Chapter 20: Company

"Battle...over...I return." The Forest Giant said as he faded into the forest.

The group watched as the Forest Giant left. They had a lot of questions to ask but it was unrealistic for it to answer them since they only just met.

The self-charging spell slowly chipped away at the vitality of every skeleton in the army. As long as they prevented the skeleton army from advancing, the spell would eventually kill them off.

"How long do you plan on lying there?" Vivi said.

Xylos was lying on the ground. He didn't expect that capping his mana capacity, would cause such an intense effect. Based on the simulation, his movement and reaction would be slowed down when he exceeded his capacity. In reality, both his mind and body would feel sluggish and every action that he tried to do would require significantly more effort.

"I don't know. At least another 30 minutes." Xylos said.

"What kind of spell was that?" Levin said

Xylos remained silent. There was no point in trying to describe what he did. Based on the books he read in the past, trying to describe a magic system to a person with a different magic system would be like trying to describe how to play a violin to a sound mixer.

"Chain Holybolt, something I found at a library." Xylos lied. There was no way he was going to tell that he created the new spell on the spot based on what he observed at the start of the battle.

"Right," Vivi said in disbelief. She knew that it was derived from the spell that she used in the beginning.

"What should we do now?" Carly said

Viv looked up and saw that the dungeon crystal was dimming. "We'll head back to camp. Based on the intensity of the crystals, it is currently late afternoon. We also have no idea what a high undead is doing in this place. In the worst-case scenario, they might send a few assassins our way if we bother them too much."

The party quickly made their way back to the teleportation circle.

"Why do you think the Undead was chasing the Forest Giant?" Xylos asked.

"For an undead to remain intelligent, they need to consume the life essence of living beings. If they don't, they'll become a Fallen Undead devoid of all conscious thought. If they were able to capture the Forest Giant, it could help at least 1000 undead remain intelligent for several years." Vivi said

"Also, if a Fallen Undead consumes enough life essence, they would be able to remain conscious. It is one of the ways for a person to live for a very long time. The cost is that they have to kill living creatures to do so."

"It has been a long time since I've seen one." Levin added, "Most of the Companies around the world have signed an agreement to eliminate undead on sight."

"What are Companies?" Xylos asked

"Companies are sort of like a large guild. If they have the required magic aptitude, they could join a Company and learn their Magic System. Once they join, they can take on requests from the company for rewards such as currency, advancement resources, research materials, and equipment." Vivi said

"A Company also manages a large area to provides shelter, food, and essential resources to its residents. It is like a large kingdom that specializes in a unique magic system and controls a large group of people through it." Levin said, "Whenever you join a Company, it is usually a choice that would last a lifetime."

"Are there conflicts between companies daily?" Xylos asked.

"Probably. Lots of resources that a company requires to advance its members are shared, but the encounters are often not fatal. There are greater threats to deal with, such as Berserk Magic Beasts, Undead, Failed Experiments, and Invaders. From what I can remember, the last apocalypse was caused by one of those and took several centuries for the world to recover. About a year ago, a magic plague was release by accident and took at least 10% of the world population with it before the culprit came up with the antidote." Levin said.

"What are Invaders?" Xylos asked.

"Generally, they are beings from another dimension. If they are left unchecked, they could change the laws around them and cause a revolution. Most of the aggressive ones would be dealt with right away, but some of the cunning ones would remain in hiding and only appear when everything was ready. At that point, it would usually require the powerhouses of each Corporation to address the issue. However, not all invaders are hostile. Some could simply have wandered into this dimension and are looking for a way home. Nonetheless, they all leave something behind that can significantly affect the advancement of a Corporation or Civilization." Vivi said.

"Is that what the book is?" Xylos asked.

"Maybe," Vivi said. She took out a small round radar and showed it to Xylos, "This device lit up when the book appeared and we were assigned a mission to retrieve it. This device was something passed down by our ancestors, so it should be something valuable. Now that the book is gone, the priority is to get back to the surface."

"We can also get a nice reward since we managed to activate the portal to the 50th floor. From what I remember, this dungeon was something that an Invader created before leaving for another dimension." Levin said.

"How many activation items have we found so far?" Carly said.

"We have three out of the eight items. We have the leaf of the Lurblossom, the shell of the Facorror Spider, and the Lantern Fruit. There are five more items to collect. We did a great job on our first day. At this rate, we should be able to collect the rest within a week." Vivi said.

At that moment, the sweet smell of a soup wafted from the center of the campfire. "Dinner is ready!"

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When Kaftan recovered, he found himself standing before the Dungeon Master. The book was hovering slightly above Kaftan. With one look, Kaftan he could easily tell that it was a person that he knew.

"Nice to see you again Drizen," Kaftan said despondently