Chapter 2: The Beginning
BANG!
A dull thud suddenly erupted. The head of a goblin—baring its fangs and waving a beast bone as it tried to climb the Rotten Fence—burst like a watermelon smashed by a sledgehammer.
Scarlet blood mixed with milky-white brains splattered everywhere. Some of it clung to the broken planks of the fence; some even spattered the hem of Gu Su’s clothes.
He didn’t even bat an eye. Instead, a confident smile spread across his face.
[You have slain a weak goblin (Level 1) and gained 7 Experience Points.]
The cold system notification rang out, and Gu Su’s smile widened.
A scene like this was nothing to an old ’Game Worker’ like him, someone who had spent years grinding away at the bottom.
An exploding goblin was nothing. In the past few years commanding Zombie Miners in haunted mine shafts, he’d seen twisted Resentful Spirits and half-eaten rotting corpses that were a hundred, even a thousand times more nauseating.
Besides, this fresh corpse was his true objective.
Gu Su raised his hand, pointing at the still-twitching goblin corpse. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he commanded in a deep voice, "Soul Summoning Technique!"
Pale gray Undead Energy surged from his fingertip, like invisible tentacles that instantly coiled around the corpse.
Amidst a series of CRACKLING sounds from grinding bones, the goblin’s flesh and blood visibly shriveled and dissolved, finally bursting with a POP into a puddle of stinking, bloody ichor.
A sallow-yellow Skeleton crawled out of the bloody puddle. A faint, ghostly fire flickered in its empty eye sockets. It stood there unsteadily, looking exceptionally frail.
[You have successfully cast Soul Summoning Technique (Level 1), obtaining Skeleton (Level 0) x1. Soul Summoning Technique proficiency +1.]
[Skeleton (Level 0, Summoned Creature): Experience (0/100), Attack 1, Defense 1, Life 10, Skills: None]
This thing couldn’t even be considered the most basic of Skeleton Soldiers; it was a walking pile of bones at best.
And yet, this one frail Skeleton was enough to scare the wits out of the remaining few goblins outside the fence.
Their clamorous shouts of "eat meat!" died abruptly. Their small, greasy green eyes filled with terror. The stones and branches in their hands fell to the ground with a CLATTER, and they turned to flee into the dense fog, not daring to look back.
"Trying to run?" Gu Su sneered, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Kill!"
’Why would I let such a hard-won meal just walk away?’
At his command, the Skeleton immediately gave chase with stiff, CLACKING steps.
The Skeleton wasn’t fast, but it was tireless. It soon pounced on the slowest goblin, pinning it to the ground.
However, the Skeleton’s frame was too light. The goblin thrashed wildly, its sharp claws sending dirt flying, and it was on the verge of breaking free.
Seeing this, Gu Su vaulted over the rickety fence without hesitation. He rushed forward, picked up a sharp stone from the ground, and smashed it down hard on the goblin’s head.
SQUELCH—
With another dull thud, the second goblin was dead.
[You have slain a weak goblin (Level 1) and gained 6 Experience Points.]
Gu Su bent down and picked up the Beast Bone Stick the goblin had dropped. He weighed it in his hand for a moment before casually handing it to the Skeleton beside him.
"Take this. Keep chasing. Bring me back at least one corpse!"
The ghostly fire in the Skeleton’s empty eye sockets flickered. It obediently took the Beast Bone Stick, shouldered it, and turned back into the swirling fog, its figure quickly vanishing.
Gu Su, meanwhile, dragged the fresh goblin corpse back to the fence and tossed it heavily into the graveyard, as if he were throwing out the trash.
After doing all this, he didn’t immediately go back. Instead, he crouched down, his gaze falling on the spot where the Skeleton had been created.
A puddle of goblin flesh and bloody mud remained, reeking of decay.
"Can’t afford to waste a single thing now," Gu Su muttered to himself.
He picked up a sharp shard of rock and carefully scraped up every last bit of the flesh-caked mud. He even scraped the bloodstains off the fence, gathering it all up and tossing the entire lot into the graveyard.
’This Desolate Graveyard is lacking in everything right now. This bloody mud, imbued with Undead Qi, might be the best nourishment for it.’
Just as Gu Su tossed the last handful of bloody mud into the graveyard, the CLACKING of footsteps echoed from within the dense fog.
The Skeleton emerged, shouldering its Beast Bone Stick and slowly dragging a blood-soaked goblin corpse in its bony grasp.
Gu Su nodded in satisfaction, took the corpse, tossed it into the graveyard, and waved a hand at the Skeleton. "Continue."
Without a moment’s hesitation, the Skeleton turned and vanished back into the fog.
Only then did Gu Su climb back over the fence, enter the graveyard, and begin to process his spoils.
He selected an ordinary Level 1 Empty Tomb and tossed the two goblin corpses inside, side by side.
A shocking scene unfolded.
The moment the corpses landed, the dirt at the edge of the Empty Tomb began to churn as if alive, automatically surging toward the center of the grave pit.
In just a few moments, the open grave pit was completely filled in, forming a small, raised mound.
More bizarrely still, the earth in front of the mound sank down, then slowly rose back up, forming a ragged black stone tablet.
There was no name on the tablet, only a single line of crooked, blood-red script that glowed eerily in the dim light:
Skeleton Squad (2/10).
Gu Su nodded, satisfied.
Before coming here, he had spent a good deal of time investigating the details of the Graveyard Demon.
As the most basic base for an Undead Mage, its Gravepile mechanic was actually quite standard.
Bury fresh corpses, and it would convert them into corresponding Undead based on the Gravepile’s Level.
Level 1 Gravepiles produce Skeletons, Level 2 Gravepiles produce Walking Dead, and Level 3 Gravepiles can spawn the lowest-tier Ghosts.
Although the type of Undead produced might occasionally vary due to the specifics of the corpse, it would generally not deviate from this framework.
’This is the most basic model.’
’At most, if a corpse had been stronger in life, or was wearing weapons and armor, the resulting Undead would have a more solid foundation.’
’They won’t be like that first Skeleton, which was no different from a brittle frame of bones.’
Right now, Gu Su couldn’t be bothered with such minor details. He raised his hand, pointed at the new gravestone, and commanded in a deep voice, "Come out!"
The instant his voice fell, the raised mound of earth began to emit a series of soft CRACKLING sounds.
The loose earth automatically rolled to either side, revealing a pitch-black opening beneath—it looked just like a slowly opening mouth.
Immediately after, two sallow-yellow Skeletons walked out of the Gravepile with stiff strides. Ghostly fire flickered in their empty eye sockets as they came to a halt, standing obediently before Gu Su.
[The Empty Tomb has automatically used your Soul Summoning Technique (Level 1), obtaining Skeleton (Level 0) x2. Soul Summoning Technique proficiency +2.]
Once the Skeletons were clear of the pit, the churning earth silently closed up again, reverting to an inconspicuous little mound as if the entire scene had been an illusion.
Gu Su paid it no mind. His gaze swept over the two new, bare-handed Skeletons. He turned, picked out two serviceable Beast Bone Sticks from the scattered "spoils" on the ground, and tossed them over.
"Take these." He pointed toward the churning fog, his tone carrying an indisputable command.
"You go, too. Remember, after you kill the goblins, bring their corpses back to me completely intact. Don’t leave a single drop of blood or scrap of flesh behind!"
The two Skeletons tilted their heads, their bony hands clutching the Beast Bone Sticks tightly. They gave Gu Su a slight bow, then set off, one after the other, into the vast white mist, their figures soon vanishing without a trace.