UNDONE
Volume I: Resurrection of Murdock
Jacob Cavalida
Table of Contents
Copyrights Page
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter XI
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapter XXIII
Copyrights Page
Disclaimer: The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. To the extent any real names of individuals, locations, or organizations are included in the book, they are used fictitiously and not intended to be taken otherwise.
Copyright © 2020 by Jacob Cavalida
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher and author constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the copyright holder or publisher.
Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Chapter I
His Undying Will
“I can’t die now… not yet!” Adam Murdock powered through the pain as he tightened his loosening grip. He tried hard holding on to the hilt of his sword, even attempting to pass it unto his other hand. His efforts, however, were all for naught—he had no other hand. An enemy soldier had cut it off clean moments ago. His vision started to blur. “Not yet...” Adam whispered as he gritted his teeth, unyielding his last breath.
Unfortunately, a sword swing soon ended his struggle.
It was a pitiful sight — An unforeseen attack decapitated him. Thud!
Adam fell, lifeless; his severed head tumbling on the bloodied ground. He died without ever nearing his resolve: to save his family from the grasp of the Cyrus Kingdom. It was a cruel fate that led him to become a militiaman of the same kingdom, bound by the promise of freedom for him and his family. It was all lies; and Adam knew of it. But he had nothing to defy and escape the bindings of the strong.
“This world is too cruel for the weak...” he whispered with his dying breath.
* * *
Screams of terror awoke Adam. Through the window of what resembled a hut, he saw a chaotic scene: a burning village — It was his home village. “Dad!” he heard someone call. It was his daughter! Adam stood up and immediately ran to her room. The door was already wide open when he arrived, “Dad!” his daughter cried for help as she was being dragged by soldiers. Adam couldn’t possibly mistake their identity; The insignia in the shape of a black snake on their armor plates couldn’t belong to anyone but the Cyrus Kingdom.
For years, he donned the same insignia in great shame and disdain.
“Let go of my daughter, you bastards!” Adam charged. However, his fist simply went through the soldier who didn’t notice his presence. Everyone in the room was seemingly unaware of him, like he wasn’t even there at all. ‘What is going on?!’ Confusion flooded Adam. “Help!” the daughter wept, oblivious of her father standing right in front of her.
A different cry resounded from the room whence he came. There, another group of soldiers surrounded his wife. ‘This…’ It then dawned on him. Everything that was happening... had already happened five years ago.
It was when the Cyrus Kingdom attacked Bushel Village.
“Adam!” It was his wife’s turn to cry for help. The soldiers started ripping her clothes off, stripping her naked. She struggled, resisting with all her strength, but against a group of trained men, she was helpless. The scene was such a hellscape—the soldiers ganged up on her like there was no tomorrow.
Adam tried tackling the soldiers off, but his efforts were to no avail. “What kind of sick dream is this!?” he exclaimed, thrashing around the room which was unaffected by whatever he was doing. It was all a dream. No… It was a terrifying nightmare.
“What kind of “sick dream”, you ask? Is it perhaps something you want to change?” Out came a voice from the void. Adam looked around, but saw no one talking, “Who—who’s there?! Who are you?! And why are you doing this to me?!” Adam threw a fit. The voice’s calm tone amidst the dreadful situation incensed him further.
“I’m absolutely doing nothing to you. This is all... you. You created this hell all by yourself,” the voice explained coldly. “But this hell is also your salvation. You, my friend, could never change the past…. But the future, however, will always be up to you. Wake up! This is not the end… and we’re not done yet!”
Adam was clueless as to what the mysterious voice blabbered.
Suddenly, a bright light engulfed his vision.
* * *
His dead body writhed. His left and only arm moved erratically, as if it were looking for something important. It swept through the damp ground, flicking blood-drenched soil up the air. The fickling hand finally stopped when it grasped what it was looking for—his own severed head.
Like piecing a human-shaped puzzle, Adam attached his head back in place. It was an ungodly miracle! “With your undying spirit, you have successfully unlocked [A Will That Conquers Death].” A familiar voice resounded in his head. It was the same voice as the one from his nightmare a moment ago.
‘What is happening?’ Adam wondered, as he could now that his head was back in place.
To answer him, the voice spoke once more. “You were killed, but were resurrected by your unrelenting will. I have granted you a gift—[A Will That Conquers Death], that will enable you to change your previously doomed fate. Set forth and change your future… It is yours to control.”
“Integrating a new hero system…”
“System integration… complete!”
---
Adam Murdock
Class - Undead
Level - 1 (0/10)
[Health - 120] Charges - 3
[Mana - 12]
...
[Abilities]
“A Will That Conquers Death”
Grants the user the Undone System.
Enables Life Charge - Gains expendable health bars. If all charges are consumed, the user would then enter ‘Recovery State’, regenerating health points and charges. Recovery time may vary depending on the user’s overall physical condition (Life Charge can be improved through leveling).
“The Undead” (Class Specific)
Grants resistance against Dark magic.
Grants total immunity against status ailments.
Grants the ability to communicate with monsters belonging to Undead class.
...
[Skills]
“Authority of the Undone” (Level 1) - Command monsters belonging to the Undead class. The monster’s level must be lower than that of the user. Mana consumption depends on the level of the monster being controlled. (Level 1 - Can control up to 5 units at a time)
...
Equipment - None
---
Adam couldn’t believe what he was seeing. A mysterious sheet listing everything—from his name to all his newly found abilities—has appeared in front of him. Adam was curious but didn’t look further into the sheet, at least for now. Instead, he inspected his body. Now classified as an ‘Undead’ meant he r
eally died, but was then brought back to life… sort of.
Adam saw that he was still missing his right arm and all the injuries he sustained were still there, untreated. The only difference? He wasn’t bleeding to death anymore. Somehow, he was still “alive”—an assumption which, in some sense, might not be true.
“... Heurgh,” (Am I really an undead now?) Nonsensical words came out of his mouth.
Adam had now lost the ability to speak normally.
Before Adam could even do anything to understand, or at least have a slight grasp of the strange situation, an enemy soldier suddenly rushed towards him, fitfully swinging a long sword. ‘Right, I’m still on a battlefield.’ he came to his senses.
Adam instinctively dodged the incoming attack. In one swift motion, he picked up a sword and countered, fending the enemy off. His movements were fluid, uncharacteristic to that of a typical undead. ‘How is this even possible?’ Adam exclaimed. His smooth movement was quite baffling. A quick side sweep ended the enemy.
“Gained + 10 EXP”
“Congratulations, you leveled up!”… “Level - 2”
It took a few more strenuous exchanges before Adam discovered how he could move faster; He was missing a lot of flesh. Besides the fact that he was without an entire arm, other parts of his body with deep cuts and severe wounds were starting to “shed”—solid chunks of flesh and muscles were falling off like fecal matter. His pearly white bones were slowly becoming visible.
“Gained + 20 EXP”
“Congratulations, you leveled up!”... “Level - 4”
“Gained + 10 EXP”
“Congratulations, you leveled up!”... “Level - 5”
“Gained + 20 EXP”
“Congratulations, you leveled up!”... “Level - 7”
‘This is absurd…’ Adam thought. The sudden surge of strength in his body, the vigour churning wildly in his mana core — This was a power to kill for! How did he become an undead suddenly? That, he didn’t care for any answers anymore; The explanation would only be of trivial matter to him. The power to become stronger—what was once reserved for heroes of mankind—was now in his hands. To question it would be… hypocritical.
‘With this power… I… I could finally save my family!’
---
Adam Murdock
Class - Undead
Level - 7 (0/10)
[Health - 240] Charges - 3
[Mana - 42]
---
Adam, unbound by the promise of false freedom, started killing indiscriminately; It didn’t matter which kingdom the soldiers fought for, Adam didn’t care. Besides a few militiamen he knew personally, Adam spared no one. Everyone around him was his enemy.
However, the glaring black-snake insignia eventually triggered his deep rage, his true desires. The pitiful image of his wife and daughter flashed once more. Out of anger, Adam started killing more Cyrus’ soldiers than actual enemies. This traitorous act gradually drew heated attention. “What are you doing, soldier?” A squad leader passing by rebuked after seeing Adam attack his “fellow” soldier amidst the raging battle.
Unable to talk at all, Adam kept his silence and feigned ignorance, attacking the actual enemies once more. However, the Cyrus soldiers around him caught up to his act and started maneuvering towards him. They slowly surrounded Adam.
“A spy is in our ranks! Kill him!” the squad leader commanded.
Around twelve soldiers attacked Adam at once. Lacking a shield to guard against the volley of attacks raining down on him, Adam proactively made use of his flesh instead.
[Health - 20] Charges - 3.
A single barrage of attacks alone cut off a great portion of his health pool. Adam clicked his tongue out of frustration... a mannerism which was still, somehow, possible after his cheek flesh deteriorated. ‘I can’t just take hits like this every time, I have to at least do something.’
Contrary to everyone’s expectation, blood never spurted out from the cuts on Adam’s body. “He—he’s a monster!” one soldier exclaimed. The squad leader hopped off of his horse to assist. “Looks like there’s a necromancer amongst the enemy. Look for him!” he instructed. “Also… ask the Order of the Holy Knights for assistance. There may be more undead summons,” he added.
“And as for you, unholy spawn,” the squad leader shifted his attention towards Adam and pointed his blade glinting from the bright afternoon sun. “... I’ll deal with you personally!”
Chapter II
Holy Knights
The lack of muscle mass meant movement would have almost been impossible, even more so fast, fluid, and complicated ones such as jumping around and avoiding sword attacks. Not only was Adam able to parry against the squad leader, but also counter him with moves of his own. ‘How—how is this even possible!?’ Beads of sweat dripped down the squad leader’s forehead. He was having a rough time facing an undead monster that defied logic and common sense.
Adam was cautious of the squad leader. He kept checking his remaining health points before parrying an attack. He could shield using his own flesh all he wanted, but he had to stay mindful of how much health an attack consumes and if doing so was any sustainable; The above-average strength of the squad leader told him otherwise.
‘I can’t just take hits from him all day,’ Adam figured
“You’re not a summoned monster, are you?” Out of the blue, the squad leader asked.
Adam didn’t answer. Well… he couldn't answer. But even if he could, he didn’t feel like bothering either. A slight nod would have sufficed, but he’d rather not. Instead, out of squad leader’s expectation, Adam started self-mutilating, scraping off his own flesh.
“Wh—What are you doing?!” the squad leader exclaimed.
He then had a bad premonition after seeing the monster abrade its flesh.
[Health - 0] Charges - 3. “A Life Charge will now be consumed...”
Adam took away his own remaining health points—he was now indistinguishable, his bones dominating over the flesh. “Life Charge successfully consumed...” the notification rang. Adam’s body collapsed on the ground. His skeleton shattered and the minute flesh he had rotted away almost instantaneously. The strange and sudden turn of events left the squad leader utterly confused.
“Something’s not right here,” he muttered, looking at the pile of broken bones.
“Where’s the undead?” someone asked.
It was one of the holy knights he requested. A pair of them arrived just in the nick of time.
“It’s gone…” the squad leader answered, pointing at the remains. “It suddenly killed itself. I’ve never seen a monster do something like that before,” he added. One of the holy knights inspected the area.
“Perhaps the necromancer controlling it got killed? That’s a possibility,” the knight shrugged. “It’s already dead, so the reason doesn’t really matter at this point—“
[Health - 240] Charges - 2
Adam’s lifeless body writhed, just like before. Pieces of bones started reassembling themselves—another ungodly miracle was occurring. Unlike the previous revival, Adam resurrected with all his limbs intact this time, arms and all. His skeletal form brandished pearly white bones shimmering under the bright sunlight. Some tissues and flesh remained, holding innards undisposed during the use of Life Charge.
“Heurgh!” Adam growled.
Both holy knights immediately braced themselves after seeing the undead resurrect.
“No point in holding back... That monster is a self-conscious undead,” one of the holy knights figured. “There’s no one controlling it. Eliminate it as soon as possible!” he then instructed, “I’ll kill it with purification magic to make sure it won’t revive again.” A bright array of golden magic circles appeared high above the sky. “Attack now!”
* * *
Becoming an undead felt more like an unforeseen blessing than a cruel curse. The supposedly agonizing feeling of death was nothing more than a simple pause for me. It wa
s technically my second time dying, but it felt invigorating rather than depressing. I somehow got both my arms back... which was a pleasant surprise.
‘This is me now. And I am not disappointed at all.’
I took it by heart that this was a boon draped in a bane veil. I knew that I couldn’t live a normal life from here on out, but the awful one I had wasn’t even worth mentioning. I had everything in my life go against me for the past five years. From this point forward, nothing could go downhill anymore. I had to change my fate… starting with the challenge in front of me.
* * *
Rays of divine power started spewing out of the magic circles, each attack aiming towards Adam. The nimble undead, however, quickly moved to and fro, avoiding the much slower magic with ease. Clouds of dust puffed up, leaving shallow craters on the ground. Adam smirked, though it wasn’t at all “visible” because of his boney face.
‘Years of forced military training has finally paid off,’ Adam thought.
If it wasn’t for the militia training, Adam would have been fighting clueless against knights who could use divine magic. Fortunately, he took the training back then seriously, hoping it would pay off eventually. Such blind faith finally bore some tasteful fruit.
“Gavin, conserve your mana! Let’s restrain it first.” the other holy knight advised.
The holy knight, Gavin Arkwright, halted his assault.
“It won’t be easy,” Gavin said, wiping his sweaty forehead. “It seems to know how our magic works,” he added, looking terrified. “Being fast won’t make much of a difference, but that monster avoided my attacks flawlessly. It even did so lightly.” Gavin gave his partner, Aero Bullard, a knowing look. “You know me well, so you know I’m not exaggerating this.”
Undone- Resurrection of Murdock Page 1