13 The Calm Before the Demons

Gort walked up to the skeleton and guffawed as he slapped him on his back, adding with vigour, "Don't you worry, we are all killers here! Well, except Lady Alexandra there."

"I am not a killer!" Kai yelled at Gort. "I didn't want to!"

"I thought it wasn't you?" the City Lord Lloyd added with a laughter of his own.

However, even though he joked around, the sinister gears inside his head kept turning with the zeal of a demon. The results were far better than he expected. He could feel slowly breaking Kai's psyche, as the efforts of this skeleton just to keep himself sane allowed Lloyd to control him better. Of course, he wouldn't voice these thoughts to others. Even with his authority, it wouldn't be a good idea to be recognised as a tyrant.

Kai felt slightly better with the light-hearted mocking of the few people he knew in this world. It was a fact that he had momentarily lost himself to rage when he saw the vicious faces of the zombies he had created, but that didn't mean he had to change. When you think about it, wasn't it normal to react abnormally to such extraordinary circumstances? A few days ago, he was at his home sipping a beer.

"Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?" Alexandra said, motioning him to leave the room and move to the bathhouse.

Kai thought she seemed to be the only normal person here. Everyone else seemed to be out of their minds, or they were eccentric characters altogether, like Lloyd here, who approached him with a wide smile on his face.

"You did well. Now I know we can resume our treatment."

"Treatment?" Kai mumbled. "Psychotic bastards," cursed under his breath as soon as he felt he was out of the earshot of the City Lord.

Alexandra tried to send some maids with her friend, the giant skeleton, but she decided she'd show him the way herself since it seemed the maids were far too scared to even get close to Kai.

"I don't always know what my father is thinking," she said with a sigh, "but he always comes through when needed."

Kai nodded his head slowly as he proceeded down a set of corridors, following Alexandra. He didn't know whether to resent her for bringing himself here, or thank her. He was indeed still alive and kicking, but was it all worth it with what he had been going through?

The bathhouse they finally arrived at looked very spacey on the inside, as well as luxurious. Kai meekly entered, feeling out of place, and not just because he is a 2.5-metre-tall monstrosity, either.

As soon as Alexandra left, Kai felt a tad more relaxed. He was far too self-aware to be relaxed near others due to his… condition. However, before he could awe himself further, a slab of meat dropped on the floor from within his ribcage. Kai felt nauseous.

The best part of the bathhouse was that it looked as if it was designed for giant creatures like himself, he felt like the world was suddenly normal again. While Kai cleaned his body, he also steeled his resolve. Even though there may have been other goals in Lloyd's mind, it didn't mean he was wrong to have him do it.

Had he not been given such a powerful body, he'd probably have died to some trivial creature that Gort and the others would barely need to glance twice to. Even though Kai himself had not noticed, his purple, glowing eyes had somewhat deepened, giving him a more distinct presence.

Kai suddenly heard a noise from the doors leading outside, it seemed to be a meek voice of a woman in her 30s.

"City Lord sends a message, 'Wait for me to call for you, don't stray."

Kai could already hear her hurried steps away from the bathhouse before the message ended.

"How am I that scary?!" Kai scoffed. "How do you get scared of someone who juggles with fruit?!"

Kai looked at his stats again since he was waiting for Lloyd's news and had nothing else to do here but clean himself.

Character

Name : Kai Litt

Race : Skeleton Level 3

Job : Necromancer Level 2

STR : 5

DEX : 2

INT : 1

CON : 6

FATE : 8

He had chosen to raise his stats twice and chose a random undead skill in his last time levelling up. When his Necromancer level increased, he had noticed an increased output in his abilities. And when his skeleton body "levelled up", it meant he'd have more time, but he hadn't noticed any other differences for now.

Kai's eyes fell on his highest stat: FATE.

"This damn skill never seems to be helping me out. I have been unlucky ever since coming to this city!"

"Is that so?" a familiar yet not wanted voice rang in Kai's ears.

Gort, also a man of tall stature, looked through the windows too high for anyone to usually look inside, locking eyes with Kai. He had a strong dislike for the creature. And as if that wasn't enough, he was just instructed to protect him if he could. The command had come from the City Lord, so he could do little to protest.

"You, an abomination, happened to not meet any hordes or scouting parties that would swarm and kill you as you approached the city. Somehow, you sneaked inside albeit you are a giant of a creature, met the City Lord's daughter, started treatment through her father and you are now in the most luxurious bath in probably the whole underground system." Gort counted the events thus far as he spat on the ground and started walking away, leaving a confounded Kai behind.

Gort also cursed under his breath as he went away, but it was also clear enough for Kai to hear, "You are the psychotic bastard."

"Size of a gorilla, ears of a bat," Kai giggled to himself, trying to relax in the bath. Perhaps Gort did have a point, as well, he thought.

"I fucking heard that!" Gort's voice echoed in the halls, his loud footsteps coming closer.