With firm hands on his back, the two men forced Samuel to step forwards. Despite his racing mind, the two men showed shallow concern. They were too invested and couldn’t be bothered by Samuel’s ‘episode’. Together the two men drove Samuel through a bend in the cave. The faint sound of chatter invigorated the dreary duo. However, the trio stopped when breaking past a narrow curve in the cavern.

Standing before the trio stood a large arched doorway. The cobbled stone arc had a large, ambered, colored torch at its peak. A small and round wooden table, accompanied by several chairs, sat with food and drinks through the archway.

The strange scene was enticing to the two men behind Samuel. They had exhausted their supplies during their trip and were starved and dehydrated. They wanted to rush in and investigate the table, but they didn’t move.

Human instincts were strong. There was an uneasy air coming from the archway. Even the dimwitted duo could feel something was off and watched hesitantly as they slowly approached the entryway. They used Samuel as a human shield, stepping through into a large room.

The natural cavern walls instantly transformed into smooth cobbled brick. Warm, pleasant amber replaced the sickly green light. The group was so taken aback by the room that they belatedly realized the black figure on the far side of the room.

“This is too much.” The more petite man muttered as he crouched behind Samuel.

His companion shot a glance before turning towards the figure. “H-Hello.” The man reached out and slowly approached. He was nervous but determined. He quickly flinched back as the figure turned around.

The figure swirled around and grew. The three men swallowed as the dark figure was a beautiful woman in a long black dress. The men scoffed at themselves. The cavern had them so worked up that they failed to see the obvious.

The woman twirled to face the three men and placed a hand on her hip. She had long, straight black hair that morphed into bright lilac curls. Her hair parted and traveled down her shoulders down to her waist. Like shining amethyst, her almond-shaped eyes examined the three men.

She studied the embarrassed men before her thin lips formed a coy smile. “You scared me.” She let out a short laugh, but the three men stood silent.

Despite the cold reception, the woman continued. “I understand the journey here can be difficult, but don’t worry. This is the final step!” She stepped over and sat in one of the many chairs surrounding the table.

“Let’s start with something simple. Why don’t we introduce ourselves while waiting for the ritual to start?” But, despite her smile, Samuel felt immense apprehension. Something about her felt truly off to him.

“My name is Morrigan. I’m a silver rank Summoner in the guild. I’ll oversee you three until we return to the guild.”

The two men looked at one another. Then, after having what seemed like a mental conversation, they both sat at the table. They grabbed a loaf each from a basket of bread in the center of the table.

“I’m Brock, and this is my younger brother Bryan.” The larger of the two men spoke. He then quenched his thirst with one of the many waterskins on the table. Bryan waved his hand as he continued to stuff his face.

There was a moment of silence before Morrigan and the brothers both turned towards Samuel. Samuel was silent and confused. The situation was too strange for him to accept what was happening. Guilds? Silver rank Summoner? Morrigan’s introduction added more questions to Samuel’s list.

Belatedly realizing the awkwardness of the situation, Samuel clumsily answered. “M-My name is Samuel.” Morrigan made a slight nod, and her eyes met Samuel’s. She could already tell Samuel was different.

“Samuel?” Samuel shivered to hear Morrigan’s inquisitive tone. “Seeing your armor, I’m curious. It’s quite nice armor for an initiate. Where did you get it?” Morrigan’s smile curved upwards as if signaling to Samuel that she knew he was different.

“I-uh…” Samuel stammered, taking a step back as he tried to think of a lie.

“I think he’s some rich guy. He didn’t even have a camp outside the cavern. He most likely had an escort. Lucky him.” Brock said with a condescending tone.

Morrigan shot a powerful gaze at Brock. She had wanted Samuel to dig himself a hole, only for Brock to provide an easy out. Then, clearing her throat, she pressed Samuel again.

“Why don’t you take a seat, Samuel? You seem tense. Why not take a moment and drink some water?” She motioned towards the chair next to her, rotating it towards Samuel.

Trying not to gain any more suspicion, Samuel timidly grabbed a water skin. Morrigan's presence was overbearing as she watched his every movement. Samuel held the heavy leather sack in his hands. He fumbled nervously with the cork stopper before taking a sip of water. His face tensed as the water was room temperature and had the taste of leather. It was disgusting. However, he couldn’t afford to spit it out and swallowed the putrid water.

Morrigan let out a little laugh as she watched Samuel. Then, she leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs.

“So, Brock, Bryan. It’s uncommon for both brothers to be accepted as potential initiates together.” Morrigan showed much less interest than when she questioned Samuel.

“Y-yeah,” Brock gulped down his food. “Our recruiter said the same thing. He made the exception since we live so far away. We’re from Lindow. He told us it would be a while before the recruiters made it out that far and that we should come together.”

“Lindow?” Morrigan was genuinely surprised. Lindow was a small village on the far western side of the country. Aside from grain exports to the capital, Lindow was a city many forgot existed. Nevertheless, Morrigan found it interesting that two necromancer candidates were scouted there or that a recruiter even went as far as Lindow.

“Yep, Brock and I have been waiting to become necromancers. We couldn’t believe the recruiter told us to meet here!” Bryan’s excitement was palpable.

“Hahaha….” Morrigan laughed. “And what about you?” Her sharp eyes snapped on Samuel, quietly munching on some bread.

Samuel’s eyes widened as it dawned on him. There was no way he could lie his way out of this. He knew nothing. Samuel was speechless, causing Morrigan’s smile to grow. She leaned forward with anticipation.

Thankfully for Samuel, Morrigan’s concentration broke as Brock and Bryan launched from their seats. Morrigan watched as the two men jumped and crawled into the corner of the room. Her perplexed gaze followed theirs, which led to the entrance. Her tense shoulders fell with relief.

To Samuel's surprise, the spider and lizard from before had crawled through the entryway and hissed. Morrigan didn’t feel any fear and instead rose from her seat. She approached the beast with a smile.

The men watched as the woman knelt before the aggressive beasts. However, they were astonished. Despite their hissing and croaking, the beasts didn’t attack the woman. On the contrary, it seemed she soothed them.

“No reason to be worried. These are my babies.” Morrigan rubbed the slick dorsal scales of the lizard and used the back of her hand to stroke the spider’s abdomen.

Brock and Bryan were unconvinced and maintained their distance. Samuel was too scared and exhausted to move, so he sat silently in his chair.

Morrigan rose and looked at everyone with a confused expression. “I told you I was a summoner. These are my familiars. They had told me you three were on your way here earlier.” She then motioned for the two monsters to where she had crouched earlier.

Because of Morrigan, the three men hadn’t noticed, but slivers of meat where she had crouched down. It looked like strips of jerky had been split into two piles. As instructed by their master, the lizard and spider sauntered over to the piles and began eating.

The entire situation was outrageous, yet Morrigan treated it as usual as someone feeding their pet. She watched the beasts eat like a proud mother before returning to her seat.

Following her movement, Samuel finally noticed the far side of the room. The room wasn’t a box but had a full balcony behind him. Unfortunately, Morrigan’s grasping presence had distracted him from his surroundings.

“There’s a balcony?” Samuel thought out loud.

“Of course, so that we can watch the ritual.” Morrigan spoke while she focused on her ‘babies’. The two monsters had started fighting over the remainder of the food, but Morrigan stepped in. “Stop fighting! Behave, or I’ll banish you!” She threatened with a stern look.

Samuel walked over to the balcony, and his eyes immediately widened. The view was unbelievable. An extensive clearing had been carved out of the limestone. Rooms identical to Samuel’s circled the clearing, maybe 8 in total. These rooms had their groups of initiates all talking and eating. Each room’s balcony was about 2 meters from the stone floor.

However, it wasn’t the vast space of carved stone that made Samuel speechless. Instead, it was the enormous statue in the center of the area. It was massive. The figure was a perfect depiction of a man. It had a bald head with a noble face, broad shoulders, and defined muscles. The man looked somewhat familiar to Samuel, but before his thought could finish, Morrigan appeared next to him.

She leaned over the balcony, revealing her cleavage. A long slit in her dress displayed her legs for everyone to see. It made Samuel uncomfortable. She was someone who used her appearance for fishing attention. Morrigan giggled as he noticed Samuel staring and spoke up.

“I informed Damian that you three were on your way, so they should be ready to start soon.”

Samuel couldn’t help but feel uneasy. The ritual. What kind of ritual would the necromancers have? Samuel didn’t want to know the answer, so he admired the statue.

His eyes followed down the statue. He was impressed by the craftsmanship. Despite moss and matted spiderwebs, the intricate details maintained their forms. However, Samuel’s heart sank as his gaze reached the statue's base.

Samuel vocally gasped. There was a large stone table covered with red stains. Samuel couldn’t believe it. The harsh bloodstains that had dried on the tabletop activated a primal fear inside Samuel.

Samuel stumbled backward, grasping his face, but he couldn’t escape. Morrigan had grabbed his shoulder. Her delicate hands had great strength. Samuel faced her with a troubled looked, but Morrigan had a wicked smile.

Morrigan was manipulative and loved toying with people. Because of this, she could instantly feel the innocence in Samuel. She had finally gotten what she wanted. Morrigan forced Samuel forward and against the balcony.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Morrigan mocked Samuel. Her genuine smile and sinister eyes made Samuel tremble.

The brothers noticed what was happening and tried to get closer, but the two beasts leaped forwards. The brothers both flinched and looked at Morrigan with confusion.

“You two stay out of this!” Morrigan growled from the balcony. Her pleasant voice had become dark and belligerent.

It was at this moment that a loud clang echoed throughout the clearing. Morrigan’s grip tightened as she let out a devilish chuckle.

Samuel pushed against the cold balcony and watched as a large iron door started to open. The tall door was seamless against the carved rock, causing it to screech with a terrible sound as it slowly swung open. Then a man covered in black robes walked from the door and up the short stairs to the table.

Dark robes covered the man’s body, and a large hood hid his face. Once he reached the table, he went into his robes and placed three items: a serpentine-shaped dagger, a worn piece of paper, and a bizarre-looking book.

It was hard to make out the finer details from a distance, but Samuel wasn’t a fool. He knew the stereotype and recognized the items. A ritual dagger and a tome would both be used for the ritual.

“Sigh.” The man let out a long sigh, then looked around at the various rooms surrounding him. “Cough…” The man cleared his throat.

“Welcome, everyone!” The man’s voice was surprisingly clear despite being so far away. “I am so thankful that everyone has gathered here today! Today we welcome many new faces into our ranks! I’m sure many of you are excited or tired from long journeys, so I’ll get started!” The man’s voice was alarmingly joyous.

Then the man opened the bizarre book. He casually flipped through the pages until finally resting somewhere in the middle of the book. He placed it down on the table, raised his hands, and chanted. A cacophony of muttered screeches boomed from the man. He looked as if he was in a trance as he recited the book’s text.

Samuel squirmed as he felt like his ears would bleed, but Morrigan wouldn’t budge. So he was forced to suffer, as did the brothers, although he couldn't shield his ears.

After what felt like an eternity, the man in the center area finished his chant and took a few deep breaths. Then, he flipped the page in his book and turned to face the iron door. He waved his hand as if signaling someone to enter.

A giant of a man squeezed his way through the door. His massive body was broad and plump. Unlike the priest, he wore black armor similar to Samuel. However, his muscular arms were exposed. His large hands held a thick chain that dragged behind him.

Samuel’s tension was reaching its breaking point.