"...These guys are working fast." - Mira

"Something like this was an everyday occurrence when I was a member of Troopers." - Alf

This jungle-island has gotten one nice headquarters~... seriously, how did they do it? This place is as big as Armveil's shop! And this is literally in the middle of the jungle. That's some workmanship there. 

"Hello, or welcome back." - Shula

The one welcoming us was the regular cashier worker of Armveil's shop: the Jewel People named Shula.

"Yo, Shula! You've been transferred here?" - Mira

"Yes. As this base's commander." - Shula

"Oho. So, a promotion in other words?" - Alf

"Something like that." - Shula

That's impressive. There are other members of the organization here, working alongside the gorillas and the snakes, who had gone into hiding when Avido had taken control over their bosses back then. The idea of a symbiotic relationship with the inhabitants of the jungle seems to go alright then.

"...If I may ask..., what is wrong with miss Noire?" - Shula

"Oh, her... let's say that her desires and reality ain't aligned with each other." - Garami

Shula didn't look convinced by my answer but decided to leave further questions be after seeing the crestfallen angel's state. 

Yesterday night, when the fallen angel forced me to tell her more about [Golden Ratio], she demanded me to find more about it when both she and Mira couldn't obtain the skill from the Skill Shop.

Turns out [Golden Ratio]'s a tier-2 skill, meaning it has a precursor. That one's called [Dreamlike Form]. It only has the "does not turn fat" ability of [Golden Ratio], but it seems that the former skill can evolve into many different variants, with the latter being a Charm-enhancing type.

The problem, however, is that Mira could buy the skill with only 1 Skill Point. The fallen angel needed 5. She still took it, and I agreed to it. Mostly because I'm curious if some evolution will unlock for the fallen angel due to the skill.

"Ignore her for now. What about 'that guy' from before?" - Garami

"That guy...? Oh, right. He is outside helping with the construction of the arena." - Shula

"...He is technically a prisoner." - Garami

"S-still, you cannot say he is making any problems..." - Shula

Guess not. His situation is special, to say the least.

Shula dragged us along to a clearing-in-the-process, where many black-clothed personals kept on cutting down the trees in the way for then processing them into building materials. From what Shula said, this must be the place where the battle-arena for the gorillas and the snakes is gonna be.

And one notable exception of the group of black's a single man wearing iron-colored armor. 

"Hey, ain't that-" - Mira

"That's our guide." - Garami

The iron knight stopped his work when he saw us and made a light bow.

"A pleasure to meet you again, miss Garami." said the armored figure, with a voice that had a metallic hint in it.

"You know this guy?" - Alf

"Mhm. Saved him when he and his friends attacked us." - Garami

The three looked puzzled at me, so I started from the beginning:

The armor-guy here's a real Living Armor, the one I used Turn Undead on, back when we fought Avido. After waking up from the brutal meeting with the tree, he started to explain himself to me, who was there when he woke up, and the truth is that he never knew about the tunnel leading to Sea Tree Island. He didn't even know why he was there, as most of his memories from a few days before we met are gone.

The reason for this, as we deduced, is that the Living Armor got possessed by something called a "Geist". Low-ranked ghost monsters possess their targets and control them against the possessed party's will. 

The black smog that left the Living Armor when I used Turn Undead on him must have been that ghost. The Living Knight is sturdy enough to withstand the exorcising spell, but the same can't be told for the G-rank Geist.

In some cases, the possession can bring new abilities to the possessed party. This must be where the undeads' [Daywalker] skill comes from. And considering that the Living Armor lost his skill along with the Geist, it's highly probable that the previous theory is correct.

To double-check this, I used Turn Undead on several other undeads as we hunted them down. All the undeads released this black smog, and the survivors lost their [Daywalker] skill. So, it's safe to say that the undeads were equally victims as we were. Some of the less intelligent ones tried to attack us, Geist or no Geist, but they turned into our EXP.

"So, we decided to spare the survivors under the condition that they'll be worked to the bone for the organization." - Garami

"Hey, that's not a nice thing to do, even if they're Skeletons." - Mira

Stop with the skull jokes. Only guys with afros are allowed to do that.

"Anyhow, this guy's gonna be under our command from now on. Treat him well." - Garami

And the case is closed. Huh, what's up with that look? Don't you three trust your leader's decisions? Where's the world going to?

---

"There have been several undeads trying to break through the tunnel after their previous attack, but we have made it a habit to extinguish them all before they can regroup into an army. We had to burn the zombie corpses, but we managed to store the Skeleton corpses if you can make use of them." - Shula

As expected of Shula, she gets the job done. After converting the Skeleton remains, I returned to the crater-like hole containing the tunnel that's gonna lead us to the Castle. 

"Well, let's get going then." - Garami

"Before that, Garami, what are we going to do with this guy?" asked Mira while pointing at the Living Armor.

...She's got a point. What can this guy do anyway? He's got info regarding the castle-town, but ain't he clueless regarding the tunnels?

All I know is that he's got [Sunlight Resistance], a skill I ordered him to obtain, and train, by the time we returned to this island. Also, the [Party] skill, which I bribed Carion into giving me a copy of before we left. Not to mention that he has some experience with the one-handed sword and the great shield he's holding.

Nothing a little Identification can't fix. I made it so that the other three could see the result, and...

 This guy's actually pretty competent!

"Wha-!? Why's this guy also a Squire?!" - Mira

"That's true. Shouldn't monsters be in the dark regarding how to acquire classes?" - Alf

We all looked at the Living Armor for answers.

"...The lord that lives in the castle-town. He allows some to take a trial." - Iron

"Then... there's someone, or something, on that island with the authority to initiate the Squire-acquisition Quest, and you were one of the lucky few who cleared it?" - Mira

"...That is right." - Iron

One question answered, a truckload more obtained, I guess?

"Who is this 'lord'-character then?" - Alf

The Living Armor paused with its hand on its chin, looking as if thinking about how to answer the question.

"...It is difficult to explain. Easier to show." - Iron

......Group meeting!

(So, what's your take on its... his story?) - Alf

(It is as suspicious as it gets, even when we ignore that he is an undead) - Noire

(Noire, do you have anything against undeads) - Mira

(There are good and sensible undeads out there though. The Skeleton receptionist at the Union is one.) - Garami

(Old Jack Loupe! I see. Then the question is-) - Mira

(Is this guy also one of those?) - Alf

(Right. Garami, you are too trustworthy of this guy.) - Noire

(I don't trust him. That's why I risked getting [Probing] to see whether his skills included something that could trick us.) - Garami

(The result?) - Alf

(Nothing. And I'm pretty sure of it. [Empyrean Eyes] is stronger than [Identification], so I could see if something was wrong, even without [Probing]. There's also [Mind's Eye] that improves the effect of both].) - Garami

(Unless he is a natural-born trickster, then we should be safe? But what if something is tricking him as well?) - Noire

(If it's something undead, then we should be able to give ourselves a chance to escape. We're armed to fight that kind anyway. Not to mention we have those swords of yours.) - Alf

(You mean Airgetám?) - Mira

(That's the one. And we can use those black snakes Garami used against Avido if there's something not-undead holding the threads.) - Alf

(Then, we are having him join?) - Noire

(...Let's improve our battle-plan a little. Just to be safe.) - Garami

We ended the whispering meeting with that.

"......?" - Iron

"Sorry about that. Iron, was it? May we ask you some questions?" - Alf

"If I can answer." - Iron

"Eh... great. Then first, are there more undeads with classes such as you? Except for the Skeletons and Zombies that obtain one due to their race." - Alf

"Yes." - Iron

......That's it?

"Ehm... could you tell us some more details regarding them?" - Alf

"There are others who have succeeded in the lord's trial. No one else has a class, as far as I know." - Iron

Urgh, we forgot that this guy can't check the status of the other undeads. 

"That is fine. Is there some undeads we should not attack then?" - Alf

"If they are attacking first, it is good to strike back. Rational undeads tend to stay in the safe zones, which is inaccessible for the wild ones." - Iron

Whatta you know. These guys have made their own community.

"However, there may be rational undeads who have been possessed like I was. They need to be taken out, but please try to save them if the opportunity arise." - Iron

...This guy, despite being one of the undead, is actually quite a nice guy?

---

After reducing our doubts regarding Iron the Living Armor, we proceeded through the dark, rocky tunnels. We all got some sort of night vision, with Iron having it as part of his Traits of being of the undead, so we all walked through the tunnel with no problems. It was so uneventful that we started to strike up conversations as we walked. 

First, we discussed how to confront any enemies in the tunnels, but the lack of side tunnels made it impossible for anyone to ambush us here. 

After a while, the conversations went to a more laid-back nature, mostly in the direction of questioning our new member. Iron never started the talks on his own, but he wasn't shy of telling us his thoughts regarding the subject when someone else did. Like what his interests were, how he envied the zombies that could eat food, and his displeasure of the Geists that took over the rational undeads and made them "wild", as he described it.

He's not a bad guy at all. Just a little too stiff. Mira warmed up to the tin can first, probably due to them sharing the interests of being knights. Alf then joined the band, and the fallen angel's ice wall of distrust melted like it was placed in the desert when Iron started complimenting her looks and the accessories she had made for today.

"...Enemies, right in front of us. Around 40." - Garami

The fun times have ended. 

Let's push the jokes away and have the scout-specialized Skeleton Spider return to our group before it's spotted. 

Our group is supported by six Skeletons under my command. A Skeleton Tortoise (rank E, Material cost 400), two different Skeleton Mages (rank E, Material cost 600 each), the Skeleton Spider assigned as a scout (rank F, Material cost 150), and two more Skeleton Spiders (rank F, Material cost 150).

I wanted to triple the cost for the E-ranks as well, but I've barely got around 2,100 Materials at hand now. These six consumed all I had on hand.

Alf and Iron took up position in the front, and the rest of us prepared our spells to bombard the undeads when they were in our range. The Skeleton Tortoise positioned itself to act as a final line of defense for the rear guards.

-First line, attack!

Once the enemy group came within a visible range, I gave the two special Skeleton Spiders orders.

They attacked by expelling threads from their mouths with the help of the [Shooting] skill. Still kinda weirded out that Skeletons could produce threads when they're just empty exoskeletons.

-Second line, fire!

The enemy's front line got caught in the sticky threads, which was then followed by the two Skeleton Mages' magic attacks of the Fire- and Wind attributes.

Hm-hm-hm. That's right. One of the Mages is a Skeleton Fire Mage! As luck would allow it, one of the undeads that attacked during the Avido-incidence turned out to be a Fire Mage. The attributable mage I wanted the most for my collection is finally mine! I've been training this kind so it could use the most devastating fire attacks in combination with the easily flammable spider threads. 

A small inferno covered the frontline of the enemies, and the fire grew even stronger thanks to the Wind Magic giving the flames more air. The fire spread to the rear lines, but the fire quickly faded out. Tch, still can't control the correct amount of wind yet. Rather, the automatic Skeleton Mage can't make such precise actions. Just shows how much value the competent undeads that only Necromancers can create is.

As the rear lines passed over the cindering remains of their allies, it's time for the second attack. The Skeletons kept their distance while I and Mira used Light Magic on the advancing undeads, along with the fallen angel's Holy Magic. 

A good third of the undeads got sent to the next life thanks to the "holy" bombardment. And the survivors look like they're not far from reentering their coffins again.

Due to the undeads being too close to our front line, I and Mira moved in while the fallen angel started to focus on support spells instead. Mira, Alf, and Iron, all went into close combat with the undeads.

None of Mira's opponents lasted more than a few hits from her greatsword, while Alf took his time using the Warhammer part of his weapon to crush whatever approached him. The enemy Skeletons were exceptionally unlucky over having to face him.

The real star of the show, however, is surprisingly Iron. While Mira and Alf are taking care of two to three undeads each, Iron's holding off 5 or 6 at a time. Instead of doing large swings with his sword or shield, he's sticking to simple strikes or thrusts, focusing solely on defense. He's also making effective use of [Taunting] to direct the hate of the enemy towards him. 

Seriously, that takes guts. [Taunting] is basically pissing off several opponents to the point where they want to beat the living stuffing out of you. And Iron did so without blinking. That takes guts on a supernatural level. Even Alf, our regular tank, tries to keep the damage he takes to a minimum with his walls of ice. Iron, on the other hand, fights with his bare body, sword, and shield... okay, his body's armor, but you get the point.

Thanks to the mobs focusing mostly on Iron, it was easy for the two attackers to take out the remaining enemies with the fallen angel's support spell behind their blows. I could focus solely on supporting and healing Iron through the various spells I had learned with [Nether Magic]. This fight is honestly too sweet in proficiency grinding. If only for the Spectermancer class.

And with that, the fight ended quite uneventfully. To the point of it being boring actually. Mira came with such a comment, but all of us were happy about an easy win. 

Level Up! I took a quick look, and it seems only us below Lv.30 went up a level. Guess this means we gotta farm more undeads... hm?

"Hey, look at these." - Garami

I had the Skeletons on guard duty while pointing at two of the remains of the enemies. One is a Skeleton with a red body. The other was a blueish zombie, as opposed to the sickly green color of its peers.

"Hm? What are these? Rare undeads?" - Noire

"You're not far from the truth. The Skeleton is a Red Skeleton, an offensive-based rank E undead." - Garami

"Okay... rank E?! Isn't Skeletons rank F?" - Noire

"...Garami, did you ignore this guy's class?" - Alf

"A Class-owning Red Skeleton is a rank D monster. The Red Skeleton is an extra race evolution for regular Skeletons. They are stronger than the average kind." - Garami

There's also the defensive Blue Skeleton, not to mention the metallic Skeletons that are normally rank D. 

"Meaning, we should stay on our guard despite the easy victory?" - Mira

"That's obvious, but even more so now." - Garami

"T-then, this zombie is..." asked the fallen angel while pointing at the blueish zombie with a shaking finger.

"A Ghoul. E rank zombie-type undead." - Garami

"I knew it!" - Noire

Ghouls are more monstrous than regular zombies. They have higher strength, greater durability, but less intelligence. If one wants more "civilized" zombies, then one needs the rank E Remnants. They've got greyer skin color than regular zombies, but they act just like humans. They also have class-based evolutions, just like the regular zombies and Skeletons. The latter part holds for the "color" Skeletons.

All that's mentioned just now results in the Ghouls being essentially monstrous zombies with only the shape similar to humanoids. That births a new question: why did, or rather, could the Ghouls act together with the other undeads? 

After telling this to the others, we all turned to the guy who could answer the question.

"No clue." - Iron

Just like that!?

"Iron, you... I got it! What if all the undeads, Ghoul or not Ghoul, was under the command of those 'Geists' or whatever?" - Mira

"Good thinking. That was my theory as well." - Garami

"......Hey! Did any of the undeads release that black smog!" - Alf

"I-I didn't notice!" - Noire

We're not gonna solve such a mystery with just a single confrontation. I converted all the undead remains and we continued further in.

......Tch. So higher-ranked undeads like "color" Skeletons and Ghouls can't be added as blueprints? Then the only choice is to advance into Necromancer after all... or is it the abilities of Necromancer that unlock those blueprints? Instead of directly converting the corpses? Eh, I'll know when I get that far.

We had experienced no damage or loss during the first fight, but all members were tenser than before we had entered the tunnels. Everyone noticed then. The fact that if there are undeads with a starting rank of E out there, then there's a bigger chance for rank D undeads also existing. Since class-based evolutions are only easy at the beginning.

---

It's been around a day since we entered the tunnels. We didn't meet any large group of undeads like the first one, but there have been a few small scrambles against the small groups we've encountered. They were enough for all of us to gain another level each. 

The biggest gain however was the existence of the Fairy Skeleton we encountered. They're rank F and more focused on magic than regular Skeletons or Zombies, but they still can evolve into a class-based race.

Meaning I have replaced the Skeleton Fire Mage and Wind Mage with a Fairy Skeleton Fire Mage and Wind Mage. This has increased the group's magic capabilities by a lot. Like, we could beat a group 1.5 times than the first one with even more ease, just with this simple change of two undeads.

The only downside is that their names are real mouthfuls. And they're weak to close combat, but the fairy undeads are hiding behind the Skeleton Tortoise whenever they fight so that weakness ain't that big of a problem. Rather, their small size is just another positive for our group. They're even in possession of [Fey Magic], which makes them even more valuable as spellcasters.

And finally, we've reached the exit of the tunnels.

Alright. The tutorial is over. Now starts the real deal.