Dark Lord: Rise to Power

*BAM* a loud, deafening sound echoed.

Suddenly, Arin felt as if he had plummeted at high speed into a dark abyss. He could feel his body once again but realized he was lying on a stone slab, paralyzed.

A strange chant filled the air in a humming voice:

"Nerthazir Enkigal, seg tuku; Ilabrat, igi'bar; Nanna, ki'nu; Hem'netjer, nepestum!"

He had never heard such a language before. But to his surprise, he could understand the meaning, as if something was automatically translating the alien language for him.

The chant meant:

"Lord of the Underworld Nerthazir, grant us strength; Messengers, clear the path; Moon God, light the way; Champion of Death, rise!"

Arin felt that he was the one being asked to rise, but he couldn't move. Suddenly, a rectangular-shaped window of fluorescent green color appeared, floating in front of him.

[ You are being requested to Rise ]

[ Do you accept? ]

< Yes/No >

"What the hell?" Arin was startled. "Is this a game?"

"Well, no good in loitering over it; the only sensible option is 'YES'," Arin decided. "But how can I select it when I'm completely immobile?" He couldn't even move his lips to say "Yes."

"Whatever," he thought and mentally said, "Yes." To his astonishment, the strange floating window vanished, and he discovered himself glowing with a bright green light. He felt he had regained complete control of himself. Slowly, he stood up to look around.

He seemed to be inside a mausoleum. Four more corpses lay on the ground around him, all naked. He noticed strange runes carved into their bodies with a sharp object. The wounds were fresh, as traces of blood still dripped from the carvings. He looked at himself and discovered the same runes etched on his own body. However, in his case, the wounds were healing quickly.

"It was true!" Arin heard a shout of joy. "We made it; we have summoned a Death Knight."

Arin followed the voices and discovered six hooded figures in black robes, their faces obscured. "Wait, I am a Death Knight?" Arin wondered. As if to resolve his query, the same window as before appeared in front of him.

=============================

| Name: Arin Drez |

| Profession: Champion of Nerthazir |

| Race: Undead |

| Level: 1 |

| Experience: 0/100 |

=============================

| Strength: 50 | 

|Agility: 25(-20) |

|Magicka: 75 |

|Wisdom: 50 |

|HP: 200 |

|MP: 175 |

=============================

| Resistance: |

| Blade 7% | Blunt 2% | Piercing 6% |

| Fire 50% | Water 1% | Earth 2% |

| Light -75% | Dark 90% | Mental 85% |

=============================

| Status: |

| Undead(Permanent) |

| Champion(Permanent) |

| Disoriented(-20 Agility)(temporary) |

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| Skill: |

| Simple Weapon Proficiency – Adept |

| Unique Weapon Proficiency – Novice |

| Light Magic Proficiency – NA |

| Dark Magic Proficiency – Apprentice |

| Destructive Magic Proficiency – NA |

| Creation Magic Proficiency – NA |

| Necromancy – Adept |

=============================

| Spells Learnt: |

| Raise Dead – Adept |

| Dread Howl – Adept |

| Life Drain – Adept |

| Feeble – Apprentice |

| Cripple – Apprentice |

| Wither – Apprentice |

| Erode – Apprentice |

| Haze – Apprentice |

=============================

Arin was overwhelmed by the sudden flood of information. Before he could grasp the data and make sense of it all, another floating window appeared over the 'Status Window':

[ Novice Necromancer Matthias wants to take control over you ]

[ Do you accept? ]

< Yes/No >

"What the hell?" Arin's mind snapped back to the present. "So, these novice necromancers have summoned me into this world and now want to make me their undead minion?" he thought. He decided to understand the situation before making any decisions.

The hooded figure at the forefront, likely Matthias, looked at Arin and said, "You, stupid Death Knight! I am your master! I have summoned you! Bow before me, bow down!"

Another hooded figure spoke up, "I knew it—we should have practiced with skeletons first before attempting a Death Knight!"

"Did you forget what we have in our hands?" Matthias shouted, flaunting a scroll above his head. "I bought this with two bags of silver, a forbidden, lost ritual to raise a Death Knight of the Death God," he paused, "and you wanted to waste it on some skeletons? When six of us are together!"

"But," said another person in the corner, "after all we have done to procure these bodies, we would be in grave danger if this summoning ritual fails..."

"And," interjected a fourth person, "I think we have raised a mindless dead thrall. What are we going to do with this stupid walking corpse?"

Matthias, losing his cool, snapped. He grabbed his staff, marched towards Arin, and shouted, "BOW DOWN."

By now, Arin had grasped the entire situation. They were fledgling necromancers who had obtained a scroll to evoke the Champion of the God of Death but mistook it for a Death Knight summoning ritual. Arin chuckled, seeing a perfect opportunity to try his newfound strength.

The window popped up again:

[ Novice Necromancer Matthias wants to take control over you ]

[ Do you accept? ]

< Yes/No >

"No," Arin answered in his mind and smirked as he slowly walked towards Matthias. Matthias and his friends initially thought the ritual had worked. Arin's confident stride resembled that of a Death Knight.

But as Arin drew closer, an unknown fear gripped Matthias's heart. However, arrogance surpassed his survival instinct, and he couldn't share his concerns with his partners.

Arin stopped in front of Matthias, placing his hand on his head. "So, you are the one who dared to summon me?" Arin tightened his grip on Matthias's head. "This thick head of yours didn't even realize what you were summoning?"

"W-Who are you?" Matthias fumbled. "Release me, it's-it's-it's hurting, aaah..."

"Don't worry, you fool," Arin laughed. "Soon, it won't hurt anymore." He tightened his grip until Matthias's head burst like a watermelon under a hammer.

Another status window popped up:

[ You have killed Fledgling Necromancer Matthias. You have been awarded +10 Exp ]

[ Congratulations on your first kill in this World. You have been awarded a bonus +5 Exp ]

[ You have killed an enemy of a higher level than you. You have been awarded +5 Exp ]

"Interesting," said Arin, observing the status windows.

The five people accompanying Matthias couldn't see the notification windows. They stood frozen in terror, realizing they had unleashed something beyond their control.

"S-Stop," cried the third person. "Let us go, you monster."

Arin didn't reply, just smiled. He wanted to cast some spells on them but didn't know how. "Maybe I should give a command in my mind like before," he thought, and said 'Cripple' in his mind while focusing on one hooded figure. Instead of affecting his target, another floating window appeared:

[ Cripple - Movement speed of the target is reduced based on the target's resistance to Dark Magic and the caster's proficiency in Dark Magic ]

"What the hell," sighed Arin in frustration. "So, mind commands are only for accessing status windows." He looked at the five people who were still reeling in fear. Arin then tried saying aloud "cripple" to one, but nothing happened. The one he pointed to cried out, "I am not Cripple, sir. My name is Debruz! Please spare me." The remaining four knelt, "Oh Dread Lord, these foolish servants of yours have offended you. We beg your pardon!"

Frustrated with his inability to cast a spell, Arin grew angrier. "Oh, stop this!" he shouted. "RISE!" To everyone's surprise, the four corpses ritually sacrificed beside Arin slowly stood up.

Arin's surprise was interrupted by another popup window:

[ You have successfully raised four Revenants. ]

[ 'Necromancy' skill progression 4/150. ]

[ 'Raise Dead' spell progression 12/150 ]

He also received a notification window that displayed details of those Revenants-

=============================

| Revenant |

| Race: Undead |

|Tier- IV |

| Level: 1 |

| Owner: Arin Drez |

=============================

| Strength: 60 | 

|Agility: 50 |

|Magicka: 0 |

|Wisdom: 30 |

|HP: 140 |

=============================

| Resistance: |

| Blade 45% | Blunt 35% | Piercing 30% |

| Fire 5% | Water 5% | Earth 10% |

| Light -90% | Dark 90% | Mental 90% |

=============================

| Status: |

| Undead (Permanent) |

| Morticarnis (Permanent) |

=============================

| Ability: |

| Vengeful – Attack Power increases with each blow received |

| Morticanis – Dead Flesh provides increased Physical Resistance |

=============================

Arin chuckled and directed his attention towards the five fools. "You tried to chew more than you could swallow; now you need to pay for the idiotic act you have done." He looked at the four corpses, which were standing still, awaiting command from the one who had raised them. He issued an order, "Those five must have mutilated your bodies mercilessly. Repay these fools in kind." Upon his command, the four walking dead swiftly pounced upon the five helpless fledgling necromancers.

The four started the massacre, and their victims' cries echoed in the mausoleum. Amidst the shrieks, Arin slowly sat on a slab and started processing everything that had happened so far.