"Phew, success. Somehow managed to complete the circle," he said.

Looking at the rat, he saw a gleam in its eyes. It seemed intelligent and looked at him with hostility. But it didn't move. And the past was like a sick chicken on its deathbed. Sitting and sitting, it could fall any moment. Its eyes were unfocused, how did he know? It just sat there, but its eyes kept darting around. He ordered it to look at one point, and it did, but its eyes still occasionally moved, looking around. It was creepy.

And this weirdo was staring at me, I even felt his bloodlust. I ordered it to look at one point. And now he's still looking while I'm creating new undead. At the same time, I began to wonder what was wrong with this rat.

Suddenly, a book appeared, and it said, "Congratulations on subjugating the first soul."

"Well, well, I started to come up with all sorts of things. But how is this possible?" he thought.

The letters in the book began to slowly change, and new words appeared along with them: "You have taken the first step in understanding souls. You have subjugated a soul that tried to revive a corpse. But, like a true necromancer, you have imprisoned it. You have made its body a prison. However, be warned that the circle you used for the enslavement process is not good enough. It can free itself. It cannot attack you because of the gift, but it can interfere with you. Here is a new gift for your success. Please add these two runes to the already created circle."

The letters disappeared from the book, and two runes with descriptions appeared. The first rune controls the soul, and the second one keeps it in check.

When he tried to draw the runes, he realized he had not yet reattached his left hand. Tapping the book twice, he said, "Hey, how do I reattach my hand?" Taking his severed hand, he hit the book three times with his remaining working hand, causing the book to close.

The book opened again, and on the blank pages, it said, "Restoring Limbs for Dummies."

"Any self-respecting necromancer must know human anatomy. And as strange as it may sound, necromancers are often good doctors. By studying thousands of corpses to create various types of undead, a necromancer must know the anatomy of different body types, creating, so to speak, chimeras of all kinds. This circle initially helps to connect the limbs of different creatures, including even the severed limbs of living and rational humans. This rune is useful both for creating chimeras and for healing."

Reading the introduction, he began to read the main part, about the circle and the runes. Strangely enough, this circle was easy to remember, unlike the previous one. And it works very simply and clearly.

You need two circles: one on the body and one on the severed limb where you need to connect them. After placing the limb in the right place, we connect both circles. And they begin to connect the bones and muscles between them. If the limb was already there, and you just want to restore it, for example, the hand, it will take a few seconds. Quick and convenient.

But if I want to create a chimera from a human with six arms, I'll have to work as a surgeon. If I want to speed up the process, I can add a rune that will create nerves and bones. But this process takes a lot of time.

As it turned out, this method is good for healing, especially for restoring limbs if they exist. But for other purposes, it is too slow and laborious.

Drawing runes on the wounds of his hands, shoulders, and body, he noticed that they were no longer completely black, but had some shade of gray. Perhaps this is a change due to him becoming a necromancer with a heart of death.

Thinking about the last thoughts, he threw them into the cold sweat. No longer thinking about it, he continued to draw the circle. This doesn't mean he gave up on it and became gray. But it's not the right moment now. My sixth sense screams that I'm in danger, and in anime, heroes are often attacked in such moments. Yes, even in movies and games too.

"That's it, it's as if my hand was there from birth. Not a single wound, everything healed before my eyes. If this were in my world, how much money could I earn and find more opportunities. Although, fuck dreams, I need to work."

Closing my eyes and focusing on my hearing, I can barely hear the sounds of battle. And birds chirping, and howling? Am I hallucinating?

Better add those two runes to the circle for this rat quickly. Wait, where was the soul in the corpse? Shouldn't it have already flown into space straight to the rat paradise? If she had just died, I could think that it takes some time for the body to die completely. If you don't know, when a person stops breathing and their heart stops, they are not yet dead because the brain is still alive, but not for long, um, for 1 or 2 or 3 minutes. I'm not sure, I don't remember, I think 1 minute he'll still be alive, until oxygen runs out in the blood.

But I'm sure it's more than one... well, let's say 3 for certainty. He died more than three minutes ago, and the soul is still there. And how resilient these rats are!

No, there's something else here. Ahh... It's not time to build conspiracy theories now. I need to work.

With great effort, I drew the symbol and looked at this creature, it was fighting with all its might. But the hostility disappeared, and now it looks at me like a dog at its owner.

There were several dead rats on its back. One of them stood up and attacked the motionless undead rat, which was rolling its eyes. Terrible, I can't get used to it.

"What the...?" - he watched as the revived rat attacked his first toy... Ahem, undead.

"Don't just sit there. Attack the rat that's hurting you," I gave a precise order to avoid accidentally attacking me or the second toy... undead.

Having received the order, the undead rat turned around and bit the first rat it came across. The other rat didn't expect a retaliatory attack, especially not one so strong. In the next moment, the undead tore a chunk of flesh from the rat, taking its left paw. The undead might have been clumsy and slow, but as it turned out, it was stronger than its brethren. Paw didn't stop there, she tore and ate chunks of flesh.

"Stop," he said in a commanding tone. But she didn't stop and continued to eat.

"Stop eating and step three paces away from the corpse," the order was given again and this time it was obeyed. The undead rat stopped and stepped back, as instructed.

"She didn't listen to my command the first time, but obeyed the second time. What's the difference between these two orders? The second one was more detailed than the first. Maybe that was the reason," he said, tapping his left hand that had already been restored. "Do you know why she didn't obey my first command?"

The book opened again, and on the white page was written, "Everything has its price. The circle you use is insignificant on its own. And for coming back to life, you'll have to pay with complete control. That means giving simple and clear commands."

"But at first, when he was created, he was obedient, and now he didn't obey the order. What does that mean?" the book asked, looking at him expectantly.

"Undead is a walking corpse that can come in various types, ranks, and thousands of races and classes. This soulless undead is a walking bag of bones and flesh. The lowest form of undead. In every undead, no matter what rank, type, class, or race it is, it will always strive to improve its status. And as a soulless undead, it wanted to evolve by devouring souls, becoming undead with a soul, like the second undead."

"Understandable and unclear. I can already guess why he disobeyed the order. But ranks, classes, types, and so on - what does it all mean? And why do some rats have a soul while others don't?"

"I suggest not asking questions right now. If you want to survive by creating undead, you need to increase your chances of survival."

"Well, that scumbag changed the subject... Okay, I'll create undead."

Taking the rat corpses in his hands, he began drawing runes, then connecting them. With each passing minute, 2-3 creatures appeared. The best part about it was that he became more experienced and drew circles faster. If at first he created 2 or 3 creatures, now he was making 5-6 per minute.

Taking a tube in his hand, he wanted to draw a rune to bring it to life, and pounced on it. He barely scratched it before he was caught. Watching the rat struggle, an idea came to his mind.

He broke the rat's legs and then threw it right over the first rat creature.

"Eat and become stronger," he vaguely ordered, hoping that the dead rat would find a way to evolve. I don't know how all this works, but I want to find out what will happen.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

The rat began greedily eating the newly resurrected rat. At first, it resisted, but it was quickly killed. Meanwhile, to not waste time, I drew runes, sometimes looking at what the rat was doing.

To my surprise, after eating the first rat, it pounced on another one that was still moving very slowly. As a result, it sat next to other dead kin.

This undead ate one after another. And I didn't even know that there were so many rats hiding.

At one moment, he distinctly heard someone trying to create a passage.

"Everyone gather here," he ordered, pointing to where they should gather.

As one, they moved towards the indicated point, all gathering in a heap. At the same time, a rat's head protruded from the heap of corpses. The wolf's head looked at it greedily. It was ready to attack as soon as it saw the mass of rats pushing each other, but this stunned it. He didn't feel them.

"Catch him and bring him here," pointing a finger at the enemy, all the rats turned their heads towards him.

Instantly, they all rushed at him. The wolf's head looked on in surprise as a crowd of rats pounced on him. Wanting to pull his head out, he realized with horror that he was trapped. At the same time, the first rat bit him on the snout and pulled him towards its master.

Then came the second rat, then the third, and so on. They all bit him on the snout: one on the nose, another on the ear, and two even on the eyes. As they dragged him, some of them tore at his flesh. The wolf's head began to become more grotesque with each passing second.

Rats did not expect or stand still in the face of an enemy like a wolf. The wolf struck at the rats with his front paws, but it was very difficult for him because he was in a narrow makeshift tunnel made of rats.

Inserting his tail between his legs, he began to fight, jabbing and hitting with his tail.

But rats did not know fear or pain, they slowly dragged the wolf, obeying their master's command. Once a rat had been jabbed, it stopped for a moment before continuing to pull. Another flew into the wall with a chunk of flesh in its mouth. After eating the flesh, it ran back towards the enemy. It was all in vain to prevent the actions of this pitiful creature.

Watching from the side, as the rats obediently carried out his order with fury, the master was delighted. But what he saw shocked him a bit. Not just the rats tearing the flesh off the skull, but also what was hidden in the fur and flesh. Small worms were found in the flesh, and the flesh itself was black and even more horrifying than the wolf itself.

As if this living creature was rotting alive. I changed my initial feelings to disgust out of shock. And to not waste time, I created several more creatures. I don't know how many undead were created in total. I lost count after the seventh creation.

But there were definitely a hundred, maybe even two hundred created? Thinking and creating a new rat at the same time, I was already prepared to create a new creature when I heard something dragging, accompanied by a struggle.

I saw wolves dragging a similar creature on the ground. The paws were wounded, and only the tail weakly fought. The head was no longer recognizable, and the body began to be wounded and pieces of flesh were being bitten off, trying to drag it towards me. I couldn't watch anymore and approached myself.

"You, you, and you hold onto the right front paw. You, you, you hold onto the left front paw. And you, hold onto the tail." - I ordered the rats to restrain the enemy for more than thirty seconds.

Approaching, I touched the head, where a few patches of fur were still left. Maybe it was disgusting for me to touch it, but I wanted to see what would happen if I created a circle on it while it was still alive. Pouring energy, I began to create runes. The first ones were easy, but the next ones were more complicated than even on that rat with a soul. Strangely enough, they were harder, but tolerable. I expected it to be even more difficult. Perhaps it was because I practiced before starting to draw on... Oh, damn.

Thinking about how I created the runes, on the last ones, I felt a strong resistance, trying to figure out why all my efforts were in vain.

"Here we go," I thought to myself and kicked him. But I quickly cooled down. It wasn't his fault, it was mine. I got distracted and lost control. I held my breath for five seconds and calmed down, telling myself in my mind.

After that, he looked at the injured idiot and started drawing again. Hm, I'm getting better and better at this aspect.

When he reached the last two runes again, he illuminated to succeed. The first rune was successful, but only the second one wasn't. Well, he unexpectedly received a strong mental blow that confused him and made him lose control.

"So, something's not right here. What am I doing wrong?" - Looking straight into the eyes full of rage, he shook his head. After that, pointing his finger at several waiting rats, he said, "You three. Attack the enemy."

Three rats jumped on the wounded creature. The first one began attacking the chest, the second attacked the stomach, made a hole and went inside, and the third attacked his tail, or rather, at the base where the butt and testicles are located.

The wolf, trying to free himself from the rats that held him captive, was all in vain. He weakened before their eyes and suddenly became limp. And black blood flowed from his wounds like a stream. In his eyes, full of hatred, you could see them starting to lose their shine.

"This is my chance," he shouted with all his might. "Everyone, stop!" After that, he began drawing a circle.

The first and second... only the last two runes remained, the ones that controlled the soul. Strangely, the soul wasn't resisting as strongly now. Maybe it was due to physical exhaustion and mental suppression? As they say, a healthy body equals a healthy mind.

As for his body, it was in perfect condition... just kidding. He looked like a stray dog that had been eaten alive by worms. And an alien had laid an egg in him, and a little miracle had emerged from his stomach. But instead of a little alien, a rat with terrifying eyes had crawled out. I'm the one whose eyes dart around, and I still can't get used to it. And there are hundreds of them now... they're all staring at me, bitches. I can feel their gaze, even if my wandering eyes aren't focused.

"Ooooh..." he let out a deathly howl before collapsing to the ground.

"Success... finally!" I was about to dance with joy, but I realized that someone might be watching me. Logically, they were just walking corpses. They were like robots programmed to follow orders... Maybe his "Ooooh" wouldn't attract anyone.

Looking at the new servant, I saw that several wounds had healed. Where there had been a huge hole in his stomach, there was nothing now. "Anyone who touches the wolf, come here," I said, but no one moved. "He's a wolf from now on." He certainly looked the part... he even had a tail. And his paws were like a cat's... you could blame it on radiation or having parents of different species... sigh, I remembered when an elf woman had sex with a reindeer. Oh well.

The rats that had been holding or sitting nearby moved away, freeing their new brother.

The wolf stood up on its hind legs and looked at me. Looking into the lifeless eyes of the wolf, I saw only emptiness. He didn't look at me for long and approached the exit where the body remained. Maybe they were not all intact anymore, but all the others were already sitting and waiting for orders.

Creating the circle becomes easier and easier. Yes, it's designed for those who aren't very intelligent, but I'm a novice, so I don't consider myself stupid. I began to better control my energy and manage it more effectively. Perfection is still far away, but everything starts with the first step.

***

Alpha, looking at the main bird who sat wounded on a tree, heard the dying howl belonging to one of his pack, whom he considered a fool. Then he turned to the tree, where it all started.

The head bird heard the same howl that Alpha noticed and, looking at the tree, saw a hole in a pile of rats. He concluded that someone from the pack had gone there on their own, perhaps to eat all the birds. Quickly assessing the situation, he yelled at the rest of the birds.

Opening his wounded wings, the head bird flew towards the tree, followed by some of the birds, while others were either killed or wounded to the point of being unable to fly.

At first, Alpha didn't understand what that scoundrel was doing there, but when he saw the head bird fly there, he roared, and all the birds in the pack stopped. Someone had already bitten off the bird's head, and everyone rushed to the tree.

Reaching the tree, the flock of birds and the head bird surrounded it. No one wanted to make the first move. Each waited for the other side to take the first step. Neither Alpha nor the head bird wanted to take the risk. Who knows who might be there? Maybe it's a powerful monster that can hide its aura, making everyone afraid of it.

The most interesting thing is that no one tried to attack the other side.

***

"What is this feeling?" - it was as if an icy knife had pierced his spine. Looking at the exit, he somehow understood that there were many enemies waiting to attack.

The book and Death may be linked to this real or imaginary threat.

He created new undead from disabled bodies, even those without heads, such as rats. And the question arises: "How did I turn them into undead if they don't have heads?" He answered this question simply: by creating a circle where the heart is.

Creating, he thought about how to fight enemies. The undead are dumb, and if there are many and they are strong, they will quickly fall. He would like to raise the undead right during the battle, but how to do it? He didn't know and didn't even have any ideas. Scratching his head, he looked at his hand, and then at his fingers.

Touching the corpse, he drew a circle with energy. And then the question arose: "What will happen if I draw it not inside, but outside and try to enclose the entire circle inside?"

Looking at his hand, or rather its inner part, he began to concentrate and draw a circle. After drawing the runes, he felt discomfort and strange sensations, perhaps looking for what it was for the first time when he created a rune on his hand.

After finishing the drawing of the circle, he tried to activate the flow of his energy, as he did before with the corpses. However, as soon as the connection was broken, the circle burst, causing a small explosion that wounded his hand.

"What happened? Why did it explode? ... It's hard when you don't know anything," he thought. But he did not give up and created a circle on his hand. This time he did not break the connection but supported the circle of energy. This time the circle did not explode, but it consumed three times more energy, and it continued to increase until he lost control. But the circle was stronger this time.

"What the hell is going on? In theory, it should work. What if I create it by trying to push it into the corpse? What will happen? ... Where did I get so much energy from?" - the last question completely confused him. But the answer quickly came when he remembered how he collected all that energy from the corpses. But he could contain that much.

He looked at the book, which was floating next to him, and only now realized how useful it was. Even if it was dangerous to his life, the benefit outweighed the danger.

He created the circle again and tried to do the same inside the body as he did with the energy. The circle slowly entered the body. When it was fully in, a new undead stood up. And at his command, it jumped onto a pile of undead.

"This is not cost-effective. I'm spending too much time and energy compared to if I had created it from scratch. It's like trying to fit a pre-assembled cabinet through a doorway and then assembling it inside the house," he thought, crossing his legs. He began to create undead and pondered what to do with what he had learned. For example, he could create bombs from those runes. They are weak on their own, but what if there were more of them?

***

Alpha was watching the birds and the entrance to the tree. The explosion startled everyone, they couldn't have expected it. Several birds and pseudo-wolves, who had recently risen or been revived, were trying to join their group.

Two risen wolves and three birds began attacking everyone, whether ally or enemy.