First Mate

As soon as Dreamer entered the Duskwallow Tombs he encountered a scene that left his mouth agape.

The Duskwallow Tombs was not some little park, heck it was as big as a stadium or a Colosseum. Hundreds of graves were lined up in the rectangular area.

There were no names written on any grave proving the fact that they were secretly killed.

Seeing the graves, a strange question popped up inside Dreamer's mind and he asked it right away.

"Hey Helix, there are so many dead bodies here. So, can I snatch their souls too?" That would be too good for him.

'No, you can't do that. You can only snatch souls from people who you or your subordinates killed, you cannot snatch souls from people you didn't kill.' Helix said, breaking Dreamer's bubble.

Dreamer's shoulders dumped as he heard that. "Too bad."

'Don't joke around, kid.' Helix spoke. 'Even if you don't have to kill, you still need to find a suitable dead body to make your subordinate. I am sure you don't want a skeleton to be your first mate.'

Dreamer nodded. "You are right. I don't want a skeleton. Let's do this."

Dreamer made up his mind and walked closer to the graves.

"Where to start?" Dreamer roamed around a grave, thinking where to start.

Then a more important question stuck at him.

"How should I start?" He couldn't dig graves with his bare hands. He needed some equipment for that.

"I hope I can find something here." Dreamer darted his eyes all around him, looking for a tool.

After five more minutes of walking and looking around, Dreamer finally saw something.

"This'll do." Dreamer found a shovel lying in the corner and without any thought, he picked it up.

"Let's see…" Dreamer came back to the starting point and counted the rows of the graves.

"Ten rows. Alright." After that, he counted the number of graves in one row.

"Twenty. So the total is…"

With a little calculation, Dreamer said, "Damn. Two hundred graves."

"Well, I'll just start from the first row." Dreamer said and raised the shovel above his head.

He brought it down and started digging the grave.

'Before you were scared of killing and now look at you, disturbing the deceased.' Helix said and this made Dreamer stop.

"You are kidding right?" Dreamer asked.

'Why do you think that?'

"Earlier you were saying I would die if I didn't get my hands dirty. And now you are saying such a thing. I would be a fool if I didn't use the power given to me." Dreamer said and continued digging.

'So you are saying disturbing the dead isn't bothering you?' Helix asked again.

Dreamer sighed. "I am not disturbing the dead, you know. I am just doing my share of survival. And moreover, my whole skill is based on disturbing the dead. I can't run away from it." Dreamer kept digging.

'Well said.'

"Huh? What?" Helix was asking weird questions a second ago and now he praised Dreamer. What's that supposed to mean?

'Nothing. I was just checking you. Since you are still eighteen I thought you might be thinking things like ethics and righteousness. But you are doing good. Carry on.' Helix revealed the reason.

"Heh." Dreamer chuckled. "When death hangs above your head, the first thing people disregard is ethics."

'True.' Helix agreed with Dreamer and went silent.

Dreamer also carried on with his work.

"How much time is left?" He asked and the system showed him.

[ Quest : Make Your First Subordinate ]

[ Time Left : 5 hours ]

"I have to do it faster than this." Dreamer picked up the pace and dug the first grave.

In fifteen minutes, he completely dug the first grave in the first row.

He instantly peeked inside the grave but unfortunately, it was just a skeleton.

"What a waste of effort. I will put some points in Stamina next time." Dreamer was exhausted in just his first try.

'Keep moving.' Helix urged.

"I k-know." Dreamer panted heavily but he still moved to the second grave.

He dug the shovel again and like before, he again took fifteen minutes to fully dig the grave.

However, his heart broke again as he found a skeleton inside the second grave as well.

"What the hell? Skeleton means they have been dead for a very long time. Where are the recent bodies?" Dreamer wiped the sweat on his forehead and moved to the third.

There were twenty graves in one row and Dreamer was still on the third one.

He dug the third one in fifteen minutes as well and finally found a different… skeleton.

"Dammit. What is happening? Did people stop getting assassinated? I will put some points in Demon's Luck too after this." Dreamer cursed.

'I suggest digging every grave.' Helix said. 

Dreamer frowned. "Is that a suggestion?"

'It is.'

"There are two thousand graves here. I can't dig every grave in just five hours." Dreamer couldn't accept Helix's suggestion.

'I know. I meant to say, leave it to fate and just dig every grave you see. If you die, you die.' Helix said clearly.

Dreamer took a deep breath and clenched the shovel.

"Here goes nothing."

He moved to the fourth grave and dug it. He dug it in just ten minutes and again found a skeleton.

Not stressing over it, Dreamer moved next and dug the fifth grave.

He again took ten minutes and again found a skeleton.

Clicking his tongue, Dreamer moved onto the sixth grave and dug it.

He took ten minutes and found a skeleton again.

Then he dug the seventh grave and found a skeleton.

"Dammit." Dreamer moved next.

After one hour.

Dreamer finished digging the first row of twenty graves and found nothing but skeletons in all of them.

He sat down on the ground. "If I knew it was going to be like this, I would have killed someone."

'True.' Helix agreed.

"Well, no point in thinking what isn't possible. Tell me how much time is left." Dreamer asked.

'Two hours.' Helix replied.

Dreamer took a deep breath again and patted his hands.

"I won't stop until I find something different." He stood up and went on to digging graves.

This time, he didn't dig the whole grave. He just dug enough to see inside.

If he found something white like bones, he moved on to the next one.

In one hour, he finished digging another row and again found nothing but skeletons.

[[Author : Reference art for how Dreamer dug the graves is in the chapter's comments.]]

"This is just unfair. Only one hour is left. Helix, I am going to dig randomly now. I am leaving it to fate. If I die, I die." Dreamer said and started digging.

He dug whichever grave came in his sight. Without a second thought, he dug and dug and dug.

He kept finding skeletons but didn't stop. His hand went numb, his body got covered in sweat, but he didn't stop. He kept digging left and right.

[ Time limit : 30 Minutes ]

Dreamer also had his eyes on the time as he dug the graves randomly.

[ Time Limit : 15 Minutes ]

Now just fifteen were left and Dreamer had dug eighty percent of the graves present.

The Duskwallow Tombs at this point was filled with open graves and skeletons.

"Just a little more." Dreamer felt the tension. Clock ticked like a bomb. His palms filled with sweat held the shovel with the best of their capabilities. His heart threatened to beat itself to death.

[ Time Limit : 10 Minutes ]

[ Host is advised to complete the quest soon, otherwise host will die ]

"I know that, you bastard. I will die. I know." Dreamer roared and dug again.

After ten seconds.

"Helix," Dreamer said and he finally stopped digging further. "Just twenty graves are left. I can't dig all of them in ten minutes. I can only dig one more grave. So this time, you chose the grave. It's do or die."

Dreamer asked Helix and Helix didn't argue.

'Fine. I will guess it as we don't have time to chat. Show me all the graves. I will guess the next one to dig.' Helix agreed.

"It will be the last chance, Helix. You need to guess correctly." Dreamer reminded Helix.

'I know. Just move!' Helix knew that.

Dreamer nodded and walked towards the graves one by one.

He stood in front of a grave and let Helix see around it.

'Not this.' Helix said.

Dreamer moved on to the next one.

'Next.'

Dreamer went forward.

'No.'

Another one.

'Next.'

Dreamer did the same thing for the graves and Helix hadn't guessed yet.

Now only the last two graves were left.

Dreamer stood in front of the second last grave and after a few seconds, just like before, he went on to the next one.

'Stop!' Helix shouted.

The last two graves were side by side to each other and Helix stopped Dreamer in the middle of these two graves.

"What?" Dreamer asked.

'Look.' Helix said.

Dreamer frowned and looked ahead.

"Oh. What's this?" Something was lying between the two graves.

'It's a sheath. It is used for carrying swords. This is a clue. Among these two, one of them is a recent grave.' Helix said.

It was a sheath that lay between the two graves. It was black, making it harder for Dreamer to see it before as it was night. 

"You can be right, Helix. So the question is, which grave should I dig now? The sheath can belong to any of these last twenty graves. But I will do as you say." Dreamer was already tired. He couldn't think clearly so he passed it all on Helix.

Dreamer moved closer to the sheath and stretched his hand to pick it up.

'Don't touch it.' Helix stopped him.

Dreamer brought back his hand.

'Looking at the sheath. I think it was kept on the grave but fell down. It probably belongs to one of these graves. But you know what, go with the last grave and prepare for the worst. Only five minutes are left. Hurry. Last one.' Helix made the decision.

Dreamer didn't ask anything and shoved the shovel in the last grave.

He used all his strength to dig the grave. He forgot to breathe and dug the grave. As a result, he dug the last grave faster than the graves before.

In two minutes, he completely dug the grave and saw the result.

"Finally."

Dreamer smiled at the result. He found a body. A body with flesh intact. A recent dead body.

"Let's take you out, my friend." Dreamer stretched his hand and took out the body.

He didn't care about the face or physique of the body. His life was on the line after all.

Dreamer gently placed the body on the ground.

[ Time Limit : 3 Minutes ]

"Shit. Helix, how to do it? Tell me." Dreamer didn't know how to make a subordinate.

Helix replied right away, 'Just feel the soul you have snatched. It will come to your hand and touch the body with that hand with an intention to make a subordinate and it will work.

And as you will level up in the future the process will be much faster and…'

"Alright. Don't explain things at the wrong time. Here I go." Dreamer interrupted Helix and did as he said.

He felt the soul inside his chest and soon, a white light came on his left hand.

"It works." With a smile, he touched the chest of the body with the intention of making a subordinate.

In a second, the white light of his left hand died down and Dreamer heaved a sigh of relief.

"Haah. Finally, that was stressful." Dreamer wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat down on the ground. It was over.

[ Time Limit : 2 Minutes ]

"Hmm? What the hell? Helix?" Dreamer asked. The quest was still incomplete.

'Hmph. This is what you get for interrupting me, I wasn't finished explaining to you the process of making a subordinate.' Helix scoffed.

Dreamer gritted his teeths. "It's not time for scolding me. Tell me."

'Fine. Just like when you snatched the soul, you also need to make a keyword for making a subordinate. Both keywords can't be the same. Here…' Helix finally answered and a system window popped up.

[ Make a keyword for creating a Subordinate. ]

"I see. So I am making a dead person return to life from his sleep, by a soul..." Dreamer muttered, thinking of a word.

[ Time Limit : 1 Minute ]

'Hurry up.' Helix shouted.

"I am ready." Dreamer was ready.

[ Make a keyword for creating a Subordinate. ]

With a smile, Dreamer spread his arms and said, "EMERGE."

After a few seconds, the sound finally came.

[ Ding! ]

[ Quest Completed! ]

[ Congratulations for Creating Your First Subordinate! ]

[ For Completing the Quest at the Last Minute Additional 50 XP Rewarded! ]

[ Reward For Completing The Quest : Skill Creation! ]

"Here it is. How much I waited for this. Oh. You are moving." Dreamer enjoyed the notifications and saw the body moving as well.

The body belonged to a man and after the soul went in, his fingers twitched along with his hand and legs.

The next second, the man started breathing and finally opened his eyes.

He raised his upper body and turned his head at Dreamer.

Dreamer watched the man with expectant eyes, curious what he would do next.

The man stood up on his feet and the next thing he did, took Dreamer off guard.

The man kneeled in front of Dreamer, his head down.

Dreamer didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth to say something but the system interrupted him.

[ Give a name to your Subordinate! ]

"Ah. Right. I have to give a name."

'Of course. How will you call him then if not by name.' Helix spoke.

Dreamer nodded and thought about the name.

"Let's see. He is my subordinate, and I got him without killing anyone which means I got him for free. Alright." Dreamer decided on the name.

[ Give a name to your Subordinate! ]

"Your name shall be…" Dreamer smiled and revealed the name.

"Liberi."

Dreamer assigned the name to his first subordinate.

Only then, the subordinate spoke. "Thank you, my lord."

'My lord?' Dreamer's brows shot up. He never thought he would be called a lord someday.

While he enjoyed the feeling, the system came in his way again.

[ Do you want to retrieve Liberi's memory? ]

This time, it was a question.

Dreamer read the question and frowned.

"I can do this as well?"

'Yes. You can.' Helix replied.

"It's great then." Dreamer looked at Liberi. "He must have died with some regrets. I hope he can live a wholesome life this time."

'Yes. And the fact that he was buried here, he must be assassinated. I am sure he would want his revenge.'

Dreamer nodded. "That would be fun. Haha. Can't wait."

Dreamer laughed and was ready with his answer.

[ Do you want to retrieve Liberi's memory? ]

"Yes. Everyone has a story to tell…" Dreamer answered and continued saying.

"Especially those who die halfway while writing theirs."

Liberi's head flinched back as the memories flooded inside his mind and after five minutes, Liberi seemed stable again.

[ Memory Retrieval Successful! ]

"It's over. Liberi, stand up." Dreamer gave the first order.

Liberi stood straight up like a soldier.

Liberi was a Human with a good height and long black hairs. A nice build body, looking at him, he seemed like a twenty years old individual.

Although Dreamer cared less about Liberi's looks, he was smart nevertheless.

"I will ask about your story later. Right now, just tell me what do you want?" Dreamer said. It was late at night. Not the best time to ask Liberi's story.

However, Liberi didn't reply right away. Instead, he bent down and picked up the black sheath, lying beside his grave.

"My lord," Liberi spoke, staring at the sheath intently. "I want… my sword."

"Hmm?" Dreamer knitted his brows. "That's it?"

"Yes."

"I think I can do that. No, I will do that. I promise. Where is your sword?" Dreamer asked. Liberi saved his life in a sense, so he could do this much for him at least.

Liberi jerked his head at Dreamer. "Really? Will you do that?"

"Yeah?" Dreamer already promised.

Liberi's eyes lit up. "Thank you, my lord."

Dreamer nodded. "You have to tell me where it is first. I can't help you without knowing the location."

Liberi retracted his excited expressions and turned serious. "The place where my sword is…"

Liberi looked Dreamer in the eye and finally shared the location.

"The Duel Fencer Academy."

Dreamer said nothing for a few seconds. He looked back Liberi in the eye and with full seriousness, said, "What is that?"

Liberi frowned. "Ah. An academy is a place where people go to learn diff…"

"I know what an academy is. I meant to say, on which planet it is located?" Dreamer knew nothing.

Liberi's eyes went wide. "It's an academy here in this city, my lord! Are you perhaps… drunk?"

"I-I am not drunk. I just didn't know much about places yet."

Liberi raised one of his brows, looking at Dreamer with suspicion.

"Leave it." Dreamer said.

Liberi nodded. He let it go it seemed.

"Anyway," Dreamer asked. "Can't you use another sword? Even after dying you want that sword."

Liberi shook his head. "Forgive my demand, my lord. But I can't use any other sword than my previous one. That sword is the highest rank and something like that can't be found in this city. I only need that one."

Liberi was dead set on his previous sword which Dreamer understood.

He couldn't tell about the ranking part as he knew nothing about it but he believed Liberi.

Dreamer sighed. "Fine. We will get back your sword. But tomorrow. Not now. We have to leave. But first…"

Dreamer roamed his gaze around the tombs. "We have to patch this up."

He nearly dug every grave, resulting in mud and skeletons lying around.

If anyone saw the Tombs like this, Dreamer could get in trouble.

"Let's put them back, Liberi. No need to be picky. Just fill whatever grave you see. You can even put two skeletons in one grave. Haha."

Dreamer jested but Liberi didn't laugh.

Liberi just nodded and went to put the skeletons back.

'Maybe he is a serious type.' Dreamer thought and did the work along with Liberi.

It took both of them two hours to finish the task.

"Haah." Dreamer sat down on the ground. "So tired. I want to go home."

"Then we should go, my lord." Liberi said, standing beside Dreamer.

Dreamer frowned. "You aren't tired?"

Liberi shrugged. "Somehow I don't."

"Lucky bastard."

Liberi didn't mind that and just stood beside Dreamer in silence.

After five minutes of rest, Dreamer stood up.

"Let's go. Our work is done here."

Dreamer started walking towards the exit of the Tombs and Liberi followed him.

Dreamer raised his hand and touched the gate but stopped.

"We can't go like this." He said.

Liberi didn't get it. "Why?"

Dreamer turned around. "You are dead, Liberi. Dead people can't wander. If someone, who knew you when you were alive, saw you walking, it'll be a mess. I don't want that."

"You are right, my lord." Liberi understood as well.

Dreamer thought of ways to solve the issue but nothing came to mind.

'I was wondering when you will worry about that.' Helix spoke.

'Huh? What do you mean?' Dreamer asked through his mind.

'I already knew you can't take Liberi outside. I was just waiting to see if you can figure that out as well.' Helix replied.

'I see. But I figured it out right. So give me a solution.' Dreamer demanded.

'Your subordinates will get a default skill that can help you. Here…' Helix said and a panel appeared in front of his eyes.

[ Soul Meld : Allows the subordinate to stay inside the Host's soul and can come and go freely to and from the Host's soul. ]

Dreamer smiled. 'Nice one.' 

He looked at Liberi and said, "You have a skill right? Soul Meld. Use it."

Liberi closed his eyes and after a second, nodded.

"As you wish." He said and used Soul Meld.

The next moment, Liberi's body turned into a white light and…

"Woah."

The light went inside Dreamer's chest.

Touching his chest, Dreamer slightly nodded. "It's good. I can leave now."

Dreamer again turned towards the gate and finally opened it.

He stepped foot outside the tombs and took a deep breath.

"It's finally over. I am glad." With a smile, he walked down the same path he came.

His smile went broader when he thought about being called a lord. It was an entire new feeling.

However, Dreamer's smile couldn't last long as he heard some steps in the distance.

"Who will come here at this time?" Dreamer tiptoed and stood behind a tree.

He stretched his head and peeked at the source of the steps.

"No way." What Dreamer saw in front of him, made his smile go away. He gulped and gritted his teeths.

"This has to be today of all days. Fucking hell."