Narrow Escape

I shook my head and threw the thought to the back of my mind before I resumed the task at hand. The skeleton next to me did the same.

The day was going to be long and hard.

Wait, wait. That didn't sound right.

In any case, we kept digging and digging.

The sensations we felt as Undead minions were limited. We had endless endurance, but we could get bored, angry, happy, and so on. Our minds were a mystery, indeed.

I have always taken pleasure in playing with the mana gems before we have to take them to storage. They are pretty, and at first, I simply enjoyed handling them.

But then I began to sense the mana within them. It took a long time, of course; I can hardly remember when exactly I developed this ability. After sensing the mana came the ability to feel it on the tips of my bony fingers. And then I became able to absorb it.

Over centuries, I grew proficient in mana absorption - as much as a little skeleton could get, I suppose - draining only a little from many gems so that I didn't get into trouble.

Typically all Undead here absorb mana. However, they do it subconsciously. It takes a long time to even form a mana core as the mana is so damn thin here.

But I could draw mana consciously. I was... built different, as they say.

I don't really know who says that, but they do say it, damn it!

After a very long time, I developed a skill.

It was related to mana, but I didn't know its name, only feeling its effects. I was scared of asking the Undead captains what the skill's name was. I didn't know what they would tell the Lich, after all. I only ever told my friend, Bonet.

I could feel the mana vividly even though it was very thin. The more I absorbed from the mana gems, the more the skill grew.

Over a thousand years - I think. Maybe more.

At this moment, I could sense the mana within a 100-meter radius vividly.

I just couldn't do anything to it.

Strangely, I was the only one who found this life monotonous. Or at least, I started to feel how boring it was at some point.

That's what spurred me to enjoy the thrill of feeling my sensitivity to mana grow.

As we continued to toil in the mines, one thing that always seemed to occur - almost as a rule, really - happened again.

A fight.

"Hey, what's your problem? Can't you see I'm digging over here?!" a short Undead minion with a blazing blue flame in his sockets barked.

Tktktktktktktktkt!

"So was I, why did you bump into me?!" another Undead of average height scoffed as he pushed his counterpart.

The short Undead staggered and fell only to rise immediately, his socket flame flaring with fury.

"You sockethole!!" the short Undead rushed up to the other undead and rammed into him.

The two tumbled on the ground with the funniest clattering of bones I'd heard in a while.

The Undead captain present simply watched, his flames dancing with amusement.

My two fellow brethren rolled on the ground, hitting each other on the bones with punches and kicks. 

They saw how pointless it was after a time, and then the short Undead finally lost it.

"You know what, flesh you!" he hissed.

...And then there was thick silence.

Every Undead's socket flames flickered dangerously. Mine too.

The Undead captain finally stepped in.

"Hey!" he barked, glaring at the short Undead. "That was over the line. Apologize!"

"I...I..." the short undead stammered as he searched around for support. He found none. Everyone was shaking their skulls in disapproval.

What he had just said was a taboo. Sentencing someone to flesh and life was the worst insult you could throw at a fellow Undead.

"I'm sorry," the short Undead finally relented and bowed to the offended party.

The Undead captain nodded and then signaled for us to get back to work.

We continued swinging and digging for the rest of the day. I managed to dig out a few mana gems and stealthily absorb their mana. The chilling sensation that ran through my bones as I did was exhilarating. I literally thrived for the sake of experiencing it every chance I got. 

With each chance to absorb the mana, I felt, through my skill, the minuscule changes to my mana core. Something within it churned ever so slightly.

After the day's work was done, we walked in a single file back to our cave.

At night, the red sun in the sky would turn darker, emitting almost no light at all. It wasn't unpleasant.

When we reached the entrance to the cave, the same Death Knight from this morning halted me and Bonet.

He lanced me with a blinding gaze before speaking.

"Skillius?"

I was so nervous that my mana core bobbled.

"Y..yes?" I answered.

"Follow me. Master wants to see you."

I shook.

What could Master want from me?

Did my silly lies about how he had once caressed my skull finally reach his auditory sense? Or was it the worse ones?

I followed the towering Death Knight through the dark lands until we reached a massive tower where many high-level Undead minions were stationed, swords on their waists, shields on their backs, and spears in their grip.

They looked threatening.

The massive stone tower that rose into the sky with a conical shape spooked me. It was roughly 100 meters wide with a large number of floors. A thick, Undeathly mist wrapped around it, nourishing the Undead that guarded it.

The Death Knight led me inside through the massive double doors made to cater to Undead as tall and large as him.

The interior was full of a rather...pleasant design of bones and gems featuring a series of different colors.

We walked up the many flights of stairs, finding next to no time to appraise and admire the diverse, impressive decor.

In any case, this place was certainly better than a bunk tomb.

We finally reached a large, important-looking room with many materials that I couldn't fathom, much less the way they were organized - or was it disorganized? 

The only thing I managed to dissect on my own was a great magic circle on the floor surrounded by thousands of mana gems - its power source.

In front of the magic circle was a figure wrapped in a great black robe. With a suspicious amount of zeal, he turned to us sharply as soon as we were close enough to him.

His features were revealed in all their Undeathly glory: a dark green skeleton with a deep red socket flame that demanded reverence and praise from me and the Death Knight.

It was Lich Somanda.

I resisted the urge to bow down and call him master as it came to me. I only managed to maintain a stare of fear and dark anticipation for what we wanted with me.

Somanda raised his bony hand and waved, dismissing the Death Knight. I felt awkward once it was just the two of us left in the great room. Somanda didn't say anything for a while, but his gaze remained fixed upon me. He might have been reading everything about me there was.

"I didn't think it was possible so soon," he said. "You're already resisting my binding. Tktktktktktktktkt."

He cackled, and I could have sworn I saw myself running out the door in fear.

'Bro, that was a phenomenal laugh!'

"Hmmm, I might as well extract some data from you before ending your pitiful existence," he said in a strangely grave tone.

End my what now?

Is he talking about ending my Undeath?!!!

I knelt with both knees on the floor and begged:

"Br- I mean, Master! Please spare this lowly servant! I beg of you!"

Tktktktktktktktkt!

I heard his teeth clatter in laughter and shivered.

"This proves all the more that you're an interesting specimen. You're already close to recovering your memories. In my presence, a normal Undead does not dare speak. You're even losing awareness of whom you serve, aren't you?" he said.

'My ....memories? What the flesh is going on here?!' I thought.

"Relax, it will all be over soon. I'll be quick. I have a long-awaited appointment in another world anyway. Ah, let me get my new apparatus," he said as he waved his hand. A powerful force locked me in place right then.

'Oh, crap!!'

I panicked. This was bad.

The legend of Skullius of the Marrow Tales was about to come to an end just like that?

I tried to struggle, but my body wouldn't budge.

'I really don't mind spending eternity mining rocks you know!'

How were all my efforts rewarded with this?

I was still a loyal Undead minion, wasn't I?

I was so scared.

I didn't even get to learn the name of that skill I was so fond of yet.

I didn't even get to ask why there aren't any female undead here!

'Wait. What are even females?! Argh, screw it! I'm finished!'

I knew there was nothing I could do.

I stood there waiting for my end. However, something registered in me. Something that was near.

It was something resonating with my mana core. I focused on it with all my might. It was likely the last interesting thing I would ever get the chance to experience, after all. I poured my desperation into identifying it.

...And there it was.

I felt mana - mana woven into something far more profound than anything I knew. It was woven into something that made my mana core yearn with insane passion.

But... there wasn't one of it, but two.

They were books - two books - emitting a beautifully woven mana.

I felt for them. I also began to yearn for them, just like my mana core. I was very sensitive to their beauty. I wanted them. This would be my last want.

'I want you,' I thought subconsciously. 'Come to me!'

My impulses led me to call out in my mind repeatedly. I felt some invisible part of myself tugging at these books, and....they responded.

I felt them float from where they were and towards me. They swiftly glided through the air and reached me.

I had been in a state that confused me. I had been blind throughout the entire process, only focusing on the mana that was resonating with my core.

I looked before me to see two tomes suffused with two different lights.

One with a sky blue gleam, the other with a red one.

They looked old, with a weird insignia branded onto their covers. Each expelled a power too profound for me to fully fathom, quite like how it was with my Master, Somanda. I felt undeserving of them... but I still wanted them.

I was drooling inwardly.

I focused on one of the books, the one with the blue light, and it instantly shot a ray of pale light that pierced through my skull.

I felt a horrible pressure press down on my entire body, causing me to quiver. I grunted and then... I moved.

I actually moved!

Was the restriction on me broken?

The pressure I felt died down quickly, and I was left with an odd, unfamiliar feeling rolling through my bones. They felt different... somehow.

The book responsible for instilling this odd sensation fell to the ground, its glow dimming to extinction. It lost all signs of its magical nature.

And then it was the red book's turn. It shot a red beam into my skull, making me grunt and clutch my head!

I tried my damndest to make sure I didn't make any attention-grabbing noise.

The throbbing in my skull was excruciating, to say the least.

Like the other book, this one also fell after punishing me with its essence.

I shook my skull and felt another different sensation in my bones. I was so confused. What were these books? What did they do to me?

Shockingly, an answer came almost immediately, and from an uncanny source.

I suddenly heard a voice speak in my head. It was melodious, prompting even an undead like me to praise it.

[Congratulations, you are now qualified to hear the Voice of Worlds and be granted a guidance field.]

[Supreme Skill acquired: Lifeless Evolution].

[Supreme Skill acquired: Flesh It Like You Mean It].

Uuuuuuum what? Wait? Is that a female voice?

Damn it, I'm so confused!

What's this voice in my head?

Skills? I acquired skills? How?

My mind was in turmoil. I grabbed one of the books and looked at it closely. There was nothing I could gather from its appearance. How could this thing grant me a skill? Just how much didn't I know about the world?

I heard the clatter of bony feet approaching the room and I once again remembered that I was about to be...ended.

I stood and looked left and right.

What do I do? This was definitely my one and only chance to escape, but...

If I went outside...I would be hacked by all those Death Knights and Captains.

If I stayed in the tower, Somanda would end me.

'What do I do? Think, you sockethole!'

And ah... It came to a moron like me.

The magic circle!

'....'

Hadn't Somanda said he wanted to go to another world? Could he have been planning to use this?

Wait! Hadn't those Death Knights been boasting about conquering other worlds?!

Without another thought, I rushed towards the magic circle and stood in the middle of all its complicated symbols.

'Will this work?' I thought as I stood.

The magic circle suddenly glowed bright, then brighter and brighter and I felt a powerful force grip my entire body. It started to twist everything around me and pull me downwards.

It seemed the magic circle had been ready for use and was prompted into activating by my entry into its formation.

Somanda rushed into the room right then, no doubt having sensed it spark to life. His jaw fell to the floor as he saw.

Doomed-to-end specimen Skullius was engulfed in a brilliant light from the magic circle, escaping his grasp.

The amount of satisfaction I felt from seeing his flabbergasted face - socket flames raging, teeth gnashed - was orgasmic, whatever that meant.

And as I was dragged down the circle, my body disappearing within it, I said two words to the Lich with an ecstatic tone. Two words I'd wanted to say to someone in a thousand years (probably more).

"FLESH YOU!!"