I should call myself Spook from now on. Referring to myself as Sean is too confusing, especially when I meet other players. Looks like they can see my username just like how I can see theirs.

Sean Fox was gone and Spook was here to play now. If he was going to be a skeleton, he had to immerse himself in the game. He didn’t feel any remorse for killing the two players. They had attacked him first anyways. It was kill or be killed, and he was definitely not about to accept the latter. Spook had a feeling PvP was going to be unavoidable in the future, especially with how he looked.

I’m a skeleton for fuck’s sake!

Crag’s health bar finally emptied, and the same flash of light covered the man’s body.

[Opponent Crag Miner has been slain. Items will now be distributed.

+5 Glory Points. Open the PvP tab to check your rank]

[Skill Masteries have increased. Open the Status tab to check.]

Crag’s body disappeared from Spook’s chokehold and was replaced by a looting bag and a gravestone. The bag floated above the ground and spun in place, inviting Spook to open it. He grabbed the bag and a screen popped up, displaying his spoils of war.

[PvP Bag (Tier 5)

Bounty Token x1]

Bounty Token? It looks like a currency of some kind.

Spook figured that if he could bring up the logout screen by focusing his mind, he could also do the same for his other tabs.

[Inventory

X1 Class Box (Restricted until Level 5)

X1 Bounty Token (Can be exchanged at any PvP Master in any Town/City)]

Spook’s intuition was correct. The bounty tokens seemed to be some sort of PvP reward and he could trade them in at an NPC inside the town. The tokens likely held some sort of value since PvP was high risk and high reward. The risk being death and the reward being special loot.

He moved over to where Stymnmaker had died and grabbed that loot bag as well.

[PvP Bag (Tier 5)

Bounty Token x1]

It’s the same thing. Higher tier PvP bags probably give better rewards. Maybe the tiers have something to do with the level of the player.

He also checked out the gravestone, curious as to what it said.

[Grave of Crag Miner.

Resurrection time remaining: 2:24]

Spook could only guess that the resurrection timer told a person how much time they had left to revive the person. Either that or it was the time until the dead person revived back in town. He figured that if he ever died, he would find the answer to his question.

Speaking of dying, he hadn’t even explored any of the game’s mechanics yet. He knew nothing about his character, his skills, or honestly anything for that matter. All he knew was that he had killed two people before he had even killed his first monster.

It's honestly quite absurd. Sean thought. Whoever heard of PvP being the first thing a new player does when they join a game. Inside Online is something else. Or maybe, it’s Mark Staun that's something else.

Then again, he didn’t really fit into the new player category. His character was obviously stronger than a typical beginner, even though he was level one.

Spook decided to take a look at the game’s interface that was in the bottom right of his vision.

[Status / Inventory / Path / Social / Quests / World Event / World Map / More / Logout]

He checked the Path tab first, recalling that the system had told him he had unlocked something special.

[Path

Race: Skeleton

Please select one Path to follow. Warning: Choosing a Path is permanent and cannot be changed for the entirety of the game.

---------------------------------------

Path of the Blade

Path of the Magi

Path of the Ranger

Path of the Fighter (Special Unlock)

---------------------------------------

Spook checked out each Path’s description.

[Path of the Blade

Choosing this path will unlock melee oriented skills. The Path of the Blade grants the player increased Strength. A strong close-combat build oriented around weapons and high physical damage. Good for Single Target DPS. Bad for AoE.

Available Path Upgrades/Perks:

Warrior/Thief specializations (Unlocked at level 10)

+10% proficiency in melee weapons usage

===========================

[Path of the Magi

Choosing this path will unlock magic oriented skills. The Path of the Magi grants the player increased Intelligence. A powerful long-range build oriented around spell casting and high elemental damage. Good for AoE. Bad for Single Target DPS.

Available Path Upgrades/Perks:

Healer/Mage/Summoner specializations (Unlocked at level 10)

+10% proficiency in magic weapons usage

===========================

[Path of the Ranger

Choosing this path will unlock range oriented skills. The Path of the Ranger grants the player increased Dexterity. A nimble mid-range build oriented around hybrid physical and elemental damage. All-rounder for Single Target DPS and AoE.

Available Path Upgrades/Perks:

Archer/Gunner specializations (Unlocked at level 10)

+10% proficiency in ranged weapons usage

===========================

[Path of the Fighter (Special Unlock)

This is a hidden path accessible only by Entity Accounts. Fulfilling special conditions will unlock special paths.

A high physical or elemental build capable of inflicting huge bursts of damage within seconds while also maintaining the ability to traverse across the battlefield with ease. Struggles against long-range combat and excels in close quarters combat.

Special Condition Fulfilled: First kill ever is a player kill.

Available Path Upgrades/Perks:

Pugilist Specialization (Unlocked at level 1)

Build Specialization (Unlocked at level 10)

+10% proficiency in bare-handed attacks]

This was exciting. There were a variety of Paths to choose from. The only downside was that he would have to stick with one Path for the rest of the game. Luckily for him, there was a Path that resonated with Spook. The Path of the Fighter.

The Path of the Fighter was perfect for him. He enjoyed engaging in close-range combat and he enjoyed fighting barehanded. Would he become some sort of martial fighter? Maybe a boxer? The possibilities were endless.

Spook reached out and selected Path of the Fighter, confirming that he wanted to choose that path.

[Path of the Fighter chosen.

Pugilist Class has been unlocked.

Pugilist Skills have been unlocked.

Mana has been replaced by Energy.

Stamina has been added to Stats.

Next Available Path upgrade at Level 10.]

A load of information filled Spook’s vision. He read through every line, trying to understand what was going on. It seemed that he was now classified as a Pugilist, and he had skills associated with them. The blue mana bar was replaced by an ivory energy bar and the next path upgrade was nine levels away.

Next, he opened up his Status tab.

[Status

Username: Spook

Race: Skeleton

Lvl 1

Health: 41/50

Energy: 100/100

Stats

Strength: 9

Vitality: 5

Stamina: 8

Dexterity: 6

Intelligence: 6

Unique Titles and Abilities

: Being a skeleton is rough. They are considered the weakest undead mob and are farmed incessantly for their materials and starting EXP. But things have changed, for you are now known as the Scaling Skeleton, capable of surpassing the limits of your skeletal brethren. Take control of your destiny and spread your name throughout all of Inside Online! This title is unique to only Player Spook.

Effect: Grants the player special traits based on the things they consume.

(Rank 1): Grants the player +5% damage reduction to physical and elemental attacks.

Pugilist Skills

(Rank 1): Cost 20 energy to use. A punch capable of inflicting moderate damage. Chainable with Guillotine.

(Rank 1) Costs 30 energy to use. A devastating kick capable of inflicting high damage. Killing an enemy with this skill will provide 50 energy.

Skill Points Available: 0]

Now it made sense as to why he had taken reduced damage. His bone frame ability was completely off the charts for a beginner. Having permanent damage reduction was insane, and it looked like it was only at Rank 1. But beyond that, his title was even more intriguing.

Spook the Scaling Skeleton. It had a nice ring to it. But the effects were even nicer. He had never heard of an ability that let him grow stronger as he ate things. It sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie. Well, to be fair, he was playing a VRMMORPG.

Nevertheless, he wanted to try out his new abilities and skills as soon as possible. But first, he needed a disguise. Spook knew he couldn’t go around entering towns as a skeleton. He would probably be eliminated by the NPC guards before he could so much as step foot inside.

A thought occurred to him as he looked around clearly for the first time. No wonder he had been placed underground, he was in a god damn cemetery. Moonlight shone down on top of grey tombstones and dusty crosses, brightening up the grungy plot of land.

Those two players were digging around for something. Maybe there’s something I can find from the graves here.

He picked up Stymnmaker’s shovel and walked over to the nearest tombstone.

“Looks like it’s my turn to grave rob. Let’s hope that I was the only living skeleton buried,” Spook chuckled to himself as he plunged the shovel into the dirt.

But it didn’t travel far, for the shovel suddenly met an obstacle with a dull thud.

Speak of the devil.