Why was it so peaceful? My life started to pass before my eyes. Images of my parents, my childhood. The good and fun things I enjoyed early in my life. Nostalgia and longing engulfed me.

The feeling was so warm and embracing. Like I was wrapped in the most soft and comfortable blanket on the coldest night. Suddenly, there was a light. It was a white light in the distance that drew me towards it.

It grew larger and larger, and I realized it was not approaching, but it was I that was moving towards it. I was not scared, not afraid. This was the most peaceful and stress-free I’d felt in years and years.

I welcomed the light as I approached, even basked in its welcoming glow. Walking through would bring me endless bliss, and so I kept moving forward. It grew closer and closer, just a few more steps, and then suddenly it moved back.

I started to feel panic as the white light raced away from me into the distance. My way out… my endless bliss. The feeling of warmth disappeared momentarily, and the darkness enveloped me once again.

“Mike!” The faintest of sounds echoed in this black world, reverberating like an echo in a well that rushed over me constantly.

“Don’t die! Wake up!” Another voice brushed past me. The darkness around me started to shake and I suddenly felt something. I felt my eyes in my head, the weight of my eyelids as I slowly opened them.

Blurry vision greeted me, and then it was my comrades. Huddled around me in a circle staring down, some of them with blood covering their hands. Vertigo assaulted me the moment I tried to lean up and I felt a stabbing pain in my chest.

I groaned in agony before letting my head fall back down. “Careful.” Jessica said softly. I could see the redness of her eyes in a single glance. Guilt accompanied the vertigo as I looked at her, unsure what to say.

“What happened?” I muttered. I had a rough idea, but I needed to hear it from them.

They paused for a moment, and then Thomas spoke up, “You died,” he said. “You were dead for over two minutes.”

“I died…?” I asked. That confirmed my sense that the white light calling out to me was the end of my life.

“You were really, really dead,” Maria said. Her face had choked up a bit as she wiped away a tear.

“Why does my chest hurt so much?” I groaned in agony as Thomas helped me lean up.

“Sorry,” Thomas said. “your heart stopped and I just banged on it hoping it would do something.” The pain was horrible enough to make even taking a breath hurt.

“The Fiend is dead then.” I said. I saw it die, but who knew what kind of miraculous survival abilities a creature like that had.

“Yeah, it’s dead,” Alan said.

“Drops?” I asked.

“It didn’t drop anything.” Anna said rather regretfully.

“Huh? Nothing?” That was deeply disappointing. “If you’re going to bring me back from eternal bliss, it should at least be for an epic Necromancer drop.”

Despite the pain in my chest, I managed the joke and it was worth it to see the smiles on faces that had been so concerned.

So there was no loot on this monster. Was this just by design or did the people toying with us not expect something like the Fiend to die so early?

“We got two levels each, though.” Jessica said with a rather hoarse voice. I checked my level curiously and sure enough it was true.

Name: Mike Reynolds Class: Necromancer Level: 26 EXP: 42%

HP: 1290/1290 MP: 440/485

STR: 5 Fear Resistance: 5

AGI: 2

DEX: 5

VIT: 29 +14

WIS: 27 +26

Available: 15

Skills: [A] Summon Skeleton LV. 10 | [A] Summon Skeleton Mage LV. 4 | [A] Decay LV. 3| [A] Reanimate Dead LV. 3 | [A] Bone Armor LV. 2 | [A] Vast Shadows | [A] Temporary Grave LV. 1 | [P] Sixth Sense | [P] Bravery LV. 2 | [P] Mutated | [P] Pain Resistance LV. 2 | [P] Skeletal Mastery LV. 4| [P] Intimidate Living | [P] Inner Calm LV. 2 | [P] Necrotic Vision | [P] Blood Thirsty LV. 1 | [P] Cold Hearted LV. 1

I was now level 26 with 15 available stat points, and halfway to the next level simply from the numerous enemies we fought on our trip. There had been no notification popup at the time of the Fiend dying, most likely since I passed out almost immediately.

There it was in the log.

Congratulations! You are part of the first group to defeat a Tier 1 Fiend. As a reward you have been granted two levels.

Congratulations! As the player who contributed most to the encounter, you have been awarded an extra skill slot.

I paused hard for a moment. An extra skill slot? But how did I contribute most to the encounter? I wasn’t even the most valuable person… The Fiend was already on death’s door when we killed it. Not only that, Jessica had done a fantastic job putting it in a corner with her Godless Arrow. Was it because my undead warrior got the finishing blow?

Even if my squad of undead had done the most damage among my group, they would still have done a lost less that the mass of True Believers. But perhaps the contribution of the cultists was wiped clean on death.

Glad to have the extra skill, regardless of whether it was justified, I noticed a subsequent message in the notification log.

You have fulfilled the conditions for mutation.

I glanced over my skill sheet and realized Mutated no longer had a level next to it. It simply said Mutated. Was it because I had died? That had to be the only explanation. I was fearful what it would now say if the requirement was death…

Mutated: You looked death in the eyes and now walk among the undead.

There were lines below that explained what it did as well as many question marks.

You are immune to poison.

Hunger is now satiated by slaying enemies.

??

??

??

And the question marks continued downward. Whatever effects they were, I guessed I didn’t fulfill the requirement for them. Whether that was my level, or if Mutated had levels, or some other metric I didn’t know about yet.

What I did know was that going forward my life could never be a peaceful one. If I needed to kill enemies to sustain myself, I could never take a break. Rations had been a source of food I could trade for or buy from a secret shop: some people were probably doing that now, hoarding rations and secluding themselves hoping to wait this out.

I grabbed Thomas’ arm. “Help me up.” Alan took my other arm to help him scoop me off the floor and I got my bearings once more. I could feel Maria behind me, brushing the gravel off my tattered shirt as I fought the vertigo.

“Did anyone else receive a new skill slot?” I asked. I got a resounding ‘no’ as everyone shook their head. “Apparently I did.” Which meant I would have 4 skills in just four levels. I also needed to find a skill suitable for me in the meantime.

There was also the fifteen stat points to allocate. I would do so as soon as I got my next ability. Right now, we needed to evacuate this area before respawns started happening. We had a plan in place already.

Jessica gave me a strong hug from the side, “Ow, ow, ow.” I groaned. My rib cage was probably broken. Despite the bandage and heal from Thomas, it would take some time to recover.

“Are you well enough to walk?” asked Lucas. And when I nodded, he ushered everyone southwards. “Let’s head back.”

With the area being completely devoid of spawns, Jessica was allowed to stay back and support me. The rest hurried forward, led by Richard. Being away from his brother for a few hours was already long enough for him. This world was too cruel.

I realized as I walked that my sense of freedom as I approached the white light was something I would miss. There were no monsters around, but compared to how calm I had felt in the face of death, I was on edge all the time now. The experience of that blissful feeling made me realize just how much my responsibilities in the post-apocalyptic world were weighing on my shoulders.

It didn’t take for us long to return, where we fortunately found that Glenn and Mark were safe. They were anxious though, reporting to us that many people had rushed by in a frenzy. There had been a scary possibility that someone may have discovered them. Richard let out a sigh of relief that this hadn’t happened.

Those ex-True Believers were confused, but who knew how they would behave once they realized they held power over someone else? It was very possible they would continue to be player killers. Fortunately, that risk hadn’t been put to the test.

“Let’s head to ‘home base’” I said. That was the plan now, take over a walled community we had identified and start working towards making this existence a livable one. We set off through the streets with me safely packed away in the back.

Jessica could no longer support me, which was a letdown. Instead it was Glenn and Mark on either side making sure I didn’t take a tumble. There was no rush now. The mobs only got weaker as we made for the city exit. Not only that, True Believers were no longer breathing down our neck.

I wasn’t even required for the battles now. Two levels was a major strength boost to everyone present which brought me some comfort. I already knew this party was sufficient enough. Everyone had grown into their roles fantastically.

“How long on foot?” I asked Lucas. He was the orchestrator for this idea.

“Around two hours if you can sustain this pace,” He answered. “We aren’t traveling very far. We just need to take a few detours.”

It made sense to avoid encounters that weren’t particularly dangerous but which would slow us up. “Sounds good.” I said. We had about two hours before the sun would set and visibility would drop. A good feeling suddenly filled me. It was expectation: and some of that stress and weight washed off my shoulders.

For the first time in a long time I actually enjoyed the walk. Despite the pain I was experiencing while moving and breathing, I felt confident our group could meet the challenges ahead and the ease with which they pulled and destroyed the occasional mob in our way was a pleasure to see.

Eventually we approached a two-meter-tall community gate. There was a booth on the side, no doubt someone used to sit in there and allow entry and exit. Now was empty and only had broken windows remaining with a bit of dark blood inside.

The sun was setting in the distance as an orange hue shined over the fence and basked all of us in its glow. I couldn’t help but smile, “Welcome home everyone,” I said.

Alan rushed forward and kicked the gate as hard as he could. The latch broke and it swung open in a miraculous display of his strength. He had destroyed the mood I was trying to set. I could only sigh, while Jessica came over to me grinning.

Taking my head in both her hands, she kissed me full on the lips, careless of the applause and cheers from the others. After a second I didn’t care either.

At last she broke away. “You did it Mike. You kept us ahead of the curve. And with the Fiend gone, there’s nothing in the local vicinity that need cause us fear. Let’s enjoy this time while we can. Until whoever is controlling the game ups the challenge levels, we can live happily.”

“Three cheers for Mike,” shouted Lucas. And as the others joined in, I found myself blushing and also deeply touched. I’d lost my old way of life and my old family. But I’d found a new one.

END OF BOOK TWO