Previously, Atlas and the group found themselves in a unfamiliar dungeon.

[Fable Pov]

"Diana!" She was blown into a wall, she should be fine but now the problem is what lies in front which was Atlas.

I was already curious as to what Ms Vera saw in Atlas, I won't tell him what's happening first.

"You bastard!" Another skeleton came and threw a rock at high-speed, not very dangerous to me though.

I easily blocked it and actually flung it back to the skeleton, now all that was left was Atlas and that skeleton behind him carrying Lady Atelie.

"Faith... Take Lady Atelie and protect her!" The skeleton holding Lady Atelie incased herself with rock magic, are they choosing to run?

"I don't know who you are but... If we can talk this out, I'd rather do that!" Trying to negotiate? Its a smart move against an overwhelming strong opponent.

"What if I say no?" I'll just make him come to me... show me Atlas, what Ms Vera sees in you to wear such a worried expression.

"You leave me with no choice then..." What will you do Atlas...

"I surrender!" What? Just like that?

"I'm disappointed... I expected more from you, Atlas..." Maybe Ms Vera was mistaken about Atlas, he isn't some special prodigy.

"I'm disappointed too... that it was this easy to get away!" A Water ball and Fire ball was directed at me and it exploded into a cloud of mist that filled the entire dungeon room.

By the time the mist cleared, they were all gone and even Ms Vera who was beside me on the floor.

"HAHA! They're more clever than I thought!" I guess I'll start chasing them.

[Atlas Pov]

We were able to get away from that weird skeleton, I was able to distract him and retrieve Ms Vera.

"Brother Atlas where should we go?" We were running along an eerie hallway in the dungeon, I didn't know where we were.

"Let's focus on protecting Lady Atelie and Ms Vera first." That skeleton was powerful, he's probably waiting for us to get far so that it'll be harder for himself to catch us.

"Watch out!" Faith almost ran into a spike trap, she wouldn't be injured but Lady Atelie would've been.

"What's happening here?" Thank Goodness! Ms Vera gained consciousness, I'll be able to tell her what happened now.

"Ms Vera! Some weird skeleton has been attacking us since we arrived here, we saw you collapsed on the floor so we took you and ran away!" I wanted to tell her about our time in the other dimension but it wasn't the time for that.

"Weird skeleton?" I placed Ms Vera down and we began to explain the whole situation to her.

"That fool... Fable!" I learnt that the skeleton that blew Diana away and rendered Archer immobile was Fable, a servant of the Necromancer Savien Group.

"I'll deal with him, I'll transfer you the layout to get to the exit." Ms Vera tapped my skull and I instantly knew where the exit was within the dungeon.

"You should g-" The whole dungeon shifted and reformed itself into a giant room.

"Ms Vera... I'm sorry but this will be between Atlas and I... I want to test him."

"Fable... we can do this later. What we need to do is inform Master Savien of Atlas and the others situation."

"But I want to-"

"Hawh~ Lady Vera... has this brat, Fable, been bothering you?" An old woman came from a door that appeared from beside Fable.

"Mama!? What are you... doing here haha~" Fable broke into a cold sweat and put on a smile.

"Don't get all sweet on me brat! You've been causing trouble for Lady Vera and Lady Atelie! I should send you to the 'Cage' again!" I could sense Fable gave an aura of fear.

"Mama! Anything but that! I was just doing this to see what Ms Vera saw in that guy!." I guess Fable can't argue with his mom, I wonder what she did to be able to keep such a weird skeleton like him on a leash.

"Sorry Lady Vera... My son always causes trouble but he means no harm. Come here Fable!" The woman grabbed Fable by the ribs and left the place.

"I'll come and find you again Atlas!" Fable finally disappeared along with the woman, Ms Vera guided us out of the dungeon and we were finally back in the castle.

"Lady Atelie is she alright?" Ms Vera went to Faith and grabbed hold of her gently.

"Yeah... She was right beside me when I was meditating in another place." I just gave a short summary to Ms Vera of what happened to Atelie, she listened closely and didn't interrupt me.

"I see... I'm glad you all are safe, I'd love to know more about it but we need to go to Master Savien now." I wonder what Master Savien has been doing, I can guess that it's been only a few hours since we disappeared.

We arrived at the huge door that led to Savien's throne room, I could smell something weird coming from the room inside.

"Master Savien they came back..." Master Savien was covered in bandages and was being wrapped further with more by a skeleton servant.

"Atlas! Its good to see you safe... you've even brought the others! Tell me their names!" I introduced Faith, Archer and Diana individually while Atelie came up to me and tugged on my leg.

"Cawwy!" I picked her up with a silk cloth and put her snugged tightly in between my arms.

"Eh~ Atlas that's no fair! Always getting my daughter's attention!" It's not like I really want her to come to me, I think it's better for her to be with Ms Vera rather than me.

"HAH! I'm just joking but on a more serious note... Tell me what happened." The atmosphere of the room turned cold and I felt a heavy pressure coming from Savien, how can someone just switch from being so cheerful to a cold expression.

"It'll take a while so-"

"It's fine... We have time." I guess I won't be able to get any rest yet.

"I'll tell you from what I can recall, I have the others to vouch for me too." I gave a very detailed explanation from what happened.

From the beginning of Ms Vera and I sitting in the garden to the weird skeleton, I gave my all to explain it to Master Savien clearly.

I also made sure to hide the fact that I was from another world, I explained the rest as they were.

"Interesting... Atlas, may I see your skull?" Huh? My skull?

"I just want to inspect something." I came closer to Savien and he grabbed my skull, I felt a burning sensation coming from on top of my head.

"Yerperse filthonr!" As soon as Savien uttered those words, the burning sensation faded slowly.

"A curse... A high level one at that, normally the mark would be visible and the symptoms would show very soon. For a curse of this level to be placed on you.... the skeleton you talked about... He/She could be an ancient necromancer from the dark ages."

An ancient necromancer? I've heard and read a bit of the dark ages from a book that Ms Vera got me but I thought they were sealed or exorcised by the Great Heroes.

"More importantly..." Savien bore an even more serious expression now.

"Is my dear baby Atelie okay?~" Savien rose from his throne and tried to hug Atelie but was only met with kicks and cries, I pity Savien for being unable to hug his own child without her crying.

"For the rest of you, Faith, Diana and Archer. We will be giving you a place to stay in the castle, I have deemed it unsafe to use the magic doors from now on."

"How did you kn-" I hadn't told Savien about them yet so how did he know their names?

"Hmph! Of course, I am the Head of the Necromancer group here!" I wonder if I could achieve that ability, it'd come in handy for other skeletons or people.

"We'll discuss the escape plan too, that Ciara person doesn't seem too trustable to me but if young Atlas deems her trustworthy, I will put my faith into your judgement." I'm glad that Savien isn't objecting to Ciara being part of the escape plan.

"Vera, escort them to their room. Put Atelie with them, make sure its baby-proof."

"As you wish, Master Savien." My meeting with Savien had finally ended and we exited the room, the mental stress that I've went through is finally catching up.

We exited the throne room and walked down the castle hallways, I was still carrying Atelie who had fallen asleep.

"Atlas... Take this necklace." Ms Vera handed me a necklace which had a green gemstone attached to it, I wonder if it did anything.

"Its a special magic necklace that will protect you from basic magic and high-level curses, Master Savien gave it to me before we left the throne room." I see... I'll make sure to keep it safe and always on me.

"Don't worry everyone! Master Savien has made one for everyone, he has a lot of treasures and magical items so giving you guys some is the least he could do."

This is great, now I won't have to worry about anyone here being hurt because of that weird skeleton in that pitch black dimension.

I wonder if Ciara is alright... Hopefully she'll be able to get to Milam safe.

"This will be your room, is everyone fine with living with each other or would you like to have separated rooms?" I don't think we'll have any problems staying in the same room since we've lived 6 months together in that dimension.

"No problem, Ms Vera!" Faith seemed pretty excited being able to move around in the castle, well its good she's so excited.

"Atlas may I speak to you privately?" I was pulled out of our new room and was brought out to the castle hallways, is there something important I need to know?

"Are you sure that you're fine?" Oh... Is that what she wanted to ask?

"Yeah, I'm actually feeling better. I've gotten stronger and I can speak more fluently." I could sense a smile coming from Ms Vera though she doesn't have a face.

"Ah! Ms Vera may I ask about a few things?" I remembered about all the things that Faith, Diana and Archer wanted to do when they got back.

"Alright... I'll inform Master Savien and you guys can start tomorrow." Great! We can start properly training and progress quicker, I bet the rest will be happy to hear the news.

"Please take care in the meanwhile... Atlas." Ms Vera and I bid farewell for now, I headed back into my room to tell the rest of our schedule tomorrow.

"Hm?" As I opened the door, Faith, Diana and Archer were beside the door eavesdropping to my conversation with Ms Vera.

"I guess you already know what we're going to do." I sighed and put down Atelie carefully onto her crib, it must be nice being able to sleep without a care in the world.

"Brother Atlas! Let's lay down together!" Faith took Atelie and placed her onto the massive king-sized bed, Diana and Archer slept at the bottom while we surrounded Atelie similar to how we did when we were inside the magic dimension before the accident.

We didn't actually need rest but rather it helped us recover our mana and heal quicker, it also served as a mental break to clear our thoughts.

Now that I think about it, I guess it's been rather disruptive lately.

As in my life, I got transported into a world going through a global war and I was reincarnated into a small skeleton.

Technically I haven't been in this world long, I did spend 6 months in the other dimension but it only meant a few hours in the real world.

I wonder if Ciara is safe, we agreed to stay alive until we can meet again.

I should review the escape plan in my head a few times so that I can explain it clearly to anyone if necessary.

Step one: Once the Behtman Angel Faction starts closing in, that would be our cue to exit the castle and head to the local neutral port.

Step two: Our group will meet an acquaintance of Savien and board a boat to cross to the Dwarven Continent.

Step three: We'll meet, Slade, Ciara's master and head to Milam the Dwarven Capital.

Last Step: Raise and care for Lady Atelie until Master Savien comes to us in our location.

Its very simplified but that's the gist of it, the plan is to escape and find a nice and quiet place to live in.

We're supposed to raise Atelie and not to tell her about where she came from, It doesn't sit right with me but for now I'll go with it

That means... Savien... we're not going to see him for a very long time.

I don't want to assume the worst, I need to prepare for anything as soon as possible.

The only ones confirmed to come is Faith, Diana, Archer and myself.

Savien and Ms Vera will be heading to the Demon's king Castle to discuss a plan, hopefully its a plan to escape and live a peaceful life... I doubt a Demon King that's been waging war for so many years would surrender that easily.

I guess I should educate myself in how to take care of a baby, a baby has a lot of needs don't they...

I should try to think of a specific spot to live in, maybe in the Dwarven Continent?

We should try to find a quiet place with a small population, I don't want Atelie to feel alienated by not interacting with similar looking beings.

How about education? Should I take responsibility and start learning about in-depth of the works of this world, I definitely should.

Who would've thought that I'd be resting and thinking of a baby's future, I'm really craving for some ramen... Do they have noodles in this world?

Ever since I developed my sense of taste, I could taste leaves and dirt but I haven't tried out any food from this world.

Oh! I remember reading about food having an attribute of containing magic, its about the living organism's Vel. Vel translates to Soul in Daradian but Vel sounds a lot cooler so I'll stick with that term.

If a living being's Vel is strong, the magic absorbed into the body increase and so does one's magical capacity.

For example, if we have a few races compared their Vel would go as:

The Elves, they are born with strong Vels and only get stronger as they older and absorb more magic from the food and water they consume.

The Demons, they too are born with strong Vels but compared to the Elves they're ranked in second.

The Dwarves, they aren't born with strong Vels but they can develop it to be comparable to a new born demon's Vel.

The Humans, most of the population is born with a very weak Vel meaning they can't absorb magic from food so efficiently.

There are other strong races like Spirits and Magical beasts, I wonder in what category I am. I should read more of those books, I need to learn more about the Vel process.

Almost all living things have Vel, there are people with Vels but they usually just don't have magic and can't use any magic-related tools.

If I do have Vel, that means my strength can grow quicker. I should ask Ms Vera or Savien when I talk to them again, there's a lot to do soon.

"Everyone... Its time to wake up." Has it turned morning already? I swear its only been a few hours.

"How was everyone's rest?" Ms Vera came to woke us up personally, she's like our mother.

"Good! I dreamt of myself of being the best fighter in the whole world!" Everyone started to chuckle as Diana declared that.

"If you're the best fighter then I'll be the best long-range weapon user!" Archer joined in and put his arm around Diana.

"Is this a competition... I'll be the best magic user then!" Faith also played along.

"Hm... Then as the oldest, I'll be the best older brother!" Everyone stared as I said that, did that sound too cringy?

"You already are to us!" Everyone piled on me, Ms Vera sighed and told us to change into our clothes.

We all were styled in a robe, it all had the mark of the Necromancer Savien group.

"Lady Atelie will be cared for by another caretaker so make sure you focus on training." We were brought to a training hall, Ms Vera then stopped in her tracks and faced us.

"This day marks the beginning of your official training, we will start with the basics before you get to use your actual weapons." I had already given my armor to Ms Vera before this so we'll be focusing on strengthening and magic basics.

"I know all of you share a base of information, you are soul-bonded in a way." Ms Vera started with our very foundation as a group which was our connection.

"There are many different advantages of being soul-bonded... but there are disadvantages as well. One is being able to feel the pain of your fellow soul-bond." As Ms Vera gave her explanation, she touched Diana's skull and we all felt a sting in our bodies at the same time.

"There are people who have skills to affect multiple soul-bonded people, so that would inflict pain to anyone who is soul-bonded to other people." Ms Vera let go of Diana's skull and the pain instantly stopped.

"When you are soul-bonded, you don't even have to use telepathy to communicate and coordinate your attacks and movement together. As it implies 'Soul-Bonded' as if you move as one." I see... the image of soul-bonding is getting clearer for me, I wonder if the rest understood.

"There is also high possibility that if a soul-bonded person gains a skill, the other soul-bonded person may have a chance to gain that skill too. Soul-bonding makes that possibility much higher."

Everyone fell silent when Ms Vera said that...

"Does that mean if one has an aptitude for all magics, the person who is soul-bonded to that person has a chance to acquire that same aptitude?" Faith asked a question as everyone was still thinking of what Ms Vera said.

"Yes... That's right, soul-bonding makes that more likely to happen but its still a very low chance. It depends with the Vel of the person and how strong the soul-bond between the people are." I see so its about one's Vel.

"Vel is the soul and how much magic you can absorb from food and water right?" Archer wanted to confirm the definition of Vel, I wanted to ask too but its good that Archer asked first.

"Most living things have Vel, animals and food that people consume also contain Vel and can be absorbed into one's own Vel." Magic and Vel is connected to one another, no Vel = no magic.

"So do we have Vel?" Diana pointed to herself, Ms Vera gave out a chuckle.

"Both Faith and Atlas can use magic so they have Vel but it isn't utilized to its best. Archer and Diana still haven't developed their Vel properly yet, that is what we will do today."

It does make sense that we should have Vel, after all we are a combination of thousands of souls together.

"Currently, you guys don't have a vessel for your Vel. Normally a person has a living body to house a Vel, all of your body is compressed from other souls but you don't actually have a vessel. As we're speaking, your Vel is radiating out."

A vessel? Isn't our skeleton body our vessel?

"Here let me show you..." Ms Vera took off her robe and showed us a big bright red crystal sphere inside her ribcage, just by looking at it could mesmerize you.

"This is my Vel core, it is to allow me to utilize my Vel efficiently and actually absorb magic from food and water." A Vel core... I want to have that.

"It'll take a few days for normal skeletons to form a physical Vel core, it takes years to develop a Vel core to this size. There is no need to rush, we have plenty of time." I don't know when the escape plan takes place but if Ms Vera says to take our time, it should only be about a year or two.

"Now... Let's start, everyone sit down and visualize forming a crystal ball." I have to visualize again? This should be a bit simpler, just visualize a crystal ball similar to Ms Vera's.

Does the colour depend on the individual? I wonder what my colour would be, maybe white or red?

"Hoo~" Let's concentrate, no more distractions.

"Alright, that's enough." We're finished already?

"Congratulations everyone... You've made your Vel core!" As I looked around, I saw Faith, Diana and Archer with cores of different sizes.

"I thought it would take a few days?" Faith touched hers, she had a green crystal similar to the gem attached to our necklaces.

"For normal skeletons... All of you aren't normal skeletons." I see... That makes sense.

"Look! Mine's green too!" Archer showed his to us and it was the exact same shade as Diana's.

"Mine's green as well!" Faith also showed her Vel core off.

"I bet mine's green as well..." I stood grounded on the spot as I held mine, it wasn't the same colour as the rest.

"Mine is... black." It had an ominous feel to it and it was very cold, why was mine different from the rest?

"Atlas this is...." Ms Vera observed mine and sighed, does this mean I have a weak Vel?

"Colours of a Vel reflect on one's most inner subconsciousness. For example, Green signifies tranquility and compassionate, Red signifies devotion & loyalty." So what does mine mean? Surely black signifies for something good...

"Hmm... Atlas do you want me to be honest with you?"

"Yes..." I don't think it has a good meaning.

"Okay... I'm telling you this, never let this influence your decisions or how you think."

"Yes, I promise." Ahh... The suspense is killing me, just tell me what my Vel colour means.

"Black signifies psychoticism, prideful and ferocious." What the hell? I'm not like that, am I? I used to fight back in high school but I'm not fer- If I think about it... I did go all out once someone actually wants to fight.

"That can't be! Brother Atlas is kind-hearted, he always cared for us in that weird dimension!" Diana and Archer stood up for me, Faith observed my Vel core while they argued with Ms Vera.

"Both of you calm down... I didn't make the definition for the colours, its what most black Vel core skeletons had in common in history books and in records. I know that Atlas is a kind person and he is very gentle with Lady Atelie, I trust him that he isn't that kind of person." Ms Vera managed to calm Diana and Archer, they pouted a lot after though.

"Atlas do you feel pride in your own abilities or have any moments that fit with any of the characteristics?" I do take pride in my abilities back on earth but not to the extent that I'm a narcissist, I don't remember having any psychotic moments back on earth...

"I see... then your Vel core must be a rare case, its possible." Ms Vera ensured everyone that my Vel core must be a rare case, I have been a rare case since I came to this world. Yeah... maybe its just another part of being from another world.

"Alright everyone... Since you've made your Vel cores, we need to make them grow and increase your magical capacity." All our cores were quite small, Faith had the biggest core, Archer was second, Diana had the third largest while I had the smallest core out of the group.

"All of you absorb some of these..." A row of food was presented to us, it was Demon dishes from the Demon Continent.

"This food contains high amounts of magic from demon livestock, take your time to eat." I wonder what it taste like, it doesn't look or smell as bad as I thought.

"Let's eat then..." I started to eat and instantly regretted taking a bite out of the food, it tastes as bad as rotten eggs mixed with the carcass of a dead animal.

"Ms Vera... who cooked this?" I was able to digest it but it had a horrible bitter aftertaste.

"I think... our skeleton chefs? We don't normally eat and Master Savien feeds off other Vels, Lady Atelie drinks milk from our Myaz." I remember that Myaz is like a cow of some sort, its very fluffy and its massive in size.

I had developed my sense of taste along with Faith and Archer, I could see them about to spill the food from the taste. Diana was fine since she didn't develop a sense of taste, she was given all the food that we didn't eat.

"Ms Vera... May I see the kitchen?" Ms Vera guided us to the Castle's kitchen, I expected it to be dirty but it was cleaner than I thought.

"Do you think I could make us the food? I'll use the same ingredients, we can feed some of the leftovers to the Myaz."

I wasn't too confident in my culinary skills but I knew how to make the most out of whatever I had in my fridge, I made homemade ramen like the noodles and chicken broth with sliced pork.

"Give me about a few hours... I'll have enough for all of us." I wouldn't want to eat such bad food, imagining Atelie eating this while growing up makes me nauseous.

"Ah Ms Vera... You should train the rest first, I was the first to wake up so it's only fair to let the rest catch up." I don't mind not training first, I'll be able to catch up later on.

"Alright... Just for today, I'll let you be excused for training." This is good, I'll be able to take my time.

"We'll be back in six hours, see you Brother Atlas!" Faith and the rest went while I stayed in the kitchen.

"Alright... Let's see what we can do..." I had very limited ingredients, I couldn't even link them to similar stuff on earth.

Ms Vera gave me the names and descriptions of the different types of foods, I hope I'll be able to make a decent meal for all of them.

Myaz meat, Beytik eggs, Myzokri oil, there's plenty of leafy looking plants and there seemed to be a few seasoning bottles placed here.

"Okay first we'll get the broth, we'll use the bones off the Myaz as the broth." I got a metal pot and made sure to wash it before placing the water and bones inside, I felt a bit excited to be cooking for people but let's focus first.

"While letting the it boil, let's start to prepare the rest of the ingredients." I gathered some of the plants and tasted them one by one, most of them had similar to the ingredients on earth but some varied in taste and texture.

"Alright! I've prepared everything so far!" I got a substitute for soy sauce, its called Sova sauce and its a bit more orange in colour. I'm glad I was able to find mostly everything for Ramen, I just need to wait for everyone to finish.

"Hm~ That smells good." Savien came in the kitchen and smelled the food that I was cooking.

"Oh! Atlas you were the one cooking? I didn't know you could cook..." Shit... I look suspicious, I never learnt how to cook to Savien's knowledge.

"I- I developed a sense of taste back in that weird dimension, the cooks here aren't exactly the best... But I just wanted to give cooking a shot!" Ah~ I think I messed up, I stuttered too much.

"Well that's good! I haven't had a good meal in a while! I agree our cooks aren't the best! HAHA!" What an easygoing attitude, I wonder if Savien ever gets truly angry.

"If you're cooking is good, I'll leave it to you to take care of Atelie in terms of food! Get some of the other servants to help you get all the food to the table, I'll see you later~" Savien disappeared as soon as he came, his expectations is making me nervous.

"I guess I'll make some side dishes too." I looked around and found a flour type of substance, in the note that Ms Vera gave me it was called Powf.

"I'll make some fried chicken with this and Beytik meat." Beytik was something like a chicken but it had horns and non-hollow bones.

By the time I was finished, the broth was done and I finally completed the ramen.

"I wonder what I should name it... Maybe Myaztotsu Ramen?" I didn't have a good sense for naming things but I guess it'll be named that.

I made Fried Beytik wings and added some breading with flour and Beytik eggs, I also seasoned a Myaz steak with some pepper and other spices.

I tasted it all and it turned out better than I thought, I bet the rest will love it.

"Um... Would you guys mind helping me bring these to the tables?" The two chefs of the castle stood by at the entrance of the kitchen, they seem really shy.

"Ah- Sure..." I wonder if they heard me say that their food wasn't really good.

"If you don't mind, I can teach you guys how to cook these." The two skeletons stopped and started to glow with an aura of delight, maybe they felt embarrassed that I had to cook.

"Sir Atlas may I have a taste of your cooking?" One of the chefs asked politely, I grabbed a small plate and gave a small serving to both of them.

"This is!- It taste sublime!" The two skeletons kneeled and bowed to me, is the food that they've been eating that bad?

"You are a culinary genius Sir Atlas! Please teach us your ways!" Maybe it doesn't taste as good to me since I've eaten better stuff, its good that I started to cook now.

"Let's serve this to the rest before it gets cold, I'll teach you another time." The two skeletons carefully took each dish and put it on a cart, they exited the kitchen with all the food and laid it down on the dining table.

I haven't seen the dining room yet so it really surprised me of how fancy it was, I knew it was a castle but still... the chairs, the tables, even the cloth covering the table had a silk-like texture and a grand chandelier was above the whole thing.

"Wow! This looks great! You've outdone yourself, let's start!" I haven't seen Savien without the mask, I wonder how he looks-

"Mhm! It taste good!" Savien wore goggles so I couldn't see his face, I only saw what his mouth looked like.

"Yeah, it taste superb!" Faith, Diana and Archer started to eat and finished their bowls within minutes.

"Its delicious, it also has plenty of magic within it." Ms Vera seemed quite impressive with my cooking, I'm glad everyone was enjoying.

"I'll give some to Lady Atelie." Ms Vera had brought Atelie from our room and fed her with a spoon, she made sure to use wind magic to cool down the food.

"Ah! Nyam!" Atelie took a big bite of the noodles and soup, some of it fell and dropped on her bib.

"Hehe~ My baby is so adorable!" I bet Savien had heart-shaped eyes when he said that, he really adores his daughter.

"Atlas... Make sure to teach the chefs how to cook this, maybe cook other things too!" I'm happy that Savien enjoyed it, I wonder if that made me look good.

After the dinner, everyone went back to their rooms. Ms Vera had to assist Savien with some administration papers for the war, the rest went back to our room while I had to teach the skeleton chefs how to cook Myaz Ramen and Fried Beytik.

"Alright so you need to add this and we'll be done soon!" We were almost finished with a small serving of Myaz Ramen and Fried Beytik, the skeleton chefs were quite excited to eat more of it since they tasted it a few hours ago.

"Sir Atlas, may I tell you something?" One of the chefs came up to me while the other monitored the broth, I didn't really like being called Sir so I should tell them to address me as Atlas.

"Yeah sure... you can call me Atlas, no need for Sir." I wonder what he needed to tell me.

"Thank you for today!" The skeleton chef got on his knees and bowed, this time it was more for an expression of gratitude than before.

"Hm? Ah yeah its just cooking so its all good." Is that all they wanted to do? Its just simple cooking for me.

"No! Not just that! For getting Master Savien to the dining table and eating a proper meal!" What? Is it that difficult for him to get him to stay there?

"He has been absorbing corpses of rotting demon meat that he kills so that he can save time to do more work but lately it seems like his mood is getting better and has been thanks to you Sir Atlas!" Again with the sir... and seriously? Raw demon meat... Maybe its good that I cooked today.

"We thank you truly..." Both of the skeletons bowed and returned to observing the broth boil, it makes me fell relaxed that I can help people.

"Hah~ Today was eventful..." I had finally finished writing down the recipes and teaching the skeleton chefs, I could finally go back into my room. I should ask the others what they learnt today in training, I want to make sure I don't miss out.

I also noticed Savien sneaking glances at my Black Vel Core, is having one of that colour that bad?

I guess its fine, I'm myself and nothing will change that.

"Oh Atlas~ I've been waiting for you!" That voice... Shit, Its Fable!

"Oi! Don't run away from me!" Though it was a misunderstanding, its his fault for not explaining the situation when we got out of that weird dimension.

"I don't want to fight! Mom- I mean the Librarian would get mad!" That lady from before did have control over Fable... If anything goes wrong I'll just tell Ms Vera or Faith via telepathy.

"What do you want..." I stopped running and faced Fable, I made sure to put some distance between us.

"How rude of me... I haven't introduced myself properly. I am Fable, Protector of the Private Archives as well as a certified doctor. I had only wanted to test you before, to see if you were really worthy of such praise by Lady Vera and Master Savien." Private Archives? Is that part of the Library...

"So... What else do you need..." He's a doctor too, will he examine me?

"I just need to as-" He glanced sharply at my Vel core, was there something wrong with it?

"Come with me... I will need to examine you." His tone changed... its more serious.

"Alright..." I followed Fable through the castle hallways, he asked questions along the way.

"Have you experienced any weird feelings? Nausea or maybe sharp headaches... I heard from Master Savien about your... transporting to another dimension and that weird skeleton."

"Not really... just a few headaches." I answered all of his questions, he seemed deep in thought when we finally arrived at the door.

"We will be entering my room..." When we entered the whole place was covered in dust and books laid themselves everywhere, not a very clean and organized room.

"Sit here." Fable removed all the dust off a chair that had books on it, he then sat on his bed while facing me.

"Don't mind me... I'm just examining you." It feels so weird being stared at, especially by this weird skeleton.

"You were able to obtain your Vel Core today right?"

"Yeah... Its the smallest and the only different one from the rest." Fable sighed and grabbed a crystal ball.

"These are... Vel Cores of old comrades." Wait... What?

"These were before the war started... They were then corrupted by a certain necromancer." Corrupted? I looked at the Vel Cores and saw something like tar spreading inside of it.

"Even mine..." Fable undressed his robe and it revealed a white Vel core with black spots.

"I was able to survive this long thanks to Master Savien's wife, that's why I chose to serve under him." Savien's wife? I think her name was... Lady Aerilyn.

"But yours... Its completely black. Lady Vera might've told you that it signalizes psychoticism, prideful and ferocious but it has another meaning..." Another meaning... Could it be the cases where other skeletons had Black Vel Cores?

"Those same necromancers that killed my comrades... They had Black Vel Cores, you might have a connection to them!" I could feel Fable's anger swell up within him, this might be bad... I should try to calm him down.

"Um..." Damn I don't know what to say.

"Ahem- Sorry, I get a bit mad when thinking of that." Whew~ As long as he doesn't try to kill me, I'm all good.

"Back to the topic... Ms Vera told you that food and water could help you grow your Vel Core..."

"Yeah..." Why is he bringing that up?

"Here!" Fable grabbed my neck and stuffed down one of the Vel Cores down my mouth.

"WHA-" As it entered my mouth I could taste the bitterness of the Vel Core, why the hell would he make me absorb his dead comrades Vel Core.

"Can you feel it? The power?" Power? As Fable told me, I felt stings all over my body, I had memories transfer into my head forcibly.

"Fable you- The war is starting soon- I'm sorry Fable- Damnit all!" These aren't my memories, it wasn't Fable talking either.

"Agh-!" This pain- Its like my whole head is being blended and turned into mush.

"Shaia!" With Fable's word I finally calmed down and collapsed on the floor, this bastard I should smash his skull when I can.

"You bastar-" I saw Fable staring at my Vel Core, what happened-

My core was considerably bigger, it was about the size of a pinhead. If you didn't look at it properly you would've thought I had no Vel Core at all, is this the effects of absorbing another Vel Core?

From the size of a pinhead it changed into the size of a bottle cap, but... I consumed essentially a soul.

"Fable... why the hell did you make me do that!" If I was able to cry i'd be bawling eyes out, the taste was bitter and I didn't want to consume a soul of a person.

"Atlas... Black Vel Cores have the ability to corrupt and absorb entire Vel cores, they enable one to increase power easily. My comrades fell to those bastards, I want to be able avenge them if I ever cross paths with one of those bastards." What did I do, why drag me into this?

"You met one of them, you might've not seen his Vel Core since it was pitch black there. I know it's one of them, fulfill my wish to at least kill one of them for me. Atlas, you might think that you killed the souls of my comrades but no... you're doing them a favor." This bastard! Forcing me to do this!

"You motherf-" I formed my hand to a blade quicker than usual and thrusted it into Fable eye socket.

"Atlas listen..." Tch! No effect, not even a flinch or sign of damage.

"There is no side-effects of absorbing Vel Cores, you don't retain all memories of the Vel Cores. My comrades would've wanted me to make use of this, forgive me for forcing one down you. I really wanted to test if my theory was correct" Fable held my arm tightly, it felt like it could break any second.

"You want to participate in the escape plan but you're weak, its not even funny how weak you are." First stuffing down a Vel Core down my mouth, now you're insulting me.

"I can help you gain power quicker than what Ms Vera is teaching currently, as a doctor I have experimented and have found numerous ways to become stronger. I have tested it on myself but there was a limit due to my Vel Core." I quietly listened as I retracted my sword back into an arm, he caught my attention with growing stronger.

"If I consume those Vel Cores I'll be able to grow stronger?" Fable turned and showed me a book about his experiments.

"Yes... I'm unsure whether Master Savien has informed you but... you have a potential of becoming a Lich." A Lich? The ones that are really powerful?

"With the colour of you're Vel Core, it confirms you have the potential of being a Lich. All Lichs that have been recorded in history have been written to have a Black Vel Core, though its not a very good history..." Hm... I couldn't tell.

"That being said... You'll only take one of these Vel Cores once every 2 days, if you take too many you'll get Vel Disorder and you'll take the risk of being immobile for weeks." Oowah, that sounds really dangerous... I should be careful then.

"So Atlas... I presume you'll be taking part of my plan?" It still sounds sketchy to me, Fable really has a good grasp on how to make people accept a deal.

"If I ever get hurt in the result of your doings, I'll inform Ms Vera and Master Savien." I'll accept it for now, I'll monitor and move based on my judgement of the situation later on.

"Hoho~ Alright then, after dinner time come see me everyday. I will make sure you know everything that I know! Don't worry if you remove Master Savien and Ms Vera, I'm the most capable in terms of battle strength though I don't look like it."

As I shook hands with Fable I felt uneasy though I knew what I was getting myself into, if it allows me to better protect myself then i'll gladly do it.

[To be continued...]