Chapter 436 Master Of Death
Chapter 436 Master Of Death
Necromancers were failed by-products in the form of living beings that couldn't properly utilise the magic around them.
That was the general consensus amongst the species living throughout the galaxy. They weren't off that mark either, as most of the necromancers only bothered to learn curse spells and, at most, raise a bunch of undead to support them.
However, most curses they used were easily countered with the help of basic healing abilities. It was rare to find a necromancer or a dark mage, as some called them, who could cause severe and lasting damage to anyone.
The combination of advanced technology and the easy availability of healers almost made necromancers useless. That was one of the primary reasons why Nico had his guard down, despite seeing how strong Ashton was just a day ago.
In the end, his negligence and overconfidence became the reason for his death. Being an A-grade being also made Nico a bit arrogant, which bit him in the ass later. At that time, Nico's team could only be enraged. This wasn't the death someone of his calibre deserved.
Their emotions were already all over the place, but once they saw Nico getting up, they thought he miraculously survived and were filled with joy. Sadly, that wasn't the case because a moment later, he was kneeling in front of Ashton just like the rest of his summons had moments ago.
Their supreme commander was gone. The man in front of them was nothing more than a twisted doppelganger and nothing more.
"How could you!?" The dual-energy sword wielder yelled at the top of his lungs, "Killing him using treachery wasn't enough, so you decided to defile his corpse?"
"I don't think I have fallen enough to be lectured by backstabbing bitches like yourself." Ashton shrugged before walking to the edge of the barrier while the new shadow soldier closely followed him.
"There's a saying back on earth, I don't know whether you people remember it, but it went like, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. Your leader wanted to kill me, so I killed him instead. How is that wrong?"
By this point, Ashton was inches away from the man, who subconsciously jumped back. The Zompirewolf had done a number on them by killing the strongest man in the city so effortlessly.
Being pleased with the fear in their eyes, Ashton retreated to finish the job as the resurrection ceremony was incomplete. The shadowy figure of Nico was eagerly staring at him like a dog expecting pets.
"I know, I know. You want a name, right?" Ashton asked, and the shadow nodded like the cute little puppy it was.
Seeing their leader in such a pitiful state broke whatever resolve the Occunians had to fight back. When they left earth, their forefathers had sworn not to ever feel the humiliation of defeat again, especially at the hands of a mutant.
However, history was repeating itself. The humans have been defeated once again, and this time their defeat was more humiliating than before. At least, that is how they felt at the moment.
"Considering your treacherous ways of living, I should give you a name which reflects that," Ashton mumbled while scratching his chin, "Dolos, that's how you'll be known from now on."
"Thank you... Master." Dolos gleefully replied.
Ashton immediately used [Detection] on Dolos to review his information. Based on the stats, Dolos was somewhat superior to Atlas. However, his skills could have been better.
Overall, he was an excellent addition to the team. The shocker came when Ashton noticed Dolos's class.
"Shadow Tyrant? What the fuck even is that?" Ashton mumbled.
[I have known my fair share of undead, but this is the first time I have heard of something like this.]
Ashton expected some pop-up to emerge and quell his doubts, but sadly, nothing happened. However, there was a more important thing that immediately stole away his attention.
__
The synergy effect is activating...
Conditions fulfilled!
Master of Death (Epic Synergy): Whenever five or more Undead beings gather close to their master, all necromancy abilities receive a buff.
> The level of Skeleton soldiers is increased to match the lowest level among summoned undead. Specialised skeletons share their battle IQ with that of the undead summons.
> The User can call forth up to 20 zombies to aid in battle from [Valhalla]. The level of the zombies is half the level of the user. (Undead genes must be active for this ability to take effect).
> Storage size of skeletons in [Valhalla] is increased to 450.
> The user cannot make more undead soldiers until a Lich is summoned.
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[Fuck Dolos, focus on this!]
Astaroth's excited voice was enough for Ashton to know he had hit the jackpot. The lowest-level undead summon had to be Celeste, but even she was at level 76.
Keeping the synergy effect in mind, Ashton essentially had an army of C-grade skeletons at his command. Most of whom would share battle IQ with Atlas and Sven. Summoning Zombies was a decent bonus as well.
The only issue was... The Lich.
According to the Synergy effect, he could no longer make an undead summon for himself until he summons a Lich. Sadly, the method of summoning a lich was unknown to him.
[Oi bastard, why do you keep forgetting about my existence?]
"You know how to summon a lich?"
[No, but you have something that could help. Open your inventory.]
Ashton was confused and not in the mood for one of Astaroth's pranks. However, since he did not know anything about the topic, he trusted Astaroth's words.
[See, I told you I had something for you.]
An old book was glowing within his inventory titled the Grimoire of Death. It was the same book Astaroth picked from the Eastern Palace after passing the Forgotten's witty trial.
[If anything can help you, that's it.]
"Congratulations on doing the right thing for the first time in your life."
[Yeah, I agree. Choosing you as my host wasn't the right thing.]
"..."
***
Author's note: (In Greek mythology) Dolos (or Dolus) was the personified spirit of trickery, cunning deception, craftiness, treachery and guile. Thus I thought it was a fitting name.
Source: Wikipedia