I waited in the clearing patiently, well as patiently as I could. I’ll admit I was anxious to get this ritual done and over with. The responsibility of the frontier was weighing heavily on me, and the desire to do it myself. It was my job, my duty, and I was going to do it to the best of my ability. Grigori shambled through the bushes, dragging corpses behind him, I was appalled at what he was using to do so. I’ll spare you the details and only tell you that it was something that definitely belonged inside a body and not being used as a makeshift rope.

  “Will that be enough blood Elden?” I asked, looking at the small pile of corpses.

  “Should be,” Elden nodded, “Though one will be useless with that crater in his stomach.”

  I nodded in agreement, if I had the minion points I’d turn it into a zombie, but with my current plans that wasn’t an option. Not until I was able to get some more levels under my belt. “Grigori, take that corpse for yourself and your four new helpers hiding in the bushes.”

  Grigori nodded, “Thank you, Master.” He dragged the corpse away into the trees where the sound of the ghouls eating was barely covered.

  “They’re going to be a problem in the long run,” Elden remarked, pulling some of the corpses free of the pile.

  “Agreed,” I replied, grabbing a dead rabbit by the ears and frowning at the bite taken out of its midsection, “Unless I get something that’ll control their hunger.”

  “Might I recommend venturing further into Specter territory for your minions in the future?” Elden inquired, laying the corpses out.

  “Do tell,” I said, removing the most damaged corpses and tossing them to the side for later use.

  “I’d suggest looking into Shades and Wraiths,” Elden continued, “They’re cousins of Specters and you could probably summon them the same way you do Specters.”

  “I saw a skill choice for Shades, I chose Ghouls instead,” I grunted, hoisting a deor onto my shoulders, “I wasn’t, and still aren’t comfortable messing with souls.”

  “You can make deals with them as well, instead of forcing them to serve you,” Elden clarified, “And Wraiths are the same way.”

  We took a step back and I pulled a dagger from my belt, handing it to Elden, “So what makes them different from Specters?”

  Elden took the dagger and knelt, piercing the flesh of a deor, “Manipulate the flow of the blood with your mana or death energy,” He instructed, looking over at me.

  I focused inward for a moment, bringing my energy to the surface, “What do you want me to do with it?”

  “Focus like you’re condensing a Death Bolt but instead forming a channel for the blood to flow through,” He answered, carving a longer wound.

  I did as he instructed, focusing my attention on the blood, I of course did not get it on my first try. I’m not some sort of prodigy, all right?

  “The difference between them,” Elden started to answer my question from earlier and watched my poor progress on the task in front of us, “Is their state of being. Shades are typically composed of shadows and that makes the shadows of the mortal world their personal weapons,” He paused, analyzing my work, “You’re trying to encase the blood, just make a small slide of energy leading to the sigils we dug out earlier.”

  I nodded and he continued to explain, “Meanwhile, Wraiths, while extremely similar to Specters, are composed of more emotion. Allowing them to target emotions or use their negativity to sap the life from living beings. Despite that though, some of them are quite enjoyable beings to be around,” He paused, “Do more of a U shape.”

  I complied and asked, “So they’d be more specialized minions?”

  “Of a sort, it would take time for them to grow into their full powers like any other minion.”

  “How so?” Sweat was starting to form on my brow from the concentration.

  “Since we serve you, we have levels too and can gain experience much like you,” He looked at me and I shrugged, it made sense, “Though I doubt it will remain exclusive for very long.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The longer the System is in place here the higher the chance it evolves and starts to envelop more of the world, turning it into a whole new ecosystem where everything has a path to power,” He watched the blood flow down my slide of condensed mana, “There you go, good job.”

  I nodded my appreciation and said, “That sounds interesting.”

  “Extremely,” Elden agreed, “I suggest we push levels while we have that as our advantage.”

  “How long do you think it’ll take for the System to evolve?” I asked and then paused, almost breaking my concentration, “Wait, how do you know it’s evolving?”

  “Because it told me so,” Elden answered, “I received a notification this morning about it, and getting my levels.”

  “What level are you?” I asked, genuinely curious.

  “Same as you, four,” Elden sighed, “Unfortunately It matched each of us to your level.”

  “How much higher would you be if It hadn’t done that?”

  “Much higher.” Elden replied, no elaboration evident in his tone.

  I returned my full attention to the task of transporting the blood and had a question pop up, “Aren’t Necromancers proficient with blood magic?”

  “Some are,” Elden answered, “Though it’s a difficult and time consuming process. A study for another time.”

  “Right,” I sighed.

  “As for when the System will evolve to encompass everything,” Elden returned to my previous question, “I don’t know really. It’s been here for around a week and has already made several changes. I’d estimate a month, maybe two, if I had to guess.”

  I nodded, “We’ll have to do some hunting then.”

  I finally managed to move all the blood from the Deor a few minutes later and let out a breath of relief, “I’m glad that’s done.”

  “Agreed,” Elden walked to another corpse, “Only twelve more to go.”

  “You know what, I think I hate you,” I begrudgingly readied myself for another trial.

  Elden chuckled as the knife slid, “Oh just wait.”

  Several hours later I was finally finished and I hated to admit it but the task had helped me become more familiar with how my mana and death energy felt and flowed. Maybe it would make my work on Animate easier. I looked at the summoning circle with some pride and a small measure of disgust.

  “It doesn’t matter that all the blood is dried up?” I asked worriedly.

  “It does not,” Elden replied, “Now all we need to do is,” He paused and cleared his throat, “Sorry, all you need to do is repeat the incantation I taught you, focus your mind on what kind of Specter you’re looking for, and use your death energy to fuel the spell by engraving your crest into the center of the circle with it.”

  “Like a beacon?” I wondered aloud.

  “Exactly like a beacon,” Elden nodded, “Now then, the moon is high and the stars shine brightly, no time like the present to get this done.”

  I stepped forward and looked at my zombies and ghouls, “Surround the clearing and make sure no one interrupts me while I work. If it’s sentient, tell it to leave, if it’s a beast, kill it.” I ordered. All of my minions except for Elden left the clearing.

  I blew out a breath and raised my hands in front of me, channeling my will and energy into the circle, spectral flame fell from my fingertips in droplets. Flowing along the lines of blood and igniting the clearing in a bright eerie light. There was no way no one would see this. I cleared my throat and began to speak the incantation, my soul sight flaring to life to witness the mass of spirits coming to me.

  “Part the walls,” I whispered, “Part the gates,” I sharpened my energy to produce a thin cut on both my palms, blood joining the flame, “Come, come to the light my flames give, taste my blood,” I focused the flames in the center of the circle and they entwined carving the deor skull, my crest, into the night, “Give me a General worthy of the name.”

  My crest flared and the flames burst revealing a man in half-plate armor standing before me, his tired eyes appraising me.

  “Necromancer,” He greeted.

  “General,” I returned the greeting.

  “What need have you of an old soul such as me?”

  “I require someone to lead my troops, to aid in the defense of a growing village.”

  “A village of undead, no doubt,” The Specter scoffed.

  “A village of very much alive people, only four at the moment, but it will grow and I am not enough on my own to protect them.”

  “You profess weakness?” The Specter inquired.

  My crest flared behind him, indignant on my behalf and I swear he shrank slightly in response. “I profess my need.”

  “What would be the terms of this contract?” He asked.

  “I only require servitude, guidance, and counseling.” I responded.

  “Is that all?”

  I raised an eyebrow, “I can add more if you wish.”

  “No,” He waved his hand, “For my end, I want your word you will not use my guidance to prey on the innocent.”

  “Then the contract is sealed.” I said with a smile, extending my hand as the flames began to die.

  He took my offered hand hesitantly but shook with a firm grip.

  Notice: Wandering Soul Myer Albury has been bound.

  “Welcome aboard General Myer,” I said, releasing his hand.

  He nodded, “We’ll see how happy I am to be here.”

  I took a look at my reserves of energy, it had taken a lot out of me and I still didn’t know how to absorb more death energy.

  “I don’t think I have enough in me for another go at this Elden,” I glanced over at him.

  “We’re lucky you had enough for the first go in all honesty,” Elden admitted.

  “You didn’t think it would work?” I stared at him through narrowed eyes.

  He shrugged, “I’d say General Myer is a good start, we’ll worry about filling out your Council when you’re higher level.”

  I looked back at the ritual circle, “What about this?” I gestured with my hands.

  “I can preserve it for a time,” Elden held out a hand and then two after he struggled for a moment. A thin sheet of, well something, covered the circle and hid it from sight.

  “Well that’s handy,” I observed.

  Elden placed a hand on his knee and took a deep breath.

  “Getting forced down to my level really took a toll huh?” I walked over and put my hand on his shoulder and leaned in, “Or maybe, you’re just getting a bit old.” I whispered.

  “We’re doubling your training regimen tomorrow,” Elden scowled.

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

  General Myer stood off on the side and watched our little interaction, though I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Probably that I was a mad fool if I had to guess.

  I chuckled at Elden’s response, and he shook his head, “We’ll be going hunting tomorrow, I haven’t seen any monsters yet which is strange for a monster infested world so we’ll need to investigate why that is as well,” I spoke to both Elden and Myer, “In the meantime General, I’ll call what troops I have back so you can get acquainted.” I sent a mental command and walked over to my spot in the clearing, plopping down and trying my best to sleep on a little bedroll.

  The next morning came quicker than my aching bones would’ve liked but before I knew it I was standing before my undead watching them get into formations. Myer stood in front of them directing the efforts.

  “Ah, Good morning Crowley,” He greeted, “Your force is lackluster at the moment but it will do for hunting. I’ve discussed several operation plans with Grigori and Elden and we believe we can get this small force into fighting shape.”

  “Excellent work General,” I applauded, “What are your plans?” I rubbed my eyes, I missed coffee. This was not a new woe, I hadn’t been able to drink it for several years now. Yet I still find myself saddened at its loss.

  “We’ll use the Ghouls as a strike force and the Zombies as a rear guard since they can only follow simple commands,” Myer explained, “Our advantage will be speed and stealth.”

  “Guerilla warfare,” I mused.

  “You’re familiar with it?” He asked.

  “The concept, yes, the execution, not so much.” I admitted.

  “That changes today then,” Myer said, turning his attention back to the undead.

  “When will we be ready to move out?” I stepped up next to him.

  “Whenever you are,” He replied, coming to slight attention.

  I nodded, “Five minutes then, we’ll circle the village but only for a half mile.”

  Myer nodded and began making his mental preparations. That was a pro of being a Specter I suppose, you could always count on your equipment being exactly as you left it.

  I stepped away and pulled up my status screen.

  Name: Crowley

  Race: Wight

  Class: Necromancer 4

  Health: 160 of 160; Stamina 110 of 110; Mana 319 of 319; Death Energy 25 of 269.

  I frowned, I’d add learning how to absorb death energy to the list of things to do today. I closed my eyes and checked on the mental connection between me and my Spectral Hounds. I received a howl of excitement in return and a brief report. In one day they had covered a remarkable distance, the designated head of the three hound pack felt they would reach the settlement by nightfall.

  “Before we go, I want you to take another look at Animate,” Elden said, appearing silently by my side and startling the hell out of me.

  “Do we have time for that?” I asked.

  “A perk of being a Necromancer is having your minions do most of the work for you,” Elden remarked, “Send Myer and the Ghouls on ahead.”

  I didn’t really want to come off as a leader who let his men do all of his work for him but it would be necessary at some point, I couldn’t be everywhere at once. Better to get used to delegating sooner than later.

  “General Myer,” I called out, he turned to face me, “I need to check on a skill of mine so you and the Ghouls will be going on ahead of me.”

  Myer nodded and glanced at Elden before taking Grigori and his ghouls off into the forest.

  I began to sit down but Elden put a hand on my shoulder, “Let’s take a different approach today, focus on the skill and your zombies.”

  I nodded and my zombies approached at a mental tug, standing in front of me in a line. I held out a hand and turned my thoughts inward. Following the flow of magic from my core, up my body, down my arm, and out of my fingertips. I stayed like that for several minutes, feeling each tendril attach itself to a zombie and interweave with the energy within them. I was starting to understand how they functioned, how my magic was fueling them. And why the upgrade I had taken was incompatible. My hounds were Spectral, it was in the name. But as to why it didn’t play well with Animate, the energy was different to put it simply. The Hounds drew their energy from Limbo, the Zombies drew their energy from the world. It made sense. But how could I rectify that? I could tear the upgrade from Animate within time, but what would that do to my undead? Would I lose them? Would I damage the skill? Whatever I needed to do I couldn’t do it now, it would take me days with the knowledge I had. Then an idea popped into my head, I could change how the energy was fueled.

  Notice: Skill manipulation has been detected. Analyzing.

  Notice: Analysis complete. Skill degradation has been detected. Incompatibilities have been detected.

  “No shit,” I muttered aloud.

  Would you like to fix skill [Animate]?

  Warning: Spectral Hounds upgrade will be lost as a result.

  “No. I’ll do it myself.”

  Warning: Prolonged degradation will result in skill termination.

  The boxes of text vanished and I was left with the familiar darkness of my eyelids, I opened them shortly after and lowered my hand. If I was going to change the fuel source of the skill I needed more death energy, it was the only thing I could think of that came from Limbo. Yet another reason to figure out how to refill that damn bar.

  Elden looked at me expectantly.

  “The System just notified me of the incompatibility,” I said sourly, “It could fix it but at the cost of my hounds.”

  “And?” Elden nudged.

  “I think there may be a different way to do it, but it’ll take some time.” I took hold of the mental connection to Myer, learning his general position. “In the meantime, we have a hunt to perform.”

  I arrived shortly after the ghouls had slaughtered small animals to feast upon. General Myer standing off to the side, disgust evident upon his face.

  He nodded towards me in greeting when I approached.

  “Any news?” I inquired, hoping to distract myself from the gorging behind me.

  Myer shook his head, “Nothing but small game and stray Deor.”

  “That’s a little disappointing,” I frowned.

  “Hoping for some combat?” He raised an eyebrow.

  I nodded, “I need more levels if I’m ever going to accomplish anything.”

  “And these creatures don’t count?” He gestured towards the small animals.

  I looked over at them and received the usual system notifications about experience points. “They do but it’s a miniscule amount.”

  “Is there any way for you to gain experience without killing something else?” Myer questioned.

  I shrugged, “Not that I’m aware of.”

  “Look into it,” He said sternly, “Too much combat is never a good thing for a man's soul or mind.”

  “Giving me advice already?” I chuckled.

  He just stared at me.

  “You make a fair point General,” I conceded, “I’ll put it on the list.”

  If I hadn’t glanced back at the ghouls after my statement I would’ve missed the subtle green glows of souls spreading out around them.

  “I believe we have some Goblins,” I said casually to Myer, nodding my head in their general direction.

  Myer frowned and looked over in the direction I was indicating, “They have excellent camouflage in these surroundings,” He complimented, “And it seems the ghouls are too busy eating to notice the new threat.”

  “I’ll just order Grigori,” I said.

  Myer nodded and stood back to observe.

  I sent the mental alert to Grigori and the other ghouls, for a moment I was rebuffed by a ravenous hunger but it seemed Grigori had understood. I frowned, Ghouls had seemed like such a good idea when I chose the skill but this damn hunger was getting in the way. I hadn’t noticed it before but the more I interacted with Grigori the more evident it became that it could override my control. I made up my mind at that moment, no more ghouls, I couldn’t have an army of ravenous beasts protecting a village. I think Grigori sensed my displeasure because he looked up at me with a saddened expression before darting into the bushes. Well, if my plan with Animate worked, I might be able to do the same thing with Create Ghoul. But would it work for pre-existing undead? I’ll shelve that idea for now.

  Goblin war cries and screeches of pain rumbled from the bushes around us, a few had the foolhardy idea to rush towards me. My own goblin zombies lashed out with tooth and claw, carving up their brethren despite one of them having their arm cut off. I held up a hand and focused on my reservoir, hoping this was all it took to absorb death energy.

  Notice: Would you like to absorb the energy from the defeated enemies?

  “Yes,” I affirmed.

  Spectral energy swirled from the corpses around the area, condensing in small streams that coalesced in the palm of my outstretched hand. It felt euphoric, like my entire system had been jump started, and then it was over. Just like that.

  I hurriedly opened up the System box.

  Current Values: Health 160 of 160; Stamina 110 of 110; Mana 319 of 319; Death Energy 100 of 269.

  “More than I expected honestly,” I muttered, “That was what, fifteen points per goblin?”

  “Sir?” Myer asked.

  I waved my hand, “Nothing, just calculating a value in the System.”

  “Do you need assistance with that?” Elden asked.

  “No no,” I said, closing the box of text, “I know my numbers well enough. I was the heir to an estate after all.”

  “What changed? Parents disagree with your career choice?” Myer chuckled.

  “No, I died.” I scowled slightly and walked away, heading towards Grigori to see what equipment the goblins might’ve been carrying.

  “That was a tad brash, don’t you think?” Elden scolded Myer.

  “What does he mean he died?” Myer asked confusedly.

  I stopped listening to their conversation, I’d let Elden handle that. Though it was strange to me that Myer had made such a comment, not that it didn’t suit his character as I knew it thus far. But that it implied he wasn’t aware of the situation around him. How could you not be aware? I mentally face palmed, hadn’t Elden mentioned something about that when we made our deal? What was it he said exactly?

  “My Lord,” Grigori bowed his head, “The Goblins carried only primitive equipment, we have taken the liberty of piling it together over there,” He gestured towards a pile of mostly stone and crude iron equipment, “For your perusement.”

  “Well done Grigori,” I complimented, “Enjoy your feast. I will not be needing any zombies or such for the foreseeable future.”

  “May I raise more ghouls in that case, my Lord?” He inquired.

  “You may not. The remaining slots are for future Specters.” I replied.

  “Understood, my Lord,” He said somewhat dejectedly before turning to feast with his brethren.

  I watched them with morbid curiosity for a moment before turning my attention to the equipment, it was mostly primitive and most of the armor, if you could call it that, appeared to be hand woven with furs and leather. It would do for the time being. My zombies came trotting forward at my mental summons.

  “Replace your gear with something from this pile,” I ordered, “Outfit yourselves accordingly.”

  They got to work right away, donning clothes and armor as well as weapon harnesses and their attachments. This was something I had been meaning to do, I hadn’t realized initially but when I had hit the initial one with Death Bolt it had rotted its equipment as well as its flesh. The other two, well there was no harm in re-outfitting. What else was I going to do with this pile of scrap? And just like that, an idea began to form in my mind.

  “Once you’re done, load up as much as you can carry, we’re taking this back to the clearing.” I said to the zombies. They didn’t acknowledge my order physically with a nod but I knew they understood. They were the one type of minion, besides the hounds, that were completely under my control. I wonder if that would be an issue later on. Several agonizing minutes of watching the zombies struggle with various belts we finally loaded up the equipment in their arms and left Myer and the Ghouls to continue their scouting. It was Myer’s suggestion to do so, apparently the commander didn’t need to be out front and center on a mere scouting mission. But what else was I supposed to do with my time?

  I got my answer from two different parties. One being the System, and the other being that Robin was waiting for me in the clearing.

  The System was two things, a notification that Necromancer had leveled up the five and a request form.

  Notice: Request has been detected. Would you like to submit request [Non-combat Experience Points] for review?

  “What?” I said dumbly.

  The notice repeated itself but flashed a couple times to accentuate its point.

  “Sure,” I hesitated, “Submit the request.”

  Notice: Request received. Pending review.

  “Who’s reviewing it?” I wondered aloud.

  Nothing answered my question and the box disappeared shortly after.

  I sighed and turned my attention to my level up notification, I’ll spare you the lines about goblins being defeated this time around. I’m sure you’re just as tired as I am of reading them.

  Class [Necromancer] has leveled up to level 5. Skill choices available. Attribute points assigned. Five free points granted.

  I nodded along and chose to rest about halfway through our trek back to go through my attributes and skill choices.

  Attributes:

  Strength 12

  Agility 15

  Constitution 18

  Endurance 11

  Spirit 35

  Intelligence 20

  Perception 10

  Willpower 24.

  I fidgeted with a twig while thinking about where to assign my free points, my physical stats were becoming awfully low. And I’d need Perception higher to do a better job of managing the frontier. Wouldn’t be much of a guard if anyone or anything could just waltz past me now would I?

  With that in mind I dumped all five points into Perception, making it fifteen. I didn’t notice a drastic change but it was easier to hear things happening in the forest, the colors were slightly stronger, and the smell of sap was now annoyingly intense.

  After adjusting and feeling like my mouth was becoming gooey from just the smell of the trees I moved on to the skill choices. There were three new ones along with the previous ones and each of the new ones were fairly good, threatening to push me into indecision and keep me there for the foreseeable future.

  Skill Choices Available:

  Corpse Explosion: Teach your enemies to not only fear the undead but the dead as well.

  Effect: [Active] Detonate a corpse in range, damage dependent on the corpse used and your spirit attribute. Mana cost dependent on the corpse.

  Shadow Step: Become one with the shadows, leaping nimbly through them to keep your prey guessing.

  Effect: [Active] Leap a short distance through shadows. Low mana cost per jump.

  Whispers of the Hunt: The Wild itself alerts you to your prey and aids in your hunt.

  Effect: [Passive] While in nature or a wild environment gain a small bonus to awareness and your perception stat. Aids in tracking and detecting targets.

  [Active] Emit a subtle unsettling sound to disorientate and frighten weaker enemies.

  The first thing I took notice of was the different format the System presented the skills this time. It was infinitely more helpful. And sold me immediately on one of the new skills presented. As awesome as stepping through shadows would be or exploding a corpse for massive damage, and an obvious fear factor, sounds I wanted, no needed, Whispers of the Hunt. It would make my job so much easier in the long run, and the active effect would help corral weaker enemies. I picked it with almost no other considerations. Would I regret that decision? Maybe, who knows.

  I stood and felt the forest reaching out to me after a moment of focusing, whispers carried through the branches on the breeze. It was telling me of the surrounding area. Not in words, but through some primal connection that I now shared with it. I chuckled at the thought of a Necromancer being in tune with nature. Now infinitely more aware I started to walk back towards the clearing. This frontier was slowly but surely becoming my playground, and this skill was only the first step.