The fire had long died out, leaving only a faint warmth in the earth beneath him. Alexander sat with his back to a jagged, moss-covered stone. His eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, catching the low ambient light filtering through the thick canopy above. He hadn't slept. Sleep felt… unnecessary. Or maybe just too dangerous.
He studied his left hand—the same hand that had summoned his first skeleton the day before. His fingers curled instinctively, as if still feeling the pull of necrotic magic.
> [Raise Undead I]
Mana Cost: 15 (Reduced by Monarch of the Undead)
Duration: Until destroyed or dismissed
Units Summoned: 1–3 Skeletal Minions
Loyalty: Absolute
The skeleton he'd summoned was still nearby, standing perfectly still in the brush like a macabre statue. Its eye sockets burned with dull green fire. It didn't move unless commanded, didn't breathe, didn't twitch. It simply waited.
Alexander couldn't help but admire it.
He was beginning to understand the appeal of undeath.
---
The morning air was cold, unnaturally so. As Alexander moved through the forest with the skeleton in tow, he felt the wrongness in the environment. The trees were twisted. The soil was blackened in places. The occasional animal bones were far too clean — as if something had devoured them completely, leaving only the white truth of their deaths behind.
It was no wonder he'd been reincarnated here.
The Forest of Echoes, as the system had named it, was the scar of an ancient battlefield. And in some horrific way… it felt alive. Whispers sometimes tickled the edges of his hearing, like voices carried on the wind but never speaking anything intelligible.
> New Objective Unlocked: Survive the Forest of Echoes (Progress: 2%)
Alexander frowned.
"This place is watching me…"
Just then, his skeleton stopped moving. Its skull tilted slightly—then turned sharply toward the left.
Alexander froze.
A soft snarl echoed through the trees, low and guttural.
Another wolf? No… heavier.
The underbrush shifted, and something emerged. A beast, wolf-shaped but mutated. Twisted horns jutted from its brow. Its eyes were pitch-black voids that dripped with violet ichor. Its fur looked wet and clumped with rot.
> [Chaos Hound – Mutated]
Threat Level: D-
Status: Corrupted by Chaos Void
Alexander's pulse remained steady, though his mind raced.
"They're already here."
The Chaos Void had noticed him — and now they were testing him. This was no mere wildlife encounter. This was targeted.
"Skeleton," he said calmly, "Engage and distract."
The undead lunged forward without hesitation.
Alexander raised his hand, mana flaring from his fingertips. The corrupted wolf leapt at the skeleton with terrifying speed, raking it with razor claws. Bone splintered — but the skeleton held its ground.
> Mana: 92 / 120
"Shadow Fog."
A wave of darkness spread from his palm, blanketing the area in swirling black mist. The creature hesitated. Alexander didn't.
> Shadow Bullet.
A ball of black energy streaked from his hand and struck the Chaos Hound's chest. The impact seared flesh and shattered bone beneath. The beast let out a garbled howl before Alexander followed with a second shot.
Then a third.
By the fourth, the creature collapsed, twitching in a pool of foul blood.
Silence fell again.
---
Alexander approached the corpse carefully. It was already beginning to break down — melting into the ground like a diseased memory. The Void left no corpses behind. It didn't want evidence. Only fear.
He stood over the remains, fists clenched. His skeleton dragged itself upright, missing half its ribcage but still obedient.
> +45 EXP Gained
Current Level: 2 → 3
A low voice echoed in his mind. A memory? A system alert?
> "They are watching, Reincarnator. But so are we."
Alexander looked up at the darkened sky, a smirk forming on his lips.
"Then let them watch."