He was a [Skeleton Knight] now? Was that different than a [Skeleton Warrior]? And did that mean he had the [Knight] class, or was that different from being a skeleton? Toren had no idea, but he looked at the metal armor in the snow and decided that whatever the mysterious message in his head was telling him, it was a good idea.
And far away, a [Skeleton Knight] stabbed a pair of travelers to death on the road. He took their coins on the vague chance they might be useful, and kept walking. He was going back to Liscor, to a dungeon where he could level up. His purple eyes glowed and he smiled.
Ever since Toren had leveled up and become a [Skeleton Knight], all kinds of new thoughts had begun popping up in his head. Some were useful—like the idea to leave Erin behind so she couldn’t order him about. But others just made him confused. He’d never had to wonder about his purpose before.
She had a class. She was a Level 24 [Skeleton Knight], a Level 2 [Barmaid], a Level 4 [Leader], a Level 5 [Tactician] and now, a Level 3 [Sword Dancer]. Those classes defined her. No other undead could level, but Toren could. And she could think. Truly think, not just hunt the living as the other undead did. She was special, but also a prisoner of this dungeon.
The kitchen. Toren paused. But curiosity slowly propelled him towards the door. He hesitated, listening. There were definitely voices coming from the other side. More than before. The [Skeleton Knight] paused as he reached for the door. There was a bar on this door. He slowly touched it, and then looked around.
The Level 27 [Skeleton Knight] paused. He hadn’t leveled up much in that class; Toren didn’t do much killing these days. But he had another class. The purple flames in the skeleton’s eyes glowed brightly for a moment. He pointed, and one of the corpses lying in a small mound jerked and began to move. Toren saw it rise, saw the ghastly light appear in its eyes. A zombie Hobgoblin rose and Toren clapped his hands delightedly.
Erin raised her fists. Toren saw her look past him. The [Skeleton Knight] leapt. Erin whirled and decked him. She jumped on him, trying to break him long enough to get away. The skeleton rose. He bit, and Erin screamed. She hammered at his skull, throwing it off him. Crashing into one wall and scattering his bones. Toren refused to die. He tripped her up. The skin on Erin’s hands tore. She ripped a rib out and stabbed it through his gaping jaws.
They were like him. Toren understood that now. What Az’kerash was learning was what Toren had lived through. The Chosen were children and the [Skeleton Knight] saw that they had the same flaw he did.
Toren had his steel longsword in the broom closet. However, he was well aware that the Level 28 [Skeleton Knight] and Level 13 [Sword Dancer] classes would not avail him against Venitra. She had been created to kill Gold-ranks, and she could do that before activating the enchantments on her body.
Then the [Skeleton Knight] exhaled a plume of magical fire that covered Kerash. The Gnoll Draugr howled as real pain engulfed his body. He swung his arms and Venitra, still staggering, flinched from the closest copy to the Dragon’s fire she had ever seen.
