The massive gate closed behind Arin with a deep, echoing rumble. The sound rolled through the cavern like thunder, fading slowly into silence.
Darkness swallowed everything. The only light came from faint blue runes etched along the stone walls, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
[Dungeon: The Forgotten Depths][Level Requirement: Unknown][Warning: Exceedingly High Danger Detected.]
Arin took a deep breath. "So this is a dungeon…?" His voice echoed, trembling slightly.
Each step he took left faint footprints glowing on the ground, like the dungeon itself was watching him.
As he moved deeper, he saw ancient carvings on the walls — warriors bowing before a figure wrapped in darkness, holding a black flame in his palm. Beneath it, faded words read:
"Only the one who walks with death may command it."
Arin frowned. "Walk with death…?"
Suddenly, a chilling wind swept through the chamber. A system alert flashed in front of him:
[Necromancer Trial Activated.][Objective: Survive the Whisper of the Dead.]
"What—"
Before he could finish, the ground cracked open beneath him. Cold mist poured out, and ghostly shapes began to rise — skeletal warriors, their eyes glowing faint blue.
Their armor was rusted, weapons broken, but the murderous intent that filled the air was suffocating.
Arin stumbled back. "You've got to be kidding me!"
He grabbed a rusted sword lying nearby, raising it awkwardly. His hands trembled as the undead closed in.
One swung its blade — Arin blocked barely, sparks flying. The impact nearly threw him off balance.
He fell to his knees. His body screamed in pain.
[Health: 27%][Warning: Critical Condition!]
"Damn it… not again. I can't die here…"
Then — something stirred within him.
A deep voice, echoing from nowhere and everywhere at once, whispered in his mind.
"Death does not reject you… it awaits you."
Arin's vision blurred. The air grew colder, and the shadows beneath him began to move.
They twisted, stretched — forming ghostly hands that reached toward the fallen skeletons.
The corpses shuddered… and then slowly began to rise.
Their empty eye sockets glowed red this time — not blue.
[Skill Unlocked: Shadow Rebirth][Description: Revive the fallen dead to serve under your command.]
Arin gasped as the undead he had fought moments ago now knelt before him, silent and obedient.
He looked at his trembling hands — the air around them shimmered with dark energy.
"…I revived them," he whispered. "I… brought them back."
The system glowed once more:
[Title Acquired: The One Who Commands the Dead.][You are now recognized as a Necromancer.]
Arin looked up toward the endless shadows of the dungeon, a faint, grim smile forming on his lips.
For the first time since arriving in this world… he felt powerful.
"If death itself obeys me…""…then no one will ever take anything from me again."
And with that vow burning in his chest, Arin stepped deeper into the dungeon — followed by his first army of the dead.