Saintess Summons Skeletons

Sofia was enjoying a leisurely ride on the back of a giant black Dragon.

Enough sightseeing, we’re here.

There isn’t much to see in the first place….

Sofia let go of Erredis’ back and watched as the flying Dragon turned back into an elegant lady with bunny ears. They landed on the inconspicuous little island, in the middle of the ocean far to the west of the Sect’s continent.

There were a few tiny farm plots growing colorful vegetables on the side of a rickety wooden shack. A single barefoot man in shorts was sunbathing, lying on a long wooden chair under a palm tree. With short black hair and a three-day beard, from afar he looked like any other random human guy.

That was if one couldn’t see the ludicrous amounts of mana forming a vortex around him that extended far beyond the small sandy island.

I didn’t expect that.

Is the world just full of random places with Dragons doing nothing but hanging out there that you can just stumble across by pure luck? This place looks lived-in, so he wasn’t here to wait for us, right?

Unless he ‘got rid’ of whoever used to live there?

“Hoy, get up, Phil!” Erredis hollered as she approached the guy.

The man sat up on his lounging chair. He turned and glanced at the two girls, he was wearing a pair of reflective dark glasses. “No way, you really brought a busty babe for me to roast? I thought you were joking.” He propped up his glasses, revealing his deep emerald eyes. “Hey beautiful. You’ve come all this way to see me?”

This…

What kind of weirdo did Erredis bring me to?

“Stop fucking around, Phillip.” Erredis warned, already exasperated.

“I like fucking around, though? I agreed to help for free, you could at least let me have some fun. You were funnier when you were young, Erri,” the man answered before pulling his glasses back down and sipping on a drink inside of a halved hard fruit that was just on the ground near his chair.

A colorful character…

Erredis audibly sighed. “Sofia, this is Phil. You should be careful never to take anything he says seriously. And he’s not helping for free at all, he wants you to leave one of your blessed bone constructs here for a week, for him to analyze. I had to disclose some of your skills to him, I hope you don’t mind. This guy is crazy when it comes to lingering magic.”

“So he wants to try copying it?”

“He’ll try. But I personally don’t think he’ll get anywhere close to that in a week.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Phillip chimed in from his chair.

“Yeah I know. So just make him a small coin or something, it doesn’t matter. As I said, there’s no way he could copy it in a week.”

The man sat up again. “You sure have a lot of confidence in your old friends, uh. Actually, Sofia? I would appreciate it if you could make it a sphere about the size of your head. Thanks.”

“Sure… Do you even know what the blessing does?” Sofia answered. Erredis left the two alone, going to explore the small wooden shack.

“Erri said healing, pretty much all I need to know,” he confirmed, lazily standing up to have a more civilized face-to-face conversation.

“Healing for me and Skeletons only. It also strengthens the blessed object.”

“I see. Definitely new magic by the system’s higher scribes. I need to see that. I just need to roast you, right?”

“If you’re a Chromatic Dragon, then yes, though one time might not be enough, I don’t know.”

“Aight, Chromatic Dragon I am, Green in person. Won’t find greener light anywhere in the Solar System. Do you have some way to revive? Because you’ll most definitely die.”

“I do but that needs some setup. Is there any risk that your breath might cancel it?”

“Nah, it’s just light. Barely anything magic left to it. You’ll be reduced to charred dust, if even that. And that’s it.”

After that, Sofia made a bone sphere and blessed it like Phillip wanted. He was instantly fascinated by it. But his attention was soon split up by his newfound interest in the unlife runes Sofia was casting. They negotiated that if she needed his help again, she could stay there for a week to let him examine them. When it was all said and done, he asked Sofia to stand at the end of the beach, feet in the water. But first he made sure she left all of her valuable belongings in a wicker basket near his chair, so that he wouldn’t destroy them by accident.

“In terms of aim, I don’t want to ruin the place so it’s better if you fly up when you’re ready. I burn you for one second and stop. That's alright?”

“It takes me a few seconds to resurrect, just cut it off before that and we’re good.”

Phillip smiled. “You’re quite the special young lady, to have Erri escort you here, and to speak with me so freely. I like it. Be careful though, some of the older folks alive are way more uptight. You’d be quickly executed for being irreverent. Though I’m sure if you bring up Erri’s name they’ll at least think twice ‘bout it.”

“I like to think I am a decent judge of character, though if someone at your level really wants me dead I don’t believe excessive politeness and flattery will save me.”

“Heh, you never know.” He shrugged. “I like to think I’m part of the more sane five-digiters around, but some just develop weird quirks with old age you know. Like livin’ alone on a fuckin barren wasteland in space instead of with their old buddy, for example.”

Or like being obsessed with ‘lingering magic’?

“I can also hear you.” Erredis’ voice echoed from inside the shack.

“I know, honey; you can wait for me on the bed if you want.”

Sofia heard Erredis sigh all the way from the beach.

Phillip seemed not to care; he just shifted his attention back to Sofia. “Ready? Just fly up.”

Sofia left the ground after giving herself a quick jab in the stomach; she didn't want to stay alive any longer than she needed to under a Dragon's breath, and all the one-hit protection from VPPV would do was probably prolong her agony for half a second. She saw Phillip slightly opening his mouth, then nothing but the color green.

After which, she woke up naked in the shallow water. Pareth was there, technically blocking Phillip from view with a huge shield, but it was very uncertain whether that did anything.

Quickly reforming her armor, she stood up and looked at her description of [Venerable physique of the primeval void], but she could already tell from the light showing under her skin that it wasn’t done. However, there was undeniable progress.

[Venerable physique of the primeval void] :

Light forging realm - First step : Your skin becomes tougher and opaque (478/1000%)

“Are you alright, girl?” Phillip asked from the other side. Switching to Pareth’s vision, Sofia saw that he actually had his back turned. So perhaps he was really not looking. Or just putting on a show. Either way Sofia appreciated the gesture, because she hadn’t thought that far about her clothing situation when she had been worrying about whether she could really survive a Dragon’s breath or not.

“I’m good. Progress says four-seventy-eight.”

“Out of a thousand?”

“Hasn’t changed.”

“Damn. Two more times then. Your other two runes still good? Don’t want to kill you by accident. Oh, right, can I turn around?”

“Yeah. Thanks for not looking.”

“You think I had a choice? Look in that direction,” he said, pointing at the bunny-eared lady near the shack, sitting in the sand and watching him with a scornful gaze.

“Would you look if you had a choice?” Sofia couldn’t help but ask, though she instantly regretted it.

“Nah. You’re a bit too young for my tastes, young lady. Reminds me of my daughter. You can ask again in a few thousand years though. Anyway, second round?”

“I’m ready.”

Sofia flew up and died.

The first thing she thought as she woke up in the same fashion as before was that at least it didn’t hurt. Getting erased by Aphenoreth probably feels like that I would guess. One moment you’re there. The next you’re not.

Not that I saw him ever erase anybody. Well. Does ‘TheJailed’ count? I don’t remember the scene in detail so to say that I saw it is a bit of a stretch.

And clearly He’s not really gone or He couldn’t be in Cinthia’s chatroom.

[Venerable physique of the primeval void] :

Light forging realm - First step : Your skin becomes tougher and opaque (971/1000%)

Sofia covered herself up and stood up again, announcing the progress to Phillip.

“Ready when you are, girl.”