The First Summon

“Vice Chairman, that young man outside,” the woman beside Arata began carefully.

Arata’s lips curled into a faint smirk. “For a second there, I thought I sensed potential.” He gave a quiet chuckle, low and knowing. “Heh. I misjudged. I must be getting old.”

The woman almost protested, old? The man looked barely thirty, if that—but the words caught in her throat. Complimenting Arata Kirigaya was like trying to pet a tiger, you never quite knew if it’d let you. She just simply nodded instead, clutching her tablet tighter.

The Vice Chairman turned away, his expression sliding back into cool indifference. Around him, the guards fell into formation. Together, they stepped into the VIP elevator.

The elevator began to ascend, carrying them toward the upper floors of the Ministry.

...

..

.

Upon arrival into my cramped apartment, I threw myself onto the single-person bed.

I had just lied. Not a small, harmless lie, a big one. To my friend, my family, and basically the entire world. The rush of it all somehow knocked me out cold.

A few hours later, I woke up just as the sun was setting. The warm glow through the curtains calmed me down a bit.

“Okay, so this is it? Necromancer,” I said to myself.

This was never the plan. 

I wanted a white-collar job, something peaceful where I’d wake up, go to work in the office, come home, and game until I passed out. Not this. But once you awaken, your job is for life. So whether I liked it or not, I was now a necromancer. So better to learn about my job.

I sighed. “Great. The one job nobody teaches.”

There wasn’t a single school, course, or mentor for necromancy. Looked like I’d be my own teacher.

I sat at my desk, woke up my dusty old PC, and typed, “how to necromance.”

Dozens of sketchy websites popped up, each claiming to have the “true method.” I scrolled a bit, then found something familiar, Uawake.

It was a pretty familiar site, it had everything about awakenings and jobs, and there it was: 

Necromancy Thread — 7 Years Ago.

I clicked it.

Reading through, I learned a few things. Apparently, necromancy was kind of cool.Every known summon was listed: skeletons, skeleton soldiers, bone hounds, wights, phantoms, wraiths, and with an actual corpse I could zombies, bone mages, and even death knights. Weakest to strongest.

I couldn’t help but smirk. I imagined myself commanding an army of skeletons, mowing down dungeon monsters like some dark overlord. For a second, being a necromancer didn’t sound too bad.

Then curiosity hit me like a flood. I had to try summoning something. I’d done it in games a hundred times, who wouldn't want to in real life?

The post said I just had to envision what I wanted to summon. That was it. Pretty vague to be honest, also, apparently gestures and spoken commands made it easier. Necromancy was all about control, after all.

I sat back on my bed, took a deep breath, and focused. My heart started racing. A dozen thoughts ran through my mind — what if it attacks me? Makes some weird noise that would alert people?

Start small. A skeleton. The weakest summon. Tier E-F — basically cannon fodder. Even an average unawakened was ranked with a combat capability of Tier E, that person could take one down.

I pictured it clearly. Bones, shape, structure.

A moment passed. Then another.

And suddenly, I felt something. A strange shift inside me, like a switch flipping. A navy-blue glow formed on the floor, expanding into a small circle — and from it, a skeleton rose.

My body trembled. My head throbbed. Everything became clear to me. A whole new world opened up. I knew them everything about Necromancing.

Then everything stopped.

I knew every summon I could call, how to do it, how strong they were, how much mana it would take. I could feel my mana, my limits, my capabilities, everything. But there was also something else.

I also felt a door. More like a gate. This gate in

my head, I felt an urge to open it, however I couldn't. It was like something was hidden within. It wasn't painful....it was just, concerning bothering. What is behind the gate?

I blinked, coming back to reality. The skeleton stood before me, motionless. It didn’t breathe (obviously), didn’t twitch, didn’t blink (also obviously). Yet I felt a strange connection to it, like an invisible thread between us.

I willed it to step forward. It did. Instantly.

My heart skipped a beat.

“Okay. Phew.” I exhaled. “Guess I’m actually doing this.”

I made it walk around the room, go into the kitchen, come back. It was clumsy, stiff, but obedient.

“Haha.” I couldn’t help laughing. It was surreal. 

Then a thought hit me. A normal skeleton's movements are so basic, It can't climb or descend stairs! Or leave the apartment. And I couldn’t desummon it. In fact, I couldn't desummon any of the skeletons and zombie.

“…Well, that’s a problem,” I muttered.

That’s when someone knocked.

I froze.

Another knock, louder this time.

“Crap,” I hissed. “Who could that be now?”

I shoved the skeleton into the kitchen, pushed it into the corner, and grabbed my blanket. I threw it over the bones.

The knocking got more impatient.

“Yes, yes, coming!” I shouted, trying to sound casual.

I smoothed my hair, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Kenji stood there, holding a plastic container.

“Rei! You look like hell,” he said, walking in like he owned the place. "Mind if I come in? I’ll just drop some food off.”

I hesitated, maybe a second too long. “Uh, yeah, sure. Come in. Just ignore the mess.”

He stepped in, his shoes squeaking faintly on the floor. My entire body tensed as he moved closer to the kitchen. From this angle, he couldn’t see the blanket in the corner, but if he went even a step too far—

“Wow,” Kenji said, looking around. “This place is smaller than I remember.”

“Yeah.” I replied. I hovered near him like a shadow, positioning myself between him and the kitchen doorway.

He placed the lunchbox on the counter. “Mom made curry. Said you’re too skinny and probably living off instant noodles.”

“Sounds like her,” I said with a dry chuckle, even though the lump in my throat was getting harder to hide.

Kenji gave me this look, half teasing, half pity. “It’s not fair, huh? You worked harder than anyone I know. You deserved a good job, Rei. You didn’t deserve to be left behind.”

That hit deeper than it should have. I looked away. “Life’s not really about what we deserve.”

He sighed, then tried to lighten the mood. “Don't worry Rei. Once I start making some coin I'll come get you, that's a promise.”

I wanted to laugh, but it came out weak. "Thank you Kenji. You're a brother to me."

Kenji patted my shoulder. “Anyway, I’ll let you rest. But eat that, okay?"

“Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile. “Tell her thanks. Really.”

He nodded and headed toward the door.

Then he was gone.

The moment the door clicked shut, I finally exhaled. My legs gave out and I dropped onto the bed. The silence hit hard.

I looked toward the kitchen. The blanket hadn’t moved. Beneath it, I could still feel that faint, eerie link, like a thread between my mind and something waiting on the other end.

A quiet chuckle escaped me. “If only you knew, Kenji. If only anyone knew.”

I leaned back, staring at the ceiling. The faint smell of curry filled the room, oddly comforting. But somewhere underneath it, I could still smell the faint trace of dust and old bones.

“…Welcome to my new life,” I whispered.