carry out the order, eager as a storm.
With both "kids" occupied, Zhao Lun finally had time to open his own status page and inspect his post-breakthrough stats.
System
Name: Zhao Lun
Race: Low-level Undead (Skeletal Mage Mutated)
Strength: Level 4 (Black Iron) — Excellent
Talent: —
Evolution Path: Skeletal Lord ????
Evaluation: Without the master's authorization, the system cannot provide an evaluation.