Tale of Discovery

Chapter 350: Create Undead ; Hidden Inhabitants (1/2)

After what seems like an eternity of reviewing the spells in my mind, morning finally arrives. How exactly did I know it was morning while being twelve floors underground? Simple. I cast clairvoyance time and time again, mainly out of boredom, but also to check for the presence of any uninvited individuals.

Expectedly, no one came anywhere near this area.

At this moment, I am lying on my bed pointlessly with Albedo and Aletia on my sides.

The two are sleeping peacefully, despite both being inhuman beings. So much for my expectations of them not requiring sleep...

This won't do. I need to get up and do something more productive.

With that thought in mind, I raise my body from the bed, only for an arm to suddenly latch onto my robe, followed by Albedo's sleepy voice, "Lord Victor."

I take a glance at her face, only to realize that she is still sleeping and is simply sleep talking, so I carefully grab her arm and attempt to move it away... and fail. She is not letting go of my robe.

This lady sure is clingy. Then again, I suppose it's understandable considering the amount of reverence she and the rest of the residents of this tomb expressed toward me.

So long her actions don't disturb me or my plans, there isn't an issue.

After remaining still for a while, Albedo still doesn't show any signs of letting go, so I begin to think of a better solution than wait it out.

Suddenly, an idea pops up in my head.

Accessing my inventory, I discard all my current garments, leaving me with nothing more than my bones, the numerous accessories on my fingers, and an eerie red ball at the center of my chest.

Huh?

To my not-so-pleasant surprise, Albedo's hand immediately grabs onto my rib cage.

Shit. What a situation to be in.

Actually, screw this. I will have to resort to waking her up lest I want to continue wasting time here.

"Albedo," I call out in a low voice, immediately after which the succubus' eyes open wide as a hurried voice escapes her lips, "Yes, Lord Victor?"

"It is time to get up," I simply state, to which she affirms by a hum before her expression suddenly turns weird.

"Is something wrong?" I ask her while taking note of what she's gazing at.

"Why-"

"There is no particular reason that I have discarded my garments," I interrupt her, "Just leave it at that."

"Yes."

Sighing mentally, I push her hand away, this time relatively easily since she is awake. Then, I raise my body from the bed and get off before accessing the inventory and reequipping my clothes.

---

As I float on top of Nazarick under the blazing sun, I make use of my still enhanced senses to check the surroundings for nearby non-human settlements.

After a short while, I happen to notice a cave in front of which three small, hideous-looking creatures are standing dumbly. Goblins. They will make do for what I have in mind.

<Greater Teleportation>

My vision instantly blips as I find myself floating atop the three goblins' heads without them noticing a thing.

Not planning to spare them any attention, I raise my right arm as I prepare to cast <Chain Dragon Lightning>.

At this moment, one of the goblins appears to notice me as it looks up and raises its small arm, pointing at me while letting out some groans.

{Racial ability: Intercommunication discovered.}

Following the announcement, the voice of the goblin suddenly makes sense to me: "Great One visit us!"

It's as if the creature is an oversized, grotesque baby. Though, I am a little surprised by its words.

Great One? Since when did I obtain some kind of rank among the goblins? Or are they acting like this since I am currently in my Overlord form?

With curiosity getting the better of me, I cancel the spell I was planning to cast before floating to the ground.

Following this, I switch from my Overlord profile to Origo.

To my pleasant surprise, the goblins don't express any aggression despite my new appearance, which is that of a human.

"Sacrifice us?" one of the goblins says in what I assume to be an excited tone.

Are these creatures nuts? Do they want me to sacrifice them?

"Serve Great One!" another one exclaims enthusiastically, its voice loudly reverberating within the cave behind them.

Shortly, I hear numerous exclamations in the cave one after another as some figures begin to walk out while chanting "sacrifice" continuously.

Man, this feels like I've become the head of some weird cult.

Though, I need to make sure if I am understanding this correctly.

"You," I say as I point my finger at one of the three goblins, "Do you wish to die?"

All of a sudden, every single one of the goblins quietens down. Meanwhile, the one I pointed at seems to be in shock as it merely stares at me.

Was I wrong after all? I guess that's understandable, since what kind of creature would willingly offer themselves as a sacrifice?

"Uwooo!!!" my thoughts are interrupted by a boisterous cry, which originated from the same goblin I pointed at, "Sacrifice!"

Well then, that settles it, I guess.

Profile - Overlord

Having gotten back into my skeletal form, I focus my gaze on the goblin I pointed at earlier as I cast a simple spell - <Grasp Heart>

Along with the spell, I raise my right arm and form the mental image of a ball within my palm before squeezing it.

Surprisingly, I feel some small resistance against my hand, but only for a split-second before my hand abruptly closes, along which the goblin limply falls to the ground.

Seeing this, the rest of the goblins, which amount to around two dozen raise their arms, some of which are carrying clubs as they excitedly exclaim the word 'sacrifice' continuously.

"Do you all wish to join him as well?" I question magnanimously, to which the goblins get all the more excited.

Wow, these little fellas are much more insane than I expected.

<Mass Dominate Person>

"Die."

Following my command, some goblins begin to attack themselves with the clubs they're holding, while others scurry to, I assume, find something to hurt themselves with.

And so, I watch with interest as the goblins basically torture themselves to death by numerous means.

Once the last goblin dies, I take a moment to examine the disfigured corpses of the goblins before raising my right arm and casting a spell I've been rather looking forward to: <Create Middle Tier Undead>

All of a sudden, a small black orb forms in the air about a meter away from me and begins to expand in size a few folds.

Then, the black orb moves toward the closest goblin corpse before briskly engulfing it.

Following this, the small goblin's body begins to change shape as it swells continuously, while the already grotesque flesh becomes all the more disgusting as patches of it fall off and the color changes from the original green to a salmon-like color.

The goblin, which was previously as tall as my knee, now has a height that easily reaches my chin.

Its scrawny body is no more, with its body being a huge lump of muscles - wherever they came from, which I can also say to the sword shield it's holding in its hands.

Magic sure is some convenient stuff. I suppose I understand why Satoru chose to stick with a necromancy class.

Now, time to repeat this process until all twenty-seven goblins have been converted into whatever this new creature is. According to the information in my head, it's supposed to be a Death Knight. But, for some reason, I feel like this thing is different.

My guess is that the spell has different effects when used on different creatures.

Oh well.

<Create Middle Tier Undead>

---

After the twelfth time of repeating the same process, AI's voice abruptly resounds within my head.

{Skill limitation bypassed due to data obtained through racial skill: Depredation.}

Following this, I am once again able to cast the spell normally, though it feels as if it's consuming more energy compared to before.

{Substitution for limiter: 6.75%+ mana consumption per usage.}

That makes sense, I guess?

Whatever. I will finish this batch here regardless.

---

After ten or so minutes, I finally cast the spell for the last time, which consumes twice as much energy as it initially took at the start.

Shortly, the last goblin corpse has turned into a variety of the Death Knight, all of which are currently standing tall with their shields and swords held high.

It's an impressive sight, to say the least.

Now, I need to test the properties of these undead beings. As of this moment, I have three things that I wish to have tested. The physical capabilities of these beings, the orders they can perceive, and how far they can receive orders.

'Kneel.'

In contrast to my expectations, the undead beings remain standing, which means that they aren't able to receive mental orders.

This means that if I were to give them orders from a long distance, I would need to make use of a communication spell such as 'Message'.

Alright, now for my other test...

"Death Knights!" I holler, to which the undead beings react by raising their heads, "Spread out in this forest and kill all hostile beings."

Hearing their orders, each of the monsters lets out a monstrous growl before dashing in a random direction, their speed surprising me quite a bit.

Great. This way, I can finally finish the objective that I have, which is securing the area around my base.

After a few minutes, I feel something tug on my mind, which should be physically impossible considering that my head is simply a skull.

Anyway, I focus on the tugging sensation, only for my vision to abruptly shift locations, which upon a careful inspection, I notice to be the eyesight of a creature on top of a tree branch.

From here, I can see a few wooden houses constructed in the trees as well as their residents - elves, or, at least, they look like elves so I will call them that.

Hold on... Is this the vision of one of the Death Knights? Actually, I can see the tip of the shield and sword somewhat.

What a great opportunity.

Though, why is the Death Knight not attacking yet? My orders were for them to eliminate all hostile- Oh. It may be that it's unsure if these elves are considered hostile or allies...

<Message>

"Death Knight, attack, but don't kill. Retreat if necessary."

Having received its orders, the Death Knight raises its sword and shield before making a giant leap toward the nearest house and smashing bashing its shield into it, which easily breaks the wall and creates a gap big enough for the Death Knight to go through.

Inside the house, there are two naked elves, a male and a female, lying on top of each other, both of them now having a horrified look on their faces as they stare at the intruder.

"Nevermind, you may slay the males. Preferably, as brutally as possible."