The plain stretched out, flat and broken, under a sky that glowed a sick, greenish yellow. Smoke curled up from far-off ruins, painting the air with a burnt smell. A line of Panzer III tanks, heavy and rumbling, crept across the torn land. They looked like something put together by a mad mechanic – thick plates of metal slapped onto ancient treads, with a spooky skull and bone symbol, "Necro Corp," crudely painted on their sides. It was like a rusty farm tractor had a baby with a futuristic war machine, and then that baby got really into dark magic. On top of and inside these strange tanks rode human soldiers. They wore old-school plate armor, but clutched M1 Garand Rifles tight. Their faces were grim, set, like they’d seen too many sunrises like this one. Above them, modified Spitfire planes, also marked with the "Necro Corp" sign, screamed through the air. They dropped bombs that detonated with a sickening flash of fire and shrapnel. Then came the enemy. A wave of orcs, snarling and ugly, burst from the treeline. But these weren’t the orcs of old tales. They too rumbled forward in M1 Sherman Tanks, their own crude "Necro Corp" symbols painted over the original markings. Orcs on foot wielded Stg.44 rifles, their guttural roars mixing with the clatter of machinery. This wasn’t just a fight; it was a brutal, mechanized war. Inside one of the Panzer IIIs, the air was thick with the smell of oil and sweat. "Loader, fresh round!" yelled a knight, his voice muffled by his helmet. A grunt from the dark confirmed the order. The loader, a burly man in dented plate, slammed a new shell into the breech. "Ready!" he shouted. "Fire!" The tank lurched as the main gun roared, spitting a hot shell towards an advancing Sherman. On the radio, static crackled. "Bravo One to Command, enemy armor advancing! Heavy resistance!" The human rifles spat fire, a steady, deadly rhythm. The Panzer IIIs returned fire, their shells tearing through the orcish Shermans, sending plumes of black smoke into the air. Orcs screamed as explosions rocked the ground. "For the Necro Corp!" a human knight bellowed, his voice hoarse. Across the field, an orc chieftain, his face scarred and eyes burning, snarled into a crude radio, "Push! Push! Kill the metal-skins! For the Necro Corp!" The ground became a mess of mud, blood, and twisted metal. The "Necro Corp" forces on both sides moved with a cold, almost clinical ease, wiping each other out. It was over almost before it began, a strange, terrible dance of old iron and new firepower, a war where both sides bore the same grim mark. The last bomb detonated, a final, blinding flash, and then... nothing. Hold on. Pause. I know what you’re thinking. Human knights, having Panzer III tanks, with M1 garand rifles and spitfire planes? Orcs with M1 sherman and stg.44? In a fantasy world? This looks like spun out of a sandbox game, Believe me, I get it. It’s... a long story. Let’s rewind. Exactly six years ago, to be precise. 6 Years Earlier... The first thing Karl felt was cold. Not just a little chilly, but a deep, bone-deep cold that felt like it had been there forever. His body felt stiff, like old wood. When he finally managed to open his eyes, all he saw was a dark, damp dungeon chamber. Stone walls, slick with moisture, closed in. Flickering torches, somehow burning without any fuel, cast long, creepy shadows. His name was Karl Leech. Or, it was. before, he was a big shot, an executive at a famous company called Lockheed Martin. He was good at what he did, a genius really. His last big job was delivering a secret blueprint, the SR-72 Darkstar. But it was a setup. A trap. He was assassinated, a pawn in some corporate game. The blueprint was a fake, and he was just a diversion. That was the last thing he remembered. Now, he was a Lich. His new body felt all wrong, a hollow shell. The dungeon was quiet, except for the drip of water somewhere. This wasn’t a game. This wasn’t some VR simulation gone wrong. This was real, and he was... dead. But if he was dead, why was he here? Just as that thought sank in, something shimmered in front of him. A translucent screen, like a window made of light. [ Welcome Host ] Karl blinked. "What the...?" Was he still dreaming? [ Initiating Necro System.. ] "Necro System?" he mumbled, the words feeling strange in his new, dry throat. [ Congratulations, Dungeon Lord. ] [ System has detected Class: [Lich Engineer] ] [ As part of your Awakening Protocol, you are granted a complimentary Starter Complex. ] Then more text popped up: [ [Choose Construction Method for Starter Pack]: ] [ ???? AUTO-CONSTRUCT (Free): ] [ Instant spawn of all buildings, basic functionality ] [ Pre-placed and optimized ] [ No resource reward ] [ ???? MANUAL CONSTRUCTION (Hard Mode): ] [ Receive all blueprint blueprints and layout map ] [ Must gather materials and assign skeleton labor ] [ Takes 1–3 days (or faster with optimized minions) ] [ Reward: +1,000 Necro Points upon choosing manual mode ] [ "Manual mode also increases minion skill gain and efficiency growth." ] "Only a lazy bum would choose auto-mode," Karl thought. "Who in their right mind would ignore 1,000 Necro Points and the promise of increased minion skill gain?" He chose "Manual Construction." [ +1,000 NP ] And then, a list of buildings appeared in his vision, not physically there, but like a menu: [ 1. Mines ] [ Minion mines nearby rock, dirt, or magic ore veins ] [ Can be upgraded to detect special veins (mana crystal, soul ore, ghost iron) ] [ Produces: stone, crushed bone, iron fragments ] [ Staffed by Skeleton Miners ] [ 2. Lumber Yard ] [ Harvests wood from nearby forest (sentient, enchanted or cursed trees included) ] [ Skeletons can drag logs, slowly process planks ] [ Upgradable to grow magical wood inside the dungeon ] [ Produces: logs, planks, darkwood, sap ] [ Unlocks: furniture, bows, traps ] [ 3. Basic Blacksmith Forge ] [ Skeleton Smiths can make simple weapons, armor and slowly refine ores. ] [ Initial recipes: dagger, short sword, iron plate, helmet, iron ingot. ] [ Unlocks blueprint customization ] [ Accepts ores from Mines ] [ 4. Workshop of Bone & Cloth ] [ Auto-assigns minions to make leather armor, bags, robes ] [ Accepts: animal and monster hides, bones, thread ] [ First utility unlock: Leather armor, bone sewing kits, field bags ] [ 5. Storage & Sorting Hub ] [ Passive building: auto-sorts, stores, and tags all gathered materials ] [ Lets you prioritize supply chains: armor, weapons, traps, trade ] [ Adds: Dungeon Inventory UI ] [ 6. Skeleton Barracks (Mini-Spawn Pool) ] [ Generates 1 skeleton worker per X hours using bone + magic ] [ Skeletons gain skills depending on their assigned job ] [ Early upgrade allows for specialist skeletons (smiths, chefs, scouts) ] [ 7. Canteen (Mess Hall) ] [ Produces rations and bone-broth meals ] [ Skeletons begin learning "culinary skill" ] [ Unlocks food menu customization ] [ 8. Starter Trade Stall ] [ Mini trading post connected to the Black Bone Market ] [ Skeleton Merchant with hooded disguise ] [ Can sell common wares (leather, basic weapons, meat) ] [ Early revenue generation (10–20 NP per trade) ] This was... a lot. Karl’s old executive brain, the one that used to crunch numbers and plan logistics for multi-million dollar projects, started whirring. This wasn’t some fantasy gibberish. This was a business model. A strange, undead business model, but a business model nonetheless. The possibilities were starting to unfold. Karl focused on the UI in his vision. There was a little hammer icon, probably for the buildings, a shopping cart icon for the system shop and a profile of his face. He mentally tapped the face icon. [ SYSTEM STATUS: Online Name: Karl Leech Race: Undead (Lich) Class: Lich Engineer (Lv. 1) Title: Dungeon Founder System: Necro-Industrial Interface (Linked) Basic Stats HP: ∞ (Undead Core) Mana: 120 / 120 Necro Points (NP): 1,000 Command Limit: 8 Skeletons Dungeon Core Mana: 0 / 500 (Empty) Attributes: Intelligence: 16 Necromancy: 12 Engineering: 13 Trade Sense: 10 Construction Speed: Slow Exploration Range: Short (Upgradable) Starter Buildings (Offline): Bone Quarry (Mining) Lumber Yard (Wood Harvesting) Blacksmith Forge (Weapons) Workshop (Armor/Crafting) Skeleton Barracks (Spawns workers) Cursed Canteen (Simple food, trade boost) Skills / Perks Raise Skeleton – Creates 1 worker from bone + mana Assign Task – Skeletons follow auto-routing Blueprint Builder – Can place building outlines anywhere Dungeon Edit (Locked) – Requires 500 Core Mana Trade Boost (Passive) – +10% NP when trading crafted goods Auto-Learn Minions – Skeletons improve with use "Lich Engineer? That’s... specific. And (∞)Infinite HP? Okay, that’s definitely new." His old self would have loved those numbers. His Intelligence and Engineering were high, a familiar comfort in this bizarre new reality. "Dungeon Founder," "Necro-Industrial Interface"... the words clicked in his mind. The potential was huge. Could he... build a better Lockheed Martin here? A darker, deadlier one? The thought was ambitious, unsettling, and strangely exciting. Karl wondered how to summon a skeleton. He thought about it, really focused, and then the ground in front of him glowed purple. A moment later, a skeleton popped up, bones rattling. "Ah, instinctive. Mental command, then." "Breakdance," he thought, curious. The skeleton shuffled awkwardly, its bony limbs trying to obey, but it was more of a clumsy, comical wobble than a proper breakdance. He tried again, "Dance while walking in a circle." Same result, but it was trying. He summoned another one. A quick glance at his stats confirmed it: -10 Mana consumed. No passive mana drain, good to know. He had them fight each other, just to see what would happen. It was over fast. They were feeble. He saw [ Level 1 ] above their heads.