Rise Of The Undead King

Chapter 4

Marcus stared at the massive lion shadow beast bowing before him, his hands clenched tightly.

The sound rang in his head again, vibrating under the weight of more information.

Mortician class activated. One undead beast tamed, 4 more left to upgrade your class to F tier.

But there was more. The system gave him more explanation about his skill, and he realized that he had an endless evolution.

Mortician Class: Hidden Evolution Trait

Unlike standard awakening classes bound by fixed limits, the Mortician class can evolve endlessly. Each beast tamed increases host power and unlocks new abilities. There is no ceiling.

Marcus read the words over and over. Everyone knew that your body affinity had everything to do with the kind of class you awakened, and that your rank was final. Henry was A ranked and would stay A ranked forever. But this was different.

His hands vibrated with anticipation that sank deep into his bones.

He wasn't stuck being the trash of the Cave family.

Marcus looked at the lion beast still pressed flat against the cold ground. "Follow," he muttered.

The beast rose instantly and padded behind him as he walked deeper into the freezing cave. The smell of rotten flesh was thick, but Marcus ignored it. Since it dawned on him that if he wanted to survive this world, he could not mope around like a loser. He had to fight for his survival.

The second beast didn't take long to find. A shadow wolf leaped from behind a pile of bones, its jaws open wide, aiming straight for his throat.

Marcus focused and activated his skill.

The wolf stopped mid-air and crashed onto the rocky ground, whimpering like a dog before its master.

Second undead beast tamed. 3 more left to upgrade your class.

But the moment the system announced it, something stabbed a claw into his mind. Sharp pressure hit behind his eyes, not physical pain but something heavier. Marcus staggered, pressing his fingers to his forehead.

He realized that the more he added, the harder it became.

The connection to two beasts felt like heavy chains wrapped around his brain. But he had been sleeping barely 5 hours everyday since he was 8, training with bags of sand until his hands bled. He was used to carrying weight.

Marcus kept walking deeper.

Two more shadow wolves appeared from the darkness, circling him slowly. Their eyes glowed red as they coordinated their attack, rushing at him from both sides.

Marcus's face twisted with irritation. The thick sense of rage arched deeply into his bones as he thought about Henry's smirk, about Jessica shifting away from him, not wanting to be associated with him.

"Submit!" he yelled, throwing his skill at both wolves.

The mental clash was brutal. Both beasts fought back, their wild death energy crashing against his mind. Marcus's nose started bleeding, warm blood dripping down his lips. His vision blurred at the edges.

But anger filtered through his veins like poison. He thought about his father saying they would be better off if he were dead.

Both wolves hit the ground, whining.

Two undead beasts tamed. 1 more left to upgrade your class.

The weight on Marcus's mind was almost unbearable now. Four chains pulling in different directions, dragging at his thoughts. His hands trembled against the cave wall. Blood dripped from his nose onto the rocks.

The more beasts he added, the harder it became. The system didn't need to tell him that. He could feel it tearing at his sanity.

But Marcus forced himself to keep walking.

The last beast was waiting in the deepest part of the cave. A massive shadow bear stepped out of the darkness, even bigger than the lion. Its red eyes burned as it stared at him, measuring him.

This one was different and stronger 

Marcus activated his skill and the clash nearly ripped him apart.

He was thrown backward, tumbling on the floor multiple times like he was hit by a hurricane. His back slammed into the wall and everything went white around the edges.

The bear roared and charged at him.

Marcus saw it coming but his body refused to move. The pressure in his mind was screaming at him to let go, to release the other beasts before his brain fried completely.

Every instinct told him to give up.

"No," Marcus whispered, blood running from his nose and ears now.

He dragged up every bad memory he had. Henry's voice saying that's how it's done my pitiful brother. Jessica's cold eyes as she said she never loved him. His father's face twisted with irritation as he disowned him.

All those years living on their leftovers, not allowed at their tables. All those nights training alone while everyone else slept.

If he gave up now, all of that would mean nothing.

Marcus screamed and pushed back with everything he had.

The bear stopped inches from crushing him. Its massive body shook like it had hit an invisible wall. Slowly, its head lowered to the ground.

Fifth undead beast tamed.

Requirement met: Class upgrading to F tier.

The crushing weight vanished instantly. A strange jolt of electricity rolled throughout all of his body like a wave. The pain in his head faded and the bleeding stopped. The connection to his beasts settled into something solid at the back of his mind.

F tier Mortician: Mental capacity expanded. Beast limit increased to 10.

New ability unlocked: Beast Sense - Detect undead creatures within 100 meters.

Marcus stood up slowly. In front of him, five massive beasts bowed - the lion, three wolves, and the bear. All waiting for his command.

With his skill, Marcus was sure that he could easily navigate through the woods now. The restricted zone wasn't a death trap anymore.

He dismissed his beasts and started walking through the thick forest. His Beast Sense stretched out around him, giving him awareness of everything moving in the darkness.

After walking for a while, he heard frustrated cursing and branches snapping repeatedly in the same spot.

Marcus moved toward the noise.

In a small clearing, he found a girl. She was dressed in expensive combat gear that cost a fortune, more than average household earnings for ten years.

 Her silver hair was tied back but she looked completely lost, her boots tangled in thick shadow vines that were slowly wrapping around her legs. She was having a hard time getting out, slashing at the vines with a glowing dagger.

Marcus stepped into the clearing.

The girl's head snapped toward him instantly. She eye-fucked him from head to toe, not with desire but like she was scanning every detail about him. Her gaze was sharp and rude, accessing his class and everything through some kind of system ability.

A small device over her left eye beeped as her system read his information.

The moment she saw the results, her face went beyond stale. The brief hope that someone had come to help her died completely, replaced by immediate disgust and irritation.

"Are you lost?" Marcus asked. "I can help you out of those vines if you need it."

The girl stopped struggling and stared at him like he had said something stupid. Then she let out a loud, mocking snort.

"Help me?" she said, her voice dragging with arrogance. "My system just read your pathetic stats. E ranked Mortician. Literal garbage class."

The words stabbed a claw into his heart, reminding him of the awakening ceremony, of the crowd laughing at him.

"With your weak ability, you couldn't even help yourself," she continued, turning back to hack at the vines like he wasn't worth another second of her time. "What are you going to do with that trash class? Stay away from me, I don't need some useless E rank making things worse."

Marcus watched her struggle for a moment, his face twisted with irritation. 

He could order his shadow bear to rip those vines apart in seconds. He could show her exactly what his 'weak ability' could do.

But as he looked at her arrogant posture, he realized she was exactly like Henry.

Marcus scoffed.

"Suit yourself," he muttered, walking back into the trees.