Chương 20: Soul Puppeteer

Alex looked ahead. The four Bone Golems stood before him in silence, yet they already seemed to be developing unique personalities of their own. His Nether energy had mutated their original souls, transforming them into distinct beings. Some were now acting independently without any prompting from him. One of the two humanoid golems performed squats for no apparent reason. The other remained mostly still but fidgeted nervously with its fingers.

The spider-like golem constantly moved its mandibles, producing rhythmic clicking sounds even though it did not need to. Meanwhile, the wyvern-like golem repeatedly sharpened its claws against the stone floor. Above all, they had become addicted to Bone Pills, treating them as delicious treats. Whenever they completed a task successfully, Alex rewarded them with the pills, which made them visibly happier and more eager to obey.

However, their voracious appetites had quickly depleted his entire reserve of pills as they consumed them to sustain themselves and grow stronger.

"I will make more Bone Pills, but for now, I will give you some names." Alex decided on names quickly. The moment he bestowed them, he felt a portion of his power leave his body, flowing into the golems and enhancing their strength. He channeled his Earth Magic through the Five Elemental Crystal Ball attached to his thorax. Using the leftover stone material, he crafted simple weapons for each golem. These weapons served only to define their initial roles and carried no special enchantments.

"First Bone Golem, you are Zero-One: Blade. Your specialization is sword and shield."

"Second Bone Golem, you are Zero-Two: Hammer. Your specialization is heavy armor and hammers."

"Third Bone Golem, you are Zero-Three: Arachne. Your specialization is all-terrain transformation and trap-making."

"Fourth Golem, you are Zero-Four: Wing. Your specialization is flight, reconnaissance, and hopefully fire breath." Ding! [You have granted Names to your Four Bone Golems, infusing these Names with a potent Alchemical Nether Aura and the power of Bone Crafting, enhancing the golems' performance and abilities permanently.] The instant the names took hold, faint golden runes flared across each golem's core. A subtle yet powerful pulse of energy rippled through the room.

Zero-One: Blade straightened its posture with newfound purpose and gripped its crude stone sword and shield more firmly, its movements now sharper and more decisive. Zero-Two: Hammer released a low, grinding rumble that sounded almost like approval as it flexed its massive bone-and-stone shoulders. Zero-Three: Arachne's mandibles clicked rapidly in clear excitement. Zero-Four: Wing spread its skeletal wings and let out a quiet, ethereal screech.

[The Effects of the [Soul Puppeteer – Tier 1] Skill have been activated. You have granted specialized Roles based on Names to your Bone Golems.] [Your [Improved Spectral Nether Bone Golem: Zero One: Blade – C+ Rank] has learned the following Abilities: [Nether Sword Flame Aura] [Umbral Slash] [Phantom Blade] [Your [Improved Spectral Nether Bone Golem: Zero Two: Hammer – C+ Rank] has learned the following Abilities: [Nether Flame Armor Aura] [Abyssal Smite] [Soul Drain] [Your [Improved Spectral Nether Bone Golem: Zero Three: Arachne – C+ Rank] has learned the following Abilities: [Nether Soul Spiderweb] [Soul Thread Weaving] [Abyssal Nether Venom] [Your [Improved Spectral Nether Bone Golem: Zero Four: Wing – C+ Rank] has learned the following Abilities: [Spectral Wings] [Soul Flight] [Nether Flame Breath]"They gained new abilities," Alex murmured. His violet eyes glowed faintly for a moment with fascination." It seems that naming my creations enhances their power, but they must be animate for the process to work properly. Or perhaps the name simply reinforces their purpose. These abilities were already within them; they have merely awakened. The Soul Puppeteer skill appears to have helped me refine them into proper allies." Although his True Undead were still limited to two slots, Alex had finally found a way to bypass the system's restrictions and build his own army. For now, creating a fifth bone golem would risk damaging his soul under the pressure, so this remained his current limit. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Before he began crafting new pills for the rest of the night, Alex decided to address a few other matters. He wanted to examine the new Soul Puppeteer skill in detail, review his newly acquired Title, and apply the Skill Upgrade he had received from the quest reward." Let's see." [Golem Maker] A Title granted to those who have dedicated their energy and mana into properly creating powerful, fully functional golems. +20% Crafted Golem Stats. +20% Golem Crafting Mastery and Efficiency. +3 Wisdom. +3 Intelligence. +3 Spirit. Alex nodded with satisfaction at the Title's description. The bonuses were excellent, and he had already felt his stats increase when he first obtained it, though he had been too occupied to check the details properly until now. [Soul Puppeteer – Tier 1] A Skill given to those skilled with controlling the souls of other beings and infusing them into inert vessels to transform them into powerful Soul Puppets that will always obey their master. By naming your Puppet after creating a powerful enough vessel, it is possible for the assigned Puppet to gain Personality Traits and Abilities related to its given role, correlated with the quality of the materials used to make the soul's vessel. Bound Soul Puppets: [Improved Spectral Nether Bone Golem: Zero One: Blade – C+ Rank] {Abilities}: [Nether Sword Flame Aura] [Umbral Slash] [Phantom Blade] [Improved Spectral Nether Bone Golem: Zero Two: Hammer – C+ Rank] {Abilities}: [Nether Flame Armor Aura] [Abyssal Smite] [Soul Drain] [Improved Spectral Nether Bone Golem: Zero Three: Arachne – C+ Rank] {Abilities}: [Nether Soul Spiderweb] [Soul Thread Weaving] [Abyssal Nether Venom] [Improved Spectral Nether Bone Golem: Zero Four: Wing – C+ Rank] {Abilities}: [Spectral Wings] [Soul Flight] [Nether Flame Breath]"As I thought." Alex confirmed that this skill was indeed responsible for granting his golems even greater power beyond what the system had already provided." Lastly, the Skill Upgrade." He selected the reward with his skeletal finger. A new system window appeared before his empty eye sockets. [You have chosen the Skill Upgrade Reward. Please choose between these Skill Upgrades.] [Self-Binding Upgrade +1: Automatic Orders] You can issue automatic orders (up to five) on yourself and your Summoned Undead that will continuously activate without requiring further control. These automatic orders can function at the same time as you control your body normally, greatly enhancing multi-tasking and allowing better preparation against any threat. [Soul Thread Weaving Upgrade +1: Soul Muscle Fiber] Allows for the seamless transformation of Soul Threads into Soul Muscle Fiber, capable of further enhancing your body or a target's movement, flexibility, and strength. Soul Muscle Fibers grow stronger with higher Spirit stats, improving physical abilities and granting the possibility of learning Martial Arts and Body Reinforcement Methods. [Fire Magic Apprentice Upgrade +1: Netherworld Chain Flames] Transform your normal Fire Magic into Netherworld Chain Flames, capable of harming a target's soul while burning at five times the strength of ordinary flames. These flames take the shape of chains that can bind souls or temporarily seal abilities and magic if successful. Costs both Mana and Nether to conjure. [Bone Crafting Upgrade +1: Bone Pandemonium] Multiplies your Bone Storage by ten times and allows expansion into a Bone Pandemonium. This space can store large quantities of items, living beings, undead, and even support the growth of Netherworld-only plants and ores such as Nether Crystals and Phantom Stone. [Brutish Force Upgrade +1: Elemental Spirit Beast Charge] You can now enchant Brutish Force with Elemental Magic for greater damage and explosive effects. The Elemental Charge takes the form of different Elemental Spirit Beasts, granting unique attack patterns and abilities upon activation. [Novice Swordsmanship Upgrade +1: Shadow Blade] Infuses Shadow Aura into the sword for increased damage and range. Grants the ability to create Shadow Blades from sword aura, and each attack can perform Umbral Slash by melding with shadows for rapid, nearly unavoidable strikes." The Skill Upgrades I didn't choose before?" Alex seemed slightly amused." So they have been carried over and improved." Everything looked attractive in its own way. The Shadow Blade upgrade could strengthen his swordsmanship significantly and grant several new abilities, but he wondered if he truly needed it given his ability to infuse Alchemical Nether into his blades. Elemental Spirit Beast Charge appeared unique yet limited mostly to charge attacks, making it less appealing for his current needs. Bone Pandemonium stood out as the most tempting option. It would vastly expand his already large storage capacity and potentially turn it into a separate dimension-like space. The ability to harvest unique plants and ores there was especially attractive for someone who consumed resources as quickly as he did for his experiments. Soul Muscle Fiber also held strong potential, particularly for reinforcing his bone body. While Meat currently helped sustain him, he had to consider what would happen if Meat died or became separated from him. This skill would provide valuable support even without Meat's presence. The remaining options were... well, interesting at best. Alex's face when he spends 10 chapters over analyzing everything and finding loopholes to gain a bazillion skills and levels: