Gunner equipped the boots and gauntlets while Darius held the Demonic Spear and twirled it. He could feel the weapon's hunger for lifeforce and energy, both from its wielder and its targets.
"Well then, let's test you out, shall we?" Darius remarked with a smile.
With Gunner in tow, the duo entered the dungeon at the southern end of Listo. Once they passed through the dark maw of the entrance, they were teleported into a unique instance of their own.
Darius originally had no plans of visiting this place again since Caesar had warned him against wasting his time trying to acquire extra experience to gain extra SP and AP, but the issue was that Darius had to remain in the town for another week for two reasons.
For one, he had to create the items he had promised the Mercenary Guild as payment, as well as some extras just in case the mercenaries acquired more points to redeem things than he had created. The other reason was to allow the 'poison' he had poured into the 'tea' to dissolve completely and blend in.
If he rushed in right after all those who were entering, he wouldn't be able to fish for benefits. It was more likely that he would be caught in the power struggle, as no one knew that he was the mission issuer.
Nor would they care.
So it was either spend his time sealed up in the Great Escape Inn, or walk around and do things to pass the time. He had already made his research into the Plains of Death the past week, and there was nothing more he could glean that had been recorded by various writers.
As such, he felt it would not be a bad idea to hone his skills in the dungeon of Listo. Darius summoned Joneson and Mikey, the duo spawning individually without their undead minions, which made Darius frown.
"Where are your soldiers?"
"Oh them? Well, we made them stay behind as we wanna gather more without losin' em, right? Don't wanna lose the sauce and anger the boss, innit?" Joneson replied with a laugh.
Darius and Gunner shared a look before the duo shrugged. "It's a fine chance for the two of you to show me what you can do. Take point from here until the boss."
"No problem, just sit back and enjoy the show, Boss." Mikey replied as the duo of undead liches moved forth.
Darius and Gunner leisurely followed along, watching as the two Liches were besieged by various plant monsters the moment they entered the first room.
All they did was wave their hands continuously, spawning some form of ice fire attack that was quite weak. If it hit Darius or Gunner, it would do nothing but make them rub their shoulders.
However, to these level 1-5 monsters, it was deadlier than anything else. Most of them were killed in no time, Darius happily noting the drops filling his Inventory with the various deaths.
Once Joneson and Mikey were done, they raised all the corpses up and proceeded to the next room. Here, they did the same thing, throwing their basic ice-fire around, only this time they had their undead minions help them.
Darius had to admit, Joneson and Mikey were overpowered as Liches. Not because of their ice-fire, no. It was the shocking fact that any Undead raised by them was at the same level as the two Liches.
So the level 1-5 vines and whatnot that got killed in the first room were now level 18 warbling undead, same as Joneson and Mikey. However, according to the duo, undead raised by them stayed at the level at which they were originally raised.
Seeing as Mikey and Joneson were special because they were growth types, this seemed obvious. Usually, the undead could only grow through the hands of their master, never on their own.
Still, the Lich duo soon didn't even have to bother throwing their pathetic attack around as their raised minions were able to rip their targets to shreds quickly.
As the army increased per room, so too did their clearing speed. In a matter of minutes, they reached the last room. After killing so many monsters up until here, the duo of Undead Liches had finally reached level 20.
As such, they were able to raise everything here as well, though their mana ran low often. This was not from the raising spell, but the promotion and heal spells.
Their subordinate undead were not sentient like Mikey or Joneson and their fighting techniques were absolutely pathetic. All they did was rush in and try to bite or claw anything in their path to death.
Against semi-sentient foes like monsters that had their own skills, they often incurred great amounts of damage, if they weren't outright destroyed. However, the newer undead that were raised always filled up the number of those lost.
It couldn't be helped, this was how Necromancy worked. Darius should even thank his lucky stars that due to a fluke, the Spawn spell got stupidly buffed.
In the final room, the Undead swarmed the Treeant, who could only roar in pain and anguish as what should have been its own kind ripped and tore at its body crazily.
No matter how many of them the Treeant smashed or smacked away, they just kept coming, until the monster eventually died under the hands of the Undead.
Darius and Gunner simply watched on with strange expressions, feeling a mixture of pity and aversion. To see such a large foe that once gave them a bit of trouble brutalized like this, Darius understood that the human wave tactic was famous for a reason.
Once Darius claimed all the drops, he noted that Joneson and Mikey had reached level 20. Pleased with their progress, he unsummoned then and what remained of their forces, as this next part was for him and Gunner alone.
When the two pathways appeared, one back to the surface and the other deeper into the bowels of the unknown, the two youths walked down the path that led to darkness.
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