Chapter 1: Bones and Beginnings
The air in City D always smelled a little bit like dust, smoke, and something wild and green from the forest just outside the giant stone walls. Sav leaned against the rough wall near the East Gate, watching the Hunters come back. They were the brave ones, the ones who went out into the dangerous Changed Lands.
Some Hunters dragged huge, scaled hides behind them. Others carried bags filled with glowing mushrooms or sharp monster teeth. This was how City D survived. People needed things from the forest, things only found on the strange beasts that lived there now, ever since the world changed and glowing cracks, called Rifts, split open the sky.
Sav sighed. He wanted to be a Hunter more than anything. He wanted to be strong, respected, and able to help his city. But everyone knew his problem.
He had the Undead Affinity.
Most Beast Masters had cool affinities. Fire Affinity let you partner with fiery lions or blazing birds. Earth Affinity meant strong rock monsters or tough, burrowing creatures. Water, Wind, Plant – they all had powerful beasts.
But Undead? People wrinkled their noses. Undead summons, like skeletons or zombies, were usually made of rotting stuff. They were brittle. Easy to break. Slow. Most people with the Undead Affinity couldn't even pass the test to become the lowest rank Hunter, an E-Rank.
"Look, it's Sav the Bone-Picker," sneered a voice.
Sav turned. It was Mark, a boy a bit older than him who had an Earth Affinity. Mark already had a small Rock Lizard partner that sometimes peeked out of his bag. It looked like a lumpy, grey rock with legs.
"Still dreaming, Sav?" Mark chuckled. "Why don't you just give up? You'll never make a summon strong enough to squash a bug, let alone fight a Fang-Rat."
Sav clenched his fists but didn't say anything. Arguing was pointless. Everyone thought the same thing. He just turned his back and walked away, heading towards the city library.
While others trained their affinities with flashy moves, Sav spent his time with books. Dusty old books about mana, the energy everyone used to power their affinities and summons. Books about the Changed Lands, the Rifts, and the creatures. And most importantly, books filled with strange symbols and diagrams showing how affinities worked.
It was these symbols that gave Sav hope. Deep in his memory, like a half-forgotten dream, he remembered something similar. Shapes and lines that followed rules, that made things happen if you put them together in the right order. He didn't know where the memory came from, but he called it "coding" in his head.
The books said affinities worked by shaping mana using willpower and instinct. But Sav felt it was more like… instructions. Like telling the mana exactly what to do, step-by-step. The symbols in the books looked like pieces of those instructions.
What if Undead isn't weak because the bones are brittle? he thought, settling down at a dusty table in the library. What if people just aren't… coding it right? They just throw mana at bones and hope for the best. What if I tell the mana to make the connections stronger, even if the bones themselves are small?
He pulled out a worn notebook and a piece of charcoal. He started drawing the symbols from the book, but rearranging them slightly, adding little lines here and there based on the "coding" ideas in his head. He focused on a simple structure, the simplest creature he could think of that left bones behind.
A mouse.
Later that day, Sav found a quiet spot in an alley behind the market. The smell of rotting vegetables hung in the air. Perfect. He spotted what he needed near a pile of trash – the tiny, delicate skeleton of a dead mouse, picked clean by bugs.
Taking a deep breath, Sav knelt. He closed his eyes and focused, picturing the "code" he'd designed in his notebook. He reached out with his mana, a faint greyish energy that only he could see, touching the tiny bones.
Usually, Undead summoning felt messy, like pushing mud. But this time, following his "code," it felt… cleaner. Like clicking little blocks together in his mind. Connect_bone(A, B). Reinforce_joint(A, B). Activate_basic_movement(). The strange words echoed in his thoughts, not quite real words, but instructions.
He felt his mana flow, not splashing everywhere, but tracing neat lines between the mouse bones. A faint grey light glowed around the skeleton.
Crrk… rattle…
The tiny skull lifted. The jaw clicked open and shut. Slowly, awkwardly, the little skeleton mouse pushed itself up on bony legs. It wobbled, its empty eye sockets seeming to stare right at Sav. It wasn't scary. It was barely bigger than his thumb. And yes, it looked incredibly fragile.
But it moved. It followed his mental nudge, taking a shaky step forward.
Sav let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. A huge grin spread across his face. It was tiny. It was probably useless in a real fight. But it was his. He had made it work using his own idea, his own "code."
He carefully scooped up the little Skeleton Mouse. It rattled faintly in his palm but didn't fall apart.
"Okay," Sav whispered to the tiny pile of bones. "Let's go get registered."
He walked briskly towards the Hunter Association building, a sturdy place near the city center. Inside, it was noisy with Hunters talking loudly and checking job boards. At the registration desk sat a tired-looking man with grey hair, Old Man Hemlock.
"Name and Affinity?" Hemlock asked without looking up.
"Sav. Undead Affinity," Sav said, trying to keep his voice steady.
Hemlock finally looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Undead, huh? You got a controlled summon to show me? Minimum requirement for E-Rank."
"Yes, sir." Sav carefully placed the Skeleton Mouse on the counter.
It stood there, rattling slightly.
Someone behind Sav snorted. Sav recognized the voice – Borin, a loud guy who had just managed to get his E-Rank badge with a fist-sized Rock Lizard. "Is that a joke? What's that thing gonna do? Nibble a monster's toes?"
Hemlock ignored Borin and peered closely at the Skeleton Mouse. He poked it gently with a pen. It wobbled but stayed standing. He watched as Sav made it take a few steps back and forth on the counter.
"Hmm," Hemlock grunted. "It's… small. Very small. But it's holding together, and it follows your commands." He looked at Sav, then back at the mouse. He sighed. "Technically, it meets the minimum standard. Barely."
He stamped a form and pulled out a small, cheap-looking bronze badge with the letter 'E' carved into it. "Alright, kid. Here's your badge. Don't get yourself killed on your first trip out. Stick to the Green Fringe area, collect simple herbs or track Glow Bugs. Understand?"
Sav's heart pounded. He grabbed the badge, its metal cool in his hand. E-Rank. The lowest rung, the very bottom, but it was a start. It was his start.
"Yes, sir! Thank you!" Sav said, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice.
He pinned the badge to his worn shirt. Borin just shook his head and walked away, muttering something about "wasting a badge."
Sav didn't care. He carefully picked up his Skeleton Mouse, letting it perch on his shoulder. It felt almost weightless. He looked at the tiny creature, then towards the huge East Gate that led out into the dangerous, possibility-filled forest.
It wasn't much. A brittle Skeleton Mouse and an E-Rank badge. But as Sav walked out of the Hunter Association and into the bustling street, he felt a spark of determination stronger than ever before. This was just the first line of code. He had a lot more building to do.