Side Story 3: Life after Death (Casper) (Patreon)

Casper stood silently as he looked at himself in the mirror before him. He still found it hard to recognize that this was truly him even after so many days has passed. His ashen skin, gray eyes with black pupils, and black hair that looked to be graying was all so unfamiliar.

But what was eerier was now he couldn’t feel himself. He didn’t feel the faint response from his muscles when he moved his arms; he didn’t hear or feel his own heartbeat, and his senses, in general, felt dulled… or perhaps replaced was more correct.

Instead, he could smell the mana in the air; he could sense the warmth of things even if it weren’t through the feeling of touch. A feeling of warmth that his own body did not give off as it idled at the same temperature as whatever environment he was in. Any normal human would be dead if their body reached such a low degree… but perhaps that was normal.

Because Casper had to accept that he wasn’t alive anymore, the only warmth he felt was from the necklace he wore…

He had made a pact with forces he didn’t truly understand in a moment of desperation and despair. Listened to sweet promises of a happy ending if he only did as he was asked. He had been forbidden from slaying William no matter how much he wished, banned from sharing any of the knowledge he had been given with his colleagues or friends.

Forced to live and die with the knowledge that they wouldn’t exit the tutorial.

That is all in the past, he reminded himself. He would return to his own universe when the tutorial’s duration was over, and then he would have work to do.

Walking out of a small door leading onto a balcony, he stared up into the four black spheres hanging above. Despite all appearing pitch black, they still exhibited a white light that covered the entire planet at all hours of the day. Currently, he only saw four but knew nine existed in total.

While sunlight did not hurt undead, the effect it had on the mana was less than ideal. Instead, these orbs gave off a type of mana far more aligned with the death-affinity mana that permeated the entirety of the undead empire.

He was currently in a giant complex of thousands of buildings serving the same purpose: Preparing for the 93rd universe’s integration. Teachers, soldiers, scholars, all were there to make sure the undead empire was ready.

Casper was far from the only one in the 93rd universe there, either. In fact, he had come to learn that within the inner area… a tutorial was going on. He felt like that raised far too many questions than he could ever hope to find the answers to in the short time he had.

Yet… Casper had come to discover that he was viewed in a special light. He also wasn’t the only one that had come here from other tutorials, far from it, but he was the only one that had been brought there the way he was.

Others had come through challenge dungeons or their tutorials being linked to the undead empire. The most surprising thing was that several people who were brought into the tutorial… were already dead.

Every single individual who had died in the last 24 hours before the integration had been giving a second chance. This meant nearly 150.000 humans had been brought into the tutorials already as undead. This had naturally resulted in quite a lot of confusion from what Casper had heard.

Not that he had met or observed any of those tutorials. He was in the second batch of those who had chosen to become undead willingly during his tutorial.

Looking away from the dark sun above, he grabbed a bag and began walking down to the meeting room. There, he would meet those in a similar situation to his own as they prepared. There was less than a week before their return to Earth, and there was much to prepare.

Entering the room, he saw that quite a few others were already there. Five people were sitting around a table already discussing, but they all quieted the moment he entered - all waiting for the leader of their little group to speak.

“I did not expect you today,” she said as she got up and smiled towards him, brushing her hair back. She had long black hair that extended down past her shoulders and the same gray eyes as himself except for a faint white light in the middle of the pupil. Despite being undead, she hadn’t lost any of her voluptuosity but was still as well-endowed as she had been before death. Not that Casper cared.

“You should have Priscilla,” Casper answered with slight annoyance at the woman’s intimate approach.

This earned him some venomous stares from the four young men that had been sitting with her, but none of them dared speak up. They had the last time they met, and that had been met with more pain than any of them ever wished to experience again.

Curses did not care if one was undead or living.

But he did see that the woman had gained another level since last, still staying ahead of him, which wasn’t that surprising as she had been higher ever since their first meeting.

[Risen Human – lvl 44]

“Ah, sorry, Casper, there is just so much to keep track of. We need to do a good job when we return, don’t we?” she asked, not at all discouraged by his dismissive attitude.

“Sure,” he answered as he took a seat at the far end of the table. He didn’t hesitate to take out a large book as he began reading it, completely ignoring the others in the room.

Slowly the room began being filled as more people arrived. Some had come back from hunting while others had been studying. The final one to arrive was the one who had called the meeting– a skeleton wearing a white robe, floating a few feet above the ground.

[Lich – lvl ???]

“Good, you have all arrived,” it spoke as a female voice echoed out in the room.

“With less than a week remaining, the final preparations are being made. Your planet is not especially suited for undead inhabitation, but that does not mean it isn’t worth considering. However, what is most important is not making more enemies than we can handle during the early phases.

“The living tend to have an inborn deterrence towards us undead that you will have to overcome. Especially in a world such as yours where the culture has painted us in a rather negative light. Therefore today’s lesson will revolve around creating diplomatic relations with others, be they living or dead.”

As the lich spoke, one of the men in the room raised his hand. “Is the plan not to completely transform the planet? Wouldn’t it make more sense to-“

“No, it is not. Complete terraformation seldom leads to positive results, especially not in new universes like this. Word will spread, and our relations with others will weaken even more. We already have enough issues with the Holy Church currently; there is no need to provide them more arguments against us.

“Not like we could anyway,” Casper muttered to himself, loud enough for them all to hear. The lich included.

“Casper is right in that it would be a very arduous path. We simply do not have the numbers or power to do something like that on your planet, and I doubt the other forces seeking to influence your world would allow it. So stay diplomatic and seek out peaceful solutions.”

The meeting continued for the better part of an hour, with Casper returning to his book halfway through. This talk was never for him but those meatheads that thought they were aiming for world domination or something silly like that.

After the meeting, Casper left without speaking to any of them further, despite Priscilla’s attempt to invite him to hunt together. She wouldn’t stop pestering him, and it was getting annoying. He didn’t know why she was so obsessed with him, but he did have some theories.

One of which was that it was because of the teacher he was on his way to meet.

Walking into the teleportation circle, he raised the badge he had been given and felt the mana around him come alive. His vision shifted for a few moments before he found himself somewhere new – within the central spire of the entire complex.

A huge tower of bone and steel, filled with magic scribbles and runes, no one but his teacher understood. Walking up the spiral staircase, he knocked on the door before opening it. Within, he saw another skeletal figure lazing back on a chair with runic scriptures floating before the two ghostly flames that were his eyes.

“Teacher,” he said with a nod, knowing the lich was already aware of him.

[Archlich– lvl ?]

Dispelling the runes, the archlich spoke in an amused voice. “Why even attend those meetings? They are a waste of time.”

“It would be weird if I never show up, and it helps me to get a better grasp of how strong others are,” Casper answered truthfully.

“Levels aren’t everything when it comes to power. You will all hit a wall eventually anyway, so why does it matter if they are a few dozen levels higher now if you are a hundred ahead in a century?” his teacher asked, half-rhetorically. Casper answered nevertheless.

“The first few years after we return will be tumultuous. We will need power not to be wiped out right away.”

“True, but that is not your creed. I am not training you to be a warrior tomorrow but an asset in a millennium. You taking a small piece of land in a virgin universe is just a small bonus,” the lich spoke. “But I do understand it can be hard to think centuries ahead when you worry about tomorrow. So let us get started immediately.”

With those words, the mighty mage before him waved his hands as the room changed. The walls expanded outwards as a huge central arena appeared with the two of them within. At the same time, the mana density spiked immensely as the air shimmered with power. It wasn’t death-affinity mana either, but pure mana.

Casper didn’t need any prompt before he got started. Activating his skill Magiscript, he began drawing the runes and shapes in the air. His teacher observed him and spoke as he made errors or praised when he correctly picked up the right thing to do.

Occasionally, the lich changed the mana’s flow, forcing Casper to adapt or see his budding magic circle fall to pieces.

“Remember, we are architects of magic, but that as mortal architects, we are forced to work with the building materials we have. Working with only our own mana, we have to use our environment to the full effect. Shape your circle as nature has shaped the world.”

Casper kept practicing for hours, his own mana pool barely being dented due to the high mana density and his own low expenditure.

“Your power lies not only in knowledge but your emotions. Manifest them. Through your will, impose them upon the magic, make your intent clear. With time, it shall become an instinct to do this with everything. That is the key to true magic.”

After a few more hours, Casper felt his mental energy reach its limits as the next shift in mana washed away all the scrips of mana he had written in the air, and the constructs of mana all fell apart one by one. The shapes and programmed spells turned to nothing.

Casper collapsed exhausted to the ground. If he were still able to sweat, his entire body would have been soaked through. But as an undead, the only sign was that his eyes appeared slightly dimmer than before due to low spirit points.

His teacher looked at him with an expressionless skeletal face as he gave some more feedback.

“Better than last, but you still have a long way to go. You need to rely far more on your experience with curses and emotional energy. From a technical standpoint, you can’t be considered talented, but your innate ability to harness emotions is very promising. So focus on that.

The room returned to normal after he spoke, back into the same circular study it had been when Casper first entered. “Now, see you tomorrow for our next session. Get some rest and try to practice some in your own time. Tomorrow we are working on physical manifestations and using magiscripts to alter the physical world.”

With those words from his teacher, Casper did a tired bow before he turned and left. He nearly fell down the staircase and did stumble a bit after taking the teleportation circle back, but he didn’t complain. He knew exactly how valuable those lessons with the archlich were.

While Casper was still new to the multiverse like everyone else, he had fast come to learn what a Demigod was… because his teacher was one. A being that had reached the limits of mortality, only a single step from godhood, was now teaching him.

He had looked for an explanation ever since his first lesson… but he couldn’t find the reason. He wasn’t that extraordinary, his talents only mediocre in most places. Priscilla was far more talented than him, and even with such a powerful teacher, he couldn’t catch up in levels.

When he got back to his room, he lay down on his bed as he fished out the necklace from beneath his clothes. It was a small locket, and he quickly opened it and saw the ghostly image of a woman within. It was slightly moving, but her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping.

“Lyra…” he muttered as he felt pain in his chest. She was why he had made the pact and come here… yet he could only wait. Her soul had been saved, but it was still far too weak to awaken. He had complained when he first got here… but even his teacher said there was nothing he could do. Her Truesoul had weakened, and only time or a god specializing in soul magic could ever have a chance to remedy that.

Closing the locket again, he sat up reaffirmed as he entered meditation. Seeing his progress in levels, he still felt unsatisfied.

Status

Name: Casper Morseca

Race: [Risen Human (E) – lvl 39]

Class: [Cursed Trapper – lvl 34]

Profession: [Promising Dungeon Engineer – lvl 45]

After becoming undead, his class and profession had both remained the same. His profession had, of course, evolved since then.

To go from human into a Risen human brought far fewer changes than one would expect. But it did bring some, as was evident of his slightly changed race description.

Risen Human (E) – A human that has become undead. Arisen from one of the most numerous races of the multiverse, the Risen Human is known as one of the most balanced races of the multiverse, being able to walk many different roads on their path to power. Stat bonuses: +2 to all stats, +7 Free Points per level

It was very much the same, but one big difference was that it gave +7 free points and not the same +5 as before. This was not due to Risen Human being a better race but due to what happened to his stats.

Most had remained the same. Strength, agility, toughness, wisdom, intelligence, perception, and willpower were all the same and unchanged from before. But two stats were gone. Endurance and vitality had disappeared from his status screen along with their associated resources pools Health Points and Stamina.

Instead, he had gained a new stat called Spirit. It served the same function and had generated a single resource called Spirit Points. This meant that he now only had two resources to work with, mana and spirit.

It was a bit weird, with spirit points serving as a resource for physical attacks and healing the body when damaged. This was alleviated quite a bit by the resource typically being way higher than both health and stamina. In fact, when he had evolved, all of his vitality and endurance had merged into spirit, making it his highest stat by a large margin back then.

His class also provided quite a bit of spirit as it before had given two endurance and one vitality, but now just gave three spirit.

Cursed Trapper – A trapper not satisfied with only inflicting death on their foes, but to utterly destroy them before allowing them to perish. A class focused primarily on trapping and curses; the Cursed Trapper prefers indirect combat with few options if confronted directly, primarily stemming from his origin as an archer. May you unleash your curse upon the world and inflict them with the pain that is your existence. Stat bonuses per level: +3 Will, +3 Spi, +2 Int, +2 Wis, +2 Per, +2 Agi, +1 Str, +2 Free Points

Casper had gained this class during the tumultuous experience that was the tutorial. When his emotions were at their highest, and he cursed the world, the system answered. It allowed him to turn his feelings into power, channeled through his will.

It was a class that was far more magic than the traps of an archer. Relying on cursed scrips upon his traps, his emotions given form as he created traps. The curses were seeking to kill, torment, or trap those it hit. Now, he had shifted it, even more, so he was closer to just being a full-on caster.

Back in the tutorial, he had chosen to become a builder to make traps better. The two had great synergy, and one could believe that synergy would be lost upon shifting to more magical traps. But that assumption would be wrong.

Promising Dungeon Engineer – A builder now seeking to create his own little world. This profession focuses on the creation, development, and maintenance of dungeons. While you are still early on your path, and it is far too early to make a dungeon of your own, you have already shown great promise. While the Dungeon Engineer is primarily focused on dungeons, it does not mean that he has lost all his skills in shaping the world outside. May your ingenious creations shape the world to your liking. Stat bonuses per level: +4 Wis, +3 Will, +2 Int, +2 Spirit, +3 Free Points

The profession carried many implications. First of all, the fact that mortals and gods alike could create dungeons. Of course, there was a vast difference between real and false dungeons. A real dungeon required a Dungeon Core that could only be gained through the system, and they were the only dungeons that awarded titles upon completion.

False dungeons were, in essence, just subspaces created by a powerful individual. Some scholars would compare it to the gods’ divine realms, and while the comparison was not exactly accurate, it did get the point across: It was a world created by people.

Currently, Casper was far from creating anything close to even a false dungeon, much less a real one. But he could help maintain and develop existing ones. More importantly, he could learn the complicated Magiscrips behind the creation of these dungeons – a language of the system, not that different from the programming languages of old. If you ignored how it was infinitely more complicated and magical, that is.

With it, you could execute commands to bend reality itself if you were powerful enough and had the energy required with that language. A finished Magiscript would often come out in the form of a magic circle, a completed executable package of Magiscrips if he used the technical terms.

Having worked in Research and Development before the system as a software engineer, Casper was naturally inclined towards this profession. It was certainly very different from what he did before. However, many of the core tenets still applied, such as the required attention to detail and the ability to focus on what many would consider “boring” for extended periods.

He was still learning, but he felt like he was progressing, his teacher without a doubt paramount in making that a reality.

In combat, Casper wouldn’t call himself that powerful for his level… unless you allowed him to set up.

After resting for a while, he got up, grabbed his prepared bag, and set out to another teleportation that swiftly whisked him away to another location.

When his vision stabilized after teleporting, he saw a vast jungle before him. He was in a camp surrounded by tall walls, guards, and young hopefuls mulling about, trying to assemble parties to go hunt or acquire resources. Smiths, alchemists, leatherworkers, and many more professions tried to trade their creations for materials to keep leveling.

Casper didn’t need anything as he exited the gates and into the jungle. One of the guards tried to stop him but didn’t when he saw the insignia on his chest – the one on the badge given by his teacher.

After he found a good spot, he set up his traps. Runic circles appeared on the ground as he waved his hands; black spikes with intricate carvings all over them were embedded into the ground or nearby trees. He had prepared for this hunt for the last three days and needed it to be fruitful.

After setting up, he took out a foldable bow from the bag he had been carrying with all the other materials. It wasn’t to be used to do actual damage but to attract prey.

He had set up in a relatively isolated valley with only a single entrance and exit. From the bag, he took out a lockbox that he opened to reveal a small fruit. He could smell the attractive mana from it and knew that so could the many undead beasts roaming this jungle.

Five minutes later, a large ape-like creature emerged at the entrance to the valley.

[Undead Petram Ape – lvl ??]

Casper frowned a bit as he couldn’t Identify it but swiftly activated one of the scrips he had made at the valley entrance.

[Undead Petram Ape – lvl 68]

He sighed as it revealed the level not to be too high. It was a simple Identification script that any sapient creature would innately resist, but a dumb undead ape wouldn’t even register. Perfect for this kind of situation.

And while the ape was dumb, it wasn’t dumb enough to just wander all the way into the valley. It stood at the entrance, looking suspiciously around. Casper stood hidden behind some rocks but felt like it was time to reveal himself.

Stepping out, he got its attention as he started charging a Powershot – the only offensive archer skill he still had. The beast just stared back at him as he slowly built up the spirit in his body. Seven seconds later, his maximum charge time, he released the shot.

It did little more than anger the beast, but it was enough as he hit it right in its chest. What he had fired wasn’t an arrow, however, but a small black spike. It dealt negligible damage after it entered. Instead, it released an intense wave of pain directly to the beast’s soul.

It roared in pain, a roar that soon turned to one of fury. With reckless abandon, it charged into the valley, and just as it got to the middle… the valley came alive.

Two minutes later, Casper walked out, his clothes torn and his body slightly damaged, and two class levels wealthier. He only had materials for one more trap of that level, so he swiftly got to work.

The next trap only earned him a single class level, but it was fine for the nine or so hours he had been out.

Returning to the complex, he went to bed and slept till the next day where he had another lesson.

This is how his days continued as the end of the tutorial came closer and closer. Training by himself, sessions with his teacher, occasional useless meetings, and solo hunts where he could put all he had learned to a test against powerful undead beasts.

However, one day something changed.

A few days remained until the tutorial concluded, and Casper had a lesson with his teacher as always. He was practicing mana stabilization, one of the things he struggled most with.

“Your power to impose emotions into your Magiscript makes it potent but impulsive and unstable. You need to use your heart for power and your mind for stability. Only through reaching a proper equilibrium can you achieve your full potential.

“Yes, like that. Use parts of your focus to freeze in place the framework an-“

Yet suddenly, he stopped. The mana in the room stopped flowing like before, and Casper at first thought it was another test… until he looked up and saw his teacher completely frozen in place.

Before Casper could open his mouth, everything shifted. He felt like he was ripped through space and time as he felt his body unravel. He wanted to scream, but just when he thought he would cease to exist, he suddenly had solid ground beneath his feet.

He barely managed to raise his eyes before he felt his knees buckle, and he fell to his knees involuntarily. His eyes trained to the ground as he failed to raise his head…

An aura unlike anything he could even imagine pressed down on him… a sense of reverence and inferiority dominating his entire being.

“This sure has become a mess,” he heard a voice speak… the voice soothing yet domineering.

“A simple request to assist in an experiment turned to all this… truly peculiar that friend of yours.”

“Vilastromoz brought back, prophecies broken and fate tangled. A web of karma spun, where you shall be my connection. Tell me, mortal, will you serve?”

Casper didn’t understand what was going on, yet he couldn’t… wouldn’t refuse. “Yes.”

“Good, you may raise your gaze.”

The newly risen human raised his eyes and saw the figure that sat on the throne before him - An elven-looking man with long white, almost ethereal, hair and purple eyes that pulsed with unfathomable power.

He wore a simple robe, and on his fingers, he wore a shining ring on each of a grade above anything Casper could even imagine.

But what happened next made the otherwise taciturn Casper speak up. He felt the locket around his neck disappear.

“Wait! That’s!”

“I know,” the elven man spoke, not allowing Casper to utter any sounds. “The source of the pact you made. A foolish wish by a mortal to overturn the absolutism of death. Yet you accepted only to see it paused, a broken soul all you were given - one that may never awaken. Tell me, do you wish to see her again?”

Casper tried to answer but found that he couldn’t speak. So he did all he could as he nodded enthusiastically. He didn’t know who the figure before him was… but he felt that it had to be a god. His teacher had said that only a god who specialized in soul magic would ever have a chance to heal her soul… could this be one such god?

“Very well,” he said, holding the locket in his hand for a brief moment before he waved his hand, displacing it to be around Casper’s neck once more.

“Now go. Return to your world with my blessing. Be my messenger and my connection. I believe your planet will become a very… interesting place.”

With that, Casper found him back in the spire of his teacher like nothing had ever happened.

“-d follow the flow of the atmospheric mana to… to…” his teacher continued after unfreezing as he stood dumbfounded and looked at Casper. The old archlich staring not at his student but the locket around his neck.

[Lyra’s Locket (Legendary)] – A locket created to house the soul of a single mortal. Touched by the Blightfather, the soul has gained strength, and the locket has become a phylactery for her soul. Yet, the locket is also bound to you for eternity; your life and death are now forever intertwined. Through the will of the Blightfather, the locket has also gained the ability to store additional souls and serve as spatial storage.
Requirements: Soulbound

The young undead didn’t even look at his teacher but instead rushed to open the locket. Within, he saw the sleeping face of his beloved… who opened her eyes.

“Casper?”