Re:Monster - Re:Vival

Day Eight

Standing in front of the boss room, I contemplated my next actions and formulated a plan as best I could, considering I had no idea exactly what kind of monster would be in there. I decided to have the Shaman start enhancing my forces.

The armoured skeletons were to receive a weak boost to their general defence, the spearmen were given a haste enhancement on their arms, the dual-wielders received the same, the archers got an aim enhancement and the swordsmen got a boost to their arm strength.

While that was happening, I decided to increase my forces by another four. The results were surprising once again. Two swordsmen, an archer and, finally, a mage. It wore a black, tattered robe but the most interesting quality was that, unlike literally every other skeleton I summoned, this one seemed to be a female.

While the Shaman was enhancing the other three, I requested the mage to raise its robe to reveal whether it was in fact female or if it's bones were just less masculine. It reacted oddly, almost... shy? It seemed to be going back and forth between whether it should or shouldn't. Eventually, it walked away, turning a corner. A few moments later, it popped its head around the corner and seemed to be motioning for me to join it.

It had peaked my interest so I complied with my subordinate's request. When I turned the corner, the mage looked over my shoulder, as if to make sure no one had followed me before turning its head away from me and opening its robe. It was, in fact, female. I thanked it-her for complying with my request and told her it was fine to cover up again. It may have been my imagination but she looked... disappointed? Strange.

After she had redressed, I had her show me what she was capable of. Through that process, I found out that she was able to use both [Lightning Magic] and [Water Magic] at the basic level and used a staff to do so. She also appeared to be attempting to use another kind of Magic which didn't work but it was surprisingly cute watching her try. I gave her a pat on the head and told her to keep working on it. Things got awkward after she held my hand in place for about a minute so I told her she could let go of my hand. She reacted in an unexpected manner, like she hadn't realised she was doing that and recoiled in what looked like embarrassment. Could skeletons get embarrassed? I had been struggling to feel anything so I would certainly have to keep my eye on her.

After we walked back to the rest of the group- could I still call it a group? It was starting to look more like a platoon honestly. Anyway, what was I saying? Right. When we got back to the platoon- no, that still feels wrong. Wait, wasn't there a proper term for a group of skeletons? A clutter? Screw it. When we got back to the group, I had the Shaman give both of us an enhancement. The Mage got enhanced leg strength so that she could get out of any dangerous situations while I had the Shaman give me increased arm strength.

I had no intention of really fighting this time since I wanted to see what they were capable of now that there was a mage in the midst so it was more of a precaution. If necessary, I was sure I could either use [Pyrokinesis] to burn whatever undead was in there or crush its head with a surprise attack to the head with my mace.

With our preparations as complete as they could be, I opened the doors and led them all inside. It was almost identical to the last boss room. A large, square room. The boss was in the centre. It was giant. In fact, that might have been what the dungeon was going for. A Giant Skeleton.

I commanded my forces during the battle. It was my first time commanding so many summons against a stronger foe so inevitably, I made a few mistakes. Unfortunately, those mistakes cost me a few summons. Two swordsmen, two dual-wielders and one armoured were lost before we were able to take it down.

The new mage summon showed her worth throughout the fight. I would have lost at least a few more skeletons if it wasn't for her magic. If she was that valuable right after being summoned, then I'd have plenty to look forward to when she grows stronger. I was also able to see that the skills I was born with really weren't unique since the giant was immune to her [Lightning Magic].