On a cold winter night in the forest of Blackbone where I lived, I lay in my bed waiting for death to take hold of me. I was the last of my kind, the last recorded necromancer on the entire planet. I had many regrets throughout my life yet it now meant nothing. Why did it matter? I would die and never return.

 

I became a necromancer because I was a coward. I sought for decades a way to never die, a way to become immortal by any means and I thought necromancy was the antidote of death.

 

I spent countless years of research finding out ways to never die, to live forever, but it was all for naught.

 

Upon hearing I was a necromancer, I was shunned by my village and cast away like a stone into the river. People feared me and that caused me to grow bitter as I grew older. Eventually, I no longer cared about what my people thought of me. Instead, I used my powers as a necromancer to benefit myself alone.

 

I was deemed a menace to the public by my village and was given the title "Lord of the Wicked." This added fuel to the fire to the point that I began to go mad. I had killed someone in a fit of rage. I quickly fled from the village until I ended up here in the forest of Blackbone, where no mortal dared to set foot.

 

I built my home here and I thrived for many years. I built my cabin, hunted for my food, drank fresh water from the river nearby, and so on. It was tranquil here despite the occasional run-ins with monsters and animals but at least I wasn't constantly having to fear for my life as much.

 

I could slowly feel my consciousness fade. I lifted my frail arm into the air above me and cried out to whatever god was out there to save me from my fate. I received no answer besides the eerie silence.

 

I grew desperate and began to cry. Tears rolling down my pale, ancient face and my white beard. I kept contemplating where I would go next after this life was over. Then something clicked within my mind.

 

I realized I had heaps amount of mana left within me. This was an anomaly as I was dying. There were no instances such as mine. Usually, when one is dying of old age, their mana starts to dissipate until there is nothing left then they die. Their mana is completely drained and sent back into the earth, yet I still have a lot of it left within me. I have more than any point in my history.

 

I began to think about my unusual case and could not find out why this was happening. I didn't think for too long though, as I finally reached death's cold door. I was only one moment away from dying. Then it hit me. I had a chance to release my soul because of my overflowing mana.

 

Releasing one's soul was no easy task. Few people could only hope to accomplish this as it required a monstrous amount of mana but there were consequences. If one were to die while their soul was released, it would shatter and they would be stuck in the soul realm which was a fate worse than suffering eternal torment.

 

I took that risk. Because I was a necromancer, I hypothesized that my soul could take over the bodies of other living beings. Normally, this wouldn't be possible but because necromancy uses both mana and soul essence, I thought it would be.

 

I began the process of detaching my soul from my body by doing a few breathing techniques. After I finished that, I breathed in and out one last time, and then it happened. My consciousness and soul began detaching from my body and before I knew it, I was in the air scouting my cabin and the forest but time was precious so I quickly scouted out my new bodily vessel.

 

I could not find any suitable bodies. I went to the nearest village which was south of the forest from Blackbone but my soul was rejected by the newborn children there which meant I could not inhabit the body of a human being. This typically means that one's soul may simply be too corrupt to enter. My bitterness over the years grew into full-blown apathy towards humankind. I no longer cared about people, not after what they did to me all those years.

 

Time was running out. My soul began to crack all over and I became desperate. I only had a minute left before I fell into the abyss that was the soul realm for all eternity. I headed to a dungeon where I would have no choice but to harbor the body of a soulless denizen.

 

The cracks spread throughout my entire soul. I would not make it but I pressed on regardless. Then I saw them. A group of lesser ghouls were out in the outskirts of the dungeon battling with a group of adventurers currently there. Without a second thought, I dashed through the sky and forcefully made my way into one of the ghoul's chest and then everything went black.

 

Darkness enveloped me. I began to panic as I felt I was too late but then I heard someone speak, "Congratulations, necromancer. You are the first to become undead with all of your memories and consciousness intact. You did what I could not do"

 

"Who are you?" I asked with a hint of concern in my voice. I was floating in a dark void; nothing could be seen. I didn't know what to expect after taking over the ghoul.

 

"I am the father of all necromancers," said the deep voice "We don't have time so we must make haste."

 

"You have successfully become undead which, as I stated before, even I could not accomplish. You have done the impossible, necromancer. Your journey is now just beginning."

 

"Wait, how are you conversing with me? Shouldn't you be dead?"

 

"Yes. I once tried to do what you just did but failed and became a wandering soul. Because I am a necromancer, the only way I can free myself is if someone were to come along and take my system from me." I could hear hesitation from the voice. It sounded as though it wanted to weep.

 

"System? What is this 'system' you mentioned? What exactly does it entail?"

 

"A system is a detailed overview of your entire being, a way of accumulating great strength quickly by gaining experience points which are used to allocate the type of abilities you wish to obtain. It also served as a guide that was given to us by the All-father to teach the future generations how to wield magic and its various sub-counterparts like soul weaving which is what you did. Over time, most of this knowledge was lost but mana is still abundant because of how accumulating experience changed. Accumulating experience is now, well, experiencing life which is why the system is not really needed to wield powerful magic or to grow in strength anymore."

 

I struggled to grasp what was going on but I felt like I partly understood. "How do I activate this system?"

 

"It is simple. Just will in your mind the word 'system' and a blue translucent screen with your statistics will appear. The same goes for when you want to do something else such as looking at your skills. Simply will in your mind 'skills' and they will appear."

 

"And if I decline?"

 

"You won't. Someone with a malicious and power-hungry personality such as yours won't decline such power."

 

"You know me well. I accept." I said with a grin on my face I didn't quite trust the voice but if what it was saying was true, it would be hard to pass on such an opportunity. To add to that, I am one who doesn't shy about taking risks.

 

"Thank you, necromancer. I will now give you my system. Before I go, a word of advice is necessary, kill the adventurers as soon as you gain consciousness or they will kill you. After that, do as you will. Play your cards right and you will be an unstoppable force. Now awaken!"

 

Just like that, the world faded for a brief moment again. I began to hear groans and the splatter of liquid before I came to. Then I began to see and following the word of advice, I quickly grabbed onto one of the four adventurers and bit his neck almost instinctively and immediately. Blood gushed out until he finally collapsed. I saw his body spasm for a few brief moments then I picked up his sword and stabbed it through his chest while he lay there.

 

A female adventurer began to approach me and slashed her sword in an arc at me but before her sword could reach me, using my superior speed, I parried her attack, knocked her down, and slit her throat cleanly. I turned around and found that the other ghouls had defeated one of the other adventurers. That left only one. This particular adventurer was fat and slow but he had a lot of power. My speed was much more lethal.

 

"W-wait, h-how is a ghoul wielding a sword!?" The adventurer cried. He was now on his knees. "That sh-shouldn't be pos-" before the adventurer could finish speaking, I sent down a vertical strike on his head and it split open. Pieces of brain matter flew everywhere.

 

[You have gained a level]

[You have gained a level]

[You have gained a level]

[You have gained a level]

[You have gained a level]

[You have gained a level]

[You have gained a level]

[You have gained a level]

[You are now level 8]

 

[<Swordsman> has gained a level]

[<Swordsman> has gained a level]

[<Swordsman> has gained a level]

[<Swordsman> has gained a level]

[<Swordsman> has gained a level]

 

[<Swordsman> is now level 5]

 

After having killed the adventurers, I willed the word 'status' in my mind.

 

Status

Titles: [Lord of the Wicked] [Master Necromancer]

Name: [Unnamed]

Race: [Lesser Ghoul]

Level: 8

HP: 30/30

Mp: 4/4

HP Regen: 5/Hour

MP Regen: .5/ Hour

Debuff: N/A

Buff: N/A

 

After carefully inspecting the status screen, my decaying jaw dropped. I had studied the art of necromancy most of my life and have never seen something as intricate as this. I grinned. With this newfound power, I could become stronger than ever before. I felt I could become stronger than anyone on Venoria.

 

After having finished inspecting my status, I decided to enter my new home, the dungeon, where I would carefully continue studying this intricate new system. My new unlife as an undead has begun.