Death Mage in Another World

A couple of hours later, Kai stirred, the smell of burning firewood wafting through the air. Slowly opening his eyes, he glanced down from his perch and saw his classmates and friends gathered around a campfire, eating and talking. His summoned skeletons stood nearby, quietly helping by handing out food, stacking firewood, and cleaning up stray debris.

Kai stretched lazily and smiled. "Cancel Summon. Thank you, guys."

The skeletons immediately froze. With a faint shimmer, they collapsed into dark dust and vanished into the air.

"Huh?" one of the students exclaimed, looking around. "What happened to the skeletons?!"

Another classmate nervously added, "They were just here a second ago!"

Sean turned his head and muttered, "I swear, everything about Kai gets weirder and weirder."

Liam blinked in confusion. "Where did they go? Did they just… disappear?"

Kai chuckled softly from his branch, drawing their attention. "Sorry, guys," he said casually. "They didn't need to do any more work, so I sent them off."

The group exchanged uneasy glances. Before anyone could respond, Kai smirked and activated another skill. "Skill: Shadow Step."

In an instant, Kai vanished into the shadows of the tree.

"Huh?! Where did he—" Sean began, but before he could finish, a voice interrupted from the campfire.

"So, what's for dinner?"

Everyone froze. Slowly, they turned their heads, eyes wide with shock, to see Kai now sitting cross-legged among them, grinning mischievously.

"WHAT THE HELL, KAI?!" Liam screamed, nearly dropping his bowl of food.

"WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!" another classmate yelled, clutching their chest.

Kai just laughed, clearly enjoying their reactions. "Calm down, guys. It's just Shadow Step—I can move through shadows, remember? So, what's for dinner? Smells good."

Everyone groaned and muttered in frustration, but a few couldn't help but laugh along. Slowly, the tension around the campfire faded, replaced by quiet conversation and laughter as the students settled into their meal.

Kai grabbed a bowl of food and sat closer to Sean and Liam, who were still staring at him like he was a puzzle they couldn't solve.

"Man, what a day," Kai said with a small smile, looking at the crackling flames. "For our first day in this world, this wasn't so bad."

Sean raised an eyebrow at him. "Not so bad? Kai, we fell through a void, landed in a forest, and you summoned skeletons and a monster beast. That's not 'not so bad'!"

Liam shook his head, letting out a nervous laugh. "Honestly, I still don't know how you're so calm about all this. This isn't a video game, Kai… this is real life."

Kai shrugged, taking a bite of food. "Maybe, but come on—isn't this a little exciting? Magic, skills, new adventures… it's like we're living in an isekai story."

Sean groaned, rolling his eyes. "Of course you'd say that. Leave it to you to turn this into some fantasy game in your head."

Liam chuckled, finally relaxing. "Well, I guess you're right about one thing… it's definitely not boring."

The three friends laughed, their voices blending with the crackling fire and the murmurs of their classmates. Around them, students shared their own opinions, some complaining about their exhaustion, others talking excitedly about the magic they discovered.

As the fire crackled and the forest settled into nighttime quiet, Kai leaned back on his hands, looking up at the starry sky.

"This world… might not be so bad after all," he muttered to himself, a small, confident smile crossing his face.

Then they heard it—a powerful, guttural noise that echoed through the forest, like the growl of a massive beast. The sound was enough to send chills down their spines. Everyone jumped up, startled, immediately falling into nervous battle stances.

"What was that?!" one classmate yelled, eyes wide with panic.

Sean grabbed a stick, holding it like a weapon. "W-we're going to fight that, right?" he stammered.

Liam clutched his arms, his voice shaky. "I… I don't want to fight whatever made that noise."

Meanwhile, Kai remained seated, calmly eating his food as if nothing had happened. He didn't even look up.

"Kai!" Sean barked at him. "Are you seriously still eating? Did you NOT hear that?!"

Kai waved him off lazily. "Relax. It's probably nothing. You guys are overreacting again."

Before anyone could argue further, a massive creature burst through the underbrush with a terrifying roar. It was enormous—a beast resembling a wolf, but larger and far more menacing. Its fur was black as night, streaked with crimson markings. Two massive, curved horns jutted from its head, and its glowing red eyes scanned the group hungrily.

"It's a Horned Wolf!" one of the classmates screamed.

Another classmate activated a skill. "Skill: Appraisal!"

A faint glow surrounded their eyes as they scanned the monster. "Horned Wolf. Level 20. Health: 3,000. Strong against physical attacks. Weak against magic. Be careful—it's fast and deadly!"

Everyone began shouting in panic: "Level 20?! How are we supposed to fight that?!"

"We're done for!"

"Does anyone have a strong skill?!"

Sean and Liam both froze in place, pale as ghosts. Sean stuttered, "T-this isn't fair! That thing's a boss monster!"

"I-I can't fight that!" Liam added, trembling.

Kai finally set down his bowl and sighed, standing up. "You guys are hopeless." He raised his hand and smirked. "Skill: Summon Undead."

Twelve dark summoning circles appeared on the ground, and his skeletal warriors emerged, forming up in a battle stance.

"Help out my friends, my minions," Kai commanded, and the skeletons immediately charged at the Horned Wolf.

The monster snarled, its powerful claws swiping at the skeletons with brutal efficiency. Bones shattered as the summons were crushed one after another. The students tried to fight back with their own skills and abilities, but they couldn't keep up. The Horned Wolf was too fast, too strong.

Kai watched, his expression hardening. "Damn. That thing's tougher than I thought."

He clenched his fists and muttered, "Combo Skill: Bone Wall + Bone Spike!"

A wall of bones erupted from the ground, blocking the monster's path. Sharp spikes burst out from the structure, piercing into the Horned Wolf's side. The beast roared in pain but didn't fall. It shook off the attack, blood dripping from its wounds as it prepared for another assault.

Kai grinned darkly, stretching out his hand.

"Alright, time to end this."

His palm began to glow, and a dark weapon materialized in his grasp. It was the Soul Scythe, its long, curved blade pulsing with dark energy. His mana surged as he took control of it.

"Skill: Combo—Soul Scythe + Shadow Bolt!" Kai roared.

Kai swung the scythe downward with full force. At the same time, a massive Shadow Bolt, fueled with all his mana, shot out from the blade. The black energy tore through the air and struck the Horned Wolf dead-on.

BOOM!

A dark explosion erupted around the monster, shaking the forest and sending a shockwave across the clearing. When the dust settled, the Horned Wolf lay motionless, defeated. Silence fell over the camp.

Everyone stared in disbelief, their mouths hanging open.

"He… he did it?" one student whispered. "Is it dead? He actually killed it?" another asked.

Sean and Liam stood frozen, their eyes wide with shock.

"Kai… how did you DO that?" Sean stammered.

Liam gulped, still trembling. "That was insane… You're insane, Kai!"

Kai ignored their comments and walked toward the monster's corpse. Holding his scythe, he muttered, "Unique Skill: Resurrection Master."

The air grew cold as he whispered unfamiliar words, his voice taking on a dark, commanding tone. A massive dark circle appeared under the dead monster, its surface glowing ominously. Slowly, the Horned Wolf's body began to rise, its lifeless form sinking into the dark circle before disappearing completely.

Sean and Liam stared at him, frozen in place.

"W-what… did you just do?" Sean whispered, his face pale.

"Where… did the body go?" Liam stuttered.

Before Kai could answer, he suddenly heard five dings in his head. A black screen appeared in front of his eyes.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

You have leveled up multiple times.

New skills acquired.

Existing skills evolving.

Kai's grin widened as he pulled up his status screen.

"Status Screen," he muttered, and the glowing black panel appeared before him.

[STATUS SCREEN]

Name: Kai Brooks

Class: Death Mage

Level: 16

Health Points (HP): 3,500/3,500

Mana Points (MP): 6,500/6,500

Strength: 100

Agility: 120

Intelligence: 250

Defense: 150

New Skills Acquired:

Shadow Explosion: Release an area-of-effect burst of dark energy.

Death Mark: Mark an enemy to increase all damage dealt to them for a limited time.

Greater Summon Undead: Summon stronger, elite undead warriors.

Evolved Skills:

Shadow Bolt (Level 2): Now deals greater damage and explodes on impact.

Bone Spike (Level 2): Larger spikes pierce multiple enemies at once.

Resurrection Master (Enhanced): Can now resurrect powerful monsters as minions.

Kai's red eyes gleamed as he read through his new stats and skills. "Not bad… not bad at all," he muttered to himself, his excitement barely contained.

Sean and Liam, still frozen, glanced at each other nervously before Sean finally blurted out, "We're doomed. Kai's going to become a literal overlord, isn't he?"

Liam just nodded weakly. "Yep. We're totally doomed."

Kai just laughed, holding his Soul Scythe with pride.