Chapter Title: Forest (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The next day. Dante advised the group heading to the city with the carriage prepared by the village that it would be best to prepare thoroughly. As a result, they expanded their numbers from the original twenty to sixty.
That would leave the village more vulnerable defensively, but Dante promised to cover that weakness. After all, the hundred Skeleton Warriors he'd summoned the day before were still stationed in the village square.
Purely in terms of combat power, Dante pointed out that those hundred Skeleton Warriors were far stronger than the villagers, and with that, he sent the group on their way.
After breakfast, Dante headed to the Statue of the Goddess. Considering yesterday's events and the fact that he had to leave the Skeleton Warriors behind to guard the village, he'd come to learn new summoning skills.
The new skills he'd acquired this time were Skeleton Knight—the upgraded version of Skeleton Warrior—Half Lich—the upgraded version of Skeleton Mage—and Lich, the upgrade from Half Lich. He'd mastered all three.
Dante maxed out each skill upon acquisition, ordered the hundred Skeleton Warriors left in the village to slaughter any monsters approaching it, and then set off back into the forest with Ribel.
To replace the Skeleton Warriors they'd left behind, two Dullahan and thirty newly summoned Skeleton Knights now guarded Dante and Ribel.
While Skeleton Warriors wore upper-body bone armor and wielded shields and swords, Skeleton Knights were undead summons clad head to toe in bone plate armor, complete with shields, swords, and helmets.
Naturally, their full-body bone armor granted them vastly superior defense compared to Skeleton Warriors, and their combat prowess was even greater.
Their swords weren't ordinary blades either—they were weapons crafted specifically for Skeleton Knights from bone, far tougher and sharper than standard swords.
"Let's aim to check every remaining spot today."
Ribel nodded at Dante's words.
"Of course. I've already plotted the shortest route last night. If we follow it, we can cover all the leftover sites before the day is out."
Dante nodded at Ribel's confident declaration and continued onward with him. Any monsters that appeared along the way were, of course, handled by the Skeleton Knights.
The Skeleton Knights moved with noticeably greater speed than the Skeleton Warriors, and their attacks hit harder too. Battles with monsters turned into outright slaughters, little more than hacking at scarecrows.
Watching their overwhelming might, Dante grew even more pleased with his undead summoning skills. It was a perfect fit for his self-styled "gangster necromancer" concept, and with a smile, he pressed on alongside Ribel.
Thus, showcasing their dominant power, they destroyed two more totems before lunch, leaving just three behind.
Dante and Ribel were taking a break in a suitable spot, eating the onigiri and water Ribel had prepared.
"Just two sites left now. Based on what we've seen so far, the odds are very high that both have totems."
"Yeah, every place we've hit so far did."
In the game, reaching the final totem's location let you confront the black幕 installing it there. The villain would flee on the spot, but a boss monster would spawn in their place.
'With this much firepower, we can take it down easy.'
That morning, he'd summoned thirty Skeleton Knights, burning through all his mana. His level hadn't risen yet, so it wasn't fully recovered, but it was about halfway there.
After smashing the remaining two totems, he figured summoning one Lich and a few Half Liches before the final one would be plenty to handle the boss. With that in mind, Dante asked Ribel,
"No issues back at the village?"
"None so far."
Saying that, Ribel checked the "walkie-talkie" in his pocket.
"It's switched on. No contact means everything's fine. Probably because of us."
"Us taking out so many monsters?"
"Not us—you alone, Sir Dante. Yes, exactly. We've already wiped out nearly a thousand in this forest. I don't know how many are left, but I'm certain it's not many. We've practically exterminated them."
Dante nodded in agreement. Over the past two days, he'd been massacring monsters at a near-genocidal pace, so Ribel wasn't wrong.
"Good to hear."
"And with your hundred Skeleton Warriors guarding the village out of concern for it? They won't have your direct command, but just having them actively fight off monsters is more than enough. It'll help plenty."
"Sure will."
"Besides, I told them to radio immediately if monsters show up and fighting breaks out, so no need to worry."
This was a game set in a medieval fantasy world, but not every aspect of its civilization, technology, or culture was truly at that level. Some tech rivaled the modern world.
A prime example was the mana-powered communicator Ribel held—like an Earth walkie-talkie in form, but unique to this game, running on mana instead of electricity.
There were a few other modern conveniences too. They made player life easier or highlighted regional flavors in the game world.
"Glad to hear it, then."
Ribel nodded at Dante's words. Shortly after, Dante stood and said,
"We've rested enough. Time to move."
"Understood. I'll lead the way."
Dante nodded, and the pair headed toward the next totem site.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
As the sun began to set, Dante and Ribel moved faster after lunch, destroying more totems. Now, at the site of the final one, they spotted the figure casting spells on it.
A black-robed entity hiding its face beneath the hood turned as Dante and Ribel approached, halting the ritual to address them.
"Unexpected. To reach here this quickly."
"Who the hell are you?!"
The black幕 replied calmly to Ribel's shout.
"Things got messy. Wizley Village rabble couldn't move this fast. That's what felt off—then some weird corpse-monger shows up."
The game's derogatory slur for necromancers. It might sting most, but it bounced right off Dante. Ignoring the man's words, he turned to his Skeleton Knights.
"Destroy that totem, Skeleton Knights."
At Dante's command, the Skeleton Knights charged the black幕 en masse. He extended his hand, summoning a translucent red barrier that their bone swords couldn't pierce.
"Stronger undead than I thought. Impressively skilled. What's your name?"
"You first."
"Pass. Shame this op failed, but no matter. It's just the beginning."
Light enveloped the black幕's form.
"See you next time. If you're still alive, that is."
With that, the black幕 vanished completely. A red magic circle appeared in its place, and from it emerged a massive hulking monster.
"That's an Abomination!!!"
A grotesque mass of fused human corpses—a formidable monster that made Ribel cry out in alarm. But not Dante.
He knew exactly what boss would spawn here.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Lich Summon (Max Level)
Amid a flash of light, a skull clad in tattered black robes appeared, clutching a bone staff.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Half Lich Summon (Max Level) x2
Two Half Liches joined it—wielding shorter wands and clad in slightly less ornate black robes.
Two Dullahan, one Lich, two Half Liches, and thirty Skeleton Knights. Overkill for a single Abomination, but Dante didn't hesitate.
"Kill that thing!"
As Dante shouted, the translucent red barrier protecting the Abomination and totem dissolved. The beast roared and charged the Skeleton Knights.
The Skeleton Knights charged right back. It was Dante's first boss raid since entering this game world.