Acrylis grinned like a kid in a candy store as he checked out his spotless lab. Keeping the place clean had always been a major pain in the neck for him. His private magic lab was one of the few hush-hush spots in all of Belkin Academy. It was packed with rare magical goodies and six massive bookshelves crammed with top-secret docs and important books. Acrylis didn't let anyone, not even his most trusted students, step foot in there, let alone the cleaning crew. So, he had to handle the cleaning himself. But, man, was he lazy. The lab needed to be squeaky clean, and every experiment meant a deep clean afterward. It was such a drag that he started dodging less important experiments just to avoid the hassle.
Then Gelis showed up, and bam, problem solved. No more worrying about lab secrets getting out.
Gelis stood at the lab's entrance, staring at the closed door like it might bite him. After a bit, he turned around and took in the empty lab, remembering what Acrylis had said before he left: "From now on, you'll live here. No stepping outside without my say-so, got it?"
Acrylis's tone made it clear—Gelis wasn't going anywhere. Was he really stuck here for good? That thought popped into Gelis's head again.
The new place and people, the missing gray sky of the Undead World, and the absence of his fellow undead made Gelis feel a bit off. But hey, at least he didn't have to worry about getting jumped by other undead or hiding in his cave pretending to be dead. All things considered, maybe staying here wasn't so bad.
The dim light in Gelis's eyes flickered as he shoved those thoughts aside. He was a pretty obedient skeleton. Summoned by someone, he had to follow orders. If the mage didn't want him to go back, then he wouldn't.
Gelis turned and walked to a corner, now pretty used to walking upright, taking steady steps. The sound of his bones clinking together was kinda creepy in the quiet room.
He quickly made his way to the corner and sat down, hugging his knees. Looking back at the distance he had covered—over thirty feet—in just a few steps, he thought about how long it would've taken him to crawl that far in his half-body form. Walking upright was definitely growing on him.
Hugging his knees, the light in Gelis's eyes slowly faded, and before long, he was out cold.
Who knows how much time passed, but a soft noise woke Gelis up. He looked up to see the lab door creak open and Acrylis strolling in.
Gelis jumped to his feet and headed over to Acrylis.
"Hey, Gelis! How'd you sleep last night?" Acrylis asked, shutting the door behind him.
Sleep well? Not well? Last night was the most chill sleep Gelis had ever had, no worries about getting ambushed or anything. So, yeah, it was good, right? But he had no clue how to answer. Being a skeleton and all, talking wasn't his thing. Acrylis had told him to nod for "yes" and shake his head for "no." So, "well" meant a nod, right?
Gelis nodded.
"Awesome!" Acrylis beamed. He didn't want his new free helper to be bummed out.
"Just hang tight for now. I'm about to start an experiment. Don't bug me, got it?" Acrylis instructed.
Gelis nodded again and stood still.
Acrylis slipped into a white robe and got busy with the lab gear. Bottles, beakers, and test tubes were lined up just so. He set up an alcohol lamp, lit it, and started mixing stuff from various bottles and jars.
Gelis watched in silence, not getting any of it.
Acrylis was in a great mood. The biggest headache—keeping the lab clean—was finally sorted thanks to Gelis. With this tireless free helper, Acrylis had no more worries. He could now dive into experiments he used to avoid, knowing that no matter how messy things got, someone else would handle the cleanup.
He grabbed a packet of magnesium powder from the drawer and poured it onto a balance. He crumpled the paper packet into a ball and looked around, spotting the trash can in the corner, over thirty feet away. Acrylis hesitated for a sec, then glanced at Gelis and smirked, casually tossing the paper ball onto the floor. Why bother? He didn't have to clean it up!
He kept prepping materials, next up was the phosphorus powder. Acrylis rummaged through several drawers but came up empty. Frowning, he thought for a moment and then remembered the phosphorus powder was in the materials cabinet by the wall.
The lab was a massive 3,000 square feet. In the middle, there were four long tables, each thirty feet long, set up to form a big square workspace. To the left of the main door, six huge bookshelves created a semi-private library nook. The other two walls had big racks for storing all kinds of experimental tools, each about thirty feet from the central workspace. Right now, the phosphorus powder Acrylis needed was on one of those racks.
Acrylis eyed the rack thirty feet away and frowned. "Man, that's a hike," he thought. "Having an assistant would be sweet."
But he knew that was a pipe dream. As a grand mage and head honcho of Belkin Royal Magic Academy, finding an assistant was a piece of cake, but finding one he could trust? Not so much. Most of his experiments were cutting-edge and top-secret. No way could he just grab anyone to help out.
Sure, he had some trustworthy friends and students, but they all had their own gigs and couldn't drop everything to be his assistant.
Feeling annoyed, Acrylis glared at the rack thirty feet away, his mood souring.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Gelis standing still by the experimental platform. A lightbulb went off in his head.
"Gelis, go grab me the phosphorus powder from that cabinet," Acrylis said, pointing to the materials rack by the wall.
Gelis obediently walked over to the rack. When he got there, he was stumped. The rack was packed with bottles and jars. Being just a small Skeleton, he had no clue what any of them were! Which one was the phosphorus powder? A big question mark popped into Gelis's mind.
He turned back and shook his head at Acrylis.
Acrylis had expected this. Even students who studied magical materials wouldn't necessarily recognize phosphorus powder right off the bat. He hadn't given specific instructions because he wanted to see how sharp this Skeleton was. Seeing Gelis didn't recognize the phosphorus powder but knew to shake his head, Acrylis was pretty pleased.
"First row, third bottle from the left," Acrylis said.
Gelis, being a quick learner, grabbed the third bottle from the first row. The label on the front had a big "Phosphorus" written on it.
Seeing Gelis nail it with the phosphorus powder, Acrylis was stoked. The two big headaches he'd been dealing with were now history thanks to Gelis. The cleaning? Handled. The assistant issue? Sorted. Sure, Gelis didn't know the experimental supplies yet, but Acrylis wasn't sweating it. The labels were there, and he could teach Gelis to read.
"Gelis, grab a piece of mithril. It's on the bottom shelf of the left rack, among the silvery-white stuff."
"Gelis, fetch a bucket of clean water."
"Gelis, pump the bellows, but go easy."
"Gelis..." With each command, poor Gelis got busier and busier.
With Gelis's help, the experiment moved way faster than Acrylis had expected. What was supposed to take a whole day got done in half.
Having an assistant was the best, especially for someone as lazy as Acrylis. With Gelis around, he barely had to leave the experimental platform. Whatever he needed, he just told Gelis to get it. Even though Gelis couldn't read the labels, he never messed up under Acrylis's guidance. This made Acrylis appreciate Gelis's smarts even more, and he started giving more and more instructions.
What made Acrylis happiest was Gelis's willingness to work without a single complaint. Despite being constantly ordered around, Gelis never protested.
With the final step done, the experiment was a success. Looking at the messy platform and floor, Acrylis said, "Gelis, clean this up and put the supplies back where they belong." He then poured himself a glass of water, walked to the side, and watched Gelis hustle while he sipped his drink.
One by one, the unused supplies were put back on the rack. The leftover substances in the tools were emptied, and the tools were cleaned. Having already done a round of cleaning, Gelis skillfully restored the lab to its original state.
Acrylis pulled up a chair, found a relatively clean corner, and sat down. Holding his cup, he took small sips, his eyes glued to the busy Gelis. He was beyond satisfied. Having such a diligent servant would make anyone as happy as he was. Before, after finishing an experiment, Acrylis would dread the massive cleanup. Now, he could just chill.
Not only was the cleaning problem solved, but he also had a solid assistant. Gelis's intelligence made him more than capable. The only hiccup was that Gelis couldn't read.
Watching Gelis, Acrylis decided he would train him to be a top-notch assistant and an excellent servant. Teaching a Skeleton might be a tough gig, but it would be totally worth it for the future ease and comfort.