(iv.)

Sara was a common girl growing up in the Saint Theocracy. Now sixteen years of age, Sara had recently registered with the town's adventurer's guild. While the guild was initially loathe to accept her registration, the girl needed a trade and had the potential to become a competent herbalist. It was a shame she had no skill with a needle and thread; pretty, petite, and innocent, Sara would have made a good little housewife.

Despite being a Theocracy the country was not overly religious to outsiders. Her parents had come to the country as refugees during what would become known as the Great Exodus. Was it really only two summers ago?

It had been a massive, Calamity-Level incident: thousands were forced to relocate due to a large scale monster invasion. No notice, no time to pack, no time for goodbyes. The simple village folk fled with no more than the clothes on their back. Shops were left abandoned, farm animals were set free from their pens. Most who survived sought refuge in the nearby Saint Theocracy.

Monsters did not naturally spawn in the small country of the Saint Theocracy. The very nature of the holy land pushed out all monsters except for the undead. Curiously, undead were neither considered as monsters nor evil just for existing like in most other countries. In fact, most undead had been commoners such as herself at one time... or so they said. They were simply victims of circumstance. Cursed.

Commoners like Sara and her family never saw a good or bad undead. Any undead, for that matter. They were legendary existences. In fact, undead beings might as well be a king or queen in another country for all the relevance they had to her.

Well, that was what she liked to think before she stumbled upon the incapacitated Holy Knight in the ruins. A large frightening black wolf skeleton monster stood over the poor knight, practically salivating.

Oh no, it's going to eat him!

She ducked behind a low wall, clapping her hands over her mouth.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no!” She whimpered. “I'm unarmed! All I have is my walking stick and the basket I was using to collect Holy Moss in the ruins! I don't have any magick or combat abilities to my name at all! I thought there were no monsters in the Theocracy!”

There were no guards to yell to for help outside the city walls. The skeleton monster turned its head towards her and started growling menacingly.

Sara screamed.

Panicked, she dropped her basket and chucked her walking stick overhead. It sailed past the downed Holy Knight and over the wolf's head, disappearing from view over the cliff.

Oh no, is this how I die? This can't be the end!

“Bark, bark... awooooo...o...o...o...o--”

In a bizarre twist of fate, the wolf monster turned tail and chased the stick off the ledge of the mountain. Belatedly, she realized the wolf's bone tail was wagging. She stared at the empty space where the monster had stood, gobsmacked.

“I... but... really?”

She heard the clatter of bones smacking into the rocks below. Hesitantly, she crept over to the cliff's ledge and looked down. The skeleton monster had smashed into a million pieces.

“You're kidding me, right? No way did that just work!”

Lazarus awoke with a splitting headache, status screen blinking into focus once more before his eyes:

Status:

Name: Lazarus

Race: Lesser Lich

Sex: Male

Class: Necromancer

Skills:

Death Companion – Summon a Unique intelligent companion (evolving skill), Level 1

Summon Jet-Allows you to summon Death's Companion Jet back to the summoner. Level MAX

Create Lesser Undead – Create small animal undead that can follow basic orders, Level 1

Pain Nullification – You do not feel pain, Level MAX

Mana Manipulation – Allows you to control mana within yourself and the world. Level MAX

Spell Craft – Allows the user to create custom spells of magical aptitude.

Appraisal – Allows user to appraise information about anything connected to them or the world around them. Level 1

Spells:

King's Great Sword – Create a better than average sword with aesthetic appeal. Mana cost: 500 per sword. If the sword is destroyed the mana will be returned to the caster. Level MAX

Holy Knight's Armor – Garb the caster in full plate armor with holy aesthetic. If the armor is destroyed the mana will be returned to the caster. Mana cost: 800

Level MAX

Magic Aptitude: Metal

Major Stats:

Level: 1 Elite

Heath: 1,000/1,000 Mana: 1,300/0001

Mana Regen:1 per hour

Minor Stats:

Strength:10, Dexterity:7, Intelligence:15

Wisdom:15 Charisma: 0 Luck:15

Lazarus groaned with this new information, a ghoulish rattle.

Urgh, it feels like my skull has been split open with an axe! So it seems that mana is the equivalent of mental power in this world. If you have none left you are unable to maintain consciousness. This must be a limitation of the body I'm in now. I'll keep that in mind. I'd prefer to never deplete my supply like that ever again.

No sooner had he dismissed the screen out of his vision that he saw a young girl throwing a stick over a cliff. And Jet.. Jet just blindly dove after it.

Idiot!

Really, it took all his self control to not to jump up and scream in frustration. His companion disappeared unceremoniously over the side of the cliff.

CLACK! CLATTER! CRUNCH!

Lazarus didn't need to look to know his beloved pet had perished. Could a skeleton perish? Well, perhaps not.

Rest in pieces, my boy. For now.