The priest - a man called Adam, was more than just mad hearing Nicolai’s verdict, but as he didn’t want to undermine his commander's authority, so he remained silent. Only his face - now bright red and with a few pulsating veins on his head - betrayed his mood.

“Having this matter resolved, we still need a squad that would be willing to take him in, as I presume, Adam won’t volunteer.” The noble smirked. “My Lord, accepting and executing your orders is one thing, but…” The priest started, yet seeing the raised hand of Silver Lion he quickly became silent. “Fret not, dear friend, I would never force you into working with creatures that your faith considered impure and unholy. I am merely trying to find a use for him… William also wouldn’t have much use of him, would you?” Saying that he turned his face toward the man with a bow, which until now remained quiet. “No, Your Grace, I considered it briefly, because as an undead he does not emit warmth, he does not breath, doesn’t require food nor sleep and can remain in one spot without moving - that would make him a perfect scout, but just seeing how he moves and acts… No, he is unfit to become ranger nor scout. He needs weeks, if not months of training. If you would ask me, I might send a few of my instructors to train him, but as he is now… let’s just say that this would be dangerous for the whole unit.” His eyes were moving all the time as he talked.

Gazing everywhere - at my weapons, at my armor, toward the tent’s entrance, on the ground, or to the sides.

At first, I thought that he was mad, but the realization came soon - he was constantly scanning his area. Me, if I were to jump and attack. The tent’s entrance - if someone was eavesdropping. Sides and bottom of the tent - to… to be honest, I have no idea why he did that. I heard that some undead can bury themselves in the dirt, waiting for prey to approach… maybe he was looking for them? I couldn’t know that.

“That leaves us with Godric and Friedrich.” The master of the House noticed. “I sense some lower mana flow within him, but chaotic and primal, yet it is there for sure. After some guidance he could become one of the corpus wizards, not to mention that I could learn from him on a daily basis… And we are always short on assistants! We need people to help with potions, gather materials, keep the track of notes and rewrite them, or simply clean! Having one that doesn't get tired would surely be a blessing!” The tired face of the mage sparkled with enthusiasm as he tried to convince his commander to send me to him. “If I may…” The last of the captains - Godric, stepped forward “... we suffered some casualties, warriors which I lead are always the first line of defense. It has been a while since a recruit managed to pass his probation and either live, not quit, or still be able to continue fighting. And Aster here, as a skeleton, is pretty much immune to every stabbing weapon, with good armor and shield he would be an impenetrable wall shielding the second line. I also saw him fighting on the field, he knows how to use his sword…” Pride would fill my heart if I had one “... ok, that could be an exaggeration, but at least he is on the level of cadets! With some training, he might just make it… Also, one of my subordinates appears… interested in him.”

Aaaand just like that the little confidence I had was just trampled.

“And how do you feel, Aster? Any particular squad you want to join?”

Was I being allowed to choose? Or merely tested? Better play it safe

“As long as you would help me to deliver justice, I am willing to comply with every task you would give me. But, if my private opinion is what you wish to take into consideration, then… I would gladly join the squad of Captain Godric. With all due respect, Captain Friedrich, I tried using magic once before - when I was still living. Let’s just say that I am not really fond of those memories. On the other hand, I did start my swordsmanship training, and I am more than eager to continue it.” I finished bowing my head toward the Mage.

For a moment or two I considered joining his squad, actually, I changed my decision at the very last moment. It was him that I owed my life… Un-life, as he himself suggested to spare it and instead let me join their ranks.

“...but I am still willing to help every other Captain. That includes you with your studies.”

At least this much I could do to thank him for his intercession.

“Very well. In that case, all that remains is formality…”

Nicolai moved from behind the table and started approaching me, as he did, he unsheathed his sword.

“Kneel!” Godric whispered through his teeth quietly, so only I could hear him.

I quickly did as he told, dropping on one knee and bowing my head slightly.

“Aster, the Undead. The Order of Silver Lion acknowledges your bravery and achievements and is willing to welcome you within its ranks. We might only be adventurers, but we hail from the noblest of knights, and as such we have a credo that we follow. Do you, Aster the Undead, hereby pledge your… un-life, to always follow the codex: To protect the innocent. To protect the poor and suffering. To serve everyone, even those who might be deemed unworthy of being served? To always walk the path of purity and justice, no matter how hard it would be?” He asked, turning his sword with hilt toward me. “I swear.” I said putting my hand on the blade. “Dedicate yourself to the noble and just path, prove yourself one more time, and we will gladly call you a Brother, for now, Arise, Cadet Aster… No, wait. We will need another name for you… Any ideas?” For a short moment, he turned toward his captains. “Using his name or anything that might resemble it would be unwise, as the people who he hunts might find out his identity…” Fredrich quickly noticed. “He will need to constantly hide his identity and face… it is not uncommon for errant knights on a quest to abandon their name as a sign of self-sacrifice - I am nobody until my vow is fulfilled… And I intend to make him a shield-bearer and taking into consideration he is rather tall… Silver Mountain? Silver Wall?” “He is still a cadet, so he can’t take the name of the House just yet… But, his bones are really very white, so what about Alabaster?” The scout-master joined the conversation. “Let’s keep it simple. Alabaster Blade, it will be sufficient for now.”

For the whole duration of this conversation my guts, if I had any, were twitching uncomfortably in embarrassment. The nicknames! Why the hell does nobility love nicknames so much!? Untainted! Crimson Avenger! Flower Blade! Acck my non-existent heart hurts thinking of them!

You are already part of nobility! Most of you have family names, which most of the commoners would not (and never) possess! Why do you need to call yourself the Head-Splitter! That would be a fitting name… FOR A CHEAP VODKA!

“Arise, Cadet Alabaster Blade!”

Holding in my cringe, I did as I was told, raising a blade that was given to me. It was supposed to represent being willing to fight for the just causes, and using the blade which was given to me meant accepting the one who handed to me as my sovereign.

Captains (except for one - guess which one) nodded their heads with approval. I look at the blade for a while longer, admiring its craftsmanship, before handing it back.

“Now, Aster, you need to excuse us but we will be talking about our next moves. We will call someone to show you around the camp… ah, and for now, keep the helmet on, tomorrow we will find you a more fitting armor.”

The Grand Commander was about to call his squire when the mage once again decided to disturb his liege.

“If you would be so kind, my Lord, I am not needed here either. I am a strategist, and right now you need a tactician. I would like to excuse myself, leaving all the hard work to Godric and William. Also, there are a few really urgent matters I want to discuss with Ast… Alabaster.”

Nicolai appeared quite surprised, apparently, that didn’t happen often, but once again with a quick nod, he gave his permission. Mr. Friedrich must have been really respected if he had this much freedom of action.

“We will talk later, Alabaster.” Godrick gave me a strong pat on my shoulder as I was preparing to leave.

I put the helmet on, bowed my head for the last time and left the tent, the magician quickly followed after me.

Only then did I feel all the tense air I was keeping leave my body (metaphorically, since there wasn’t quite anything to keep in after all). All this time I managed to hold my poker face (regardless of mimic, because, you know, my face - wasn’t quite there) and now the entire pressure disappeared.

First, I was mind-controlled, then I woke up in the middle of battle, thanks to luck and an ally (may you find rest, Alexis) I somehow managed to beat the Undead Lord, just to be judged the very next minute.

What a crazy ride.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I want to start observations right away.” The mage didn’t beat around the bush. “Of course, how can I help you…” I faced him after shaking my head to the sides, trying to get rid of tempting sensations that clouded my mind.

Many people and undead died. Some of the dead managed to find an essence, somewhere. To me, everything around was covered in a semi-transparent mist of pure life force evaporating from the bodies.

A feast was all around me, and I was starving.

“You appear to be distracted, care to tell me the reason?”

It’s because your fallen comrades are like an open buffet for me. Care if I feast on them?

LIKE HELL I COULD ASK HIM THAT! NO!

I need to keep it a secret. I should feast only on monsters, and even then when they wouldn’t be looking. For now, I need to ignore it, preferably by getting myself busy with something until the whole essence would perish and dissipate naturally. How long would that take? How should I know?! Up until now, I feasted almost right after killing. Hours? Days?

“It’s nothing. Maybe I am just mentally exhausted… In the end, just an hour ago someone else was in my mind and…”

He picked up the same crystal he used during the gathering, the one that showed negative intentions or lies. By now, it looked as if within its pure, transparent structure a small cloud of shadow was trapped.

“Lying, are we?...” He didn’t appear to be surprised “... You are hungering, right? That's a fascinating subject. Scholars are already quite sure that Living-Dead are feasting on life essence that they tear off the living. I am not Adam. I want to understand. Why do you need it? It was proven that your kind can exist without consuming it for centuries, if not millennia, yet you still yearn for it. Why?” His tone was calm, his face didn’t betray a single emotion.

The feeling of uneasiness once again took over my mind and body. My little charade might not be over just yet. Was he still testing me? Or maybe…

Maybe he really was genuinely interested in learning about the undead?

I turned my head slightly away as if trying to avoid eye contact.

“What am I supposed to tell you? That I want to feast on them? Just a few days ago, I also was a human! Do you think I don’t find it disgusting?!”

The crystal didn’t change. I really hated the very idea.

“Condemning you is not my goal - all I want is to understand. And observe.”

Did he just…

“Did you just say that you would let me feast on them?!” “They are already dead. It’s not like you feast on their souls, they are probably on their way through the Mist… It’s just an energy that is being released at the moment of death. They don’t need it, and mages can’t use it… unless they are necromancers that is. Enjoy your meal… but first, tell me WHY.”

I hesitated. I could just tell him that one of the reasons and keep rest to myself, in the end, the crystal reacts only to lies, if I twist the reality, or just say one reason and stay quiet about the others… Or…

Or… I might get myself an ally.

“There are many reasons. One: being undead feels… empty. It is painful. You are not allowed to forget that you were deprived of something. It’s like a hole in your heart, that constantly sucks the heat off your body. When I feast, I once again feel… full… maybe even happy? It may also be like alcohol, if I keep on taking more than I needed to soothe the pain, I feel ecstatic. My mind gets clear, I see every blade of grass, every leaf on every tree in the forest. For a few short moments I feel as if I am attached to the entire world, I feel like a part of something greater than myself… And, last but not the least, it makes me stronger. Literally. If I suck enough, my bones get denser, my senses get sharper…”

I was speaking slowly, hesitating, wondering which word should I say next.

“How long does the effect of strengthening remain?” “It is permanent. It is like climbing on the ladder…” “What happens when you reach its peak?” I didn’t notice when he picked out a small piece of paper and started writing things down as we were slowly walking through the camp. “I am not sure… I prefer not speculating until I get there.” “Fair enough… And what happens when you don’t feed for a longer period of time?”

I hesitated. Again.

“I don’t know, I never hungered for too long. When I did, I hunted some wild animals.”

The sound of words being scribed down kept on resonating in my skull.

“So, you can feast perfectly fine on animals? Yet still, sapient undeads tend to attack other sapient races, humans and elves while ignoring animals, do you know why?” “Quality versus quantity perhaps? It differs depending on many factors… though I am not really sure. The race is one of them. I… feasted on one human before, he was one of the people responsible for my death…” I quickly added justifying my actions “... well, the second death. He came to check on my body, possibly to hide evidence, shortly after my second resurrection. The essence I gained from him… I reckon it was equal to more than ten wild rabbits? And, if I had to measure his essence to other humans… he was garbage. In every aspect. His essence was weak…” “So in the eyes of undead even the weakest humans are more valuable than animals, this is why undead tend to prioritize them even though they are risky prey rather than feasting safely on animals… Interesting. I was about to ask you how can you compare the value of human essences if you feasted on only once before… but…” “I can see it. Smell it. Sense it. It is calling me…” I disturbed him “... just one of your soldiers emits more than... “ “How do you feast?” He wasn’t quite interested in this part, huh? “Just by standing next to the source and focusing on it.” “You don’t need to physically eat, or something?” “I needed when I was a walking corpse.” “So it varies depending on the sub-type. That’s enough theory for today. The bodies will soon be gathered and put in a single tent, before either being buried or sent back to their families. Of course, no one can get it without Captain’s permission. I want to study it a little more, all possible changes. The bodies will be checked if they carry the taint of an undead. Usually Adam does it, but I feel a little daring today. What do you think, will Sir Nicolai allow me to do it instead? It is still a lot of work for just one, old me, I might need an assistant.”

This man...is scary. More than that, he is truly frightening. He perfectly balances on the edge of the dark arts without actually crossing the subtle line, he also appears to slightly manipulate his comrades - even if in the end everything he learns would serve them, the ways of obtaining these appear to me as more than unethical.

Right now he believes he is using me as well. Hah! He is more than right… but in the meantime, while obediently following all his orders and feeding him as much information as possible, I also will try biting off as much as I could.

Partnership based on mutual exploitation. I can work with that.

I did my best to hide from other adventurers for the next two hours, some of them constantly working in the camp threw me a few angry looks as I was clearly lazing around. One of the priests even approached me and asked whenever I was injured and needed help.

Normally, he should have sensed that I wasn’t a fellow mortal, but either because of our location, or because of the aura of all the dead soldiers around, or maybe due to the presence of bodies of undeads which were still around, or all three combined - their judgment was clouded.

I just replied quickly that I was ordered to await further commands from one of the captains, and I was left alone.

Friedrich was punctual. With a quick nod, he ordered me to walk behind him as we entered the colossal tent at the edge of the camp.

“You must make sure that we will not be disturbed. We will carry on with a delicate spell, the effects of outside interventions might be catastrophic.” He said to one of the guards near the entrance.

The man only responded with a quick “Sir, yes, Sir!”

And once I got inside, I was almost suffocated. The density of fleeing, decaying life, its sweet smell filled my mind.

“Take your armor off, I want to see every change that would occur.”

I had no reason to refuse, therefore I quickly dropped my entire equipment on the floor before stepping further into the tent, eventually sitting in the middle.

“Start whenever you are re…”

I started as he was still talking. The blissful sensation almost deprived me of my very mind. The essence was too strong. Too pure. There was no way that weak-ass me could lie my hands on it in any other situation.

The feast started.

You absorbed the essence of [Human Warriors - Level 14] *You weren't present while essence was being ripped* - Essence that you will gather will be reduced by [25%] You obtained [180 EXP] You had [37/100] [EXP] before. You can't consume past your [Limit] - [117 EXP] will be wasted You have leveled up - you are now [Level 3] Name: Asteruse Race: Animated Skeleton [Lower Undead] [Self-aware Variant] Level: 3 [0/200] Attributes: STR: 18 (+2)

VIT: 22 (+2)

END:∞

RFX: 17 (+2)

DEX: 20 (+2)

INT: 16 (+1)

WIS: 11 (+1)

SPI: 4

There was more, so much more...

You absorbed the essence of [Human Knight - Level 16] *You weren't present while essence was being ripped* - Essence that you will gather will be reduced by [25%] You obtained [225 EXP] You had [0/200] [EXP] before. You can't consume past your [Limit] - [25 EXP] will be wasted You have leveled up - you are now [Level 4] Name: Asteruse Race: Animated Skeleton [Lower Undead] [Self-aware Variant] Level: 4 [0/350] Attributes: STR: 20 (+2)

VIT: 24 (+2)

END:∞

RFX: 19 (+2)

DEX: 22 (+2)

INT: 17 (+1)

WIS: 12 (+1)

SPI: 4 The essence is being gathered at an unusual pace [Life Swallower] effect will be temporarily used You will be draining the essence from the surrounding area - if present Essence detected Essence Absorption in process You have swallowed [100 EXP] You have swallowed [100 EXP] You have swallowed [100 EXP] You have swallowed [50 EXP] You have leveled up - you are now [Level 5] Name: Asteruse Race: Animated Skeleton [Lower Undead] [Self-aware Variant] Level: 5 [0/500] Attributes: STR: 22 (+2)

VIT: 26 (+2)

END:∞

RFX: 21 (+2)

DEX: 24 (+2)

INT: 18 (+1)

WIS: 13 (+1)

SPI: 4 You have reached the [Breakthrough] point of your [sub-race] After meeting requirements you shall rank up to a higher life form You have swallowed [100 EXP] You have swallowed [100 EXP] You have swallowed [100 EXP] You have swallowed [100 EXP] You have swallowed [100 EXP] Requirements have been met Generating Ascension Dossier