Chapter 8: The Advancement Quest

Tordina, female, Corpse Naga, level 3/3 Undead Hero, warrior type, possesses a head of beautiful silver hair, four slender arms on a perfectly-formed woman's upper body, and a serpent tail four meters long.

Combat Attributes: Strength 16, Agility 14, Constitution 10, Intelligence 8, Perception 10, Charisma 10.

Campaign Attributes: Attack 3, Defense 2, Knowledge 1, Wisdom 1, Leadership 1.

Special Skill: Naga’s Confidence—her subordinate troops possess the same self-assurance as a Naga, ensuring every attack is executed to its highest potential.

Common Skills: Basic Necromancy, Basic Offense, Basic Defense, Basic Evasion (subordinate troops receive 20% less damage from ranged attacks).

Comes with two level-3 Corpse Nagas as her troops.

Deirdre, female, Death Elf, level 3/3 Undead Hero, priest type—the grey-skinned elf who was the first to converse with Li Bin.

Combat Attributes: Strength 8, Agility 12, Constitution 10, Intelligence 14, Perception 18, Charisma 14.

Campaign Attributes: Attack 1, Defense 0, Knowledge 2, Wisdom 3, Leadership 2.

Special Skill: Fountain of Fortune—when Deirdre or her subordinate priests use healing skills, there is a chance for a 125% effectiveness boost.

Common Skills: Basic Necromancy, Basic Light Magic, Basic Dark Magic, Branch Skill "Dawn" (her dark units benefit from light magic enhancements).

Comes with six level-2 Skeleton Priests and four level-2 Death Elf Archers.

After much consideration, Li Bin recruited these two Undead Heroes as his subordinates. He also took on quests from a Vampire Princess and a Black Knight; the two level 5/5 Undead Heroes promised to join Li Bin’s ranks unconditionally if he completed their missions.

Just as Li Bin, now energized, was about to set out, the tavern door swung open again. A three-meter-tall Ogre Priest strode in and announced loudly, “Rejoice, you bags of bones! The mighty Lord of Bloodlust has issued an order—a mutation has occurred in an iron mine to the east of the city, turning it into a haunted cavern. Whoever can resolve the problem will be promoted to Elite Hero.”

“Elite Hero?” Li Bin murmured.

“That means a mid-tier hero who can command one or two subordinate heroes, though still not enjoying the same privileges as players,” the spectral bartender explained softly to Li Bin.

Li Bin nodded, then asked the ogre loudly, “What if two Undead Heroes team up, or complete the quest together?”

“This time, the right to command two subordinate heroes will be granted to Elite Heroes. If two or more Undead Heroes complete the quest together, they’ll decide among themselves how to allocate it,” the ogre replied, his voice booming. “That’s the city lord’s exact words. And since you heroes rarely have many subordinates, there’s also an added reward of 3,000 gold coins. So, who’s interested in taking this quest?”

Satisfied, Li Bin had Tordina and Deirdre, his newly recruited heroes, accept the quest together.

The ogre was a bit surprised to see the reaction of the other Undead Heroes in the tavern but still handed the quest acceptance letter and map to Tordina.

After the ogre left, Tordina immediately handed both the letter and the map to Li Bin. After a brief glance, he said, “Bring your troops to my Graveyard Devil. I’d like to see their strength.”

Tordina and Deirdre nodded and left the tavern separately.

Li Bin then discussed a few matters with the spectral bartender, purchased some items specifically for undead players, and returned to the Graveyard Devil.

Outside, two groups of undead stood at attention. Behind Tordina were her two subordinates, Nagas similar to her in form but with only two arms and a slightly shorter, bone-formed serpent tail. Each wielded a pair of one-meter curved blades and wore dark gray leather armor, appearing to be agile warrior types.

Deirdre’s undead force was larger: in addition to four gray-skinned female elf archers, there were six skeleton priests shrouded in black robes, each holding a small wooden hammer and shield. Their formation revealed excellent coordination.

Looking over these undead units with satisfaction, Li Bin brought them inside the Graveyard Devil and summoned his own troops.

“Tordina, this quest is marked as D-rank, so expect to encounter level-4 units. You’re a combat hero, so you’ll be our main force this time.”

“No problem, my master,” Tordina replied without hesitation. As Li Bin’s subordinate hero, she could resurrect indefinitely within his domain as long as he lived, so she had no fear of failure in battle.

“Very good. I’ll transfer command of all three of my skeleton squads to you—use them as you see fit.” With a wave of his hand, Li Bin assigned control of one squad of level-2 Skeleton Archers, one squad of level-2 Skeleton Warriors, and one squad of ordinary Skeletons to Tordina.

Then Li Bin produced the newly obtained silver flagpole. “This is for you as well.”

Upon seeing the properties of the flagpole, Tordina’s excitement was plain to see. She took the flagpole, lost for words, and finally hung her newly acquired war banner upon it.

Her standard bore the image of an eight-armed Naga with a skull for a head. In the upper right corner, the Storm Butterfly, Li Bin’s emblem, was painted, marking her allegiance.

After the banner was secured to the pole, Li Bin saw a swirl of black light emanate from it, enveloping all of Tordina’s troops.

“Let’s head to the smithy. You have three days to re-equip your forces,” Li Bin said.

Tordina simply nodded and led her new troops toward the direction of the smithy.

Having settled Tordina’s matters, Li Bin turned to Deirdre. “Most of your troops are ranged or support units. Although my forces and Tordina’s will be at the front, there will inevitably be moments when some are isolated. If you’re willing, I have a few corpse soldiers ready to upgrade; I’ll assign them to your command.”

“Thank you for your concern, master. I’ll bring them along for now, but I hope you’ll agree to one request,” Deirdre said calmly.

“Speak.”

“If we encounter any elven units, please let me handle their corpses after victory.”

Li Bin immediately understood her meaning—she likely possessed the ability to convert elven corpses into Death Elves, just as he himself could produce mummies when transforming undead. This was an innate trait of undead heroes tied to their original race.

He suspected Tordina could likewise convert Nagas into Undead Nagas, though their rarity made it unnecessary to mention.

He nodded. “You wish to create more Death Elves, right? I agree—them over skeletons any day. But you must promise me a share of the converted Death Elves.”

“Of course…”