Jace groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. He opened his eyes and saw the massive wyvern's corpse right beside him, with him sprawled on the ground of the barren field. The ground beneath him was rough and cracked from the battle. The dust from the battle looked long since settled. It was now littered with sharp rocky pieces and dust so thick it clung to his skin like an unwanted second layer.
“I must have been out for hours.” He groaned as soon as he heard his voice.
There was a heavy throbbing that picked throughout his skull, and his limbs felt like they were submerged in molasses. His mind swam with exhaustion. A notification flashed before his eyes, answering his unasked question.
Status Debuff: Severe Mana Loss
Effects: Reduced Mental Capacity, Double Spell Cost (Duration: 24 Hours)
"That's just fantastic," Jace groaned as he dragged his arms through the dirt and rubbed his temples. "Just what I needed.” It seemed that fighting an undead wyvern wasn’t enough, now he had to deal with being half brain-dead. “Lucky me.”
He was glad his first response was humor. Considering everything that had happened. He had been in a dark place since he arrived in this new world. Now, he finally felt like he was coming back to being himself, save for the massive hangover headache.
The air around him was eerily quiet and still, the only sound being the occasional creak of the bone like trees shifting and creaking in the distance. The blast of wind from the wyverns' wings must have unsettled everything.
A faint, sickly green mist hovered low over the field, giving the entire place an unnatural, oppressive feel.
As he adjusted to his groggy state, his eyes flickered toward a glowing chest of ornate bone that had appeared where the wyvern had fallen. Relief washed over him. If loot had dropped, that meant the battle was truly over.
“Or at least, it damn well better be.” He didn’t think he had another surprise fight in him right now.
Jace pushed himself upright, swaying slightly on his unsteady legs.
The first thing he did was address the new stats he'd received before he'd collapsed.
He felt his thoughts had quickened with the increase to his intelligence. Not like he'd grown smarter but more like he had faster processing power. Slowly the severe hangover feeling drained until he was left with a dull ache.
Name: Jace Halloway
Race: Soulborne (Unique)
Class: Soulreaver (Unregistered)
Level: Error, current class unable to gain experience
Health: 812/812
Stamina: 459/459
Mana: 969/969
Strength: 142
Dexterity: 124
Endurance: 67
Intelligence: 89 (20)
Wisdom: 88 (20)
“Damn…” His health had effectively doubled. His stamina and mana had shot through the roof. “That wyvern must have been fucking insanely strong… My stats are monstrous now.” Getting all that extra intelligence, wisdom, and endurance made his head spin. it was good though, he was finally shoring up some of his weaknesses. “Guess that means if I want to level my stats up I'll have to find the right kind of beasties.”
After checking his new stats he felt it. With the increase to wisdom, he felt his mind expand and something within him deepened and swell. He knew it had to be his mana pool.
He loved seeing the number go up. He knew it sounded stupid when he thought it, but there was something so gratifying, so rewarding, watching his progress climb higher.
The effect was immediate. His mind felt expanded, his mana pool surged, and the throbbing pain in his head dulled to a manageable ache. Still present, but bearable.
"Better," he murmured, rolling his shoulders. "Not great, but at least I no longer feel like I got hit by a brick fucking wall."
He wondered how he compared to others in this new world. “If there were others in this world.” That thought drew his mind to a halt. His playful demeanor quickly sobered. What if he was alone here. What if the world was dead and this was all that was left. What if this world was just some huge undead dungeon.
His heart stopped and he shivered. He hadn't seen any other signs of life other than what was in the dungeon. He knew there were corpses, but what if it was all dungeon engineered. What if…
Something stopped his thoughts. A golden wisp of light in his periphery. He quickly jolted to the side dodging a possible attack but saw nothing. He turned his head to the left and saw nothing but vast emptiness. He turned his head right, and as he did, a faint golden wisp of light caught his eye again, but now it was just hovering near him.
It pulsed softly, casting eerie shadows against the skeletal remains of the wyvern. He blinked at it, then activated Identify.
Undead Wyvern Soul Wisp-
The lingering essence of an ancient, once corrupted guardian. This unique soul fragment thrums with forgotten power and the echoes of a beast that defied death and corruption itself.
His brows furrowed. It didn't seem dangerous. He suddenly remembered the notification he got before passing out.
Weird, every other soul he had harvested had been absorbed, so why was this one different? But, then, another notification popped up, answering his question.
Notice: Unique Souls cannot be absorbed by the Soulreaver Core and do not contribute to Core Progression.
Their purpose lies beyond mere consumption.
Soul Wisps can be bound to a host if the host has sufficient skills and a compatible host shell.
“Soul Wisp…” He guessed that made sense considering all the other crazy things that had been going on. What's one more outlandish thing?
Jace eyed the wisp. He stepped a few feet to the left. It floated towards him gently. He stepped a few to the right. It followed again.
"Can you… understand me?" he asked hesitantly.
The wisp bobbed up and down in response, its movements almost eager.
With that, all his hesitation vanished.
"Cool, a ghost pet.” He chuckled deliriously. “Do you bite?" Jace asked with a smirk, squinting at the wisp. It just floated there, glowing innocently. "I’ll take that as a no."
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Shaking his head, he sighed. There wasn't much he could do now. He pondered if his Infuse Soul skill would allow him to place the wisp in a host, but he'd need to find a ‘suitably vessel’ first. And finding new things was always best done with looting.
He turned his attention to the loot chest. He rubbed his hands together and saw the wisp bob and glow gleefully. He smiled and made his way over, the wisp trailing after him.
Kneeling before the chest, he placed his hands to either side. He took a deep breath. He turned to the wisp.
“Wish me luck.” He said and pushed it open. There was a brief flash of light and as it opened he peered inside. His tired eyes widened at the sight of the rewards.
Item: Dimensional Storage Pouch
Capacity: 10 cubic meters
Item: Breastplate of Withering Might
Type: Plate Armor
Rarity: Common
Effect: +20 Strength, +20 Endurance
Item: Bone Magic Primer
Effect: Choice to select one spell
Jace sighed in relief as he eyed the wisp. ‘Luck indeed.’ He pulled out the breastplate, realizing his old one had not just broken during the fight, it had exploded.
Slipping on the new armor, he relished the sturdier protection. It was way better than his shitty Crude Bone Breastplate. He felt way better as the boosts began flowing through him.
Next, he turned to the primer and a mental prompt appeared. It was like the notifications, but this felt more from the item and not the system all around him. The prompt gave him three choices:
Please select one of the following choices for a spell.
Turn Undead – A weak repulsion spell that forces low-level undead under your level to retreat.
Bone Shield – Summons a protective layer of bone to block incoming attacks both melee and ranged. May not block spell damage.
Death Bolt – Fires a condensed blast of necrotic energy.
Considering his last battle, Jace knew he needed a ranged option. Death Bolt was the clear choice, especially since it knocked him on his ass.
Turn undead may have a use here but there was no telling what would come after here. Not just that, but if they were higher level it would be of no use. “Which everything is pretty much fucking higher level than me… I can't even level…” His self deprecating chuckle seemed to rub off on the wisp and it began strobing.
He sighed, and moved on.
Bone Shield would be nice but he could already manipulate bone with his Bone Magic now. “Maybe I could do that without the spell.”
With his choice made, he selected Death Bolt. "Not that I don’t love getting up close and personal with my enemies, but I’d rather not be in the splash zone when they explode with fiery deathly breath."
He selected it, feeling a cold pulse of energy settle into his core. The knowledge of how to cast the spell unfurled in his mind like an old, forgotten memory.
New Spell Acquired: [Death Bolt] (Level 1)
Imbue mana into a concentrated charge of death energy and fire it in a chosen direction. The bolt’s power scales with mana invested. Causes necrotic damage on impact.
It was definitely the right choice. He knew he could think of the spell, infuse it with as much mana as he wanted, and then it would materialize, flying out in the direction he chose.
He was dying to try it out, but he didn't want to waste the mana due to his debuff. The double mana cost really sucked, especially since he had no clue what was going to happen next.
The dull ache he could live with, but it would suck and really didn't want to make it any worse. It was better to save it for now. He would have to keep a better eye on his mana to prevent that drain debuff again.
He exhaled and returned to the chest. The last item was tucked in the far corner, a faint shimmer of magical residue.
A small pouch—no larger than his palm—its presence unassuming but somehow... dense. As if the air around it warped ever so slightly.
He reached in and grabbed it.
The material was strange to the touch—like worn leather, but impossibly smooth and cool against his fingertips. Its color shifted depending on how the torchlight hit it, dancing between obsidian black and deep violet, like shadows caught in motion. A silver rune, stitched in thread that pulsed faintly with power, was emblazoned across the flap: a circle swallowing itself, like a serpent devouring its tail.
It didn’t feel heavy, but the moment he gripped it, he could sense the weight of what it could hold. Not just space—potential.
“A bag of holding?” he muttered. “Or some fantasy cousin of it, maybe.”
He flipped the flap open and peeked inside. Pitch black. Deceptively empty. Yet as he concentrated, he felt the connection—like the pouch wasn’t just a container, but a small, anchored fold in reality. A pocket of space just for him.
“Dimensional storage,” Jace said, almost reverently. “Now that’s handy.”
His mind immediately jumped to possibilities. No more lugging gear. No bulky supplies. And if this place was going to throw more undead bullshit at him, having somewhere to stash extra weapons—and maybe a snack—was about to become very important.
Quickly, he attached the storage pouch to his old belt. He checked the chest one last time and then gotta his feet.
He glanced at the soul wisp still floating nearby. "Alright, Ghosty, you got any opinions on my life choices right now? No? Cool."
Unfortunately, he didn't get anything in the chest that could help the little wisp. Maybe, if he could empower his Bone Magic through sheer will like he did with the spear, or maybe he could create something for it after he ranked it up more. He turned back toward the undead wyvern, where bones lay scattered in grotesque disarray.
Extending his mana toward the remains, he tried to shape something, anything, for the wisp to inhabit.
Instead, he was met with a sharp mental block that slammed into him, sending a painful jolt through his skull.
"Gah—right, the damn debuff," Jace hissed. He rubbed his temples for the spike of pain to dissipate.
Not wanting to waste any more time, he decided to stockpile the wyvern bones for later use. Once he was done he wandered back over to the mass grave retrieving his fallen Draugr arm and the other spear. The first one was way too massive and heavy to carry now and just the thought of using his mana on it made his head hurt.
He climbed back down into the pit and took a look around. Bending down, he picked up a femur, wondering how to store it in his new dimension storage pouch.
Experimenting, he placed it at the pouch’s opening, and it vanished inside. Testing further, he willed another bone into storage, and it worked seamlessly. Retrieving it was just as easy; he could either reach in and think about what he wanted or he could think about it and will it into his hands.
Grinning at his new tool, he went to work, gathering anything useful. Large heavy bones, short dagger-like bones, thick bones, any that looked like he could use. By the time he was finished, he had nearly a hundred assorted bones tucked away and it only took almost a third of the space in the pouch.
He scanned around satisfied. He caught sight of a sword that was barely rusted. He shrugged. ‘Might as well scavenge any intact weapons and armor. Maybe I can sell them later.”
For a good thirty minutes he was looting through bones and random junk loot.
Finally, his inner loot goblin was satisfied. He turned to leave but stopped when he noticed the wisp wasn't over his shoulder anymore. He turned and found it hovering over a mound of debris towards the far side of the mass grave. It bobbed up and down with a sense of urgency. It was the first time it had left his side.
"Somethings there, huh?" Jace asked, moving over to his soul companion.
“Okay, Ghosty, lets see what's got you all riled up.” He saw where it was hovering above and began to dug through the pile, unearthing a single golden band.
The moment his fingers touched it, pain shot through his chest. Memories flooded back—his wife's laughter, his children’s faces, the warmth he felt of his home. Then the sharp bitter cold. The bitter truth settled over him. Even if he somehow returned, he'd still be dead in his old world. This place, whether he liked it or not, was his reality now.
His grip tightened on the ring. A single sorrowful tear rolled down his face. "Why? Why bring me here? Who are you?" he asked aloud.
Silence answered.
Quietly, he said a silent prayer. Not like it mattered but it helped ease his mind. Maybe there was a way to get back and maybe not. Either way he had to focus on the now.
He pushed his thoughts aside and continued searching the debris. Soon, he found a small, cracked egg the size of a cantaloupe. The shell was deep charcoal, laced with green veins that had long since died. The soul wisp circled it excitedly as Jace stared at it.
“Hmm, looks like you're after this huh?” The wisp answered by vibrating up and down. It was time to try his Infuse Soul skill. “Let's see if this works, if not ill hold on to it okay?”
With a thought he activated his skill and focused on the wisp and then the egg. Next, he tried to will the wisp into the egg.
Suddenly with a sucking pop, the wisp whipped into the egg like it was being sucked into a vacuum. The egg pulsed brighter for a moment, then stilled. The green veins on the shell now pulsing softly.
“It worked!” He shouted out into the vast settling deadlands.
He quickly cast Identify.
This action was not intended by System parameters…
Item Anomaly Detected: [Infused Undead Whelpling Egg]
ERROR: Invalid interaction.
ERROR: Unique Soul Infusion not supported.
“What the…” His heart dropped.
…Override accepted.
“Did I just break the system…” He stared at the notification before it rolled on.
You have infused the [Undead Whelpling Egg] with a Unique Soul.
This action was not intended by System parameters.
The egg is now linked to your Soulreaver Core and will hatch once it absorbs enough soul energy.
Progress: 1/??? Soul Infusions
Warning: Further interaction may result in unforeseen consequences.
"That's not fucking ominous at all…” He couldn't worry about it now. It worked and it was definitely something he would have to figure out later. “Well, at least you got a new home now. We'll worry about the details later." Jace mused, holding the egg carefully. "Great, now where am I going to put you?”
He debated placing it in his storage pouch and stopped, but what if it didn’t survive the transfer or even survive inside? He knew in most books and games you couldn't put living things in dimensional storage pouches. He would have to test it out later. Unfortunately, there was nothing living anywhere near here besides himself and maybe the egg? He wasn't sure.
Instead, he retrieved an old backpack he had discarded earlier, lined it with cloth scraps. Once he felt it would be safe, he nestled the egg gently inside before securing it on his back.
"Alright, Ghosty, let's get out of here," he spoke as he began trudging away from the mass grave.
There was an exit he needed to find, preferably without more surprises. “And so help me, if this wasnt the final boss… when I do find it, I'm going to bash it's fucking skull in.”
“Escape? More Like Eternal Undead Bullshit!”
Do you think the wyvern was the final boss of the Undead Dungeon?
