It all started with me trying to swallow more than I can chew. My parents and the other villagers, at least the ones who have the patience to humor my delusions, warned me against trusting the random trader, but I insisted on buying the damned class crystal. Now that I’m really thinking things through, I can see the folly of it. There are dozens of reasons why I shouldn’t use the class crystal but I’ll keep it short to the most critical ones.

One, I’m not of age. Technically, I could get the class before turning 20, but I would need to consult a minder in the city. Something about the soul having to be fully formed before attempting a class.

Second, the crystal I bought using ALL of my savings could be fake, or worse, damaged. No one in the village knows how a proper class crystal should look. Again, I should, at least, have looked for a minder in the city.

Third, I don’t know how the whole ‘getting a class’ ritual works. People with a class refused to teach me how they did it; as if I wouldn’t try anyway. Just save some coins and go to the damned minder, Shain!

I won’t continue with the reasons as these are already enough to dissuade any reasonable person. Actually, who am I convincing? I can’t think of other reasons, but I’m sure there are many more. I’m just used to being impulsive and getting away with it.

So, against any logic, I went to my hideout in a grotto near the red river, just far enough so that no villager can hear me if I scream, not too deep into the forest, and started to try everything I could think of to activate the crystal. In the end, I got it to work, probably not how it should, but still.

I dripped my blood on it as I had seen my parents do with contracts and permissions many other times. The palm-sized purple color crystal started to glow brighter and blink every few seconds. I felt dizzy, and something deep inside me was pulled by the crystal. My vision blurred and I lost my conscience. But not for long, as a part of me, maybe my soul, woke up in a sea of darkness.

I guess this is death. I wanted to do so much, so many things to see. It’s so unfair, how can this be the end of my story? I guess I didn’t have a big dream like most, but I did want to do a lot of things, learn, grow, and experience, I wanted to live! Something changed around me… or my soul. A light. I can see a light away above… my conscience. It’s far, but I can get there, I know I can. So, I run, swim, fly, and do whatever action that can get me closer to that light. I feel like I’m moving, but the light gets further away, but I don’t give up. I won’t give up.

Change comes yet again to this strange world of darkness. The light melts in the surrounding, and the sea becomes… grey.

I woke up with a terrible headache and pain all over my body, both fighting over my attention. I feel so tired that I can’t stand up. I don’t want to stand up, the ground is more… safe. The grotto looks the same, but something is bothering my sight at the border of my vision. It’s a… screen. Just like my parents described, a stats screen! I got my class!

CLASS

NECROMANCER

LEVEL

1

HEALTH

1 (50)

MANA

5 (10)

SKILLS

BRINK OF DEATH

YOU CAN BRING YOURSELF FROM THE BRINK OF DEATH (X). COST: HALF OF YOUR HEALTH (PERMANENT)

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“No, no, no…”

I was in denial for a good ten minutes, reading my stats so many times that I could dictate it from memory.

I died. Oh my Gods, I died. So, what now? Am I fuc** undead? Is that why I’m feeling dead or is that just my health at one? What I should do? What…? First stop panicking, Shain. You’re not dead, you’re alive. Remember, dead is ZERO health, you have one. I have to calm down. Does one of health mean that any insect could kill me now? Oh my…

Sometime later – more than I would like to admit – I finally calmed down. Probably because my health went up to three, and I realized that I was recovering. Then I finally got to think about the depth of the hole I got myself into.

Necromancy is a taboo class. Not the kind that is undesirable and you should avoid, but the kind that would get you hunted, tortured, and killed. Necromancers are the monsters that eat kids in the children stories. As far as I know, which isn’t much considering that I lived my whole life in this remote village, there haven’t been any necromancers since the Death Wars about a century ago. The result is clear, I’ll either get killed alone or drag my family, maybe even the village, with me. Just, great!

On the bright side, I can return from the dead. Yay! And it only costs half of my total health, permanently. To make it better, I’m pretty sure I returned with only one point of health, which means that whatever kills me can continue killing me until I die for good. What if I lost a limb, or… my head? Would I return complete or handicapped?

Focus, Shain. Focus! So, basically, I just killed myself and everyone around me, and I would return a few times just to make sure that I feel it enough. Oh my Gods… What am I gonna do?

Wait, why am I still feeling happy about this? Oh… Mom is right, I’m not a normal person. There’s no silver lining, nothing good coming out of this adversity, nope. This time I mess things through, no way out of it… What if I keep it a secret? I don’t need to tell anyone about this… Not that easy, Shain. A lot of people have the skills to see through others’ stats.

Then, I continued to go through stupid ideas for what might have been hours until I finally arrived at the only sane conclusion - I had to leave the village immediately. My life was probably done, but I shouldn’t drag others with me. I made the decision to risk using the crystal so I should pay for it, alone. All things considered, I think I’m handling the situation pretty well. Others might have lost their minds, trying to kill themselves, or even kill the whole village. No, that’s sick. Stop thinking about crazy things, Shain. No need to add psycho to the necromancer title.

I couldn’t risk being ‘identified’ by anyone, so I trailed the path to the village stealthily while being mindful of my meager and recently recovered 10 of health. There’re no beasts on this side of the river, so the kids are usually allowed to run freely. I suspect that a few saw me, but they’re kids and surely don’t have any skills. I just hope that I don’t have a big necro sign on my forehead. That would be awkward.

My house isn’t far from the path, thankfully. So, I got there fairly quickly and without any incidents. When the three-room wooden and straw hut came into view, tears threatened to leave my eyes, but I pushed them back. There will be plenty of time to cry when I’m all alone in the woods.

Fortunately, my parents are still working in our fields, so nobody is home. From my four square meters room, I took my three worn sets of clothes, the extra boots, the carvings that I did with Dad, and the needle and thread that Mom insisted that I know how to use. With a piece of chalk, I wrote on a hand-sized stone a ‘goodbye and don’t look for me’ message. They knew that one day I would run away to the city, I had threatened them with it a few times. The message was hurried and too simple for our last farewell, but then, I was impulsive so they wouldn’t suspect anything amiss.

I put the stone in the common room where we cook and eat, the tears escaping from my eyes. Then, I took whatever my parents could spare and that I thought might be useful later. My skin satchel was full, but I still grabbed a bread loaf – I was too hungry. And then, I left home, forever.