The Awakening

[Reshaping body...]

[Reshaping complete...]

In a dim crypt, a considerable number of corpses were piled up.

These corpses had undergone some treatment, such as severed limbs being reattached and sewn back together. Unknown pus flowed on the ground, and a foul odor of decay permeated the air.

If anyone who practiced Necromancy Spells were here, they would surely discover that a Ghoul transformation was in progress.

Amidst these decaying corpses, one intact body appeared exceptionally out of place. If someone were to approach and examine it, they would see its chest rising and falling with each breath.

Suddenly, the body stirred, then slowly sat up, propping its forehead with a hand, a look of extreme pain on its face.

"Where... am I..."

As his thoughts slowly cleared, memories flooded his mind.

Family, friends, a carefree life, and... brutal Skeletons, active Ghouls, wailing villagers, spellcasters shrouded in black robes...

"My name is Rhode. I am the eldest son of a hunter from Sau Village. I have a sister, and we lived a carefree life in the village. But the village was attacked by a Necromancer. The entire village was destroyed, and everyone was killed. Before I was killed, my last conscious thought seemed to be seeing that Necromancer grab my sister and say something about a born Hero... She must have survived..."

"No... it's not like that... My name is Rhode. I am a professional gamer from Earth in the 22nd century, currently playing the most popular third-world virtual online game, [Heroes of Might and Magic 3]."

"Am I... still in the game? And what is this about these memories?"

As if to verify his guess, Rhode reached out and touched the ground he was sitting on, then quickly pulled his hand away. Rhode looked at his palm with a speechless expression, it was covered in some unknown pus.

Rhode stood up and surveyed his surroundings.

The dark crypt, the displayed corpses, the low growls echoing from the depths... The scenes, so unlike anything in reality, undoubtedly solidified Rhode's conclusion.

"I'm really still in the game... In that case, status panel."

As the thought arose, a transparent panel appeared before Rhode.

[Name: Rhode
Hero Specialty: Unawakened
Class: Tier 1 Militiaman Level 1 (0/10)
Attributes: Strength 7, Speed 6, Constitution 8, Knowledge 2, Spirit 2
Health: 40/40
Mana: 0/0
Experience Points: 0
Skills: None
Special Skills: None
Spells: None]

Looking at his status panel, Rhode fell into thought.

For an adult male, the three basic attributes of Strength, Speed, and Constitution should be 10. According to the memories of his previous body, this body should still be in its adolescent stage, with attributes not yet reaching the average. The Knowledge and Spirit being only two points indicated that the previous body had no talent for becoming a Mage. Overall, the starting attributes were low, but the advantage was that the previous body was young, with excellent growth potential.

"In the memories of my previous body, his village was destroyed by a powerful Necromancer. But based on the scenes I saw in my memory earlier, the so-called undead army actually only consisted of Ghouls and Skeleton Soldiers, low-tier undead units. And the spells cast by that Necromancer were only the lowest-level Magic Arrow and Great Slowing Spell."

"The Necromancer relied on the convenience of a surprise night attack, coupled with the villagers' ignorance and fear of the undead, to successfully breach the village. If they had attacked the village head-on during the day, the outcome might not have been so certain."

"This Necromancer was actually just a Necromancer Apprentice..."

Having identified the attacker of the village, Rhode's thoughts became clear.

"A Necromancer Apprentice attacking a village would only have a few objectives, all related to wealth. Whether it was the money within the village or the value of converting villagers into undead armies after their death, both were things a Necromancer Apprentice would desire."

"Everyone in the village was killed... Wait, according to the memories of the previous body, his sister should have survived. A born Hero... Hero?"

Rhode's pupils contracted, as if he had thought of something.

The key to the world of Heroes of Might and Magic: Heroes. Even an ordinary person, when facing a desperate situation, could awaken under the impact of a strong will and become a Hero.

But not everyone could become a Hero. More people, when facing desperation, would be at a loss and could only await their death. Those who become Heroes must possess traits that ordinary people lack, such as bravery or unwavering will.

Compared to ordinary creatures of the same tier, Heroes gain a massive bonus to attributes and growth potential, as well as a unique specialty.

"A born Hero, huh?... It's a shame he was born in such a remote little village. If he were born in the Kingdom of Erathia, he might have achieved great things..."

Suddenly, Rhode's mind went blank, and a blood-red panel appeared before his eyes.

[Soul Quest: Bloodline]
[Quest Description: Since the destruction of your village, your sister, your only living blood relative, is missing. Even death cannot take away your longing for your loved one. You vow to find your sister.]
[Quest Objective: Safely find your sister, Rowan, within twelve months.]
[Failure Conditions: Exceeding the time limit or losing the target Hero.]
[Failure Penalty: Soul fragmentation, main personality disappears.]

"Alright, coming to this world and inheriting this body definitely comes with a price. But according to the system's usual principle of equal difficulty and reward, although the reward for completing the quest is not stated, it should be to gain the allegiance of Hero Rowan and eliminate the hidden danger of inheriting this body."

"Since the Necromancer Apprentice who attacked the village discovered that Rowan was a born Hero, he wouldn't simply turn Rowan into an Undead Creature unless he was an idiot, even if it meant gaining a Warlock."

"What he would do is either offer Rowan to a great lord in exchange for rewards, or send Rowan to a large auction house for immense payment."

Rhode pondered this briefly in his mind. In any case, he still had twelve months. After confirming that Rowan would be safe for the time being, he set aside the soul mission and focused on understanding his own situation.

After everyone in the village was killed, the Necromancer Apprentice would carry out a series of cleanup tasks, from the simplest looting of the village to the processing of corpses into Undead Creatures.

How to process corpses to obtain higher-quality Undead Creatures had always been a research goal for Necromancers. The simplest method was to stitch up the wounds on the corpses to reduce Ghoul attrition. The next step was to use various materials to enhance the corpses' durability. However, no matter how much they were improved, ordinary human corpses could not be transformed into Warlocks or Death Knights. Truly powerful Undead Creatures must have been powerful in life.

Based on Rhode's observations, the Necromancer had clearly done a decent job in this regard. The traces of processing were evident on the surrounding corpses.

Since Necromancer Apprentices had difficulty independently transforming corpses into Undead Creatures, they could only take the processed corpses to places with dense Death Energy, allowing them to naturally transform into Undead Creatures before finally controlling them. Natural transformation would take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the density of the Death Energy.

"The corpses around me are already showing clear signs of decomposition. All that's needed is for the Necromancer Apprentice to return and activate the Soul Fire for them to become Ghouls. This means that whether I flee before the Necromancer returns or explore the Crypt, I don't have much time left." After observing the surrounding corpses, Rhode reached this conclusion.