Eternal Rest

The booklet contained invaluable information not found in the guild's library, including personal notes, theories, and synergies between classes. Opting for a second class was a weighty decision, often made to complement the strengths of the primary class or out of necessity. However, Bones already had a clear idea of his choice of class.

Some adventurers, dissatisfied with their initial class, opt to replace it and focus solely on leveling their second class, despite the experience penalty involved. Bones had been cautioned long ago that choosing a second class early in his journey could hinder the progress of his primary class, a fate that befell gang boss Vol in Westbrook when he was outmatched by the specialized assassin Trevak. Bones, however, was content with his primary class, finding it well-suited to his abilities.

While the booklet didn't delve into the specifics of the Bonemancer class, it did offer the insights Bones sought into necromancer classes, particularly those focusing on minion builds. Rather than summoning skeletal minions, Bones was interested in general minion builds, with a particular focus on golems. After finding the information he needed, he stored the booklet away and returned to the initial prompt, accepting it without hesitation.

Would you like to advance a class Bonemancer > Bonemancer Adept?

Yes/No

You have chosen to advance a class Bonemancer > Bonemancer Adept

Advancement initiating…

Bones experienced a surge of mana coursing through him, unlike any sensation he had felt before. Unlike previous occasions when he had overloaded his core, there was no discomfort or pain. Instead, he felt a pleasant and constant stream of mana enveloping him. As the overflow continued for a minute, he sensed subtle changes taking place within him. Finally, a soft ding signaled the completion of the advancement process.

With anticipation, Bones turned his attention to the new prompt that appeared before him. He eagerly read the description of his new class, eager to discover the changes and enhancements it would bring to his abilities.

Congratulation on advancing the class Bonemancer > Bonemancer Adept

Bonemancer Adept - You have threaded the path of bones and have chosen to advance further. The mastery of bone manipulation and any consequential related skills is increased. The adept can specialize in dealing direct damage or learn to create golems made of bones to do his bidding!

+1 INT per level in class. Points are added retroactively for every level prior to class advancement

+1 free point per level in class

Recommended point distribution: INT

"What?" Bones blurted out in disbelief. The points added retroactively left him utterly flabbergasted. With a sense of urgency, he hastily displayed his status screen, eager to confirm if the boost to INT was indeed real.

“Status”

Status

Attributes

Name: Bones

Race: Undead Skeleton lvl 18

Class: Bonemancer Adept lvl 25

Profession: ???

Hp - 390 (3.9 hp/s)

Mp - 780 (23.8 mp/s)

Sta - ∞

STR: 22

AGI: 5

END: 5

VIT: 39

INT: 78

WIS: 16

Free points:

"I'll be damned, it's real!" Bones exclaimed in astonishment. "No wonder I felt the rush of power overwhelm me. It was from a sudden increase in INT."

As another notification chimed in, Bones refocused his attention. A new prompt appeared, prompting him to choose a skill of his choice.

New skills available:

Bone Absorption

Create Bone Golem

Corpse Explosion

Bone Totem

With the potential to shape his future endeavors, the available skills presented an intriguing array of choices. For his newly advanced class, Bones didn't hesitate to select Create Bone Golem.

You have learned a new skill: Create Bone Golem

Create Bone Golem [active] - a magically animated creation made from bones. Golem creation starts from construct creation, automaton creation and mana nucleus creation. Golem is operational after the mana nucleus is infused with the construct.

Another notification chimed in, and Bones couldn't help but wonder, "There's more?"

You have learned a new skill: Golem Mastery

Golem Mastery [passive] - increases efficiency of created golems with levels in a skill. Efficiency applies to golem's physical attributes and its ability to comprehend and follow the instructions given to them. Golem attributes depend on the materials used to create the golem and the level of golem mastery.

Mana cost depends on Golem's level and is affected by Golem Mastery.

Golem Mastery: +1 golem per 10 levels in a skill

Feeling a bit fatigued from trudging through this wall of text, Bones paused for a moment. After confirming that no new notifications were incoming, he rose to his feet. With a few hours left until sunset, he intended to explore and test the extent of his new skill until nightfall!

Creating a golem followed a specific set of rules, as outlined. The primary rule was to utilize bones as the material. Bones couldn't simply manifest mana bones like his attack skills; he had to acquire suitable bones for constructing a golem. The Viper's body was unsuitable, given its advanced state of decay. He needed fresh, undamaged bones for the task. Moreover, not just any bones would suffice; Bones presumed his shaping skill would prove useful in crafting an endoskeleton for the golem. He only hoped his shaping skill was at a sufficiently high level for the task at hand.

Bones retrieved a bundle of small bones from his inventory, intending to use them to refine his shaping skill. These bones had been altered and assembled into the form of a small animal, specifically a cat. While unsure if they would suffice, given their prior construction, Bones saw this as an opportunity to test his golem creation skill.

With the bones prepared in advance, it didn't take long for Bones to complete his first construct. The next step was to create a nucleus, envisioning the capabilities and behavior of the golem. Understanding that more complex "programming" would require a more intricate nucleus, he began with a simple set of movement and behavior rules. Visualizing the movements and behaviors of a cat came naturally to him, given his familiarity with the small creatures.

After a few minutes of probing and testing, a tenth of Bones' maximum mana was expended to create the nucleus. With the nucleus formed, all that remained was to slowly infuse it into the skull of the cat construct.

With the nucleus levitating above his palm, Bones kneeled beside the cat construct and gently pressed his hand against its skull. The nucleus seamlessly merged with the construct, sending tendrils of mana to attach themselves to every major bone. Moments later, a new notification appeared, confirming the successful creation of his first golem. Bones smiled, pleased with his success on the first attempt.

"Now then, what should I do with it? It won't be much of a test if the cat just slumps down and sleeps..." Bones pondered aloud.

"Come!" psst psst "Come here!" he called out to the cat.

As Bones moved, the cat followed, but after a few steps, it stumbled and fell to the side. Bones turned around and sighed in exasperation. Of course, things couldn't be that easy. It was always like this.

"Now then, what went wrong?" Bones mused, approaching the overturned construct and crouching beside it to inspect every inch of its body.

"The body shouldn't be the problem," he thought to himself. "It doesn't matter that the bones aren't the most accurately constructed. They don't have to be, as there’s no flesh and muscles to support."

Bones carefully examined the construct and the way the nucleus was connecting everything together. "Tendrils of mana attached are no good!" he concluded after making an observation.

"The tendrils coming out of the nucleus were only attached to major bones," he realized, "and they need to be attached to most, if not every, bone in the body for it to be capable of free and natural movements!"

"Well, this just became more complicated..." he muttered, realizing the extent of the challenge ahead.

Bones positioned the cat upright and dismissed the nucleus. He realized he would have to create a new nucleus with the same programming, but this time, he would manually guide more tendrils of mana and ensure they were attached to every bone.

After creating the new nucleus, Bones carefully guided the tendrils as planned, but despite his efforts, he failed to attach them to every bone. With each attempt, he refined his technique, but progress was slow. After a few hours of intense concentration, Bones reluctantly stopped. Despite his efforts, the cat golem could only move a few meters at best.

"This is really hard," Bones admitted to himself, feeling the strain of the mana-draining process. "Creating the nucleus and guiding the tendrils is incredibly mana-intensive."

Even with a boost to his maximum mana, Bones found himself drained of energy. Adding more tendrils significantly increased the cost of fusing the nucleus, tripling the mana expenditure compared to his initial attempts. However, there was a silver lining to his repeated failures: each attempt contributed to his mastery of golem creation. At level 5, golem mastery provided him with a much-needed efficiency boost. The mana required to guide the tendrils was slightly reduced, and he found it somewhat easier to attach them to the entire construct. When he successfully attached the last of the tendrils, his creation was finally complete.

Metaphorically exhaling a breath of relief, Bones realized he had worked on the golem throughout the night. As dawn broke, he ran through the jungle with the small bone cat at his heels, barely keeping up with his pace. While he battled swarms of giant rats, the cat leisurely lounged on the ground at a distance, mirroring the behavior of a real feline. Bones couldn't help but grin at the sight.

Bones wasn't just killing the giant rats for the experience; he was also gathering materials for his new golem. Every minute his golem functioned, he gained a minuscule amount of experience. After a few hours, the cat stopped following him. Bones frowned, but his worry eased when he realized there was nothing wrong with it—the nucleus had simply run out of mana and dissipated.

It appeared that without the mana core, the golem's functioning time depended on the amount of mana used in creating the nucleus. This could prove troublesome if it dissipated during a fight.

Bones briefly considered using the mana core he obtained from the Ant Queen, but quickly dismissed the idea. At least not before acquiring an extra mana core. Recreating the nucleus, he continued decimating giant rats and other rodents with the cat by his side for the remainder of the day.

At the end of the day, Bones had made good progress with golem mastery, but it would still take quite a while to reach level 10 and have another golem available. Despite the option to deconstruct the cat and create a new golem, he hesitated. The cat held sentimental value as his first golem.

In addition to his progress in golem mastery, Bones also gained a new level in his race, bringing him to level 19. He anticipated gaining a new racial skill at the next level. With his short-term goal of reaching level 10 in golem mastery in mind, Bones continued decimating rodents and switched to salamanders over the next few days. With a variety of bones collected, he pondered what kind of golem he wanted to create and for what purpose.

As another day passed within the dungeon's depths, Bones found himself immersed in his training for the fourth consecutive day. His efforts yielded notable progress, evident in the levels gained in Bone Shaping and Golem Mastery, alongside the usual accumulation of experience in various skills. Anticipation grew as his meditation neared advancement—a milestone he eagerly awaited. Despite enduring considerable wear on his Bone Armor, the challenges he faced only served to enrich his experience, particularly in the realm of his Mend skill, which, though progressing at a slower pace, exhibited heightened efficacy with each level.

In his pursuit of mastery, Bones attempted to create another golem while already having the cat construct at his side. However, he encountered a setback: while successful in crafting the skeleton and the nucleus separately, he couldn't merge them together. His Golem Mastery still lacked a few levels before unlocking this capability. Undeterred, Bones persisted in practicing the art of golem creation, refining his technique with each attempt and maximizing skill experience gained in the process.

As Bones ventured deeper into the jungle, the monsters he encountered grew increasingly formidable, indicating that he was likely nearing the dungeon's boss.

Zone by zone, Bones methodically cleared his path, taking breaks between each area to practice and refine his new skills. During these pauses, he immersed himself in the Chronicles of the Skeleton King, delving into the captivating lore surrounding the mysterious figure. Though uncertain of the book's accuracy, the tales of the Skeleton King's exploits provided both entertainment and potential insights for Bones's own journey.

"The Skeleton King hailed from the towering Giant race, standing an imposing four meters tall. Among the tribes, a young prodigy emerged, renowned for his brutality and prowess in battle, earning him the title of Berserker. Armed with a colossal battle-axe and a formidable physique, he struck fear into the hearts of his enemies and commanded respect from all who crossed his path. Giants, inherently built for warfare, were a rare breed, their scarcity believed to be nature's way of maintaining balance.

"The Skeleton King hailed from the towering Giant race, standing an imposing four meters tall. Among the tribes, a young prodigy emerged, renowned for his brutality and prowess in battle, earning him the title of Berserker. Armed with a colossal battle-axe and a formidable physique, he struck fear into the hearts of his enemies and commanded respect from all who crossed his path. Giants, inherently built for warfare, were a rare breed, their scarcity believed to be a means of natural balance.

As the years passed, the young prodigy matured into a legendary figure known as the Wargod, a name bestowed upon him by both the system and his adversaries. With his ascent to the third tier, he embarked on a campaign of conquest beyond his tribe's borders, challenging other races for dominance."

Following his conquest, the Wargod led his formidable army, dubbed his minions, leaving naught but ash and devastation in his wake. Alliances were forged in an attempt to quell the Tyrant's rampage, eventually bringing an end to his reign of terror. Severely wounded, he vanished from the annals of history, his name fading into obscurity over the course of four centuries.

The return of the King became a grim chapter in the annals of history. Tribes fell one by one, followed by the extinction of the Giants. Villages crumbled, towns were razed, and cities succumbed to ruin. A monstrous figure emerged, towering and skeletal, wielding a colossal battle-axe beside its towering frame. Commanding legions of the undead, its ranks swelled with each conquered city. Former alliances were renewed, and new ones forged as ascendants were compelled to mount a desperate defense. The Skeleton King was pushed back, retreating to the Underworld where he reigned supreme, but not before claiming the lives of a dozen ascendants. It stood as the most savage conflict until the onset of the Guild Wars, millennia later, which transformed two once-great kingdoms into the desolate expanse now known as the Desolate Lands.”

Bones finished reading and fell into deep contemplation. "So, he cheated death by becoming undead, possibly even ascending, then orchestrated a genocide of his own race to assert dominance? And he faced off against ascendants? "The concept of advancing to a third tier is entirely new to me," Bones admitted, his curiosity piqued by this unfamiliar terminology.

"It seems the Skeleton King wielded not only formidable combat prowess but also mastery over the undead. The mention of soul attacks and binding the souls of the fallen to himself suggests a dark and formidable power."

Bones stared at the cat golem basking in the sun, his mind racing with newfound ideas. Though he didn't particularly relish the notion, he believed his ideas could manifest, especially with the guidance of the system. It would take time for his plans to come to fruition, but time was something he had in abundance.

With resolve, Bones retrieved a set of small monster bones and began shaping them. After an hour of meticulous work, he shifted his focus to practicing nucleus creation. He repeated this process until he felt satisfied with his progress, then moved on to explore the new zone.