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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!]
Pier recoiled from Simon in alarm.
[This is horrifying! A son born between my friend and his enemy! How could this…?!]
This was the first time Simon had seen Pier so flustered.
Suddenly feeling mischievous, Simon cleared his throat and imitated Anna’s voice.
“Honey, dinner’s ready!”
[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh! Stop! Stop it! Nightmares! Nightmares are coming back! Get out of my head!]
Simon clutched his stomach and laughed at Pier’s distress.
He had avenged himself for having to listen to his father’s embarrassing past, which he hadn’t wanted to know in the first place.
And somehow, he felt that he would get along with Pier even better from now on.
“I look forward to working with you, Pier.”
[Don’t smile like Anna! Damn it!]
“Hahaha!”
***
The next morning dawned.
Until the afternoon of the last day of the weekend, Simon stayed with Pier, learning about the operation of the Legion.
[You’re mistaken if you think of the undead as creatures governed by common sense! The reason necromancers sometimes lose control of their undead, leading to incidents of them eating people, is because the necromancers lack a proper understanding of the undead!]
And Pier’s lessons were taught from the perspective of the undead.
It was a different viewpoint from the Kizen professors, which made learning from him uniquely interesting.
[What drives the undead is a strong death wish! The closest equivalent for humans would be a firm ‘will.’]
Simon tilted his head.
“Will?”
[That’s right! Let me give you an easy-to-understand example. Let’s say you, a Kizen student, encounter an annoying senior. You think about killing him countless times a day. Then, the undead beside you will remember that will.]
Simon, who had been nodding along, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
“Wait a minute. Then, could it be…!”
[Indeed. Now that undead will try to devour your senior when you’re not looking!]
Flames swirled in Pier’s eye sockets.
[Even if your negative feelings towards him subside! Even if time passes and the memory fades! The undead will forever seek his life!]
“N-No way!”
Pier chuckled.
[Don’t worry; I’ll tell you about these precautions from time to time! Returning to the main point, the most important thing when controlling the undead is a strong will. Boy! Order that skeleton standing blankly in front of the wall to attack it!]
“Yes, sir.”
Simon stood up and extended his right arm.
“Attack that wall.”
Click.
The skeleton ran towards the wall and began scratching it with its hands and kicking it with its feet.
[That’s not enough.]
Pier shook his head.
“…Then what should I do?”
[Watch closely.]
Pier’s gaze turned menacing.
[When you give an undead an attack command, regardless of the target, harbor hatred! A parent’s enemy! The demon who killed your lover! Hate that wall more than anything in the world! Smash it! Tear it apart! Bathe in its blood!]
The skeleton’s movements, which had been a light tapping, began to change.
It scratched the wall hard enough to leave marks and slammed its whole body against it.
At the same time, Pier’s voice grew louder and louder.
[Die! Die! Die! Die! You shouldn’t be alive! You shouldn’t exist! Die a painful death! I’ll tear your limbs apart and feed your guts to the pigs! I’ll savor each piece of your flesh, chewing it slowly! Die! Die! Die!]
Bang!
Crash!
Boom!
The attacks intensified.
The skeleton even started bashing its skull against the wall, letting out chilling screams.
Simon’s face paled at the ferocious display.
[Now do you understand, boy?! The stronger the will, the more you can draw out the undead’s latent power and aggressiveness!]
“…By cursing?”
[I was explaining it from your human perspective; the language isn’t important! A first-class necromancer can imbue even the act of chopping wood with a strong will! And among the same level of will, negative emotions like rage, hatred, and killing intent are more effective on the undead!]
But Simon could barely hear Pier’s voice.
The skeleton attacking the wall was breaking apart, beyond repair.
“P-Pier! At this rate…!”
[Try stopping it. You’re the Legion’s primary commander.]
Simon nodded and looked at the skeleton.
“Stop! Stop it now!”
Bang! Bang!
But the skeleton didn’t stop.
Even with its skull cracking and its arms dangling, it continued to pound the wall with frantic screams.
“Can’t you hear me? I said stop!”
The skeleton ignored him completely.
It even started convulsing, its aggression intensifying.
Pier silently observed.
It might be a shocking scene for young Simon, but he needed to understand and internalize this lesson.
The power of will, and the weight of a necromancer’s command.
That skeleton wouldn’t stop until it was reduced to dust.
Even if its body crumbled, leaving only its limbs, it would continue to pound the wall until its very existence was erased.
That was the nature of the undead.
“Stoooooop!!!”
Suddenly, Simon shouted, with his eyes wide.
The air vibrated, and the ceiling shook.
It was a ferocious roar that even made Pier flinch. And then…
Crack!
The skeleton finally stopped.
Its gaze still flickered towards the wall, but it dared not disobey Simon’s command.
“…Hey,”
Simon glared at the skeleton, his breath ragged.
“If you disobey me again, I won’t let you off easy.”
He didn’t want to see his summoned creature mutilate itself any further.
Under Simon’s menacing glare, the skeleton quickly averted its gaze from the wall and stood at attention.
Pier let out a small gasp.
‘…That kid is already using absolute command?’
This wasn’t a level achievable simply by understanding the concept of imbuing will.
This was truly beyond his expectations.
‘What kind of monster did you raise in that rural backwater, Richard?!’
Simon wiped his mouth with his sleeve and straightened his posture.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.
“I was terrible, wasn’t I? I couldn’t even control my own undead properly.”
[No, you did well.]
It was a sincere compliment.
[In actual combat, you won’t have time to curse or threaten like that. Keep practicing so you can control the undead with a single command, imbuing it with your will!]
“Yes, I underst…”
Suddenly, Simon swayed and clutched his forehead.
A sharp pain throbbed in his head.
[It’s because you exerted too much mental energy. Necromancers always struggle with mental strain. Make sure to get enough rest!]
“Ugh, yes.”
Not only did he need rest, but he hadn’t eaten anything since last night.
Simon said he should head back to Kizen.
[You’ll need a means of communication when you return to Kizen!]
Pier tossed him a small skull, seemingly conjured out of thin air.
[This is a part of me. Use this to call me if anything happens at Kizen.]
“Ah, thank you.”
The skull felt soft and pliable.
Simon took a pin from his bag and attached the skull to his uniform, like the other students decorated theirs.
It wasn’t too gaudy, so it could pass as a fashion accessory.
“Then I’ll see you next weekend, Pier.”
[Heh! I look forward to seeing your progress in a week!]
“Of course!”
Simon gathered his belongings and left the ruins.
***
It was nearing dusk when he arrived at Kizen.
Simon reported his safe return and entered the dormitory.
[Khaha! It’s been a while since I’ve been to Kizen!]
Pier’s miniature skull, attached to Simon’s uniform, wiggled and spoke.
Of course, only Simon could hear his voice.
[You said the student protection period isn’t over yet?]
“Yes, it ends next week.”
[Excellent! We’ll see a lot of interesting things happen then! Khehe!]
Simon opened the door to room 409 and entered.
Rick was lying on his bed, and Kajann hadn’t been seen all weekend.
“Oh, Simon! You’re back?”
Rick sat up in bed and his face brightened.
“Hey, Rick. Did you have a good weekend?”
“So-so. Since it was the first day, I just met some merchants, secured some investment promises, that sort of thing. How about you?”
Simon placed Pier’s miniature skull on the desk and hung his uniform jacket in the closet.
“I just met someone I know. I had a decent weekend.”
It wasn’t just a decent weekend.
This weekend, Simon had become one of the seven Legion Commanders in the world.
Pier’s miniature skull on the desk grinned.
“Glad you had a good time. Oh! More importantly, did you see the schedule for next week?”
“No, not yet.”
The Kizen faculty were active necromancers.
And since the students also had fluctuating schedules due to missions and other activities, the timetable was fluid.
All students had to check the updated schedule once a week.
“Tomorrow, we have ‘Basic Dark Magic’ for both morning and afternoon.”
“Basic Dark Magic… That’s the class with the group project, right?”
“Right.”
All Kizen freshmen took nine classes.
[Curseology], [Jet Black Mechanics], [Summoning].
[Necromancy], [Hemomancy], [Toxicology], [Martial Combat].
[Divine Defense], [Basic Dark Magic].
Among them, [Basic Dark Magic] was a bit unique, as its professor also became the homeroom teacher for Class A.
The class was conducted in groups, and it evaluated all eight other subjects.
“I hope Professor Bahil is in charge of Class A.”
Rick seemed to be quite taken with Bahil after the recent teleportation incident.
“Anyway, that’s not the important part. Looking at the schedule, it seems like we’ll be forming groups for ‘Basic Dark Magic’ tomorrow. And once the groups are decided, they stay the same for the entire semester. This is a matter of life or death for our Kizen life.”
“I guess so.”
Group formation for an entire semester. Undeniably important.
Simon’s expression turned serious, and he leaned forward.
“We need a really good strategy for group formation.”
Rick’s eyes gleamed.
“First, it’s advantageous if the four group members excel in different subjects, right? I’m average in everything, but my highest entrance exam score was in Jet Black Mechanics, so I’m aiming for that.”
Simon thought for a moment and said,
“I haven’t taken any exams yet, but… I think I’m best at Summoning.”
“Okay! Then we have one Summoning and one Jet Black Mechanics? The balance is perfect!”
Rick flipped through a notebook containing the profiles of Class A students.
“In that case, our next priority recruit should definitely be a Curseology major.”
“Curseology? Why?”
“Let me explain. Look.”
Rick put down the schedule and took out a notebook and quill from his desk drawer.
“There are subjects with the highest credit weighting at Kizen. They’re commonly known as the ‘Three Pillars of Necromancy.’ Those are Curseology, Jet Black Mechanics, and Summoning. Students often abbreviate them as ‘Curse, Jet, Summon.'”
Rick neatly wrote down Curseology, Jet Black Mechanics, and Summoning in his notebook and circled them.
Simon looked at the notebook with a thoughtful expression.
“We’ve got ‘Jet, Summon’ covered. So, we need a Curseology major.”
“As expected of Simon! You catch on quick! Well, these days, the importance of Summoning has decreased, so some people replace it with Necromancy, calling it ‘Curse, Jet, Necro,’ or even ‘Curse, Jet, Summon, Necro’… but the fact is, these three are the most widely recognized.”
Simon nodded.
“And below the ‘Curse, Jet, Summon,’ there are the ‘Four Major Disciplines.’ [Necromancy], [Hemomancy], [Toxicology], [Martial Combat]. Abbreviated as ‘Necro, Hemo, Toxi, Martial.’ These subjects are also important, but they’re more often chosen as specializations to delve into deeply, rather than being essential for everyone to learn.”
Rick wrote down all seven subjects in his notebook and then added the remaining two below.
“And then there’s the supplementary subject [Divine Defense], and the compulsory subject [Basic Dark Magic]. Together, they’re called ‘Divine, Dark.’ You can’t choose these as majors.”
“I understand.”
Simon counted on his fingers, organizing the information in his head.
“Curse, Jet, Summon. Necro, Hemo, Toxi, Martial. Divine, Dark. Nine subjects in total.”
“Right.”
“There are four people in a group, right? If we recruit a Curseology student and complete ‘Curse, Jet, Summon,’ who should we recruit for the last spot?”
“That’s what we need to brainstorm!”
Rick excitedly flipped to the next page of his notebook.
“First, it’s best to avoid Martial Combat students among the ‘Necro, Hemo, Toxi, Martial.’ Martial Combat students tend to be good only at Martial Combat and bad at other subjects. I checked during Professor Hongpeng’s class.”
“…We need to consider that too.”
“Right. And generally, Curseology students also have high grades in Divine Defense, and Hemomancy students often have high grades in Toxicology due to the overlap between the two. We need to figure all this out.”
Simon and Rick spent the rest of the night strategizing their group recruitment plan.
Rick, with his vast knowledge, led the planning, while Simon, who had been listening quietly, occasionally offered insightful points.
Rick readily acknowledged them and adjusted their strategy accordingly.
As a result,
“Perfect! Then it’s settled?”
“Yeah.”
They had finalized their recruitment targets, ranked from first to tenth, for tomorrow’s group class.
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