(ii.)
He felt a sudden unpleasant drain as a significant portion of his mana was siphoned away into the aether. Gone forever. Had this happened in his previous life, he would have been utterly gutted. While he had no method to measure the mana he'd cultivated over eighty years, he was sure it paled in comparison to his present mana pool, likely measuring in the single digits.
The transparent screen flashed twice and Lazarus was promptly greeted with an updated stat screen:
Status:
Name: Lazarus
Race: Lesser Lich
Sex: Male
Class: Necromancer
Skills:
Death Companion – Summon a Unique intelligent companion (evolving skill), Level 1
Create Lesser Undead – Create small animal undead that can follow basic orders, Level 1
Pain Nullification – You do not feel pain, Level MAX
Mana Manipulation – Allows you to control mana within yourself and the world. Level MAX
Magic Aptitude: Metal
Major Stats:
Level: 1 Elite
Heath: 1,000/1,000 Mana: 1,500/1,500
Minor Stats:
Strength:10, Dexterity:7, Intelligence:15
Wisdom:15 Charisma: 0 Luck:15
Lazarus fell back to the ground, feeling both drained and empowered at the same time. A very strange sensation, to be sure. Despite the stiff mana sacrifice, it appeared that naming himself had yielded immediate benefits in terms of stat gain. On closer inspection, it appeared that his Intelligence points had a direct correlation to his total mana pool. How very marvelous!
It seems that names are very important in this world. What pray tell is a lesser lich, anyway?
He willed away the screen and sat up. Reflexively, he raised a hand to his face, seeking his signature goatee for a good thoughtful stroke. To his shock, Lazarus saw not flesh, but bare bones! As if that wasn't extraordinary enough, this skeletal hand was deep azure in color, accented by streaks and flecks of gold mixed in. Were these bones carved from pure lapis lazuli?
“OH,” he exclaimed. “Oh my. How can this be?”
He extended his arm and flexed his hand, wiggling his phalanges with utter delight. The sight was frankly astonishing to the former researcher, especially given that his bones did not seem to be held together with any sort of sinew or connective tissue of any kind. How was he held together? And what about...?
He looked down and found himself to be quite naked. Just a bare pelvis staring right back at him, so to speak. Bare bones. No genitalia to be found. He hung his head for a brief moment, unsure if he should laugh or cry. At least it looked like a rather fanciful pelvis? Surely that must count for something.
Jesus wept. Oh, but what I'd give for a proper laboratory right at this moment! I absolutely must study myself at length as soon as I possibly can!
Lazarus rose and began ambling about, looking around eagerly for a reflective surface of any kind. Alas, he was unsuccessful. There was no water or anything shiny laying about. Just... rocks. A great lot of rocks and rubble strewn about among the remains of a few ancient structures. More specifically, he noted that he appeared to be in a ruin of some kind. Remnants of an ancient village, perhaps.
He took a moment to gather himself, realizing that he must look rather absurd. Imagine, an animated lapis skeleton nefariously rooting through the remains of a probable dungeon city. Not suspicious in the least! He sat down upon a ruined hunk of pillar and considered his present circumstances.
I have no clothes on but I'm just bones as far as I can see... pretty blue and gold rather than white bones, but still bones nevertheless. I don't suppose I have to worry about indecent exposure. For now, how does one go about being a proper necromancer?
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Lazarus willed his status screen back into view. He skimmed a bit before jabbing a ponderous finger at a particularly interesting text blurb.
“This Death's Companion ability, how do I use it? Do I just think the name?” He stroked at his nonexistant goatee, deep in thought. “It has no mana cost listed. I suppose I'll give that a try, it's dangerous to go alone, after all.”
Lazarus stood and dismissed the window once more. Let the grand experiment begin!
Death's Companion
Lazarus focused his will on casting the ability. A large magic circle glowed gold before him with spinning runes he did not recognize. It was over in a blinding flash of light. Once the dust settled, he observed another skeletal figure where the magic circle had been. It was.... a dog, of all things?
Well. That was... hm. To be perfectly frank, I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting.
The skeletal dog let out a single ghoulish bark, then promptly rushed over to Lazarus and attempted to nuzzle him, its bones clinking against his shins with the contact. By contrast, the dog's bones were all white in comparison to the lich. Its tail wagged back and forth as any happy dog would tend to do. Puzzled, he bent down and awkwardly pat his new companion on the head. It was almost cute, in a way.
“I summoned a bone dog? And it likes me,” he mused, scratching the beast's chin. “What is this sorcery? I never owned a pet in the old world. Spent too much time studying to take care of one. I suppose I might have liked to own one, though. Hmmm... can I see its status?”
Skill acquired: Appraisal – Allows user to appraise information about anything connected to them or the world around them. Level 1
Lazarus grinned somewhat maniacally. All Hail the Red Text! Wherever there was Red Text, good things were sure to follow, he found.
Lazarus used the skill on the dog.
Appraisal
Status:
Name: No Name
Race: Skeleton Dog
Sex: Male
Class: N/A
Skills:
Companion – 100% Loyal to the summoner, Level MAX
Pain Nullification – Does not feel pain, Level MAX
Dig- Digs a hole, Level 1
Fetch- Retrieves a recognized object, Level 1
Magic Aptitude: Earth
Major Stats:
Level: 1
Heath: 300/300 Mana: 400/400
Minor Stats:
Strength:1, Dexterity:3, Intelligence:3
Wisdom:1 Charisma: -5 Luck:0
Lazarus gaped at the dog's stats.
Its stats are way less than mine! I suppose it's only to be expected considering it is merely a summoned creature... but is it normal for other skeletal entities to be so weak? Also, how do we determine that this skeleton is male?
He looked down at himself, smirking inwardly.
I retract the previous question.
The dog tilted its head to one side as Lazarus knelt down to examine the creature. He took one of its front paws in his own hand, gently manipulating the individual joints. It seemed like a hardy little fellow, about knee height and average build. Strong, healthy bones. Not brittle. No cracks or breaks. In life, the dog seemed likely to be a working breed of some sort.
The dog had also taken an interest in its examination, sniffing its held paw with great interest.
Should I name him? It took an awful lot of mana to name myself. Though, perhaps not. He is a summon, after all. A fragment or extension of myself. By that logic, I absolutely must name him! How else would I proclaim him as one of my own?
Satisfied with his inspection, Lazarus grinned broadly and rubbed the dog's spine. He leaned into his master's touch, tail happily wagging and clinking away. A certifiable good boy.
Well, he is white... what if I name him Jet after the black gemstone? Will it affect him like my name affected me? Hmmm.
“What do you think, friend? Do you like the name, 'Jet'?”
“Yap!”
“Do you? Do you like it, boy? Do you like it, Jet?”
“Woof, woof!”
The pup jumped up and down excitedly, turning a quick circle before the lich. Lazarus let out a hearty bone chilling chuckle, hands at his hips.
“Very well, then. I'll call you Jet.”
Requested Name Accepted: Jet
Mana Required for Name Acquisition: 200
Stat increase of 3 to all stats granted with name.
Status:
Name: Jet
Race: Skeleton Dog
Sex: Male
Class: N/A
Skills:
Companion – 100% Loyal to the summoner, Level MAX
Pain Nullification – Does not feel pain, Level MAX
Dig- Digs a hole, Level 1
Fetch- Retrieves a recognized object, Level 1
Magic Aptitude: Earth
Major Stats:
Level: 1 Elite
Heath: 300/300 Mana: 800/800
Minor Stats:
Strength:4, Dexterity:6, Intelligence:6
Wisdom:4 Charisma: -2 Luck:3
Lazarus felt yet more power leach out of his bones, but much less than last time. He sat back on his heels and pressed his palms against his eye sockets. Would he ever get used to the feeling of mana expenditure?
My word. Best not to name anything that is not directly connected to me from now on. The cost seems rather stiff.
Jet let out a high pitched whine and wiggled in between Lazarus' arms, concerned.
“Oh? OH!” He gasped in surprise and wonder at his companion. “How wonderfully magnificent!”
Now it appeared as though Jet's bones were made from the namesake glittering black jewel from his home world. The dog was rather striking (and perhaps a little terrifying) to behold. The dog seemed to have grown a few sizes to boot, now looking more like a wolf than a common dog.
“Good boy, Jet.”