That book wasn’t merely a record of the necromancer’s day-to-day; it delved into his studies, notes, theories and more. This made it exceedingly valuable to Lucas, who knew close to nothing of this world.

He was extremely excited about the prospect of gaining a deeper understanding of how things worked and almost began studying right then and there. Upon leaving the ring, he noticed the fog starting to dissipate, and the creatures within seemed to have vanished. The source of power beneath the ground was still there, however, indicating that the two weren’t connected.

Have I completed the quest? He wondered, confused. He had received quite a few rewards, and the oppressive aura seemed mostly gone.

The fog seemed to be linked to the necromancer, probably created by him somehow. It must have deactivated when I took his things, or maybe it was already deactivating slowly from the moment I found him. But what is that power source beneath the ground, then? It must have something about this in his diary.

Since there was no more threat coming from the fog, Lucas decided to start reading the diary right there. There were a lot of interesting things there, such as mana control, theories related to dark mana and its usability, information about pocket worlds and other dimensions, and even instructions on how to make the bones of the undead stronger. While these concepts didn’t entirely suit him, he could potentially adapt them later on.

Suppressing his urge to delve deeper into the necromancer theories, Lucas decided to skip to the last pages, looking for some information on the Dark Forest. There, he found a detailed account of what seemed like the necromancer's final days.

Day 250

The mysteries of this realm continue to elude my understanding. The veiled truths and concealed knowledge hint at a grander design. I suspect that there is something they did not tell us. I remain uncertain.

Day 252

In the heart of the woods, I discovered an entity pulsating with enigmatic, dark energy. It presents an opportunity to elevate my power and perhaps a chance to transcend the confines of this world. Since the departure of Hannah, my existence has mirrored that of an empty vessel. Yet, the prospect of departure kindled a spark in my former self. Perhaps by unlocking this power, I may uncover a path to reunite with her. Today marks the beginning of my experiments to forge a connection with this arcane source.

Day 257

The power source rebuffs my attempts at communion; I am uncertain if its resistance is instinctual. Seeking aid from the ancient trees dwelling in the forest proved fruitless. Their refusal stems from a fear that my endeavors may unleash calamity upon these woods. Given the nature of my pursuits, their wariness is not unfounded.

Day 262

I have exhausted every conceivable possibility to establish a connection with the source but remain rebuffed at every turn. Yet I believe I have discovered the reason for my failures—its profound affinity with death energy. Despite my proficiency in necromancy, the fact that I am alive deems me incompatible. This revelation made little sense to me. However, it only deepened my desire to claim this power. I am tempted to view its existence as a mistake done by the system, an oversight by the unseen architects of this world.

I have thought of two potential approaches, with the best one boasting a modest 40% chance of success. It requires collaboration with the ancient trees, a daunting task. The alternative, filled with unknown risks, remains a last resort.

My life-related treasures may pique the interest of the ancient trees, though I am not confident. Nonetheless, I will make an effort.

Day 264

The trees initially seemed interested in the treasures, but ultimately dismissed my offerings. The eldest among them asserted that the power source predates their own existence, stretching back a million years. Persuasion proved futile. It believes I will not succeed even if it gives me the seed I require; it says I am missing the most important thing. When I asked what that was, it refused to tell me.

I am not aware of the reasons the tree had to believe I would fail, but I am inclined to agree with them. However, I am tired of this world; there is no second chance without Hannah, so I shall attempt my last alternative today; if I fail, I shall perish. I will set up a protective formation around my body, as I can’t have anything interrupting me.

If I somehow succeed, I will do everything in my power to bring Hannah back to life—not like some mindless puppets like the ones I control, but exactly how she was when she was alive. I believe it is possible if one has enough power, and I will find out.

That was the end of the journal. Faruk had failed in his attempt, judging by the state in which Lucas found his body. What caught his attention, however, was that whatever killed him, didn’t seem to have damaged his clothes.

Lucas ignored that for now. The reports of the necromancer left him with a lot of questions. The first one being: Was this guy real? Lucas had assumed that everything he saw was staged somehow by the System, but now he had his doubts. That story seemed so real to him. And he even mentioned a “second chance” at one point. Was he talking about the same Second Chance that brought Lucas into this planet? If he did, why did it sound like he had been in this world for a long time already? Had he come earlier than others?

Is this the kind of thing where, in this place time moves faster than in others? But it didn’t seem like he was from here; it was like he had just arrived, Lucas thought.

Further analyzing, Lucas thought the first entry on that last section seemed to be the most mysterious one. It was hard to understand what he was trying to say, but he seemed to suggest someone was keeping stuff from him. Did he mean the System?

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Before Lucas could continue to reflect on the words of the necromancer, he noticed someone approaching him. He immediately raised his guard, but the fog was now mostly gone, and he was able to see the figure in the distance; it was Rick, the lumberjack.

“You seem well,” Lucas said. The man looked completely revitalized and even had a big smile on his face.

“Yes! Thanks to you, it seems,” he said, looking at the skeleton near the tree.

“Yes… Sorry for not following your advice, I was just curious,” Lucas said, a little embarrassed, the man had said all those things out of worry for him, he didn’t care if it was just an NPC, he was still grateful.

“No need for that, you saved my life! A few minutes ago, that curse vanished from my body.” He looked around, seeming in disbelief that was the same place that contained the fog with all those monsters. “I have no idea how you managed to do it, but I have come here to thank you and to give you this.”

He fetched an old piece of paper and gave it to Lucas. As he took a closer look, his eyes open wide.

“It’s a map of Ponos. It’s incomplete, but it can be very useful if you are travelling around here. It has some of the surrounding area there,” he said, pointing it.

This map was extremely valuable for Lucas, so he couldn’t help but be moved by this gift, so much so that he almost forgot he was on a quest. Afterwards, he realized that the map was probably his bounty for completing it and not the things that belonged to the necromancer, that was probably just a bonus. He was extremely satisfied with his decision to enter the forest.

“Thank you! This will help me a lot,” Lucas said, genuinely grateful.

He was dying to get a map of his surroundings. To head North forever seemed like a terrible way to find the good spots. The map even had some places highlighted, and tough he wasn’t sure of their significance, he had a hunch that there were interesting things in those locations. Maybe it won’t be so hard to find that city after all.

“If that’s all, we need to part ways now. My wife has been waiting for me for too long, and I’m afraid she might have found herself another man,” the lumberjack said in a joking manner, but there seemed to be some doubt in his eyes.

“Actually, before you go, can you tell me what you know about the ancient trees?” Lucas asked. It was something he was very curious about. Based on the necromancer’s reports, they seemed to hold a lot of power over the forest.

Rick seemed taken aback.

“How do you know about them?” he asked, inquisitively.

“Just something I read on this guy’s journal,” Lucas said, pointing at the skeleton. Rick seemed spooked as he looked at the necromancer.

“All I know is that they are beings that have lived for countless years. I’ve personally never seen one, but some friends told me they were terrifying. I wouldn’t go there if I were you, but I can point you in their direction, if you want.”

Lucas nodded, and Rick gave him instructions on how to get to where he believed the ancient trees were.

From what Rick told him, it would be a 2 to 3 hours walk. Lucas had a lot of time to think about everything that went through. He was a little cautious after the lumberjack’s reaction, but decided to check for himself if the trees were such terrifying monsters or not and stopped thinking about it since he had more pressing matters on his mind.

One thing still bothered him: if the quest had ended, why was the power source still underground? Wasn’t he supposed to grab it? And if not, why were all those details in Faruk’s journal? Was he really someone real and not some made-up NPC?

He had many questions and no answers. That was partially the reason he was looking for the ancient trees; they had met Faruk and could tell him more about it. The other reason was regarding that first option Faruk mentioned in his journal, which had a 40% chance of working.

He mentioned a seed, he remembered. Maybe if they saw Lucas wasn’t a necromancer, they might be willing to trade. He believed he still had Faruk’s life-related treasures, after all, since he said they rejected his offer. The only problem was that he didn’t even know what a life-related treasure was, there were a lot of things inside that ring he didn’t know, but he supposed he could figure it out, if it comes to that. He wasn’t very hopeful, however, and that thing had been there for more than a million years; not even a necromancer was able to take it out. Besides, Faruk seemed way more high-leveled than him. That wasn’t something simple.

Which brings us to the second mystery: the entries in his journal started with a number of days, which, based on his writings, seemed to indicate the time he had spent on this planet. The last entry had the number 264, almost nine months, if his assumption was correct, while Lucas had been there for a little more than two weeks.

His time dilation theory had some flaws because Faruk talked like he had experienced a lot of things, even his beloved had died in this world. That couldn’t all have happened in the forest. Was this just a very elaborate NPC story? Was the System trying to tell him something?

More questions arose, and still no answers. Faruk also emphasized a lot the possibility of going into another planet, which was something Lucas hadn’t really thought about since arriving. Everything seemed so new that there was no need to think about the bigger picture. But if he remembered correctly, there was a mention of the multiverse by the System. Was there a way for them to travel between worlds? The prospect excited Lucas, but he calmed down quickly. There was still a lot yet unseen in Ponos; he believed he hadn’t even scratched the surface of it. Faruk, however, was set on leaving, why? Did he know something about this planet?

Lucas shook his worries away. He was still too weak to do anything about it. Even if there was a threat, he should first focus on getting stronger. Only then could he truly control his destiny. Otherwise he might end up like Faruk, hopeless and grasping for a desperate attempt as his only salvation.

Lucas didn’t know how to feel about the guy anymore. At first, when he saw his skeleton, he felt nothing—maybe a little annoyed for the troubles he gave him. But learning a little more about his story changed things a bit. When he first learned he was a necromancer, he believed he was an insane maniac that desecrated a bunch of corpses for his selfish reasons. While it was true that he really seemed a little selfish, Lucas wasn’t exactly a saint himself, so he couldn’t blame him for that. When he read the things that he said, it seemed pretty clear to him that the guy was no crazy lunatic, he actually seemed like a reasonable man. He talked about facts, and that Lucas could understand. He even wondered if the man had been a professor in his previous life. When he talked about the corpses, it didn’t seem like he enjoyed it at all. Actually, Lucas got the sense that he didn’t even have much thought about the matter, they were only means to an end for him.

Lucas wondered if he had picked his class before or after his Hannah died, and he had a feeling it was the later. He probably thought that he had a higher chance of reviving her if he chose this class, but it wasn’t meant to be. He sighed.

With his head full of thoughts, the journey passed by quickly, and he soon arrived at a place where giant trees lived. With the average being something around 500 feet tall, they looked like overgrown sequoias, if that was a thing. They didn’t look terrifying, like Rick had said. Maybe his friend was just afraid of heights.

Lucas didn’t know how to communicate with them and was actually a little embarrassed about trying to talk to trees. He decided to first look for the oldest tree before anything else. He wandered a little longer until he found a tree that seemed to grow indefinitely, he could even feel a strange aura within it. That must be it.

He got close, curious. It was different from the oppressive aura from the power source; it was tranquil and soothing. Without even noticing, his hands were on the tree.

“Whoa! Easy there, tiger. Are you sure you want to put your hands there?” An ethereal voice surged from the tree he was touching, and he backed away, scared out of his mind.

“Wha—what?” A million thoughts run through Lucas’s mind, the most prominent, however, being a simple: What did it say?

“I mean, if you want so badly, it’s okay, but shouldn’t you at least buy me dinner first?”

What the hell is going on?!