Wilona stopped screaming and pushed herself off of the skeleton. She crawled in panic, putting distance between her and the undead... Oh, it's not actually alive. Wilona stood up and dusted herself off. "Well, that's that," she murmured. Good thing no one saw what just happened. "Okay, so a skeleton."

  She didn't want to use a tone that felt like she was used to seeing a long-dead body every day, but she thought she had to for sanity's sake.

  Whoever this was, they had died long before she came to this world. They had been here for years, or at least long enough that they had no more flesh. Insects must have eaten it, now that Wilona thought about it, and that made some small amount of sense to her since the skeleton had a decent-looking cloak on it.

  Bravely, Wilona got close to the cadaver and opened up its cloak. She saw a leather chest piece without a single sign of damage. Well, there were chunks bitten out of it, but still, it might as well be pristine when one thinks about the history of its wearer and how it could have potentially gotten here. And how did the guy die? Girl? Whatever.

  Regardless of its name, purpose, or memory of when it was alive, the skeleton still died here. Probably quivering in fear as the mortal wound that was slowly killing them leeched away their health. The thought reminded Wilona of her own death, one that she didn't even have time to process, and she wondered what was worse—a death that is instant or one that's slow?

  Gods should exist here, right? And people believe in them no matter the technological state. This person must have had time to pray for their own health.

  Before Wilona knew it, she had carried the corpse out of the hollow tree. She placed it on the ground gently and moved to grab her spear. The sharpened tip struck the earth.

  Or maybe repent for their sins. However brutal they may have been in life, they must have begun to regret it as their mortality drew near. Wilona wasn't the kind of person to support criminals, but there's a chance this person must have been just an adventurer, and maybe their sins only consisted of something simple, like killing monsters.

  The earth broke apart with every strike it met. Wilona kept going. It was still quite shallow. She'd been in multiple funerals in the past, some of whom were for the parents or relatives of friends she parted with after reaching high school. The grave needed to be deep.

  Or maybe reflect on their actions. Whatever they may have meant to the corpse or those the actions reflected, they were still something. Maybe some even made an impact. Wilona didn't know this. She only knew of the disrespect such a death gave to the corpse.

  She dug, this time using her much stronger dagger to break apart the loamy earth. She was close now. Just one more layer, and she could make a proper grave.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  They must have relived memories. Lots of them. If this person was an adult, they must have made multiple connections over the course of their life, and that's not counting the family that must have been disappointed that they never got to go home. This particular thought broke Wilona's heart even more.

  Wilona went back up. The soil must have loosened under her grip several times during her attempts at escaping the grave she dug, but she eventually succeeded at getting out through repeated tries alone.

  Wilona eyed the corpse. It hadn't moved still. She felt scared at first. When the grave got deep enough that she couldn't just escape it easily, she thought that it was her who was going to get buried, but that didn't happen, thankfully, and the skeleton was just a normal dead body.

  Shuddering, Wilona picked up the skeleton in a princess carry and gently lowered it into the grave. She hopped down on it for the second time, but she thought the risk was worth it for the sake of the person whom she was burying before they were alive.

  Soil soon piled up into the grave, filling it bit by bit. Wilona wondered how much mana her little light spell produced and whether or not it had an unlimited timer as she continued on with the burial. When it was finished, she created a cross-shaped marker by tying branches together using vines.

  With everything now done, Wilona fell down to the ground and curled into a horizontal ball. Her legs got pulled to her chest, and her forehead rested on top of her knees. What is going on back on Earth right now? She hoped that her parents were still safe, her siblings too.

  Wilona got up and wiped her eyes. "Drivers," she spat. "How the hell do they have a license if they don't know how to drive?"

  A part of her, just a tiny part, was happy that there was an even bigger chance that the moron who killed her was also now dead. Serves him right. They both could have lived, but he had to act like a dumbass.

  Wilona went back to the tree. She didn't feel like resting at the moment. Her mind was too preoccupied with what happened to her back on Earth. She'd only get insomnia if she forced herself to sleep like this.

  Naturally, she checked her system. She'd been creating a ball of light on top of her palms now. Magic was something she'd never done before, but apparently, she was a natural at it. She didn't know if it was because she had a system to help her or what, but she could cast spells.

  Charges:

  Soul [1]

  Mind [1]

  Instinct [1]

  Professions:

  Survivalist [Novice]

  Primitive Crafting

  Exploring

  Warlockdom [Novice]

  Orb of Light

  Pending Quests:

  Bury the Dead! (Completed!)

  Finding Shelter. (Completed!)

  A book fell onto Wilona's lap when she opened her status screen. "It actually is a Cub Scout's survival book, huh?" Wilona lifted the guidebook to eye level. "Weird. Now where's the other reward?"

  Wilona didn't see it anywhere near her, so she checked her system and opened the quest.

  [Completed - Bury the Dead!]

  [Quest Type: Ingredient]

  [Rewards: 2x Charge]

  ["You have found a dead body! One which has been killed unjustly while staving off the evils of the world, it is up to you to bury them and give them a peaceful slumber."]

  Now, what did charges mean? Wilona still hadn't figured that thing out, but she at least recognized it. She backtracked and found the relevant part of her status screen staring at her. "Charges..." She tapped her cheek, coloring it with mud from her fingers. "What are you?"

  She could obviously place the charges in the three categories available to her. But between Soul, Mind, and Instinct, which one was her best bet? She honestly wasn't sure, so she placed one charge on [Instinct] and another on [Soul] to see what they would do. Instinct should be much more physical, right? Or maybe it isn't? She hated this lack of information, honestly. Why didn't she get an explanation for how all of this worked?

  A wave of tiredness washed over Wilona, and her eyes began to droop. Her body slumped and slowly slid downward. When her shoulder met the ground, her consciousness disappeared, and she was suddenly in a new world. Bright light struck her vision, but she couldn't move her arms to cover her eyes.

  ... Where?

  There was a being in front of her—well, someone. They looked human, but green and with horns? Ram horns? Maybe? Her vision was too hazy to see them clearly. They said something, a lot of things. The only word that Wilona understood was "congratulations."

  Wilona woke up, and everything that happened in her sleep disappeared like freezing mist under the morning sun.