Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Intermediate Skills

Inside the deepest part of the fortress, Aiden sat quietly within his private room.

Torchlight flickered softly against the stone walls while cold night wind slipped through the narrow windows.

The room itself remained simple.

A wooden table.

A bed.

Several maps spread across the walls.

And countless mission reports gathered over the past week.

Aiden leaned back slightly in his chair while staring at the floating blue system screen before him.

His eyes slowly scanned the updated information.

[Name: Aiden (Level: 50)]

Class: Necromancer (Death God — Locked)

Basic-Grade Summon: 19

Bronze-Grade Summon: 36

Iron-Grade Summon: 0

Silver-Grade Summon: 0

Gold-Grade Summon: 0

Legendary-Grade Summon: 0

Mythical-Grade Summon: 0

Summon Slot Available: 55/98

Active Skills: Lord of the Dead, Bone Shield, Bone Spear, Undead Reinforcement, Undead Sight, Possession Command, Fear Pulse, Bone Armor, Grave Calling, Bone Prison, Corpse Explosion, Bone Rend, Grave Step, Grave Anchor, Bone March

Passive Skills: Mana Channeling, Necrotic Sustain, Necrotic Reservoir, Undead Dominion, Death Aura, Death Duelist, Bone Density Reinforcement

Skill Points: 11

Subordinates: 6

Gold Coins: 10,843

Undead Army: 10,785

Normal Undead: 10,765

Body Tempering Undead: 20

Aiden stared at the numbers silently for a while.

Then slowly leaned back deeper into the chair.

"...Level fifty already."

Even he found the speed slightly absurd.

Months ago, he was still carefully avoiding major forces.

Now?

He possessed an army large enough to drown an entire city.

And the most terrifying part...

The army was still growing.

Aiden glanced toward the undead army count again.

Ten thousand seven hundred eighty-five.

He had reached the goal.

Actually surpassed it.

A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Not bad."

His gold reserves had increased massively too. Between raids, destroyed caravans, looted villages, and wiped-out mercenary groups, the fortress treasury had become frighteningly large.

Over ten thousand gold coins.

That amount alone could fund a small clan for years.

Knock.

Knock.

Aiden raised his eyes slightly.

"Come in."

The heavy wooden door opened slowly.

Graveknit stepped inside first.

Behind him came Carrion, Kael and Dragmar.

The four undead commanders lowered their heads immediately.

"My lord."

Aiden looked toward them calmly.

Aiden’s eyes moved toward the four undead standing before him.

Graveknit stood calmly like always.

Kael remained silent near the side of the room, one hand resting near his sword.

Dragmar looked like a giant wall standing inside the chamber, his massive frame making the room feel smaller.

Carrion stood beside them quietly.

Aiden finally spoke.

"Report."

Graveknit answered first.

"The army has finished reorganizing."

He stepped forward slightly and placed several maps onto the wooden table.

"Most undead soldiers are now equipped with proper weapons and armor."

Aiden lowered his eyes toward the maps.

Small markings surrounded Valen City from multiple directions.

Encirclement points.

Ambush positions.

Supply routes.

The city was slowly being boxed in without even realizing it.

Carrion spoke next.

"The northern roads are almost completely abandoned now. Merchant activity dropped heavily after the last attacks."

Aiden looked into the distance silently for several moments before speaking.

"Tomorrow night," he said quietly.

"The attack begins."

The room immediately became colder.

Even Kael’s pale-blue eyes flickered slightly brighter.

Graveknit lowered his head deeper.

"As you command, my lord."

Dragmar slowly gripped the handle of his mace tighter.

The giant undead almost sounded excited when he spoke.

"Will we destroy the city completely?"

Aiden thought for a moment.

Then smiled faintly.

"...No."

His eyes slowly darkened.

"We’ll make it our base."

Then one by one, they left the room.

Kael disappeared almost silently.

Carrion followed shortly after.

Dragmar had to lower his head slightly just to fit through the doorway, his armored footsteps echoing heavily down the hallway.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Finally, only Aiden remained inside the room again.

Silence returned.

Aiden leaned back into his chair slowly and exhaled.

Tomorrow night would decide everything.

If the attack succeeded, he would finally gain a real foothold in this world.

No more hiding inside forests.

No more acting carefully.

A true undead stronghold.

Aiden rubbed the side of his forehead lightly before glancing toward the floating blue screen again.

Then his eyes narrowed slightly.

"...Now that I’m level fifty..."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I should have new skills available."

He immediately opened the skill section.

The blue screen shifted instantly.

Rows of familiar beginner necromancy skills appeared briefly before new information slowly emerged beneath them.

[Intermediate Necromancy Skills Unlocked.]

Aiden straightened slightly in his chair.

"Oh?"

Five new skills slowly appeared before him.

And unlike most of his older abilities...

These felt different.

More dangerous.

More specialized toward direct combat.

Aiden’s eyes sharpened immediately.

"Close combat skills?"

That was actually something he needed badly. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Most of his current abilities focused on commanding undead or mid-range combat. If strong practitioners managed to close the distance against him directly, he still lacked enough personal fighting techniques.

But these...

These were built for killing up close.

Aiden slowly began reading the descriptions one by one.

[Bone Fang Rush

Type: Intermediate Active Skill

Cost: 3 Skill Points

Description: Condenses necrotic bone armor around both arms and legs before launching the user forward at explosive speed. Upon impact, sharpened bone spikes erupt outward from the body, tearing through enemies at close range. Greatly increases close-range mobility and burst attack power.]

Aiden raised an eyebrow slightly.

"...A movement skill."

And an aggressive one at that.

Against ordinary body tempering practitioners, that kind of sudden burst speed would be lethal.

The second skill appeared immediately after.

[Grave Knight Form

Type: Intermediate Active Skill

Cost: 3 Skill Points

Description: Covers the user’s body with condensed necrotic armor forged from death mana. Greatly increases physical strength, defense, and resistance against impacts during close combat. Bone blades can be formed temporarily around the arms during battle.]

Aiden’s eyes flickered slightly.

Now that...

That was useful.

It basically turned him into a close-range fighter temporarily.

Considering his physical body was already stronger than normal practitioners because of his passive skills, combining that with necrotic armor would make him far more dangerous.

The third skill appeared.

[Death Pulse Slash

Type: Intermediate Active Skill

Cost: 3 Skill Points

Description: Channels necrotic energy into weapons or bone constructs before releasing compressed death energy through melee strikes. Attacks cause internal necrotic damage that continues spreading after impact.]

Aiden leaned back slightly.

"...That’s nasty."

Not just physical damage.

Internal damage too.

Even if someone blocked the attack, the necrotic energy could still invade their body afterward.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

That suited him perfectly.

The fourth skill slowly emerged.

[Skeletal Dominion

Type: Intermediate Active Skill

Cost: 3 Skill Points

Description: Temporarily summons skeletal arms from nearby shadows and corpses during close combat. The skeletal limbs can restrain enemies, block attacks, or assist the user offensively during battle.]

Aiden immediately imagined using that during melee combat.

An enemy dodges his attack...

Only for skeletal hands to suddenly grab their legs from below.

Annoying, brutal, and very necromancer-like.

Then finally...

The fifth skill appeared.

[Death Shadow Step

Type: Intermediate Active Skill

Cost: 3 Skill Points

Description: Allows the user to momentarily merge with necrotic shadows and instantly reposition within short distances during combat. Greatly enhances evasiveness and assassination capabilities during close-range engagements.]

Aiden stared at the final skill for several seconds.

Then slowly smiled.

"...Now that’s dangerous."

Instant repositioning in close combat?

Combined with Bone Fang Rush?

Most body tempering practitioners probably wouldn’t even react in time.

Aiden crossed his arms while thinking carefully.

He only had eleven skill points.

Intermediate skills required three each.

Meaning...

He could only choose three skills for now.

The room became quiet again as he considered the options carefully.

Bone Fang Rush gave explosive mobility.

Grave Knight Form massively improved survivability and direct combat.

Death Pulse Slash increased lethality.

Skeletal Dominion provided battlefield control.

Death Shadow Step offered assassination and movement.

Honestly...

All of them were useful.

Aiden stared at the floating screen thoughtfully.

Then slowly nodded to himself.

"I already have enough battlefield control."

What he lacked most personally...

Was survivability and lethal close combat.

His decision slowly became clearer.

First.

[Grave Knight Form.]

Without hesitation, Aiden selected it.

The screen flashed briefly.

A heavy wave of necrotic energy immediately spread through his body.

His muscles tightened slightly while dark mana flowed beneath his skin like cold water.

For a brief moment, faint black armor patterns appeared along his arms before fading again.

Aiden flexed his fingers slowly.

"...Good."

Second.

[Death Shadow Step.]

Aiden selected it next.

The shadows inside the room suddenly flickered unnaturally.

For one brief second, Aiden’s body almost seemed to disappear before instantly reappearing in the chair again.

Fast.

Extremely fast.

A faint grin slowly appeared on his face.

And finally...

[Death Pulse Slash.]

The moment he selected it, cold necrotic energy surged through both his arms violently.

The wooden table in front of him suddenly creaked.

Crack.

A thin black mark spread briefly across its surface before disappearing.

Aiden looked at his hand quietly.

Then smiled faintly.

"...Yeah. Now, I’m confident I can fight that Fuing guy on my own"

Now he finally looked more like a real combat necromancer.