We have completely lost all contacts with the criminals. Now that Kieris is on the verge of collapse, there is no way for the Imperial Manhunters to search for them efficiently. The sheer chaos of the evacuation has brought away with it all our sources of information, along with any support they could have received. The rebel group will most likely approach that dark horde to request its aid, but we are sure that the Kierian armies will gain us time with their sacrifice. They shall be remembered. We hope that the dark horde begins a war against the Savage Blood Alliance, but that is unlikely, at least we should not expect it to happen, as we must be prepared for a full scale attack on our south-eastern border. With the Vampire Counts at the east and the Dwarves at the north, the Empire might be facing its biggest crisis yet. May both Lux and the Emperor protect us. We will need all the help we can get.

Report of Imperial High Command

"Hey my lad!"

"Yes, Rakhs?"

Rakhs ran up to Andrew, who was trying to get used to his new Overlord armor, which he found quite comfortable, apart from the fact that the horns sometimes got him stuck in something. But it was worth it since not only it was incredibly tough and badass looking, it also boosted his powers. He and Rakhs were in the new altar Murgin had created after the conquest of the capital: the church itself. It wasn't just for irony though, as the building was full of useful mana and even if it was of an light attribute the Forgotten God had no issues in corrupting it for the needs of his champion. Now the once completely white and holy palace of righteousness had turned into a dark twisted image of its former self, its walls blackened, its statues of angels turned into demons, along with an excessive numbers of skulls everywhere for whatever reason. And Andrew made that dark and unnerving place into his new residence, even if he did not exactly enjoy the fact that all the candle and candelabra flames had become purple and that the statues' heads sometimes turned towards him when he wasn't looking. It had been two days since Andrew was declared Overlord by Murgin and he passed all that time testing his new magic in the rebuilt hall where he had made the pact with Sseleman, which thankfully now rebuilt itself in case he used too much power.

He was planning to learn necromancy as he found it very useful, along with the fact that Murgin wanted him to. Though he had to return to the Abyss, since the Duke's body couldn't sustain his presence anymore and had began to disintegrate. Also, before going away, Murgin had tried showing Andrew at least the basics, but Kalas reacted in horror, as he deemed the Dark's God method of resurrection far too wasteful of mana and told him he would teach the boy instead. Murgin grudgingly agreed, and left the Duke's decomposing body, which turned into ash a few seconds later. Andrew wanted to begin his lessons as early as possible but Kalas was occupied with resurrecting as many bodies as possible in the city, while still leaving enough for Andrew to train with. But his impatience was thrown away when Rakhs entered the hall to talk to him.

"Well..... it's kind of a problem...."

"What do you mean?"

"Uhm, there are some people...... and they want to meet you...."

"They want to meet? What? How did they even get in?"

"We did try to get rid of them buuuuuut...... they kicked our asses, without even killing anyone too..... so yeah, strong as fuck my lad"

"..... How many are there?"

"Seven"

"Only seven? And they kicked the ass of the gate guards? Those with two deathstormers for every gate?"

"Yeah, they got in from the western gate...... it was kind of awkward, you know..... the scorched bodies and all... we were still getting rid of them....."

"Ah, those..."

Andrew was surprised when he heard what Murgin did at the western gate, but he didn't have many problems with it, after all it's not like he knew any of those people. Though he slightly wished to have been there to see.

"Anyway, where are they now?"

"They're waiting downstairs"

"Bring them here then. Let's see what they want"

Rakhs didn't seem very convinced, but it's not like he and his boys could do anything to them, and they didn't really seem hostile. So the rat leader quickly ran to the main gate of the corrupted church, where they were waiting, while tightly holding his beloved black hood. After a few minutes he returned with seven people following behind him: a black knight with long white hair and ears, a man wearing a ruined grey coat with a face ravaged by all kinds of insects, one equipped with a very heavy looking silver armor, a battle mace, a greatshield and an eagle-like helmet, one that looked like a plague doctor, a black skeleton with a huge wheel stuck between his ribs and tattered adventurer clothes, another one with a heavy armor, but dark bronze instead of silver, with a gas mask like helmet, enormous gauntlets and a tank behind his back and finally a man that looked like some kind of warrior monk, that for some reason wore a tattered red cloth with a smiling face on his head, covering it completely. The black knight, who seemed to be their leader, walked in front of Andrew.

"So, you are the new Overlord"

"Indeed I am"

"Quite young I must say"

"And how would you know that?"

Andrew was genuinely surprised as his face was covered by his helmet, which also made his voice deeper.

"I can see your life force"

"Life force?"

"You don't know? How surprising. It's the energy produced by the soul and that gives you life by flowing along with your blood. Those that have talent in magic can easily see it as a green energy in your veins, and the closer to death one is, the darker it is"

"So older means darker"

"No, the closer you are to death, the darker it is"

"Uh?"

"For example, a 100 years old elf's life force will be much paler than that of a 100 years old human, which unless he used some kind of magic, would be basically black"

"Oh, now I get it"

"Eyils, tell him what we came here for, come on! I'm getting annoyed!" The black skeleton loudly complained.

"Silence Revenant!" The black knight quickly shut him up, before returning his attention to Andrew

"I am sorry for that. So, as I wanted to say I have one wish for you to satisfy"

Andrew was confused, but decided to listen. As long as it wasn't outright impossible and he received decent compensation, he would think about it. Though he did not see many benefits helping them, as they didn't seem rich, though they were powerful warriors, as demonstrated on the Kradlaits' skin. Suddenly his confusion turned into surprise, as the black night kneeled.

"Would you accept these humble warriors as your servants?"

"Excuse me?"

Andrew backed off a little. A group of people out of nowhere that wanted to serve him? That seemed very suspicious. He couldn't just accept their request, but Rakhs did say they were incredibly strong, so maybe it was an option.

*Don't worry, I checked their mind, they don't have any malicious intent towards you*

*Murgin? You can read minds?*

*With all the power of the new altar, of course I can! Though it's quite vague. Still, I can understand more or less what they feel*

*That's good. Anyway, have you been watching them?*

*They ARE in my altar. Anyway, I'll leave it to you now. Bye*

*Bye*

"So, what is your answer Lord Black Baron?"

The black knight was impatient to hear the answer.

*Oh, I suppose he heard my title from the rats....*

"I accept. Though of course I know you want something from me too. What is your wish?"

"Aaaah, thankfully you are wise. Well, me and my companions objective is quite simple: the complete destruction of the Empire and the Church and we think you're our only chance to accomplish it"

"..... I see you have mighty ambitions, almost mightier than mine. Very well then, I shall satisfy your desire as long as you serve me. I do not expect complete loyalty from you, as we are simply using each other, but I still want to test your might before anything else"

"I think we already proved ourselves against your servants"

"A few gate guards, without even killing them, is one thing, entire armies are another"

All of the seven warriors slightly flinched in surprise, and their leader quickly inquired into what Andrew said.

"Entire armies?"

"Indeed. Before we fight the Empire and the Church we must take care of Kieris's army, which is completely occupied in the northeast with the Savage Blood Alliance. As such, eliminating them shouldn't be quite challenging. You shall use your true powers there. Are you ok with this?"

"Indeed, we are my lor-"

"No"

"Excuse me?"

"You have no loyalty towards me, as such you may not call me lord"

Andrew usually wouldn't care about such formalities but it annoyed him being called so respectfully without actually receiving such respect.

".... I understand. I shall simply call you Black Baron. Now, I think it's time to present ourselves. I'm Eyils, a Faded Elf and dark sword master, the one with the ruined coat and insects is Haven, the silver knight is Warhound, the bird masked one is Painkiller, the bronze armored man is Willowisp, the black skeleton is Revenant and the eastern monk is Naraka. We shall now serve you, for as long as our objectives cross our paths"

Eyils had decided to be honest, just like his new Overlord had decided to be towards him. Just the fact that he was so direct was admirable for the black knight. Andrew simply nodded in approval.

"Very well, you shall now serve me as long as we need each other. I am Andrew Tenebris, the Black Baron and I suppose soon to be absolute ruler of Kieris. It is a pleasure to meet you"

Andrew removed his helmet, and contrary to his expectations, the whole seven of his servants backed up with pure shock in their faces, though none of them could be seen.

"A HUMAAAAAAN?!?" Haven tripped on his own coat, falling on his back.

"This is..... abnormal, to say the least" Painkiller was sweating heavily inside of his clothes, the revelation of Andrew's race almost unbelievable.

"Damn, I though I was odd. AHAHAHA!" Revenant laughed very loudly, banging on his rib placed wheel.

"OOOOOOOH!" Willowisp simply admired him, like a child, his raspy and deep voice unsettling Andrew.

"The world is wide indeed....." Naraka calmed down rather quickly.

"His talent in dark magic must be exponential" Warhound rubbed his chin with his right index and thumb, leaving his battle mace leaning on his greatshield, at least he would have were it not for the helmet.

"Black Baron, you are quite surprising" Eyils cut the chain of comments.

Andrew was still very confused at their remarks.

"Uh, why?"

Eyils gazed at him with what seemed to be realization at his finest.

"Ehm, Black Baron, could it be.....? You have no idea about how Overlords work?"

"............ Nope"

Eyils fell on his knees in mild desperation, followed by his comrades. Andrew felt very embarrassed, even though he still remained collected. After a few seconds Eyils stood up and walked right in front the boy.

"So, what is the main characteristic of Overlords?"

"They're the emissaries of Dark Almighty"

"And what's the problem with a human emissary?"

"Oh, yeah, humans are part of the Light Dwellers"

Andrew had completely forgotten about that fact, and the question came to mind on how did he manage to become one, as it seemed to be a title given by the Devils..... of which one was his protector. His answers arrived as quickly as his questions. Though that wasn't the case for Eyils.

"Do you see where the problem is, Black Baron?"

"Indeed I do"

"And it doesn't bother you?"

"Me? No. After all I have a reason why I was able to become one, which I'm not going to tell by the way"

"It is....... understandable. Yes it is"

"Oh, I got it"

Andrew and Eyils turned towards Revenant, who had smashed his right fist into his left palm in sign of realization.

"What, Revenant?" Both the Overlord and the black knight asked with curiosity.

"You must be one of those Darklings I heard about. You know, those humans raised in Dark Almighty territory. Never thought I'd see one, that would explain your red eyes and black hair"

"Are they unusual?"

"Yep, at least around here. But Lux preaches "human equality" so no one really cares..... unless there's dark magic around, in which case they'll get the first sucker that looks slightly odd and hang him like a poor dog"

"Uhm...."

"You come from far away don't you dude?"

"Oh, yes, I do"

"Revenant, that is no way to address your superior!"

"I don't care at all, call me like you prefer"

"Really? I can call you dude?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Wow, this must be the most carefree Overlord in existence! I already began to like him. Anyway I need something comfy to rest my bones on, can you please get me a room or something?"

"I allowed you to call me dude, but there's a limit to addressing me so casually. It's not like we're friends"

"Bah, that's how we of the Imperial slums treat strangers, and it's as respectful as it gets. So can you.....?"

"...... Yeah, yeah. Rakhs, find them some good rooms to stay in"

"Yeah, my lad. Follow me twats! Since you're new here, I'm your superior and I will not tolerate any fucktards"

"I'm pretty sure I could reck you tho"

"Wanna try me chewy dog toy?"

"EEEEEEEH?!? You waaaaaanna die, shit muncheeeeeer?"

Rakhs and Revenant headbutted and looked at each other straight in the eyes, the perfect image of stereotypical japanese delinquents. Andrew was seriously beginning to get pissed at the black skeleton, but he doubted he would listen to his words, since he had no respect whatsoever for him or anyone apart from his companions. So he decided to use the harsh manners. A black ray of darkness suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, slightly touching the undead's nose bones and making a perfect circle in the solid wall of the building. Revenant slowly turned his head towards Andrew, the red dots he called eyes expressing an untold amount of horror. The Overlord responded with a cold stare filled with rage and a small amount of bloodlust.

"Listen, Revenant, I don't know how it works between you guys, but while i don't ask for loyalty, I demand respect. Understood? Because next time I won't miss. Also, it would please me greatly if you didn't misunderstand my lack of knowledge for weakness, though of course I will soon fix that problem"

All of the skeletons's bones were trembling, the black smoke he released quickly spreading around. Rakhs meanwhile had shittiest eating grin.

"S-sure boss, sorry. I was quite rude.... goddamn, that was some magic man......."

Revenant ran downstairs, followed by the others, who had immediately stopped underestimating Andrew after his magic attack, of which they could feel the great power. Only Eyils remained with Andrew.

"Please forgive his conduct. He really doesn't treat any stranger well..."

"No, I get it, I'm a kid, I'm a human, I allow people to call me dude and you easily defeated some of my minions. I can understand why you would underestimate me so much. Still, never do so again"

"Of course, of course..... Still, what will you have us do?"

"The others I don't know. But you seem pretty knowledgeable, since you're an Elf. So, could you please answer my questions?"

"Surely, but, uuuuhm.... I'm not an Elf, I'm a Faded Elf, as I said"

Both of them sat down on a bunch of random skulls, as Andrew planned to talk for a long time.

"And that means....?"

"I was a normal Elf who decided to dwell in the dark arts, which resulted..... in quite a few side effects, though with a huge boost in magic"

"Ok then. Still, you don't seem to enjoy the topic, so let's talk about something else"

"Yes, thank you...... So, what do you wish to hear from me?"

"First of all, what do you and your companions specialize in? Fighting wise i mean"

"Well, I mastered dark arts and swordsmanship, Haven can control any insects at will, he can also expand his senses through them, making him into our scout, Warhound is in charge of defense, and he can cause serious damage too, even if his armor slows him quite a lot, Painkiller is our healer, actually no, medic, since he doesn't use magic, and much like your servants specializes in poisons and diseases. Revenant has quite a few abilities related to the wheel stuck to his chest, but it is too complicated and odd to explain on the fly, Willowisp is a very powerful fire mage, but he's quite...... childlike and finally Naraka is a battle monk, and uses a special energy called Ki which allows him to fight without any kind of protection, though I have no idea how it works"

Andrew listened very carefully to everything Eyils said, after all he wanted to know as much as possible about his new servants. Though the lack of a good explanation about Revenant unnerved him slightly, since he seemingly was the most unruly one of the group. Since he had a basic idea of what the seven men offered him in combat, he wanted to test them as soon as possible, so as to see just how good they truly are. But it was not the time for that, there was something even more important to do.

"I got it. Though you're quite the odd ones"

"Indeed we are, but I assure you, we're as efficient as it gets"

"That's good..... Anyway, you may go now"

"Of course, but may I know what are your intentions right now?"

"Oh, I'm going to go get a few reinforcements"

"If I may inquire, from where?"

"The southern dungeon"

Eyils slightly backed off in surprise.

"You mean the one that formed recently? Do you perhaps had anything to do with it?"

"Yes"

"....... You are fearsome indeed. I shall take my leave"

Eyils walked away and went downstairs, where another rat guided him to his room. Now Andrew was alone in the enormous hall, his thoughts his only company.

"Uhm, now that I think about it, I should have asked him to show me his fighting abilities right now. He could teach me swordsmanship........ I really need some actual fighting skills"

The Black Baron was well aware of his lack of ability in real battles, and already a few occasions happened where that caused his defeat. He could not allow that to happen anymore if he wanted to guide an entire horde of monsters. But in that moment he wanted to see Nero and Golind, since it had been a while. He didn't expect Golind to help him in his soon to begin campaign, since he had an entire village to manage, but there was a chance of convincing Nero to help, he just had to make another dungeon near the city, which would have also doubled as defense. But he didn't want to leave for too long, since he still had to keep an eye on his new men. He searched his mental archive for a moment, and found a long range communication magic that worked through small portals that worked a bit like computer screens, which was basically a magic version of Skype. The problem was that it required a bit too much mana for its purposes, even if he could talk with someone from kilometers away, he didn't want to use a high chunk of his mana, which he wanted to conserve for his necromancy training. Still, he was in the Altar so he hoped that in case he needed it he could receive more.

"Well, no point in waiting....."

He casted the magic and a purple portal appeared in front of him, showing only blackness for a minute, before finally showing the image of a crouched and very confused minotaur, who stumbled on his back when he looked in the portal.

"Father? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me. How have you been doing?"

"Orsù!" The ten meters tall black minotaur quickly got up, his weight and leg strength crushing the ground below him.

"Very well father, very well indeed. My dungeon is working with perfect efficiency"

"That's great. How's Golind?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. GOLIND! Be a dear and come here for a second!"

"What, I'm here? Wait, what's that purple thin-MY LORD! I'M OVERJOYED TO SEE YOU!"

"Hi Golind...." Andrew had forgotten about Golind's excessive respect for him, but he knew he could do nothing about it.

"So, my lord, how are you? It's great here, it's been quite calm the last few days"

"I'm good, thanks. But what do you mean calm?"

"I mean.... calm. There weren't any adventurers around Nero's dungeon for the last few days"

"It is quite depressing. A gentleman such as myself cannot waste so much time doing nothing for long"

"Oh, that's my fault"

"Uh?" They said in chorus.

"I'm kind on the verge of conquering the nation"

"Excuse me?!?" Once again, a masterful chorus by a goblin and a minotaur.

"Well, basically, I reached the capital, i found some ratmen, then I found weapons and things happened. Now I'm an Overlord and I'm on my way to exterminate the army of Kieris"

Nero and Golind remained silent for two minutes, before the minotaur raised his right hand to his forehead.

"Oh, it's too much!"

Nero fell on his back, fainting and almost crushing Golind under his tremendous weight. Andrew was very surprised, but he doubted Nero would get hurt from something like that. So he concentrated on his little goblin friend.

"So, Golind, how's the village?"

"Thanks to you my lord, we're once again prosperous. Though it is hard to sleep at night......"

"Why?"

"It's kind of hard to sleep when you hear the entire village making the new generation...... Those huts don't really hold the sound...."

"Oh....... I can feel the awkwardness from here....."

"Yeah...."

Golind stared at the air for a few seconds, remembering the cold nights accompanied by dozens of very loud moans and the unidentified liquid substances found in the forest during the morning.

"Golind? Golind.....? Is he having a Vietnam flashback or what? Goooooliiiiiiiiiind"

"Oh, sorry, my lord, I got distracted. Anyway, you're basically going to conquer Kieris?"

"Yes, that's what I'll do"

"I knew you were a great person, but you just keep shocking me. So, after conquering Kieris, what will you do my lord?"

"I'm not sure, but I suppose I'll go west"

"Why west?"

"I can't go east, since there's the Savage Blood Alliance, which is an alliance between the strongest tribes of goblins, hobgoblins, orcs and trolls if you didn't know"

"Oh, so there was something like that...... But why not North or South?"

"Well, to the north there's a huge sea called the Sea of Droeas, and I doubt my new soldiers can handle the sea. And to the south there's a mountain chain, called simply Kieris Mountains, which follows the border till the eastern frontier"

"Kieris Mountains.... that's incredibly unoriginal"

"It is their only mountain chain..... Anyway, I've been thinking if Nero could help me somehow, but I don't think he's available right now....."

"Oh, he doesn't need to be, since I already know his answer to such a request"

"Uhm..... Ok? What would his answer be?"

"No, a very polite no. Dungeon Keepers can't leave their dungeons for too long, since if they do they'll enter a trance and walk back. Not even Nero knows why...... He told me when I asked him to help my village build more houses"

"I see..... Well anyway, thank you. Bye and say hi to Nero from me when he wakes up"

"Of course my lord"

Andrew stopped using the magic and the image of the goblin and the fainted minotaur disappeared from his gaze. Once again he was alone in his new sinister fortress. Truth be told, he didn't want to go to the east just because the other options were either impossible or too difficult but there was the Empire there, where he would find a piece of that doll that Sseleman wanted. All this information was given by some books he had casually began to read in the library of the palace, which was luckily intact. He also searched information for Uldein, but for some reason it seemed to be quite confidential, as he had to pass through a lot of secret passages that Rakhs found to get it, since it was in a secret Inquisitorial archive. And the information he found, in the form of a world map, was quite displeasing. Uldein wasn't a city or a country, it was an entire continent, the second biggest in Ghendrel in fact, a position it shared with another continent called Alkaria. The biggest continent in the world was called simply The Ash, it was very distant from any other landmass and it stood in the North Pole of Ghendrel, though Andrew wasn't sure if it was cold as Earth's pole since apart from its existence, nothing was known or at least recorded about it.

"..... That must be a great place for vacation....."

But what really surprised him was that Uldein was a continent exclusively inhabited by Dark Almightys and in Alkaria lived only Light Dwellers, but thankfully they were very far from each other, almost poles apart. The continent he was in was named Giadeus, and it was as big as South America, with the vague shape of a sideways foot pointed to the right, standing a few thousand kilometers from Alkaria. And it was the third smallest continent in the world..... Of eight.

"Goddamn, this world really is three times bigger...." He said with a face that expressed the feeling of a man that realized just how small he was.

"So Emma is somewhere in here.... I certainly can't find her alone..... this place's as big as all continents of Earth apart from the two Americas..... This world's too large......"

He wanted to find any more information, but nothing useful came up, though the information about all the nations of the world could be useful. The only other things he managed to find that didn't regard conspiracies, tortures and heretics were the names of two other churches, which the Church of Lux feared greatly: The Crown Of Ilasaria and The Temple of Belua. The former was the biggest Light Dweller religion in the world, and it revolved around the Heroic Goddess Ilasaria and the latter, which was the Dark Almighty equivalent, revolved around the Deviless Of Monsters, Belua. Apart from that Andrew didn't find anything, most likely because the important information about those were somewhere else.

"The Church is only influential in Giadeus..... at least I won't have to worry about them everywhere"

Finding so much information both relieved him and unnerved him, as he realized just how much he had to deal with. But for now, he only cared about Kieris and the Empire. He wanted to keep it "small" for as long as he could as messing with any bigger force would most likely lead to his annihilation. After he memorized all that information, deeming that he didn't need anything else at the moment, he returned to training his magic.

After talking with Golind and Nero, he felt disappointed that his minotaur friend couldn't help him, but he just accepted it, as he couldn't aid him even if he wanted. Since he didn't have anything to do, Andrew went to search for Kalas to begin his training. When he got out of the palace he was welcomed by the spectacle of hundreds of Kradlaits walking around, carrying materials and weapons, rebuilding the city to their needs and sharing various potions. They had quickly adapted to surface life, though a decent number of them had returned to their sewer caves, which had become much more spacious. Andrew walked up to a Kradlait that was fixing a rifle, startling him and resulting in him kneeling.

"YOUR DARKNESS! IT'S AN HONOR TO MEET YOU!"

"Uhm.... yeah, can you tell me where the purple lich ghost is?"

"HE'S AT THE MAIN PLAZA MY LORD!"

"Thanks. Have a good day"

"CERTAINLY MY LORD"

Andrew headed towards the main plaza, as behind him the Kradlait he talked to was being carried away in glory and honor by his comrades. He had fixed their fanaticism problem, but there's nothing one can do against true loyalty. Particularly if you can destroy a Church headquarter by yourselves. After ten minutes, Andrew finally reached the main plaza, which was now full with an abnormal amount of skeletons, zombies and all other kinds of undead, surprisingly lacking of foul smells. In the middle of it all, Kalas was casting magic on the last remaining bodies.

"KALAS!" Andrew called out to him, getting his attention.

"Oh, hi Andrew, what are you doing here?"

"I want you to teach me necromancy"

"I thought I told you I'd do it later, I'm still busy"

"By now, it is later"

"....Damn loopholes (a.k.a actual logic). Ok, then, let's begin then. Guys bring the ones I didn't already resurrecte!"

About a dozen Kraldaits opened the way between the mindless horde of undead and carried more than twenty bodies, though they would come back with more. Kalas, his flow getting slightly faster, got close to the bodies.

"Now Andrew, do you know what was wrong with the resurrections done by Murgin?"

"Nope"

"Well, simply said, he used only his own mana"

"Isn't that how it's supposed to be?"

"No, necromancy is all about using other's people mana. Well, dead people at least. Now, let me make you an example"

Two balls of purple energy appeared on his bony hands.

"I will now resurrect as many people as possible using only the mana I have in my right hand. Look closely. [Resurrection]"

Suddenly the mana on his right hand entered a body, making it stand up from the ground. But that was it, only one body was raised,

"As you can see, with all the mana I put in my hand, which was enough for decently powerful attack spell, like, I don't know, [Fire Storm], I could only raise one measly body. The next time, instead of just sending my mana pouring in, I'll use a little bit of it to mix with the lingering energy of the corpses"

"Lingering energy?"

"When a person dies, the soul leaves the body, but all the unused mana remains, along with a very small bit of life force. Do you know what life force is?"

"Yes, I do"

"Good, very good. Now, you may wonder why the thing that effectively makes you alive remains in a dead body, and the reason is that that's what keeps it from being possessed by a Kjalaer, which is a much bigger priority than worrying about necromancers using it at their advantage, no?"

"Ehm.... what's a Kjalaer?"

Kalas released a feeling of slight surprise.

"Really, no idea?"

"No....."

"Well, just to let you know how nice they are, their name means Intruder in the Divine language. I don't know exactly what they are, but they reside in an adjacent dimension and constantly try to get into ours by finding any possible gateway, which is usually formed by large concentrations of mana. Bodies usually don't have enough mana to open a gateway for them to pass through directly, but it makes one big enough to let their mana pass through. And I say mana because they don't have souls. So, anyway, in that case they would possess the body and cause mayhem everywhere around them. So, to prevent that, the Ancients, or Primordial Elders, which are basically the first divine beings put a little magic in the life energy of all beings, along with the souls, to make them lethal to Kjalaers"

"Are they really that dangerous to take such measures?"

"If there weren't those measures, they could most likely possess every person in the world"

"Wow"

"Yeah, also, the last time they actually managed to open a huge gateway it was fucking bad"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know all the details, but more or less around a thousand years ago they managed to get into our dimension. And we got the Ash. You know, the biggest continent in the world, also the one where the strongest and most powerful races resided that now has been erased from all records? Actually, they erased all records, so why would you know?"

"So that's why it didn't say anything on the map about it"

"You read about it?"

"In the palace, I found an Inquisitorial Archive"

"Oh, that's good"

"Anyway, how did they get through?"

"...... Ugh, you can thank Virksley for that"

"Virksley? Who's that?"

"Again, divine language, it means Betrayer Of All"

"So he opened a gateway for interdimensional horrors? Why?"

"No one knows! Believe, with only this information, I could be called an expert on the subject. Because no one knows anything apart from this vague story. The only reason I know this is because I won a bet with an old skeleton dragon"

"You know a skeleton dragon?"

"Yeah, but he's kind of annoying. He just doesn't stop talking man. I get he knows a lot but damn! It's like being at school, just I'm not trying to vainly date my crush"

"You had a school crush?"

"I have no idea. I told you I don't remember anything before becoming a dark mage, though I'm sure that's what I would be doing"

"But why vainly?"

"I'm a skeleton"

"........"

"......."

Silence penetrated the air and tried to embed itself into the atmosphere itself, accompanied by its most beloved companion: awkwardness.

"How about we continue the lesson Andrew?"

"Yes, I'd like that"

"Anywaaaaaay...... life force and mana remains. So, to get the body going you just need to mix a bit of your own mana with the life force, and after it's under your control, the lingering energy will bend to your will as well, giving you complete control of the undead. Look even more carefully than before"

This time the mana in Kalas' hand split into six different parts and entered six corpses. Andrew could feel that the magic of the Specter Lich was mixing with what little remained of the gone souls. In just a few seconds, the bodies rose, making the typical moans you would expect from an undead.

"See? With the same amount of mana, I raised six bodies"

"Incredible. But if it works so well, why doesn't Murgin do it?"

"He's a Devil. You think he cares about depleting his mana?"

"..... Yeah, you're right"

"So, there's not much else to explain, from here on out it's mostly practice, though I will be helping you if necessary"

"Thank you"

"No problem. You just need a backbone"

"...... I hate you"

Kalas laid down on the air with what looked like a smug skull that tried to feign innocence.

"What? I mean it!"

"You'll be my first adversary for the guys I resurrect"

"You'd be wasting time and bodies"

"We'll see"

"Oh, I'll see indeed. I'm gonna keep my eye on you. Wait, I don't have eyeballs! Then.... I'm gonna keep my orbit on you"

"....... I'm just sad now"

And so Andrew incessantly kept training till the next day, with all his might.

But Kalas kept making bad puns and jokes, which resulted in an epic battle of undead hordes that would have been told throughout the ages, if it wasn't for one single fact......

It's the end of the chapter..........

Hello there, fine gentleman and lovely ladies. You may have noticed that this chapter came a bit late. Well, that's because I'm on vacation. And by vacation I don't mean basement bunkers, I mean overseas vacations. But regrettably for me, there's only so much to do at the beach, and I decided to use the "not at the beach or swimming pool time" I had to write another chapter...... Aren't I just great? Not really.... Thankfully the hotel's got good internet at 4 a.m. Anyway, this chapter introduced quite a bit of the world, along with some new lore to expLORE...... I'm not sorry. I made Kalas and his puns, why would I be at this point? Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter an-

????:Nononono, why did you talk about it?

About what?"

????: The Ash, why did you talk about it?

...... Lore?

????: Do not mention it or the Kjalaers again. Particularly not Virksley. That is NOT his name.

Listen, I don't why it pisses you off, but I don't think I should just hide information of the wo-ACK! YOUR HAND! IT'S REALLY TIGHT! ON MY NECK! EXCESSIVELY SO! ACTUALLY, YOU CAN TOUCH ME?!?

????: Last warning. DO. NOT. Mention it again. Also, yes, it seems I am indeed getting a greater understanding of your dominion. Though it's just slightly. So, are we clear?

YES, YES. JUST LET GO!

????: Good. I would not wish to harm you further. You're a friend after all.

Oh, God..... I can breath! So, I don't talk about this at all, right? Not even with you?"

????: Exactly.

Ok.... fine.....

????: I'll be going then.

..........

That pervert's gone..... Thankfully only the hand materialized...... if not I would be on the ground right now..... bleeding profusely......

I'm so gonna talk about it more.....

YOUUUUUUUU TRYING MEEEEEEE, BIIIIIIIIITCH?!?

OH SHIIIIIIIIIII-

Technical difficulties, please wait.

P.S by Dj

P.S.S There was a bug that fucked up the size of a chunk of the chapter. Dj tried to fix it, but instead of ant language it came out enormous. I can't copy and paste and change the size at the same time, so I left it there. Yes, I know it sounds lazy, but I refuse to rewrite that WHOLE chunk just because the edit fucked up the size, also, I don't want to rewrite it wrong, since I like how it came out. Honestly this shit even happened to some of my earlier chapters, AFTER I already posted them, the size of some parts changed. I don't know why it happened, though by now I saw they were mostly ok. Anyway, it's not the first time it happens, and while it's rare, it's still annoying. Hope you can understand.