Chapter 2: The Undead Uprising and the Stubborn Coffin

Not only that, but after this bony hand emerged, as if triggering a crucial switch, identical pounding sounds began to reverberate throughout the entire graveyard. Even the very ground Eve Wells stood upon started thumping, ‘thump-thump,’ as if something was about to burst forth.

“Am I witnessing a full-blown undead rampage?”

She quickly retreated two steps, and in the next instant, a hand clawed its way out of the earth, scratching at the spot where she had just stood.

Though she herself was one of the undead, these creatures emerging from the soil seemed to attack indiscriminately, friend or foe.

Realizing that a horde of undead would soon erupt from the ground, tearing open their coffins, Eve Wells finally grasped the danger and the gravity of her situation.

‘Should I leave the graveyard?’

“No, this body is far too weak!”

Having just climbed out of her coffin, she had expended most of her stamina; even if she could run, she wouldn’t get far.

Her only option now was to find a safe place to hide!

Eve Wells scanned her surroundings, her gaze eventually returning to her own grave…

[You have returned to the Novice Village Protection Zone.]

“This truly is my forever happy home!”

The young woman, having hugged the coffin lid and re-sealed herself back underground, let out a sigh of relief.

Just as she was moving the coffin lid, undead creatures had already begun to half-emerge from the earth throughout the graveyard, flailing their limbs and attacking indiscriminately.

In that moment, accidentally meeting their man-eating crimson eyes had spurred her to pull the coffin lid with even greater vigor.

Now, though she didn’t know what was happening outside, the continuous wails and shrieks emanating from beyond her coffin clearly indicated that the entire graveyard had descended into chaos.

****

Indeed, this was the reality.

At this moment, countless undead creatures had burst from beneath the ground, shambling like animated corpses across the graveyard.

If one were to look up, they would discover a colossal purple magic array hovering high above the entire burial ground.

On a small hillside outside the graveyard, an elderly man, his hand outstretched and stroking his white beard, gazed excitedly at the celestial array, letting out a wild, unrestrained laugh.

“Hohahaha! To think I would live to see such a vast-scale necromantic summoning completed!”

“Cough, cough…”

“No, I simply must go and properly observe this, my most successful experiment!”

The old man ambled down the small hillside and entered the graveyard.

Despite the fact that the undead typically loathed the vitality of the living, none of the wandering spirits attacked the intruding elder.

In fact, when the old man approached them and gave commands, these undead would obey his instructions, performing simple actions like raising a hand, spinning in place, or even doing a backflip.

“Excellent, excellent!”

The old man nodded in satisfaction, continuing deeper into the graveyard, all the while scrutinizing every undead creature he encountered.

Until, that is, he arrived before an empty grave.

Typically, summoned undead were mindless, merely loitering nearby without a summoner’s command, often wandering to other graves.

However, around this particular grave, the nearby undead seemed to consciously avoid the area.

This piqued the old man’s curiosity immensely.

Within ancient texts of black magic, similar precedents were recorded, indicating that such an anomaly only occurred with the summoning of a high-tier undead!

He stepped forward, examining the tombstone.

“Eve Wells…”

“A familiar name.”

Despite this, the old man couldn’t recall the grave’s owner. He then lowered his gaze, noticing that the exposed silver-white coffin bore marks of having been opened from the inside.

This suggested that the undead within had been active, but for some unknown reason, it had returned to its coffin.

“Heed my command, awaken from your decayed coffin, and become the power I shall proudly wield!”

The old man’s eyes burned with fervor as he looked at the coffin.

As an undead creature revived by his own summoning, he harbored no concern that it would disobey his orders.

No matter how high-tier this undead might be, in its eyes, he would be nothing short of a god!

And so it should have been…

Yet, after a long wait, no sound emanated from within the coffin, as if its occupant had merely fallen back into slumber.

The old man’s brow furrowed slightly. He issued command after command, but still, there was no response.

“You, come here.”

The old man beckoned to the nearest undead, which was making garbled noises, and it shambled over.

Clearly, his commands were still effective on ordinary undead.

Although this high-tier summoning magic had been remarkably successful, and he could have stopped there, a high-tier undead was right before him—how could he possibly give up?

“It seems I’ll have to force the coffin open.”

“You, go open this coffin.”

Upon receiving the old man’s order, the undead advanced to open the coffin.

Its rotting hands relentlessly pounded and clawed at the coffin lid, even resorting to its mouth, gnawing at the lid with a grating sound.

Finally!

After a crisp sound echoed, the unintelligent undead lost a tooth, which flew from its mouth.

However, being undead, it naturally felt no pain and continued to execute the task the old man had assigned it.

Its efforts continued until the putrid flesh on its fists was ground away, revealing gruesome white bone, an entire hand was broken off, and all its teeth had been knocked out.

Beyond merely dirtying the formerly pristine silver-white coffin, no miracle occurred during this ordeal.

“Enough, you useless scrap, get out of my sight.”

The old man kicked away the undead still gnawing at the coffin, then retrieved a staff from beneath his black robe and began chanting a spell.

A swirling mass of black-purple mist coalesced around the staff.

“Tier 2 Magic: Corrosive Wind!”

With a mighty shout, the old man swung his staff, and the mist surged entirely towards the coffin.

Instantly, the coffin’s surface hissed and sizzled like oil in a hot pan.

“Indeed, only magic proves effective,” the old man declared, a triumphant expression on his face.

However, his smile soon vanished.

As the mist dissipated, the silver-white coffin, once stained with putrid flesh and grime, appeared as if freshly scrubbed clean, sparkling ‘bling-bling’ under the moonlight, seemingly mocking someone’s futility.

The old man raised his staff, chanting another spell, though this time it was a different incantation.

“Tier 2 Magic: Summoner’s Grasp!”

The old man reached out, and a pair of monstrous, black spectral hands materialized, seizing the coffin lid.

The colossal hands enveloped the entire coffin, gripping it along with the surrounding grave soil and suspending it mid-air.

Under the old man’s control, the other giant hand reached for the coffin lid.

“Open!”

The black spectral hand unleashed its power, preparing to force the coffin lid open.

*Crack*—

The giant hand shattered into countless motes of magical energy, and the old man coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The silver-white coffin, however, merely dropped back into its original place, completely unharmed.

The good news was that as it landed, a commotion finally stirred within the coffin.

This invigorated the old man. Disregarding his injuries, he approached the coffin.

Before his eyes, the coffin vibrated incessantly, a terrifying aura brewing beneath its lid, as if something momentous was about to emerge!

It was like the final moment of opening a blind box, and the old man, filled with boundless anticipation, stared fixedly at the coffin.

Even as the coffin lid instantly shot towards his face, the old man was still fantasizing about his glorious future, controlling a high-tier undead to forge an immortal legend.

*Thud*—

With a dull thud, the world before him fell silent.