Alpha_Ruby

After Earth collapses into dimensional entropy, billions of people are scattered across broken worlds and forced into a brutal survival game known only as the Shattered Trial. Each player gains a random class. Most wield magic, swords, or elemental power.

But Iden Virel, a former engineering student, is given something else.

A black ring. A broken interface. And the command:

[SUMMON: Skeleton – Worker Class]

With a system unlike any other, Iden can summon and assign skeletal minions to tasks—miners, scouts, warriors, mages, builders, and more. These skeletal followers don’t sleep, don’t eat, and never stop improving. The longer they work, the smarter they get.

Together with his sister Rael—a rare Sanctum Channeler who can empower and evolve allies—Iden must lead his growing skeletal force through monster-infested zones, hostile player factions, and ancient ruins... all while preparing for the apocalyptic battle known as the Final Judgment.

In this world, only one law remains:

Build. Adapt. Conquer. Or be erased.

Endless March: Skeleton King Ascends

The village had no name yet, but it was breathing.

Skeletons marched in patterns, guarding every outer border. Builders worked without rest, hammering bone-plated walls and framing houses from Cryptwood and mountain stone. The newly welcomed natives had begun helping with farming, using their knowledge of the land to cultivate food sources that could grow even under the mutated skies.

And in the heart of it all, Iden stood before a crude map, etched into stone with a dagger's point.

"It's time we stop reacting," he said to the small gathering around him."It's time we lead."

Nyra was officially designated as the Tactical Commander, overseeing scouts, assassins, and all stealth ops.

Rael became Chief Vitalis, the spiritual and support pillar of the village, responsible for the well-being of both skeleton and soul.

Kael was named Warden of the Silent Host, commanding undead summons of his own and maintaining harmony between his magic and Iden's.

Iden created the Council of Ash, a provisional body made up of native elders, builder captains, and his three key companions. Every major decision would pass through them.

"This won't be a dictatorship," Iden had said. "We've seen what that looks like."

As word spread—softly, cautiously—other survivors began to emerge from the forest and broken hills.

Liri, a sharp-tongued former herbalist with deep knowledge of mutated plants and their properties

Thorn, a scarred warrior who had once fought off corrupted wolves with nothing but a bone axe and raw hate

Milo, a young tinkerer who immediately began working with Builder skeletons to enhance weapon schematics using scavenged tech

But not far from this hope, there was pain.

One morning, while scouting an eastern ridge for usable stone, Nyra's scouts returned with grave news. They had seen another settlement—larger than Iden's, but filled with fearful people. Slaves.

"It's under the control of three candidates," Nyra reported. "They've built walls—not to protect, but to trap. They send the villagers out to collect resources and keep everything else for themselves. Food. Water. Shelter."

"They've even enslaved native beasts to guard their perimeter."

That night, as Iden stood alone at the watchtower's edge, gazing across the valley, something flickered in his vision.

A translucent ripple—barely there—followed by a single line of text at the corner of his interface:

[A neighboring soul suffers in silence. Will you act?]

But in his gut, something shifted.

In a different camp—lit with flickering neon wards and high stone towers—three candidates stood over a chained villager, casually debating whether to send them into the mines or feed them to the beasts for testing.

[A neighboring will resists. Will you crush it?]

Chapter 38 — Stone, Bone, and Shadow