A necromancer’s adventure.

Az raced through the dense, twisted forest, his heart pounding in his chest as he tried to outrun the monster on his tail. He knew that this was unlike any creature he had faced before - its footsteps pounded the earth like thunder, shaking the ground with each step, and a deafening roar echoed through the forest, sending a chill down Az's spine.

Az was just a scrawny kid, no more than 12, with a mop of unruly hair and dirt smeared across his face. His once fine and well-made clothes now hung off his frame like rags, torn and frayed from his week-long struggle to survive in this hellish world. He had once been a promising young magician coming from a farmer's family, but that was until his oldest brother failed a teleportation spell, throwing him into this twisted forest. Since then, he had been struggling to survive, using all of his cunning and magical abilities to protect himself from the dangers that lurked within its shadows.

Five skeletons followed closely behind Az, their rusting equipment clanking with each step. They were a reminder of the dangers that lurked in the shadows of this dark, haunted place.

And with a mere glance, it was clear to him. That thing was in a different league. Not only was it a massive three-meter-tall humongous creature, its arms and legs were thicker than his head, and its broad chest was littered with scars from past victories.

Knowing that he couldn't outrun that thing, Az shouted in desperation while running for his life, "Three of you, hold that creature back, and distract it as much as possible. As for the rest, continue following me."

The three skeletons nodded and split off from the group, ready to face the monster head-on.

By now, everyone knew that the kid was sending them to the grinder. Even if they fought together against that thing, they would still get slaughtered. In front of that, even plot armor and the power of friendship were useless.

Tears streamed down Az's face. "Thanks for everything," he whispered quietly before stumbling into a small cave, the only place he could think of hiding from such a creature.

As he advanced further into the cave, he stumbled upon an ancient, silvery humanoid skeleton. Half of his body was embedded in stone, while the shoulder area, sticking out of it, was covered in spider webs.

Sensing that the skeleton still had a soul slumbering inside, Az knelt in front of the being and prayed quietly. 'I hope you once were a strong, righteous warrior that feels pity for a child like me.' Only after saying his prayer did he take the gamble and placed his trembling hand on the latter's skull before clutching it tightly.

"Milord, don't waste your time any further," one of the skeletons whispered their thoughts to his mind. "The monster… has reached the cave."

Az only took a deep breath before exclaiming in desperation, "「Awaken my minion.」"

The ground beneath the skeleton began to quiver, and an ominous feeling enveloped the surrounding area as a hand shot out of the ground, sending dust and stones flying everywhere.

The monster outside the cave stopped its rampage as a deep yet ancient voice roared, "Which ignorant fool dares to disturb my resting place?!" through the forest.

The silver skeleton's eyes started glowing crimson red, and the sheer pressure it released forced Az's group to their knees.

"CRAWL AWAY," one of the skeletons screamed in Az's mind, and the kid obeyed with teary eyes.

As the slumped skeleton slowly rose to its feet, a dust cloud swirled around it, and its glowing eyes locked onto him.

Then, he heard one of his skeletons say, "I'm sor~," before it was cut short by the sound of crushing bones.

Az shuddered at the sound, tears streaming down his face, as he stuttered, "What have you done!" before charging straight toward the being. But the skeleton easily slapped him against the nearest wall.

As Az lay on the ground, the skeleton lifted him up by his tattered clothes, examining him from head to toe.

"Why are you hesitating," Az groaned in pain, maintaining eye contact. "Do you think I will plead for mercy!?"

But the skeleton merely muttered in a rough voice, "A brat, huh? Was I just called to babysit a child!?!?"

Horrified, Az stuttered with eyes ripped open, "H-How c-can you talk!?"

"YEAH, HOW CAN I, THE GREAT OGRON, TALK? Good question. MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE YOU DISTURBED THE RESTING PLACE OF THE WRONG MOTHERFUCKER, YOU GODDAMN BRAT!!" cursed Ogron before letting go of Az.

The latter immediately crashed against the ground, and Az immediately retorted. "WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IF I WANT TO SURVIVE IN THIS HELLISH PLACE!? DO YOU THINK I SACRIFICED ALL OF MY MINIONS WITH GLEE!?"

Ogron was taken aback by the kid's defiance, but since he couldn't find any fault in his action, he simply snickered before turning towards the entrance. "Kid…," he sighed before glancing back at Az. "I forgive your defiance. I've got a lot of questions for you. But first, I'll be taking care of the annoyance outside as I don't like the way it breathes."

Az's eyes widened in shock as he watched Ogron leave the cave. 'Is he really planning on facing that creature alone!?!? I sacrificed over five skeletons in total just to have a chance of escaping….'

Despite his fear, Az slowly rose up with trembling legs. 'I might still be a mage apprentice, but maybe I could be of some help,' he thought as he followed Ogron out of the cave.

As they got closer to the exit, Az heard the monster's loud and unrhythmic breaths, and the sight that greeted him was something out of a nightmare.

The monster, a giant, hulking creature, stood in front of them, frozen. It was around the size of an elephant and had the body of a bodybuilder, filled with testosterone. Its muscles and veins were bulging with every breath it took, and as for its skin, it glowed orange and was filled with scars.

'Yeah, I would have died if I faced that thing. But why isn't it doing anything?' Az wondered as he saw his minion comment in amusement, "Hoho, we got a big ogre here. Lad, watch and learn."

Even though the monster didn't even dare to move, its facial features were telling an entirely different story. It was scared shitless of the slivery skeleton.

Ogron's hand slowly bore right through the ogre's chest before ripping out a piece of pulsing flesh the size of my head.

"Is that…" Az whispered quietly, only for Ogron to squash the heart, sending pieces of flesh and blood everywhere.

Az suppressed his urge to vomit, and Ogron casually stated, "Mission complete." The ogre immediately collapsed onto the ground.

"Now back to you, child," Ogron continued with a serious voice. Blood was still dripping off his silvery skeleton hand. "If you were an adult, I wouldn't even feel any remorse for killing you. What a shame."

"But I'm not," Az answered with a forced smile that made Ogron twitch in fury. "I could make an exception for you," he quietly whispered while balling his fist, only to sigh in defeat.

Depressed, Ogron used the Ogre's back as a seat before looking into the distance. It didn't take a genius to realize that Az's chances of survival were rather slim if left to his own devices.

"It seems like I really have to babysit you," cursed Ogron quietly before sighing loudly, "be thankful that I have a heart for children. Anyway, in which year are we right now, and what is your name, kid?"

"My name is Az, Master Ogron," responded Az with a grin going from ear to ear.

"Don't call me master. I don't want to be called like that by a child who dares to disturb the peace of someone resting," Ogron lectured Az while shaking his head.

"Ok, master Ogron," Az replied with a smile.

"Be careful, brat. Didn't your parents teach you to respect elders?" Ogron grumbled while picking up a stick from the ground.

"It's the year 23.505," Az stated in a hurry.

"23.505, hmm? I must have been asleep for at least five hundred years. Let's see what has become of my descendants and the different kingdoms that existed during my lifetime," mumbled Ogron.

Shocked by such a revelation, Az stared at the two-meter-tall skeleton with sparkling eyes. "Ogron, what rank were you before you died?"

"First, it's master Ogron for you," Ogron stated while lifting his finger.

"But I thought…." Az stammered in confusion, only for the latter to comment, "I changed my mind. Second, talking to you about mage levels is kinda pointless since you're better off not knowing them. To keep it short, I used to be a strong and feared man," he stated with a puffed chest before quickly adding, "feared by all men but loved by women of all ages."

"Well, you might add that you are now the strongest babysitter, hehe," Az commented in amusement, and the breaking of a stick, followed by a sharp cry, echoed through the forest.

"Listen here, you little shit, from this day on I'm your guardian until we find your par-" Ogron stated, only for Az to interrupt him. "My parent's are dead."

"OH. My condolence," Ogron commented quietly. "What about your siblings?"

"I don't know where they ended up," Az whispered quietly as tears began dwelling up.

"So complicated," Ogron sighed before continuing, "anyway, I don't have time for your sob story. From now on, you will be following my words as if they were commands. If you fail so, I will leave you alone. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?!"

"YE-YESS SIRR," Az stuttered, whipping away his tears.

"Anyway. My first command is that you awaken that ugly Oger as your minion. He will be carrying us," Ogron stated, only for Az to whimper quietly, "but, he is way too strong for me to control…"

"I don't care. I will beat that stupid Oger into submission until he accepts to serve you," commented Ogron casually while throwing the broken stick onto the ground.