Immediately after I announced my acceptance, a prompt appeared before me, asking if I consented to owning the remnant. I selected ‘yes’, and searing pain flashed across my back. My health bar plummeted, and suddenly a message appeared in my vision.
----------------------------------------
You have died!
New Respawn Timer: 1 Second
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I sat bolt upright on the stone altar of the temple. Against my will, I casually swung my legs around and stood up. After leaving the spawn altar, control of my body was returned to me. My back itched, but the feeling passed after a moment. I sprinted out of the temple, ignoring the stares of everyone around me. A savage growl escaped my lips as I ran to the guild hall. I burst through the door to see my friends with their weapons leveled at the remnant.
At my sudden appearance, Andrew and Gabe turned their stances towards me.
“Zero, is that you?” They asked.
“Of course it’s me. Whatever he did just killed me, but I don’t have any active debuffs or anything so we don’t need to worry about me becoming a thrall,” I replied.
“Okay, well if you so much as look at me funny, I’m killing you,” Gabe joked. I looked at my status screen to find any changes after my death, and was startled by what I saw:
Status Sheet (Nathan/Zero)
Stats (Level 13, 0%):
Constitution: 20
Dexterity: 12
Wisdom: 48
Intelligence: 23
Charisma: 11
Strength: 10
Alignment: Death 3
Qualities:
Determined
Creative
Devious
Abilities:
Dark Resilience: Your innermost thoughts have revealed a desire for evil, and some greater power has granted you a bonus to mental fortitude. 30% reduced risk of mindbreak and psychic damage.
Undead Tongue: You may communicate with all Undead.
Thoughts of the Boss: You may communicate telepathically with all undead minions.
Blessed by the Dark: Marked by the Necromancer Dreadil, certain creatures will view you as neutral rather than hostile.
Dread Body: Bleeding Effects and Temperature Damage is 10% less effective. You bleed less.
Skills (level)
Class: Necromancer (1)
Reading (6) Writing (3)
Poetry (2) Inspirational Leader (4)
Spellcasting (2) Mana Bolt (3)
Summon Minor Elemental (2) Create Cursed Skeleton (2)
Animate Corpse (1) Sneak (2)
Staff-fighting (1)
Class Skills:
Create Bone II (Current Bone Essence: 0)
Create Custom Minion II
Sense Corpse Material
Bone Items I
Blight Bolt II
I suddenly had a new, seemingly useful ability! I read the description to my friends, and then turned my attention to the floating remnant.
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“Dreadil?” I asked warily, “what did you do to me?”
“I have claimed you as my apprentice. You own my remnant and therefore my teachings. If you focus on the mark on your back, you should be able to access the Devotion Screen,” he responded. Sure enough, as soon as I willed it a new menu popped up, similar to my class point screen!
The initial bubble read “Thought Communication” and was already filled in at the cost of one DP (devotion point). Branching off were four options: Crafting with Bones I, Monster Manual I, Psychology I, and Battle Strategy I.
“Dreadil, what is this?”
“Through quests and actions in line with my beliefs, you will earn devotion points. You will be provided with rudimentary access to each of these topics through conversation with me, but in order to have in-depth access, you will need to purchase them on the map. For example, feel free to ask me about a monster you are in combat with, and I might provide you with some baseline information about its stats or attacks, but without purchasing [Monster Manual I] I will not reveal the uses of its hide, strategies to defeat it, its weaknesses, usual environments, etc. Without purchasing the information regarding my past, you’ll never learn the location of Tuz’Gok’s Tomb, the Labyrinth of Dreadil, or the Lost Citadel of The Giant King Farym…”
I was shocked by the number of locations he dropped, and my mouth watered slightly at the thought of all the possible loot! I was still pissed about a few things:
“My level progression dropped to zero, and so did the amount of Bone essence I had!” I shouted at the remnant. His face did not change, but he replied, “Such is the cost of doing business. Sacrifices must be made!” before fading away. I growled in frustration before turning to my friends. I checked the clock on my interface-- 9:00pm. I was exhausted, so I bade my friends goodnight before crashing on one of the beds upstairs. In the morning it’d be time to take a look at how to gain some Devotion Points!
…
I woke up groggy and disoriented, something cold and sharp pressed against my neck. I started, and the blade bit into my flesh. I could feel hot liquid rolling down my skin, and I strained my eyes to find the attacker at the edge of my peripheral vision.
“Don’t make any sudden movements, and don’t speak. If I even think you’re about to call out, I slit your throat, and my compatriots pick you up at the temple. At least right now we are being merciful, but that could change in an instant. In a very short period of time, your guild has manipulated the town’s authority into giving you a significant amount of power. We’ve noticed you, Zero, have also amassed a certain amount of renown due to being the first to do a few notable things.”
I gritted my teeth, but didn’t move. I took stock of my current resources, but was dismayed at what I found. The closest skeletal guard was at least six minutes away if it ran, and I didn’t have any bone essence since I’d respawned. I didn’t have any combat spells either, as my staff was resting against the opposite wall. I cursed my own stupidity, and vowed that in the future my gear would never be far away. I slowly nodded my acquiescence to the rogue’s terms, and he began to pull me out of bed. You fool, get to the graveyard! A voice suddenly spoke into my mind. Startled, I gasped, and a sudden loss 60 HP notified me of my captor’s ire.
“Quiet!” He hissed. As the blade exited my neck, I made my move. Lunging backwards so that his arm did not have enough time to switch back to pressing against my neck, I turned and yelled for my friends. Dashing to the window, I dodged the dagger that suddenly flew towards me.
Rather than fiddle with the clasp, I launched my body into the glass, another blade burying itself in my side as I fell. My bar was a little under half full, just 90 HP left. The bleeding status wore off, but I hit the ground hard, and my HP dropped even more. I willed my [Sense Corpse Material] Skill to activate, and a spot lit up the vibrant purple that indicated the presence of fuel for my class. I smiled slightly, and sprinted in the direction of the graveyard, ignoring the soft thud that accompanied the man behind me as he hit the dirt.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw the telltale glint of steel in moonlight, and then it was gone. Instinctively, I lurched to the side and could feel the rush of wind that signified a dagger whistling past. I reached the graveyard, but none of the corpses beneath me were close enough to the surface. I darted from grave to grave, but the bones were too deep for me to absorb.
I ducked behind one of the tombstones, and a throwing knife bounced off of the stone. I rolled to another stone, and finally I could absorb a skeleton. I continued dashing from cover to cover until I had enough. Imagining my creation, I waited for the rogue to reveal himself.
When the next dagger hit my tombstone, I stood. The rogue laughed and launched another attack. This time, it was not the weak form of a mage that bore the dagger, but the powerful body of a warrior. I was encased in [Brittle Bone Armor], and I held a longsword made of bone in my hands. I didn’t know why I hadn’t received any prompts informing me of the class and durability of my armor, but it seemed to be working. He threw another dagger, but it bounced off my solid bone chest plate. I stepped forward within reach and swung with all my force, but my opponent ducked and slammed his palms into my stomach, pushing me back. I gritted my teeth and widened my stance, flinging my hand out to grab my attacker’s cloak.
Once I had a good grip, I dragged him down and stabbed with my sword, piercing his neck with a powerful thrust. I heard a gasp, and the bleach-white of my sword had become a dull crimson color. One hand clutched at his throat, and another struggled to find a final dagger. I leaned down so that my lips were mere inches from his ear.
“I want you to think about me as you die. I want you to remember that I am a caster and a pet-class, and yet you die mere inches away from me. It was not a spell that ended you, but my blade. When you respawn, I want you to tell your guild members that it would be in your best interests to stay away from my guild. Whether that means you stay in the town but out of our way or that means you leave is yet to be determined. Regardless, I will not be hearing from you again.”
With that final statement, I slashed downward and decapitated this threat to my power. As the headless corpse slumped against the ground, I stood tall and reabsorbed the bone armor and sword. I collected my thoughts and returned to the guild hall.
“Dreadil, thoughts?” I think you handled it fine.
“But how could I have handled it better?” You have antagonized the other Immortals before preparing, and therefore left yourself with fewer possible courses of action. You entered into the world as babes, and so the citizens of this town seemed as gods. You thought you were joining the winning side, but that is not the case. As a learned man, I know it is said that the Immortals will attract power and riches beyond comprehension. You’ve made yourself the enemy of all of them.
“Hm, I hadn’t thought about that. Do you have a suggestion on what to do next?” You must get stronger.