The sound of skeletons marching through a wide tunnel dug straight into the rough, dark rock, wet from the moisture that somehow made its way inside, was loud enough to alarm everything in the vicinity. The occasional clang of their rusty weaponry, mainly swords, but also a few large axes, intensified the eerie atmosphere.

The lack of light inside didn't hinder them; it was as if they could see in the pitch darkness or knew the way by heart. However, as they all emerged from behind the corner, the flames of a nearby goblin camp provided illumination. The creatures, all fifteen of them, stood on high alert, waiting in silence, brandishing jagged daggers, clubs with rusty nails sticking out from the wood, and broken swords in their hands, ready to gang up on whatever was the source of the sound.

Without hesitation, the two groups rushed at one another. The goblins' squeaky battle cries clashed with the silent advance of the undead.

The first few skeletons swung their weapons, missing entirely as the agile, green creatures dodged with ease, cleverly using openings to counterattack. The blades proved insufficient to cut through the bone, but the clubs, wielded with sufficient strength, broke a few legs, causing the undead to fall to the ground.

For two of the skeletons, orange, semitranslucent frames with writing inside popped up after each kill.

[You received +2 soul fragments]

[You received +4 soul fragments]

[You received +1 soul fragment]

The rest of the undead marched on fearlessly, stepping over their fallen brethren, quickly overwhelming the goblins who succumbed to fear.

While some goblins managed to escape, the rest met their demise under the ruthless blades of the undead. The skeletons pressed on, unfazed by the quick fight, stepping over their fallen foes with ruthless efficiency. The clang and clicking of metal and bone reverberated through the darkness as they continued their relentless march further into the underground complex.

Eventually, they emerged into a small cave with several fires burning around haphazard camps. On both the left and right walls of this natural chamber, two separate constructions of wood, tied or nailed together, stood. Despite their wobbliness, they managed to hold goblin archers armed with bows and arrows, already aiming at the emerging skeletons, enveloping the tunnel entrance.

In the middle of the space, a few rows of goblins stood, prepared to fight to the death with weapons raised, waiting for a signal to charge. The scene was tense and visually stunning, with the dim light from the fires casting flickering shadows on the cave walls.

The archers released their arrows, most of them passing through the empty ribcages of the skeletons and embedding into the ground. However, a few found their mark, crushing into the skulls and causing some damage, though not enough to stop the relentless undead.

Then, a screaming horde of green creatures rushed forward, clashing with the silent skeletons. The underground complex echoed with screams, mingling with the cacophony of metal clashing and bones clicking. It was a brutal meatgrinder, where the fleshly creatures crumbled under the unyielding onslaught of the fearless skeletons.

Though many goblins met their end, it seemed to have no impact on the resolve of the rest. There were also two, who seemed entirely different from the rest, as they received an orange, semitranslucent window notification.

[Status - Master’s puppet – has been removed]

"Holy shit, that was intense!" yelled one of the skeletons as the battle concluded.

"Yeah," agreed the other.

In an awkward moment of silence, they exchanged glances, clearly caught off guard by the situation. The rest of the undead continued their march, undisturbed by the dialogue, stepping over the dead bodies and chopped-off body parts scattered across the blood-stained floor.

"You can speak," the first one pointed out. „Wait! I can speak too!”

"Yeah, it seems," the second one confirmed.

"You are the one about whom the necromancer spoke, aren’t you? A special one, like me," the first one deduced.

The second skeleton seemed to grasp the concept of a name, yet his mind remained empty, which was odd when the term was brought up. The only thing he could recall was that mysterious white room.

"What’s yours? The name, I mean," the second one asked, unable to answer the question he received.

"Mine? I’m… Akichi! Ha Akichi!" he declared with excitement, raising his voice.

"Ha Akichi? You’ve just made that up!" accused the second skeleton.

"So what? I’m dead. My past life is gone. I can start a new one, with a new name. Ha ha! I’ve just got my own freaking isekai story! Everything is there. Track-kun, who hit me on the way from work, and then I’m waking up in that damn dark cave! Holy shit! I already love it!" Akichi ranted, gesticulating wildly with the sword still in his hand.

"Oh god no!" the second one yelled, cutting Akichi off. "You are a goddamn weeb!"

"Yes. I’m a weeb, a proud weeb! You have a problem with that?"

The second skeleton facepalmed, then slowly dragged his bony fingers off his skull, pondering over why he had said what he said.

‘What the hell even is this weeb?’ he asked himself unable to recall the meaning of the word he just used. "No… I don’t have a problem with that," he then mumbled out loud.

"Good. Now, what’s your name?" Akichi asked.

"I don’t know. I don’t remember," the second skeleton shrugged his shoulders.

"Then make one up," Akichi insisted.

"We should first do something with them, and then get back to the necromancer. He promised some answers, didn’t he?" the second skeleton pointed at the rest of the undead horde.

The reanimated had already reached the entrance to a tunnel on the other side of the chamber and showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

"Stop, you idiots!" Akichi yelled after turning around.

To his surprise, they followed the order, making him let out an excited chuckle.

"Holy shit! I can give them orders!" he freaked out again. "Come back here, all of you!"

The skeletons immediately turned around and began approaching the two sentient ones, following the given instruction.

"We are special, maybe that is why we can order them?" the second one proposed. "Or maybe it’s because we’ve awakened? What did the necromancer say about this, again?"

"I don’t remember," Akichi admitted. "I couldn’t speak so I was screaming in my own head because I felt trapped in this body like in a cage, so I didn’t really listen."

The second skeleton rolled his eyes, or at least he would if he had any.

"Let’s go back and squeeze some information from him," he then proposed.

"Just carefully, we need to figure out the situation before we do anything rash," Akichi pointed out.

"Yes, you are right… Even though I still want to beat his ass for the mess he pulled me into," said the second skeleton.

"You should look at the positives. You got a brand new chance in this clearly isekai-like world. I even had a system message flashing in front of my eyes. Something about status, and something about soul fragments…" said Akichi.

"The same here… Status Master’s puppet has been removed. Whatever that means... Let’s ask him about that one too," the second skeleton proposed.

"Yes, we definitely should. You should also think about a name for yourself, my man," said Akichi. "Come, my skeleton brothers, this way."

He swung his hand with a rusty sword in it, giving a clear sign to the rest to follow him. They did, and the whole group soon entered the same dark tunnel they came out from.

Despite the complete darkness, they could feel one another, like blue shadows dancing on a black background. The life filling their bones was somehow visible to them.

‘What the heck should I name myself?’ the second skeleton kept thinking...