Swordsman's Regression: Reawakened as a Necromancer-Chapter 38: Dataset of Bones

Blue flames erupted behind him, the light blazing in the eyes of the stunned Warriors. From the fires, sixteen Skeleton Soldiers rose, wearing the spoils of the Depths of the Drowned.

The Warriors took a collective step back, disbelief sucking the color of their faces.

"S-Skeletons?" Jorin swallowed hard, gripping his axe tighter. "And... in armor?"

"They are not as strong as they look," Percival lied smoothly. In truth, with the equipment upgrade and his tactics training, his Skeletons were likely stronger than any unawakened human.

But strength wasn’t what he was testing.

"Kekekeke!" Jorin laughed with excitement. "The crown refuses to give us monsters to train. But here comes the Hero once again! Rebel to the crown and loyal to the people!"

The Warriors cheered, raising their blades.

Jorin pointed to the confused Skeletons. "Warriors! Let us show these burning bones the power of muscle and grit!"

The Warriors cheered again.

Percival didn’t expect that enthusiasm, but he more than welcomed it. He wanted these Warriors to push his summons to the absolute edge.

And they did.

Fueled by adrenaline and the presence of the Hero, the Warriors shouted war cries as they engaged, picking the Skeleton they wanted to spar with.

Percival stepped back, crossing his arms. He activated his Perception, slowing the world down just enough to analyze every exchange.

The untrained eye would watch this exchange for merely excitement and thrill, but for Percival, it was a dataset of flaws.

Flaws that he was going to identify and fix in the nearest future.

To his left, Jorin was engaged with a Skeleton wielding a Water Sword and Gold-wrought shield.

Jorin was a veteran; he fought like a Berserker and struck like a Knight. With his axe, he feinted high, causing the Skeleton to react instantly.

Too instantly.

It raised its shield to block the high strike. Jorin grinned and reversed his grip, hooking the axe low to sweep the Skeleton’s legs.

The Skeleton crumpled, hitting the dirt.

The Warrior erupted into laughter. "Come on bone man! You promised a bigger challenge than this!"

Flaw one, Percival noted.

They read movement, not intent.

His Skeletons had the habit of reacting to the initiation of an attack, not the commitment of weight.

As mindless beings, they had no choice but to follow a visual pattern of movement, not the intention of the mind.

Mortals could read intent easily because of the presence of equal-footing mind power. We expect our opponent to be just as willing to deceive as we are.

Skeletons were not at equal-footing mind power (sentience) with mortals, hence they depended on the action itself.

It had been easier with Gate World beasts, since they too had lower mind power compared to humans. But facing the tactical cunning of humans, his Skeletons were being exposed.

The Skeleton scrambled up, unbothered by pain, and swung its sword in a wide, horizontal arc. It was a powerful blow, one that would have shattered ribs, but it was predictable.

Jorin, skilled and strong, easily ducked under it.

Flaw two: No creativity.

’It attacks in binary. Strike. Block. Strike. There is no rhythm, no deception. Likely another effect of low mind power.’

Across the pit, Leah was fighting a Ranger Skeleton.

She was fast, despite using a greatsword. She lunged, piercing the Skeleton’s ribcage. The Skeleton sidestepped, rolled over and swung an arrow.

It had barely reacted to the attack from Leah, it simply moved on with its next attack.

This caused Leah to panic, barely rolling away in time as two arrows struck the ground where she was a second earlier.

Percival noted a strength.

They lack fear and biological vulnerabilities.

This strength, however, could sometimes be a weakness. Lack of fear didn’t necessarily mean courage.

The spar continued, clanging and more clanging filled the Pit. It drew in glances from passersby who stopped to watch the display. Children pointed fingers and men cheered from the fence line.

However, in time, the disparity in skill became painfully obvious to the former Sword Saint.

The Skeletons fought more and more like mindless drones. Simplistic machines.

When a Warrior stepped into their guard, the Skeletons tried to backpedal instead of closing the distance to grapple.

When a Warrior lost their balance, the Skeletons struck without planning, missing the window of opportunity even though they attacked immediately.

They were reactive, not proactive.

"Group up!" Percival commanded mentally.

Three Skeletons suddenly disengaged from their duels and formed a phalanx wall against two Warriors.

"Oh," Jorin smiled. "What do you say Leah? Two against three?"

Leah tilted her head, panting. "If they’re offering."

Jorin chuckled like a happy viking. "A truly hungry man never spares the bone. Kekekeke!"

"Yaaaaaa!!!!"

They exploded into attack.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The first three moves registered by the Warrior pair were met with a solid defense by the Skeletons. Leah and Jorin pulled back, surprised by the sudden coordination.

Better, Percival thought.

As a mob, their lack of creativity mattered less. They covered each other’s openings perfectly.

When Leah tried to flank, the outer Skeleton pivoted like a machine and blocked her strike, while the center Skeleton thrust its Water Sword through the gap.

Leah leaped backwards, escaping the tip of the liquid blade by only a hair’s breath.

Percival could see now; his Skeletons understood spacing, but only relative to each other. They were a hive mind, but as individual drones...

Well, they were stupid.

Eventually, the battle ended not because of skill, but because of fatigue.

The Warriors were panting, their arms heavy, their stamina drained.

The Skeletons, fueled by Percival’s mana, were as fresh as the moment they rose.

The sheer difference in mana-assisted strength allowed the undead to batter down the Warriors’ defenses, disarming them one by one until the humans yielded.

"Enough," Percival ordered.

The Skeletons froze mid-strike, blades hovering inches from sweating necks.

The Warriors collapsed into the dirt, laughing breathlessly.

"By the Gods," Jorin gasped, wiping mud from his face. "That... that was incredible. They don’t stop. They just don’t stop."

Percival dismissed the summons. The bones erupted into flames and dissolved in the smoke.

He had gathered his data.

Percival knew what to do next.

So far, he had been relying on their upgraded gear and numbers to overwhelm dumb beasts. But against intelligent opponents? They would be picked apart by a competent party of Awakeners.

They needed to learn how to feint, how to parry rather than block, and how to press an advantage.

"Thank you, Hero," Leah approached, bowing again as she panted. "I have never learned so much in a single fight. Beasts do not think like us in battle, but that naiveness is what gives them the bravery to fight explosively."

Percival agreed with her on that front.

"You fought well," he said, and he meant it. Their technique was rough, but it had soul; something his minions lacked. "We will do this again."

"Anytime!" Jorin beamed. "We are at your beck and call!"

Percival nodded and turned toward the city streets.

Riding Argus back to the inn, his mind was already dissecting the combat data.

He needed to overwrite the basic instincts of his Skeletons. He needed to teach them martial arts and the true way of the sword, not just brawling or formation tactics.

Percival’s path wasn’t that of a typical Necromancer.

With every Skeleton Soldier trained to be as nimble, tactical, swift and efficient as a Swordsman, he could create an army to rival this world’s.