By having the 'Authority', it essentially meant that the dungeon had become something that was owned by Ashton. Which essentially meant that everything that once lived or was living there now, had to obey his will.
That was the reason why the wolves were continuously hunting down the 'intruder' and didn't attack Ashton even when he appeared in front of the wolves. To the wolves, Ashton was no longer an outsider, but their pack leader.
Unfortunately for Seven, the wolves weren't so forgiving towards him. The royal knight tried fighting back with all his might. But against the overwhelming numbers of the wolves, there was only so much he could do alone.
Soon the wolves overrun him and he bled to death from the hundreds of wounds he suffered. The sight didn't look pretty at all. His royal armour was torn to pieces, but on Ashton's command, his body was fairly intact.
It was necessary to have his body somewhat 'preserved' for the necromancy to work on him. Ashton calmly walked towards the fallen knight. Ashton had no ill will towards the knight but he was forced to do what he did.
After all, Seven got to know of his secret, and there was nothing Ashton would stop at to make sure his secret remained a secret. Even if it meant killing innocent and loyal soldiers.
"Tsk, if only you would have listened to me." Ashton shook his head before squatting down next to the corpse, "Maybe I'll be able to teach you to be more obedient this time around."
[Unique Skill: Resurrect has been activated.]
[Level 30 werewolf has been selected as the target.]
[Caution: The host's level is lower than the target's. Resurrection has only a 33.34% chance of success.]
[Even if the process is successful, the reanimated being might act out. Would you still like to continue?]
"Hm… I didn't think there would be an issue like this."
In the skill description, it mentioned there would be some restraints on the skill, but Ashton paid no heed to them. But he never thought there would be a restriction like this. What use would being a necromancer have if he couldn't even resurrect strong foes or 'friends' to become his allies.
However, on a positive note, at least there was a one-third chance of success. It was more than enough for him to act on. As for the question of resurrected Seven acting out was concerned, if he retained even a bit of his intelligence, Ashton would be able to convince Seven to obey him.
In the event he didn't retain his intelligence, well, then Ashton would simply have to kill him again and learn something from his experience. In a way, he would gain something regardless of the outcome.
"Let's do this."
As soon as Ashton said those words, a bluish magic circle appeared around the fallen knight. Simultaneously, the wounds all around his body started to heal. Seven's dusky skin turned black as if he was made of darkness. Even his broken armour found a way to stitch itself back onto Seven's body.
The magic was slowly showing its effect, Seven was being resurrected as something entirely new. It roughly took a minute for the process to complete. By the time it was over, about half of Ashton's mana was gone.
The [Resurrect] skill had no specific mana cost. Instead, it would consume mana based on two factors. Firstly was the condition of the corpse. The better state the corpse was in, the lesser mana the skill would consume.
Finally, the rank and level of the being Ashton wanted to resurrect. The higher the level, the higher was the mana consumption. On the other hand, having a higher level also meant that the chance of succeeding in the resurrection process was lesser.
Ashton had taken the risk but he had no idea what would end up happening. A moment later, the dark knight got to his feet, anxiously looking around himself as if he had no recollection of what had happened mere moments ago.
[Resurrection successful.]
[You have risen a lvl 35 Dark Knight. You can now view their details in the <Summons> tab of your system.]
The notifications flashed before Ashton's eyes, but his eyes were focused on the knight who no longer seemed to be Seven, but something else entirely.
"Who… I?" The knight asked in his hoarse voice.
Instead of answering him, Ashton quickly decided to check the knight's stats. There was something he wanted to confirm first.
__
Name: ???
Species: Dark Knight (Active), Werewolf (Deceased).
Status: Resurrected Summon
Class: Duelist, Death Knight
Title: [Hell-dweller], [Back From The Dead]
Age: —
Gender: Male
Grade: F-tier (Evolution is possible)
Affiliation: <none>
Level:
> Dark Knight: 35 (0%)
Stats:
HP: 7000/7000
Damage: 90-110
Armour: 76
Stealth: 69
Stamina: Unlimited
Agility: 80
Intelligence: 9
Nature:
Righteous
__
'Just like I thought. Seven is dead and his corpse was simply used to create a new shell for his 'soul' to inhibit.' Ashton thought to himself while circling around the dark knight, 'Looks like his stats were reassigned as well. I refuse to believe his intelligence was so low when he was still alive.'
"Confused… troubled… why…?"
The knight was barely able to convey his thoughts through broken words. But Ashton knew the knight posed no threat to him, at least for now. It was best for him to act now and get the resurrected knight on his side.
"It's good to have you back… Sven." Ashton thought it wasn't wise to address the knight with his former name so he came up with a new lame name, "I thought I lost my loyal knight forever!"
"Who… you? How… know me?"
Sven was suddenly intrigued by Ashton's appearance. The moment he saw Ashton, he felt drawn to him. As if something wanted him to latch himself onto the person in front of him, to serve him with all his might. But Sven couldn't make any sense of it.
"Relax Sven. I have just resurrected you, it will take some time for you to adjust back into the world of the living." Ashton murmured in a sincere voice, "You are my soldier, remember? My protector, who volunteered to serve me?"
"Yes… serve you… protect you… protect master!" Sven immediately fell on his knees to pay his respect to his 'master', "Swear loyalty to…. master forever."