Lux, who was still inside the Sacred Dungeon, was busy strengthening his Undead Army.

Ishtar had become a Nightstalker.

Pazuzu had become a Fortress Defender.

Orion had become a Jade Golem.

Last, but not the least, Asmodeus had become an ArchLich.

The red-headed teenager had thought long and hard on the roles that each of his Named Creatures played on his team. As long as they were able to work together, he believed that his Undead Army would soar to even greater heights.

Diablo was the Undead Commander whose role was to lead Lux's skeleton army into battle.

Ishtar, was the opportunistic damage dealer who would launch deadly sneak attacks, at any point in the battlefield.

Pazuzu was the Main Tank of Lux's army, so making him the bulkiest and toughest meat shield was the only way to go. Now that he was a Fortress Defender, he could play his role better compared to how he had performed in the past.

Orion was another heavyweight damage dealer in Lux's army. The Jade Golem served as an offensive and defensive behemoth, capable of attacking and defending, depending on the situation.

After getting a new upgrade, Orion has gained an incredibly high resistance against magical attacks, making him able to shrug off most attacks that were aimed at him. Another great feature about being a Jade Golem was that he gained the ability to heal himself in battle.

With his body, and fists harder than before, Orion was definitely one of the most fearsome units under his command.

Lastly, Asmodeus had become an ArcLich.

Among the Half-Elf's Named Creatures, Asmodeus was probably the most fearsome of the bunch in the long run. With his title as "Lord's Equal", he would gain all of Lux's abilities, with the exception of bloodline abilities, such as the Dragon War Arts and the Kaizer War Arts that Lux used in battle.

But, this didn't diminish the infinite growth that Asmodeus held. As Lux continued to become stronger, so would the ArchLich, whose role in his army was a tactician, who would support Diablo, Ishtar, Pazuzu, and Orion to battle, making them a more cohesive unit.

----

< Ishtar >

"Let the living beware."

Nightstalker

Rating: S

Mana: 10

Progress (0 / 20,000)

Health: 36,000 / 36,000

Mana: 16,500 / 16,500

Attack Type: Ranged Ice Damage

Strength: 160

Intelligence: 165

Vitality: 180

Agility: 165

Dexterity: 225

Title: The Forgotten Queen

----

< Pazuzu >

"Have no fear! Pazuzu is here!"

Fortress Defender

Rating: S

Progress (0 / 20,000)

Health: 183,0000 / 183,000

Mana: 10,000 /10,000

Attack Type: Bludgeon-Type Damage

Strength: 100

Intelligence: 100

Vitality: 610

Agility: 100

Dexterity: 100

Title: Demonic Defender

----

< Orion >

"Where there is no struggle, there is no Strength."

Jade Golem

Rating: S

Progress (0 / 40,000)

Health: 160,000 / 160,000

Mana: 10,000 / 10,000

Attack Type: Earth Elemental Damage

Strength: 400

Intelligence: 100

Vitality: 400

Agility: 100

Dexterity: 150

Title: Avenger

---

< Asmodeus >

"I stopped fighting my inner demons. We are on the same side now."

Named Skeleton Mage

ArchLich

Rating: S

Progress (0 / 50,000)

Health: 22,000 / 22,000

Mana: 320,000 / 320,000

Attack Type: Necrotic Elemental Damage

Strength: 125

Intelligence: 800

Vitality: 220

Agility: 125

Dexterity: 125

Title: Lord's Equal

-----

"Finally, I'm done," Lux stretched his neck left and right, while Ishtar gave his shoulders a massage. "Thank you, Ishtar.

"Thank you for your hard work, My Lord," Ishtar replied.

"Can you apply more pressure on my right shoulder?"

"Certainly."

"Ah that's it. It feels so nice."

While having his shoulders massaged, Lux took the two Ancient Tomes out of his storage ring and looked at them with a serious expression on his face. This ancient tomes were given to him by the Deathknight, Laurance, as a reward for helping them defeat the Monstrous Terror Death Tyrant.

Each of his comrades had gotten a Pseudo-Legendary item, but he didn't receive anything like that. The only things he got were the tomes which were perfect for Necromancers.

--

< Animate Undead >

Raise a corpse from the battlefield. The strength of the monster that you will raise will always be a rank weaker than its original form.

You can only summon skeletons or zombies from corpses.

If trying to reanimate a creature whose rank surpassed the caster by two ranks or more, their rank will be decreased, equaling to the rank of the caster.

Maximum Number of Animated Undead at any given time is twenty.

You can upgrade your Animated Creatures, similar to your Named Creatures by feeding them Beast Cores.

Any Animated Creature will remain as part of your Undead Legion until they are destroyed completely.

If you wish to revive them, you must pay the corresponding amount of Beast Cores to summon them once again.

You can summon your Animated Army anytime you use the skill, Summon Undead.

Number of Animated Undead: (0 / 20)

--

Lux had never raised a corpse of a dead person, or creature in the past. Diablo, and the rest of his Skeleton Army could be summoned out of thin air, as long as he had the mana to summon them.

However, this time it was different. He could now raise the dead, and make them fight for his side.

In truth, Lux would be able to learn the skill, Animate Undead, automatically once he stepped into the Initiate Rank. However, that was still far away from his current strength, so having the skill early was a very good thing for him.

"Okay, time to learn this skill," Lux muttered as he activated the power of the Skill Book, making it turn into particles of light before flying towards his chest, becoming one with his strength.

--

< Skill Evolution [EX] detected a new Skill. >

Since the skill, Animate Undead, is not learned from a Beast Core, it will automatically be upgraded to Animate Undead [EX].

--

< Animate Undead [EX] >

Raise a corpse from the battlefield. The strength of the monster that you will raise will always be a rank weaker than its original form.

Your Animated Creatures are not limited to Skeletons and Zombies. You can now summon Higher-Ranked Undead depending on the quality of the corpse, as well as its rank when it was still alive.

You are now able to choose what form your Animated Undead will become if you are willing to pay the adequate number of Beast Cores for them. If you don't want to turn them into specific creatures, you can just go ahead with the revival, making their new forms completely random.

Animating Monsters doesn't need a corpse. If you have their Beast Cores, the likelihood of summoning an Undead Version of them is high. Their Rank wil always be a Rank lower when they were alive.

If trying to reanimate a Creature whose rank surpassed the caster by two ranks or more. Their rank will be decreased, equaling to the rank of the caster.

Maximum Number of Animated Undead at any given time is fifty.

You can upgrade your Animated Creatures, similar to your Named Creatures by feeding them Beast Cores.

Any Animated Creature will remain as part of your Undead Legion until they are destroyed completely.

If you wish to revive them, you must pay the corresponding amount of Beast Cores to summon them once again.

You can summon your Animated Army anytime you use the skill, Summon Undead.

You can set a Commander among your Animated Units, to let them lead the rest of your Animated Units to battle.

This skill will automatically upgrade everytime you raise your Rank.

Next Upgrade: Initiate Rank

Number of Animated Undead: (0 / 50)

--

'So, this is the reason why you decided to take the Death Tyrant's Beast Core, right, Asmodeus?' Lux inquired through telepathy.

'Yes, My Lord,' Asmodeus replied. 'If we can have a Death Tyrant among our Animated Creatures, we will have the upper hand in any battle.'

The Archlich knelt in front of the Half-Elf as he offered the Beast Core of the Pseudo-Deimos Monster, Monstrous Terror Death Tyrant, to him.

Lux smiled, but he shook his head.

'Your strength is my strength,' Lux said. 'Since I acquired the Animate Undead [EX] skill, you also obtained it, right?'

Asmodeus nodded. 'Yes, My Lord.'

'Then you use that Beast Core and make it your first Animated Creature.'

'... Are you really fine with this?'

Lux smiled. 'Yes. Right now, we have a limited number of slots for our Animated Creatures. I want to choose the Monsters that I will add to my own retinue. Also, there will be occasions when we will have to separate in order to command our own individual armies.

'Having a Death Tyrant with you will give me some form of assurance. After all, they're nasty buggers when fighting with the living.'

The embers that glowed inside Asmodeus' eye sockets burned brighter, as he lowered his head respectfully towards his Master.

'I will take your words to heart, My Lord,' Asmodeus stated. 'I am quite fortunate to have someone like you as my Master.'

A moment later the Beast Core in Asmodeus' hand turned into particles of light, and above them, a meter-tall Death Tyrant appeared.

It was the mini-version of the Boss Monster they had fought, and it was only a Rank 4 Monster. Even so, Lux was certain that Asmodeus would transform this Animated Monster into a True Monster that would wreak havoc to his foes in the not so distant future.

"Master, this Death Tyrant has gained the ability to evolve," Asmodeus said as he lightly patted the Death Tyrant's head, making the white skull's jaw chatter non-stop. "I would be honored if you personally bestow a name on this Creature."

Lux rubbed his chin as he gazed at the little Death Tyrant whose eyes were all looking at him with anticipation.

"Morpheus," Lux said softly as he patted the Death Tyrant's skull, making the latter narrow its big central eyes in happiness.

--

< Morpheus >

"My dreaming ends. Your nightmare begins!"

Death Tyrant

Rank 4 Monster

----

The Death Tyrant's otherworldly laughter echoed in the Sacred Dungeon, making Cai, who was about to ask Lux on what they would do next, almost jump up in fright after seeing the little guy who was currently nudging its skull-like head against Lux, like a dog wanting to get petted by its owner.

"I have come to ask what we will do next," Cai said after realizing that the Death Tyrant that was hovering beside Lux was not an enemy, but one of his Undead Minions. "Are we going to challenge the other gates or"

Lux shook his head before Cai could even finish its words.

"We're going back," Lux stated. "We have already gotten the flower, so there is no use continuing to explore the other Gates."

Lux glanced at the other Four Gates that had been left unconquered. Even though he had gained a massive boost in strength due to the upgrades of his Named Creatures, he was very exhausted.

Cai, Keane, Einar, Vall, and Xander were also the same. They were just meditating at the side and using Health Potions in order to recover their health and mana just in case Lux wanted to challenge the other Gates that would lead them to the unknown.

"Just give me thirty more minutes," Lux said as he glanced at the rewards that he still hadn't sorted out from his Soulbook. "After that, we will exit the Sacred Dungeon, and head to the Rowan Tribe to deliver the Sacred White Lotus."

Cai nodded its head happily because it was already very exhausted. After using its Third Gear, it would not be able to use it again for a full day, rendering one of its Trump Cards useless.

After the Boar left Lux to pass his message to the others, the Half-Elf opened his Soul Book and rubbed his hands together.

"Now, let's see what kind of precious things I gained from this adventure," Lux muttered as the corner of his lips curled up into a smirk.

Clearly, he was itching to take a look at the goodies he had gained from his mission.

Rewards that would make anyone, even the current rulers of the Six Kingdoms, and perhaps Alexander and Cai's grandpa, Maximilian, covet the items that Lux currently held in his possession.