Dyren woke up, blood dripping from his head. His arms, legs, and several of his bones were broken, but he could still stand. He looked up. It was very high. Then he looked around and realized he had entered the right place, because it was vast down there.
[Raise Spellcaster lv. 1]
In an instant, five magic-type skeletons appeared. They knelt in front of Dyren. Dyren simply moved his finger, and the mage skeletons immediately understood. Two of them cast fire spells. The place became slightly brighter.
Dyren didn't just use one summoning skill. He used Raise Skeleton lv. 2 and Necroguard Legion lv. 2. Ten Bonefighters appeared with swords and spears from the Raise Skeleton skill. They stood tall, ready to fight. Behind them, ten Skullguards emerged carrying large shields. They walked slowly and formed a line in front of Dyren.
The five Mage Skeletons were still standing in the center, their hands glowing with fire magic. They didn't speak, but they knew what to do. Dyren simply pointed with his finger, and all of them moved like a trained army.
Two Skullguards carried Dyren's injured body. The injuries he had were quite severe. He didn't want to force himself to walk. No one knew what awaited ahead.
"Light." Dyren pointed in one direction.
The skeletons walked toward it. Some eyes were fixed on them. There were a few low-rank monsters in that place, but none dared to show themselves. They could feel how terrifying Dyren and his 25 skeleton troops were.
Now they were heading toward the light ahead. The light was yellow. It felt suspicious enough, as there shouldn't be light underground.
Others might avoid it. Unfortunately, this was Dyren—he wouldn't run. In fact, this was exactly what he was looking for. He wanted to meet the monster that destroyed this village and the two nearby cities. It had to be a powerful monster. Dyren wanted to test his new abilities and level up.
Now, he was already at level 75. Dyren was very confident that he was strong enough to defeat the monster in this place. Moreover, he had two very powerful summoner creatures. He wanted to test the strength of his two new summoners.
"Huh?" Dyren frowned.
The closer he got to the light, instead of seeing a passage leading somewhere, he saw a very large glowing orb. From within it, an overwhelming Mana energy was being emitted. Dyren stepped down, walking toward the glowing orb.
He touched it, and the orb pulsed. "This isn't a ball, but an egg."
Dyren pushed the egg harder. He thought he could crack it, but unfortunately, he couldn't. It was too hard. He chose to stop trying. However, he wouldn't leave the egg there. He ordered the skeletons to pull it.
Twenty skeletons tried, but failed. Even when Dyren joined with all twenty-five skeletons he summoned, it still didn't work.
"Seems like it's still not enough."
He used his three summoning skills several more times until his skeleton army reached 115. That should be enough. They tried again, but unfortunately, failed. Dyren stroked his chin, thinking. He couldn't summon any more since the room was already too full.
He was sure there was a way to retrieve the egg, but he didn't know what it was. Pulling might not be the right method. Dyren wanted to try another approach, but he gave up on the idea. It was too risky because the hero party was still in the village.
"They might sense the presence of the creatures I summoned."
Dyren didn't know whether that was really true or not, but he felt that being a little cautious wasn't a bad idea. He walked to the center of the area. He wanted to go back up. To think of another way.
Now he had to figure out how to get back up. It was too high to reach by himself. Dyren stroked his chin a second time.
"Ah, that's right." He looked at the skeletons he had summoned earlier. "Carry me up!" he requested.
The skeletons immediately lifted Dyren's body. They formed a tower formation with Dyren at the very top. Slowly, Dyren rose and finally managed to get out. He looked down. Dyren canceled his skills. All the skeletons he had summoned disappeared.
Dyren walked toward the inn. Before that, he drank a potion to heal himself. After that, he started walking.
But without Dyren realizing it, something reacted to the death of the skeletons he had summoned. The small souls were absorbed by something within that place. Something very powerful and waiting for its energy to recover.
***
Dyren entered through the window. Just a few seconds in, he suddenly heard noise coming from outside. He opened the door and saw Saria and Kael arguing. Dyren frowned, wondering why the hero party members often fought.
"What's going on?" Dyren asked quietly.
Kael and Saria turned. When they saw Dyren was the one asking, Kael looked away. He still didn't like Dyren. Meanwhile, Saria sat down. Her face looked anxious—this was very unusual. Dyren felt that something important had happened.
"Ereon hasn't come back since this afternoon," Saria said. She grabbed a cup and took a sip of the water inside. She let out a sigh. "I have a bad feeling. He should've returned an hour ago."
Dyren frowned. "Didn't he go to the village chief's house?"
"He should have, but when we went there, the village chief said he didn't come by today. This is really strange." Saria clenched her fist. It was clear she was upset. "If only Kael hadn't left Ereon alone, this wouldn't have happened."
Kael wanted to say something, but stopped. He chose to stay silent because, indirectly, it was all his fault. If only he had been with Ereon. Saria was right—this wouldn't have happened.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen," Kael said. From his face, he truly looked regretful.
"But sorry doesn't change anything." Saria sighed. She tried to calm herself down. "We have to find Ereon's whereabouts. We'll leave in a few minutes. So, get ready!"
Kael and Mireille nodded. They would join the search. Dyren wasn't invited because he wasn't part of the party. Dyren didn't really care either because he hated Ereon. That's how it started, but then something happened.
Tring!
[New Mission Added: Save this world's Hero]
[Description: If Ereon—the hero of this world—dies, the world will be destroyed, including the user.]
Dyren was stunned. "Huh?"