A week passed.
Seven whole days of unlife.
Seven days of pretending the outside world didn't exist because I was terrified a passing goblin patrol would yeet my brittle skeleton onto a campfire for warmth.
Could I call this a world? Not really.
My entire "known universe" was the cabin, the yard, and the fence around my little beast farm.
Going any farther would just be tempting fate.
Currently, I was free XP for anyone I encounter.
And I planned on reminding myself this same thing everyday until I finally leveled up.
I was still the weakest version of a lich to ever exist.
An Impure Lich.
So staying indoors wasn't cowardice.
It was strategy.
It was survival.
It was common sense.
And it was also because I didn't want my bones used as new weapons by goblins.
Gosh, I hate those green bastards.
But that's by the way.
The System and I became… well, not friends, more like IT guy and available search engine.
I figured I could mess around with it the same way I used to make small talk with chatbots to pass time in my previous life whenever I got lonely.
But this thing? It was even more emotionless than those old chatbots. It ignored anything casual and only replied when my question actually mattered for my evolution.
Asking it anything else was pointless.
Still, I learned a lot of things from it.
My power progression made no logical sense.
I don't wanna be that guy, but…
In proper lore, levels by consuming souls, raising undead, performing forbidden magic, and maybe committing one or two genocides.
Me?
I leveled up because I clicked the "Sign In" button on a beast farm.
If I hadn't done that, I'd still be stuck at Level 1 like some beginner slime sitting outside a tutorial village waiting to be slaughtered by a twelve-year-old with a wooden sword.
But the weirdest revelation of all was my unique trait.
[Symbiotic Evolution]
Apparently, I didn't grow stronger on my own.
I evolved when my beasts evolved.
If I raised a timid sprite wolf into a sky-finned drake?
I get [Wind Magic].
If I raised a flame gecko into a hellfire salamander?
I'd unlock [Fire Magic].
It was basically Pokémon, but with extra steps.
And the System already warned me about forcing a beast into an evolution path it wasn't compatible with.
It said something like…
[Warning: Harmony clash will result in beast death and severe damage to the Soulwell!]
So while I could customize my evolution path…
There were still restrictions. Tch.
Speaking of Soulwells…
Soulwell vs. Soul Pool
In this world, a very true lich had two essentials.
A Soulwell was storage for extracted souls and also used to create Beast Souls.
And a Soul Pool was the core reservoir for soul shards and raw soul energy.
The first was incredibly important.
The second was basically… my mana tank.
Except my Soul Pool right now looked like a puddle in the Sahara Desert.
Wind could probably evaporate it.
I needed to reach Level 10 to awaken my Soulwell.
Which meant leveling.
Which meant… beasts.
Which brought me to TODAY!
I was sitting on my rickety chair, reading through the System manuals for the billionth time, when a sharp chime smacked my hollow skull.
[Ding! One of your beasts is ready to hatch.]
I shot up so fast my chair collapsed beneath me.
"Finally!"
I bolted toward the backyard as my robes flapped behind me like a dollar-store wizard cosplay.
The farm looked the same as always.
Ugly, shabby, depressing.
You could use these same adjectives for my life.
But hey, it was my ugly, shabby, depressing life.
And I'll do my best with this farm like I do with my life.
I stepped inside the fence.
The three eggs still sat within the Hatching Circle to rest on soil that glowed magically.
It was a Common-grade soul soil.
They were important for increasing the speed at which my beast eggs could hatch.
I tapped my mandible thoughtfully.
"Back on Earth I played farming sims nonstop… they just didn't include monster taming. Huh. Somebody should've made that. Missed opportunity."
My fingers rattled against my jaw.
"I have the worst luck ever, so I'm not expecting the Legendary egg to hatch first."
I stared at the Frostlight Dragon egg.
It was the one glowing with the faintest, laziest light.
"That would've been useful. Level 10 instantly, Soulwell unlocked, and I could finally step outside without fearing goblins turning me into soup stock."
But the System wouldn't be that generous.
And I was right.
Because the cracking sound came from…
Drumroll…
The Direwolf Egg!
The Rare-grade Beast.
The lowest ranked of the three.
But still leagues better than nothing.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the shell.
I leaned in closely.
I wanted to be the first thing the creature saw.
I'm pretty sure it wasn't anything special.
But it was a common cliché in worlds where monster taming mattered a lot.
Most beasts weren't exactly geniuses…
Especially the newborns, so they were usually loyal to the first person they saw.
Plus, evolution speed depended on Affection.
So I needed this little guy to love me.
Or at least tolerate me.
The egg shattered.
A small Direwolf pup stepped out.
Its little paws crushed the broken shell beneath it.
I flinched.
"Wait—this is…?"
It looked like a puppy.
A BIG puppy.
Like, twelve inches tall at birth big.
Silver fur gleaming like polished metal.
Eyes bright and intelligent.
Legs sturdy.
Body already coordinated.
It tilted its head and whimpered.
"This… doesn't make sense."
It tilted more, clearly confused by my confusion.
I had spent years doom-scrolling animal facts.
Newborn pups shouldn't be born this developed.
Shouldn't be walking.
Or even staring at me with this much awareness.
They were supposed to be…
Tiny, blind, deaf, helpless, jelly-bean sausages.
This thing looked ready to do taxes.
And maybe maul someone.
I knelt beside it.
"I don't even have teeth… how am I supposed to chew meat for you? Wait—I don't even eat. I haven't worried about food all week."
A chill crept up my spine.
"Wait… where is it?"
The pup was gone.
Gone.
GONE.
"WHAT!? NO! I JUST GOT YOU!"
I grabbed my skull with both hands.
"My first beast lost in under ten seconds… OH GOD!"
My jaw fell off again.
But then I saw it.
The pup curled up around my femur.
Sleeping peacefully.
I slowly reattached my mandible.
"Okeh, safe…"
It did look adorable though.
[Direwolf (Rare) has formed an Initial Bond!]
[Congrats! +5 Bond Points acquired!]
[Current Affection: 5/100]
I gently picked the pup up.
It yawned.
It nuzzled the bone of my arm.
A warmth I hadn't felt in years… literal years.
I felt it spread through my hollow chest.
Then the System filled my vision with rewards.
[You have acquired a Rare-grade Beast!]
[Now calculating synergy…]
[Applying Beast Tamer bonuses…]
[Distributing evolution path potential…]
A cascade of windows burst open.
[+300 EXP]
[+24 HP]
[+12 MP]
[+30 Soul Pool Capacity]
LEVEL UP!
Level 2 → Level 3
Level 3 → Level 4
Level 4 → Level 5
The Soul Pool rippled inside my Phylactery.
Like a pebble was dropped into my sandy puddle.
❖ New Skills Acquired
‣ Beast Link: Allows communication of basic thoughts and emotions with bonded beasts.
I'm guessing this improves as the Affection of beasts around me goes up.
‣ Minor Spirit Reinforcement: Temporarily boost a beast's physical strength using soul energy.
‣ Bone Stitch: Repairs minor cracks in skeletal body.
Thank. Heavens.
I exhaled a relieved clatter.
"Everything's… going well. Finally."
The pup barked weakly in agreement.
And I gave it a small pat on the head.
The way it nuzzled into my solid palm was… cute.
Then a massive golden notification appeared.
[EVOLUTION AVAILABLE!]
I froze up.
"What?"
Getting one beast had that much of an effect?
[Your symbiotic trait has met its first requirement.]
[You have reached the conditions for Lich Evolution.]
[Your bonded beast has added a new evolution path.]
My Soul Pool rippled violently.
The Direwolf pup lifted its head as it sensed the shift.
Wind encircled me yet there was no wind at all.
[Your bons will undergo cleansing]
My bones tingled.
My Phylactery throbbed like a heartbeat.
Everything seemed to hold its breath.
I could feel some cosmic force washing away all the impurities from my boney body.
Soon, the sensation died out.
And while I looked the same, my bones were cleaner.
[Congrats! You've evolved into a Pure Lich!]