"What is going on?" I couldn't help but ask.

  Marius didn't reply; his eyes were fixed on the corpse, or perhaps just above it. Stuck in a grin of pure joy as he raised his arms theatrically. My senses perceived his entire body beginning to glow. The man was drowning in system energy, his aura rising to a peak of power.

  "Yes," he declared confidently.

  "Yes, but yes to what?" I questioned, my eyes still trained on his rising aura.

  Something travelled between the corpse and the Necrochanter. With his eyes now closed, he began muttering and swaying. Whatever was happening was building within the undead. Cautious I drew my blade, ready for anything. If he were charging up an attack, he would get an Aetherblade to the face.

  Instead of a grand explosion or release of energy, the power of the system seemed to cool. Dimming slightly and radiating around him like a mosaic or a calm ocean. It was beautiful to behold, a truly magnificent manifestation of the system. But how was he doing this?

  That was not magic or martial force; it wasn't even life force. The familiarity of the energy flow pulled my eyes to my body. The aura surrounding me was rigid and controlled, static and contained. Shifting focus, his was completely different; it flowed around him like water, and I found myself entranced.

  "Sing to me a final tune, a truth you buried we exhume. Dark and cold are the depths below. A kindred ear I'll bestow." Marius sang with an almost operatic voice.

  The verse spelled like a dirge meant not for the living, but to herald the dead. And yet there was a trace of something beyond the dark and relentless feeling. A sympathy, a connection unfathomable to a living soul.

  As the echoes of his ethereal voice ended. The corpse of the warrior below shivered. As if something drew life back into the body for a moment. Miasma slowly seeped out from beneath the leathery flesh. Rising like steam, to coalesce into a familiar shape. The transparent ethereal figure oddly looked more alive than his prior undead form. I saw traces of the man he once was.

  Marius was grinning ear to ear as he gazed deeply into the apparition's eyes, as if beckoning the ghost to speak. Instead of a wailing scream or angry retort. The ghost smiled and spoke calmly.

  "I was once a quester, desiring the thrill of the unknown. Believing only in my sword and one foot in front of the other. I fell before this cruel temple, trapped even in death." The apparition spoke; every word contained its pain and regret.

  "You poor apparition, to suffer so alone. Please come and haunt us for a while. We are dreadful company, but we can make do." Marius said without a trace of sarcasm.

  Oddly, the ghost smiled as the scene turned to true novelty. He led the ghost to sit atop an empty coffin. Eager to listen as the two deceased men simply talked, laughed and made merry.

  The sight was beyond my expectations, even more so to the eyes of the system. A skill I activated shortly after he started singing. And what I saw was marvellous.

  No magic was involved; instead, the system bent around Marius, warping reality to his macabre will. It drew energy from many sources and built a strange-looking spell structure. It was nothing like my programmable and rigid skills. There was something primal in his methods.

  "So you have been here for over fifty years. Such solitude must have been a blessed torment. Did you weep to the heavens for salvation? If so, I will use my passion and prowess to see you liberated."

  "Truly, sir? You would seek to release me?" The ghost asked, almost pleading.

  "Indeed, my good man, I will see you free of this curse. In the meantime, you may haunt us at your leisure." He spoke theatrically and with intense passion.

  "How can we release him?" I chimed in, getting a bit invested.

  The ghost turned to me with an icy glare. Colder than the worst winter in those insubstantial orbs. Probably pissed at me killing him or destroying him? Slaying him? Not sure of the terminology, so I will go with defeating him.

  "Perhaps we can lay you to rest in a place of your choosing?" Marius offered, regaining the ghost's attention.

  "Truly?" the ghost asked, his eyes wide.

  "Indeed," Marius agreed.

  "If you can bury me in Dawnsreach Cemetery beside my wife, I will be eternally grateful."

  The Necrochanter's eyes widened, and his demeanour visibly changed. Placing his hand to his chest, as if struck by an arrow, he leaned back with a creepy grin. Suddenly he rose with a flourish and stood before the ghost.

  "To be laid to rest beside your lover — such an end is pure delight. I will endeavour to see you consigned to the ground with your love, forever eternal."

  He was laying it on thick, or this was just his personality. Either way, he seemed like an absolute riot. His energy was infectious; too bad I was busy trying to find a way out of here. Futile attempts to inspect a rock and then another rock. I was sure there was a secret passageway out of here.

  If that weren't the case, I would just return to the lab and try to fix the teleporting door. Yeah, I just need to learn space magic to an intermediate or high level. Could totally bang that out in thirty minutes, no biggie. Sighing in frustration, I barely registered the ghost's next words.

  "If you promise to lay my body to rest, I will give you the secrets to escape here." The ghost declared.

  Immediately perking up from that, I turned to face the two. Just as I was about to pry the information out of his incorporeal skull, I noticed something descending from above. It wasn't visible to mortal eyes, but lay bare to my senses. Activating Eyes of the System to get a better look.

  What descended was a strange tether latching onto Marius' skull. Composed of pure system energy, straight from the source. Not the discount stuff I was using, but pure divine system energy.

  I wanted it badly, but to siphon off something that pure would be dangerous. One, it would alert the higher-ups and also be like chugging plutonium. So I decided not to be too insane today. Instead, I tried to use my Inspect skill while Eyes of the System was active.

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  Against my expectations, it actually responded with a prompt. Scanning the information, I immediately recognised it at first glance. I couldn't help but smile, not at the data itself, but at what it hid.

  [System Quest!]

  [Quest: Rest In Peace. Description: Souls of the damned seek your aid. Arriving just in time, you can grant a last request to the soul before you. May your actions grant solace. May your deeds bring peace as you lay the soul to rest. Your reward is plentiful. Consign the body of the fallen warrior next to his beloved in Dawnsreach Cemetery. Reward: System Boon.]

  Snorting at the sight of the quest and its flowery wording before the proper description. The image of an old bearded colleague, older the most kingdoms on this planet, came to mind. Ancient as he was, worked for the company for eons and had been a personal mentor of mine.

  He managed the system quests they gave out to the special people on Grimgard. Given his amusing personality, he hid secret messages in the quest introductions. More specifically, the pompous narcissist hid his name in every quest he gave. Take the first letter of the first five sentences and put them together.

  It spelled out his name, Sammy you sneaky bastard. I had always wondered what that looked like from this perspective. Bestowing quests upon lowly mortals. Looks like my new friend has become one of Sammy's favourites. I mean, he just woke up and, boom, he gets a system quest right off the bat.

  If Marius had a luck attribute, it would break his character sheet with its sheer size. Shaking my head at the absurdity, I gauged the two for their reaction. Especially since Marius was now glowing, or was that just my Eyes of the System skill?

  "The system has recognised you, praise be to the system." The ghost bowed, getting preachy.

  "Ah, quest to lay you to rest, oh, that sounds marvellous." Marius grinned from ear to ear, something he seemed to do a lot.

  The guy was just super happy. Where did he get that energy? Aren't the undead supposed to be gloomy? He seems more vibrant and full of life for a man who is biologically dead. Or was that my prejudice talking? Wow, I did not even know I held prejudices to begin with. That is weird since Ludus created my race, and we lived in close confines with many beings.

  Probably my proximity to the forever stick in the mud Gary. Since he was the only undead I knew, I naturally assumed all undead were just as gloomy. Guess Gary was just an exception, which made it so much funnier.

  "I will see you free from this room, mighty anointed." The ghost sucked up to the revenant. Before he started muttering in Elder.

  I could make out a few words until something pulled me away to the sound of the walls shuttering. Dust fell in cascades as the wall behind me divided to make way for a hidden corridor. A secret passageway opened up onto yet another torch-lit corridor with creepy skulls.

  "Thank you, dear spirit." Marius thanked the ghost with a bow.

  Two dead men smiled at each other before Marius' eyes turned to the distance. He nodded to something beyond my sight, and again he sang once more. The tune was sombre and invited a soul to embrace a friend.

  "Oh silent shade, your time has gone. Stand with me before you move on. I sing, no chains, a graceful pact. No great toll will I exact."

  The apparition nodded before vanishing into motes of light and swiftly entering the chest of Marius. Concerned my companion was just possessed by a devious ghost, I was about to speak before he beat me to it.

  "Two new abilities have appeared on my character sheet." He said.

  "What abilities?"

  "Requiem of the Dead and Spectral Bond," he answered before going into further detail.

  Placing the ghost's corpse in my bag, we walked out of this trap. He explained the unique aspects of his esoteric class. Apparently, his sheet presented him with two abilities, or spell songs as they are called. In order to gain abilities, he must embrace his gained resonance and attain inspiration.

  There were limits, however, having a few ability slots and resonant slots. He had four resonant slots, two occupied, with each resonance able to have two abilities. He had already fully maxed out his Requiem abilities. And his other resonances had yet to develop.

  "I would choose your resonance carefully, filling each slot as soon as possible. Then, acquire abilities to cover your weaknesses and then specialise." I gave sage advice, and I practiced what I preached.

  "I see, I will take your learned advice and gain my next two for my remaining resonance."

  "Good, because it is likely we will come across not-so-friendly undead." I warned before frowning. "I wonder if they will attack you, since you are undead as well."

  "We will certainly find out eventually."

  "Okay, probably before we move on, fill out your remaining slots with some offensive abilities." I suggested, wondering how that would work, based on the resonance name.

  We continued on while he casually pondered his resonance or whatever he was doing. He had explained his quest, and I pretended to be oblivious. Walking for a few minutes, we noticed an entrance to another chamber at the end. Stopping midway, I turned to my companion, wondering if all his mutterings had borne fruit.

  It was too late because several undead shuffled their feet across the threshold. Giving them a few Inspects, they were pretty average-levelled Ghouls. Most of them were only level fourteen. Drawing my weapon, I worried about my clearly under levelled ally, only for his words to ring out.

  "Your soul is a broken string of a terrible violin. Cracked and out of tune, to play would be a sin." He mocked in a singsong voice.

  What followed was all three ghouls being verbally knocked back, clutching their heads in pain. I stared dumbfounded; only a single question came to mind. Did he just attack them with mockery?

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