I opened my eyes, the flap of my tent staring back at me. The sharp scent of pine and damp earth assaulted my nose.

  My mind rocked at the sudden and complete change of my surroundings. My fingers stretched and Harbinger half formed when I heard something snap nearby but I forced my hand to relax.

  I wasn't in a warzone anymore, well not the same warzone anyways. Right, right, we had just finished fighting back the first monster release. There were Gnolls roaming around out there. And Goblins. And who knew what else. I let out a slow breath, I could deal with those in time. First I needed to take stock of my current strength and meet with Elden and Myer, from there-

  My thoughts were ground to a halt by a System message.

  Congratulations on completing [The Trial of the Wight], Evolution will commence in one minute.

  Administrator's Addendum: An extra reward has been granted. [Tome of the First Bone Sage] will be given after Evolution.

  I blinked, Administrators Addendum? Extra Reward? I wonder what kind of tome that is, obviously it'll be related to necromancy but just what will be in it?

  I eagerly awaited the Evolution, mostly so I could get my hands on the extra reward.

  Evolution commencing.

  I tensed, expecting something similar to when the Chrono System was first integrated with me. But instead I felt a soothing flow of magic course briefly through my body before another message appeared.

  Evolution complete.

  That was it? I didn't know what to expect but I guess I had been expecting more.

  Unlisted skill added [Tome of the First Bone Sage]

  It came as a skill?

  I pulled up my status window, starting with my attributes, curious as to the changes.

  Name: Crowley

  Race: Wight

  Class: Necromancer 20

  Attributes:

  Strength: 22

  Agility: 20

  Constitution: 48

  Endurance: 34

  Spirit: 107

  Intelligence: 20

  Perception: 25

  Dominion: 101

  Current Minions: 15 of 202

  25 Free Points Remaining.

  I blinked, they had raised that much in just a matter of weeks? And the evolution was one of my attributes? Interesting. What did it change? Willpower had been my governing attribute over my control of minions. I focused on the connections I had and winced, I had very few but I focused on the one with the shade I had made before I left for the Trial. It felt crystal clear, much more focused than it had previously. And my total minion cap had doubled.

  I ordered the shade to come to me, there was little to no delay on it responding. I had grown used to my orders taking a moment to register, it had been like saying something to an animal in training and having to wait for it to understand. But now, it was like an animal who had been thoroughly trained for years. That in and of itself would be useful.

  Now then, what to assign my free points too. I brushed the thought to the side, I'd consult with Elden and Myer first. My physical stats were a little lacking so Myer would probably want me to invest in those a bit before continuing on my caster route.

  I looked at the next notification.

  Tome of the First Bone Sage

  A grimoire containing necromantic research, written by the Great Sage Sirus Erdirya during his time at the Order of Bones. Contains basic information on raising and maintaining the undead, along with several more advanced rituals and evolution paths of specific undead.

  Can be summoned as a physical copy or read mentally.

  A broad smile spread across my face, this was exactly what I needed. But I resisted the urge to immediately begin reading and crawled out of my tent before I could convince myself to just take a peak.

  I tugged on the mental link between my advisors and I, calling them to me while I looked around at Riverrun and all the work that needed to be done before the next monster release. My Spectral Sight came to me out of habit and I observed the countless souls roaming around, far more than what I had seen during the trial. I wondered why that was. I'd have to ask Elden.

  That's when I noticed the other occupants of the village begin to roam around, stretching, looking about as disheveled as I assumed I did. Their souls told volumes, Robin and Eustace's seemed brighter, more assured.

  While Harald bore the distinct mark of Abyssal Power, a bright Crimson lashing out from the deep blue of his soul. And so did Tyriel, that was curious. Had they been through something similar to my Trial? And been given similar choices at the end? It was no matter, sure there were now two people using Abyssal Power but I took some small comfort in the lack of any cold hungry voids.

  I deactivated Spectral Sight and stretched. Regardless I'd have to keep an eye on those two for a little while. I turned my attention to the frontier, there was plenty to do out there as well. I walked towards the forest and met Elden and Myer at the tree line before continuing a little ways in, stopping in a clearing.

  "Did you get cold feet?" Elden asked in an understanding tone.

  "Cold feet?" I replied confused.

  "It's only been a couple of minutes since we last spoke," Elden explained, also confused.

  "No I went through the Trial, I was gone for a few weeks, maybe a month and some," I said and turned towards Myer, "In fact I had to take part in the Abyssal War."

  Myer seemed to tense at my words, "I'm sorry you had to witness that as well."

  "I'm sure I'll be dealing with it for quite some time, but in the meantime I can distract myself with work," I responded, trying to dismiss the thoughts that came to mind.

  "What did you have to do there?" Myer questioned.

  "I had to make sure Alaric survived long enough to make it to the Lone Peak Mountains. I don't know if you knew him or not." I explained.

  "Know him?" Myer laughed, "He saved our asses at the end of that war," He grew quiet before continuing, "And then he became our damnation."

  I looked at Myer, waiting for him to continue.

  "He started the second Abyssal War, the one in which I and several veterans died in banishing him back to the Hells."

  I blinked, "Wow, I'm sorry."

  Myer shrugged, "It's no matter now, that was thousands of years ago. Let's move on to more comfortable topics. You look like you have plans."

  I nodded, glad to be off the topic of the Abyssal Wars, "There's a lot to do and only a month to get most of it done."

  The pair nodded and I continued, summoning the grimoire I had obtained.

  "This is sure to have some knowledge to make our lives easier," I continued to say, "Our first steps should be establishing patrols, we need to hunt down the Gnolls that survived."

  Myer nodded, "I was going to bring that up when you had returned."

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Next, Eustace needs a workforce for construction. And I have a few ideas for that. Those are our top priorities."

  Myer and Elden nodded in agreement.

  "And how are you wanting to proceed with that?" Myer asked.

  I gestured around, "There are thousands if not millions of wandering souls to create squads with if they're willing. And I think we can find some craftsmen to teach the villagers. Beyond that we'll need some basic undead to fill the gaps, specters will be great as elite troops but our enemies need to see a constant physical force patrolling our territory."

  "Then it's time for you to learn how to create Revenants," Elden mused absently.

  "I actually figured out how to do that in the Trial," I responded with an awkward chuckle.

  Elden raised an eyebrow, or at least I think he did, hard to see anything in that hood.

  "Oh? And how did you manage that?"

  "I mimicked the process for creating a Shade but left out the parts where it would make a Shade."

  "That," Elden paused, "That shouldn't have worked," He paused again, considering, "I can see how it could work though. Good job Crowley."

  I nodded, grateful for the praise but brushing it away just as quickly.

  "Myer, I want you to take what forces we have left and patrol the area, we want the first mile solidly within our control. Report back and tell me what you need to get the job done."

  Myer nodded, tugging on the mental connections between the minimal forces that survived the first Monster Release.

  "Elden, you and I are going to go through this grimoire after I speak with Eustace about getting him a construction crew."

  Elden nodded.

  "All right then, let's get things done," I ordered, my authority ringing clear in my voice and our connections.

  Myer set off with fourteen zombies while Elden and I returned to the village, the Gnoll Shade still within my shadow waiting for me to fix it.

  I found Eustace sitting next to Robin, they were discussing something in hushed tones. It was then I remembered my Winter Bound that I had summoned before I left. I looked around and found him sitting underneath a tree reading the manual that Eustace had given him. He had gone through a similar change to the others after I came back from death. Eustace and Robin looked up as I approached and gave me weary smiles.

  "Crowley," Eustace greeted, sounding exhausted, "What can I do for you?"

  "Eustace, Robin," I nodded, "I came to talk about the options for the construction efforts but," I paused looking at the pair, "It can wait. Did you two go through some sort of Trial too?"

  They nodded.

  I grimaced slightly, if it had been anything like mine, "I'll leave you two to it then and we can talk about the construction another time."

  Eustace nodded and smiled, "I appreciate it Crowley, go ahead with whatever plan you concocted, I trust your judgement."

  I nodded and turned away, walking briskly back towards my tent. The conversation could wait but not the work itself.

  It began with the Shade I had made before the Trial, the Gnoll crawled out of my shadow and I winced at its lethargic movements. Had I truly improved that much in such a short time? I began the ritual immediately, noting the absence of death energy. It had been in such ready supply during the Trial but back here it was minimal.

  I frowned and considered the issue. The biggest difference between my rituals there and here is that I was doing them in a warzone. I paused the ritual, moving towards the battle site with the Gnolls. There was ample death energy for the ritual but I would have to keep that in mind. After I finished with the Shade I made mental notes. In order to do the ritual in one sitting I would need a fresh battle site filled with death energy, otherwise the Shades would take two or three rituals. Unless I imbued more mana rather than focusing on death energy.

  "I'm going to need a notebook," I remarked absently.

  "Every mage does," Elden agreed, "What's next on your agenda?"

  "I'm going to need more corpses and time to study this grimoire," I said before pausing, the System said I could review the information mentally, "Actually hang on a moment."

  I focused on the new skill and thought about Revenants, a flood of information bombarded my mind. From what types of corpses to use, how to bind a soul, the flow of energy through the host's body, and the types of evolutions the undead could go through over time. I blinked, taking a step to steady my swaying form.

  "Crowley?" Elden asked, concern layering his voice.

  "I'm all right," I waved my hand dismissively, "That was just a lot all at once."

  Elden peered at me curiously, "Is this Grimoire a skill?"

  I nodded, "I can review it mentally and my head was just overflowing with ways to create Revenants."

  "Fascinating," Elden remarked, "That certainly makes things easier."

  "It does," I replied, still swaying slightly, "And I think I can find a way to fix a long standing problem." I focused on the skill again, this time thinking about Animate and the Bounding Hound Affix.

  A rush of information plummeted into me, the difference between incorporeal and corporeal undead, the different types of energy used, and the key to making something with both traits.

  I grinned, blood trickling from my nose, "Got it," I swayed and fell into Elden's waiting arms. Darkness overtaking my vision.

  I awoke some time later, a throbbing ache resonating through my head. My body shivered and I looked around at the trees, the night sky exploding with color. I gazed up at it, leaning back against the tree I had been set against. It was beautiful, millions of stars focusing down on the world with a large band of color flowing between them. It seemed to shift between a few but appeared to be mostly green. I sat in silence for several minutes before turning my attention to Elden, who had been standing to my side for the last few hours.

  "How long was I out?" I asked quietly, afraid to break the tranquil silence.

  "Several hours," He replied, "It would appear that you strained yourself too hard."

  "Seems like it," I said, "But we have too much work to do to allow anything else."

  "You can't do the work if you're dead or unconscious," Elden chided.

  "Fair enough," I sighed "Did Myer report back yet?"

  Elden shook his head, "He's doing another patrol to see what changes at night."

  I nodded.

  "So what did you learn to cause you to pass out so suddenly?"

  "The difference between corporeal and incorporeal, how their energy works, and everything in between."

  A low whistle came from his hood.

  "Yea," I chuckled, "It was a lot. But I know how to fix the Bounding Hound issue now."

  "I'd advise against doing so tonight, rest Crowley."

  I shook my head, "No time," I hoisted myself up slowly and stood beside him, "The sooner I get this done the sooner we can have a better force."

  "What do you plan to do?"

  "Exert my will," I replied, slipping the deor mask from my belt and fastening it on.

  There was a sudden change in Elden's posture, watching the shadows devour my features and the candle like flames of ghostfire igniting in the sockets. He tensed and watched me in silence for several seconds.

  "I don't believe we asked enough questions about your trial earlier," He finally said, "What happened?"

  I raised the hood up, further enshrouding my features, letting only the mask be visible. "I died and came back."

  "This still feels like a drastic change, Crowley," He continued, half ignoring my comment, "Don't you think you should slow down and take a more methodical approach to the issue?"

  "It would take too long and I wouldn't get the outcome I want," I looked at him, "I could dissect it, separate the skills. But then what am I left with? Basic zombies that would only be useful until we're suddenly flooded with creatures too strong for even a horde to handle? They have their place in my army, but what I'm about to do will change everything. They won't be just simple undead anymore. Animate demands evolution and so do I."

  Elden fell silent, thinking before nodding, "Do what you must."

  I stepped away, holding out my hands and concentrating on what the grimoire had taught me. Ghostfire fell from my hands and flowed almost like water, igniting a simple ritual circle and freezing the ground within with complex sigils.

  I stepped through the flames, stopping in the center and breathing in deeply. Spectral Sight came to me and the forest surrounding us answered my call with Whispers of the Hunt, drawing in the power I could now sense before turning my attention to Animate and the baneful affix I had picked.

  I wouldn't just fix a mistake made by the System, I will reforge it into something greater. I seized the skills, capturing them in an iron grip and slowly began the work of merging the opposing energies. An hour flew by, then two, then three. Sweat running down my body at the strain. Soon I would create something new, something dangerous.

  I am a Wight, a being between life and death, in harmony with the energy with the corporeal and the incorporeal. I demanded something similar from my horde. I exerted my will, or as the System called it, Dominion. I felt the skill crack, absorbing the affix that had been plaguing me for so long. I flooded death energy into the crack, urging the transformation. And a wicked laugh came from my lips at the notification that followed shortly after.

  Skill [Animate] has begun evolution.

  Skill [Animate] has evolved into Skill [Aria of the Misted Grave]

  This decree has deepened your connection with your class, your horde waits for their conductor.

  The ghostflame winked out and I smiled, looking over to Elden who watched in silence. His head tilted in thought before taking a step forward.

  "So you've accepted the path that lays before you?"

  "No, I accepted the path that I will carve."