### Entity ###
A family of armored skeletons dragged a pair of corpses below the canopy of trees.
Skeletons hauling corpses. What a sight to behold. The sable beast’s carcass dragged the soil as its blood seeped into the soil, lugged by his warrior constructs. The archers carried the lonesome human carcass. The rest escorted and covered their tracks.
So far… so good. No goblins appeared in the cloak of night, and Frail understood why. The dark, sneaky beasts posed a sizable threat to their numbers.
The skeletons made their way through the passage, past through the mining shaft, and dropped the corpses before his domain pedestal. Frail organized another party; this time, he sent eight instead of five, confident of his safety after his brief expedition.
[You gained 200 essences.]
[You gained 600 essences.]
Extract.
[Corpse extraction complete. You gained 400 essences.]
[You now have 1670 essences.]
[Extraction summary]
[1x human wanderer. Total essence: 100]
[1x sable furred dark beast. Total essence: 300]
The next batch of explorers left his domain. One archer kept sentry a few paces outside of the entrance. The possibility of another attack lingered in the back of his mind, but he had to reap all the opportunities around him while the time was ripe.
Racketing bones announced their presence in the forest—meaning it didn’t take long before hisses and roars answered their presence. Twin beasts slid past the cloak of darkness. Their furious eyes glowered. Their fur melded with the blinding darkness.
Strange, Frail questioned as his patrol squared up in a formation. They never showed interest in non-edible targets before.
The beasts bared their fangs and lurched closer—a warning.
A warning… for what purpose?
Alone, they posed little threat as long as the skeletons maintained their formation. Had they attacked from the cloak of night, Frail could’ve suffered major losses, but these brandished fangs were meant to dissuade his constructs from perusing further. They’d attack if Frail’s constructs were laced with meat.
Something important is in there.
Once they realized their warnings were ignored, the beasts charged forth to crush their invaders. Frail split his party into two—archers behind warriors. The clamor of steel against fangs and claws rang. Sparks of flares rained. Ropes of blood splattered and drizzled the forest floor.
The combination of defenses and ranged superiority ensured his constructs their safety. Their sleek bodies were now riddled with arrows as their breaths turned ragged. Their twirling tails failed to mount a grave retaliation. Another usage of wrath ended the battle.
Once calm fell upon the forest floor, the skeleton band dragged the corpses back to his dwelling.
[You gained 600 essences.]
[You gained 600 essences.]
[Corpse extraction complete. You gained 600 essences.]
[You now have 3470 essences.]
[Extraction summary]
[2x sable furred beast. Total essence: 600]
Enough for another upgrade. The two parties he sent bequeathed him bountiful essences. But not enough for a domain lord fabricator… plus its subsequent upgrades.
Frail opened his upgrade menu:
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="100%">
Construct slot upgrade
Increases your maximum construct slot limit.
- Grants +5 construct slots.
Costs 1000 essences. 1 Upgrade slot.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Five more slots.
[You purchased a construct slot upgrade!]
[You now have 2470 essences.]
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
ENTITY STATUS - FRAIL | Class : Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Core Integrity: 100%
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Essence: 2470
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Upgrade slots | 2/5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Construct slots | 5/15
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Currently inhabiting a construct. Entity upgrade menu disabled.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Masteries
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Traits
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Skills
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Bone construction - 1
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Undeath legionStolen story; please report.
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Raise construct - Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Essence Drain
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="100%">
Construct slot upgrade - 2 - inaccessible.
Increases your maximum construct slot limit.
Warning! Requires tier 2 entity.
- Grants +10 construct slots.
Costs 5000 essences. 2 Upgrade slots.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Inaccessible, and it costs 5000 essences… Frail closed the entity upgrade window and opened another.
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="100%">
Skeleton Archer upgrades - Tier 1 - Current level: 4
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Attribute increase: Increases 1 attribute by 2. Costs: 500 essences. Raises level by 1.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Ability upgrade - Acid arrow - 2 - Reduces attack count necessary to 4. Acid deals more damage. Costs: 800 essences. Raises level by 2.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Ability uprade - Speed draw - Increases attack rate by 30% > 40%, arrows deal extra 15% > 20% damage for 15 seconds. Costs: 800 essences. Raises level by 2.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded weapons(1) - Tier 1 - Strengthens the constructs’ weapons. Next level; provides +3 strength, +5 dexterity. Costs: 1000 essences. Does not raise construct level.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded armors(1) - Tier 1 - Strengthens the constructs’ armor. Next level; provides +5 resilience, +4 resistance. Costs: 1000 essences. Does not raise construct level.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="100%">
Skeleton Warrior upgrades - Tier 1 - Current level: 4
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Attribute increase: Increases 1 attribute by 2. Costs: 500 essences. Raises level by 1.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Ability upgrade - Bone’s bulwark - 2 - Increases physical resistance by 5% and reduces further blunt damage penalty by 5%. Costs: 800 essences. Raises level by 2.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Ability upgrade - Wrath - 2 - Buffs strength and dexterity by 30% >40% for 10 > 12 seconds. Costs: 1000 essences. Raises level by 2.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded Weapons - Tier 1 - Strengthens the constructs’ weapons. Next level; provides +2 dexterity, + 6 strength. Costs: 1000 essences. Does not raise construct level.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded armors - Tier 1 - Strengthens the constructs’ armor. Next level; provides +5 resilience, +4 resistance. Costs: 1000 essences. Does not raise construct level.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The additional ability upgrades lacked impact compared to Frail’s first upgrade. Attributes-wise, the weapon and armor upgrades gave the most value, despite the downside of never increasing the construct level and not providing any further utility other than raw attributes.
Would these upgrades prevail over the allure of amassing more constructs? After all, he had five more to play with.
Frail saw value in the rogues to act as scouts clad in darkness—their concealed strike made them invaluable. After all, his threat stretched beyond mere goblins and dark beasts. At one point—perhaps now or later—he’d come face to face with other humans, evident from the innumerable human carcasses he’d found.
Whether they’d come bearing the flag of peace or strife… he couldn’t tell.
Besides, unlocking rogue constructs wouldn’t cost him an arm and a leg—300 essences sounded like a worthy investment in his mind.
Two additional rogues crawled out of the white ooze alongside two warriors and an archer. Dark, weathered cloaks sealed their skulls, clavicles, and ribs within a comfortable darkness. Twin-chipped daggers shimmered under the lanterns of his mining shaft as the rogues slithered toward the exit. They moved faster than Frail’s initial expectations.
[You now have 670 essences.]
Frail scanned the rogue’s upgrade menu.
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="100%">
Skeleton Rogue upgrades - Tier 1 - Current level: 1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Attribute increase: Increases 1 attribute by 2. Costs: 500 essences. Raises level by 1.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Ability upgrade - Concealed strikes - 2 - Reduces the distance before the conceal bonus is removed. Deals an additional 20% damage. Costs: 800 essences. Raises level by 2.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
New ability - Dark rush - Rush toward a location, temporarily activating concealed strikes. Lasts for 5 seconds and gains +10 dexterity during the duration. Costs: 1000 essences. Raises level by 3. Cooldown: 20 seconds.
Gains +6 Dexterity upon purchase.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded equipment - Strengthens the construct’s weapons. Next level; provides +6 dex, +2 strength. Costs: 1000 essences. Does not raise level.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded armor - Strengthens the construct’s armor. Next level; provides +5 resilience, +4 resistance. Costs: 1000 essences. Does not raise construct level.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Dark rush… Another active ability, and it synergized with concealed strikes well. It would be more than beneficial to acquire this in his arsenal.
Frail glanced at the encroaching darkness thick on the forest floor. As nice as the upgrade sounded, it meant nothing if he couldn’t afford it.
Resume.
He needed to know what those sable beasts were guarding. His constructs lifted their heads in unison.
Four archers, four warriors, and two rogues scoured beneath the roof of leaves and the moonlight. Another four followed behind them, ready for backup in case the main party came across danger.
The trees eventually parted.
Hold.
Rogues… move up. He ordered the rest to stay. Out of all his constructs, the rogues had the best odds to elude detection.
Frail came across a clearing hidden among the bristly woods. The space here seemed… made, unnatural, touched by living things. Short jaggy stumps perforated the earth, wreathing a pack of the same black beasts Frail had encountered. Traces of moonlight breached the opening and bathed over the sable-skinned beasts. They all looked similar…
…except for one.
Standing at twice the height of its lesser kind, a twin-tailed quadruped rested on its back legs, its eyes searching the darkness for potential dangers.
Halt. The skeletons stopped dead in their tracks.
[Tier 1 - Black twin-tailed beast - Alpha]
Alpha. Doubtless, it packed at least twice the power of its brethren. It might be an entity… that was a possibility he must entertain, but from how they moved and acted, he doubted it. They seemed alive… but their movements lacked purpose.
Regardless, Frail stood little chance of defeating them without the aid of his dungeon lord. Without its auras and buffs to all his units, and without the coverage of Frail’s domain bonuses… The alpha would devastate his skeletons on its own.
And it wasn’t alone. Frail counted five of its smaller brethren patrolling around the clearing.
It seemed suicidal to pursue such a grand task on his first night out. He remembered the paths that led here and withdrew.
Go deeper.
The band of bones circled the alpha’s home—far enough . The rogues blazed ahead with their silent steps, skipping past all the roots and the bushes, their vision capturing everything they spotted. Their collective information streamed into Frail’s memories. Now even faster, clearer than before. So quick his mind barely caught up.
This new feel pronounced the differences between an Entity’s consciousness and a human’s even further. No human brain could process all these at once. None of the constructs had eyes—physically—and yet… here he was, seeing everything from the comfort of his domain. The image he saw came from a unity of all the information his scouts had gathered.
The rocks, the leaves, the trees, the soil, he could spot them from all angles given by his constructs. When he pieced the information together, the scenery appeared three-dimensional.
Get used to it. Frail recognized the distinct advantage of utilizing this vision. If I do… I’ll be-
Whispers.
Hold.
“The dungeon…” The voice of a man echoed. “Do you think they’ll come back? What if something happened?”
“The hell you on about? They got a Chosen with them. Of course, they will.” Another voice whispered, sounding annoyed. “Sleep, dude. It’s too early to worry about them.”
The pyres of a campfire drowned their whispers.
Chosen. Myrkul warned him about them. Hecratia’s chosen, specifically.
Go closer.
The scouts found a wall of wooden palisades, with more traces of speech trailing from within. Human speech. The hiss of campfires drowned the whispers as his rogues skulked closer. Frail wanted to know, listen, see what they looked like…
But stepping any closer would alarm them. If these happened to be Hecratia’s men, then Frail would step into his sworn enemy’s territory. He glimpsed the size of their camp; his numbers were pitiful compared to theirs.
What would be the most likely outcome if they saw a group of skeletons broaching the forest?
He’d be attacked. And essences were… too precious to let go.
Retreat.
Frail could not find anything else worthy of interest besides the palisade walls and the alpha camp. He had great vision, but not so great he’d glare through the curtain of blackness. His rogues returned on time; hints of sunlight turned the once star-speckled skies a shade closer to orange.
Another day had passed.
How long did he have before those dungeons were cleared? What entailed the clearing of four dungeons? He wouldn’t get the rewards, nor was he ever… connected to the quest in the first place. Unless his home had been specified as one of the dungeons… But then the system would’ve labeled him as one.
Instead, he woke up as an Entity.