The darkness shivered.
A force freed him from stasis, ripped him off the permanence. Questions peppered his mind; the where’s and the why’s, the when’s and the what’s—inquiries with no resolutions, questions without answers.
How much time had passed? He couldn''t tell.
He roused without a name. Without thoughts. Without purpose.
A brilliant flash eroded the darkness away. The whiteness faded, and replacing it, a teal-tinted screen hung in his sights.
Bright texts. Bright borders.
A… screen? He realized. Strange to know what he saw without memories. Wait… He? What… is a he?
[Entity: Frail has awakened.]
[You are placed on the regenerated planet: Earth.]
Frail… my name… I… remember?
Images… pictures… drowned his train of thoughts. He saw a human life flashing from the lens of a child, suffered his pain, delighted in the happiness, reeled in the emotions…
The puzzle pieces slowly fit into place. He had a life. Not a good one—his name, Frail, was a title befitting his… Frail disposition. He spent most days behind the windowsills of a hospital, the tune of heart monitors and the footsteps of nurses, his lullaby.
His parents gave up on him a decade after his birth.
As silly as it might sound… Frail wished for strength. The strength to unshackle himself from the chains of his frailty. The strength to be free. To choose.
Yet, those aspirations, once deafening, went mute upon his reawakening. Something forced its way into his head. Changed how he thought and felt. His basal human emotions and desires existed somewhere in his psyche, stuffed into a box with no opening, no locks or hinges to pry it open.
Did the box even exist in the first place?
The arrays of pictures faded away. In its place, a vacuum consumed the richness of those emotions. His past life, forgotten. The child he saw that world with wasn’t him today. What he became…
Frail could not say.
[Entity class assigned.]
[Entity class: Undead.]
Undead… A familiar term.
[No domain found. Generating a construct to house your entity core.]
[Construct generated.]
[Type: undead]
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Construct - Human Skeleton wanderer | Tier - 1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Construct Level: -
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Integrity: 100%
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Type: Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Attributes
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Strength: 4
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Dexterity: 2
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resilience: 5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resistance: 5
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Magic: -
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Traits / Skills
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Skeletal Body
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Undead Veil
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
[Skeletal body - Takes 30% less damage from piercing and slashing attacks. Takes 50% extra damage from blunt attacks.]
[Undead veil - Immune to all necrotic damage and common poisons. Takes 5x extra life damage.]
[Storing your entity core in the body of your newly made construct. Be warned: You shall perish if your entity core is destroyed.]
Frail accepted the flood of information streaming through the screen. The words streamed by as gibberish at first, but as he read it over—and again—words eventually made sense.
[Activating vision module.]
Sight burst into his view—an eruption of colors and shades, of browns and blues. A dense cavernous structure encapsulated him. Here, natural light barely bounced off the bumps of the coarse dirt walls. Instead, colored, glowing crystals lit what they could inside the compact spaces of the caverns, taking the role of the sun. In conclusion…
A cave.
He lowered his gaze. A bare ribcage connecting his bone-dry limbs and joints entered his view. A radiant, pulsating, jagged crystal drifted within his ribs. He held a rusty spear, weathered from the passage of time.
The sight elicited a torrent of horror. As rapidly as the feeling rose, it dissipated like a switch had been turned off.
Skeletons don’t feel. A mantra repeated in his conscience, its source unknown. A part of him believed that he should.
But he didn’t. Not yet. Or… he’d never.
[Activating hearing module.]
A torrent of white noise flooded him—a deluge of cracks and thundering drips of water. The caverns hummed along the rare breeze of air. Those deafening voices dulled to an unassuming ambiance once he familiarized himself with his new body.
Cry. He thought. A gnawing urge rose from his hollow chest, crying for release. I want to… cry. Why?
That urge flickered away. Calm re-established its dominance over Frail’s cognizance.
[Activating the system’s status.]
[Mastery awarded! Bone construction.]
[Trail awarded! Undead Veil.]
[Skill added! Raise construct.]
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
ENTITY STATUS - FRAIL | Class : Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Core Integrity: 100%
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Essence: -
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Upgrade slots : -
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Construct slots | 9/10
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
No domain found! Entity features disabled.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Masteries
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Traits
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Skills
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Bone construction - 1
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Undead Veil
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Raise construct - Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Essence Drain
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
[Bone construction - 1: Grants access to basic skeleton-based constructs.]
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
[Raise construct - Undead: Raise a corpse as a skeleton wanderer.]
[Skeleton wanderers are the weakest form of an undead construct. Only use this skill in emergencies. Wanderers take up 1 construct slot each.]
[Essence Drain: Drains essence from a corpse. This will not consume the corpse.]
[Essences: Your primary resource. Used for all forms of upgrades and constructions.]
Frail’s bones creaked as he ruminated over his status screen. Weak. The first word echoed as he attempted speech, to no avail.
Bones don’t speak. They rattle.
Inch by inch, his incredulous situation melded with his newfound expectations. Frail noted the discord rifling his thoughts—yet his slighted acumen barred him from separating what differences he should be wary of. Whenever he approached the facsimile of a realization, a wall of black repelled him from going further.
He rolled his bony fingers. Their tapping sounded different than he expected. Like his being, everything about him felt… off. Distant.
Lonesome.
The screens faded. He stood amid empty caverns, left to his own devices.
Pedestal… He creaked. His feet rattled as he waddled to a passage leading elsewhere.
###
The caverns proved arduous for a fledgling skeleton to traverse; the uneven ground and the winding paths leading to nowhere, the unchanging terrains, the indistinguishable rock walls and damp soil, the undergrowths and roots twisting and snaking…
Frail thought he’d gotten lost before he saw them at a distance.
A pair of Human carcasses. Wholly mangled, their flesh eaten off their bones. One held a bow, the other a shield and a blade.
Bones. Frail’s skull tilted. Skill. Raise… construct?
Growls echoed from his right. Behind the shroud of harsh shadows and the tall rocks, a creature slid into view—a tubular monster with wiggly vertebrae. Its ring of serrated maw squeezed open and shut, no eyes, no arms… just a jiggly, gray, translucent body supported by stubby legs—if he could even call those that. They looked like fleshy knobs wiggling about.
[Cave lurcher - Tier 1 - Creature]
It lurched its way closer. The skeleton readied his weapon. Danger.
The wiggling head snarled at Frail’s skull. He drew his head back and avoided its bite. A gush of air brushed past him as the mouth snapped shut.
His carpals racketed as he thrust his spear in retaliation.
Contact. Maroon blood trickled from its body to his spear, coating the rust red. It recoiled back and cried from pain.
The pain of the flesh. Frail, dismayed by his inability to understand, connected the next three thrusts. More blood speckled his dirt-stained bones. Desperation swallowed the grub whole as it rampaged suicidally toward Frail. Its flesh crashed Frail’s rackety bones and overwhelmed him with pure force.
[Construct integrity: 87%]
Their collision sent Frail barreling toward the still corpses. His spear careened off the floor as he tumbled. The grub’s blood, fresh off the perforations on its gray skin, leaked as it reared its head back, preparing to strike.
Crack. Two clean bites clawed at his body. Had he been wearing human flesh, those would’ve been picked off clean. Without his spear, his bare-bone arms posed no threat. The crystal roared in alarm within his ribcage.
[Construct integrity: 62%]
Frail looked at the corpses again. Raise… construct. He thought as he reached out to them.
[One construct schema matches the current corpse.]
[1. Skeletal wanderer - cost: 100 essences.]
[Warning! Insufficient essence. Raise construct fails.]
The bodies did not answer. Another bite chewed on his left clavicle. His bones sank under the soil as it pressed its full weight on him.
Essence… drain.
A line of ghastly mist extended out from the dead humans toward the crystal in his ribcage. It filled him with warmth and satiation. Sensations soon dispelled by the grub with its incessant bites.
[Construct integrity: 42%]
[200 essences acquired!]
[200 essences acquired!]
Raise… construct.
The bodies jerked. Thin mists encapsulated their skeletons. Their clattering bones startled the dying grub.
[Raise Construct, successful.]
[Raise Construct, successful.]
An arrow zipped and struck the grub’s head, followed by the bulk of a thick shield crushing its midsection. Their combined strikes repelled the grub off Frail’s cracked skeleton.
Frail’s adversary limped as it struggled to stand. Another arrow nullified that hope. Its death rang silent.
Now… only the clacking of bones echoed in the caverns.
###
Two sets of skeletons stood side by side, their empty eyesockets following Frail’s movements as he retrieved his spear. His cracked ribcage and clavicles didn’t hamper his mobility.
Weak. Frail cursed silently. His jaw clattered as he made his way back to his silent allies.
A pile of bones couldn’t feel. But he lusted for power regardless.
No… it was more like… a need.
Status.
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
ENTITY STATUS - FRAIL | Class : Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Core Integrity: 100%
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Essence: 200
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Upgrade slots : -
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Construct slots | 7/10
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
No domain found! Entity features disabled.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Masteries
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Traits
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Skills
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Bone construction - 1
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Undead Veil
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Raise construct - Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Essence Drain
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
[Open the construct list to view all your active constructs.]
He flicked his head toward his newly raised constructs.
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="2">
CONSTRUCT MENU - Slots 7/10
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="50%">
3x Skeletal wanderers (Varied) - lvl 1
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="50%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Details… he thought as he honed in on the bow-wielding skeleton.
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Construct - Human Skeleton wanderer(Bow) | Combatant | Tier - 1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Construct Level: -
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Integrity: 100%
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Type: Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Attributes
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Strength: 4
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Dexterity: 2(+2)
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resilience: 5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resistance: 5
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Magic: -
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Traits / Skills
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Skeletal Body
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Undead Veil
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Construct - Human Skeleton wanderer(Sword) (Shielded) | Combatant | Tier - 1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Construct Level: -
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Integrity: 100%
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Type: Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Attributes
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Strength: 4
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Dexterity: 2(+1)
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resilience: 5(+1)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resistance: 5
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Magic: -
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Traits / Skills
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Skeletal Body
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Undead Veil
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
[Shielded constructs take 50% less damage when blocking.]
Follow. His lower jaw rasped open. Both skeletons spurred to life. Numbers would help him against more encounters. Shield… Front. His arms beckoned the other to stand at their vanguard.
They approached the still lurcher.
Essence Drain. Frail’s hand hovered over the creature. The wisp of ethereal connection connected them, fulfilling Frail’s pitless hunger for essence.
[100 essence gained.]
Raise construct.
Nothing.
[No construct schema found that matches the selected corpse. Raise construct failed.]
Frail pulled his arm away.
Bones clattered as the party made their way to the other side of the clearing. Another gust whiffed past, carrying with it the staleness of flesh, thick with the earthy tones of soil.
More. Frail ordered the party to stand by. Short bites echoed when they broached the passage and entered a larger cavern. Cold dews dripped from the protruding stalactites above. More mangled corpses scattered all over the damp floor.
Two. Frail’s party stood before his foes. The grubs snapped to attention, their mouths squeezing as they found their new prey.
His skeletons performed their duties without any direction. The bow-wanderer launched arrows, and the other braced with its shield pointed at the incoming assault. Frail watched the lurchers abandoning their meal in favor of his demise and reared his spear.
A loud clang clamored as the shield repelled the onslaught of one grub. The creature recoiled as its teeth cracked from its attempts to crush the shield with its bite. Arrows latched on its extended midriff. Frail barred the other grub’s charge with his spear, keeping it at arm’s length.
With the numbers advantage, the two killed the other with relative ease.
Cover. He stepped back and allowed the shielded skeleton to take over. Their combined efforts brought the lurcher down.
Drain essence.
[100 essence gained.]
[100 essence gained.]
Frail studied the mounds of dismembered corpses. He counted three pairs of heads in total… but their shorter, squat skeletal structure suggested their inhuman origins. Their faces did not match a typical human’s—large noses, thinner jawlines, and thick, bulbous cheekbones…
The humanoids present carried with them shoddy clubs and wooden shields. A red scrabbling of an angry face was painted on the face of their shields, denoting their… barbaric origins.
Their skin tone concluded the answer to his question. Green… Like a wilting leaf.
Frail drained their essence. Their origins mattered naught to his lifeless eye sockets.
[100 essence gained.]
[100 essence gained.]
[100 essence gained.]
Raise construct.
[One construct schema matches the current corpse.]
[1. Skeletal wanderer - cost: 100 essences.]
[Warning! The body is too mangled for a proper raise construct. Raising will cost you 50% additional essences. Total cost: 150 essences.]
450 total. I have enough.
Their detached skeletal parts shuddered when he attempted to raise them. The bodies melted into the floor in a flash of light and converged into a single point, transforming into a pure sphere of white light.
Three drops of viscous light oozed on the floor. They convulsed and pulsated, morphing into discernible humanoid shapes. The radiance faded then, and out from them, skeletons of another race stood before him.
The band of three grew to a party of six.