Shapes surged around a formless being. There was nothing but shadows. It formed a body, beautiful and young. Its legs and arm grew back, sturdier and stronger. The gaping hole in its chest had closed. Its heart had started beating again. And then, a voice.


    [Congratulations, Cain. Your class has changed!}


    What? Oh… yeah I died. Is this the afterlife?


    Cain tried to look around, but could see nothing. Damnit. If this was the afterlife, he was severely disappointed. But then he thought about the voice. Class change? What could that mean? Was it the System?


    Then it spoke again.


    [The Knight Class has changed to… Lich!]


    Lich? I’ve never heard of that class before.


    Then he smelt… grass? He heard the chirp of birds. Then he felt the pain. His arm and legs were back on his body, but it felt like they had just been sliced off. He howled for a bit before collecting himself.


    He clawed at the dirt and slowly dragged himself toward the treeline using the arm that didn’t get cut off by whatever that thing was. Cain’s limbs were still not working properly. Beneath the shade, Cain inhaled the sweet summer air and smiled, he had survived. Then his face darkened. The others did not.


    Maybe Orian made it out alive, but Razok and Caira were certainly dead. He just couldn’t believe they made it out after that. A few Silkspiders were no match for most Hunters, even those of E-rank, but a horde of them were certain death. He felt regret. Cain shouldn’t have left them, but his body moved on its own.


    Then he noticed something else, perhaps more sinister than the dungeon itself. He was not where he entered the dungeon. They entered it in the mountains behind Eravaad, not outside a forest in the middle of nowhere.


    How the hell did I get here?


    He stared at the great blue portal in awe, and a bit of fear. Why had it spit him out? Where even was he? Cain had so many questions, but the only one that he cared to figure out at the moment was about his new class. He pulled up the stat screen and looked at it closely.


    Cain - Level 1


    Mana: 180/180


    Class: Lich


    Titles:


    Skills: [Novice Swordsman], [Lord of Shadows], [Basic Ice Magic], [Blood Manipulation]


    Stats -


    Strength: 9


    Agility: 12


    Vitality: 10


    Perception: 13


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    Intelligence: 18


    Willpower: 8


    Charisma: 10


    Free Points: 0


    Items: [Knights Armor], [Broadsword]


    He tapped on the skill description and his eyes widened.


    [Lord of Shadows - There was once a shadow who was so timid and frightened of others that he secluded himself in the mountains. When the time came for him to defend against himself from an orc tribe, he succeeded. Then, he called forth the shadows of the orcs, turning them into his eternal servants. You can extract and summon the souls of your fallen enemies.]


    [Basic Ice Magic - The cold is yours to command, bend it to your will O’ Great Shadow.]


    [Blood Manipulation - You can manipulate the blood within your body to heal faster, grow stronger, and even poison your foes.]


    …


    Huh?! What the fuck is this? [Lord of Shadows] means I can summon the dead? I’m a gods damn Necromancer!


    A grin fell over Cain’s face as he lay beneath the canopy. Summoning the dead, what a power he was gifted. Everyone knew that sometimes, the System granted unique classes, but he had never heard of a Lich Class before. His power could be limitless! Was there a limit to how many shadows he could have? What about their strength? Could he hold shadows far stronger than him?


    There were so many questions and not enough answers. He’d have to test it out the first chance he could get. Ice magic was known for being strong defensively, but could he use it better offensively? What about blood manipulation? Maybe he could evolve the skill and manipulate blood outside his body. There were so many options he felt like a kid in a sweet parlour.


    Then his eyes drifted to his stats, they had changed rather drastically. They used to be even, but now they were scrambled. His willpower was low, which meant that his mana regeneration would be poor. Damn! He’d have to level that sooner rather than later. Seeing his strength decrease made him sad, but it was nothing some right stat allocation couldn’t fix.


    This was an amazing day! He had died, come back to life, and unlocked a unique class all in the span of an hour. Then his thoughts grew dark. He left his comrades to die. Did he truly deserve this?


    Why should they have died when he lived? What about that was fair? His mind settled on the answer; nothing. Nothing in this world was fair. Razok was far more honorable than Cain. Caira had a certain spark, even Sandy and Orian were special. They were smart and resourceful. But Cain was just a coward. That cowardice had saved his life though. He was ashamed, but he was alive.


    What’s the point in being honorable if you end up dead?


    He sat beneath the tree for a long while, the wind blowing his short dark hair side to side. He was filled with regret for what had happened in the dungeon, so he turned to the trunk of the tree. With a nearby rock, he carefully etched the initials of his fallen comrades into the tree''s bark. He could not bury them, but he could at least try to give them some sense of peace. Cain could not save them, so he will atone. He shifted to his knees and clasped his hands together in a prayer.


    “What I’ve done cannot be forgiven. I-I’m sorry. For leaving you all for dead, for surviving on my own. So I promise, that from today forth, I won’t allow anyone else to die. I’ll do what I can to make sure those who stand with me survive.”


    He pushed himself to his feet shakily. His legs were not used to this sensation. He gave the shimmering portal one last look. It was beautiful. Everyone said that dungeons were supposed to be terrifying, carved from a piece of pure evil. They were right. But he wondered how something so vile, so cruel, could be so beautiful in the early morning light. He did not know.


    The portal pulsed a few times, and then began to close. The cracks in reality shrunk in on themselves, slowly moving toward the center of it. The pure white center slowly became covered in faint hints of blue. They swirled, slowly growing more prominent as the portal shrank. It was sad. Then like nothing had ever been there, it disappeared into the wind. Gone.


    Cain gave one last glance to the tree and rubbed it with his palm. He felt a myriad of emotions within himself, sadness, anger, regret, guilt, relief. There was one that rose above all others though; hatred. He hated the dungeons, hated the monsters, even hated himself. But there was nothing he could do besides to move forward.


    Cain shakily made his way deeper into the forest, leaving the carved tree behind. The memory of that day would stay with him forever. He could only continue his journey and hope his lost comrades had found peace wherever they may be.