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 trees fell like obedient towers.

Axes made of reinforced bone thudded rhythmically as the Lumber-class skeletons cleared the northern forest ridge. Scouts dragged back carcasses of slain beasts. Builders harvested cryptstone and thick roots for wall frames.

In the distance, foragers—a blend of summoned Scouts and newly awakened villagers—gathered herbs, hunted smaller game, and carved routes through the brush.

Atop a rocky rise, a half-built foundation spread out before him: angular platforms, conduits of runestone wiring, and bone latticework spiraled outward from a central socket.

The Etheric Relay Hub.

A place of connection.

His hand touched the smooth, etched surface of the relay core—warm from the sun, colder beneath.

His father's voice, hoarse but steady. "Don't just build walls, Iden. Build what you want to protect."His mother's laugh, muffled by the rain. "If you're going to lead something one day, make sure it's worth bleeding for."

They had been farmers. Dreamers. Survivors.

System Notification

[Relay Socket Stabilized – Etheric Relay Hub Progress: 37%]

[Personal Quest Progression – Task Completed: Construct High-Utility Infrastructure]

"Shape the flame," Iden repeated to himself. "Bear the stone.""They weren't just talking about the world. They were talking about me."

Just over the next ridge, two Skeleton Warriors stood guard while a Hunter-class archer tracked a growling predator.

The underbrush exploded—revealing a scaled, four-legged beast with bark-thick armor and curved fangs.

"Target: Razorback Hornbeast. Estimated Tier: E+."

But it didn't reach the front line. Because a Mage Skeleton intercepted it with a blast of kinetic frost, freezing its limbs mid-charge.

The second Warrior crashed into its neck, driving boneblade through sinew and skull.

The skeletons stood still afterward—briefly—before resuming collection of meat, bone, and hide.

Iden watched the results return to the village.

WoodPeltRare rootsBeast crystal cores

[EXP Shared — Skeletons (Scout, Mage, Warrior): Level Progress Increased][+60 Units of Salvaged Resource Sent to Storehouse][Village Morale +2 – No Injuries Reported in Today's Hunt]

He turned back to the Relay structure. Builders moved without question. Kael stood with Rael at the edge of the camp, reviewing phylactery formation. Nyra mapped the southern reaches.

And for the first time in weeks, Iden smiled softly.

But for continuity.

"This," he whispered, "is how we win. Not by killing more... but by making sure the people we saved never fall again."

Chapter 47 — Before the Flame, There Was Shelter