Several days had passed since that incident at the temple. Jake, as every morning, found himself sitting cross-legged in the backyard of the bakery. It was his ritual, his small personal ceremony. The simple act of breathing in the fresh dawn air granted him a calm that few things in this world could achieve.
There were still several unknowns regarding his "mana recovery." While it was true that thanks to the "water" from that temple his body felt a vigor he thought lost, he still sensed that his powers were merely a shadow of what they used to be.
Jake slowly filled his lungs with air.
—Well, I suppose I lose nothing by trying.
He exhaled and muttered a few words of resignation. He wanted to know what kind of spells he could perform with the amount of mana he had managed to concentrate these past few days.
With some effort, he managed to stand up, brushed off his clothes, and walked toward one of the bushes lining the patio. He tore off a small branch and weighed it in his hand like an experienced artist analyzing the quality of a brush. Then, with that same branch, he began to draw a small magic circle on the ground. While with his full powers he could have skipped this step entirely, right now he was at a rather deplorable level. It was like a child learning to walk.
I suppose it's finished. I don't want to rack my brain too much testing spells, so the best thing would be to start with something simple...
With a light exhale, Jake finished drawing the magic circle. At first glance, they looked like random patterns, but those lines inside were meticulously interconnected, for they contained all the knowledge about magic he had gathered throughout his life.
It would be a great breakthrough if I could summon even a low-grade servant.
With the little branch, he gave the circle a couple of taps, and it, as if hearing his call, began to glow very faintly, almost like a candle about to go out.
—It works! It's working!
Joy was painted across his face. He couldn't believe it. The circle he had drawn was reacting to his magic for the first time since he arrived in this world. Finally, after so long, he had accumulated enough mana to make it function.
And that was very good news.
—Great! Keep it up! —He rubbed his hands together, practically hopping with impatience—. Finally, I'll have my own servant! Goodbye to forced labor, goodbye to being the kitchen slave! This Jake is back!
The circle began to glow brighter and brighter. He had managed to establish direct contact with the other world.
Jake stared at that circle, drooling with excitement. What kind of servant would emerge from that portal? It could be anything from a common skeleton, a lesser demon, or even—if he was lucky—a newly hatched dragon. It was literally a gacha machine, relying on the uncertainty of not knowing who would be the first entity to answer his call.
Suddenly, a shape began to emerge from the center of the circle. It was an enormous head, grotesquely proportioned. Jake felt a jolt of excitement. Now that was an imposing specimen! It looked like the head of a skeleton king, a zombie general—a creature worthy of a high-ranking demon like Jake.
Or so he thought...
—What the hell is this?! —Jake exclaimed, falling flat on his ass in the grass.
His happiness lasted only a few seconds upon seeing what had actually emerged. From the circle, wobbling with difficulty, had come...
—D-daddy? —asked a tiny, confused voice.
It was a skeleton. But not just any skeleton. It was diminutive, barely half a meter tall, with a skull disproportionately large for its frail body. It looked like a bone freshly popped out of an incubator. If a normal skeleton was considered low-grade, what was left for this poor being that could barely stand on its own? It was a cruel joke, an unnatural creature that couldn't even be placed on a tier list of the worst aberrations created by mankind.
But that wasn't all...
—Wait! What do you mean "daddy"?
—Daddy! —the skeleton exclaimed, leaping toward him.
—I'm not your daddy, you little pest! —Jake yelled, dodging the skeletal embrace with a clumsy move—. Get off, get off!
Jake picked up the skeleton and held it in his arms, examining its disproportionate body from top to bottom.
The idea that an entity was calling him "daddy" didn't exactly sit well with Jake. If he analyzed the situation deeply, it was the perfect representation of going through all the hardships of having a child without ever having "done the deed." It skipped the fun part of making a kid. It was like starting a video game and having to face the final boss naked and armed with a stick. Depressing.
Despite his negative thoughts, the little skeleton looked at Jake like a son looks at his father. If it had eyes, they would have been full of sparkle and excitement.
—Daddy —said the skeleton, stretching its arms toward him, as if wanting to touch his cheeks with its tiny little fingers.
However, nothing would shake Jake's determination to have children the traditional way.
Think, Jake, think. What the hell are you supposed to do in situations like this? There has to be something to keep it entertained... Oh, of course!
Jake set the small skeleton down with a quick movement and grabbed the branch he had used to draw the circle earlier.
—Play with this for a while, alright? Just don't bug me anymore.
The skeleton took the branch and was overjoyed. It began using it like a sword, spinning and swinging it with quick movements while emitting tiny battle sounds that came from its little trembling jaw.
Jake put a hand on his chin and observed the skeleton. Without a doubt, it was a rare specimen, but also too dangerous to leave roaming around this world for long.
Alright, I need to take it back to the magic circle to undo the spell.
—Come here, little one. Come on, Daddy has something for you here.
Jake began calling the skeleton from the circle, stretching out his arms with a forced smile.
—No —replied the skeleton, stopping its dance.
—What was that?
—No, bitch, didn't you hear me the first time? —it repeated, and this time raised the branch as if aiming at him.
A vein bulged in Jake's temple.
—Don't you value your existence?! —he roared, stepping forward—. Do you know that with a single puff from me, I can make you disappear? You should know your...
The skeleton stuck out its tongue—an absurd gesture, since it had no tongue, but there it was, a small spectral flame vibrating between its jaws—and with a quick movement, hurled the branch like a javelin.
Incredible as it seemed, that branch managed to trace a perfect arc, literally defying all laws of physics and luck, and struck Jake right on the forehead, dead center of his furrowed brow. The impact was ridiculous. A common tree branch, dry and light, against the skull of a necromancer who had defeated infernal beasts. And yet, Jake fell backward like a ragdoll, collapsing onto the grass.
His body lay sprawled. Unconscious.
The skeleton stared at him for a long moment, tilted its head curiously, and then turned around and wandered off.
---
Everything went black. Jake's consciousness dissolved into an ocean of shadows where time didn't exist. He felt his mind disconnect from his limbs, his soul floating in a warm, formless void. There were no dreams, no pain. Just a stupid, undeserved peace, as if the entire universe had taken a break to laugh at him.
Hours passed. Or perhaps minutes. Or perhaps days. The sunlight moved across his face, shadows stretched and shrank, and birds sang indifferently to the drama that had just unfolded.
Finally, Jake blinked.
A dull throbbing pounded in his forehead. His vision blurred and cleared in intervals. He coughed, spat out a blade of grass, and slowly sat up, bringing a hand to his head.
—Shit... —Jake's voice came out hoarse and cracked. He felt as if a truck had run over him—one of those trucks that send you to another world—. What happened...?
When he looked around, the clearing was empty. The magic circle still glowed with a faint shimmer.
Jake closed his eyes and sighed with all his soul.
—I hate this world.