Warhammer compilation

Chapter 1

--- Inside the Warp ---

I've heard Warhammer fans say that the Warp is crazy and horrifying.

Honestly? It isn't that bad—if you can ignore the ever-shifting colors, the constantly changing landscape, and the occasional giant tentacle covered in eyeballs and teeth.

Time in the Warp is wonky. A while ago, I think I saw an Inquisitor's ship fly by. It had the big "I" with a skull on it—if I remember correctly.

Oh look, an Ork ship to the left. And a Chaos ship a bit farther away.

I've seen all sorts of ships flying around, even a Space Hulk drifting by a few minutes ago.

I wonder how long this trip is going to take. I already saw some of my brothers' pods exit the Warp an hour or two ago. The only one still near me is Number Seven.

Wait, scratch that. He just left too.

Now I'm all alone.

...Guess I'll start humming some music to pass the time.

--- Many songs later ---

I really hope I get out of here soon. Spending too much time in the Warp is a bad thing.

Oh, look, there they are—the Four Reality Tumors.

- Death -

Isha and Nurgle. Poor Eldar goddess. The big rotting mess is feeding her some kind of maggot stew. Disgusting.

- Fel -

Slaanesh is... performing something with their daemons. My eyes! It burns!

- Arcane -

Khorne is just fighting some thing. No clue what it is, but he's really going at it.

- Light -

Tzeentch is playing chess. Non-Euclidean chess, that is. Ow, my head hurts.

And then, just like that—I'm out of the Warp. One second, I was watching the Four Morons and the poor Space Elf; the next, I'm staring at the cold blackness of space, speckled with white stars.

Great. My head feels like it's about to sue me for looking at things normal people aren't supposed to comprehend.

Wait. Why is it getting so hot in here?

- Void -

Oh fuck.

I'm entering a planet's atmosphere.

And my pod is spinning. Rapidly.

That's bad. If I remember anything from all those space series, that's really bad.

--- One crash landing later ---

Ow.

Well, at least the pod took most of the damage from the impact.

But the most important thing is that I'm finally free. No more metal confinement. No more itchy skin—

Oh God, the itch! Must scratch!

Oh yeah. That's the good stuff. Nothing like fingernails against flesh after being trapped in a pod for months.

Okay, back on topic.

Looks like I crash-landed in a forest. The pod knocked down some trees and crushed a few animals.

Huh. That one kinda looks like a deer, but with six legs. Neat.

Looking down at the dead animal, my stomach promptly reminds me that I haven't eaten in months.

Do I dare eat something that's basically been turned into roadkill by a high-speed metal coffin?

Rumble.

Yes. Yes, I do.

I vaguely remember how to start a fire from all those Bear Grylls episodes.

Let's see… fuel, some rocks, and a few branches.

Now, think, brain. How did he do it?

- Arcane = Fire-Bolt_Execute -

As I glare at the pile of wood, something in the back of my head clicks.

A second later, it's on fire.

Huh. I must've instinctively tapped into my Psyker powers and used pyrokinesis to light it.

Well… that's useful.

I toss some more wood into the flames before turning toward the pile of crushed animal meat.

I'm supposed to skin and drain the blood before eating, right?

Well, bleeding them dry is easy. Half of their bodies got pulped on impact, so they've already been leaking for a while now.

But how am I supposed to skin them?

- Life = Beast-Claw_Execute -

Huh. My fingernails just grew longer and sharper. Neat. Thank you, Psyker powers.

Now, how do I do this?

--- One messy attempt later ---

Eh. Good enough.

Now for the cooking.

I think I'm supposed to wait until the meat turns brown… right?

Ugh. Maybe I'm overthinking this. Primarch biology is bullshit enough to handle slightly undercooked food.

Bite.

Not bad. 6/10.

While the rest of the meat cooks, I start getting goosebumps.

- Life = Beast-Sense_Execute -

Footsteps. Lots of them.

Too fast to be people. Sounds like dogs or wolves… and there are a lot of them.

Shit.

Dropping my food, I sprint toward my crash pod and dive inside.

I am not dealing with a pack of wild animals when they have the numbers advantage.

- Void = Shadow-Cloak_Execute -

I don't know how long I sit inside my pod, waiting. But eventually, the footsteps fade.

Peeking out, I see that the bastards ate almost everything—except the bones.

Well, considering it's only been a few hours since I started my Primarch life, I'd say things are going pretty well.

--- 2 Weeks Later ---

Judging by the moon and the sun, I guess I've been here for about two weeks. Best estimate, anyway. The days seem shorter than the nights for some reason, and the planet has two moons. No idea why, but at this point, I've stopped questioning things.

For the last two weeks, I've been surviving the best I can. I managed to find a cave near a river, dragged my pod over, and made it my home base.

Also, I've been running. A lot. Turns out my decision to hide was the best one—because the wildlife on this planet is big. Not Death World levels of giant, but big enough to make me wary.

Yeah, not fighting those things until I get bigger.

I've been experimenting with my powers and can do some pretty cool stuff now:

- Death = Necro-Bolt_Execute - I can fire out green skulls at things. One shot usually does the trick, so I've been using it to catch fish and six-legged deer for food.

Still haven't figured out how to make clothes. Being naked isn't fun.

Whenever I'm not eating or sleeping, I've been scouting the forest. The entire region is huge. I don't know enough about geology to say if this makes sense, but considering the scale… yeah, not questioning it. It took me two straight days of running to reach the edge of the mountains from my base. Climbing them was a pain, but once I got high enough, I could see everything:

South (where the sun rises) – A massive desert. West (where the sun sets) – More mountains, including one with an active volcano (it's spewing smoke, so I assume it's active?). East or North (not sure which) – A big lake where the river leads. Opposite direction – Plain grasslands.

No signs of humans yet, but I'll keep looking.

--- 3 Months Later ---

Primarch growth rate is BS. I just hit my original height again—1.67 meters.

And it only took three and a half months.

I don't remember if Primarchs are supposed to grow this fast. Some hit full size in a year, others take longer. IIRC, it varies.

I finished scouting the entire region:

Desert – Giant sand worms and multi-stinger scorpions that shoot venom. NOPE. Mountains – Big flying lizards (think Avatar) and very big birds. Lake – Regular fish and chainsaw-toothed piranhas. EXTRA NOPE. Grasslands – Loads of giant wolves.

It rained a few times. The rain tastes sour—kind of like lemon. Blergh.

With scouting done, I had nothing to do but hunt and sleep, so I focused on my powers. Turns out I can do more than just elemental bolts.

Basic elemental attacks (weird, didn't think Psykers could do Ice Bolt). Cloaking. Making plants grow faster. Setting myself on fire.

Yeah. That last one was by accident. Freaked me out until I realized it didn't hurt. But hey, it's a great beast repellent—nothing terrifies a predator more than a naked, flaming man running at them.

Once I figure out stronger abilities, I'll take on bigger predators, then pack up and move. Sitting around waiting for the Emperor feels cheap. I need to find out if there are humans here and take over the planet.

Okay, let's do this.

--- 6 Months Later ---

- Void = Shadow-Cloak_Execute -

Sneaking behind the giant spider, I climb a tree near its head.

- Life = Ensnare-Root_Execute -

Vines and roots burst from the ground, snaring its legs and stinger. The spider thrashes, but it's stuck.

I leap down and place my palm on its head.

- Death = Death-Coil_Execute -

A bolt of green energy blasts through its skull. The thrashing stops. Its central nervous system is fried.

I jump down. Finally, this thing is dead.

This spider was the apex predator around here. Stinger sharp enough to pierce 50 cm of rock, venom that sets things on fire from the inside out, and webbing tougher than titanium (I think—my makeshift clothes from its silk are tougher than my pod).

Oh yeah. I have clothes now. No more naked streaking. They look awful, though.

- Somewhere far away, Fulgrim shuddered. A crime against fashion had been committed. -

With this thing dead, I'm strong enough to take on more aggressive beasts. Time to leave the starter zone and head out.

Where to next?

--- 3 Months Later — Grasslands Cleared ---

Finally, something other than grass.

I think I hit the ocean. Sand, water…

Gulp.

Bleh. Sour and salty. Yep, this is the sea. Why is everything on this planet sour?

People usually settle near coastlines, right? Time to follow it.

--- 3 Weeks Later ---

- Fel = Life-Drain_Execute -

A green cord lashes out from my left hand, gripping a giant crab and draining its life-force.

- Arcane = Force-Blast_Execute -

My right hand blasts another crab mid-charge, sending it flying.

- Arcane = Kinetic-Missile-Barrage_Execute -

A swarm of small energy bolts liquefies another crab inside its own shell. Gross.

Looking around at the battlefield—hundreds of dead crabs—I decide nope, not eating these. Love seafood, but seafood hates me. My throat's already itching.

- Life = Beast-Sense_Execute -

Urg. Gotta move before the giant seagulls show up to scavenge.

I grab my supplies and start running. After making sure nothing is chasing me, I slow down and keep walking along the shore.

Then, in the distance…

Wait. What's that?

- Life = Farsight_Execute -

I narrow my eyes. Blurry shapes come into focus—wooden houses.

People.

- Life = Beast-Might_Execute -

Channeling energy into my legs, I sprint toward what I hope is civilization.

=== End ===

As I approached the village—or was it a town?—my eyes caught something in the distance.

Smoke.

And a lot of it. The sheer volume reminded me of those forest fires I'd seen on TV.

I quickened my pace until I finally saw the source.

Oh, fuck a duck with an apple.

Dark Eldar.

Space pirates? Check. BDSM aesthetic? Check. Insane levels of crazy? Double check.

I came to a halt, my legs suddenly feeling like lead.

Fighting animals? That's easy. Really easy.

Fighting people? Yeah, no. That's hard.

Fighting Eldar? Yeah, double no. They're older than my entire family line put together.

I— I don't— What should— I can't take them. They have actual weapons. I only have a few magic spells. I'm not all that strong physically.

While my cowardice screamed at me to run in the opposite direction, I saw one of the Dark Eldar using some kind of barbed whip to pull something from inside a house.

No. Not something.

Someone.

A human girl. Probably ten or so, judging by her height.

My blood froze.

I have a sister. We never got along. She constantly annoyed me with her obsession over Korean music and her inability to keep her side of the room clean.

But seeing the Dark Eldar torturing this girl made my blood boil.

A part of me whispered that I couldn't do anything.

Who the hell did I think I was? Angron? I can't butcher an entire Eldar force with my bare hands. Vulkan? I can't pick up a forge hammer and charge into battle. Mortarion? I can't wade through poison and murder a necromancer dad. Konrad? I can't make my enemies piss themselves in primal fear. Sanguinius? I can't snap a daemon's spine with my knee. Ferrus? I can't suplex a Necron warmachine into a lava bath. Magnus? I can't throw psyker magic around like it's confetti. The Lion? My swordsmanship isn't that bullshit.

But another part of me—the part I'd ignored for far too long—told me to shut the fuck up and act.

As I stood there, I realized something.

For all the power I'd gained over the past ten months, I was still the same coward I was years ago. The same kid who cried when bullies picked on him. The same kid who ran away from home when he was scared of his parents. The same kid who kept the light on at night because he was afraid of the dark.

The same pathetic loser who was scared of riding a bicycle. The same weakling who screamed like a bitch at a cockroach.

I clenched my trembling fist and pulled it back.

SMACK!

I punched myself in the face.

My hands and legs still shook, but at least I could move them now.

Swallowing hard, I started analyzing the situation.

Okay. Twenty Dark Eldar. One of them looked like the leader—probably the big shot. Four were on jetbikes—gravity bikes? Whatever. The rest had whips or swords. Their dropship was parked further away.

They hadn't noticed me yet—I was using Farsight to observe from a distance.

Alright. How could I do this? What spells did I have that could take them down?

Ugh. I suck at tactics.

Fuck. Fuck. Duck. Ruck. Duck. Banana.

Screw it. I abandoned all rational thought and charged forward with only one phrase in my mind:

Believe in yourself.

BELIEVE in yourself.

BELIEVE IN yourself.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF BELIEVE IN YOURSELF BELIEVE IN YOURSELF BELIEVE IN YOURSELF BELIEVE IN YOURSELF BELIEVE IN YOURSELF BELIEVE IN YOURSELF BELIEVE IN YOURSELF—

- Faith threshold reached: Light Unlock -

- Light = Holy-Shell_Execute -

As I ran toward the Dark Eldar, glowing yellow particles surrounded me.

It felt warm. Comforting. Like it was telling me everything was going to be okay.

One of the Dark Eldar turned toward me—only for his face to meet my fist.

- Arcane = Kinetic-Amplify_Execute + Kinetic-Burst_Execute -

His head popped like a soap bubble.

His body collapsed backward. My left hand shot out and grabbed his whip.

Ow. The handle was uncomfortable as hell to hold.

- Arcane = Whip-Grandmastery_Execute -

A flick of my wrist released the whip's hold on the girl's ankle. (How did I know how to do that?)

Another flick sent the whip flying toward a nearby Dark Eldar, wrapping around his leg.

I yanked my hand back, dragging him away from his victim.

Another flick—

- Fel = Fel-Flame_Execute -

—and I launched him at another Dark Eldar who was turning toward me.

The second they collided, the first one exploded in burning emerald flames.

Before they could even scream, I was already moving.

I charged into the village proper. The remaining Dark Eldar rushed at me while the two I'd set on fire rolled on the ground in agony.

As they got closer, I opened my mouth.

- Fel = Life-Drain_Execute + Soul-Devourer_Execute + Mind-Eater_Execute -

Green tendrils shot from my mouth, latching onto all of them.

I inhaled.

They dropped before they could reach me. The ones on the jetbikes crashed into the dirt.

Only one was left now.

The leader. A female.

She wasn't like the others.

- Life = Beast-Might + Stone-Skin + Iron-Skin + Dense-Hide + Gargant-Strength + Titan-Arm + Rejuvenation + Frenzy + Hunger + Savage-Might + Roar-of-Beast -

- Arcane = Mana-Shell + Str-Up + Spd-Up + Con-Up + Agi-Up + Dex-Up + Regen + Imbue-Elemental -

- Fel = Inferno-Cloak + Chaos-Edge + Fel-Might + Vampiric-Touch + Unholy-Frenzy -

- Void = Shadow-Dodge + Wraith-Form + Moon-Strength + Corrupted-Touch + Dark-Focus -

- Light = Greater-Str-Up + Greater-Spd-Up + Greater-Con-Up + Greater-Agi-Up + Greater-Dex-Up + Holy-Regen + Inner-Fire + Sun-Strength -

- Death = Reinforce-Bone + Tearing-Might + Grave-Muscle + Rotting-Touch + Abominable-Power -

Execute.

She swung her glaive at me, but it passed right through my form.

I punched—

Shockwave.

She diverted it to the side with the shaft.

I kneed at her stomach—

She twisted out of the way.

My whip lashed out—

Blocked.

She let her own whip go, using the slack to entangle one of the jetbikes—

I flung it at her.

She ducked.

I released my whip and lunged at her, fists flying.

She bent backward like a limbo master, stabbing at my chest—

Her weapons shattered on impact and burst into flames.

She stepped back, adopting a martial stance.

…This was gonna be a long fight.

Goddamn duck-fucking space pirate elf.

Were they always this tough?

As I was about to hit the ground with my fist, I smirked.

With my current strength, the impact would generate a sizable quake—no way the Dark Eldar could dodge that, even if she tried to jump.

What happened next surprised me.

The Eldar woman spun around and kicked me in the torso. It didn't hurt, not with all the buffs I had; if anything, it tickled. But it was enough to alter my trajectory. I hit the ground, rolling a few times before stopping.

As I pushed myself up, the Dark Eldar had already retrieved the two whips I had abandoned earlier and was now lashing them toward me. I blocked one with my left hand, but the second coiled around my neck.

Oh great, strangulation play—what a sicko.

Arcane = Chain-Lightning_Execute -

My right hand shot up, grabbing the whip before unleashing an electrical charge through it. The Eldar wasn't quick enough to let go—if the spasming was any indication.

I yanked hard, and she finally released the weapon, probably because her muscles had been fried by the lightning. I grabbed the handle—

Arcane = Whip-Grandmastery_Expire -

—and felt my buff run out.

Son of a donkey.

Dropping the now-useless weapons, I ran toward the Eldar once again. She had recovered from my shock therapy and proceeded to parry my fist—again.

Rolling out of the way, I stood still and observed my opponent.

Her palm was burned, judging by the cooked flesh. The leg she had used to kick me was done for, given the slight limp. She couldn't keep parrying me for much longer. Her hand was fried, and with one of her legs compromised, she had lost half her mobility.

Out of the corner of my right eye, I saw the sun inching closer to the horizon. If it hit nighttime, I could start using my more Void-based spells. Those would enhance my hit-and-run tactics by an order of magnitude.

She was done. I was too tough to take down, she couldn't outlast me, and if she stalled for too long, I'd become practically invincible.

GG, Dark Eldar. You gave me a tough match, but you were found lacking.

--- 1 Hour Later, Night ---

As the Dark Eldar's body hit the ground, I slowly sat down, taking deep breaths.

That was one of the toughest fights I'd had in the past ten months. The last one I could recall was against that damn flying lizard in the mountain area—and only because I hadn't figured out how to use Float yet.

Sitting there, catching my breath, I took a moment to reflect on what I had just done.

I couldn't believe I had YOLO'd into this mess. I could have made things so much easier by just using an AOE attack against the Dark Eldar boss. It's hard to dodge when the entire area is filled with fire, ice, or lightning.

As I mentally berated myself for being a filthy YOLO-er, I heard footsteps approaching. Looking up, I saw the human girl who had triggered my protective instincts. She was limping, and her hand was bleeding lightly.

I held out my hand in the universal gesture of "come here."

She hesitated, likely scanning me to see if I was a threat, before hobbling toward me. When she was within arm's reach, I reached out and gave her a head pat.

Light = Error Insufficient Belief -

Oh, looks like my faith ran out now that I had calmed down.

Life = Rejuvenation_Execute -

A gentle green light enveloped her, startling her as she watched her wounds close and her flesh knit itself back together.

Rejuvenation wasn't my best healing option—too many things on this planet could out-damage its effects—but it was the only one I could use at will. Unlike Heal, which required me to believe in something hard enough but instantly fixed all damage, or my other options, which involved draining enemies (Arcane and Fel) or punching them in the face (Void and Death).

As the spell faded, the girl just stood there, staring at her hands and feet in disbelief.

Well, that was to be expected. I didn't think Warhammer Psykers could pull off something like this.

I should get her attention before she stood there gawking all night.

Finger snap Still got it.

The girl looked up at me before glancing toward the village.

Which, now that I was looking, was a bit more torn up than before.

Oh, right. I had been throwing punches that generated shockwaves. No wonder. [Note to self: don't turn on all the buffs.]

I also spotted a few people standing farther away, mostly kids—probably seven or eight years old, judging by their size.

Where were the adults—

Oh. Fuck a duck.

What was I supposed to do with a bunch of kids?

===

"I have no clue what I'm doing."

Primarch of the Eleventh Legion

Chapter 5

I have no clue what to do.

Like, legit—no clue.

Okay. Deep breath. One thing at a time.

What's first?

Let's see… my muscles are suing me for the abuse I just put them through.

Normal. Happens every time I go overboard with buffs. I may be a Human Demi-God of Bullshit, but my body has limits. In video games, you might be able to spam abilities willy-nilly, but in real life? Not so much.

Second issue: there are about sixteen kids here, ranging from seven to ten years old, all of whom just lost their parents, siblings, and who knows what else in a Dark Eldar raid. They weren't here for slaves, that's for sure—those holding cells in their ship were empty.

Kinda weird, now that I think about it. Don't Dark Eldar need slaves so that Slaanesh doesn't slurp up their souls?

I look down at the corpse of the Eldar boss.

Well, let's see what she was up to.

Laying my hand on the dead Eldar's head—

- Fel = Memory-Extraction_Execute -

—I siphon out whatever memories are still rattling around in her brain.

Static radio noise and funny sound effects.

Huh. She was a Succubus. No wonder she was so damn tough. Aren't these guys, like, super elite units? And she got killed so easily…

Blah blah, early childhood memories—looks like she was born before the Fall.

Blip blip, teenage years—seems like her friends peer-pressured her into joining the murder-orgy that everyone else was doing.

Blop blop, ew—just murder-orgy times ten thousand.

Blup blup—huh, seems she was far enough away when Slaanesh was born that she didn't get insta-nommed.

Frop frop—oh, nice. Memories on how Dark Eldar tech works and the skills to use it. Yoink. Finally, I can wield actual weapons instead of relying on Arcane-based knockoff weapon skills. Oh, she also knows how to dance? Whatever.

Bing bing, and now we get to the reason she was here…

Oh.

She was bored and just wanted to kill something.

That's it?

…That's a really dumb reason to murder an entire human village, but hey, Dark Eldar. What do I know about their faction?

I pull my hand back, finishing my memory feast. Got a lot of good stuff out of that.

But that still leaves the big, glowing, neon-colored issue.

What the hell am I supposed to do with all these kids?

Okay, options. What options do I have?

Drop them off at another human settlement?

Yeah, nope. Took me three weeks just to find this place. I doubt I could keep them safe if I drag them along while searching for another one.

Just leave them here and GTFO?

Also no. I'm not a heartless monster.

Which leaves option three…

Stay here and protect them.

F—

Sigh.

Alright, let's do this.

- Faith threshold reached: Light Unlock -

Standing up, I startle the little girl, but I ignore her and walk toward the rest of the children.

As I get closer, they all huddle together, clinging to each other and looking terrified.

It's probably the spider silk robe I made. I know—it looks hideous.

Raising my hand, I cast—

- Light = Multi-Heal_Execute -

—an AoE healing spell over all of them. That should patch up any injuries they have.

Now… onto the corpses.

I flick my wrist toward the majority of the dead bodies and launch a black glob at them.

- Death = Raise-Undead_Execute -

The dead start picking themselves up from where they lay.

Cue the screaming children behind me.

Whoops.

Damage control, damage control, damage control!

- Life = Serenity_Execute -

Finger snap.

A soft green wave washes over them, shutting down their panic. Now they're just standing there, blinking like idiots.

Good enough.

Turning back to my new Zombie-Dark-Eldar workforce, I give them their first command: pick up all their weapons, gather the dead humans, and haul everything over to the spaceship.

They shuffle off to complete their task, and I turn back to the children. They're still just watching the zombies work.

The little girl from earlier steps forward and starts talking.

I think it's Low Gothic? Not sure.

I get the gist of what she's saying, though:

"What's happening? How did you do that?"

Best guess, really. It's not like I actually know how to speak Low Gothic.

"Make corpse walk. Make corpse clean."

She tilts her head, looks at the zombies, then looks back at me and asks—

"Teach me how to do that."

…

What?

Um.

Can I even do that?

"Turns out, I can."

—Primarch of the Eleventh Legion

Chapter 6

Well, at least food isn't an issue. I can hunt the local wildlife, and one of the boys actually knows how to cook. My cooking doesn't count—it's more like burning random things and eating the resulting mess.

Water isn't much of a problem either. The kids know how to filter it, which helps get rid of whatever makes it taste like someone dumped two cups of lemon juice into it.

Once the zombie Dark Eldar finished cleaning up their mess and burying the human bodies, I cut the energy animating them and piled them over by the spaceship. No point in letting them wander around.

Now what?

Everything's pretty much settled. The only thing left to worry about is making sure the kids don't do something stupid. But I doubt that'll happen, since I've confiscated all the sharp objects and locked the two jetbikes inside the ship.

I guess I can sit down and try to learn the language so I can stop sounding like an idiot.

A tug on my robe pulls my attention. Looking down, I see the girl from last night.

Oh, right. She asked me how to raise zombies. I doubt she can, though. If my senses are correct, she's just a normal human—no Psyker potential, not even a Blank. Just an average kid.

Wait… wasn't there actual magic in Warhammer 40K?

…Nah, that's just people mistaking Warp-based powers for magic. It's all just psychic abilities being mislabeled. Magic and psychic power aren't the same thing, even if people act like they are.

Still, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. I don't have anything better to do.

Now, how do I explain this with my extremely limited vocabulary?

"Sit to ground, lower limb cross."

Wow. That sounded dumb. Hopefully, she understands what I mean.

Well, she's sitting cross-legged, so that's a good sign. Next step.

"Close visual, inside see."

I really need to figure out this language issue. I sound like a moron.

She tilts her head, clearly confused. Yeah, she's not getting it.

I reach over and gently close her eyes.

"Dream, not dream. Brain cool."

I hope she understands because that barely makes sense to me.

She scrunches up her face, clearly concentrating, trying to follow my instructions. I doubt she'll figure out what I actually mean—entering a dream-like meditative state took me a couple of weeks to figure out. Before that, I was running purely on instinct.

[ - Death system accessing = Search File - Raise Undead = Error. User Mental State Incorrect - ]

Error ~ Death = Frost-Doom_Execute ~ Error

…Wait, what?

Oh, crap—

Void = Shadow-Dodge_Execute -

A massive blast of cold air shoots from her hands, freezing the beach behind me solid.

Well, good thing I phased through that. Also, very lucky we did this near the beach instead of in the village.

Staring at the frozen wasteland behind me, I can't help but feel surprised.

She's normal. Completely, totally baseline human. No Psyker potential, no Blank potential—nothing. I only entertained the idea of teaching her because I was bored and knew for a fact that she couldn't do anything.

And yet… she just froze half the damn beach with one attack.

I can't even do that. The biggest thing I've ever managed was an Arcane-Fel Paradox Bomb, and that wasn't even half the size of this mess.

Looking back at her, she's pouting at her hand.

She just outperformed my best spell, and she's pouting because it's not what she wanted.

Heh. That's kind of funny.

Oh, looks like that ice blast took a lot out of her. She's yawning. Probably best if she rests and tries again later when she's got more stamina.

"Rest. Energy. Attempt later."

Negative. Not tired/sleepy/exhausted - she insists.

Ugh, stubborn girl. I doubt I can convince her, so…

Shadow = Slumber_Execute -

Snap.

And she's out.

I pick her up and carry her back to what I'm pretty sure is her house, gently laying her in bed.

The other kids must've been watching our little lesson, judging by the looks they're giving me. I really hope they don't all want to learn because I have absolutely no clue how to teach a dozen kids when I barely know what I'm doing myself.

Please, for the love of everything good, do not ask me to teach you.

"Is what I'm using even Psyker power?"

A question the Primarch of the Eleventh Legion asked himself daily before meeting Primarch Magnus.

--- 1 Week Later ---

Well, I think we've hit a routine.

Wake up, do morning exercises, kill something, bring the dead thing back for a bunch of 8- and 9-year-olds to cook, eat breakfast, teach a 10-year-old necromancy—only for her to use cryomancy instead and freeze half the beach—get her to rest, lunch, attempt necromancy lessons again with the same result, hunt for dinner, eat, and finally sleep.

Today, the routine is broken.

[ - Death System Accessing = User Mental State Checking = Correct State = Access Granted = Registering New Necromancer Almia Farn as PHS-LKFT-01 = Registration Complete / Rejoice, little girl, for your desire to kill everything that may threaten you has been granted \ - ]

Looks like she finally figured out what I was talking about, as she's now holding a greenish-black orb in her hand.

Huh, I thought it would take her longer than a week.

Well, let's get her a corpse to see if she can make it move.

"Hold ball still. Getting dead body," I tell her as I stand up and head toward a pile of giant seagulls picking apart some sort of fish-octopus-crab thing.

This world is weird. I'm fairly sure it isn't a Death World—otherwise, everything would be trying to kill us. Is there such a thing as a Half-Death World? Or am I just being dumb? Not like I know enough about Warhammer 40K planetary classifications.

--- One Fight Later ---

Stupid seagulls. They're like pigeons—always trying to peck my eyes out.

Dragging a dead seagull behind me, I make my way back to the frozen section of the beach.

Man, I think she permanently froze this entire area. It's not melting at all. Ice usually starts melting under sunlight, doesn't it?

As I get closer, I see the girl still standing there, holding the orb of necromantic energy, looking like she's trying really hard not to fart. Better get her the corpse before she bursts.

I drop the dead bird at her feet, and she sighs.

Death = Raise-Skeleton_Execute -

Whoops, looks like she lost her focus—the orb just rocketed into the corpse.

Huh. That looks like something out of Alien. The bones are ripping themselves out of the body while flesh, muscle, and blood spray everywhere. The skeleton frees itself from its former fleshy shell, organs rolling across the frozen sand as the ribcage tears itself open.

Standing before us is a 4-meter-tall skeletal seagull, glowing green orbs in its eye sockets.

At a time like this, you'd expect a kid to scream and run away. Nope. She squees and hugs the thing.

The look on her face is just adorable—like a kid who just found out school got canceled early. (Can't use the Christmas or birthday comparison since my country doesn't really do those like America, so no reference point.)

She turns to me and asks, "Can I keep this?"

What am I, her parent?

"Yes, sure," I answer.

As she plays around with the pile of bones, I begin to think.

Huh. That's another thing she did that I can't. I never thought to raise just the skeleton before—I always just animated the whole body. Why go for just the bones?

And if you can raise just the bones… then what about the blood? Muscles? Other parts of the body?

I look at the pile of flesh and blood still sitting on the frozen sand. Reaching my hand toward it, I focus.

The point between sleep and wakefulness. Breathing slows. Heartbeat steadies. With each beat and exhale, energy gathers in my hand—cold yet comforting. An end, yet a beginning.

{ Accessing Editor Program = File PHS-LKFT-Core Selected = Flesh-Golem = Created }

The flesh melts. The blood flows upward. Organs rearrange. The pile of organic matter pools into a mass, shaping into something...

Ew. Gross. Nope. Not using this. Nope. I'll stick to zombies, thank you very much.

I dismiss the thing instantly—it melts back into a pile of liquefied organic matter.

Then I set it on fire.

Arcane = Fireball_Execute -

What? Just making sure.

Turning away from the burning mess (the darn ice still isn't melting), I look back at the girl and her skeletal bird. Somehow, she's gotten onto its back and is riding it around.

Well, it's getting close to noon, if the sun's position is any indication. Better head back for lunch.

I walk toward the pair as they run around on the frozen sea surface like a pair of lunatics.

"Come. Lunch time," I say, pointing my thumb over my shoulder toward the village.

The bird stops running as she looks at me, then nods before pointing her finger. "Run, Birdy, run!" she commands.

And off the skeletal seagull goes, sprinting toward the village.

Oh boy. Better make sure she doesn't scare everyone to death.

===

"Looking back, I wonder why I taught a 10-year-old necromancy." —Primarch of the 11th Legion, Grand-Necromancer

"It was the happiest day of my life." —Almia Farn, Arch-Lich of the Order of the Blackrose

"HISS Necromancer HISS" —Mortarion, Primarch of the 14th Legion, Death Guard

Chapter 8

--- Night ---

Ugh, what is that noise?

Dark Eldar drop ship detected. Sent to investigate the missing Succubus.

Oh... right. I did take out a high-ranking Dark Eldar about a week ago. Thanks for the memory update.

I sat up and walked out of the makeshift tent I had set up.

What? I recently hit the 2-meter mark in height, and I refuse to keep ducking every time I enter and exit a house just to get some sleep.

Looking up, I saw the dropship descending a short distance away from the village and the wreck of the previous one.

Ugh, too lazy to fight them the normal way.

The lazy way, then. It is nighttime, after all—no reason not to do this.

Void = Eldritch-Shadow_Execute -

The shadows and darkness around me came to life, slithering toward me and clinging to my skin.

After a moment, I ceased to be a physical entity. We had become one with the shadow.

Melting into the ground, we raced toward the Dark Eldar, moving between the shadows cast by the twin moons.

As we reached our destination, we saw the Dark Eldar unloading some kind of vehicle.

Reaper Gunship: Fast, weak armor, weapon fires electromagnetic waves.

Ah, thanks for the info dump.

Now, let's see how their tank fares against a living shadow.

Slipping around to the far side of the dropship, we crawled over it, searching for an entry point. Spotting an airlock, I formed a tendril of darkness.

Void = Shadow-Edge_Execute -

A razor-thin 2D edge formed.

Shink.

With a silent cut, an entry hole appeared. We rushed inside. Within moments, the interior lights were shattered, doors sliced apart, and darkness swallowed the space entirely.

The crew inside, of course, panicked—for the whole two seconds they remained alive. Hundreds of bladed tendrils erupted, turning them into shredded ribbons of flesh. Only the pilot was spared.

I needed to know how to fly this thing.

Fel = Memory-Extraction_Execute -

Shank.

Now I knew how to operate it.

The Dark Eldar outside had obviously realized something was wrong and were trying to force their way in.

Foolish elves. I pressed a button, shutting down the exterior lights.

As darkness engulfed the outside, the doors unsealed, letting me expand into the shadows beyond.

Shank.

The ground became a pit of blades. A few managed to dodge their comrades' fate—before I turned the blades into whips and blended them all.

Just as I was about to attack the gunship, it fired its weapon at me.

Boom.

The electric blast made my form flicker, but it was ultimately useless. They needed something far brighter to harm me in this state.

I rushed toward it as it attempted to reverse, its main gun tracking me.

Too slow. My form enveloped the vehicle, and its gunner panicked, firing wildly. A tendril lashed out.

Shank.

The gunner and crew were torn apart like the others, leaving only the driver. Another knowledge extraction later, and the vehicle was mine.

Pooling out of the gunship, I reformed into my physical self.

Well, that's done. I'll clean up tomorrow. Sleep calls to me.

--- Next Morning ---

After breakfast, I let the necromancer girl and the other children play with their giant skeletal seagull while I made my way back to last night's battlefield.

Cleaning up a pile of shredded, ribboned bodies was a pain. I didn't have a way to generate water to simply hose down the mess, but I did manage to find what seemed to be a janitor's closet with some powerful cleaning agents.

Man, Dark Eldar sure have some strong bleach—it ate through flesh like Hollywood acid. The salvaged armor, weapons, and other useful junk were thrown into the armory.

With that done, I decided to take the ship out for a test run. Its speed should let me scout the surrounding area and be back before lunch.

--- Some Time Later ---

How big is this world?

I've seen nothing but endless stretches of forests, jungles, deserts, grasslands, lakes, snowy mountains, and a massive river. Yet, I haven't come across a single human settlement.

If humans lived here, shouldn't they be more common?

Even if this place is a Death World… come on. People manage to live on Catachan, and that place makes this one look tame. Humanity is stubborn—we don't just let something as dumb as nature beat us.

--- Later ---

Okay, that's it. I'm turning around and heading back. This entire planet is just untamed wilderness and a ridiculous number of super-predators straight out of Monster Hunter.

===

Chapter 9

--- Noon ---

As I land the dropship in a clearing, the sensors alert me to something moving fast toward the ship.

I switch to the external cameras, magnify the image, and—oh, it's just the giant skeleton seagull. Right. They probably think I'm another group of Dark Eldar.

Meh, whatever.

Shutting down the ship, I walk down the ramp, and the big pile of animated bones gets close enough for me to see clearly.

"Don't attack, please."

It does the exact opposite. Just like its fleshy brethren, it immediately tries to peck my head off.

Ugh. Too tired for this.

Life = Ensnare-Root_Execute -

The grass around me rapidly grows, hardens into wood, and coils around the skeletal bird, locking it in place. Its head still writhes, trying to reach me.

Rolling my eyes, I keep walking. I need to find a radio or something so I can signal these kids next time I go out.

Halfway back, I notice a lot of movement in the distance.

Oh, come on. What now?

Life = Farsight_Execute -

Oh, lovely. All the leftover bones from the animals I hunted have now decided to get up and start running at me.

Looks like Necromancer Girl decided to expand her minion collection.

--- A lot of Ensnare later ---

Standing in front of the sheepish-looking brown-haired girl, I give her a light chop on the head.

As she rubs her scalp, I walk back to my makeshift tent, step inside, and immediately fall asleep.

--- One hour later ---

I wake up to the sensation of something poking my face.

Opening my eyes, I see a blonde-haired girl holding a stick, prodding me experimentally.

I sit up and glare at her.

"What is it?" I ask, my voice carrying the special grumpiness reserved for dealing with morning people.

She quickly drops the stick, clasping her hands behind her back like a kid caught sneaking cookies.

"Um, could you teach me how to do stuff like you and Almia?" she asks nervously.

Okay, she wants to learn what exactly? One kid running around with necromancy is bad enough. Unless…

"Can you be more specific?" I ask.

"Uh, I want to learn how to make the pain go away and stop hurting people."

Oh. Healing. That's much easier than what the other one wanted. Also, it lets me see if my abilities can be taught to normal people.

"Ugh. Meet me on the beach tomorrow."

She beams at me before dashing out of the tent.

Well, I'm awake now. Might as well do something useful.

I make my way back to the dropship. There has to be a radio in here somewhere. If not, then the Eldar have no right to call us mon-keigh.

Turn left at the ramp, the box next to the Splinter Rifle.

Ah, thank you, half-digested memory. Very helpful.

Opening the box, I find several types of communicators: earpieces, chokers, and even some clip-on models—probably for social events, if my absorbed knowledge is correct.

I grab an earpiece and close the box.

Back in the village, I look around for Necromancer Girl. I find her using her skeletal minions to play with the other kids—mostly running around, laughing, and generally causing havoc.

As I approach, they notice me and freeze mid-game.

I beckon her over. She rides one of her skeleton minions closer to me.

When she's within reach, I halfheartedly toss the earpiece to her.

"That's a communication device. Put it on your ear. When I return from scouting, I'll signal you—so don't send your skeletons to attack me again."

She looks down at the device and tries to put it on, but it was clearly designed for pointy-eared Eldar and adult-sized at that. It sits awkwardly on her ear, but whatever. At least now I can go out without worrying about being assaulted by a pile of bones every time I return.

--- After Dinner ---

Once the kids finish eating and head to bed, I climb into the pilot seat of the dropship and start the engines.

I checked out the east side earlier, so now it's either north or south.

No coin to flip… so north it is.

--- One hour and 34 minutes later ---

The sensors pick up something big beneath me. Non-organic, if the readings are correct.

Circling around, I crank the scanner to maximum power. A rough outline forms.

Oh. It's a spaceship. And a big one.

Looking closer, I recognize the design—it's definitely an Human vessel. That massive prow is unmistakable. As for the exact size…

Oh, come on, what kind of measurement system is this? Damn Eldar.

I mark the location on the navigation system and turn back toward the village. I can explore it later—it's getting late anyway.

===

"Eldar measuring units make no sense. They're worse than Imperial vs. Metric."

—Everyone with a functional understanding of the Eldar language.