I read list after list of information on the many classes I could choose from. Pyromancy, it seemed, was a specialization under the subclass of Evocation. I pay close attention to Evocation seeing as it's the class this body is most familiar with, but at early levels, it has no skill strong enough to get me out of this mess.

Hot touch? Torch? Electrocute? Blind? Completely useless spells to me and I have no means to level up faster or contact the Lesser God of Burning that made the last owner of this body so powerful.

I keep looking for the best subclass, Divination was completely useless as well, I didn't need to perform magic to know if I didn't get out of here I'd be dead.

Conjuration is brilliant! Casting portals about, summoning creeping hands from the Reais, what I assume is the word for Underworld here. But these spells don't apply to my situation, I can't eat demonic hands and the portals are far too small for me to go anywhere significant with them.

I'd have to grind all the way to level ten before I get to summon a demon from the underworld to break through those rocks. Or summon animals to slaughter as a meal. Conjuration is brilliant but its doesn't help.

All that remain are Enchantment, Illusionism and Necromancy.

I couldn't be an enchanter because all the spells have conditions to cast in, and chances are, I'd have to make those conditions myself…No. I love strategy and planning, but only on screens and not in real life threatening situations.

As an illusionist I could disguise myself as anything and even turn myself invisible at early levels but it makes no mention of being able to break open walls.

That narrowed down my list to two subclasses, Necromancy and Conjuration.

Necromancy spoke for itself, at level one I gain access to spells that summon souls and manipulate animals and low-level monsters. Would be easy levelling and hunting.

The fact that I'd have to hunt that bear and many more beasts like it before exploring the cave hasn't escaped me. I eliminated subclasses based on a simple question; Can I kill a giant bear at level one?

Evocation? Level one spells required that I touch my target, no ranged attacks. I'm trying my best not to get close to the beast.

Divination is still useless. Enchantment could get me killed if the conditions weren't met, wouldn't want to throw a calm spell and get a notification that the bear is a level too strong for me. No matter how cool it is, I can't risk my second life on it.

Illusionism? Well, I still have to kill it and I don't place a lot of faith in my sword swings if I mess up and fail to kill it in one strike…

And now I'm left with Necromancy, Conjuration and an empty stomach.

But it's an easy choice, Necromancy gave me more protection, in the long run, far more than being a walking animal factory would. And since conjuring demons means you risk the spell failing and letting the demon do as it pleases, usually the first victim is the caster.

Necromancy has its own risks of course, but they are far more appealing than getting eaten by a fiend.

With the decision made and a plan formulated, all that remains is testing it.

"I acknowledge Necromancy as my new subclass." I utter to the system.

[Warlock-Necromancer Subclass Acknowledged]

[New Spells Unlocked]

Sense Death

Animate Animal

Summon Spirit

Raise the Dead

Undead Servant

Death Grip

Soul Drain

Aura of Death

Vampiric Dagger

Create Undead

Create Guardian

Create White

…

"That's a lot of spells…" I mutter as the list went on and on and on. "Aren't I level one?" I call up my status screen, I'd learned that thinking of it brings it up.

Indeed, I was still level one Warlock, but hovering over the little asterisks my level showed me that I'd somehow gotten the 30 overall levels the owner of this body had accumulated whilst practising Evocation. This put a smile on my face.

This meant that the moment I chose Necromancy, all the experience accumulated in this body from evocation was transferred to Necromancy, unlocking spells up to level 20.

'I can get out of here now.'

I hurry off to the blockage and prepare myself according to the instructions of the spell I am about to unleash on the wall of rumble; Create Undead.

As luck will have it, there are two perfect skeletons waiting to be put to use.

It will turn them into ghouls under my command. Ghouls are stronger than zombies and skeletons, they can take apart the wall with ease if I commanded to, and I intend to do so.

I get to the skeletons and harness the intoxicating blue ethereal power that comes from within me, directing it to my hands. It smokes, oozing out into the air from its place in my hands.

At long last, I experience what it's like to be a game character with magic. The mana twirls around my fingers, waiting to be moulded into the spell and unleashed.

"Create Undead." As I utter the spell name the colour of mana twirling in my hand changes to a cold green that bears the strangest feelings of sleep and death.

The sickly green mana shoots out like a bolt stabbing the skeletons, it makes contact with both and seeps into their bones. For a moment nothing happens, and then one jerks, the other trembles and their bones rattle.

The skeletons wobble to their feet, picking up their weapons as they do. Pride swells in my chest and relief washes over me, the irony that the dead would preserve my life is not lost on me. My minions groan as skin and muscles begin to wrap around their bones. I grin, excited to see my ghoulish creation.

And then, the joy and pride that built up in my chest disappears alongside an explosion of bones and arrows.

"What the fuck?" I breathe, having barely shielded myself from a flying tibia.

An alert pops into my view, explaining my failure.

[Attempt Unsuccessful]

[Warlock Class Proficiency-0]

[Necromancy Class Proficiency-0]

[Increase Proficiency.]

"I have to be good at magic before doing magic? Who would have thought?" I sigh, dropping to the floor, hungrier now that most of my mana I've spent on a failed spell. "What do I do now?"

I need to become proficient with the magic I'm practicing before trying anything major. It makes no difference that I have the knowledge of the spell if I unable to perform it.

'I'm going to be trapped here until I turn into the next set of bones.'

Should I have given more time to RPG's and less to Grand Strategy? Well, given the situation I'm in now, it's all easy to say in hindsight.

A thought strikes me. If I needed to be proficient in magic then all I had to do was practice.

'Am I getting dumber?'

It's pretty obvious, again, in hindsight. I'm thinking as fast-paced as usual because I'm starving, yes, that's it. Jumping to my feet I take a look at my spell list again.

[Spell List]

Name Level Proficiency Progress

Sense Death 0% 0%

Summon Spirit 0% 0%

Death Grip 0% 0%

Animate Animal 0 % 0%

Soul Drain 0% 0%

Undead Servant 0% 0%

Create Undead 0% 0%

There are a few spells I could try with what's left of my mana. I hold some faith that these wouldn't fail, they are simple to execute and their results are boring. A classic level one spell.

Gathering mana to my eyes, not as much as I'd gathered in my hands for Create Undead. I enjoy the intoxicating feeling of mana so close to my head and utter the name of the spell, "Sense Death."

This time my mana doesn't turn green, instead, it reserves its blue and grants me a wide berth of spiritual vision.

This new sight grants me vision to see the skeletons buried underneath the ground and I see life drained from the living creature. I observe the creatures death and undeath as its spirit floats and is dispersed by a something so powerful it knocks the mana out of my eyes, blinding me from its actions.

"Ugh, what was that?" I rub the smoke of mana out of my eyes and try shaking my head clear. There's a notification waiting for me when I open them again.

[Sense Death Disrupted by Foreign Forces]

[Sense Death Proficiency- 1%]

"Perfect!" it is working, soon I'd increase my range and proficiency as well. I gather the mana again and call out the spell, "Sense Death."

Once more I'm granted a view into a spirit realm, a realm where I only see the dead and those to be dead. I'm a bit nervous to encounter that foreign force again but I press on, if only for a chance at leaving this cave.

I open my eyes and waiting in front of me, floating in my face with brows knitted and a deep frown is the spirit of a man. He has dirt brown hair and the beginnings of a beard cover a youthful face, the obvious thing about him however is the transparency of his body.

Stumbling back I welp, "Who are you!"

His lips move, he heard me ask the question but his response is what I can't put together. "What? I can't hear you." I tell him, he hovers around me circling behind my fallen self and floating over to one of the skeletons. He's one of the poor dead folk I'd tried to revive as a ghoul.

He's a ghost. I'm talking to a ghost. Maybe necromancy wasn't such a brilliant idea.

****

I hate ghosts. I mean, I don't have anything personal against them but I don't like the idea that someone I hated in life has a good chance of haunting me. It irks me.

Looking at the man…this ghost, I can't help wondering how many of his enemies he'd stalked, perhaps his killers, as anyone would. But scarier would be stalking that one woman who rejected him so long ago.

Another option is that I'm projecting, but that surely isn't the case here. What's the case? He's a dead creep, no two ways about it. That said, the dead creep keeps waving for my attention all while Sense Death is active.

Of course, I ignore him after confirming he was a ghost, but for whatever reason he keeps bugging me until I can't see him doing it…is he haunting me now?

"Brrh." A shiver runs down my spine at the thought as I skim through my spell list yet again, seeking an explanation. I get one.

[Sense Death.]

[Allows the user to view the parallel realm of Death in ranges correlating with users proficiency and level.]

That gives some explanation, but it leaves me with nothing to go by. If I see a ghost every time I use the skill, especially that creepy ghost waving and dancing around me, I wouldn't want to use the skill and if I didn't use the skill that meant I'd be halting my journey to summoning undead ghouls to do my bidding.

I fall on my ass, groaning with my grumbling stomach. Halted progress also meant speedy starvation.

In the time I spent ignoring the ghost, I'd peeked out of the narrow path and into the rest of the cave, the bear is still pacing about, sniffing around it, waiting for me to resurface.

Even if there are berries down there as I hope, I won't be getting past the bear and to them anytime soon if I don't have some kind of protection. That's why I dread my only option; To survive I must parlay with ghosts.

[Summon Spirit]

[Allows users to make an ethereal soul solid while retaining the various abilities or a lingering soul.]

-Possession.

-Levitation.

-Communing with the Dead.

[Spell duration correlates with users proficiency and level.]

I'd recovered some of the mana I wasted on [Create Undead] and have enough to cast [Sense Death] and [Summon Spirit].

If I manage subjugate the creepy ghost and have him possess the bear, I could then go on ahead with my initial plan when I chose Necromancy. I'll slaughter the bear with my rusty short sword or have the ghost hold it in place long enough to run past it and forage.

And all I have to do is get over my inhibitions.

Which is an easy thing to do as it stands in the way of my next meal. "Sense Death," I call, silently admitting I'd never get sick of the rush of mana casting a spell gives.

My eyes clear up and the man comes into view. He is sitting by his bones, a disturbed look on his face.

Directing a separate portion of mana to my hands and call out the next spell, "Summon Spirit." The blue changes to a sickly green and I toss the ball of mana at the ghost, by now I have his attention and he's looking curious.

The ball doesn't touch the ground, instead, it's sucked into him with vigour. He jerks, mana filling his ethereal body, giving him colour and making him solid.

"Wow…" he gasps. I smile at my success; I can hear him now.

"Hey."

"Hey…" he says back, staring at his own waving hand, "You made me solid. You can see me. Wait, you've always seen me, haven't you?"

I don't amuse his questions instead I got straight to the point as my stomach did with me on a constant. "I need your help."

"The names Anselm-" he offers a strong, lively handshake, "-it's very nice to meet you, Wizard, I want to say Vexier the Great?"

"Call me Asher." I huff, getting impatient. The spell only lasted two minutes, no more no less and he's wasting time. I pick up my- or perhaps his- sword and wave it around a bit. "Again, Anselm, I need your help."

He chuckles, still feeling himself up with amazement, "Heh, anything you need Asher the Great."

"Just Asher please." Usually, I wouldn't mind anyone calling me great, I mean, I am, but it feels odd this time. "Now I need you to possess a bear, Anselm. Can you do that?"

He pauses, looking away from himself at last. "A bear? I just came back to life! I'm not going near that bear."

I raise a brow at this, "What? You're not alive."

The shock that washes over his face makes me realize spitting that truth in his face with no remorse or shred of concern will only make it harder for me to get what I want.

"What do you mean I'm not alive?" he chuckles, watching me with a twitching eye and a foot out and ready to sprint.

I take in a deep, exhausting breath. Why am I even still alive myself? "I can't bring you back to life yet…" I trail off wondering if I'm really going to lie to possibly the only help I could get right now. But none of this is my fault.

His eyes shifted about me and the cave, faster than before. I push down a bit of saliva and prepare my tongue to lie the best it can.

'Not like he can do anything to me when he figures it out.'

"I just summoned your spirit from the spiritual realm-"

"Spirit world." He says still regarding me with a cold gaze.

"What?"

"It's called the spirit world. Spiritual realm sounds dumb."

Look who's talking!

"Fine whatever, I summoned you from the spirit world and if you want to get resurrected for real, you'll want to help me."

"And what proof do you have? How am I sure you don't just want me to believe I'm dead so you can use me for hard labour or-" he gags a bit, his face scrunching up as he voices his thoughts, "Lecherous things."

I force down vomit that threatens to erupt at the thought of doing such with him. Although, the hard labour did give me another brilliant idea.

I wave my hands and smile, hiding my long-term intentions for his soul. "No, you've got it all wrong. I am not a lecher, but if you want proof that you are a spirit, wait a few more seconds and you'll get it."

"A few more seconds? For wha-!" With brilliant timing, adding great effect to my point, the mana filling him up runs out and his transparency returns in full force.

Holding down the grin threatening to burst forth, I activate Sense Death again and watch him, floating about again, looking thoroughly confused and upset. He looks at me and I let my grin free at him and waving. He begins talking, rapidly too.

"Ah ah ah!" I press a finger to my lips and he shuts up, "I can't hear you right now but you can hear me, can't you?" He begins to say something but then it hits him so he nods instead. Good, I was making some progress after all.

"I'll make you solid again, but only if you help me with what I need, and I mean immediately or else I'll look for some other spirit to resurrect." He nods hastily, the idea of losing his second go at life so frightening he falls to his knees, albeit in air and kowtows.

I watch him for a bit, purposely giving the impression that I was contemplating resurrecting some other unfortunate soul.

After a bit of fear stewing in his eyes and stomach, I call out the spell and my mana yet again seeps into him, turning him solid.

"Thank you! Great Asher. Thank you!" he cries, crawling to my feet and laying kisses on it. Needless to say, it irks me.

"Enough," I pull my feet away and head out for the narrow passage, "It's time to go to work."