Seated around a wooden table, the old man inspected each of us in turn. His cane rested in the hands of one of my skeletons, the other guarding the door. My Identify skill revealed his name to be Dell Whisperford, level 14.

“Mr. Whisperford, my guild would like to occupy the mercenary position of the town for several reasons: my unique skillset allows me to supplement guards and other military functions, and our willingness to do whatever it takes to protect this town will allow us to handle the problems you might not want to think about.”

“Well, Mr. Zero, I don’t really have a problem with that. I witnessed your speech outside and am aware of your actions upon first entering our realm. You are the first guild of only immortals to be formed, and as such I am limited in our options. I know you’ll receive a notification informing you of the details, so let’s just formalize it now,” he said, reaching forward to clasp hands. I grinned and did the same, a window popping up in front of me.

Congratulations, Guild Leader!

Your guild, which has yet to be named, has been officially named as the Mercenary Guild of Darnley. Name your guild or suffer permanent loss of fame. With the Mercenary Guild position comes certain benefits and responsibilities.

Benefits:

Immediate 1000 fame points 1000 gold paid to the guild monthly Judicial Authority in Town Plot of land with building Limited local messaging system privileges Access to a communitable

Responsibilities:

Must supply 10 guards at all times. Must meet dungeon-clearing quota per month Must have a receptionist after 1 month

The responsibilities and benefits seemed reasonable to me, but the lack of a name for a guild made me want to punch someone. After some quick deliberation, we decided on "The Shadow Regency."

“Mr. Whisperford, I would request that our land be near the graveyard. Preferably adjacent to it,” Tom requested. Dell nodded sagely, “I think that can be arranged. How quickly can I get those guards?”

“Very quickly,” I assured him, “After a visit to the graveyard, I can raise the guards immediately. The only other thing I’d like to know is where to access the communitable.”

“I’ll have Marci show you. She’s the receptionist,” Del told us. With that, he stood and retrieved his cane. With a respectful nod, he walked out the door. My group followed after a moment, descending down the stairs to a waiting Marci. She pointed us through a door and shut it, leaving us alone with the communitable. It looked like an ordinary table with a large piece of parchment stretched across the middle. As we approached, it lit up like a TV. The main menu was currently visible, and I tapped on the option titled “Ongoing Discussions.” A list appeared numbering in the hundreds, and I gawked at the sheer quantity of procedurally-generated NPC discussions. The game had just gone online! Each one had a grey title, but none appeared that interesting.

“Gentlemen, shall we start recruiting?” I asked with a grin.

“Hell yeah! With each of us as an officer, expansion of our resources and guild can only be beneficial!” Gabriel smiled. Tom disagreed, predictably.

“What kinds of people could we hope to attract? I mean the game literally labeled us as evil!”

“Correction: the game labeled us as aligned with death, not evil,” Aaron pointed out. I appreciated the backup, and Rich was soon on board as well.

“Whether they’re good or not, it can’t hurt to get our name out there. Also, if that guy’s outburst was any indication, everyone received a notification telling them that we created the first guild with an evil alignment. That’s bound to draw enemies towards us, and we need numbers in order to keep up. Those are my thoughts, anyways,” Rich stated with a shrug. He was right, and he’d said it well. People often underestimated Rich just because he was quiet. The discussion pretty much over, we moved on to how we were going to attract new recruits.

Deciding that simplicity and honesty were the best choices here, we ended up posting a simple ad for those that wanted power in a new world ripe for the taking. Specifically, we want loyal individuals willing to do whatever it takes, or whatever we ask. Having finished our ad, we stood and walked out of the building.

“Guys, can you check out the guild interface and walk over to the building? Check it out, make sure it’s secure, and then stay put for a moment. I’m going to go back to the crypt and raise more cursed skeletons.”

“Alternative plan: we go get new clothes, then we do what you just said,” Greg proposed. I nodded, looking down at the ragged holes in my clothes.

Less than an hour later, we were kitted out in all black clothing. I was wearing a loose-fitting black linen shirt and loose black pants, similar to those in that old Disney movie, Aladdin. Gabriel, Rich, and Drew had gone for a similar outfit, but Drew’s was a bit tighter. Aaron, Greg, and Tom had gone for a more protected look: tighter black clothing with light leather armor over top. And of course, we all had black cloaks wrapped around our bodies, the cowls pulled up to conceal our faces. Now, we looked intimidating. I thought about getting armor for my skeletons, but they were already bulky enough, and I wanted to conserve my gold.

I ventured to the crypt once again in order to raise more cursed skeletons. After unsummoning the guard I’d left there and the two normal skeletons I still possessed, I summoned 8 more cursed skeletons. My continued use of the skeleton spell brought it up to level 2. 10 skeletons now walked behind me, each one exuding death mana. I walked towards the cemetery, keeping an eye out for my compatriots. I stopped at the entrance to the graveyard, looking to either side for a clue as to which building was my new base. The building on the right was rickety and half-falling down, while the building on the left was large and clean. I sighed in resignation before walking towards the building on the right.

After knocking several times on the door, I growled in frustration. Pounding on the door, I yelled for them to let me in. When nobody answered, I pulled up the guild interface. Under [Owned Property], I saw a building listed as 16C. I searched the front of the building until I found a faded 18C. I jogged back to the cemetery, noticing the 17C embossed on the gate. I passed the gate and continued to the building on the left, where I opened the door without issue. A knife appeared next to my right shoulder, skewering the door frame.

“Oh, it’s you!” Drew exclaimed, rushing forward to retrieve his dagger. I looked around, brushing off my frustration at nearly being killed by one of my friends. The interior of our new base was even nicer than the outside; there was a large table in what appeared to be a dining area, and there was a counter near the door for reception. There were cabinets for storage and a long room with 10 beds. Presumably, guards would sleep here. Luckily, our guards required no sleep, meaning that we could host up to 10 guild members in this building alone!

I laughed with glee, a maniacal sound that cut off abruptly as I heard my own voice. I cleared my throat and straightened my clothes. Drew stared at me for a moment before coughing uncomfortably.

“Well, everyone else is downstairs in storage. Greg ran out to get some swords and arrows, but he should be back soon. According to the system clock, it’ll be dark in less than an hour. Tom is preparing maps so that we can route the guards,” he informed me. Excellent. Tonight, we planned; Tomorrow, we unlocked our classes.

An hour later, ten of my minions marched to their respective positions. An hour after that, one had already been killed by some player. I groaned inwardly. Clearly, we would need to discipline the population. Luckily for us, I got a notification with the player’s name when he killed the minion. I sent a zombie to dispatch him, then got ready for bed. As I closed my eyes, one final message drew my attention like a reassuring hug before bed: [Zombie Mage] has killed player John Tacoma!

In the morning, I checked my notifications. Three more of my minions had died, meaning I’d need to create new ones. On the bright side, this also meant I would progress in my research quest! A quick check showed I only had two more! I was so close to my goal, I decided to just summon the remaining two. I dismissed two of my skeletons, quickly summoning replacements.

Research Complete!

Advancing down the path of the sage, you have completed your first Research! Your spell [Create Skeleton] has evolved into the spell [Create Cursed Skeleton]!

Further Bonus:

800 experience 2 Class point

[Create Cursed Skeleton]

Type: Active Spell (Summon)

Level: Beginner(2)

Cost/Cooldown:

90 mana/60 seconds

Casting Time: 10 Seconds

Duration: Until Dispelled

Creature Stats:

14 Constitution 10 Dexterity 6 Wisdom 6 Intelligence 15 Strength 6 Charisma

Description:

The user reanimates a pile of bones, creating a skeletal humanoid to do its master’s bidding. This spell will last until dispelled or the skeleton is destroyed. The user cannot reanimate a destroyed skeleton. Skeletons and other undead cannot be healed by spells affiliated with Life magic. Verbal commands must be given until this spell reaches a higher level. The skeleton will have the base stats of the spell and can wear equipment as though they were a human aligned with Death magic. Upon death, the skeleton will temporarily transform into a Specter. The Skeletons created with this spell are [Cursed].

Incredible, but I now had a fairly large issue: my spellcasting level was 0! Not the skill, but the innate value relative to my class--which I don’t have. Or at least, I didn’t a moment ago. Black energy poured from my body, somehow darkening the room of the crypt. I stood a little taller, and my skin seemed to draw taut across my bones. I gasped at the feelings coursing through me, and my fists clenched involuntarily. I received another notification, accompanied by the sound of a gong.

Congratulations, Dark One!

You have reached level 10 through the completion of Research!

You have received 5 stat points and 2 class points!

Your new class is Necromancer!

Rarity: Unique

Spellcasting Score: 8

Skill Tree: [...]

Bonuses:

Control Limit is now Wisdom/2 Death spells are 5% more effective Access to Necromancy and Death rituals [Gaunt Visage] ability: people find you creepy yet charming Access to more Research! The ability to order Undead Minions using only your mind! The ability to communicate with all undead Your mana is now Death Mana. As long as your class remains unique, you will be given double class points.

I winced as white-hot pain flashed through my mind, the feeling of my neurons rearranging themselves and data being hard-coded into my brain. Knowledge of my minions’ locations, and their current actions filled my brain. I innately understood aspects of anatomy, and the lock that briefly locked away my new spell faded away. Power coursed through my veins, and my mouth stretched into a predatory grin. Immediately, I opened the skill tree, eager to check out what I might one day unlock. Unfortunately, I could only see a small portion of it. In fact, only one block was even available for purchase! I willed it to be mine, and it did. [Sense Corpse Material] was a new passive that told me if and how many bones or corpses were nearby. After getting this info, four more sections lit up.

The new lit sections appear to be: [Blight Bolt], [Spirit of Fear], [Curse of Weakness], and [Create Bone I]. Each one costs point, and I currently have three left. Blight Bolt is an offensive spell, clearly the buffed [Mana Bolt]. Spirit of Fear buffed a minion I control to move 10% faster and deal 2% more damage.Curse of Weakness is a debuff that makes enemies do 5% less damage, take 5% more damage, and move 5% slower. Create Bone I, the skill most in line with my goals, allows me to absorb bones I find, then create bones of any shape or size by paying with Bone Essence. Presumably, if I made enough of them, I could create my own skeletons!

After thinking about it for a moment, I made my decision and purchased [Create Bone I]. Doing so lights up another three options: [Custom Minion I], [Create Bone II], and [Mana Imbuement]. This time, each block cost two Class Points instead of one. Without hesitation, I bought the Custom Minion block. I could create custom minion templates that took up only one control slot! Immediately, I enter into the skill. Everything around me seems to lose color, until my vision is reduced to greys and blacks. Everything except my hands is invisible, and even my hands are just bones.

No instructions appeared, but I implicitly knew what to do.The image in my mind slowly took place in front of me. Bones formed, assembling themselves according to my will. I could see the weight of each bone, so that I could make sure I didn’t use any bones I can’t create. Luckily, I could make designs using bigger bones, I just couldn’t create the bones themselves.

Ever-present in my vision were the creature’s stats. I played around with the torso a bit, making it broader and thicker. The bigger the bones, the higher the constitution and strength stats. I tried combining several rib cages into one giant body, but I couldn’t do anything once my minion-slot counter jumped to two.

I worked for an hour, always conscious of how much time I’d spent on this. After finishing, I inspected my handywork. My creation stood at around 4 feet in height, with long limbs that ended in serrated spear points. It had moderately short legs with relatively large feet. The Bone Essence cost totaled out to be 750 (1500 with my Create Bone level). My little monster had a measly 6 Constitution, but it had 12 Strength and 15 Dexterity. Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma all sat at a measly 3, but I was happy with my new monstrosity.

I absorbed the remains of my dismissed skeletons, gaining 1000 Bone Essence per skeleton. Expending all of my 3000 Essence, I created two of my spear minions and received a prompt:

Congratulations, Inventor!

The barbs and serrated edge you equipped your creation with have given its attacks a 40% chance of applying a bleeding effect!

Excellent! I wasn’t sure if I’d get a prompt or if it would just happen, but I had hoped that the barbs on the spear-arms would cause some internal injuries. I grinned and raised cursed skeletons to fill my remaining minion slots. I sent out the guards to their patrols, then reconvened at the guild hall. As I walked, I had my spear skeletons dashing in front of me. Players glared at me, but I paid them no heed. An NPC greeted me with a wave, and I threw him a benevolent smile. Power ran rampant through my veins, and the attention went straight to my ego. I opened the guild hall to find my guildmates waiting by a table.

“Well gentlemen, let’s get you your classes.”