Melina had already reached her limit.
(Melina's thoughts – gasping atop a tree)
"If this keeps up... I'm going to die."
System:
— Alert: your body is experiencing a high fever. Organs are beginning to fail due to heat overload. Immediate rest is strongly recommended.
Melina looked around. Skeletons everywhere.
— How am I supposed to rest... surrounded by enemies?
Clutching her throbbing stomach, she leaned against the tree trunk and forced herself to stand.
— I already said... I won't stop until everyone is safe!
She extended her hand. One last burst of fire shot from her fingers, incinerating dozens more enemies. Then, she collapsed onto the branch.
System:
— Limit reached. Your body is about to enter a comatose state.
Melina (out of breath):
— Coma...? So... I'm going to die?
System:
— Warning: 10,000 skeletons have been eliminated. Your Monster ability has generated a rare sub-skill: Familiar. Requirements met. Do you wish to sacrifice the soul points of the 10,000 defeated enemies to unlock the Familiars?
Melina:
— If you're saying it's good for me... then I accept.
System:
— Loading... Rare skill Familiar successfully unlocked. Monster ability leveled up to 20. Loading... Congratulations! You now possess three skeletons as summoning familiars. Would you like to summon them?
Melina (barely conscious):
— Yes...
System:
— Loading... What percentage of connection do you want to allocate to the Familiars? The higher the percentage, the stronger they become. Recommended range: 5% to 10%. How much would you like to assign?
Melina:
— If more means stronger... give them the most I can handle.
System:
— Recommendation: 20%. Risk alert: humans usually can't withstand more than 8%. However, with the Monster ability, your safety threshold increases to 18%. Still, to survive, 20% is ideal. Choose: 18% or 20%?
Melina:
— System... I give you permission to decide for me regarding the Familiars. I'm... going to rest... I have no aura or mana left...
System:
— Automatic mode activated. Calculating optimal option... User conditions analyzed. Loading complete. 20% will be distributed among the Familiars after summoning. Summoning...
Around Melina's unconscious body, three skeletons emerged from the shadows, kneeling before her.
System:
— Naming Familiars. Based on the connection level, each will receive 20% of Melina's power. Since the master is unconscious, names assigned will be: Cuby, Cuto, and Chuí.
The skeletons began to glow. Their once empty eye sockets lit up in yellow.
System:
— Protect your master.
One of them gently lifted Melina's body and rested her against the tree. The other two jumped from the branch to confront the approaching enemies.
System:
— Assessment: ordinary skeletons have no vitality or resistance — they fight endlessly. However, Familiars are different. They inherit a portion of the user's strength. Each one with 20% of Melina's power becomes superior to standard foes. However, they consume mana — a scarcer resource than aura. But... since they're skeletons, Melina will be fine. So, boss? Cool skill, huh?
Melina (exhausted):
— System... why are you being so loud...? Let me sleep...
Shortly after, Melina woke up with a start.
— I'm awake already?!
She looked to the side. One of the skeletons was using basic healing magic to restore her vitality. Even conscious, Melina could barely move.
— You... can talk?
A voice answered directly in her mind:
Chuí:
— Yes, master.
Melina's eyes widened.
— Telepathy?! That's so cool! What's your name?
The skeleton retrieved a medical kit from Melina's bag and began bandaging her wounds.
— Chuí. I'm a mage skeleton.
— A... female skeleton?
— Yes, master.
Melina looked down and saw the other two crushing enemy skeletons.
— And them?
— My brothers. Cuby and Cuto.
Melina:
— System, what happens if they... die?
System:
— As Familiars, they only die if the master dies. If they are destroyed, they will return after 168 hours. They can also be reabsorbed into your mana core, but only if touched while still active. This return can be done after 3 hours.
Melina (relieved):
— They're pretty strong...
System:
— The kill points earned by the Familiars go to the master.
— Ah... that explains why I'm recovering so quickly. As they defeat enemies, my base stats increase...
System:
— And as the master levels up... the Familiars level up too.
Melina stood up with effort.
— I can stand now... this is seriously overpowered.
Chuí (worried):
— Master... are you sure? Perhaps you should rest a little longer...
Melina (smiling):
— I'm fine. Let's finish this quickly. I need to return to the group.
System (alert):
— Evolution detected! Skeletons of Atreus are about to disappear.
Melina:
— Disappear?!
All the remaining skeletons — both those surrounding Melina and those near her group — began to dissolve. Suddenly, a new type of creature appeared.
System:
— The remaining skeletons were consumed for an evolution. Now emerging are Zombies — the Flesh Skeletons. Their strength, resistance, and speed have increased significantly. They've evolved into Atreus' lower class.
Melina (shocked):
— They evolved into lower classes?! Activate assessment! How many are still standing?
Assessment:
— 6,432 newly formed zombies.
Melina:
— At least they're a bit far away... That gives us time to retreat to the fortress. But... things just got serious.