I picked myself up off the ground, looking around to try and figure out where I was. All my sensations felt strangely muted. I could tell where my body was touching the floor and the walls, but the sensation felt distant and indistinct. Being a skeleton sure is funky, huh?
Alright, I began looking around. Where am I? The walls and floors were made with block stones like a castle or mausoleum. I didn't remember anything like that in the dungeon I had been exploring with the Party of Heroes, but I figured it was possible the dogs had dragged my body further in before making me their dinner.
I looked around cautiously to see if I could make out any trace of the dogs, but I didn't see anything to indicate their presence. The walls and floor were bare and clean, aged, but remarkably free of debris or scratches. I suppose I did read something about dungeons cleaning and repairing themselves, so maybe that makes sense, though if I was just eaten here, that does seem a little fast…I wonder how long it's been since I died…
I heard some scuffling around the corner and quickly looked around to see if I had any weapons on me. All I could find was a rusty longsword by my feet. Seriously, how long has it been? But I didn't have time to consider the question as a small dog-like creature came bounding around the corner.
A…Wolf? I didn't remember wolves being in the starter dungeon. The wolf bared its fangs at me, and I prepared my sword, trying hard to remember all the things that I learned during the week I'd spent training at the castle.
The wolf leapt at me and I took its fangs on my sword, pushing it back. "Dark slash!" I called, taking a swipe towards the wolf, the dark energy gathered in my sword as it arced into the ground, missing the wolf entirely.
Crap this is back to level 1! I had already gotten used to the extended range of the level 2 slash, and it hadn't really sunk in that I'd lost a lot of skills.
The wolf growled, circling me, searching for an opening. I followed it with my eyes, purposefully giving it one, before leaping out of the way as the wolf jumped at me again. I almost lost my balance as I pivoted, taking the wolf partially in my side as I brought down my sword into the wolf's flank, blood sprouting from its side as it whimpered and tried to limp away before I brought down another stroke ending it. Phew, I really felt the loss of my improved balance and reactions. I hope I can get those back soon…
I held my side where I knew the wolf had hit me, some of my ribs were slightly cracked, but I hadn't really felt anything. Do I…not feel pain? "Status," I called, deciding to check if my HP was down.
[N@Me: R@y?]
[R@cE: Lesser Skeleton]
[S£×: #] [AG€: 1]
[{v!. 2]
[HP: 12/15] [MP: 7/10] [SP: 9/12]
[S&i!!s: Drk sl@Sh !v!. 1, Dark Vision lvl. 1]
[T9t!eS: UnDe@d, Blessed of Melphinoe]
Dark Vision, huh? Well I suppose it's kind of useful in the dungeon. And it lists my race now? Lesser Skeleton…I wonder if I can evolve that somehow…Wait, what's with that question mark by my name, is the system unsure of who I am? I looked down at the wolf corpse, pondering. Monsters slain in the dungeon were slowly consumed by the dungeon itself, so that it could replicate their strength in future spawns. I suppose that's kind of like how I am now, just a monster dying and then coming back to life in a new form. I looked down at my skeleton hands once more. So…What should I be doing exactly? I'm alive again, and I'd like to keep things that way, but it's not exactly like I can stroll back above ground and meet up with my other classmates…Well, maybe I could, I don't know, would they just kind of understand, and be glad to see me again? It'd be awkward to say the least…
I hadn't gotten along with my classmates all that well. My family had just moved to Tokyo from the US last year, and I hadn't really had the chance to find my place in the new school yet. There were a few kids I got along with well enough, but nobody I could truly call a friend. My family…Up to this point all the summoned had held out hopes for finding some way of returning to our world.
We figured if we pleased the gods that had summoned us to this world, and really wanted to go back they might let us, but now…What was I fighting for anyways? Why did I care so much to put my life on the line like that? I hadn't even had a patron god, or not one that I knew the name of anyways, so it's not like I was doing it for anyone else. I just…wanted to be important, I guess. Well, I could still do that if I wanted to—beat the mobs and level up, huh? I could still do that, maybe being a monster would even mean I could potentially become even more powerful than the heroes.
That doesn't seem so bad, I thought, gripping my rusted sword. After all, it's far more like a game now. Beat the mobs, level up, if you die just come back to life, that's what the undead are for, right? I tried to grin before realizing I didn't have any facial muscles. Tch. Well that's annoying. I got up, swinging my sword a few times. So then, let's begin.