The lich sounds smug, "Okay, the new class is done. One of my better works if I'm allowed to brag. Is that serviceable for you? I hope this one is satisfactory because that was frigging expensive to make!"

Not what I had in mind but fire affinity is a big plus and [Life Eater Armor] should eat swarm-type enemies for breakfast. The spider swarm earlier did around 50 damage, if I retaliate with almost 60% of my FTH... that should be at least 300 damage to the usual low WIL monsters, so 75 HP restoration. Yeah, that can become super useful.

That skill combined with the high VIT and HP growth is almost like a tank mage. Or at least a glass wall.

Could use more MP though.

[Legion of Doom]... looks like a cheat. This is like three skills in one. At least, the second spirit race is a free, minor power boost once we have the 'Summon Master' title.

Its option to add an undead class though... well, they are lower-leveled than me so they should be sooner safe from the sun. But the intelligenceloss is an issue and losing concentration is a no-go at least for Elly. She needs it for flight. Well, I don't want to lose Elly and Maria, making them undead this way sounds like murder. So what's the point...

I would have to check which undead options we have exactly, but I can't imagine that they provide a noticeable stat increase. So far extra classes have nearly non-existent stat increases, not worth the exp cost. At best I could imagine something intangible like a ghost as an option. An untouchable assassin that always gets sneak attack damage off might be cool. Or an army of ghost paladins.

Oh, right, the lich has that [Dominate Undead] skill... the undead modifier is probably a trap.

"I have a question about [Legion of Doom]. Do you intend to take over an undead spirit I create and free yourself from here that way?"

The truth gem still sits on the table. No matter what the answer is, I can plan around it. In the worst case, I'll just never apply that modifier. Given the sun restriction and intelligenceloss, it isn't attractive in the first place.

"Uh... I've honestly never thought about that option. Hmm... so what you're saying is that if I want revenge, I should do that personally, otherwise my desire for it won't be satisfied? Yeah, you're right. Well, to take over an undead with [Dominate Undead] it would need to be within my reach first, so you would need to create such a spirit right now. But I would lose control again once it goes back into you, so you'd have to keep that 'me' active and I would need to prevent its destruction. Hmm... given your lackluster sun protection that would be impossible. But if you can fix that until our next meeting, I would like to take you up on that offer. But don't waste a spirit slot on that yet. When I make your Demon Lord class, I'll try to include an increase there."

"Alright, ...I look forward to it" because I dread the consequences.

That's... actually not what I expected. This means I just gave a dangerous entity an idea... shit.

Well, can't take it back now...

What else is there to the skill...

The army option of [Legion of Doom]... I mean I did ask how a Summoner is supposed to command a literal army of spirits, but I don't think I have the MP for that. Once created the MP would be lost forever it seems. Unless I also take the Essence Binder class and apply the modifier to a bound monster then send the army to its death, otherwise I'll never recover the MP.

Would a huge group of level two spirits even be that useful? They would be stuck with pathetic stats and only have the first skill of each class basically forever. The regular spirits would hit level twenty before the mook group learns a new skill. There's simply a point where the weaker ones won't be able to inflict any damage at all. Up to floor 120 if I want to know what is at the bottom of our dungeon, random golem-like bosses, floor 300 to free the universe from this lich... it is basically unavoidable to run into that point. Maybe I can postpone that point with buffs but if really the best we have is on the level of that [Benediction] skill Elly found... a stat increase based on 3% FTH is nothing, that might get us maybe 10 floors further.

I was hoping for more hit-and-run-like tactics of medium-powered spirits and not a standing army of cannon fodder. Well, considering the link between my strongest spirit and my familiars I have more need for the opposite of an army-type spirit, something big, affordable and with lots of classes.

Hmm... maybe as a fourth spirit if the AOE option doesn't work out. I'm picturing some kind of relentless cyborg skeleton army with plasma rifles. As long as the flood monster levels stay in the single digits that should be enough to provide some extra exp.

The [Menace] skill... I don't get it. Why does it protect my allies only from status effects? Why not damage as well?

"What's the point of [Menace]?"

"Do you really have to ask that? Just imagine you run around with [Intimidate], no one would know about that until it is too late. Or maybe you take a page from my playbook and gain a skill that lets you control someone, they wouldn't know they are controlled until they suddenly backstab their best friend. Information is a powerful tool. Information denial just as much."

"I guess that makes sense."

Must have been the influence of a different skeleton friend.

"So you fine with it?"

"Absolutely. I assume higher MP was not possible?"

"No, not without lowering another stat. STR and DEX are already as low as they can go and I doubt you want less HP. The skills are also beyond what is normally allowed. This whole class is already pushing the limitations of what the system allows."

"Got it. Do I take it now or wait until I'm outside?"

"Nah, do it now in case there's another weird rule disallowing it. Don't want to waste all my efforts again. Once it is publically released, I can't edit it anymore. But here while time stands still, it still counts as a pre-release. Don't ask me, the system is weird."

"Okay, will do."

And done. With that, the chapter called Joker Core is now over.

Oh, even broke past three-thousand MP.

"It worked. Finally, one thing worked out today..."

"Glad to hear. I think that was it for today. You can go home now."

"Wait, one final question."

"What is it?"

"Do you know anything about monsters? What are they?"

"Hmm... no, nothing. They didn't interest me. To me, they are just sources of exp and maybe materials. Why do you ask?"

"Well, we're getting overrun by them. It seems like there is no end to them. As if killing them just sends them back to their spawn point."

"Can't help you there. Just accept them as a part of nature and focus on more important things."

I doubt it is that easy. At least long term, we need to investigate where they come from. Don't want to spend my retirement fighting them off for all eternity. I've more important things to do, like spoiling Lucia.

And if my gut feeling regarding monsters is correct...

"Right... so, I'm off then, thanks for the cookies. Next time you've gotta give me the recipe."

"Sure, you know my condition for that."

I get up from the comfy chair and head towards the exit.

I have decided to play along with Basluth's plan for now but only until the artifact is gone. After that... it depends on what the truth behind the events really is. Then it gets ugly.

POV: Basluth

I knew before that he is... weird. I knew that the messed-up second skill from Blood Mage had some effect on his soul but not like that. That was needlessly nerve-wracking...

'I despise using [Dominate Undead] on intelligent beings' my ass. I'm a lich! That makes Evil my middle name! Of course, I would do that! In fact, it was the first thing I tried to use on him before he noticed me and it didn't work. Or rather it did work but I still couldn't order him around. I tried to issue mental commands and they just went nowhere as if reality were out to lunch.

That's never happened before.

It just makes no sense. None. Nada. Zilch.

And when I tried to read his mind to find out what the fuck is wrong I almost die from gazing into an abyss of madness. That was worse than looking into a mirror. What's up with that bullshit? He doesn't have the skills to do something like that, he can't have them, they simply shouldn't exist! I even had to waste one of my few remaining Undeath Elixirs to recover from the backlash. I don't have the materials to make new ones, you know!

What the hell was that?!

...I really should be more careful around that blood elf. Whatever those glitched patches in his soul do is utterly unpredictable.

Well, even if not, controlling him wouldn't have worked for long anyway. Once his soul ripens enough to accept the Demon Lord class he would become immune to it. It would of course be too easy if I could control divine or boss-level creatures.

I mean I could probably create a better [Dominate Undead] version that doesn't have that restriction but I can't afford the DP and I'm already capped on classes, so I couldn't even add it to myself. And replacing an existing skill would likely destroy my soul, can't have that. Worst case, someone manages to luck into that skill and uses it against me. Not worth the risk.

Yeah, a pointless thought.

Well, at least until the time that his soul is ready, I could've moved several pieces into the right places through him and he wouldn't notice a thing being off due to how skilled I am with [Dominate Undead]. But now...

...now that he has offered by his own will to take me outside by way of an undead spirit I feel kinda bad about even trying to control him like that...

Feelings don't matter, I have to get my revenge.

Also, what was the business with the Ring of Monsters? You can't just rewrite skills like that! Once a skill is a part of your soul it is done, set in stone, finito. Do you love monsters so much that you wanted to be a real one and not just an off-brand leech?

Urgh, how... how could those skills get corrupted and rewritten as if they weren't even there? It was like he was an absolute nobody, no, even less than that. Like he didn't exist yet, a blank slate.

I do not comprehend.

And then right after that he goes around and chooses to gain a magic element that doesn't exist. He managed to fool the system into creating a whole new type of magic for him.

Impossible. What he does is just impossible!

Bah!

...

Bone rattling chuckle

I can see that I made the right choice with him. Forget efficiency, he has interesting ideas.

Heh, just what kind of abomination am I dealing with... Thinking about it, makes me go mad! ...der than I already am.

But before that, I must know what the Creed has done to create these cards. They shouldn't have the tech to imitate something like that.

Or did I actually underestimate them? They did create the troublesome artifacts after all.

Hmm...

Interesting. It seems like they use a byproduct of their bioweapons research, or whatever you want to call that. They've worked on that longer than I was a lich at least and don't have anything workable to show for it. Just sometimes a few funny glitch monsters as byproducts...

Well, whatever. That is not a material or method I want to use myself, the divine class has priority. But depending on how much DP I have left, I may sabotage the Creed again, heh.

...ah, wait, shit, I've overdone it with the last class. That cost me about as much as a proper divine class instead of just a fraction. The skills aren't that powerful, are they? Bah, too late now.

For the bait class from the Joker Core, I wanted to keep it to something like a fire spell for the affinity or a shield against weakness damage and maybe one thing he would ask for. And then I got carried away, the... experience with his mind distracted me quite a bit.

Oh, right. Forgot about the Essence Binder. That whim cost me an arm and a leg as well, mostly for [Bind Vestige]. Abusing parts of [Tame Beast] and [Mind Control] for that wasn't a cheap idea. I shouldn't have done that.

At least [Invocation] already existed, otherwise I would be flat-out broke on DP by now. New mechanics like that are just too expensive.

Well, now that I've wasted so much DP on the blood elf, I couldn't even outfit a different person if I found a suitable one. I've just barely enough for what I've planned for his divine class. Shit, that one has to count.

But then... he had an interesting idea there, maybe I should adjust my plan for his divine class accordingly. Originally, I wanted to give him something that would empower his spirits to become his equals and allow him to use their MP for his own needs. But if he is that interested in the power of monsters... Heh, yeah, that could be fun.

Well, no matter what I create for him, he must succeed in breaking the artifact at least. Then I can gather more DP, I would just need time, but my revenge would be inevitable. If he fails... I'm stuck helplessly here...

...

But when I think calmly about it... he is likely to fail. The deteriorated 'Lost One' title doesn't do him any favors. Even his predecessors that didn't have to deal with the severe penalties failed in the end. And the forces of the Creed have only grown stronger since.

Maybe this whole plan was a mistake from the beginning. I should've cut my losses and just decided to pull the plug on the universe, like inverting the electric charge of protons or something stupidly simple like that. Well, too late for that, now that I've too few DP left to do that.

Now I have to deal with the devil I've contracted, for better or for worse.

3QGN73

If the system wasn't a buggy mess Jared's new class wouldn't be allowed. As it is, it is way above the power curve. But in a fairer world where he wouldn't get this class, he also wouldn't have been forced into the Survivor class which does little to nothing for him, so I guess that evens out?