Daniel first felt pain. He couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t sense anything. He panicked. His fingers twitched, moved, hit the unseen walls of his confinement. His right leg jerked. Daniel registered liquid all around him, keeping him suspended. He couldn’t breathe. A thump reverberated around him as his legs hit the wall in front of him. Something clicked. The wall gave way.

Daniel flayed as he was flushed through the opening along with the liquid that had been surrounding him. He crashed into the floor.

[Welcome to the Servant System!]

[You have reincarnated in accordance with your choices.]

Holographic message windows seemingly appeared within Daniel’s field of view. He knew instinctively that they only existed within his mind. Daniel tried to chase the lingering panic away. A headache pounded in his skull.

Slowly and ready to react if his body showed signs of injury, Daniel sat up. Aside from the headache no pain manifested itself. For the first time in this new world Daniel consciously used his senses.

The first thing he noticed was the wet grey fur clinging to his body. Daniel was not a human any longer. Humans did not, to his knowledge, have grey fur. His chosen race, Izrafs, did. The glowing figure had really done as it had promised. Inspecting his body further, Daniel noticed several novelties.

His body was still mostly humanoid. His fingers, and hands in general, were thinner and longer, almost seeming fragile while at the same time implying unusual dexterity. His nether regions were covered by well-made but simple underpants. Being wet, they appeared a dark blue. His feet looked almost exactly like a regular human’s would, save for the coat of fur covering them. His body looked rather malnourished and weak, compared to the idealised version of himself, he had customised when choosing his species. Daniel could see his ribs and hip bones slightly protruding against the skin. His arms and legs were arguably little more than bone when he inspected them. Naturally, his legs, especially his thighs, were a little thicker but not overly so. Overall, it looked to him as though he was anything other than healthy.

Running his hands across his face, he could feel the somewhat expected and decidedly inhuman snout adorning his face as well as his ears which had wandered from their familiar place at the sides of his head to the top thereof, pointing upwards with small tufts of hair in a feline style exactly like in the image of Izrafs he had previously seen.

Daniel turned his attention to the slightly strange and tingly sensation in his fingers and toes. He felt as though there was something more than he was used to. Exploring this feeling, Daniel felt himself tense muscles that had not been there in his previous life, he was certain. He flinched, as pointy, grey claws suddenly extended from his fingertips, Daniel relaxed the tensed muscles to retract his claws and inspected his right index closely.

His claw was still ever so slightly visible when he parted his fur. Daniel slowly tensed his new muscle just for the index finger and watched as the claw slid out of his finger. He did not understand how it truly worked. The claw was short and thin, presumably to fit in his humanoid digits which were not designed to contain any claws. The claw almost seemed flimsy. Daniel dragged the claw against the floor, feeling a slight pulling sensation. He would have to be careful using the claws lest he hurt himself or even lost his claws if they caught on something they could not just slice through.

Daniel suddenly noticed something that had somehow so far eluded his notice. Daniel had a tail. Using his hands once more to inspect that which he could not see, he managed to glean that his spine unfamiliarly continued out of his body right above his behind wrapped in muscles, other necessary tissue and, obviously, furred skin. Daniel struggled to reliably control his tail for a short moment. Contrary to his claws which had been a relatively simple add-on to an already known appendage, his tail was an entirely novel, complex limb. Still, it only took relaxing and relying on his instincts to intuitively move his tail. Once he had managed that, controlling it precisely and consciously followed suit.

Having explored his new, unfamiliar body in detail, Daniel turned to his immediate surroundings. It occurred to him that he had only just awoken in a strange, new world which might not nearly be as safe and peaceful as he was used to. Especially since magic was in play. Daniel could imagine any number of magical creatures wandering by and killing him, as he sat there fascinated by his new body. In fact, he suspected most were likely capable of killing him whether he was ready to face them or not. His weakened body would be of little to no help.

It seemed Daniel had woken up in an experimental tank larger than a grown man. He seemed to have been suspended in what now, on closer inspection, looked more like suspicious goop than liquid. It was light and had clumped together, some still covering the in- and outside of the tank while most covered the floor. Several tubes ran from the back of the tank to a few metal barrels. The barrels were labelled in an unknown, cursive script and a presumably equally unknown language; however, Daniel somehow still knew their meaning.

There were four barrels. They were respectively labelled “Beast Extract”, “Soul Dust”, “Night Dew”, and “Chimera Catalyst”. All four barrels were roughly equally light when Daniel tried to lift them, suggesting they were empty. Nevertheless, Daniel remained extremely cautious. It was obvious to him that he was looking at a magic experiment. Considering his utterly non-existent experience with real-life magic, Daniel thought it best to keep his hands to himself from now on. He also concluded from his awakening and the barrel labels that he had apparently been the subject of said experiment. Apart from the barrel and the tank there was a desk which looked as though it did not fit. Different from the previous metal devices, this desk was wooden and embellished with various carvings of plants and vines. It was a nice desk and the simple metal folding chair in front of it did not do it justice. Daniel rose to his feet from his place on the floor where he had fallen previously and took a closer look. He wished to see whether there were any further clues as to his circumstances. The desk had some empty drawers and some traces of use but whoever had worked here had left nothing behind when they went.

The room itself seemed to be a natural cavern though Daniel could recognise some man-made modifications. It was lit, rather archaically, by torches, their mounts hammered into the stone. The floor was rough and altogether uneven except for the places where the tank and the desk with the chair stood. Here it had been flattened to seemingly flawless degree. There was only a single opening in the altogether natural walls and ceiling which explained why the air seemed rather stale to Daniel. Though less than he would have expected. The apparent exit was carved into the stone. Perfect stone arches tended not to occur naturally, based on Daniel’s knowledge. Of course, that may differ in this world. The walls of the tunnel beyond the exit were also smooth at least as far as he could judge it before the darkness swallowed it up.

Since the room was bare apart from the furniture he had already looked at, Daniel decided it was finally time to deal with the messages which still hung in the air. His system, Daniel presumed.

[Welcome to the Servant System!]

[You have reincarnated in accordance with your choices.]

The words were written in black ink on beige, slightly yellowed parchment-like background. The font imitated flowery handwriting but looked unnaturally uniform. The windows altogether looked like a holographic imitation of an old book page. The corners were decorated with inked swirls. The holograms seemed to be fixed in the space in front of his eyes, regardless of where he looked, but faded away when he did not actively look at them. This implied a certain amount of mind reading on the system’s part which did not utterly surprise him. If he understood the concept correctly, the system was closely tied to his entire existence anyway. It would dictate the strength of his body, mind and soul, his abilities, even his job. Daniel dismissed the messages with a thought. A new one replaced them immediately.

[Open Status?]

Daniel agreed. The question was replaced by a long sheet.

[Name: Daniel Gallagher]

[Species: Chimera]

[Subspecies: Chaotic Izraf]

[Tier: 0]

[Level: 1 (0/100)]

[Class: n/a]

[Subclass: n/a]

[Tier: n/a]

[Level: n/a]

[Magic Core: n/a]

[Affinities: Space (weak), Darkness (weak)]

[Progress: n/a]

[Statistics:]

[Strength: 7]

[Dexterity: 12]

[Constitution: 5]

[Intelligence: 20]

[Wisdom: 21]

[Spirit: 19]

[Willpower: 15]

[Charisma: 13]

[Luck: 0]

[Traits:]

[Underdeveloped]

[Agonising]

[Bleak World]

[Disharmony]

[Class Skills:]

[n/a]

[General Skills:]

[n/a]

Daniel was overwhelmed. The status sheet was extensive and at first glance did not seem all that good. Especially the traits section worried Daniel. However, he decided it was best to start from the top. He also expected it to explain.

[Name: David Gallagher]

[This is what you consider to be your name. Like all names it holds some power.]

Daniel could not say, he was surprised. He wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed that the system didn’t offer some world-view-shattering information. It had done somewhat well in that regard so far. Though he was curious about the power of names mentioned. That should be something to do with magic.

[Species: Chimera]

[You are a Chimera, an unnatural amalgamation of various creatures cobbled together by an inexperienced mage. In their eyes a failure, at least you lived]

This was world-view-shattering. If Daniel had understood this description correctly, his newfound body had not just been modified or experimented on but had been created in the tank, presumably using magic. Daniel did not know how to deal with the revelation. It was mind-boggling. The creation of apparently proper life was a feat he would have never imagined possible beforehand. Even with magic the task should have been much too complex. Daniel assumed that the key was the word “Chimera”. It implied that whatever mage had created him, had simply put together a body from existing parts and breathed life into it, using the magic available to them. In conclusion, Daniel was essentially Frankenstein’s monster. At least he appeared to be much more well-made, considering that he was not in fact visibly stitched together. Daniel decided to move on, trying to ignore his unfortunate origins.

[Subspecies: Chaotic Izraf]

[Unable to channel the perks of your genetic ancestry due to bad workmanship, you are left with a frail and unimpressive existence. The different parts of your body attack one another, leading to extreme gene degradation.]

Daniel did not know what to say. This reincarnation thing seemed increasingly less attractive. His less than comfortable awakening he could stomach. His unusual origin would also likely be alright, once he had come to terms with it. This newest revelation, however, had tipped the scales on this issue. Far from the promised transformation into a powerful, winged cat-human-hybrid, he seemed to have turned into a dying abomination weaker than a human elderly.

As Daniel arrived at that thought, having gotten properly worked up, he felt a tingling throughout his entire body.

[Agonising has been triggered.]

A fraction of a second later, Daniel completely seized up as a debilitating pain wracked his body. He had completely lost control of movement. He could not even scream. It felt as though his muscles and sinews were trying to peel away from one another. His bones seemed to strain against their joints. He could swear his fingers were by now twice as long, their tissue beginning to rip as it was stretched by his phalanxes repulsing themselves. His eyes told him better but his brain did not seem to believe them. Just the symptom of muscular spasm should have told him that his muscles were in relative working order. Daniel abandoned this train of thought. He abandoned all thoughts, unable to do anything other than feel pain.

Daniel did not know how long it took for the pain to abate but eventually it did. He curled up, drawing his knees close to his chest, and cried. He wanted to go home. He wanted to be safe. He never wanted to feel pain again. It had been agony. Agony… Daniel struggled to remember.

[Warning: The following traits have been judged detrimental to the user.]

[Underdeveloped:

Your body is unhealthy. All physical stats significantly less effective and halved.]

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

[Agonising:

Your body rejects itself. While the system inhibits the physical systems, you will suffer agonising pain occasionally.]

[Bleak World:

Your senses do not fit your brain. Sight reduced. Hearing significantly reduced. Smell disabled. Touch reduced.]

[Disharmony:

You are a chimera of primarily two, different species. As their traits are not in harmony, you may not access any of them]

Daniel wanted to cry some more. If Daniel’s addled brain could comprehend this correctly, the system was the only reason his body had not just unravelled itself. He also only now noticed that his senses were indeed as dull as described. It was difficult to notice they were not as good as they should be when he had never experienced this world with them working properly. He simply did not register that smells that, as he now realised, logically should be there, were not. Underdeveloped seemed to be the explanation for why his strength, dexterity and constitution were so low compared to his intelligence, wisdom and spirit. Daniel was unsure whether charisma counted as physical but was confident it did not since his stats seemed to be intentionally grouped into three, now that he thought about it: physical, mental and another third group made up of willpower, charisma and luck. He decided to call the group miscellaneous since he could not, at first glance, find a common denominator. Disharmony seemed to cripple his fundamental abilities as a chimera. Daniel assumed that whatever beasts were used to form his body had their own species traits which were supposed to transfer to him at least in part. That they did not was likely part of the reason for why the ominous mage mentioned in the species description, his creator, considered him a failure.

Daniel had to get rid of these traits. At the very least Agonising had to go or he would seriously consider whether this second chance at life was worth living. Apparently, the system agreed.

[Hint: Evolution may allow the system to fix the unfortunate errors in your creation, resetting your Level to 0 and having your Tier stay at 0. This would allow for a fresh start at the cost of the time invested in levelling up.]

[Your next Evolution will take place at Level 10.]

Daniel had a new priority. He had to reach Level 10, preferably before Agonising triggered again though he felt a lot more confident that he might be able to suffer through it once more now that he had a goal. He decided to forego the examination of the rest of his status sheet in favour of figuring out how to increase his level. He supposed he would likely have time in the future to inspect the system’s functions more closely. That is unless he died in his new pursuit, of course.

[Level:

Your Level is a quantification of the progress of your individual power. It is also with the addition of gathering experience the primary way of progression. Your Level increases whenever your experience fills up to its limit as indicated on your status sheet behind your current Level. When your Level reaches a certain predetermined milestone, you obtain the opportunity to increase your Tier through evolution. Your choices when evolving differ significantly depending on your actions before the evolution as well as various other factors such as for example special substances you consumed or material that may be available to you and could be used in evolution. This is important because all choices are evaluated by the system and assigned a rating. The following ratings from worst to best are known: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, Demigod, God. Your current rating is F. The rating takes many factors into account. Some of them are the size of the statistical increase awarded with each level up, the traits awarded to you on evolving, the skills you might obtain through evolving and the affinity changes that may take place upon evolving. Be aware that you will receive tasks after choosing a path forward and the assignment of experience will be entirely halted until you have achieved your tasks and subsequently evolved. The tasks will always be achievable but their general difficulty and the time required to achieve them may vary significantly, depending on the rating of your choice. Your Class and Species have separate Levels and Tiers. However, the experience received by each is the same. This means that you always receive double the experience from any source. Sources include but are not limited to combat, quests, crafting, achievements and activities related to your chosen class or subclass. It is the system’s prerogative to award experience for any actions deemed worthy.]

The paths to Level 10 were many. Daniel decided that it would be best to explore his surroundings. There was nothing to do in this cave to increase his level so he had no other choice but to leave. Daniel lifted one of the torches out of its mount. He did not have much experience with torches so he would have to hope that it would last until he could acquire a different, more reliable light source. Or maybe he could extinguish some torches and take them with him as reserves. Daniel attempted to extinguish the one he held, dipping it into the remaining goop in the tank. His brows rose. The tenacious flame refused to go out. Daniel took a closer look at the torch, despite the heat emanating from the flame.

There were tiny, glowing symbols painted into the iron basket holding the flame. The fire did not even burn any fuel. It just floated there in the middle of the basket. Daniel could only conclude that the torch was in some way enchanted. There had to be fuel. The flame burnt. He just could not perceive it. Examining the other torches, he found the same symbols. They were just as flowing and cursive as the symbols on the barrels, he had found. However, they had to be fundamentally different. He could read those while he could not read these. That something as overtly magical as this torch was seemingly mundane in this world made him feel excited for the first time in a long time.

Daniel pondered for a short while before deciding that the torch would probably last for a long time unless the enchantments were to be damaged. The fact that he could not see the fuel the flame burnt filled him with discomfort but he resolved to simply assume that it fed on ambient magic. It was by no means certain but he thought it better to focus on other issues and try to forget about this one for now. His earlier experiment proved that the torch’s light would not easily abandon him.

Daniel decided that the issue of a light source was therefore solved. Since he could not think of anything else he would be able to easily use among the resources available to him, he thought it was better to travel light and get going. With some trepidation Daniel stepped through the carved entryway into the dark tunnel leading away from this cave.

Daniel attempted to stay focused and attentive but struggled as thoughts of his circumstances stubbornly invaded his mind. Now that he was just walking and had nothing new to occupy himself with, he could not help but re-examine the previous, sudden and numerous revelations. First and foremost was the improbable reality of his recent experiences. To him, it seemed just yesterday when he had still been a common and unremarkable banker. Looking back, he had to admit that the glowing figure had been correct in judging his past life boring. Daniel thought, it would not be remiss saying that he had suffered more excitement in the past few minutes than he had in the 61 years since his first birth. Not to mention his adventures in the void between. But Daniel did not actually remember his life having been boring at the time he was living it. In fact, he had been mostly content with few regrets. At the same time, he could not remember many especially joyous occasions. His life had been alright. He had had a stable job which paid reasonably well. He had been well cared for in his childhood. His parents had been more than wealthy enough to provide for him. He had formed some friendships and, altogether, he would say that his life had been relaxed. Even so, he was glad that this second chance already proved to be notably different. Just the prospect of being able to experience and maybe even cast magic sufficed to elicit an excitement, he would consider unusual for himself. As a young boy he had spent much time reading of and imagining magical worlds, creatures and societies and now he had the opportunity live one of those stories.

From what he knew of the matter he expected the world he had chosen to be medieval, in both technology and customs. What technology there was, might differ significantly from what Daniel was familiar with even if it were to fulfil the same purpose. Mostly because magic likely offered more obvious and convenient ways to accomplish similar tasks such as long range communications. Additionally, a wholly different sense of aesthetics and history would impact all creations and inventions significantly. Even if the people of this world had invented an electric telephone with the exact same basis for function, he still would not recognise it. It seemed likely to Daniel, considering the example of scripture and that even the experimental tank he had been created in were round or flowing that it was likely that whichever society’s realm he had been dropped into preferred this style. Or maybe it was just the preference of the mage who had conducted the experiments.

It occurred to him that the ready availability of magic may have impacted this world much more fundamentally than he had originally considered. Did what he had learnt of the natural sciences in school apply to this world? Did this world consist of atoms and the like or of different particles with different characteristics or even entirely new, maybe magical, kinds of characteristics? Maybe each particle had an additional magical charge? Was there even an electrical charge still? Daniel could not fathom what was possible or impossible with the introduction of magical forces. It was likely he would never know for certain unless the scientific achievements of this world at least rivalled Earth’s.

Daniel was in danger of being drawn further into this rabbit hole when his ears perceived a sound. He froze. Focusing on listening, he heard it once again, more clearly this time. It was… a clacking. Somewhat regular in frequency. Daniel supposed its cause was impossible to derive but he immediately assumed it was caused by something living. He could stay as he were, waiting for a new development. He could retreat to his chamber with no other exit. Or he could approach the source of the sound. Daniel remembered, he had to level. Slowly with exceptional care, Daniel stepped forward. He tried to avoid any unnecessary sound in case there was indeed something living to hear him. He attempted to obscure the light of his torch as well for similar reasons, trying to limit its glow to his immediate surroundings. Luckily, the tunnel was quite curvy which made it impossible to see far down its length. While that obviously impeded his own perception as well, Daniel thought it was a win in this case.

His heart skipped a beat when he eventually managed to catch a glimpse at what made the continuous noise. In the dim tunnel stood a humanoid figure. It stood crookedly, putting most its weight on its right leg. Daniel could see the light of the end of the tunnel shining through the figure’s ribs. Ribs was likely the correct term. Because in front of him stood a battered, human skeleton. Its eye sockets glowed with weak, green flames. It had only a single arm, its right arm, in which it carried a rusty, metal sword.

Daniel watched fixatedly as the skeleton stepped down the tunnel toward him. Its right leg did most of the work while it only dragged the left leg along to use as a crutch when its right leg had to take step. As such it was unbelievably slow. When it had reached some arbitrary point in the tunnel, it stopped. Its head turned, slowly and with difficulty. It seemed to search the tunnel for… something. Then it used its left leg as a precarious pivot and swung around to face the other direction. And walked back.

Daniel’s short-circuited mind took a little while to realise that the skeleton was apparently patrolling. It took a little bit longer to realise that this was likely an enemy, and one which he had a realistic chance to beat. A skeleton was his enemy. A walking skeleton was his enemy. This was magic. Necromancy if he remembered correctly, creating and controlling armies of the undead. Well and proper magic dealing with one of the most central subjects Earth’s society concerned itself with: Death. A power he could hardly wrap his mind around. He knew, he would need a long time to get used to this. However, he also knew that this was neither the time nor place to contemplate the obvious existence of magic. Again. The skeleton was unknown to him. He had no way to communicate with it. Probably. Even if he had, he did not think it worth abandoning his advantage of surprise just to communicate with what he, for now, considered to be a monster.

Thus, he had to attack. The question was how to go about it. Daniel could not boast a thorough skill at combat. He had been in the military once but that was a long time ago. Not to mention that his current body seemed frailer than his previous body had been shortly before death. His saving grace was that the skeleton at least looked even frailer. But Daniel could not be certain. The skeleton’s ability to move evidently did not stem from muscles or any other biological function. It was obviously purely magic. Daniel could therefore not confidently evaluate his opponent’s combative abilities.

Daniel turned to his surroundings for aid. The tunnel had gradually become less and less carved as he had progressed. By now it seemed like any other cavernous corridor. Which meant that there were some rocks lying about. Daniel searched for a rock heavy enough to do some damage but light enough to be swung comfortably, careful not to make a sound. The skeleton looked stupid but, once more because of magic, Daniel did not dare to take that at face value. His fingers clasped a suitable rock. It lay heavy in his hand. Maybe slightly too heavy but he intended to make his first strike count.

Daniel turned his thoughts to analysing his opponent’s weaknesses. Stabbing the heart or slashing the skeleton apart would most certainly not work. Bludgeoning was the way to go. The most obvious weakness, normally, would be the head. Daniel wondered whether shattering the skeleton’s skull would fell it. What vitals did an undead that should not be alive in the first place, have? The flames in its sockets indicated that the skull was magically important in some way. Daniel decided that he would try it. If it did not work, it might still inhibit the skeleton enough that he would be able to shatter the rest of its body.

Daniel waited until the skeleton had just started to walk away from him. It seemed to follow its path almost mechanically. He stayed crouched and approached it, careful not to make a sound. As the skull was out of reach otherwise, he straightened up when he was almost directly behind the skeleton and raised the stone high above. The stone easily shattered the back of the skeletons head. It collapsed like a puppet which had its strings cut.

[Congratulations! You have slain your first foe! Your reward this time around shall be doubled.]

[You have slain a Lv. 1 Skeleton. You are awarded 100 Experience Points. Since this is your first time, you shall receive 200 Experience Points.]

[Congratulations! You have levelled up your Species!]

[Level: 2 (100/200)]

[As per your Species’ level up benefits, one random attribute is increased by a single point.]

[Constitution: 5 + 1]

[Constitution: 6]

Daniel felt a foreign power suffusing his body. He suddenly felt slightly less tired than before. He did not necessarily feel stronger but able to sustain the same activity for more time. Presumably, Constitution would also influence his overall vitality but since he had, fortunately, not gotten physically injured so far, it was difficult to tell.

This was a level up. It seemed underwhelming. A single attribute point was a lot in Constitution since he had only five points there so it essentially increased his current power in that category by one fifth but in other categories like Dexterity or Intelligence it would do very little. Certainly, the level up was important enough in and of itself due to bringing him closer to Level 10 but Daniel had hoped for something worthwhile on top of that. But since this was apparently determined by the rating of his species, he probably should not have expected much. At least he now knew that he could not stay

F-rank.

It seemed that his Experience requirement had doubled. That was troubling. It was not too bad right now but it promised to quickly become an issue. He wondered whether would increase linearly or exponentially. Linearly would mean an entirety of 4300 Experience Points until he reached Level 10, while exponentially could mean up to 25600 Experience Points. He hoped for his own sake that it would be linearly. He would have to endure months of Agonising if it were exponentially.

Nevertheless, his exploration had proved fruitful surprisingly quickly. He had great hopes that it would continue this way. He would only have to defeat 53 Lv. 1 Skeletons to reach Level 10 in the best case scenario.

Daniel looked at the skeletal remains on the floor. The weak point of this skeleton had been rather easy to exploit. Probably even in a fair fight. His fingers let go of the rock, he was still holding. He bent down and picked up the skeleton’s rusty sword. While the stone had proven reliable enough, the sword was just as heavy and made for fighting. It seemed more proper to use it. He stepped over the skeleton on the floor and raised his torch to illuminate his path towards the exit. He did not encounter any other enemies.

Daniel’s eyes widened in awe as he finally observed what lay beyond the tunnel. Before him a wide expanse of impossibly tall mushrooms stretched as far as his eyes could see. He was still underground but the ceiling was covered in exotic, glowing crystals which shone with a blue hue. The cavern was still dim but bright enough to see well from his current position. Daniel assumed that the light would not actually reach most of the space beneath the huge mushroom caps but for the moment it allowed him to take in the sight. The mushrooms varied widely in colour and even from afar he could make out that some stems were thicker than tree trunks. Below, on the forest floor, Daniel could just about perceive smaller varieties of mushrooms and vines. The exit of the tunnel was slightly elevated on the caverns wall so Daniel was afforded a far-reaching look at what was waiting for him.

He could vaguely see two different buildings in the distance. One tall tower towards the right which seemed to have already been ravaged by time with one half severely damaged. On his left and way closer, there was a comparatively small fortress or camp. It looked rather primitive. The walls were built from wood and some sort of other plant material rather than stone. On the other hand, it looked quite well maintained and dominated by one larger building which could almost be described as a palace or mansion compared to some other huts he could observe.

Daniel did not want to make false assumptions based on insufficient information but just from the way these buildings looked it was obvious that these settlements were built by two different people. The tower was a truly massive if dilapidated structure built from grey stones. It showed signs of attacks. The village or camp to his left on the other hand was built from wood and leather. Whoever lived there had cleared out a large area around it and Daniel recognised fields and pastured with some kind of unknown beasts in them. They looked like cows from a distance but he could not say for certain.

Daniel suddenly froze. He swore he saw a group of skeletons between the mushrooms heading towards him.