Matt is a necromancer. It is an illegal dark art and a rather fast way to spend the rest of his life in prison. Or kicked out of the academy. Fortunately for Matt, he has so far avoided the former but, unfortunately, not the latter. And in his desperation to continue his education, he has resolved to capture a dungeon core, the final ingredient needed to make the book of the dead.

To that end, Matt Bringer has summoned the aid of a skeletal warrior, a faithful minion who will carry out his orders to the bitter end… or at least that is what he hoped. Instead, he somehow brought into this world a mistake, a creature made by his mana, sure, but also possessing a soul.

And to pour salt on the wound, this ‘mistake’ promptly attempted to kill him in cold blood in its rage and confusion, and only a pathetic plea to Greg’s sense of humanity has kept Matt alive. If being alive was good enough, Matt would have been grateful for this turn of events not ending in his immediate death, but he really wants the dungeon core! And he really needs Greg the Skeleton Warrior’s help because he can neither dismiss the minion nor summon a new one.

Matt curses himself for not taking additional levels in Minion Mastery right away but instead leveling Magic Grade. Choosing Magic Grade increases the power of all his spells but with Minion Mastery-

Minion Mastery Level 0:: Determines the number of undead you can have at your command. Current Number (1), Next Level (3).

He could have three skeleton warriors instead of one insubordinate one. An unfortunate trade-off, though, in hindsight, without the levels in Magic Grade, he would have been unable to escape the orc ambush with a level 0 Concealment spell or do any amount of damage to the Orc that followed him deeper into the woods.

So Matt is left with two options, kill Greg now to free a minion slot or beg the skeleton for help...

“Greg, I need your help.”

Greg, who is contemplating his condition, and the nature of the words “Level Up,” turns to Matt. While before, Greg may have desired to stab Matt to death in the hopes of freeing himself of his new unlife, now, having been hit by a truck literally and figuratively, Greg is left with the cold realization that this unlife may be the only one he has. And that, to some degree, he may need the necromancer.

“Well,” Greg begins, his hollow eyes glowing softly as he ponders what to do next, “I literally have nothing better to do… so tell me, necromancer, what dungeon are we crawling?”

Matt perks up. “I never told you about a dungeon!?”

“You didn’t need to. This is some kinda fantasy world with orcs and elves and giant spiders or some shit. And we’re in the middle of nowhere, and I’m a zombie, so chances are there’s a cave entrance full of treasure, traps, and monsters not too far from here.”

While Matt is not sure why Greg sounds like he’s done this before or what he means by ‘fantasy world,’ Matt rolls with it, “So you’re going to help me get the dungeon core?”

Greg smiles. “Sure.”