Kai checked the first room. It wasn't easy—he was juggling part of the black cloak like a makeshift bag, trying to keep the precious stones he'd gathered from spilling out. He planned to sell them soon, ideally at a pawnshop. Right now, all he wanted were proper clothes and shoes to exit the cave and not look like someone who had stolen the jewels.
Another reason for his dire need of shoes was that his feet were constantly getting cut and injured, and this wasted the accumulated mana he had just received.
The laboratory had a few garments, but nothing practical—just lab coats. Still, he threw one over himself like a coat. Wearing the black cloak only made him look more suspicious.
The room was filled with things he didn't want to touch. Bubbling liquids gave off nauseating smells, and bloodied body parts lay scattered in plain sight. The sight alone made his stomach twist in knots.
Kai kept to himself, trying to stay focused on finding anything valuable. The tables, likely used for experiments, were surrounded by cabinets. This wasn't some throwaway lab—it had been in real use with more then simple furniture.
That pushed him to search more thoroughly.
He slammed open a metal locker, inspected drawers, and flipped through stacks of documents—none of which were useful to him now. He even crawled under the tables. By the end, the already messy room looked like a storm had passed through it.
Still, nothing. Nothing he could use for now.
Kai sighed, disappointed. Maybe one day, when he understood what he truly was, he'd return and study the papers. But not today. Not while he still feared that the man who brought him here might have allies lurking nearby.
This cave wasn't safe, and he needed to leave—fast.
Kai wasted no time eiting the room and slipping into the next. This one felt different—it reeked of something familiar, the smell of a public bathroom. The air was foul, but the place was tiny more hygienic than the rest of the cave. That alone put him on edge.
He wrapped part of the robe around his nose to mask the stench.
The room appeared empty at first glance.
But near the edge of one of the cages, he saw her.
A girl—slumped and unmoving.
At first, he thought she was dead. But with his improved vision, he noticed the faintest twitch of her fingers.
He knelt beside her and shook her gently. No response.
"Hey are you alive?"
Up close, he saw strange bite marks scattered across her pale skin. Deep, unnatural punctures. They didn't bleed, but they looked infected—like something had taken root beneath her flesh.
Uneasy, Kai stepped back.
Something was wrong. He needed to talk to Ysaria before going any deeper into this place.
He returned to the laboratory, thinking it safer to switch bodies there. Once inside, he transferred his consciousness into Gilgrim's body.
Ysaria was still seated, looking bored. She yawned just as he opened his eyes again.
"You really need to do something about that," she muttered. "You looked creepy this time. Just stared at me the whole time without blinking."
Kai grimaced. "Still getting used to juggling three bodies. I'll fix it after I know my original body is safe."
Then he narrowed his eyes, towards the skeletons of the floor.
"I found a girl in one of the rooms. She's got bite marks all over her body. Looked half-dead, barely twitching. What do you think that means?"
Ysaria's playful demeanor faded. She pressed a hand to her chin, thoughtful.
"Bite marks, huh? How bad?"
"Deep," Kai replied. "No blood. I thought she was dead until I saw her move. She groans now and then, but doesn't wake up."
Ysaria's expression darkened.
"A room full of corpses... and a girl like that?" she murmured, voice low. "She might be a zombie. Or something close. If she was still alive when the ritual began, she could've survived the summoning—but the energy... it corrupts. Twists anything still breathing."
She looked Kai in the eyes.
"You have two choices. Run. Get out of the cave and pretend you never saw her. Or… try to channel your mana into the girl and bind her to you. Make her a slave."
Kai blinked. "A slave?"
"It will help you understand how that world works. You were human, right? You need to learn how necromancy functions there. With the mana you've absorbed, you can at least convert her into your underling. A useful corpse, free of cost. She could be your first defender—or bait, if there are more necromancers hidden nearby."
Kai frowned. "An underling, huh? Why not one of the other corpses? A thin girl like that… doesn't seem very useful."
He scratched his head, then clicked his tongue. "Then again, I guess it's the only way to save her."
"Exactly," Ysaria said. "She doesn't have much time. Within minutes, she'll go feral. She'll hunt for human flesh, and in a place like that full of corpses… she will grow stronger. If you wait too long, she'll sense your mana and come for you."
She stepped closer to the stone table and began carving a strange symbol into its surface with her nail. The rock gave way with ease—proof she was far stronger than she let on.
"This is what you need to draw. On her skin. With your blood. It will initiate a binding. If her soul is still intact, she'll resist. Maybe later, she might even regain intelligence. If not... her body will act like a puppet. You'll have to craft a false soul eventually."
Kai leaned closer, studying the symbol. "No chant? No ritual?"
"For a simple binding, this is enough," she replied. "But be ready—once the symbol's drawn, you'll have to fight her mental resistance. Prove you deserve to be her master."
He gave a short nod, his face grim. "Got it."
Then, in a blink, Kai returned to his original body—back in the dimly lit room where the girl still lay, unmoving.
Time was running out he could already feel her grunting from he stood in the lab.