Ansel stared unwaveringly at his opponent, letting his trembling hand slowly fall still as he paced around the orc. He ignored the final comment from Orion, not wanting to feed the overconfident skeleton any more ammo to insult him with. His elbow dripped blood, but he ignored the pain.

  I’m no quitter. Ansel thought to himself, even if he himself wasn’t exactly convinced that was the case. But it wasn’t just that. His conversation with his mother had reawakened his passion for adventuring, but the emotion Ansel felt in the current moment was something else. Something he couldn’t quite understand yet.

  Ansel let out a roar, going on the offensive. He ran forward, but he did not yet raise his dagger. The orc seemed momentarily surprised, then roared back, raising his sword to swing once again.

  But Ansel was ready.

  He dipped down, letting the orc's blade fly overhead, then slashed with his dagger, cutting deep into the orc’s side. The boy spun around, ready to strike again, but the orc was surprisingly fast, swinging its arm and striking Ansel across the face, sending the boy hurtling backward.

  “You managed to land a hit. I must say, it’s almost impressive,” Orion offered, watching the boy slowly rise to his feet.

  “Shut up,” Ansel spat.

  “Feisty,” Orion’s eyes glimmered, but he still sat, continuing to do nothing.

  I can handle this on my own, Ansel thought to himself, feeling the determination building. He shook off the dizziness, letting his hair toss from side to side as he slowly rose to his feet. “Come and get me, bastard!” He taunted.

  The orc immediately fell for it, lunging forward with its blade. Even though it's stronger than me, I’m still smarter! Ansel thought triumphantly.

  Then, the orc’s blade cut deep into Ansel’s left leg, drawing a cry of pain from the boy.

  He had miscalculated, not realizing that the orc hadn’t shown its full speed to him in their previous clash. Ansel stumbled to the ground, slowly crawling backward, wincing each time he was forced to move his leg. The orc smiled, an eerie sight that caused Ansel to shiver slightly. I messed up. How do I– The thought trailed off as Ansel bumped his hand into something. He glanced down, then grimaced as he realized he had run into the rotting corpse of Kortak, the Orc Champion, but at that same moment, a thought popped into his head. “Might as well,” Ansel muttered, raising a hand over the corpse. His opponent was slowly closing in, sure of its victory, and the boy had no time left to think of another plan. If this didn't work, he was surely going to die.

  [Raise Undead]

  Nothing happened, and Ansel stared breathlessly at the corpse, praying for some sign that the skill had worked.

  The orc swung its blade, and Ansel shut his eyes, waiting for death.

  A sharp clang rang out, and surprisingly enough, Ansel wasn’t dead. He opened one eye, then gasped at what he saw.

  The Orc Champion appeared entirely different than when he had been alive. The rotting flesh of the grotesque monster seemed to glow with a green hue, and the monster's golden armor had transformed into a blackened husk, similar to Orion’s, and just like the self-proclaimed Hero of Light, Kortak's eyes glowed with fiery blue flames. The war axe that the Orc Champion once wielded had been similarly transformed, surrounded by a blue aura of energy. It grinded against the orc’s sword, and the much smaller monster seemed to almost gasp at the sight of the former dungeon boss.

  “It worked,” Ansel whispered, eyes widening. He shouted again, louder this time. “It worked!”

  The orc stumbled backward, then snarled, not completely giving up.

  Kortak let loose a war cry, raising its war axe with finality, and swung, severing the smaller orc’s head with a single blow.

  All was silent for a moment as the orc’s body slowly fell, then Ansel rose, stumbling slightly, only just then remembering the pain from the wounds on his arm and leg. However, he stayed standing, staring determinedly at Orion. “You’re an asshole,” Ansel said, but his face couldn’t help but contort into a slight smile. He was proud of himself after all, having defeated his first enemy and successfully resurrecting something.

  Orion shrugged, then slowly got to his feet, as if he were an old man far past his prime. “You fared better than I expected, boy.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Ansel's eyes nearly watered from the praise, something he had rarely, if ever, received during his year of adventuring.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Orion grunted. “You have hardly earned my respect.”

  Ansel snapped out of his trance, growing irritated once more at the cocky Death Knight class skeleton. “You better watch out, if you make me mad enough, I might just sic Kortak here on you–”

  Without further prompting, the Orc Champion charged, war axe in hand, headed straight for Orion. Ansel’s jaw dropped in surprise. “Hold on–”

  But he couldn’t finish that sentence either. With a swift maneuver, nearly too fast for Ansel to catch, the Orc Champion was slammed to the ground, causing the stone floor to crack under the pressure. Orion casually placed a leg on the orc’s chest, forcing the resurrected monster to wheeze in pain, then he tilted his head quizzically. “You truly believe this… thing… could possibly pose a threat to me?”

  “Well, it was worth a try,” Ansel replied sheepishly.

  “Call off your summon before I kill it,” Orion warned, drawing a frightened look from the Orc Champion.

  Ansel gave Kortak a nod, and Orion slowly released his foot, allowing the orc to scamper back towards its new master, glancing hesitantly at the skeleton as it retreated. “It’s OK, buddy, I won’t let the grumpy old man hurt you again,” Ansel cooed, now treating the former dungeon boss as if it were a small child.

  “It’s not your pet,” Orion grumbled. He sighed, then continued. “Your name, boy?”

  “Is that how you ask?” Ansel shot back.

  Orion grew closer, dragging his massive greatsword against the ground as he did. It scraped against the floor, filling Ansel’s ears with a grating scratching sound, but the boy did not cower.

  After all, Orion was his summon.

  The two beings eyed each other for a few moments as Kortak looked on, eyes darting back and forth between the pair.

  Finally, Orion broke the stalemate. “Tell me, what is your name, boy?”

  Ansel crossed his arms, staring expectantly.

  The massive Death Knight sighed exasperatingly. “Please?” He offered, his voice completely flat and devoid of emotion.

  “Ansel.”

  “Ansel,” Orion repeated. “Care to show me the world I once saved?”

  Ansel shrugged, then beckoned for his orc companion to follow as he made his way for the exit. “Why not?”

  “An interesting one indeed…” Orion uttered under his breath, sheathing his blade.

  The necromancer abruptly stopped. He turned, and his eyes held a mischievous glow. “I have a couple of friends to make first.” He stepped closer to one of the corpses still strewn across the boss room, then raised a palm.

  Nothing happened.

  He blinked twice, then looked to Kortak for support, but the Orc Champion simply shrugged. “Don’t tell me I can’t use it now!”

  Ansel stomped the ground in frustration while Kortak attempted to comfort the boy, lowering its war axe and patting its master on the shoulder.

  Orion allowed the mini tantrum to continue for a moment longer, then offered a suggestion. “Perhaps you should check your profile.”

  The boy paused, then brought up a blue screen.

  

  [Profile]

  <>

  Level: 3

  Exp: 75%

  Mana: 2/150

  Race: Human

  Title: None

  Class: Necromancer (Mastery 1)

  Class Skills:

  

  
• Raise Undead (Active) (Tier 2)


  
• Locked (Mastery 2)


  
• Locked (Mastery 3)


  
• Locked (Mastery 4)


  
• Locked (Mastery 5)


  

  Skills (1/5):

  

  
• Mana Reserve (Passive) (Tier 1)


  

  Pinnacle Skill (0/1):

  

  
• Pinnacle Quest Required


  

  “You have no mana,” Orion pointed out.

  “I can see that!” Ansel shouted. “Using Raise Undead on this guy,” He gestured with a finger at Kortak. “Must’ve drained my reserves. I’d prefer not to leave before trying to resurrect the rest of these guys, though… Guess we’ll just sit around until my mana regenerates.”

  “You are free to do so,” Orion laughed, making his way towards the back wall of the boss room. “I will be going this way.”

  “That's a wall,” Ansel commented.

  Orion elected not to answer, swinging his blade with tremendous strength and blowing the wall to pieces. Shards of rock flew outwards, forcing Ansel to dodge out of the way.

  “Is it now?” Orion questioned cockily.

  Ansel’s eyes widened as the dust settled, and he could just barely make out a hallway behind the rubble. “How’d you know that was there?”

  “When you’ve been through as many dungeons as I have, you begin to notice patterns,” Orion replied. He began to walk forward.

  “Wait for me!” Ansel called out, scrambling to follow after his first summon.

  But a chilling call forced the duo to stop in their tracks.

  “I have missed you, old friend.”

  The voice? Ansel thought in confusion.

  “Who was that?” Orion questioned.

  The boy matched the skeleton’s gaze. “You could hear that as well?”

  “You don’t recognize me?” The voice resounded once more, speaking directly to the minds of the beings within the tomb. Its final words were only a faint echo. “You’ll remember soon enough, hero of light.”

  “Impossible…” Orion muttered.

  “What is it?” Ansel asked nervously.

  The Death Knight's next words sent a shiver down the boy's spine. “Tarmak has returned.”

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