My mana bar slowly ticks down as Create Undead soaks the bug’s body. A different kind of screen appears.

Necronomicon (P) Activated.

Acidic Mutant Centipede (LVL5) Detected.

(2) Possible Undead Forms:

Skeleton (LVL3)

Zombie (LVL4)

“That's it? No other information? How am I meant to make a good decision?”

I wish I had any idea which choice was better. Is the zombie going to be slow and falling apart? Is the skeleton going to be brittle? Do bugs even have bones? I thought they had exoskeletons, but maybe Create Undead somehow circumvents that. Something about the idea of a skeletal bug made me chuckle, and isn’t magic meant to be fun? I selected Skeleton and watched as the spell transformed the bug. The corpse glowed with silver and gold energies as the exoskeleton pulsed and shrank. The legs and pincers turned bone-white while the eyes and antenna melted away. The body condensed down, no longer a bulky insect filled with organs and acid, now it resembled a human spine. Granted, it was six feet long and had a short leg attached on either side of every vertebra. The creature didn’t have a tail, just a single spike right after the final two legs. Its head was just a skull with two eye sockets and sharp pincers attached to where a mouth should be. It turned towards me, and I reflexively recoiled away.

“Fuck, you are hard to look at.”

Create Undead Successful!

Do you wish to name Undead?

I took a look at it and laughed as I said the first name that came to mind.

Acidic Mutant Centipede (LVL5) -> Skelipede (LVL3)

“Vanta, meet our new buddy Skelipede.”

I watched as he sniffed, prodded, and even licked Skelipede.

*Dead.Not.Dead*

*Foe.Buddy.Now?*

“I’m not sure exactly how much you know Vanta, but I’m a Necromancer, which means I can raise the dead to fight for me. He’s not like you and me; my spell considers Skelipede as mindless undead. Either way, we have another addition to our party.”

*No.Mind.Party*

I nodded to him and saw that creating Skelipede took 30 mana, dropping me down to 123. Still more than enough to cast a couple of spells if needed. I’d be back to full in twenty-fiveish minutes. I laid down against one of the weird warm trees and told Vanta he could explore if he wanted to. I wanted to experiment and figure out the ins and outs of commanding my undead. Vanta assured me he’d be nearby and yell if I was in trouble.

Thankfully I never ended up needing him. No monsters showed up to harass or attack us. I spent a few hours learning that Skelipede could only follow basic verbal commands. I couldn’t issue commands with my mind, and it only responded to words like protect, attack, follow, and stay. It’s still helpful to have the undead instead of not having it. I want to get more corpses and explore what my spells can do. I yelled for Vanta to come back, and he didn’t look like he had gotten into any trouble while gone.

Vanta, Skelipede, and I walked back to our shed as the magic light in the sky grew darker. Even though nothing has happened at night, I still feel nervous about what could be out there. I can’t believe that the only monsters in the dungeon are centipedes. One of the system messages I got was that monsters would grow stronger the longer the dungeon existed. All of the centipedes I've fought so far have only been level five, so I can kind of guess that they don’t get stronger by the day. It’s probably more gradual than that. I had another glorious feast of granola and water before trying to sleep. I told Skelipede to protect Vanta and me while we slept. Vanta came over and curled up with me. His fur felt soft against my arm, and I had to resist the urge to pick him up. I fell asleep with Vanta next to me, and Skelipede pointed at the door watching for intruders.

I woke up the following day and sent Vanta flying. He must have climbed on top of me while I was sleeping. Skelipede was still in the same position as last night; I guess undead don’t get bored.

*Vanta.Throw.Why?*

I apologized to him while shaking all the dirt and dust off himself. I decided to hold off on eating because I was getting low on food and water. I need to find some other sort of sustainable nourishment today. I’m down to four bottles of water and seven granola bars. I don’t know how long that will last me, but I know it can’t be more than four days. The idea of getting incredible magic powers, fighting off deadly monsters, and meeting a God just to starve to death would be so embarrassing. Not that I would even be alive to feel embarrassed, but it's the principle of it. Vanta and I leave the shed with Skelipede walking a couple of feet in front of us, just in case something shows up. I’m sure he doesn’t mind dying for the cause.

The three of us stood in front of the forest as I tried to psych myself up. I left behind the backpack with the rest of my food just in case today doesn’t work out. I was never interested in strategy games or anything like that, so we had no proper battle formation. We were just walking forward while grouped up in the case of a monster. We walked for fifteen minutes straight and found nothing, not even a trace of a centipede.

“Hey Vanta, you sense anything? We’re deeper in this forest than ever, but I haven’t heard any clicking or scuttling. We can’t have killed all of them, right?” I said while chuckling nervously.

*Quiet.Nothing.Here*

*Smell.Weird.Next*

“What do you mean smells weird? I don’t smell anything.”

*Bad.Dirty.Death*

I took his warning seriously and crouched low to the ground as we approached whatever he smelled. We kept creeping forward until I heard voices. They were too far away to understand what was said, so we inched closer and closer. Vanta warned me that whatever he smelled was coming towards us, so we hid behind one of the trees. As they approached, the voices grew louder, and I realized it wasn’t a language I had ever heard before. It was rough sounding and made up of grunts and squawks. I smelled them before I saw them, and Vanta was right. It smelled like rotten garbage and unwashed bodies. They looked about as good as they smelt. Three bald green creatures were wearing dirty rags, each about three feet tall and looking malnourished. Sharp yellow teeth that matched their eyes and a squashed nose. Each held a weapon in their claws; one held a spear while two had clubs. One word came to mind; goblins. They were known for being nasty, violent wretches. At least that’s how I knew them in all of the books and movies.

I didn’t like our odds of this fight, not when Vanta and I struggled against a single bug before. We had to escape before they found us. I took a step backward to leave and stepped on a branch. Fuck. Why can’t I just once not fuck everything up? All three turned towards our tree, and the one with the spear said something in their language. I picked up Vanta and held my breath, hoping they wouldn't find us.

*Sol.Fight.Enemy*

*Coming.Find.Bad*

I know he’s right, but I’m scared. These aren’t just wild animals; they use tools and can talk. The only thing we have going for us is they don’t know how many of us there are. I whisper to Skelipede to attack the goblin when he gets to the tree. Putting Vanta down on the ground, I get ready to fight. My MP is full, minus the mana that Vanta takes, and so is my HP. I brace myself for combat and swear that never again will I forget a weapon. My heart feels like it will burst out of my chest as the goblin investigates the tree. The smell is overpowering at this range, and I swallow the bile back down my throat. Skelipede attacks immediately, I can’t see what's happening, but I hear pained screams from its victim. The other two goblins haven't moved from their spot and are laughing at the one being mauled.

This is our chance. Vanta sprints out at the two of them, and before they can react, I cast Curse-Pain on the spear user. It drops its spear while screaming in agony. Vanta jumps at the other one and goes for its throat. Its screams die out as Vanta jumps off of it, holding a chunk of the goblin’s bloody throat in his mouth. It tries to clamp down on the wound to stop the bleeding, but it’s just too much. I ran over to where the goblin’s club had fallen and quickly grabbed it. I walked over to the spear-user writhing around on the ground. The cries were too loud. Even if I couldn't understand their language, I could tell it was in immense pain. I stood there, aware that I only had a few minutes until the curse would fade.

For a moment, our eyes met, and I brought the club down on its face. A sickening crunch accompanied the goblin’s nose breaking. It was bent at a ninety-degree angle and bleeding profusely. Its screams were somehow even louder than before and sounded worse because of the nose. Adrenaline pumping through me, I took another swing, and the wood cracked against its cheek. I dropped the busted club to the ground and turned around to check on Vanta and Skelipede. Both had finished their battles, and I fell to my knees, panting. The high of combat was leaving me, and I looked down and saw my hands and clothes covered in blood. I threw up onto the ground as I tried to slow my breathing.

In. Out. In. Out. Remember your coping skills, Greg. I felt Vanta come over and nuzzle against my chest. The softness of his body was helping me fight my panic attack. We laid there with him on my lap until I felt better.

“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you, buddy.”

Sol.Safe.Trust.

Vanta.Fight.Win.

My two companions had brutalized the goblins; the one Skelipede fought had a massive hole through its chest. Vanta had eaten the rest of the other goblin’s throat, leaving its head decapitated. No amount of internet browsing and shock videos prepare you for what a dead body looks like after a fight. The spear-user’s body began glowing slightly before disintegrating into motes of light. In its place was a necklace; made of rotting teeth. At this point, I had a bunch of screens waiting to pop up, so I allowed them.

You have defeated: Level 7 Goblin.

Experience awarded!

Your Familiar has defeated an enemy: Level 6 Goblin.

Experience awarded!

Your Summon has defeated an enemy: Level 6 Goblin.

Experience awarded!

LVL UP!

LVL UP!

LVL UP!

You have unspent stat points available!

Congratulations! You’ve found your first piece of Loot!

Loot: Only available in dungeons, there is a small chance upon defeating a dungeon monster that an item will spawn from its corpse. These include magical armors/weapons, trinkets, and even rare materials.

I picked up the Loot left behind and yet another screen popped up.

Goblin Tooth Necklace: Proof of a goblin's battles. Grants +2 to STR.

I put the necklace on and distributed my stat points; ten into Intelligence and thirteen into Resolve. The final point went to Dexterity. I hit accept, and my mana spasmed. My head began to ache as my insides burned. I stupidly forgot the warning I had received. I could hear Vanta’s concerns, but it was like I was underwater. It was muted and distorted by the pain I was experiencing. I begged for the release of unconsciousness, but it never came. Eventually, it ended, and I saw that Vanta and Skelipede were guarding my body. I felt Vanta’s happiness and relief through our bond. I slowly stood up and stretched my body.

“Come on, guys, we’ve got corpses to raise.”