Deas Thalios felt cold. The sort of coldness that seeps into your very bones when the first frost of winter coats the world in a sparkling white. But Deas didn't mind it too much. After all, darkness, silence, and a lack of warmth were all very old friends to him. However, just as he was settling into his blissful oblivion, pain wracked Deas' body. It came with a vengeance and dragged his consciousness, kicking and screaming to his new mortal shell.
Suddenly, he thrust his skeletal hands upwards. His bony fingers clawed frantically at the dirt as the weight of his own grave weighed down on him. Damn them! Damn them all! When I get out of here, I'll make sure they understand the gravity of their mistake!
The soil gave way all of a sudden, and Deas grasped the damp morning grass. With great effort, he pulled himself up and out into the dim light of the mortal realm. After an eternity of war, he found the scent of decay surrounding him to be oddly comforting. The twin orbs of ghostly blue light in his hollow eye sockets immediately took in his surroundings.
A graveyard—how fitting. The old tombstones leaned sideways as if they were drunk. Weathered. Cracked. Nobody living cares for these souls anymore. Deas sighed as he turned his sight elsewhere. There, past the slumbering dead, a village was waking up with the day's first rays of sun. The villagers were clearly unaware that the entity they knew as Death had just risen to walk among the living.
However, before this ancient being could take a single step, a clear chime rang in his head. A translucent blue screen popped into existence before his eyes:
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Death has entered the Game.
Welcome to Rebirth Online!
Race: Risen
Class: Necromancer
Grade: Mortal
Level: 1
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The graveyard's silence was broken by the rattling of bones. Followed by the empty laugh that escaped Deas' throat. Look at how far I've fallen, he sneered while dismissing the notification with a careless wave of his hand. I, no, we, created this world. Deas glared at the figures moving in the distance. I hoped this day would never come. But that's what contingencies are for. Now, here I am. Trapped in my own creation without my powers. Nothing more than a pawn in a game of my making.
As the air grew colder around him, another notification appeared. However, Deas didn't even need to look at his stats. He already knew them like the cracks on the back of his hand.
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Name: Deas Thalios
Race: Risen
Class: Necromancer
Grade: Mortal
Level: 1
XP to Level 2: 0/1000
Stats:
Health: 200/200
Mana: 220/220
Stamina: 180/180
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 18
Intelligence: 25
Wisdom: 22
Charisma: 10
Luck: 8
Skills:
Necromancy (Passive): Allows the user to communicate with, control, and summon the dead. This skill scales with the user's level.
Raise the Fallen (Active, Cost: 50 Mana): Reanimate a recently deceased corpse to serve as an undead minion. The minion retains 50% of its original stats. Duration: 10 minutes per user level. Cooldown: 1 hour.
Half-Life (Active, Cost: 20 Mana): Allows the user to take on a human appearance accompanied by all bodily functions and emotions that it entails. Cooldown: None (Can be toggled on and off).
Soul Harvest (Active, Cost: 0 Mana): A unique skill belonging to Deas Thalios. Upgraded version of the Corpse Harvest skill belonging to the Necromancer class. Allows the user to absorb a portion of a deceased soul's life experience and mana. Gain 10% of the soul's XP and regenerate 10% of total mana. Cooldown: None.
Aura of the Dead King (Passive): Lower-level NPCs and creatures are 10% less likely to act aggressively toward the user unless provoked.
Reaper's Touch (Active, Cost: 30 Mana): A signature skill belonging to Deas Thalios. Instantly reduce the target's health by 10% of their maximum. Scales with the user's Grade. Ineffective on targets of a higher level. Cooldown: None.
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Deas' ghastly blue orbs pulsed while he looked at the numbers. Level one, his thought was poisoned by a bitter tone. He was a long way from the presence that used to make Gods tremble at his passing. Now, I'm barely better than the weaklings I've lured to this world.
At least he had something they couldn't compete with. His memory. I've already rigged the board in my favor.
Deas shot a fleeting glance at the dank hole he had crawled out of. Then, he brushed the filth from his frayed robes before marching in the village's direction. I need pawns. The world should be filling up nicely with candidates by now.
Greystone village was a dull yet quaint place on the map. Its small, wooden cottages with their thatched roofs lined the village's muddy streets. Here and there, several early risers could be seen going about their daily chores. However, something was off on this day. The air practically buzzed with a powerful energy. Then, it happened. The players arrived, much to Deas' grim satisfaction.
All around Greystone, acting like excited kids, the players appeared. Their eyes were wide with wonder as their heads snapped comically back and forth to take everything in. Deas couldn't help but release a raspy sigh at the sight of them. After all, they certainly stood out. And for good reason. They wore a mix of muted beginner armor that clashed fiercely with their bright neon hair colors.
Deas grimaced in the shade of his hood. They're acting like tourists. It was obvious they didn't understand this world. But what made the matter worse was their annoying, inflated sense of importance. That's gamers for you.
Over the many years, he had met so many of them. The vast majority—after accepting they were really dead—usually asked the questions he had come to dread. "Ah, cool. So, what's the world I'm going to reincarnate in like? What godly skills will I have? Is there magic? There better be magic. Oh, who's the driver of that truck, by the way? I think you need to revoke their license." Deas shivered at those particular memories and their reactions when he guided them back to the cycle of souls. All so they could enjoy another new, mundane life.
"Bro, check it! These graphics are fire!" one of the players yelled obnoxiously while checking out his supposedly virtual body. Floating there above his his head was his username. xXxBlazingDragon420xXx.
"So real you could die for them," Deas mumbled. The freezing, deadpan tone of his voice was enough to make a nearby villager shudder.
A short distance away, there was another player—QueenSlaya69— begging a confused old man to spit out a quest. The terrified elder trembled and stammered as he did his best to understand the situation and placate the overenthusiastic woman.
"Listen here, Grandpa. What's so hard about giving us something to do? You must need something slain or gathered around here, right?" She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on the ground. Clearly, her patience was wearing thin as the elder hesitated on how he should respond.
Deas gave her a calculating look before grinning to himself. It looks like they haven't realized the people here aren't lines of code. Good. Our assumptions were correct. Players were indeed the best choice to fulfill my plans.
He walked towards them. His robes masked his graceful movements, making it seem as though he were gliding over the ground.
"Pardon me," Deas said, his low voice carrying the weight of someone who had witnessed one too many deaths. "Perhaps you could help me? I'm in need of some assistance."
Deas groaned internally at his performance. After all, he had to play the role of a hapless NPC to keep up the illusion. But, at the same time, he also had to fuel their interest in him to easier manipulate them in the future.
QueenSlaya69 let out a gasp as Deas spoke. Which drew the attention of the other players who were close by. Naturally, they wandered over to find out what the fuss was about. One of them—FlameEmpress—flicked her crimson hair over her shoulder as she approached. "What sort of quest do you have? It better not be boring."
Deas chuckled as his blue orbs flashed. "It's important to me. To you, it's an... opportunity."
As they spoke, Deas mentally called up his player interface. Then, he navigated to a section that was unique to him, The NPC tab. Deas snorted dryly to himself as he entered the quest details. However, he was frustrated with the rewards he could offer. That was because they were limited by his current level. By the time their short conversation was over, Deas pushed the completed quest notification to the eager players.
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Quest: The Lost Legacy
A mysterious Risen called Deas Thalios requests your aid in cleansing his family's tomb.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Rewards: 200 XP, Random Item Drop
Accept? [Yes]/[No]
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FlameEmpress read the prompt faster than anyone else. She grinned slyly as she stroked the hilt of her greatsword—which was almost as large as her ego. "Count me in! This sounds like it'll be fun. Better than chasing after mobs all day."
Soon, the others agreed as well. xXxBlazingDragon420xXx pumped his fist in the air while bellowing, "Hell yeah! First quest, here we come!"
Pleased with their response, Deas nodded to them.
"Very well, follow me," he rasped while turning toward the forest, thick with shadows from the morning sun, that lay behind Greystone. "I will lead you there."
The players chattered away as they followed after him. Deas turned a deaf ear to them. After all, their mindless babble was the typical sort of mortals—meaningless, and their concerns were as fleeting as a fly's lifespan to someone as old as him.
Before long, after weaving between the trees and undergrowth, the tomb Deas had spoken of loomed ahead. He cast a critical gaze over the structure. Its entrance had become half-buried over the centuries since his last visit, but the nostalgic smell of something rotten still lingered. How long has it been, exactly?
Deas turned to face the players before giving voice to a warning, "Be on your guard. The undead waiting within will not be felled easily."
"Wait," xXxBlazingDragon420xXx said with a questioning gaze. "Aren't you an undead, too?"
"Shut up, you dolt," FlameEmpress scoffed. "Don't you know anything? He's a Risen. A living dead that can still think. There's a big difference. You see those bones shaped like a throat and those ones that look like they could be muscle? Well, they're flexible and act like normal body parts. That's why he can speak. It's also how you can tell if something is undead or one of his kind. Man, you should've read the lore on the site before jumping in."
She paused for a moment before drawing the hefty sword from her back. "Don't worry about us, Deas. We can handle anything this place throws at us!"
Deas held her gaze for a few seconds before nodding. He approached the tomb's doors and shoved. Luckily, they were designed to open inwards. Which meant they weren't restricted from being partially buried. Hmm, it seems the enchantments I placed on them are still in working order. Although the doors groaned as they opened, they actually swung open with relative ease.
As the ragtag group stepped inside, the rattling of bones rose to meet them. A small group of skeletons limped from the shadows, wearing nothing more than a few rags and wielding rusted weapons. The players behind Deas froze for a moment before erupting with joy. In the next moment, they charged forward with wild abandon. Practically chomping at the bit to get in on the action.
"Whoop!" xXxBlazingDragon420xXx yelled as he launched a fireball at a skeleton. "This is too easy! What was all of the fuss about?"
Deas uncaringly watched their glee from the rear. His eyes moved to the notifications at the edge of his vision. A smirk played on his face as he watched the XP roll in. This is just one of the benefits of using players. At least I remembered to force us all into the same party upon accepting the quest. He mentally patted himself on the back for including the party XP share system. It was something he intended to abuse to its fullest.
Meanwhile, the battle continued on. Deas recognized the signs of the players beginning to falter. A sharp scream echoed off the stone walls as a skeleton grazed QueenSlaya69 with its rusty blade.
Her health bar took a noticeable dip as a rumble sounded on the other side of the wide corridor. NoobMaster—playing as a short, barrel-chested dwarf—had somehow managed to miss his target when using his Charge skill.
Instead, he had slammed his greataxe into a weakened column. Which instantaneously crumbled and cascaded down on top of him. Trapping the dwarf beneath its weight in the process.
"Help! Someone help me! I can't get out!" he wailed as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
Deas let out a sigh that sounded more like a hiss. Children. Idiotic children playing at being heroes. That's what they are. It was clear to him he had a lot of work to do if he wanted to whip them into shape.
"Enough of this," Deas thundered while raising his hand. Dark, necrotic energy swirled around his hand as Deas used his Reaper's Touch skill in quick succession. As the skill activated several times, the energy shot forth, striking the skeleton warriors one after another. In an instant, the spell reaped what remained of their health.
While the skeleton warriors collapsed into messy piles of now brittle bones, the players gaped at Deas. From their expressions, he could tell they were struggling to accept how easily he had taken care of the problem.
"Damn... What kind of monster are you, huh?" FlameEmpress gasped through her labored panting.
"It's best if you never have to find out."
The players felt the hair on their necks stand on end at Deas' ominous warning. More than one of them gulped as they struggled to regain their composure in his presence. After a few minutes of rest, the group ventured deeper into the tomb's depths. This is only the beginning. Deas' orbs glowed brighter momentarily. I need to ascend beyond the limits of this mortal shell as soon as possible.
The sound of each step they took soon returned back to them in the otherwise suffocating silence of those stone halls. Deas took the time to analyze the ancient runes he had carved into the ancient walls so long ago. He noted how faded they had become with the passing of the ages. All things crumble before the onslaught of time.
As their steady march continued on, broken only by the brief battles against the tomb's mobs, the players found the courage to talk again.
"So, Deas. Um, what's the deal with this place? Did your family live here or something? It seems a bit... big to be just a tomb." xXxBlazingDragon420xXx asked, his tone oozing with curiosity.
They've already become numb to the silence of the dead. At least they're making progress. Deas mused but didn't immediately respond to the question. The players could feel an uneasy tension building between them and Deas as they waited for his answer. However, there was no way they could know that Deas was brooding on the matter. The tomb wasn't actually a place for his family to rest in death. After all, he was death. What family could he possibly have?
No, this tomb had a darker purpose. It served as a monument to his failures. A vault he created to hold some of his treasures on the off-chance he was forced to put his contingency plan into motion. Just the fact he had foreseen his own fall and planned for it grated on his nerves. They made a mistake. A grave mistake of the highest order.
"You could say that," Deas finally said, breaking the ever-growing tension around their little group. "Many centuries ago, the Thalios bloodline ruled these lands. However, our power affronted the Gods, and they... intervened."
Deas chuckled to himself as the players ate up the false backstory he had created. Mortals are so easily distracted from the truth.
FlameEmpress apparently had a curious side to her. She couldn't stop herself from raising an eyebrow and asking for more information. "Intervened? Like, a divine smiting? That kind of thing?"
A laugh devoid of mirth escaped Deas' throat as he recognized her type. She was the sort of player who got sucked into the game's lore. She'll definitely hunt high and low for anything she can dig up.
"I suppose you could word it in that way," Deas replied as he fired a deathly cold glare her way.
Of course, that was just part of his act. The more mysterious he acted, the more likely it was the players would hold a lingering impression of him. Which was something he could use to build his reputation among players as more of them encountered him.
FlameEmpress gripped the handle of her blade tighter. Deas couldn't figure out if it was because of her unease at his words or her eagerness to move on. However, the other players seemed too focused on their interfaces to notice her reaction.
Deas heaved a sigh of relief as the group continued on through the veritable labyrinth. At the same time, the torches' flames along the walls flickered. Which provided the players with a hint of something being wrong. Finally.
A deep rumble sounded throughout the chamber they had just entered. The players swiftly came to a halt before throwing nervous glances at each other. NoobMaster swallowed in a rather loud manner before asking, "Eh, that wasn't one of you guys, right?"
Before anyone among them could even think of answering, a hulking, hideous abomination emerged from the chamber's darkness. Its body was a twisted mass of bone and decaying flesh. There, beneath its sternum, the monster's core shone brightly with unfathomably foul energy. Deas would have grinned if it weren't for the players eyeing him. Instead, he idly paid attention to the creature's information.
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Name: Forsaken Guardian
Level: 5
Health: 1000/1000
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"It's a boss fight!" xXxBlazingDragon420xXx screamed at the top of his lungs while pointing his staff at it.
"Get it!" QueenSlaya69 soon chimed in as she drew her pair of daggers.
With that, the players rushed forward, carried by their adrenaline. Deas watched on with a critical gaze as their bodies flickered with light from the usage of their skills. A hot, fiery arc blasted forth from FlameEmpress' greatsword as a maddened grin twisted her features.
However, the Forsaken Guardian was not an opponent to be taken lightly. It was far from being the same as the cannon fodder they had faced until now. With a mighty swing of its arm, the creature's fist pummeled the ground with bone-shattering force. The shockwave from the blow scattered the players, but it was xXxBlazingDragon420xXx who took the full brunt of it.
He was sent flying like a ragdoll, straight into the wall behind him. Deas frowned as he watched the player's health bar plummet from that single attack. Amateurs. He scoffed while xXxBlazingDragon420xXx groaned in pain as he slid to the ground.
Meanwhile, FlameEmpress hacked and slashed at the Forsaken Guardian's legs in a frenzy. Her attacks barely made a dent in the boss' HP. Naturally, the Guardian wasn't going to just stand there and take it. The boss monster swung again. This time, its fist connected with NoobMaster. The poor dwarf was sent skidding across the chamber's floor as his axe skittered out of reach.
"We've got to do something! It'll be a party wipe at this rate!" QueenSlaya69 screamed frantically as her daggers bounced off the boss' rotting flesh.
Deas remained impassive as the players floundered like helpless fish. They haven't realized it yet. This was never a fight they were meant to win. At least—not without him. It was at that moment, Deas made his move. He stepped forward from the safety of the rear, dark magic crackling at his fingertips. The cold, blue orbs in his hollow sockets remained fixed on the Guardian as he raised his hand.
"Move aside if you don't want to die," Deas said in a deadpan tone, uncaring whether the players actually heard him or not.
The players hesitated at his command, but his voice carried the full weight of the millennia he had witnessed. That alone was enough for them to take him seriously. While the players backed off, the Guardian turned its ugly head to face the new challenger. Seemingly sensing the threat Deas posed to it, the creature roared. Its putrid breath was enough to make the players gag as they continued to distance themselves.
With a slow, deliberate wave of his hand, Deas activated Reaper's Touch. As the bolt of dark magic shot toward the creature, Deas remembered something and cursed himself for his error. Being around these players must be rotting my brain. I forgot it doesn't work on higher-level entities.
The outcome of this crucial mistake was obvious. The Forsaken Guardian looked more confused than anything else as the magical bolt scattered upon contact. But Deas didn't stop there. Since he realized his blunder in time, he called on his passive Necromancy skill before the creature could react.
He raised his hand higher as the skill flared to life. Deas' figure seemed to grow in the eyes of the players, but that was just an illusion caused by the green light shining from within him. A moment later, ethereal figures emerged from the tomb's shadows. Four of them to be exact. Each of them a long-dead warrior, their figures twisted by the torment of time and forgotten battles.
The players watched from the sidelines, wide-eyed, as Deas conducted the souls' assault on the boss—almost as if he were leading an orchestra—with surgical precision. The once-mighty Guardian suddenly found itself besieged on all sides. As the boss' health continued to drop at an alarming rate with each swing of an ethereal weapon, the players couldn't hold their concerns to themselves anymore.
"Like, dude... who the hell is this guy?" xXxBlazingDragon420xXx whispered to the others in awe.
"I don't know," FlameEmpress replied while she stared at the unfolding scene. Her sword hung limply like a wet noodle at her side. "But I'm beginning to think there's more to uncover about him than just this quest."
Moments later, the Forsaken Guardian let out an earth-shaking roar. Right before it collapsed into a disgusting heap of saggy, rotted flesh and bones. Finally, the quest completion notification flashed before their eyes.
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Quest Complete: The Lost Legacy
Rewards: 200 XP, Random Item Drop
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The players cheered and laughed their heads off. Easily forgetting their earlier anxiety when facing the boss in their excitement. Deas watched on as he released the souls from their service while the group boasted about the items they each received. For some strange reason, Deas found himself smiling alongside them.
"We did it! We totally did it!" NoobMaster cried out. "I bet we're the first players to take down a boss!"
Deas said nothing as he merely watched them revel in their victory. Though, his eyes did brighten in faint amusement at their antics.
"Thank you, everyone," Deas eventually said, his voice as deep as the ocean. "You were most... helpful."
FlameEmpress studied him with a mixture of suspicion and unbridled curiosity in her eyes. "There's more to this quest, isn't there? You knew that thing was here, didn't you?"
Deas met her steady gaze, the ghostly, blue light of his eyes flickered like lingering flames in the darkness of the tomb. "Maybe. Or perhaps you stumbled upon something more ancient than you can possibly comprehend."
FlameEmpress seemed to sense a hidden story behind Deas' words as her eyes shone with enthusiasm. However, before she could respond, Deas had already turned toward the exit. "Our business with each other here is over. You should return to the village, dear adventurers. May the Gods guide your way."
"Wait!" QueenSlaya69 suddenly called out. But Deas had already begun to fade into the tomb's shadows.
"Where are you going, dude? Don't you want to stay with our party?" xXxBlazingDragon420xXx asked. "We could use a powerhouse like you to breeze through some more quests!"
"Perhaps some other time," Deas replied casually. His deep voice echoed throughout the chamber as he entirely vanished into the gloom. "But for now... we shall say goodbye."
And with those parting words, he was gone. Leaving the players to their own thoughts about the mysterious NPC who guided them through their first quest.