Over the days that followed his unexpected arrival, Bakuno learned many valuable lessons concerning this new world. Earth, apparently.

He learned that blood was not only more difficult to come by here than it had been on Eldrysis, but also that it was not an appropriate source of sustenance for humans - the disgusting species of which Bakuno now found himself a member of.

That had been a particularly uncomfortable lesson, drinking fresh blood as he had back on Eldrysis. An uncomfortable lesson that resulted in a short stay at what the locals called the hospital. If Eldrysis had what the doctors here called Hemochromatosis, Bakuno had not known of its existence.

Another unfortunate lesson he learned from experience was that, although drinking coffee proved to be an adequate method to recover Mana, it was a mistake to drink it in excess. While this lesson did not require another trip to the hospital, it did leave Bakuno jittery, paranoid, and unable to focus for several hours.

Bakuno also learned that he could acquire EXP by killing nearly anything, though the easier the battle the less EXP was granted. An ordinary plant, for example, only provided him with .001 EXP whereas a stray cat netted Bakuno 6 whole EXP points. He also learned that cats were not worth the EXP they provided due to the necessary recovery period after doing battle with one. His weak human flesh was shredded from hand to elbow after that exploratory murder, and required another trip to the hospital.

One of the more important lessons that Bakuno learned in his first few days of life on this strange planet was that sleeping, although necessary for the pathetic body he’d been trapped within, was not an ideal outdoor activity. He needed a home base, a lair of sorts from which to begin recovering his strength. It did not take long to find a suitable habitat.

After placing his Feeble Blessing on a group of young-adult male humans, they befriended Bakuno and one of them even allowed him to stay in a guest room above his family’s garage. In return, Bakuno agreed to work part time at the family’s convenience store. It was there that Bakuno began collecting items that would assist him in his goal of world domination, starting with a canister of pepper spray.

Over a handful of weeks, Bakuno found himself quite enjoying the company of the family that took him in. The boy who had invited him, Carl, was a promising youth who spent the majority of his time killing virtual enemies on a screen below Bakuno’s loft in the garage. Bakuno was certain that, with the right mentor, Carl had the makings of a Tyrant King himself.

Carl’s mother, whom he had been instructed to simply call ‘ma’, was always bringing Bakuno snacks and making sure his clothes were clean for work. Carl’s father, Mr. Mann, spent most of his time at the store and had been very patient in teaching Bakuno the parameters and basic expectations of his servitude. Mr. Mann taught Bakuno about stocking and sweeping, of course, but also about profit and loss, overhead, and prudent purchasing methodology. Mr. Mann’s cleverness and diligence resulted in the store’s ability to provide for his family and Bakuno could not help but respect the man greatly.

And then there was Paco.

For weeks, Bakuno smartly avoided all contact with the tiny four legged monster they kept as a pet. Paco, he was informed, was a chihuahua… a particularly vicious breed of canine.

In a shocking non-upset, Bakuno, Tyrant King of Eldrysis and stock boy of Mann’s Convenience Store, strangled the life out of Paco in order to gain the final 9 EXP he needed to advance to level 2 while the family was out to see a movie. After his run in with the stray cat, Bakuno was pleasantly surprised at how well his battle with the little dog went.

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Fearing that he might lose his shelter should the family learn what he’d done, Bakuno used the skill point he was granted for reaching level 2 to purchase the spell, Reanimate Corpse.

The spell cost 5 Mana to cast, and would require 1 Mana point every 24 hours to maintain his first raised minion. The next would cost 3 Mana points per day, and continue increasing with each new minion.

He’d received 5 Attribute points to distribute for reaching level 2 and used them to increase his Wisdom by 4 and Intelligence by 1. This took his maximum Mana to 18 and brought his Wisdom up to the minimum threshold for natural Mana regeneration. His Mana would now slowly recover on its own without the need for excessive coffee ingestion.

Unlike Feeble Blessing, Bakuno was very familiar with Reanimate Corpse. He placed his hands on the motionless Paco, channeled the required 5 Mana into the casting, and uttered the verbal incantation.

“Un viga se coohila, bet’ko u exten sira,” Bakuno intoned in his native tongue. Loosely translated, it meant: Once living and now deceased, rise again and serve your master.

A sickly neon green light left his hands, sinking into his target. When the now undead canine sprang into unlife, Bakuno was pleased that the recent strangling he had suffered did not result in the little creature’s eyeballs bulging out of its head any more than they already had when he was alive. When confronted with a notification, Bakuno had a decision to make.

Would you like to bestow a name on your reanimated minion?

Yes or No

A part of him knew the family would notice Paco’s grayish discoloration. Even if they did not, they would certainly notice the fact that he would no longer need to eat, drink, or sleep. Bakuno came to the realization that he would have to tell the family what he had done. A small price to pay for his first minion here in this new world.

They would forgive him, he was sure. He hadn’t let their pet remain dead, after all.

Would you like to bestow the name Pakuno to your reanimated minion?

Yes or No

Bakuno chose yes and smiled down at his first underling in this new world. Pakuno, a bit of greenish ooze dripping from his mouth where Bakuno had incidentally broken its jaw, wagged his tail. He gave Pakuno a few simple commands, all of which were followed immediately and without question.

Bakuno’s smile widened. He had greatly improved this little beast.

Before his reanimation, the chihuahua largely ignored verbal commands and rampantly humped anything and everything that crossed his path. The Manns would surely appreciate what he had done for them instead of being upset with him for killing their dog.

When the family returned, and he explained what he had done, Bakuno was baffled at their response. Before allowing them to actually see their new and greatly improved pet, he explained his actions. At first they thought this was some ill fated attempt at humor. When he summoned Paco, or Pakuno, and they saw that he was not making a joke, the mood changed dramatically. From disbelief to anger in a flash.

Bakuno made the argument to Mr. Mann that, through necromancy, he had lowered the overall expenses for the household - although only marginally. And that Paco had been clearly improved now that he was Bakuno’s undead minion. It wasn’t until he generously offered to kill and subsequently raise the entire family as undead to lower overhead more completely that he was asked to pack up his few belongings and leave.

For a moment, Bakuno considered murdering the family simply for the EXP he would gain but he was unsure of his ability to handle all three at once, even with the aid of his tiny minion. On top of that, these humans had been kind to him up until he murdered their pet while they were gone and then reanimated it as his own. Bakuno would let them live, he decided.

With his loyal minion in tow and a small bag containing his few belongings hanging from one shoulder, Bakuno set off into the night. His goal remained unchanged, he would subjugate this world. And, thanks to the many life lessons he learned from the Mann family, he was in a far better position to do just that.