Sean’s mind raced, trying to comprehend his situation. But he didn’t need to think for long. It was obvious as to what was happening. It made sense why he couldn’t move and see.

Somehow, he was buried under the ground.

The sound he had heard earlier was likely someone using a shovel. Based on his hearing, whoever was digging was getting closer to him. In a matter of seconds, they would find him and rescue him.

But something was off. How had he not suffocated to death?

Shouldn't I be dead right now? There’s no way a human can survive being buried alive. It was all too strange for Sean. He just wanted to get out of the ground.

A thump sounded as the blade of a shovel tip connected with Sean's forehead. Then it retracted.

What the hell? Sean saw a flash of red cover his screen for a brief moment, indicating he had taken damage. A green health bar suddenly appeared in Sean’s vision.

[HP: 49/50]

“Hey, Stymnmaker! I think I found something!” Sean assumed the one yelling was Crag. Then the shovel came down once more, this time striking Sean on the collarbone. Now he was mad.

Sean struggled to move his hands, willing them to respond to his orders. Slowly but surely, his hands started to inch ever so closer to his face. He was going to grab that damn shovel and pull his way out of the ground.

By now, the shovel had removed quite a bit of dirt covering Sean. But it had also struck him a few times, though the hits had been light and without malice.

[HP: 43/50]

“Look’s like you’ve got a body here. Hurry up and dig it out. Maybe it’s got rings or jewels. Gravedigging sure is lucrative.” This voice he could recognize. It was Stymnmaker, the one who had commanded Crag to keep digging.

Finally, Sean’s hands broke free of the dirt prison, grabbing the descending shovelhead. The shovel jerked as it tried to free itself from Sean’s grasp. He heard a scream. But that didn’t matter, they were probably just shocked to see a pair of hands rise out of the ground.

But then he lost the grip on the shovel. Someone had yanked it away. It was no matter though,

Sean could now feel the top of the ground now with his hands. Summoning a tremendous amount of strength, Sean clawed his out of the ground. To his surprise, he felt strong and nimble, as if he had been gifted with some enhanced physical abilities.

“I’m free!” cried Sean as he emerged from the ground. Elation filled his body as he took his first look at the world of Inside Online. It was night time. Luckily, the moon was out in full force.

But his happiness was short-lived as a shovel suddenly connected with his sides, sending him on a one-way trip back down to the earth. The ground rushed up to meet his face, filling his mouth with dirt and pebbles. Red flashed across his vision, this time more urgently.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

[HP: 38/50]

This hit had hurt a lot more, taking five points of his health.

Shit! What the hell was that!

He looked up to see two humans staring back at him, shovels clenched in their hands. Sean took stock of the situation in an instant. They were attacking him. But why?

He spat out the assortment of rubbish that had been in his mouth and got to his feet, warily observing the two men. One tall and one short. He couldn’t tell who was who.

Then he noticed two red name bars floating above each man. The taller one was Stymnmaker, and the shorter one was Crag.

[Stymnmaker Lvl 2]

[Crag Miner Lvl 2]

Are they in PvP mode? Is that why their names are red? They don’t seem very strong. Sean thought to himself as he gauged the distance between them.

“Hey! What’s the big deal? I haven’t done anything to you guys!” Sean shouted at the two men. His adrenaline was coursing. He could feel the fight or flight phenomenon kick into full gear.

And he was ready to fight.

“What the fuck? Crag, the skeleton can talk! Oh shit, is that another player?” Stymnmaker looked at his partner in crime. “Ahh shit! We triggered the PvP mode inside a hostile zone. We’re going to get penalized!”

“How was I supposed to know there was a skeleton there? And on top of that, it’s another player! Everyone knows skeletons are NPCs!” Crag shifted his feet. Sean could see his hands were trembling. “I don’t want to lose my items Stymnmaker!”

A penalty you say? Losing items?

This was news to Sean. Looks like the pair of graverobbers had accidentally activated PvP by attacking him. But then a more pressing thought struck Sean.

Did he just get called a skeleton?

Sean slowly looked down. A pair of pearly white skeletal feet and hands greeted him, shining under the luminous moonlight.

His emotions exploded.

What the fuck! I’m a skeleton! The game made me a skeleton of all things? I could have been an orc, an elf, or a lizardman. But a skeleton? Are you kidding me?!

But it was no joke. Sean inspected the rest of his body. He looked exactly like the display model that was used in his anatomy classes. A pure skeletal carbon copy. A skeletal arm rose up to explore his face, confirming his theory as two fingers poked into two empty eye sockets. His entire body was made of a dense bone, from his cranium all the way down to his phalanges.

His ribcage was curved in a clawlike shape, protecting what he saw was his spine connecting his sternum to the pelvis. All his fingers and toes were in place and he could move them individually. In all honesty, it didn’t feel any different from being a human. All that he was missing were organs and a layer of flesh. Being a skeleton was quite a surreal experience.

Sean didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He didn’t even know if he could.

Then Stymnmaker’s voice cut through his thoughts, bringing Sean back to the present.

“Let’s get him Crag. He’s probably weak as shit. We’ll kill him and then hide until the PvP timer goes away. Otherwise, we won’t be able to head back to town.” Stymnmaker started edging around Sean, hefting his shovel in his hands.

Oh hell no.

Sean had enough. There was no way he was about to let some graverobbers get the best of him. Not after all the bullshit he just went through.

He ran a quick analysis of his current crisis. Stymnmaker was definitely the more experienced one here. He had noticed Crag was more of the follower, nervous and unsure of what to do. Something told him these two men were complete noobs, based on their levels and attitudes.

He decided. A shiver ran through his body as he thought about what he was about to do.

I’m going to kill these two.