Reborn As An Evolving Monster

[The Contract has been accepted by both Parties.]

"How do Skeletons stay alive?" Mark asked suddenly.

"Mm?"

"They don't eat or sleep. I thought at first that it was Mana, but some can't use Mana. They can't use Mana and don't have any. If your Mana is lost, how can you stay alive? What is it that sustains you?"

"Haha! That's an interesting question, Monster."

"So?"

"You're the one supposed to answer my questions."

"Fine..." Mark rolled his eyes.

"What I would forfeit is 'The Use of Mana'. Not Mana itself. A Body such as this one serves only to hold my Soul. Mana is what keeps my Soul Linked to this Body. While I wouldn't be able to use Mana, the act of keeping that Link has become... Let's call it something similar to a Passive Skill."

"So you would be using Mana. Only without thinking about it?"

"I wouldn't be using it, would I?"

"That depends on how you see it."

"How do you think the System would see it?"

Mark thought silently for a bit.

His eye widened seconds later and he laughed out loud.

"Is that why you're telling me all this?"

"Mm?"

"The System holds the Contract together. Are you trying to suck up to it by telling me more than you need?"

"It's a gesture of good will."

"Good will that might force me to explain things more thoroughly later on."

"Exactly."

"So the more you answer and 'Give' beyond what the Contract Obligations, the more likely the System is to force me to 'Give back' more."

"Something like that."

"Is it precise science? This shouldn't count, since I'm asking about THE Contract in question."

"It is not. And it does count, since the Contract has already been signed. Though truthfully, I can't say for sure."

"STOP TELLING ME THINGS!"

"I am just being honest."

"STOP SHOWING GOOD WILL SELFISHLY!!"

"Hahahah! Fine, fine. So, this Skill?"

'This fucker...' Mark thought as a vein popped on his forehead. 'Asking about it is also a gesture of good will!! There's no reason to actually believe it has an impact... But I feel like it's true. FUCK!'

"I'm waiting. You used to be able to bring back the dead, right?"

"Yes..." Mark sighed. "It allowed me to bring back the dead. It would heal their wounds and... They would stand up. Fight by my side."

"So basic Necromancy. Anything special about it?"

"They didn't rise as Skeletons... Though they did at first. It-"

"At first? So the Skill Evolved."

"It did."

"Name?"

Mark's eyebrow twitched.

Sharing information with an enemy sure felt strange. But the Skill was useless now. Therefore,

"Purgatory's Undead Troup."

"Haven't heard of it..."

"So you can't help?"

"I can. Rank?"

"[B+], I think."

"That's quite high for a Necromancy Skill..." The Undead Lich tapped its bony chin with its bony index finger.

The sound each tap made wasn't unpleasant to Mark.

"Is it?"

"Any specifics about the Skill?"

"The System said the Underlings would be very slightly imbued with the Dark Magic Element. I've never seen that in action though. The System won't answer my questions about it either. It used to Heal and Revive. Or... Just Revive, I guess. It didn't cost Mana to use."

"What did it cost?"

"Nothing."

"Ha!"

"I know! I've tried activating the Magic Skill at the cost of Mana, but it doesn't work. There used to be this Seal that strengthened... The Magic Skill among other things. The Seal has been lifted though, so I can't use it anymore." 

"Were you always able to use it before the Seal was lifted?"

"Yes... No. Once, I think. There was one time that I couldn't use it."

"Why not?"

"The System forbade me from doing so."

"That's not how the System works. If you were forbidden from it, then it must be the one that placed the Seal in the first place that forbade you."

'Perceptive fucker... Guess it serves to live for so long. That's why I want his help in the first place...'

"So it seems like I need to set up some kind of Ritual."

"Do you?"

"Yes?"

"So that's the core of what you need help with. Coming up with a Ritual."

"I guess so."

"We can go that route, but I am still unsure. Rituals are simple anyways. Trial and error will help you determine that. Rituals are all about sacrifice, so that's simple."

"Simple? In a 'Give and Take' way, huh?"

"Precisely... Though that's how those who don't truly understand it refer to it. You'll have to sacrifice or risk enough to justify the gain and success of the Ritual."

"Give and Take seems like a good way of thinking about it."

"If you insist. What do you think you can sacrifice for such a Ritual? Let's say... Bringing back a Horned Hare to life?"

"A Horned Hare?"

"Yes."

"Is that how you got into Necromancy? Bringing back a Horned Hare?"

"Answer the question."

Mark stared at the Undead Lich for a bit.

This conversation. This discussion. This place.

He didn't dislike it.

"Mana could be sacrificed. Ritual... My blood? Like piercing my hand with a dagger?"

"Pain and blood would be offered then."

"Pain counts?"

"It does. Pain is the most important thing when it comes to sacrifice. If losing it doesn't hurt-"

"Then it's not truly a sacrifice." Mark interrupted

The Undead Lich nodded silently for a couple of seconds.

"That's right." It whispered.

"Sacrificing Mana hurts in the sense that having less of it restricts one's options."

"But your Magic Skill doesn't require the use of Mana. It never did, huh? Even the weaker versions of it?"

"It never did."

"That's off balance. Did it use blood? Endurance? Your Vigor? Stats?"

"No. None of those. They simply... Stood back up."

"Interesting... But there must be something."

"There really isn't."

Both brought a hand to their respective chins at the same time, wondering.

"What is it that you sacrificed...? Something that can't be noticed..." The Undead Lich whispered. "Even these Ghouls around you are used as sacrifices."

"They are? I didn't take you for the type to pity them?"

"Huh? I don't."

"Then it doesn't hurt you sacrificing them?"

"It does. Because they follow my orders."

"Oh... So it's like a monetary sacrifice. Or similar to sacrificing(using) Mana. They're expendable, but you're still one Ghoul short afterwards. The Ghoul is yours. It follows your orders, so you're sacrificing a pawn."

"What is your pawn? The pawn you sacrificed?"

"I don't think... Oh." Mark straightened his back as he realized. "My sacrifice... Is an opportunity."

"An opportunity? Which is?"

"Curious about it?"

The Undead Lich flinched at the question.

"How about we count it as one of those three questions?"

"... I am curious about it. Sure."

"The fact that I couldn't Devour them."

"Devour?"

Mark nodded.

"I'll need you to explain. Thoroughly."