Demonic Skeleton God

Flain, 16 years old. In front of the laboratory door.

In the hallway by the door with a modern label stood two people. One was a tall youth with black hair and red eyes — that was Flain. The other was a man in a white lab coat holding a notebook in his hand.

"Do you really want to go through with this? You're a truly great soldier. We could just as easily send in some prisoner for the test." said the man in the coat.

And that was the problem — Flain was just a soldier. He trained during every free moment, never taking a single break. When his muscles were completely torn and he couldn't move, he injected himself with a regeneration serum and continued. He had done this for six years.

But even despite that, he was considered only a great soldier — just a soldier. He wouldn't be able to defeat even a person with an average innate combat ability. He wanted power, and this was the perfect situation. The risks were great, but the reward was even greater. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had presented itself, so why not take it?

Flain smirked. "No."

"Please follow me," said the man, placing his hand on the wall next to the door, causing the door to open. Both of them stepped inside.

Inside was a large room filled with many scientists, cables, and instruments. In the center was a large glass oval to which many devices were connected.

Flain and the man walked to the center. "Please step inside," which Flain did.

"You've been told what you're about to undergo, but I'll repeat it once more. You'll be exposed for 10 seconds to direct blue radiation, which may awaken mutations within you, strengthen your body, and so on. But there may also be negative effects, such as paralysis, brain damage, or harmful mutations. Negative effects can be avoided by not moving — under no circumstances."

"You'll feel intense burning sensations, and your whole body will itch, but if you want to come out unscathed, you must not move a muscle." the man explained.

"I understand," said Flain with a smirk.

"Initiate test 14," ordered the man.

The glass doors of the chamber began to close, and from all sides, blue light began to shine on Flain. He stood there motionless, without a trace of fear.

For a few moments, he felt nothing — but then it started.

Flain's body began to redden; it felt as if someone had set him on fire.

Five seconds passed. Flain's body was completely red, and torn veins were visible. It felt literally like he was being boiled alive. At the same time, his forehead itched immensely — it was such an unbearable sensation that he would've loved to stab it with a sword right then and there.

A line began to form on his forehead, which opened — inside it was a round eye that was completely red.

Flain's vision sharpened, and he saw black spots all around him. He also noticed something falling from his head — large tufts of hair.

Flain didn't feel alive — what kept him standing was rage. He was filled entirely with anger. He would get his revenge — that was the meaning of his life.

The itching moved to his back, covering an even larger area, making the effect more than twice as unbearable. At the same time, blackened skin began to fall off his body.

From his back, two large gray threads began to sprout, which formed into two large inhuman arms.

The light around Flain stopped shining, and he fell to his knees. He heard the sounds of scientists around him, but he didn't care. His mind was filled with only one emotion — happiness. He did it.

------

Flain looked at Tank. "You will be the commander of mission 'Soul', so when it comes to a decision, you'll make it, and when it comes to an important decision, you will inform me. You will give orders to all units according to my positioning and oversee that everything works as it should," said Flain.

"I gladly accept the role of general in Soul," Tank bowed.

Then he turned to everyone present. "Listen carefully. Each of you will be involved in Soul — Itai as well as a random Stage 1 soldier. Your task will be to kill monsters, grow stronger, and train. 100 soldiers will be placed at a specific location that I marked in the dungeon, and they will wait for monsters to spawn, which they will kill. In the morning, they will be replaced by another 100 soldiers. The rest will train body and mind in the valley under general Tank, who will teach them."

Flain marked blood circles throughout the dungeon where they would build. The blood would dry up and peel off after a while, but by then the soldiers would remember where the marked places were, and the circles wouldn't be needed anymore.

"Next to that, General Steward will teach all Stage 2s strategy because in the future they'll definitely become commanders due to the large growth of soldiers. Itai will be resurrecting all monsters alongside training. Aran and Ivy will walk through the dungeon and absorb the souls of corpses before Itai resurrects them. It is forbidden to enter the place at the end of the dungeon with the vase. These are your orders," said Flain.

The moment he finished speaking, the undeath began to act. Tank divided 100 units and started training the rest. The Stage 2s gathered at Steward, and he began teaching them. Flain no longer needed the facilities in the Undead Realm for troop training — now he had a much better space.

"Hehe, looks like it's working out for you, but what if the Empire of Light comes here and sees all this?" Ghosty's sharp grin echoed.

"Why do you think I created mission Doppelgänger? If something like that is about to happen, they'll notify me," answered Flain.

"And what if they come without warning?" asked Ghosty, his grin widening even more.

"A1 and A2 are undeath Stage 2, so their telepathy waves have a range of 2 kilometers. So if they see the Empire of Light approaching, they'll simply tell Itai, and he'll hide all units underground," Flain replied with a cold face.

"Damn, this time you won," Ghosty muttered angrily.

Flain began to leave, but Itai stopped him.

"Do you really want to go to the Imperial City? I'm not sure we can handle it here without you," he asked.

Flain looked at him. "I've given the orders, so an unfavorable situation shouldn't occur. I can't stay here because the mana is too thin," he said.

Then he placed a hand on Itai's shoulder. "I'm counting on you." With those words, he walked away...