"Damn it! What a waste! I spent 500 gold coins on that explosive potion!!!"
"Keep your voice down! Don't expose us!"
"I didn't expect there would be humans alive inside... a miscalculation..."
The traps set by those adventurers were triggered by the weight of a single person, excluding goblins.
However, instead of Shiki, a girl with pink hair appeared.
The power of the explosive potion is enough to kill several ordinary people. Although she is an adventurer, her physical condition as a normal mage is not much higher than that of an ordinary person, and naturally she cannot withstand the impact of the explosive potion.
Now, the mage girl's body is burnt, and there is no trace of life left.
"Let's go, we've been exposed!"
"Got it!"
The five of them decided that since their ambush had failed, they should make a quick retreat to avoid being chased by Shiki later.
"Leave?"
A gloomy voice sounded from behind them, and the five adventurers felt paralyzed, as if a gray mist had enveloped the forest.
With the sound of armor colliding, a shadow appeared in front of the five adventurers.
"Death... Death... Death knight?!"
The five of them didn't expect to see a death knight here.
"Innocent undead, these five despicable humans are the ones who killed you..."
Shiki, who had become the Death Lord, drew his sword.
The grievances of the undead filled the air.
The death knell rang.
At this moment, it was the time when the bell of the underworld tolled.
"Dong... Dong..."
A gray-white shadow appeared behind Shiki, resembling an angel, but without the purity of an angel or the allure of a fallen angel.
Instead, it exuded desolation and death, the death angel from the underworld.
The hands of the clock on the dial returned to zero.
Death declaration successful.
The leader among the five instantly fell to the ground, dead, while the other four showed fear on their faces.
Shiki used the Soultaker Ritual, turning the dead adventurer into a zombie. The four of them were unable to move, watching their resurrected companion turn into a zombie and bite them.
"Ahhhhh!!!" The screams echoed through the forest.
Shiki walked towards the dead girl. Now, he was going to use the Soultaker Ritual on her as well.
"Poor soul, serve me, for I shall bestow upon you the power of the dead. Soultaker Ritual!"
The Soultaker Ritual revived the dead girl.
She opened her eyes, her body restored to its original state, except her skin was as pale as a zombie and her tattered clothes couldn't cover her pale body.
She slowly stood up, facing Shiki almost naked, but without any shyness.
"I am at your service, my master." The girl, Vier, bowed her head and half-knelt down to Shiki.
"Ding! Congratulations on acquiring a B-rank hero NPC follower with autonomous consciousness. The Undead Cataclysm mission is officially starting its first phase, with a deadline of thirty days to establish your own undead force: Headquarters (0/1), Hero NPC followers (2/10), Army (45/100,000), reward unknown, no failure penalty."
At the same time, all beta testers received a system announcement.
"Countdown to the end of the beta test: 30 days. One week after the end of the beta test, the official public test will begin. Before that, the activities of beta testers will affect the world in the public test. It is worth noting that players who complete specific tasks can obtain unique rewards in the public test."
Shiki was dumbfounded when he saw these two sudden messages.
First, the countdown to the end of the beta test, and the fact that the public test would start just one week after the end of the beta test, was too quick.
Furthermore, the activities of beta testers would affect the world in the public test, which was quite exaggerated.
But what was even more exaggerated was that beta testers could complete specific tasks to obtain unique rewards in the public test. What kind of rewards? Could it be a special destiny like his?
Shiki thought about it, but it didn't really matter. After all, this game was quite interesting, and he had even started to get into the spirit of it.
Returning to the Undead Cataclysm mission, he needed to establish his own undead force.
"A headquarters, does Dark Nebula count?"
Shiki checked, but it turned out it didn't count. It had to be a place suitable for the undead."Heroic NPCs, which are NPCs with autonomous consciousness, must be at least B-ranked and of the undead race..."
"Followers are heroic NPCs who have a good relationship with oneself and are willing to help."
"Nidhogg doesn't count, and it also has to be of the undead race..."
"Visage is actually considered a heroic NPC?"
I didn't expect that the King Bone Dragon would also be a heroic NPC. Why didn't the quest display earlier? Could it be that the quest given cannot trigger this task?
"The S-ranked Plague Bone Dragon is included in the undead army, with a 100,000-strong army. This is simply insane..."
Previously, there were 40 B-ranked Bone Dragons, 3 A-ranked Bone Dragons, and 1 S-ranked Plague Bone Dragon, and... a zombie?
Shiki looked at the zombie that he had resurrected, which was currently devouring the corpses of its companions in front of him.
"Monarch's Soul Resurrection!"
To confirm his theory, Shiki used the Monarch's Soul Resurrection on the four corpses again, turning them into zombies as well, and the army increased from 45 to 49.
"I understand now!"
Shiki knew what he had to do. If that's the case, all he needed to do was find a chaotic burial ground and use the Monarch's Soul Resurrection.
He looked at the heroic NPC, Vier, and was surprised that her resurrection turned her into a heroic NPC.
Vier's race now belonged to the undead, specifically a female zombie...
Forget it, humans cannot, at least should not...
Suddenly, the illusionary mask inside his body trembled.
"Ding! Triggered hidden quest..."
"???"
Shiki was full of question marks. Why another hidden quest?
"A-ranked hidden quest: The Witch's Commission."
A soul emerged from the illusionary mask and possessed Vier's body directly.
Vier's pupils changed from blue to red.
"Great Lord of Death..." Possessed Vier spoke.
"I am the Witch Vikith, and I have something to request of you!"
"Go ahead."
It was just a quest, and there would be rewards. There was no harm in accepting it.
"Ten years ago, I was misled by a demon and my soul was imprisoned within this illusionary mask, suffering endless torment every day..."
"Fortunately, you revived this girl, and she can temporarily serve as my soul's host, freeing me from the confinement of the illusionary mask..."
Shiki nodded. Due to his Monarch's Soul Resurrection, most of the girl's soul had already transcended, leaving behind only a part that was loyal to him, which allowed the Witch Vikith to take advantage and occupy her body.
"I am willing to offer myself to you, only asking that you completely save my soul and free me from the bondage of the illusionary mask."
"Ding! Updated quest content: Completely liberate the soul of the Witch Vikith from the illusionary mask."
"No problem, I will free the remaining soul of this girl and allow this body to fully become a new vessel for you."
Poor Vier had suffered enough. To be honest, Shiki still wanted her soul to rest and leave this cruel world.
"Thank you! Great Monarch!"
Shiki once again used the Monarch's Soul Resurrection, completely freeing Vier's soul. Vier's soul expressed gratitude to Shiki and left.
Vikith took complete control of Vier's body and obtained liberation from the illusionary mask.
"Ding! Quest completed! A-ranked reward: Witch Vikith!"
At this moment, the original B-ranked Vier's biological level rose to A-ranked, and Vikith also signed a soul contract with Shiki.
A soul contract binds with the soul. Vier's soul was now liberated.
Even though Vikith had occupied Vier's body, her soul naturally had to sign a contract with Shiki.
"This body is still too weak, far inferior to my previous power. This mask absorbed too much of my power..."
Vikith sighed as she looked at her feeble body.
Hearing her words, Shiki remembered something and took out the scroll from before...
