Lumien walked quickly. Faster and faster. Soon his step skipped, and the [Necromancer] began running, uncaring that the bulky robe swept past the marble floor, which had almost made him fall twice.

  He burst open the double door to be welcomed by the familiar green flames running through the pipes, which were attached to the stark, bright white wall. The smoldering heat of his own necrotic flame engulfed the room; not even the mylon mined pipes could contain the Necrotic flame’s heat, much to his frustration. But, no matter, a childish grin took over his wrinkled face.

  A light glowed inside Lumien, and he held his breath as he saw the body of a half-dragon strewn by countless pipes right in the middle of his circular labs.

  Nine huge canisters lay in a circle, each containing his Necrotic factor that had been combined with water after years of relentless research. The possibilities these canisters now granted him were endless. Of course, it was not all thanks to the cannisters. In fact, the very person who allowed Lumien these possibilities now stood just ahead of him, garbed in his usual bulky grey robe.

  “Edna!” Lumien bounded forward, uncaring of his position as Lord of Death.

  “Ah, my lord!” Edna turned. His beak mask pointed at Lumien. Greyish eyeslit made two huge circles just above that beak, and his mask top was a circular metal fedora. Lumien never saw Ecna’s face, but it did not matter. His brain was all Lumien wanted.

  “Nonsense, my friend,” Lumien said, gripping both Edna’s shoulders. “There’s no ‘lord’ inside the lab. Only two friends.”

  “That we are, but on such a special occasion, I feel it's fitting to address you as lord.”

  “Special occasion?” Lumien’s heart skipped a beat. His eyes instantly went to the Half Dragon. Its size was nowhere close to Ulfred; in fact, it was just a baby dragon. It was still a baby, but its sheer body strength was a match to Lumien’s, not just height, but also in power. Its scaly blue body is still half-complete. Lumien could see the dragon’s insides and its beating heart, pumped by three pipes surgically inserted into its heart.

  What special occasion?

  “Looks can be deceiving, my Lord,” Edna said, slinging his arm across Lumien’s shoulder. The doctor was somehow not afraid of Lumien’s fiery green hair. The fur scarf he wore ran down Ecna’s neck into his feet; it tickled Lumien’s neck. “Look closely.”

  The heart was beating much faster.

  Lumien naturally sought the cannisters and just now noticed that they were full. Something was filling them at a high rate. What was it? Did one of his strong Undead die?

  No, it couldn’t be.

  Landfred?

  But this rate of recovery of necrotic water was unprecedented.

  “Edna, do you have any idea what caused this?”

  “My Lord! Shouldn’t you be happy? Weep in joy? Our final obstacle is finally gone! Soon, the Undead God Half-dragon will be born! The fruit of our labor. The creature that will surpass even Landfred.”

  “And I’m looking forward to that, my friend. But this is not normal.”

  “Yes, I suppose it's natural to be concerned. But, my Lord, look at the bright side. Don’t you want to keep going? To complete this? Problems always come and goes my Lord. The System always nudge you, don’t you think? Besides, Landfred is preoccupied, so wouldn’t it make sense for you to create another of similar power? To build someone you can trust instead of going down in the mud yourself? We’re researcher my lord. We research the problem and present a solution. Those who execute our solution are not us, but others! Your soldier!”

  That…made sense.

  “Yes, I suppose, I already ordered them to execute based on their judgment.”

  Wait, that was not what Lumien ordered his soldier to do. He had told them to do whatever they liked. Why did he say…

  “As expected from you, Lumien! Now, nothing can stop us, let's finish your dream, and we can be on our next project after!”

  “You’re right. I should just—”

  A fresh jolt went through his body.

  A passing.

  Lumien sensed it again. He had sensed it when Delia was passed on. He remembered their last conversation, and the trick she guided him…

  “My Lord, this I only learn as I made my pact with the Archer.” Delia smiled at him. Strange, Lumien could tell that under those brimming eyes of hers, pride swelled. “Right now, I’m on the brink to reincarnate. Hence, I am able to see their lives fleeting into a new world.”

  “Their?” Lumien wiped Delia's tear, caressing her cheek as she rested her face on his chest.

  “The Undead you created, my Lord. After they finish their service to you, they will go to their next life.”

  “Delia, we theorized this many times,” Lumien softly laughed to her silky soft hair, something that would be gone soon; his heart ached at that.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “We did,” she smiled up. “But, this puts things into perspective, does it not? A reward for their service.”

  “I forced them to,”

  “You did, I will not deny that.”

  “Then why?”

  “Because, My Lord. Some of them still held tightly to their oath for you, not planning to let go or cross the boundary to their reincarnation.”

  They did? Lumien trusted Delia more than anyone, but such news seemed almost impossible. All Lumien did was ignore his creation and chase the next creation.

  “I cannot claim I know why,” Delia said. She rose from their bed, her hair tumbling around her like a halo. “But, if you want to see them, my lord, all you need to do is close your eyes and let go. Even your obsession with your research.”

  “That…hard to do,”

  “Then, just aim for ten seconds. Can you do it, my lord, just for ten seconds? It's not forever. Just ten.”

  Just ten seconds.

  Lumien let go of everything. Even in front of the Half-dragon. Even in the face of his desire. He briefly wondered why he was capable of doing such a thing. To let go? Ah, that's the answer. He let go of Delia once. And that sensation of her body slowly disappeared from the domain… that still lingered, so Lumien merely tapped into that.

  The world turned around him like a spiral. Then he was in a world of complete white.

  A room? He could not tell.

  There were ten chairs and a round table in the middle.

  Some of the chairs were strewn all over as if some disastrous meeting had happened here.

  “My Lord? Is that truly you?” a voice spoke.

  A knight, in a brilliant blue plate, knelt. Lumien saw Landfred, his knight, with his head bowed deeply, with his shoulders shaking.

  “My Lord, it's really you.”

  “Landfred? What is this place?” Lumien looked around. “No, more importantly. Are you dead?”

  “My lord! You need to be car—”

  Landfred disappeared like a puff of smoke. His entire being was gone like a passing wind.

  Lumien was once more alone in that white room, and something shook him.

  “Lumien! Lumien!”

  He opened his eyes, and Ecna was there, shaking his head, even tapping Lumien’s cheek.”

  “What happened to you?”

  “A dream of Landfred. In a completely white room.” Lumien shook his head, refusing Edna’s offer to help him up. He pushed himself to a sitting position, not standing, no, he thinks.

  What was that?

  “A dream? Maybe you need a rest, my friend? Oh! What am I saying!” Edna slapped his mask’s eyes dramatically. “Of course not! Of course, you want to keep going.”

  “I think he is dead. Landfred.”

  “Truly?”

  “Yes, I—I need to sort—”

  “Wait, wait, do you know what this means, Lumien?”

  “Of course I do!” Lumien sharply turned and snapped. “It means everything is a mess, Edna, and these labs,” he opened his arms wide. “May not exist anymore.”

  “Which is all the reason to complete the God Half-Dragon. Open the gate, Lumien, let Landfred’s Necrotic aura invade the third Depth. With Landfred’s aura, it shall be enough to power the rest of the necessary components to push the half-dragon into completion.”

  What with this drivel? This did not make any sense.

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “I believe,” the doctor paused. “The solution is quite simple.”

  “You want me to open the gate? To exert my power to do so? And left me powerless.”

  Edna crossed his arm behind his back and leaned on one canister. “Indeed.”

  Ridiculous.

  “Have you grown mad, Edna? If the Integrators…”

  “Should that happen, then your Undead will take care of them! For who can face your horde of Undead under the banner of Leyrin? Who can defeat the might of your legion commander, Soras? Who can be brave against the twin giants? Who wouldn’t be awe at the mere sight of your dragon Ulfred? And whose bow mightier than your archer, Mea? Lumien, you have the best of the best here. Why not let them handle these Integrators? Beside we cannot be too sure if Landfred is dead yet. Still, should that happen, then the worst case scenario is we will awaken the Half-dragon!”

  Awaken the God Half-dragon.

  A twist of eagerness seized Lumien's body. Yes, this was what he should have done. This was why he made…

  Made?

  Lumien's eyes went wide, and Edna tilted his head. Edna’s beak almost plucked Lumien’s eyes. Why did he do this?

  “It’s powerful, Edna,” Lumien said as he stepped back.

  “What does?” The doctor tilted his head.

  “Your suggestion.”

  “Why Lumien! I know you trust me. But, you should not flatter me so!” Edna laughed, pulling his bulky cloak around him gleefully.

  “No, I mean it,” Lumien said. He hid one hand behind him, combusting green flames into being. “So powerful, it chains me…”

  Edna’s eyes shot open. The doctor immediately tried to scurry away, but Lumien lunged forward with his burning hand and grasped the doctor just under his mask. He pressed his Necrotic flames further, melting—what? His flame, they did not melt the mask. Not even his body.

  Lumien clicked his tongue, and his flame roared forward like a wave of undulating green. He slammed Edna down and wove a staff of green, smashing it down onto Edna’s mask.

  A thud rebounded, and his staff went up. Lumien steadied his hand and jumped backward under the blue scaly skin of the Half-dragon.

  Slowly, shedding the Necrotic flame. Edna stood, brushing off his flame as if they were leaves. Lumien could only watch in silence as his flames fell onto the ground.

  “Ah, did I push my luck too far?” Edna asked, or whatever he was. Removing his mask, Lumien was greeted by a creature of pure white. A face of vivid white bowed at him, and slowly Edna began undressing, revealing a body of bleached light just like his face.

  “Edna, is that your name?”

  “Ah, yes, I never lied about my name to the Tutorial Boss, mainly because there’s no point in doing so.”

  “Tutorial?” Lumien repeated the word. “You are a creature of the System!” He roared, anger filled him, and Necrotic flame responded by encasing Lumien’s body with armor of jade flames.

  “All of us are creatures of the system, you fool,” Edna shrugged, shaking his head and bringing his hands up. “You’re special, Lumien. This Tutorial scenario has been upgraded from F to S in just thirty years. I always find it unfair, you know. A group of ten is attached to an S-grade tutorial. Well, they will be properly rewarded or take the cowardly way out, in doing so, forgoing the reward. But…” His voice held, as if an ecstasy somehow colored that face. “This group is different, and as an Administrator chosen by the system, I’m allowed a small intervention.”

  “Inter—”

  Lumien’s hand shot up. Both of them. He tried to bring them down, but to no avail. It was like some invisible binding was tied over him.

  “Here, let me help,” Edna said. In his hand was the Necrotic Staff, already somehow busy with Lumien’s jade flame.

  Edna put the staff in Lumien’s hands.

  Lumien tried to curse, to kick, but he could only glare.

  “I’m sorry, Lumien, but ever since I met them. I’m quite fond of this group,” Edna said, his mask peering close to Lumien’s nose. “Now, you, Tutorial Boss the [Necromancer] shall open the gate toward the Third Depth.”

  No, if he did that, then it would have taken him three days to recover. If an Integrator entered… his body moved. Lumien lifted his staff high, and his magic began to course through the entire staff.

  This is how far the system had me?

  Oh, Delia, I’m a fool.

  Lumien released his magic, and the sky parted with a cloud of green plumes.

  [GATE TO THIRD DEPTH OPENED]

  [FINAL SCENARIO STARTED]

  [SLAY THE INTEGRATORS]

  [REWARD: FREE WILL]