The fortress was buzzing with activity, plans being drawn, duties assigned. In only a few minutes Jack had somehow turned into a minor celebrity, everyone fawning over the fact that he was a healer. Luke didn’t stick around for long. Instead, he wandered through the stone halls until he found a chamber on the upper floors.

It was a noble’s room, once luxurious, though now draped in dust and carrying the faint scent of mildew. Sturdy furniture carved from fine wood still stood in place, and a heavy desk sat near a small stack of books. The space had the feel of a medieval noble’s quarters. Luke pushed open the windows, letting in a breath of fresh air. But it wasn’t the furniture or the view that interested him. It was one door in particular.

When he opened it, he froze. Then a grin spread across his face.

“A damn bathtub,” he said, almost laughing with relief.

He had spotted its location on the fortress map and promised himself he would find it. Rooms meant for high-ranking officers or nobles were scattered throughout the fortress, and while he didn’t exactly hold such a title, he considered himself important enough to claim one luxury for the night. Even if he never kept the room, he wasn’t about to pass up a real bath.

From his storage pendant he pulled several wooden barrels filled with river water he had collected along the way.

“Days of rinsing off in rivers, splashing myself with buckets, scrubbing with damp cloths… that ends now,” he muttered, his voice brimming with satisfaction. “Tonight, I take a real bath.”

“That’s the spirit, Luke!” Artemis chimed in, sounding entirely too delighted. “Start with the shirt… slowly. Then the pants…”

Luke plucked the pendant from his neck with a sigh.

“I know you too well, you perverted trinket,” he said, carrying it out of the bathroom.

“Hey, wait! You’ve got me all wrong,” she protested. “I’m just… happy for you. Really. Let me stay, I want to share in the moment, I mean, share your happiness!”

“Not a chance,” he muttered, tossing the pendant onto the bed and burying it beneath a pillow.

“This is unfair! I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you! I deserve that bathtub too!” Artemis shouted after him as he shut the bathroom door.

He ignored her muffled protests and turned his attention to the tub. For the next several minutes, he carefully wiped away layers of dust until it gleamed again. Once satisfied, he stripped down, rinsed the grit from his skin with a bucket, then poured the cold river water from the barrels into the tub.

“Cold,” he muttered with a wince, dipping his hand.

The river’s bite clung to it. But he had a solution. From his inventory, Luke pulled out the Minotaur’s axe. Restored and polished by the system, it looked new again. He lowered the blade into the water and activated its [Flame-Edge] enchantment.

The water began to shimmer, bubbles rising as the heat spread, then steam curling toward the ceiling. Once the temperature was right, he dismissed the axe back into his inventory and dipped a foot inside.

“Real hot water,” he whispered, almost reverent.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Luke sank into a proper bath, letting exhaustion peel away from his body. A simple luxury, but one that felt like paradise after days of grime, blood, and endless struggle.

***

“That wasn’t fair, you know!” Artemis was still ranting, but Luke tuned her out.

“Charlie, you should be on my side,” she insisted.

Charlie simply shook her head. They kept walking through the forest, putting more distance between themselves and the fortress.

Stolen novel; please report.

“I can’t believe I finally got a bath, and now I’m heading right back into the dirt,” Luke muttered. Still, the itch of curiosity about what he wanted to test wouldn’t let him rest.

“Serves you right,” Artemis shot back. “Maybe you’ll need another bath. And this time, what if I finally get my moment?”

He exhaled heavily, ignoring her again.

“This isn’t fair!” she whined.

“Sometimes I wonder how terrifying it is that somewhere out there, people actually worship you and follow your orders without question,” Luke said dryly.

After several more minutes of walking and making sure they were far enough from prying eyes, he opened Charlie’s system interface.

Name: Princess Charlie

Level: 35

Race: Skeleton

Rank: F

Class: Death Knight (Lvl 45)

2nd Class: Pugilist (Lvl 36)

Title: [Servant of the Dark Lord]

Health Points (HP): 2380/2380

Mana Points (MP): 1664/1920

Stamina: 2113/2370 (2770)

Stats:

Strength: 362 (432)

Agility: 194

Endurance: 237 (277)

Vitality: 238

Perception: 158

Intelligence: 192

Free Points: 35

Class Skills: [Basic Weapon Handling (Common)], [Heavy Strike (Common)], [Basic Spectral Charge (Rare)], [Crescent Slash (Uncommon)], [Whirlwind Strike (Uncommon)], [Spectral Chain (Rare)], [Spectral Barrier (Rare)], [Doomblade (Rare)], [Mark of Doom (Rare)], [Force Infusion (Rare)], [Doom Explosion (Rare)], [Spectral Soldier (Ultra-Rare)]

Second Class Skills: [Advanced Hand-to-Hand (Uncommon)], [Steel Fist (Rare)], [Stunning Punch (Uncommon)], [Battle Roar (Uncommon)], [Concentrated Kick (Uncommon)], [Power Punch (Uncommon)], [Pugilist’s Leap (Uncommon)], [Muscle Reading (Uncommon)], [Movement Echo (Uncommon)], [Flame (Common)], [Flame Fist (Rare)]

Race Skills: [Demonic Servant Perception (Uncommon)], [Basic Bone Regeneration (Rare)], [Bone Endurance (Rare)], [Iron Bones (Ultra-Rare)]

Rune Skill: [Berserker Flames (Rare)]

Charlie still had 35 free points, but Luke decided not to spend them yet. First, he needed to be sure of something. It was about the new skill she had gained at level 45 as a Death Knight, the one that had left him both awed and burning with curiosity to test.

He tapped the skill and reread its description.

[Spectral Soldier (Ultra-Rare)]: Allows the Death Knight to create a permanent spectral copy of an enemy he has defeated in combat, provided the creature’s power is lower than his own. Once chosen, that enemy permanently occupies the Spectral Soldier slot. Each time the skill is activated, the same copy is summoned, taking on a corrupted form and fighting at the Death Knight’s side with only a fraction of the strength and skills it possessed in life.

This was exactly what a Death Knight skill should feel like. Luke had once guessed she would gain something along these lines when he chose her class mutation, but over time he had pushed the thought aside. It made sense now why it had taken so long to appear. A power like this couldn’t be handed out at lower levels. But now the moment had finally arrived.

When Charlie activated it, a list appeared, every creature she had ever slain. He had tried studying the options earlier, naturally going straight for the strongest: the Warden Captain. But hesitation had stopped him. That undead had only been dangerous because of its ridiculous gear. Strip away the items and it was nothing special. What Charlie needed was a creature whose strength was natural, not dependent on equipment.

He had even tried to choose a Midnight Watcher, but the skill rejected it outright. Too strong. It had to be weaker creatures. And this wasn’t like the servant skill, it wouldn’t grow stronger over time. The soldier would remain stuck at the level it had died, and weaker still, just a fragment of its peak. That alone made the choice difficult.

And even if a Midnight Watcher had been possible, what good would it do? They used bows. Even the statue variants wielded weapons, and that was the problem: spectral soldiers couldn’t be geared up. A soldier who relied on an item they couldn’t equip would be almost useless.

Maybe there was a way to hand them a weapon? Maybe. But Luke wasn’t going to gamble away such a precious slot without knowing.

Which meant the soldier had to be something that fit the group strategically… and the choices were bleak. A monster ant? A velociraptor? He even pictured Charlie riding a tyrannosaurus for a moment, but beasts like that had only one or two skills at best. And where would they even use such a thing? You couldn’t summon a T-rex inside a fortress during a boss fight. The limitations were obvious.

The real reason Luke had walked so far away from everyone else was because, in his heart, he had already made the choice. He wanted this moment to mean something.

Charlie looked at him, then nodded. Luke tapped the name on the list.

[Creating your Spectral Soldier…]

Excitement tightened in his chest. He wasn’t even going to pretend otherwise.

[Spectral Soldier created successfully]

He had chosen an enemy with intelligence, one who could still prove useful, and more than that, an old acquaintance. Charlie raised her hand toward the ground and activated the skill.

The earth in front of them rippled as a cloud of pale darkness swirled into existence, spectral energy condensing into form. The air grew heavy, humming with otherworldly force. Then, with a final surge of light, the figure emerged.

[… has been successfully summoned as a Spectral Soldier.]

Luke sat back on a massive rock like it was a throne. Beside him, Charlie stood tall, her new sword planted against the ground like the blade of a royal guardian.

The creature appeared, glared at them… and then dropped to its knees.

A smile spread across Luke’s face.

“Welcome back, General Orc Morvat.”

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