It was a tale that began in Suwan Village.
A boy named Irzholk was someone who couldn't use magic.
'The Unblessed' the villagers called him. However, to make up for his weakness, Irzholk would wake up earlier than everyone else—stirring the rice barn, training with his sword, and taking his pet wolf for a hunt of small prey.
And that was when he encountered them—the demons.
They also walked on two legs, but their skin was bluer than the sea and paler than a corpse.
The elders called them the ones responsible for all evil and death.
The being known as Khaovren — the God of Destruction.
Yet, the village was said to have such powerful barrier magic that not even a tyrannosaurus could break through it.
But still, they had entered, and Irzholk had to wait nearly three hours to avoid being noticed.
Upon returning to the village, fortunately, nothing had happened. Only his father greeted him with a slap.
"We were worried sick! Where have you been?"
But Irzholk was too scared to speak of what he had just seen, especially since his father was scolding him in front of many people.
As punishment, Irzholk was forbidden from sleeping inside the house.
To make matters worse, the neighboring children threw sharp pebbles at him, created using basic earth elemental magic.
Irzholk wondered, instead of using their magic to bully him, shouldn't those kids think about reforming earth magic to make it strong enough for construction foundations?
That would certainly reduce the hassle whenever someone needed to build a new house or other construction.
The loneliness only sank in as night fell, and Irzholk was truly alone.
Suddenly, a suspicious rustling made Irzholk shudder. Fearing it was a wild beast, Irzholk instead found something far more terrifying.
It was a Khaovren. Their blue skin shimmered under the moonlight as the figure approached menacingly.
However, before Irzholk could flee, the Khaovren collapsed right in front of him.
A stab wound marked its abdomen.
Who had attacked it? Irzholk looked around but saw no one else.
Trembling, he picked up his spear, intending to strike. No one had seen this Khaovren arrive. If he took the body back, he could brag about being the one who killed it.
Yet a strange buzzing filled his ears, and Irzholk gasped.
He stumbled back, his face inches from the Khaovren's lifeless face.
Its eyes—still open—stared blankly in his direction.
Irzholk instinctively backed away, but something strange blocked his vision.
[Host founded!]
[Host Confirmed: Irzholk]
[Analyzing Spiritual Condition...]
Spiri... what?
"Uwaa!"
A sharp ringing echoed in his ears again.
[Analysis Complete!]
[Due to the negative assimilation of your magic seed, your magic output has never manifested]
[However, you no longer need to worry]
[With the System, your negative magic energy can be channeled... to form forbidden magic!]
[You are now the world's first Necromancer.]
Necromancer?
[Please touch the corpse before you.]
T-Touch it?
Irzholk felt terrified. He'd heard stories of a former village leader possessed by a demon, who had led the entire group astray.
But, recklessly as always, Irzholk touched it anyway.
And the corpse stood up.
Irzholk was shocked, about to scream, but something seemed to choke his voice.
Strangely, the Khaovren didn't attack him, not even touch him.
It simply stood there, lifeless and staring hollowed.
A faint groan escaped its lips, but there was no sign it would speak—not that Irzholk would understand if it did.
[You have added a soldier: Hope Lv.1]
[You are now free to control your soldier however you wish]
[You can level it up and make it stronger by farming]
[Farm by defeating your enemies.]
Irzholk didn't understand what the voice was saying, but he noticed a strange text above the Khaovren's head: 'Hope Lv.1'.
At the very least, Irzholk understood the word soldier.
He had once heard stories of a great leader named Zhaldrekh, who led a massive hunt against vile creatures, upholding justice across the land.
Back then, Zhaldrekh commanded thousands of powerful warriors capable of slaying T-Rexes with a single strike.
Did this mean the Khaovren was his soldier now? Could he use it to defeat his enemies and restore his clan's honor?
Yet, Irzholk still felt that tampering with death was taboo, even if it involved the race they despised.
But once again, Irzholk set that thought aside.
What mattered was that he could now use magic, and that was an achievement.
The next morning, Irzholk introduced the Khaovren to his family—only to be beaten up.
Not only that, the villagers suggested he be tied up for conspiring with the demons.
After a whole day, Irzholk was finally released, but his pet Khaovren was burned.
Since then, Irzholk decided not to listen to the voice again—at least not openly.
He still questioned why, now that he could finally use magic, the villagers reacted so harshly. Was it just because he was a little different?
At least he had managed to find the corpses of a decayed lion, a bear, and another Khaovren—this time with an arrow piercing its eye.
By now, Irzholk had collected ten walking corpses. Then, a different message appeared.
[You now have a total of 10 soldiers]
[You have unlocked the <Fusion> feature.]
[Use it to merge your ten soldiers into a single, much stronger Level 2 soldier]
Irzholk paused.
He had never considered the concept of merging before.
Looking at his underlings again, he could only imagine the madness if they all fused into one being.
Aside from being insane, it also felt... wrong.
But Irzholk was tired of being treated like a freak and punished for things he hadn't done.
So if he was going to be punished again, he might as well satisfy his curiosity.
[Initiating Fusion.]
[You have created: Beastkin.]