《The Path of Darkness》 The History of Klavan and Janaro Author''s note: The Prologue was originally written as a bit of an info dump. I decided that this info dump was unnecessary to the current plot of Kaz. I have moved the History of Klavan and Janaro to a new post that you can read at your leisure instead. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The landlocked hills of Klavan are bordered by scorching desert to the north and east, while deadly swamps lie to the south. In contrast, the Republic of Janaro was bordered by a vast ocean to the west and north while sharing the same mountain range to the east and the swamp to the south. The only way between the two countries was a pass in the lengthy mountain range which the House of Zhakar now controls. The House of Klavan had been established by one of Janaro¡¯s greatest generals, Venta Klavan. After a failed coup to dissolve the Janaroian Senate and raise himself as Emperor, Klavan took most of the Janaro Army¡¯s elite soldiers and escaped to the vast plains just past what is now known simply as the Pass. In response to this, of course, the Republic of absolutely furious. While popular opinion remained divided on whether or not Venta Klavan was right to try and take over, reasoning that perhaps the Senate which had long been corrupted should be at least reformed. However, being the mercantile naval superpower that it is, the Republic had massive amounts of gold that they used to hire mercenaries, upkeep a military force of nearly a million soldiers, and placate the commoners with monthly money. Most of these soldiers, however, were not actually professional land soldiers. The vast majority of them were trained as sailors and marines, able to offer the strongest protection to the huge trading vessels that brought an unimaginable amount of profit for the Republic. Having enjoyed no major enemies since their conquest of a now forgotten people a millennium ago, the invasion of the nomadic tribes through the Pass shocked every person in Janaro 250 years ago. From the ashes of a nation unskilled at land warfare, a former bandit chief named Venta Klavan rose to prominence. He quickly persuaded a small army¡¯s worth of men to follow him against the nomads. Following several decisive victories that slowed the progression of the invasion, Klavan¡¯s criminal record was erased and he was given the position of Grand Marshal of Janaro. With the full backing of Janaro, Klavan mercilessly crushed the nomadic warlord¡¯s army of mostly horsemen, pushed back the invaders, and invaded the Great Plains through the Pass. Like a snake with its head cut off, the nomads could no nothing but fight a losing battle. Their horseman were highly maneuverable, but their flint spears and arrows were no match for the iron-clad legions that Klavan commanded. After only four short years had passed since the initial invasion the plainsmen were conquered, and Klavan subsequently became the most beloved person in Janaro. Then a month passed, and Klavan became the most wanted person in Janaro after his failed coup. The coup failed because the man assigned to assassinate the Chancellor of Janaro was not a spy, but simply a swordmaster. It was a twist of irony that the Chancellor who ordered the Janaroian Senate to forgive Venta Klavan of his crimes as a bandit lord was now subject to an amateur assassination. Decades of secret plotting and betrayals had honed the paranoia of every Janaroian Senator as sharp as a razor¡¯s edge, especially that of the Chancellor¡¯s. The ¡°assassin¡± was promptly discovered, tortured, and the plan revealed. Venta Klavan rallied his personal guard, broke through the Janaro capital¡¯s City Watch, and reunited with his forces on the other side of the riverbank across the city. Klavan¡¯s army underwent a forced march until they escaped through the Pass. Having formerly subjugated the warring tribes of the plains, Klavan held great respect and honor in their eyes. The nomadic tribes pledged loyalty to Klavan once he sent them an ultimatum, which they accepted quickly knowing Klavan¡¯s lack of patience and mercy. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The Janaroian Senate quickly conscripted a larger army primarily composed of new recruits and mercenaries, and sent them after Klavan through the Pass. Anticipating this, Klavan let the Janorian forces through the Pass. He then ambushed the newly formed force of 300,000 soldiers with his 100,000 elite infantryman supplemented with another 30,000 elite nomadic cavalry. The area of the Plains just outside of the pass saw quite possibly the most brutal battle in history up to that point. Outmaneuvering his opponent in the field, Klavan routed the Janaroian army then cut off their escape with another 15,000 infantry that he held in reserve. Faced with a total loss, the Janaroian commander surrendered, and pledged his loyalty and that of his remaining 150,000 men to Klavan. Klavan promptly cut off the man¡¯s head, and ordered his army to massacre the remainder of the Janaroian forces. The formerly dry plains outside of the Pass became thick with blood, so thick that a bloody river ran down the side of the hill where the battle ended. Klavan had the chance to counter-invade Janaro at this point, but his men were exhausted at near rioted after being forced to massacre their countrymen in cold blood. Klavan then announced that he was creating a new dynasty to rule what was once the Great Plains. He modelled his country¡¯s government mostly like that of Janaro¡¯s, but kept it in a constant state of military rule with Klavan himself as the Grand Marshal. In this case, the title of Grand Marshal and Emperor were one and the same, as only those worthy militarily of carrying on Klavan¡¯s legacy could rule. With the Pass being of utmost importance to the survival of his new empire, Klavan assigned his most trusted lieutenant, the first Lord Zhakar, to guard the Pass at all costs. Iron was discovered in the hills in the middle of the plains, and Klavan made his capital Meanwhile, the Republic of Janaro knew when they had been thrown a bone, but slowly rebuilt its strength over the next fifty years, never even thinking of peace with the new Empire of Klavan. Fifty years after Klavan¡¯s massacre at the Pass, Janaro launched an invasion of Klavan, seeking to reconquer the land that was taken from them as well as punishing the Empire for the actions of Klavan. Anticipating that one day the Janaroian invasion would occur, Lord Zhakar kept his lands and the Pass in a strict rule with a garrison of 20,000 elite soldiers. These top infantryman were able to fend off the Janaroian forces for nearly 200 years. They were constantly reinforced as needed from the prestigious military academy at Klavan¡¯s capital of Samara. As a matter of fact, it became recognized as an honor to be able to be sent to reinforce the Blood Citadel at the Pass, so there was no shortage of top recruits pining to be selected. Ever since, the two great countries have been at war. Book 1 Prologue: A Historians Musings Kazimir Taleeb whistled a happy tune as he walked along the shady forest path. He was a man at 17 solar cycles, two years since having passed his Trial of the Trees in which one must survive for a week alone in the heart of the woods. His short blonde hair complimented his eyes, which were as green as the leaves far above his head. He was not a particularly muscular individual, for most of his life Kazimir lived a life free of hardships as he was training to be a historian under the Lord¡¯s Chronicler. Kaz thought about his family, and of the history that led his family to be here on the edge of the Empire. His father Danil Taleeb was the Lord¡¯s Steward, attending to the needs of the local nobility for as long as most people could remember. Kaz¡¯s mother Catherine worked as the local representative to the Klavan Senate, and was on a business trip. Kaz¡¯s only older brother Alexei naturally studied under his father Danil to be the next Steward, as was expected of the firstborn son. At 25, Alexei was almost done with his apprenticeship and was eagerly anticipating going abroad somewhere to undergo his journeyman period. Of course, having a stellar recommendation from the Lord Ivan Zhakar would allow Alexei to be hired nearly anywhere among the nobility. The reason for this being that Lord Zhakar was one of the most powerful nobles in the Empire of Klavan. Lord Zhakar¡¯s land occupies the only accessible mountain pass between the Empire of Klavan and their enemy for nearly 200 years, the Republic of Janaro. And so, the past two hundred years of war have been Janaro¡¯s soldiers throwing themselves against the Pass. Kaz thought of his lessons from the Master Historian Kahaz. His journey at an end, Kaz came upon the Master Apothecary¡¯s house deep in the heart of the forest. The Master Apothecary, known as Master Ahriman, was an eccentric person. Appearing out of nowhere a decade past, he applied for the position of Master Apothecary as soon as he arrived. Normally a recommendation was needed in order for a person to be considered, but Ahriman¡¯s medicinal skills far surpassed anything that Lord Zhakar had previously seen. His knowledge of herbal lore was astounding, and his remedies for nearly every common ailment were both effective and surprisingly tasty. Thus, Lord Zhakar gave the vacant position of Master Apothecary to Ahriman. Normally this position carries great prestige, but the scholars at the Arcane Library in Samara did not want to leave their lifestyles in the capital for a position in a province that was under constant attack for since the founding of the Empire. Ahriman was unknown to the scholars at the Arcane Library, but Zhakar gave little thought to it since Ahriman¡¯s skill was so high. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Unfortunately for Kaz, the Historian and Apothecary were very close friends, and often traded materials to study. This meant that Kaz would have to take a long walk every day from the Citadel where he lived, to the isolated cottage where the Apothecary lived. Kaz knocked on the door and announced his presence. ¡°Master Ahriman! It¡¯s Kaz. I¡¯ve brought you some more material from Master Kahaz, and I¡¯ve come to take back what he lent you yesterday!¡± Kaz¡¯s voice cut through the stagnant air like a knife as he threw the door open. The stench of alcohol was heavy in the air, as well as the unmistakable scent of blood. Kaz saw the crumpled body of Master Ahriman where it lay on top of his desk, his brown robes stained with blood. Curiously, there seemed to be some sort of ritual done with blood and bones on the floor of the cottage, but Kaz didn¡¯t give it that much of a look as a sword had just appeared through his chest. Having stabbed Kaz through with his stiletto, the mystery assailant brutally ripped his weapon out and left Kaz to bleed his lifeblood onto the cold floor. Is¡­this¡­wh-where it ends? I¡­father¡­Alexei¡­no..I..need to warn..ne-need to¡­ As the light left Kaz¡¯ eyes, he could swear that there was this other presence slowly gathering near the body of Ahriman. Then it went dark. Book 1 Chapter 1: Fall of the Citadel With a sharp gasp, Kaz awakens violently from a pool of his own blood. He had no idea what time it was, only that night had fallen while he was unconscious. Very slowly, Kaz managed to stand and support himself with the wall of the cottage. The weird foggy presence that Kaz thought he saw was gone, but he barely took notice of that since he lost enough blood to die. Although at this point the fact that he should have been dead wasn¡¯t exactly in his top priority at the moment. ¡°Gaaa¡­..damn¡­.it hurts¡­¡± Kaz grit his teeth at the pain he was feeling from the wound deep in his chest. He looked around the cottage, hoping to find medical supplies of some sort. Kaz found some long bandages and a couple poultices, wrapping them haphazardly around his torso in his hurry to alleviate some of the pain. [Why did Master Ahriman¡¯s cottage just have to be so messy? I thought apothecaries were supposed to be organized¡­or something like that. Maybe the intruder was the one who threw everything around looking for something. THE INTRUDER!! ] Lost in thought and delirious with pain, Kaz only just remembered that there had been an assassin who killed Ahriman, and nearly killed Kaz too. [I have to get back to the Citadel to report this to Lord Zhakar. Zhakar won¡¯t be pleased since he lost the best apothecary he ever had, but¡­this could be part of a bigger plan]. Kaz quickly stumbled out of the cottage and back onto the forest path in the direction of the fortress. Unfortunately, the trip that would have taken him just under an hour uninjured took Kaz a little over two and a half hours. Kaz¡¯s chest wound still throbbed with intense pain for each step he took on the lonely road. As he rounded a corner and limped out of the woods, the burning Citadel stopped Kaz stone cold in his tracks. His jaw dropped down to the dirt floor, as the view ahead of Kaz was incomprehensible to his mind. The Blood Citadel was the second most fortified stronghold in the Empire of Klavan, the most protected being the Granite Keep in Klavan¡¯s capital of Samara. The Blood Citadel was a heavily garrisoned castle town about a mile in diameter. A huge stone fortress took up half of that space, projecting the military might of Klavan into the area just outside of the Pass for miles around. The rest of the castle town was made primarily for the purpose of supplementing the huge military force always on alert there. Several large smithies provided a constant supply of new weapons and armor while allowing for the repairs of any equipment sent to them. Being the military outpost that it is, there was a small temple dedicated to Klarsus the God of War. Barracks and stables were in a well-organized section of the town, with most of the soldiers except the Lord¡¯s Guard residing there. The Lord¡¯s Guard was a company consisting of the 150 most elite soldiers available at the Citadel. Anybody could join the Guard, provided that they challenge and defeat one of the existing guards in single combat. Already existing members of the Guard held great prestige, so they trained every day to hone their skills so that they would not lose their position. In this way Zhakar¡¯s Guard was constantly being tested by the enemy and their own comrades in the Citadel¡¯s military division. With the constant attempts by the Janaro military to breach the Pass, the Citadel¡¯s soldiers saw the most combat out of any military force in Klavan. Therefore, these troops were among the most battle hardened and well trained troops in the Klavan military. [But that¡¯s clearly the Janaroian flag on the top tower of the Citadel¡­the Purple Ship on a golden background is unmistakable]. Kaz was in awe, as he was just in time to catch the end of the rout of the Klavan elite. Looking down onto the plains, Kaz noticed that the majority of the Klavan force was not dead, they chose to make a tactical retreat instead of fighting a losing battle. This only meant that the fortress itself was the first thing to be captured, and this thought chilled Kaz to the bone. [Father, Alexei, and Master Kahaz¡­are they still alive? I know Lord Zhakar wouldn¡¯t abandon the Citadel if he was still able to swing a sword¡­but¡­I need to get closer¡­] Realizing the need to find out what happened, Kaz raced down the slope of the hill as fast as he could, ignoring the burning pain as best he could. Halfway down, there was a clearing where a single surviving Klavan soldier was trying to fend off four Janaro mercenaries. He was bleeding from a several deep gashes in his chest, arms, and face. The injured swordsman was breathing heavily, gasping for air really, as he sought to fend off the three enemy swordsman while the last stood back. In a cruel twist, Kaz arrived just in time to see the three Janaro warriors run the Klavan man through with their broadswords. [Shit. Shit. Shit. This was a Klavan squad that was wiped out] Kaz¡¯s gaze lingered on the bodies of the five dead Klavan soldiers. ¡°Ah, so there¡¯s a straggler here eh?¡± The Janaro sergeant sneered as he noticed Kaz standing in shock. Three impassive faces grinned as the Janaro grunts looked toward Kaz. Prospects of making sport out of a helpless, hated enemy considerably brightened up their dispositions. Kaz tried to turn and run, but the moment he tried a forceful impact knocked him off of his feet and into a nearby tree. ¡°AAHHGHK,¡± Kaz screamed as his shoulder shattered. Within several seconds the sergeant had fired an arrow into Kaz¡¯ left shoulder, piercing the bone and pinning him to a tree. ¡°AAAHHH,¡± Kaz¡¯ mind nearly went blank with pain as his body weight caused him to snap the arrow and fall down, stretching the now profusely bleeding hole in his shoulder some more. ¡°Filthy Klavan pig. How are you going to pay me for the arrow that you just broke? Take a break boys, I¡¯ll personally teach this craven barbarian some real manners.¡± Kaz managed to look up just as the sergeant kicked at Kaz¡¯ face. *Thunk,* the sergeant¡¯s boot made a dull noise as it collided with the side of Kaz¡¯ face. Blood sprayed in an arc from Kaz¡¯s mouth as he desperately tried to raise his arms to protect his head, but only his right arm would respond. His left arm had been rendered unresponsive due to the massive trauma inflicted upon it via the sergeant¡¯s composite longbow. Blow after blow rained down on Kaz¡¯ body as the sergeant made sport out of beating an innocent. Meanwhile, the three swordsman laughed and jeered at this brutal scene. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Haha yeah! Git him good Sarge!¡± ¡°They¡¯re all traitors anyways! I think they¡¯re beneath the slaves back at home.¡± ¡°Maybe we should keep this one as a slave?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a blind idiot, Mago. Don¡¯t you see what remains of his left arm? That ruin isn¡¯t going to heal without a priestess casting some serious healing magic on it, not even going to mention healing it with a sling and rest.¡± ¡°Eh, I guess you¡¯re right. I think he might also have a chest would. See how he howls in pain when the sergeant kicks him in the chest or back?¡± ¡°Maybe one of his own backstabbed him. Gods know that¡¯s what their traitor founder did back when nothing but praise and honor was given to him.¡± After several minutes of nonstop blows, the sergeant pulled Kaz up to his knees. ¡°Hey brat, you look like one of those bastards in that crappy castle over there. I think he might have been the steward or something.¡± ¡°Fa-father¡­..¡± Kaz barely managed to gasp out in surprise and horror. ¡°Ah-ha! So you must be the leftovers that we were looking for. You know, your father tried to protect the dog-lord at first. This was before we botched your brother¡¯s execution. We were supposed to cut his head off, it was supposed to be a clean cut from a righteous Janaro blade. He resisted, so we cut off his hands and pushed him off the battlements.¡± The sergeant relished telling the gruesome details of his brother¡¯s death to the stricken Kaz. ¡°Your father, well, he lost all signs of resistance after your brother was pushed off and died. Well he¡¯s probably dead after falling a hundred feet onto hard stone. The Blood Citadel sure is made of some sturdy rocks. It was no fun after that, so I personally ran the sorry man through with my sword. I hope you understand.¡± Chuckling to himself, the sergeant spared no details. An intense hatred ran through Kaz¡¯s mind at these revelations. His father was dead. His brother Alexei was dead. The Lord was either captured or dead. Presumably everybody he had ever known was to be killed or enslaved and sent back to the distant lands of Janaro as spoils of war. [Why¡­am I so helpless¡­I¡­never asked for this.] Kaz¡¯s thoughts turned to despair. He saw no way out of his current situation. [Nobody¡¯s going to come to my aid, my family is dead or missing, and my life is about to come to an end. At the very least I will attempt to anger this¡­.dirtbag¡­.] A defiant light lit up in Kaz¡¯s eyes. He hawked up a globule of blood in an instant, and spat it all over the sergeant¡¯s face. ¡°What? Bloooghh¡­.YOU LITTLE BRAT.¡± Furious, disgusted, and surprised, the sergeant dropped Kaz as he reeled from the abnormally thick blood now present all over his face and armor. ¡°Ha! He got you there Sarge!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s cleaning that off? I¡¯m sure not doing it. Hey Mapen are you game to scrub the Sarge¡¯s armor? He might finally give you that raise you¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°Mintho, you¡¯re so stupid. Why would I get a raise from washing Sarge¡¯s armor? That¡¯s his slaves¡¯ job. Are you implying that¡ª¡° ¡°SHUT UP!!!¡± roared the sergeant. ¡°Magos, Mintho, Mapen, you three fools are going to be on double shifts once we get back to camp.¡± The three swordsman promptly shut their mouths and stood at attention, glee filling their eyes. It was not every day that you watched your rude boss get covered with something disgusting. ¡°I guess you¡¯ve lived long enough kid. I was about to give you a quick death by slitting your throat, but now that you¡¯ve embarrassed me, it¡¯s about to get¡­.messy. I think I¡¯ll break your neck, and leave you to the wolves. I hear from the scouts that there¡¯s direwolves in the area. They¡¯re known to play with their food, so you¡¯ll still be suffering for a while yet. I don¡¯t know how you¡¯re still alive or conscious, but this will put an end to that.¡± The sergeant reached out to snap Kaz¡¯s neck, but stopped just before his hands reached the goal. *AAAAAAIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE* A piercing shriek stopped the sergeant completely, and when he turned to look at the sound his face went pale. Tendrils of white fog materialized between the three swordsman and the sergeant and gathered into an incorporeal being. He¡­or it¡­had hollow sunken eyes, and was wearing what appeared to be a tattered silver robe. The apparition reached a hand out to the corpses lying on the field and sent a wave of sickly energy into them. Nothing happened for a second, then the corpses all bloated up and exploded in a shower of gore and putrid bile. The rotten flesh that resulted from this explosion shot out in all directions, hitting every living person there except for Kaz. In an instant, the three swordsman and the sergeant¡¯s flesh began to rot in front of their eyes. A smug smile appeared on the apparition¡¯s face, turning into a wide grin as the Janaro squad died screaming silently since their vocal cords had disintegrated into a pool of blood. [What¡­is¡­that¡­it looks a bit like¡­Ahriman!?!?] Kaz¡¯s last thoughts before he fell unconscious were that of surprise, and satisfaction that the cruel Janaro soldiers died before him. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t. You¡¯re not dying on me you dumb apprentice.¡± Ahriman¡¯s wraith gathered the lingering death energy of the four soldiers, and pumped it into Kaz¡¯s broken body. Muscles reattached, bruises vanished, and bones restructured themselves as the death energy of the soldiers was used to force Kaz¡¯s body to stay alive. For over an hour, the apparition used the energy generated by the soldier¡¯s deaths to repair every physical problem with Kaz. [Whether or not his mind is still there I don¡¯t know. But I¡¯ve done all I can for his flesh. All that remains is to see if this gamble paid off.] Ahriman mused to himself. Satisfied with his work, Ahriman let go of his wraith form, becoming a chilly mist once more. He then dived into Kaz¡¯s body, waiting patiently for the time when Kaz would wake up. Book 1 Chapter 2: Birth of the Black Phoenix The sun rose, as it always did, when the morning came. Bright light came over the mountains, and illuminated the scene of carnage. Remnants of the Klavan elite stationed at the Blood Citadel had managed to retake the fortress. Out of the 20,000 former elite soldiers stationed, only 7,000 had survived the invasion and subsequent counter-siege of their own fortress. As the Klavan military cleared out the dead, they counted around 6,000 Janaroian soldiers. How the Janaro brigade managed to completely surprise and force the Klavan troops out of their own fortress with a smaller force was a mystery the new Lord Zhakar was eager to find out. ¡°Hmm so they scaled the gates at the Pass with the aid of these¡­.grappling hooks?¡± The new Lord Klavan glared at the unusual tool that he held in his hand. Pagan Zhakar was the eldest son of the former Lord Zhakar. His first action was to retake the Blood Citadel from those petulant losers from Janaro. His second action was to properly bury all of the innocent castle staff that had been the first civilian casualties of the battle. ¡°They are indeed, my Lord. I believe that they are a slightly modified version of what the Janaro sailors to catch the rigging on enemy ships so that they may board and make battle with their foes out on the ocean. It appears that the Janaro Special Forces have been trying for centuries to figure out a way around the Pass. I cannot imagine how many men and resources they lost before they finally found a way.¡± Major Vuk Goran relayed what the Klavan intelligence division at the Blood Citadel had concluded after analyzing the Janaro forces equipment. ¡°It seems that Janaro sent several assassination squads through paths yet unknown to us bypassing the Pass. These initial kill-scout squads were to map the surrounding areas and stealthily invade the fortress. They then unlocked the Western Gate of the Citadel and let in the remaining members of the invading brigade.¡± Vuk continued his report, even as Pagan¡¯s face darkened as time passed. ¡°We can assume that the vast majority of the invading forces have been crushed, there are some remnants in the surrounding countryside. However, as a stroke of luck none of the invading force were able to return through the Pass. Your decision to secure the Western battlements prevented the enemy from retreating back into their territory.¡± Vuk finished his report, then stepped back a meter. The young Zhakar had a temper like that of his late father, and one was wise not to get close whenever either of them were filled with frustration. Pagan grit his teeth, and very tersely gave out his orders. ¡°Send word to the capital for reinforcements as soon as possible. The Emperor needs to know about what happened. We suffered a great blow today because we were complacent. Neither my father nor I realized that there could possibly be another way through the Pass. As for the dead, Klavan or Janaro soldiers both, bury them with full honors. This is a pyrrhic victory for us, and could mean the start of another full invasion attempt by the Republic. See to it that our supply lines remain intact, and order the men to be on full alert. Dismissed, Major.¡± ¡°Your will be done. Lord Zhakar.¡± Vuk quickly left to carry out his orders. [It seems that things will finally get interesting around here. I nearly lost the Blood Citadel¡­and I don¡¯t want to imagine what the Emperor would do to me if I had actually lost it] Pagan broke into a cold sweat thinking about the possible consequences should he have lost his fortress. And it was his fortress now. Zhakar sat in his office at the top of the massive Citadel Tower, thinking of the future and what he had lost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Ugh.¡± With a groan, Kazimir Taleeb¡¯s eyes snapped open. [How many days has it been?] Kaz¡¯s thoughts were in a panic. With a start, he realized that his wounds were gone and his body restored. [W-wh-whaaat?!? I was sure I was dying¡­..am I dead? Oh¡­oh Gods the Janaro soldiers...their body parts are everywhere¡­urrragggh] Kaz vomited at the sight of the ruined corpses of two squads of soldiers, one belonging to Klavan and Janaro respectively. {Stupid boy! Keep it down! Why are you such a pansy this early in the morning? It hasn¡¯t even been a day since you nearly died. Why the young are so energetic I will never know¡­} A sudden voice popped into Kaz¡¯s mind. It sounded suspiciously familiar¡­. ¡°Master Ahriman? So it IS you. Where are you? How did I get healed? ---!!!!¡± Kaz¡¯s voice was instantly silenced, and even though he tried to speak, no sound came out. {Yes yes yes yes it¡¯s me. Now pipe down. I have a hangover. I healed you. I killed those annoying morons. I¡¯m a ghost. I¡¯m bound to your body because of a freak accident. I don¡¯t want to listen to your loud voice while my head¡­region thing is still ringing.} [What?] Kaz had never been so confused in his life. Wasn¡¯t Master Ahriman an apothecary? How could any sort of herbal treatment worked so fast? {Just¡­.let me elaborate. I am not a mere apothecary} [Clearly not. !!!!] Kaz¡¯s body shuddered as Ahriman sent an unearthly chill through Kaz¡¯s chest, bringing Kaz to his knees. {Don¡¯t give me that backtalk, boy. I could have left you to die. I can¡¯t die again since I¡¯m already a ghost. Well I was a higher class of ghost, a wraith specifically, but I expended too much power in eliminating the Janoroian squad and healing you. Now will you listen?} Kaz, still in the throes of icy chest pain, gave a small nod as agreement. {Good. Now I used to be a Necromancer. An Elder Necromancer to be exact, a practitioner of the great magic of the Maladorusi. Don¡¯t know who they are? Hmph. Some historian you turned out to be.} By this point Kaz had recovered enough to move his upper body. His legs were still numb, so he crawled towards the tree. Grunting, Kaz managed to prop himself against a tree while listening to Ahriman lecture him. {I¡¯m only with you right now because you fell into my ritual circle a couple days ago. The circle was the last step in the creation of a lich. More specifically it was the step where I would bind my soul to my skeleton, preventing it from leaving this world when I die. I was supposed to stay in the circle for the whole time. As a celebration for the culmination of decades of work, I¡­.err¡­.consumed great quantities of alcohol.} Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. [You drank at least five bottles of rare spirits] Kaz thought wryly as he remembered the stench of alcohol within the cottage as well as the various colorful bottles, all empty of course, strewn about the interior of Ahriman¡¯s residence. {Oh shut up. You too would have gotten a little loose if you were about to finish a lifetime project spanning 25 years. Anyways, the soul usually leaves the mortal plane for the arcane in about an hour. Powerful magisters can extend this time in order to linger a quite a bit longer. The vengeful souls of people with considerable willpower would also transform into ghosts within this time frame. The ultimate method of preservation would be the Lich Ritual. In this, I bind my soul to my bones. This allows me to retain all of my memories and magical power when I die, transforming myself into a Lich.} [Yeah okay so what does this have to do with me? Unless..oh. Your body wasn¡¯t in the circle but mine was. If what you¡¯re saying is true that means your soul fused with my body?] {Hey you¡¯re pretty smart for a kid on the outskirts of the Empire. Are you sure you¡¯ve never studied Magical Theory? Anyways I managed to retain my memories and some of my power but as I mentioned before, I expended most of that in saving your sorry life.} Massaging his legs in order to restore some of the blood flow to them, Kaz grimaced at the situation. [So what exactly is it that you want me to do? I don¡¯t have the expertise to extract your soul from mine. In fact, I have absolutely no magical aptitude. My Father hired a wandering magister to test me for magical potential years ago and he found nothing.] Kaz could almost feel Ahriman wince when he said those words. {I will admit that it¡¯s a major setback, but I will take you as my apprentice. The beauty of necromancy is that you can constantly improve your magical power regardless of any set limit you were born with.} [Really!?!? I thought that if somebody had no magical power to begin with then it is impossible for that person to become a magister.] {Hmph. Then you are ignorant. What you call magical power is the accumulation of mana over time of a single person. It¡¯s a bit like puberty in that it¡¯s different for everybody but it stops after a set amount of development time. Even the mightiest of Klavanian or Janorian magisters cannot improve their raw magical power via their methods of training. They may only improve their skills in applying that power.} [Then¡­how do necromancers develop their magical power? I don¡¯t see how anybody can bypass their innate limit. Also, why wouldn¡¯t there be more Necromancers if they can do this?] {The magical art of Necromancy has long faded into the forgotten archives of time. The Maladorusi were the last great civilization to practice it, but they fell to infighting long ago. You think the Janaroians conquered all of their land? That was the land of the Maladorusi before the disappeared. As for your first question, I will give you a hint. Magical power is tied directly to one¡¯s soul. Try to figure that one out while I take a short break. This headache is killing me.} Although Kaz wondered how exactly an incorporeal spirit like Ahriman could conceivably be afflicted with a physical ailment such as headache, he thought about the connection between mana and the soul. After some time, Kaz came up with an answer that he thought was plausible. [Ahriman. You said that magical power is connected to one¡¯s soul. From what I¡¯ve seen, necromancy is the magic of soul manipulation. Do necromancers steal the magical power of other people in order to grow their own?] {Got it in one. Necromancy is the manipulation of souls and death energy. Death energy is what people who do not have magical power release upon death. Magisters release death energy, but should you also enslave their souls you would see a boost to your own magical power. Normal souls may also be enslaved, but it takes many to rival the power that a single magical soul can provide. Creature souls are different. Necromancers may enslave those as well, but they¡¯re often hard to control because they¡¯re feral.} Kaz¡¯s thoughts were in turmoil. Here was his chance to become more powerful. Thinking back of when he was being beaten mercilessly by the Janaroian sergeant, Kaz¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I will never be that helpless ever again¡­.¡± Kaz whispered, mostly to himself. {Are you willing to become my apprentice, Kazimir? This will be a long and arduous path. Once you accept there will be no backing out.} [¡­yes. Yes, I will become your apprentice in Necromancy. I will become stronger, strong enough so that I will never face the humiliation that I experienced yesterday ever again.] {Hmm I like your determination, but we will see if it lasts. Now hold on, I need to transfer the remainder of my power to you. This will cause you to start magical power development, but will consume the rest of my leftover power. I lost most of it when the spirits bound to my body escaped after my death.} Ahriman concentrated, and then dumped the rest of his considerable personal mana into Kaz. ¡°Urk¡­guuuhhhh¡± Kaz felt a splitting pain in his head, just before the rest of his body burned with power. Kazimir¡¯s blond hair and green eyes changed in an instant. His hair darkened to an auburn color, while his bright green eyes darkened to a forest green. Power coursed through Kaz¡¯s body, and for the first time in his life he could sense the energies of the surrounding area. He could tell that there were wolves just outside of the clearing, wary of the stench of death lingering among the dead bodies of killers. Kaz could sense the crows flying off in the distance, on their way to join their brethren still picking at the freshly rotten bodies of the recently deceased. Kaz could feel the new pool of magical energy at his fingertips, begging to be used. Book 1 Chapter 3: The Price of Power Kaz had never felt the touch of magic before, so the new sensations running through his body interested him to no end. It was to Kaz¡¯s great disappointment that he had no real knowledge of how to use his magic. {Bah¡­..granting you the gift of magic has drained me of what little magical energy I had left. All I can do now is speak, and hopefully you understand something.} Ahriman hissed in a rather downtrodden manner. ¡°So¡­.how does this magic thing work? Do I point my fingers and chant some weird words?¡± Kaz at least, was shamelessly excited. All he had ever heard about magic involved legendary magisters and their adventures across the continent. {Listen carefully, I will not explain this another time.} Ahriman braced himself for the long winded lecture that he was about to deliver. This reminds me of when my first master taught me about the ways of the Necromancer, Ahriman mused to himself. {Necromancers may draw on three types of magical power. The first and most commonly known type is Personal Magic Power. This is the type of power that limits¡­those puffed up magisters over at the Arcane Library. It is innate and once your magical development finishes developing, cannot increase. However, given time, your magical energy pool will restore itself. How long this takes depends on how much magical power you have. Smaller pools replenish themselves faster while larger pools take more time to restore themselves. I have given you a small pool of this power, but it is only enough to allow use of three of the most basic spells. Since your magical development has long finished, this will be the extent of your power. Limited to this power alone, you are no better than a near useless hedge wizard.} ¡°Please tell me the other two types will do more for me¡­¡± Kaz was clearly disappointed to hear that by conventional means, his power was no match for even the weakest magister apprentice. {I¡¯m getting to it. Just shut your mouth and listen. The second type is Death Energy. Death Energy cannot replenish itself and you cannot store it. It is released whenever anything living dies. Death energy lingers near a corpse for up to an hour before dissipating completely. It is at its most powerful the moment immediately after someone dies, weakening before finally disappearing. The amount of energy released across species is constant, but the death energy of humans may be increased if the person who dies suffers extreme pain before dying. Physical or mental anguish, it does not particularly matter. I will teach you to control this when we have a suitable opportunity.} {And finally, the third and final type of magical energy is Soul Power. This type of power is the bread and butter of any Necromancer. It is the foundation of every Necromancer¡¯s power. Soul Power is generated by souls. Any soul carries Soul Power, but the souls of exceptional people have greater capacity. Soul Power is like Magical Power, but is carried by souls. It will replenish itself depending on its innate capacity. However, you can increase your pool of soul power by enslaving spirits and binding them to your own soul.} !!! Kaz¡¯s face lit up, then darkened as he understood the taboo behind Necromancy. It is indeed a perverse action to hold souls in bondage even after the release of death¡­but I need the power that it offers. Oblivious to the internal struggle going on within Kaz, Ahriman blithely continued. {I had a collection of souls numbering in the thousands, with quite a few of them extracted from powerful magisters who lived long before you were even born. Ugh. I can¡¯t control your body nor was my soul collection compatible with your body, so I ended up losing all of my souls. Again, I will teach you to sense and use this power when the opportunity presents. However, I can still form a mental connection with you and teach you some normal spells to protect yourself with. I can¡¯t have you dying on me like you almost did.} Ahriman concentrated and with a thought forced himself into Kaz¡¯s mind. Sharp pain quickly knocked Kaz into a fetal position onto the forest floor, before quickly disappearing. Kaz saw several magical incantations flash before his eyes in quick succession, then the pressure pounding at his temple receded as Ahriman left Kaz¡¯s mind. {I have given you the necessary incantations for two E rank spells. Ranks go from E --> D--> C-->B-->A-->S. Spells are ranked in terms of power expended. Try the first spell over on that tree.} Kaz¡¯s brow furrowed as he concentrated on the memory of the first incantation. Nothing happened for a moment, then a rush of power shot through his arm as he pointed his hand at a tree. Kaz was elated as magic gathered in the palm of his hand, and was cast. Power condensed a short distance away from Kaz¡¯s palm, then shot forward. The projectile was nearly a meter long, made up of a brilliantly shining ice with a point honed to a keen edge. Drilling a hole in the trunk of the tree, the spear lodged itself firmly and the sheer cold of the spear caused frost to form on the tree¡¯s bark. {Hmm that¡¯s better than I had expected for your first time. But feel your magical power, feel what has been used. You need to know you limits, and to be careful not to run out of power.} Kaz concentrated, and felt that a third of his magical power had been used up in using that one spell. With a frown, Kaz asked ¡°What happens when you use up all of your magical energy, and try to use another spell? Would a magister die from going over their limit?¡± Ahriman snorted at Kaz¡¯s question. {No, are you an idiot? What happens when you do too many push-ups and try to do one more? You just can¡¯t. You fall down because your muscles refuse to budge. In magical terms, your palm would just fizzle a bit and nothing would happen. Of course, this would leave you really vulnerable to other threats. That, not the fear of dying from overextending mana, is why using all of your magical energy is dangerous. What a ridiculous idea, dying from exhausting magical power hahaha} His face burning with embarrassment, Kaz stayed silent for a moment. ¡°Master Ahriman, shouldn¡¯t we find an opportunity to teach me about how to use Death Energy and Soul Power?¡± {Hmm¡­yes. I believe that your education will indeed need to be accelerated since you have started so late. I feel the traces of a skirmish happening towards the north. If you hurry you might arrive in time to see its conclusion.} This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Kaz started walking quickly to the north, but bent down to pick up one of the dead soldier¡¯s broadsword. Fastening the weapon with scabbard to his belt, Kaz readjusted the belt to his comfort and sped off towards the direction that Ahriman indicated. {Try to feel the energies of the soldiers for yourself. Reserve a portion of your magic to scouting purposes. In this way you should never be ambushed by normal people unless they know ways of circumventing your magical net. Which, seeing as how the vast majority of humans aren¡¯t magisters, scouting with magic should be enough.} Following Ahriman¡¯s advice, Kaz shot out a mist of magical power to the north. Almost immediately, he could sense two men in a duel. Kaz broke into a run, eager to observe the fight for himself. Ahriman chuckled to himself. It seems the boy has quite the morbid curiosity when it comes to violence not involving himself. I wonder if he will be able to keep his mood when I show him how Soul Power is actually gathered. As Kaz moved closer to the scene of battle, the stench of blood grew stronger. Curiously to Kaz, he could sense another type of energy besides normal magical power. This new power seemed heavy, as if laden with something unknown. Interestingly, this power was collected in pockets of energy near the dead bodies of the soldiers. This must be Death Energy. The two swordsman in the forest were still exchanging blows and parries with one another. They seemed to be evenly matched. One was wearing the colors of Janaro, while the other was wearing the colors of Klavan. {Focus on the Death Energies, use that to power the second incantation that I taught you. Use the spell on one of the soldiers, it matters not which one you choose.} Ahriman urged Kaz. He seemed almost¡­.excited to see the impending death of a person. Kaz concentrated just out of sight of the whirling storm of steel ten meters away. He maneuvered himself so that the back of the Janaroian soldier was facing him. Raising his hand, Kaz slowly manipulated the pocket of death energy nearest the enemy soldier. {Any year now, apprentice} Ahriman sneered to show his impatience. Kaz¡¯s eyes flashed, he consumed the death energy a eldritch chill assaulted the soldier as was cast. The Janaroian soldier instantly felt the effects of the spell as his body went numb. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he failed to block the deadly lunge that the Klavan swordsman unleashed to take advantage of his weakness. Seeing that his opponent was finished, the Klavan soldier had a clear view of Kaz. Narrowing his eyes, he charged straight at Kaz. ¡°Filthy Janaroian magister, I should kill you now before you have a chance to do me in too.¡± Snarling, the Klavan swordsman stabbed at Kaz. But I¡¯m Klavan, wh-what¡­oh no I need to--- Panicking, Kaz involuntarily raised his hand and cast to defend himself. *Whisssh. Thunk* Kaz¡¯s spell pierced the swordsman¡¯s leather armor and peaked out of his back. Mortally wounded, the Klavan man could do nothing but glare hatefully as he collapsed in a pool of his own blood. I¡­.killed a man. I killed a Klavan person. I killed a Klavan person I killedIkilledIkilledIkilled his thoughts in turmoil, Kaz could barely stand. ¡°Ughkkhuaa¡± Kaz retched was he sought to contain his regret and disgust. {Quick! Stop whining. Feel the souls of the two men you just killed. It won¡¯t be there for long.} Ahriman mercilessly goaded Kaz to take advantage of what he just did. {There will scarcely be a safer opportunity than this to learn how to enslave a soul. I will teach you the necessary incantation.} Kaz barely felt anything as Ahriman invaded his mind once more, for he was still in shock after causing the deaths of two people. A short incantation was burned into his memory. Kaz¡¯s mind jolted as he now could feel a third type of energy. There were only two in the nearby vicinity, and he felt as if they were about to leave. Quickly, Kaz used the remaining magic power that he had to cast the third spell . Two dense pockets of power shot towards Kaz, and bound themselves to his power. Memories flashed through Kaz¡¯s mind. The salty scent of a lake so vast one could not see the end of it. My mother¡¯s face, smiling proudly as I received my sword from the squad leader. Extreme sorrow, as the news came that pirates had boarded and killed my brother¡¯s ship. Anger at the bar maiden for spurring my advances. Frustration that she gave a sly smile to my comrade-in-arms. Kaz was bombarded with flashes of the memories contained in the two souls he had bound to himself. In a small voice, he asked Ahriman ¡°Is it¡­always like this? When you enslave a soul?¡± {Always like this. But I do not know if it is a blessing or curse that it gets easier. This is why Necromancers require an immense willpower. How easy would it be to get lost in the memories of those you have enslaved? How many lifetimes would it take to relive every moment of those people¡¯s lives? No secret is safe, no memory is sacred. Necromancers hold ultimate power over the souls that they collect. In a way, Necromancers are like historians, they have the potential to carry the souls and wills of thousands of individuals. Even if one¡¯s descendants do not remember, the Necromancer holding the soul will. We borrow the power of these souls forcefully, and so because of this we carry the responsibility to never forget them.} Kaz slowly nodded, this price weighed heavily on him but it was something he was willing to pay in order to gain power. {Oh, in addition to adding souls to your collection, when used on Death Energy becomes . This allows you to replenish your magical power pool before, during, and after any fight. I suggest you do it now just to practice.} Ahriman seemed more somber after revealing the philosophy behind . Kaz looked to the lingering Death Energies, cast , and felt his magical power pool filling up to the brim. Satisfied, both master and apprentice turned and headed down the forest path to the plains proper. Book 1 Chapter 4: Dark Teachings Walking at a brisk pace down the mountain path, Kaz was engaged in a deep conversation. ¡°You¡¯ve taught me to harness the three types of magical energy available to Necromancers, but what about the types of magic I can cast? seems to be an elemental magic while I have no idea what could be classified as.¡± Ever the historian, Kaz¡¯s mind was already busy trying to figure out how to organize his repertoire of incantations. {Nearly all spells available to a Necromancer falls under one of four categories. The first is Blood Magic. This type of magic is the manipulation of life energy. Practical applications involve stealing the life energy of others to replenish your own. For example, you can steal life energy from an enemy in the form of their blood. You can then absorb this blood to heal any wounds you might have.} Ahriman excitedly started explaining, it seemed that the ghost loved to talk. Whether this was because he wanted to teach or if he had been lonely for so long and finally had company, Kaz couldn¡¯t tell. In fact, Kaz didn¡¯t really pay that much attention to this as he listened enraptured. {Blood magic is powerful indeed, but it actually is powered by an alternative energy type. Namely, a necromancer¡¯s blood. To use any Blood Magic incantation, a Necromancer must cut themselves and use their blood as payment for the incantation. The central philosophy of Blood Magic is that Blood is Power. You must never forget that. Of course, the reason that many Necromancers rely on blood magic is because the benefits far outweigh the costs. What a small price it is to pay a portion of your blood, and in exchange power a spell that rots your foe¡¯s blood from the inside?} ¡°Can I die if I use up too much of my own blood? I know this seems like a stupid question but I thought the same thing about Magic Power¡­¡± Kaz cautiously asked, wary of being embarrassed again. {Well, besides the fact that your question is just less stupid than the other one, no. You won¡¯t die directly from using too much blood. What happens when you bleed too much? You get woozy and fall on your ass. Or other parts of your body. A necromancer who uses up too much of their blood powering blood magic spells just faints. Then, they¡¯re easy prey for anybody to just come up and slit their throat. It¡¯s embarrassing, really, but I do know of some necromancers who have died in that fashion.} Ahriman casually flashed the memory of a Blood Magic spell to Kaz. It seems that repeated transfers of memory has created a mental pathway between master and apprentice, facilitating the easy transfer of thought and memory. ¡°Hmm..so what exactly does this spell do?¡± Puzzled, Kaz didn¡¯t know what to make of such a bizarrely named spell. {You sacrifice a portion of your blood at first, then over the next couple of minutes if heals you for twice the amount of life given. It¡¯s an investment. Ideally you would want to cast this after you have been wounded but before you¡¯re about to die. The healing you receive is great, but if used at the wrong time the spell can be more of a detriment than a benefit.} As Kaz thought about blood magic, a particular thought came to him. ¡°Would it be possible to use death energy to substitute for my own life energy?¡± {As both are different types of energy, yes it is possible. However, life energy is much more potent than death energy. A necromancer would have to use much more death energy to achieve the same amount of power necessary to launch the same blood magic spell. Blood Magic is a shortcut. You can use some of the most powerful incantations in existence for a fraction of the normal price, but personal sacrifice is necessary.¡± ¡°But what if I used somebody else¡¯s blood to power the incantation? Blood is blood right? It matters not from whom it comes from?¡± Kaz probed Ahriman in his interest for more information. {I thought you would come to that conclusion} Ahriman sounded smugger than ever, and Kaz¡¯s heart sank. {Blood is indeed blood, but magic is channeled through one¡¯s own body. Like the way I wasn¡¯t able to keep my Soul Collection when I was bound to your body, foreign energy is usually rejected once in another body. When a blood magic spell is used to drain the life from another person, it is converted at an unfavorable rate to heal the caster. Of course the caster doesn¡¯t get the full benefit since the only way to get full benefits is to use one¡¯s own blood. Using one¡¯s own blood allows for even greater energy conversions. Magic, at its root, is the manipulation of energy conversion to do work. This is the basis of Magical Theory.} If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°So since doesn¡¯t require me to bleed, it must be another type of magic?¡± {That¡¯s right. is a low level Hex spell. Hexes are more commonly known by non-magisters as curses. Although such a crude term cannot possibly adequately describe the complexity of Hexes, I guess they all look the same to the commoners. Hexes are a class of spells that impair your opponent. They rarely cause direct harm, instead relying on more insidious methods. Hexes weaken your opponent in many different ways. I will teach you one of my favorite hexes right now. Clear your mind.} Kaz felt another incantation flash through his mind. With a jolt, he realizes that incantations of different magic types flash different colors. Elemental Ice magic such as flashed a dark blue. flashed a deep, rich red since it was Blood Magic. flashed a bright green. All of these colors had been single colors, so Kaz was surprised when the Hex flashed a deep green with some purple flashing throughout. Like a child with a new toy, Kaz promptly forgot the packaging of the spell in favor of finding out what the incantation does. { is a very obviously named spell. It locks up all of your targets joints, rendering them unable to move. The spell duration depends on the victim¡¯s resistance compared to your magical power. A peasant could be locked up for over an hour while this spell could hardly faze a powerful magister. I once used it on a mountain climber and watched him fall to his death, ahh those were the days¡­} Ahriman¡¯s voice drifted off, remembering particularly devious instances where he caused harm to others. ¡°Yeah¡­.I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be harming innocents anytime soon.¡± Kaz pulled a face. The thought of causing unnecessary harm to others went against everything his parents had taught him. Justice, his father said, was the most important philosophy for any person. {Oh he was no innocent, I can assure you that. But I still have two more types of necromancer magic to explain, so I will not elaborate further.} Nodding to himself, Kaz listened as Ahriman jumped to the topic of Death Magic. {Death Magic is the manipulation of Death Energy, as well as the creation of undead minions. This is the meat of all necromastery. All of the great old masters of our art were beyond compare when it came to Death Magic. Death Magic is powered by death energy. This magic is particularly interesting because it allows the creation of undead minions. A veteran necromancer will be able to create undead minions on the fly during any battle. Alternatively, Death Magic spells allows you to manipulate corpses to your liking. Making a corpse explode, showering the surrounding area with rotting flesh will be as easy for you as breathing.} ¡°This is all very interesting, but is there anything that allows me to protect myself from enemies in close range?¡± Thinking of the inevitable time when some close range foe would rush him, Kaz wanted some insurance. {You¡¯re thinking much like I did when I was a budding necromancer.} Kaz got the impression that Ahriman would be beaming at him, if he were not a ghost. {This is the last skill that I will bestow on you today.} Kaz¡¯s eyes flashed, and he saw a short incantation black as the moonless night. {Death magic incantations are usually shorter because they lack the power coupling part of the spell. Normally spells are made up of two parts. First, there is the section that harnesses the caster¡¯s power. Then there is the substance of the spell. By skipping the coupling part, Death Magic incantations are often the shortest spells in existence. Death Magic allows this bypass because Death Energy does not originate from the caster. This key difference is what makes Death Magic so useful. As for the spell that I gave you, allows you to jump to the pocket of death energy being used.} ¡°So in essence, I will be able to teleport to the corpse?¡± Kaz marveled at the sheer utility of Death Magic. {The more interesting part of Death Magic involves the creation of undead servants. However, Soul Power is used to animate any undead servant. Since you only have two souls, we will not touch on this subject right now.} Lost in thought, Kaz almost tripped over a pile of dead Janaro soldiers. He had arrived at his destination. For the first time since the invasion, Kazimir was back at the Blood Citadel. Book 1 Chapter 5: The New Lord Zhakar Chapter 5 ¨C The New Lord Zhakar The Blood Citadel rose into view ahead of Kaz, its imposing bulk still impressive even as parts of the fortress were still smoking. Thousands of years of history were etched into this system of fortifications. It seemed to Kaz and Ahriman both that this fortress would continue to survive the test of time long after Klavan and Janaro were gone. As Kaz approached the fortress proper, he could see what appeared to be small manmade hills surrounding the Citadel. ¡°Hmm. Why would Lord Zhakar want to spend time constructing temporary fortifications on the Klavan side?¡± {Maybe those are the work of Janaro soldiers after they captured the fortress?} Ahriman mused. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. The Blood Citadel will never fall as long as Zhakar lives. Plus, don¡¯t you clearly see the Klavan flag flying on top of the tower?¡± Kaz could not help but leak some pride when he thought of the military prowess of his country. As Kaz walked closer down the hill towards the Citadel, he realized with a start that the mounds were not made of dirt, but of human bodies. Upon closer inspection, all of the bodies that he could see were of Janaro. No Klavan dead were among the piles of corpses. A heavy cloak of death energy surrounded the mounds. ¡°Interesting, even though these soldiers died more than a day ago, there is still a large amount of Death Energy here.¡± {Death Energy has strange properties. When large amounts are gathered in one location, it slows the speed at which the energy dissipates. In this regard, Death Energy is like a body of water. The larger that body is, the longer it takes for it to fully disappear.} Lost in thought, Kaz jumped as a voice cut through the air. ¡°Oi! Identify yourself and throw your hands up in the air. We won¡¯t hesitate to turn you into a hedgehog if you don¡¯t comply.¡± A patrol of Klavan scouts had spotted Kaz as he wandered slowly towards the South Gate. ¡°It¡¯s me, Kazimir! I¡¯m the steward¡¯s son and historian apprentice for Lord Zhakar¡± Kaz instantly threw up his hands and shot back a reply. Knowing full well Klavan¡¯s no tolerance policy, it was better to obey quickly than risk being killed. ¡°Eh¡­.so it is you.¡± The lead scout closed the distance between Kaz and himself in a flash. Squinting, the scout looked closely at Kaz. ¡°Huh. So it is you Kaz. I thought you had died or something since your body was not found anywhere within Citadel grounds. Where the hell were you, anyways?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to be suspicious. I was completing a delivery to Master Ahriman when the assault happened. Janaro soldiers ambushed and left me for dead. I hid in the forest until now. How is Lord Zhakar and my Father? What about Alexei?¡± Kaz¡¯s words spewed from his mouth as fast as he could speak. Worried about what the Janaro officer said just days before, Kaz refused to believe that his father and brother were dead. ¡°Mm. It¡¯s better if Lord Zhakar told you personally. I¡¯ll take you to him. Boys, keep patrolling, I don¡¯t think any of these craven Janaro bastards would play dead to escape. However, I wouldn¡¯t put it past any of them to try something like that. Oh, and you can call me Scout Corporal Ranik.¡± Turning on his heel, Ranik quickly headed back in the direction of the South Gate. ¡°Right.¡± Feeling discouraged, Kaz followed Ranik as both men silently passed through the gate. Kaz did not realize the extent of damage that the fortress had suffered. He noticed that the walls were fully intact, and thought that the inside would be more or less the same. Thus, he was wholly unprepared to see that almost half of the fortress had been razed to the ground. As Kaz followed Ranik through the Citadel gates towards the Keep where Lord Zhakar was, Kaz noticed the many preparations that the Klavan soldiers were making inside the Citadel. Messengers were running throughout the complex, blacksmiths were hammering loudly, and sergeants were busy bellowing orders at their squads. There was a grim, frantic atmosphere pervading the entire Citadel. It was as if every single surviving Klavan soldier felt as if they had been shamed personally. There was no laughter, no jokes among the soldiers. Every single soldier from the scouts to the superheavy infantry were singularly focused on their personal preparations. Previously having breathed in the relatively fresh mountain air, Kaz gagged internally at the stench of blood, steel, and sweat that lingered in the air. Although the Citadel bustled with more activity than a beehive at this moment, Kaz could still figure out that nearly everybody present had a specific military function. There were the soldiers who make up the bulk of the remaining Klavan force, the officers who commanded them, the logistics coordinators who were responsible for the supplies, and the workers who handled the daily needs of the army such as cooking and laundry. The merchants, scholars, and other militarily optional people were nowhere in sight. Kaz prided himself on being to see the small details in historical situations, and the present was no exception. I feel rather uneasy at the absence of the merchants and scholars. Although some of them must have been killed or chased away, they couldn¡¯t have all been killed. In addition, I know for a fact that some of the greedier merchants could not resist the temptations of making supply deals with the army in times of war. Kaz started to feel his anxiety increasing with each step that he took. {Why are you feeling so uneasy? Isn¡¯t it normal for a military stronghold to not have useless idiots like merchants and scholars? They¡¯re not that necessary for waging a war and the military has the means to acquire supplies from the peasantry regardless of their complaints right?} Ahriman irritably piped up. That¡¯s not the point. Although this situation is obviously not normal, there should be some effort to return to normalcy. There isn¡¯t anywhere close to the Citadel that the civilians could take refuge in. With the Janaroian remnants combing the countryside after their defeat in the Klavan recapture of the Citadel, the logical safe choice would be to seek succor under the protection of Lord Zhakar. {Bah. Damn your reasoning. Maybe they all died. Maybe nobody actually cares enough to come back. Maybe there¡¯s thousands of other reasons. Why do you worry about such banal things? If you have the time to contemplate such unnecessary thoughts, think about magical theory and how Death Magic works.} You might think that the details are unimportant, but therein lies your downfall, Ahriman. Had you been more careful, maybe your Lich experiment would have been successful instead of you being a dislocated spirit. Did you really have to !!! Kaz barely suppressed a groan as Ahriman sent a mental shockwave through his mind. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. {Gods above and below boy, do you ever shut up? I¡¯m beginning to think that maybe fusing with you wasn¡¯t that great of a decision on my part after all.} Still feeling slight vertigo from the ¡°undeserved¡± reprimand, Kaz was startled to realize that he and Ranik had arrived at the Lord¡¯s Office. Ranik was looking at Kaz in an irritated manner as Ranik knocked crisply three times on the heavy wooden doors. The guards in plate armor on both sides of the door paid them no heed. Their halberds combined with their pristine partial plate armor gave the guards a menacing aura. As if he has anything better to do. I doubt any Janaro forces are even within a kilometer of the Citadel. ¡°Come in.¡± A coarse voice beckoned from within. The voice was different than the old Lord Zhakar, and Kaz¡¯s face fell as he realized that the younger Pagan Zhakar was the one within. Ranik opened the door and gestured for Kaz to walk inside first. Kaz steeled himself, and walked in with as much of a neutral air as he could manage. Pagan and Kaz had never really been on good terms, amicable to say the least. Pagan thought little of Kaz since Kaz never really trained himself in any sort of martial or combat art. Kaz thought Pagan was just a musclehead devoid of higher learning. However, the old Lord Zhakar appreciated the study of other subjects besides tactics and protected Kaz as much as was necessary. If Pagan¡¯s in power now, that means that either the previous Lord is dead or incapacitated enough to not have a hand in decision making. Kaz¡¯s uneasiness intensified as he got closer to the Lord¡¯s dask. ¡°Ah. Kazimir. Not exactly who I wanted to see. But I suppose I always knew you¡¯d be crawling back here sooner or later.¡± Pagan had a smirk on his face as sat back in his chair. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too, Pagan. What happened to Lord Zhakar? What about my father and Alexei?¡± Kaz wasted no time in trying to get his answers. Unfortunately, Pagan¡¯s smirk turned into a grin as he watched Kaz¡¯s facial expression grow gradually more worried. ¡°What¡¯s the rush? Have a seat. You¡¯re not injured, are you?¡± Changing the subject abruptly, Pagan took full pleasure in making Kaz squirm in the uncomfortable seats reserved for guests meant to be intimidated. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I just had some minor scratches while evading the wolves in the mountainside returning from Master Ahriman¡¯s house.¡± Kaz gritted his teeth and attempted to make small talk. Growing flustered now will only serve to entertain Pagan. I always knew he had a sadistic streak, but I never thought he would act this way after such a disaster had unfolded. ¡°Oh, right. That old bastard lives all the way out in the woods, doesn¡¯t he? Is he still alive?¡± Pagan¡¯s grin disappeared as he thought about the Citadel¡¯s apothecary. He had never liked Ahriman despite the old man having his the former Lord Zhakar¡¯s favor. ¡°He¡¯s dead. What about my family?¡± Kaz kept his words short and to the point, rapidly losing the patience for other matters. The smirk rematerialized on Pagan¡¯s face. ¡°That¡¯s nice to hear. I always did dislike that old codger. I never really knew why, but he just rubbed me the wrong way. I¡¯m actually glad that he¡¯s gone.¡± {Think again, you little shit.} Although Ahriman wanted to do something to mess with Pagan, he did not have the necessary magical energy to expend. All the old magi could do was sulk. ¡°So, what happened to your father? What about the Steward and my brother? What about Master Kahaz?¡± Kaz tried pressing the point, growing increasingly worried. The smirk disappeared from Pagan¡¯s face as he got serious. ¡°Dead. They¡¯re all dead. Kahaz was gutted like a fish as he tried to prevent enemy soldiers from getting into the library. His guts are currently plastered all over his precious books, courtesy of some barbaric Janaro commando. The stewards tried to defend my father from some enemy commandos. All three of them died miserably under the blades of Janaro. I¡¯ve buried the all three in a military fashion. But then we come to you.¡± A dark look gradually appeared on Pagan¡¯s face as he spoke. Dead...they¡¯re...dead. I was gone for a day, two days at most, and they¡¯re dead. Kaz was in shock as Pagan¡¯s words sunk in. Numbly, Kaz looked up at Pagan. ¡°What...what am I supposed to do now?¡± Kaz softly asked. ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know. I find it...suspicious that you left just before the attack happened and came back unscathed. Going to Ahriman¡¯s hut in the woods seems to me like a convenient excuse. I don¡¯t think the West Wall could have fallen without an insider.¡± Pagan¡¯s words hammered into Kaz. But I didn¡¯t come through unscathed. I actually DIED. But I can¡¯t say that. Kaz¡¯s mind was in a whirl as he panicked to find an excuse to satisfy Pagan. Seeing Kaz¡¯s panicked look, Pagan smirked. ¡°It seems that my words were on the spot, huh? Ranik! Take this traitor and toss him in the dungeons. I¡¯ll deal with him later when I have more time.¡± {Wow. This brat¡¯s a real bastard. He¡¯s obviously looking for a scapegoat in order to alleviate some of the blame that¡¯s inevitably going to be laid at his feet.} Ahriman looked at Pagan in a new light, understanding the lengths that Zhakar went in order to preserve his newfound power. Don¡¯t you think I know that? I know history and politics just as well if not more than he does. Kaz numbly tried to think of a possible way out of this rapidly degenerating situation. Ranik gave Kaz a look of disgust. He didn¡¯t think that it was a coincidence either. Klavan military policy was that there were no coincidences, and that there should be an explanation for everything. Shaking his head at the lack of response from Kaz, he reached over to tie Kaz¡¯s hands together. ¡°No, Pagan, I didn¡¯t betray the Citadel. Why would I do that? I don¡¯t have the means or the desire. You have to believe me!¡± Kaz¡¯s eyes grew wider as he tried to jump out of his seat and get away from Ranik¡¯s reach. With a grunt, Ranik quickly slammed the hilt of his longsword into the back of Kaz¡¯s head. Knocked out like a lamp, Kaz¡¯s vision blacked out and he knew no more. Book 1 Chapter 6: Trial by Iron Chapter 6 ¨C Trial by Iron Waking up with a violent start, Kaz realized that night had already fallen. I should try to stop getting injured unless absolutely necessary. I should have just quietly gone with Ranik instead of trying to protest my innocence. With a grimace, Kaz sat against his cell¡¯s wall directly across from the door. At least there¡¯s the torchlight leaking through the cracks in the door. {This is quite possibly the most professional jail cell I¡¯ve ever seen. There¡¯s just barely enough space to get up and stretch, but not enough to pace around. The only light coming in is from the cracks around the door, and it seems this is intentionally part of the design. Also, there¡¯s this weird small hole in the corner¡­} Ahriman¡¯s voice grated against Kaz¡¯s mind as he spoke. Yeah, that¡¯s where the prisoners shit so the guards don¡¯t have to clean it. It¡¯s part of the Keep¡¯s sewage system. The first lord Zhakar decided that the Citadel had to be as self sufficient and efficient as possible. By eliminating most of the previous waste disposal labor with a sewage system, the staff could focus more on military needs. Kaz sighed as he leaned back against the wall. He could sense death energy nearby, and realized that he was being kept in the Citadel¡¯s outside dungeon instead of the Keep. I guess I¡¯m not considered a particularly important prisoner, then. *Groou GROOOUUUU* {Holy hell boy, when was the last time you ate something?} If Ahriman had eyes, they would¡¯ve been wide at that moment. Look, I don¡¯t even know what day it is now. All I know is¨C *Clank* ¡°Oy pipe it down in there. Here¡¯s your food so you don¡¯t die before sentencing¡± Kaz didn¡¯t even have time to respond as a grubby hand shoved a tray of food through the door¡¯s slot. Losing no time, Kaz rushed towards the tray. Feeling his way around the tray, Kaz discovered that there was only a small loaf of hardtack along with a cup of room temperature water. Well it¡¯s better than nothing. Kaz eagerly dunked the hardtack into the water, and waited for the bread to soften. {... Is this real life? What kind of prisoner food is that?} Ahriman, who was used to luxury befitting his former status as Master Apothecary, had never even known that hardtack existed. In fact, Kaz was certain Ahriman had not even drank water for years. It¡¯s the most basic of soldier rations. Hardtack is near unspoilable if kept dry, so it¡¯s used as rations on military campaigns as well as sea voyages. {Something that has to be turned edible via soaking in a liquid can¡¯t possibly be tasty, much less nutritious.} I did mention it¡¯s the most basic of rations right? Plus it¡¯s not like I have anything better to eat right now. Anything is better than nothing, and I¡¯d rather not faint from hunger during this little witch-hunt of Pagan¡¯s. Between bites of bland tack, Kaz finished what little water was given to him. {Done eating? I can¡¯t believe you actually finished all of that. If I could gag, I would. Now, I¡¯ve gathered enough death energy to bestow upon you a Soul Magic technique. It¡¯s a basic method of gathering death energy to strengthen the body. Now close your eyes¡­.} Ahriman concentrated, then used branded the meditation technique onto Kaz¡¯s brain. This feeling will never get better will it? Kaz winced as pain shot through his brain, but concentrated on the . As he kept cycling the words, Kaz started to feel the death energy gathering and entering his body. ¡°................¡± Unintelligible whispers of the dead filled Kaz¡¯s ears as his body greedily absorbed the gathering death energy. It seems that although their souls are gone, lingering traces of emotions remain at the site of death. At the very least, practicing the Chant will take my mind off of my current situation. Sitting silently in the dark, Kaz eased into a meditative trance as he kept up the Chant. At the Citadel¡¯s highest point, Pagan finally finished the mountain of paperwork that was necessary to facilitate his untimely inheritance of the Lord¡¯s position. Stretching his arms back behind his head, Pagan¡¯s muscles flexed as he stood up. Walking out of the office, Pagan barked an order to the messenger waiting outside. ¡°Go find Major Goran and tell him to bring the prisoner to the Circle of Iron. It is time for me to pass judgement.¡± ¡°Your will be done, Lord.¡± The messenger briskly walked towards the barracks, eager to finally see somebody punished. The last couple of days since the recapture of the Citadel have been frustrating in the extreme. There was nobody to blame, I doubt the troops even know how the Janaroian soldiers managed to break open the West Gate. It¡¯s a real pity for Kaz that he¡¯s to be my scapegoat, but this sentencing will allow me to offer an excuse to the Emperor as well as shift the brunt of the soldier¡¯s anger onto Kaz. Feeling satisfied with his plan, Pagan walked leisurely down to the kitchen where he picked up a large meat bun along with a flagon of cold juice. Eating as he walked, Pagan arrived at the Circle of Iron just as Major Goran threw Kaz into it. Landing face first into the dirt floor, Kaz accidentally breathed some of it in and started coughing. Looking up, Kaz realized that he was in the middle of the Circle of Iron, a circular arena about 10 meters in diameter surrounded by large chunks of iron ore. ¡°Kazimir Taleeb. You are hereby accused of being a traitor of Klavan. You were the insider that opened the gate for the Janaroian soldiers, facilitating the fall of the Blood Citadel.¡± Pagan¡¯s eyes lit up as he verbally crucified Kaz in front of the gathering crowd of soldiers and civilians. Numbly staring back at Pagan, Kaz could do nothing at the moment. Waiting for his chance to speak, all Kaz could do was barely stand up. ¡°Your traitorous actions are those unworthy of a true son of Klavan. The thousands of soldiers who have died are because of you. Under the authority of the Empire, I sentence you to death.¡± Pagan finished with an impassive look on his face, fully aware that this was a farce. Somebody needed to take the blame for the Citadel¡¯s fall, and it sure as hell wouldn¡¯t be Pagan. The gathered crowd was getting more and more unruly. ¡°Traitor! I can¡¯t believe the Steward¡¯s son would do such a thing!¡± ¡°Is this how you repay old Lord Zhakar¡¯s hospitality to you over the years?¡± ¡°Good for nothing historian! Your family were righteous, defending the Lord to the death, but you were nowhere to be found? Such luck couldn¡¯t possibly be a coincidence!¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. As the crowd jeered at Kaz, he felt as if there were only one way out of this. ¡°Pagan. I invoke the right to Trial by Iron.¡± Kaz¡¯s anguished voice pierced the voices of the crowd. Nobody was on his side. Nobody would stand up for him. Kaz was, for the first time in his life, truly alone. Kaz¡¯s challenge to Pagan had clearly astonished the crowd. They had never expected that a civilian without any formal martial training would actively want to duel a blademaster. {What?! Kaz you stupid idiot. How do you expect to defeat a blademaster in a duel when you don¡¯t know how to properly hold a weapon? Your only hope is to hex him and throw a couple of Frozen Spears at him.} Ahriman knew that if Kaz died, he would lose his chance at life. No longer with the power to fuse to another soul, Ahriman¡¯s life depended on Kaz surviving. I can¡¯t do that you old codger. I would win the duel, probably, but what then? I can¡¯t possibly get away even with a Death Warp since there¡¯s so many people around. I¡¯d be surrounded and cut down the instant I displayed magic. Kaz resignedly stood straight up and looked at Pagan, who seemed surprised. ¡°Heh. So the traitor has some guts left after all. It would¡¯ve been so boring if you just laid down and took the punishment. So be it! I, Pagan Zhakar, accept the challenge to Trial by Iron of Kazimir Taleeb. Major! Bring us the weapons.¡± An eager grin had plastered itself onto Pagan¡¯s face. It seems today won¡¯t be boring after all, Pagan mused to himself. Major Goran thrust the duelling club into Kaz¡¯s hands, then handed another one to Pagan. Nervously, Kaz inspected the weapon that just might save his life today. The club in his hand was about the length of a longsword, only made of wood but studded with rounded iron balls along the length of the club. The crafted leather grip was cool and fit effortlessly in Kaz¡¯s hand. This is a very well made instrument, although I really wish I could have admired it under less unfortunate circumstances. Looking up at Pagan, Kaz raised the club up in front of him with both hands and tried to adopt a ready stance. This is an uncomfortable distance...only about 2 meters between the two of us. Shaking nervously, Kaz did not at all look intimidating. ¡°Hmph. We¡¯ll see how long it takes you to yield.¡± Pagan raised his club to chest height straight up, then lunged forwards swinging his club down. Unable to dodge, Kaz attempted to block the club aiming for his neck with his own club. Losing his balance in a panic, Kaz managed to deflect the blow meant for his neck to his shoulder. *CRACK* The full force of the studded club slammed into Kaz¡¯s shoulder. ¡°AAUGH¡± Kaz screamed in agony as he struggled to defend himself against a second blow. Yeah, my shoulder is definitely fractured. His left arm suddenly unable to support the weight of the club, Kaz tried to retreat as pain shot through his body. ¡°There¡¯s no running in the Circle of Iron, Kaz.¡± Pagan had a smirk on his face as he steadily approached Kaz. Pagan swung his club again in the same manner, aiming at Kaz¡¯s left shoulder. *CRACK* Unable to block a second blow to the same place, Kaz had no choice but to take another hit in the same place. Despite an even greater pain than the last hit, Kaz refused to scream. His legs buckling, Kaz fell to his knees with his left arm hanging uselessly at his side. As Pagan approached, however, Kaz suddenly swung the club in his right hand at Pagan¡¯s legs. ¡°You don¡¯t have the martial ability to hit me with such a tactic such as that.¡± Pagan sneered as he disarmed Kaz effortlessly by hitting the club out of his hands. Holding the club in both hands, Pagan slammed the club like a bat into the middle of Kaz¡¯s chest. *THUMP* *CRACK* Blood spilled out of Kaz¡¯s mouth as he flew backwards nearly a meter. Lying in the bloody dirt, it took all of Kaz¡¯s effort to raise himself to a crawling position. The crowd had gone silent. Although this was a formal Trial by Iron, it looked more like bullying to them. There was no question that Kaz would be defeated, but the brutality of Pagan¡¯s blows intimidated all but the most veteran soldiers within the Klavan crowd. ¡°I...I yield.¡± Kaz admitted his defeat between bloody coughs. Moving his right hand to access the damage, Kaz winced in pain. Yeah, that definitely feels like several broken ribs. But I believe I can still get out of this...I guess history is really going to save me after all. ¡°So, you admit your defeat. Do you have any last words before your execution?¡± Pagan slowly drew his longsword after handing the duelling club back to Major Goran. ¡°Yes...According to the laws set down by Venta Klavan, I have choice of punishment after my defeat in the Trial by Iron. I choose exile instead of execution.¡± Kaz barely managed to spit out his choice, considered by nearly all Klavans to be the dishonorable choice. The crowd murmured again, surprised by Kaz¡¯s words. Pagan, however, looked happier than before. Hah, I can¡¯t believe he chose exile! This disgraceful decision will further destroy his reputation. I was worried that this would look like a farce, but for Kaz to willingly choose exile will only serve to make others think he¡¯s actually at fault. ¡°I¡¯ve never expected to hear those words. But here you are, surprising me again. Ranik! Get the branding tools, and gift Kaz his choice.¡± ¡°Your will be done, Lord.¡± Ranik grinned as he went to fetch the ceremonial tools. It would be his first time using them in a long time. Pulling out a short, black knife, Ranik went to work carving the Brand of the Exile on Kaz¡¯s forehead. Greatly weakened from his duel with Pagan, Kaz could do nothing but grit his teeth as the Brand was carved onto his forehead. The Brand was unmistakable to any Klavan, it was a ritual scarring in the shape of a snake, reserved for the worst traitors and criminals. After several minutes, which to Kaz felt like hours, Ranik was finished. ¡°We¡¯re done here. Ranik, return this scum to his cell, and we¡¯ll throw him out first thing in the morning. Everyone, return to your duties.¡± Pausing one last time to spit on Kaz, Pagan started walking back to the Keep. The crowd, following their Lord¡¯s example, all took their turns spitting on Kaz before leaving. Kaz had long since fainted from the pain burning on his forehead, so Ranik tied a short rope to Kaz¡¯s arms. As he was dragged across the desolate courtyard back to his cell, Kaz¡¯s blood left a trail on the silent field. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please leave feedback in the comments! It helps me improve my writing! Book 1 Chapter 7: A Moonlit Escape! Chapter 7: A Moonlit Escape! Kaz¡¯s throbbing wounds caused him to wake shortly after being unceremoniously thrown back into his jail cell. Hissing with pain as he sat against the back wall, Kaz brushed his right hand over his body in an attempt to gauge the extent of his injuries. Wincing, Kaz first brought his hand up to his forehead. Gingerly tapping the area above his nose, Kaz felt the thick scab that covered the new addition to his looks. Feeling down towards his chest, the previously broken ribs seemed only to be cracked instead of fractured. Well, I don¡¯t actually know if my ribs aren¡¯t fractured, but they hurt a lot less. Oddly, my left shoulder feels a lot better too. Kaz was astonished to discover that his body had already healed to this extent while he was unconscious. ¡°Hey Ahriman, why has my body recovered at this rate anyway? It can¡¯t have been too long since I got the snot beat out of me.¡± {Oh. I forgot to mention something. The Chant that you were practicing actually is crucial to a budding necromancer¡¯s development. Since you started meditating on it, your body has become more physically resilient.} Ahriman sounded almost embarrassed that he forgot something so significant. ¡°Huh. Either way, I need to get out of here before the morning. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll kick me out my dropping me off the battlements of the West Wall or something.¡± Slowly standing up, Kaz started to expand his magical sense in order to probe for an opportunity to escape. ¡°It seems that I¡¯m in luck. The large pool of death energy just outside my cell is still there. It¡¯s decreased in size considerably, but there¡¯s still enough for me to Death Warp to.¡± But¡­.if I go through with this it will truly mean abandoning my previous life as a citizen of Klavan. No...it was Pagan who forced me to abandon this life. The moment I was branded an Exile it was over. There¡¯s...nothing left for me here. I only hope Mother will be fine without..me. Without the proper political clout, I can do nothing more. Blinking his eyes to get rid of impending tears, Kaz tried to steel himself as a wave of emotion ran through his body. After a moment, Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed and his jaw set in a determined grimace. Counting my innate magical energy and my enslaved souls so far, I have enough mana for five basic Rank E spells. I don¡¯t have any idea of what time it is, so the only thing that I can do is be careful¡­Death Warp might be my most valuable tool since it doesn¡¯t deplete my mana pool when cast. Taking a deep breath, Kaz braced himself and focused on the nearby pocket of death energy. Summoning the words to his mind, Kaz casted . The moment Kaz casted his Death Warp, he felt as if his senses were stretching. Within a few seconds, Kaz rematerialized outside near the pool of death energy, slightly smaller since some of it was consumed. *BANG* A heinously loud noise broke the silent night¡¯s peace as Kaz rematerialized outside. The noises of alarmed guards broke the night, and they started running towards the back of the dungeon where Kaz popped out of. ¡°Shit. Shit. Shit shit shit shit.¡± Kaz broke into a cold sweat. ¡°Ahriman, you never said that Death Warp would make such a loud noise upon casting. Why would you NOT mention that?¡± {I never said that it didn¡¯t. Plus I never actually thought it would be used outside of battle. Making loud noises during a fight is advantageous to confuse your opponents right? I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯ve never used it to escape like a rat in the dead of night.} If ghosts could have facial expressions, Ahriman¡¯s would be the embodiment of smugness. ¡°OY THE PRISONER¡¯S ESCAPED¡± A lithe Klavan scout shouted to his patrol-mates as he gave chase. At his speed, it would only be a matter of time before he caught Kaz. Damn. I¡¯ve barely run ten steps and the Klavan scouts have sighted me. I guess all that commando training that they do isn¡¯t for nothing after all. Kaz could do nothing but keep running in the direction of the Southern Gate. Sensing the scout getting closer and closer, Kaz suddenly turned to face his pursuer. Gathering magical energies in his hand as fast as he could, Kaz blasted a spell at point blank range. hit the scout in the chest no less than a meter from where Kaz casted it. ¡°Urk!?¡± Blasted with pure magical power, the scout could do nothing but grunt as icy tendrils shot through his body, causing him to fall on the floor. His extremities and nerves numbed by the unnatural cold, the Klavan scout fearfully tried to crawl away from Kaz. {That was a well casted spell. Personally I would¡¯ve just impaled the man with a Frozen Spear but that¡¯s just me. Leave none alive to tell the tale, overwhelming fear does wonders for a necromancer¡¯s reputation.} Ahriman¡¯s voice filled with glee as he remembered parts of his past exploits. Well, I¡¯m not quite ready to stoop to killing others when I do not have to. That man did not do anything wrong to me. I don¡¯t even think I would aim to kill if Ranik or Pagan came chasing after me. Kaz grimly ran towards the stairs leading to the parapets of the Southern Wall. ¡°Archers! Aim to cripple! Disable and capture the prisoner if possible!¡± A familiar voice barked orders to the sentries on the walls. Ranik raised his longbow into the air and took aim along with his patrol squad at Kaz. As arrows whizzed by Kaz¡¯s body, Kaz desperately ran in a zig-zag fashion towards the stairs. Okay, I would maybe aim to cripple Ranik at least. The mean bastard definitely has it in for me. Fortunately for Kaz, the arrows aimed to cripple his legs all missed. Unfortunately for Kaz, one of the arrows meant for his legs slammed into his left shoulder. Gritting his teeth in pain, Kaz could no nothing but keep running. {Kid, either your luck is unlike any ever seen in this world, or these scouts are all downright shit at aiming.} ¡°Yeah, my luck definitely isn¡¯t the greatest. Also, did you ever consider that perhaps they¡¯re missing because I¡¯m providing them with a moving target? Or that maybe, just maybe nighttime isn¡¯t the most conductive for target practice?¡± Feeling more irritated with each painful step he took, Kaz snapped a scathing response back at Ahriman. {Oh shut up and concentrate on running. Besides, the full moon tonight nullifies your nighttime argument. Look, I can see the individual rocks on the ground as you¡¯re running.} Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Looking up at the sky, Kaz¡¯s face darkened further. Ahriman was right, with the full moon out, I might as well be escaping during the day. As he frantically ran across the courtyard, Kaz cut a rather pathetic figure. His once-sturdy clothing had been torn in various places due to weapon damage. There was a thin layer of dirt mixed with blood caked on some areas, thicker in areas where Kaz bled from before the wounds closed. Pagan woke up due to the alarms being rang throughout the Citadel. ¡°Heh. I don¡¯t know how that poor bastard managed to escape, but it¡¯ll be fun to watch the show. It¡¯s even a full moon tonight! It¡¯s as if the gods planned for this to happen.¡± Pagan leisurely grabbed a flagon of cold wine from his desk, and leaned over his office¡¯s balcony to watch the chase happen below. ¡°From this angle, Kaz running away looks like a fox hunt. Hahahahaha, run for me little fox, run!¡± Sitting down in a nearby chair, Pagan watched the scene below him intently while sipping on chilled wine. Oh damn it all. How am I supposed to get across the Gate? I can¡¯t force it open with my own strength, and if I use the gate lever to open it from the top the soldiers would just close it before I could run down and get through. Kaz frantically looked around for an alternative as he realized that there was no easy way to get across the Wall. He was at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Southern Wall, close to the actual gate. ¡°We¡¯ve got you now, traitor scum!¡± Several scouts had caught up to Kaz at this moment, surrounding him on three sides. Seeing no alternative, Kaz started to run up the stairs that led to the parapets. As Kaz lept up onto the parapets, he started to run in the direction of the lever. My only choice out of the gate is to attempt to open it up from here. ¡°Ahriman, would my improved physical resiliency allow me to survive a fall from the top of the wall?¡± Kaz frowned as he approached the gate¡¯s lever. If I could skip having to open the gate entirely, that would shave so much effort off of this jailbreak. {Not a chance, hotshot. Even ignoring the fact that you still carry moderate internal injuries and bones that are half healed, your body at its current peak capabilities would be mashed into a neat paste if you tried to survive a 30 meter fall.} Ahriman dryly slapped down Kaz¡¯s idea. As Kaz contemplated his escape route, Ranik caught up and lunged at Kaz. Hoping to be the one to capture Kaz, Ranik drew his sword and tried to cut at Kaz¡¯s hamstrings. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you got out of that cell, but this is the end for you. Even an exile that attempts jailbreak cannot be spared the executioner¡¯s blade. Just so you know, I enjoyed carving that brand onto your forehead. Watching the light go out of your eyes before you fainted earlier was an exhilarating experience.¡± With a smirk on his face, Ranik taunted Kaz, hoping the latter would lose all hope and give up on the spot. Instead, Kaz felt an incredible rage well up from deep within. Almost without thought, Kaz gathered up enough power, and blasted Ranik with just as the scout sergeant was about to swing his blade. ¡°!!!¡± Ranik¡¯s eyes revealed his panic and frustration as his joints locked up. This look of panic turned into one of fear and anger as his previous momentum carried Ranik up and over the edge of the wall. Wailing miserably, all Ranik could do was scream his indignation to the skies as he fell to his death. ¡°What? How did Ranik fall to his death? There was absolutely no way that Kaz could have overpowered him. That green flash¡­.could Kaz be a magi?¡± Various theories flashed through Pagan¡¯s mind. No longer content to drink and watch the show after Kaz had turned the tables on his pursuers, Pagan quickly made his way down the Keep to the courtyard. Kaz¡¯s breath caught in his throat. Even if it was an accident, it was the first time that Kaz had killed somebody that he knew. The nameless enemy soldiers in the forest didn¡¯t really count. They had no previous interaction with Kaz, no personality was assigned to their corpses. However, Ranik was different. Even though I disliked him, Ranik was a person with a face and a name. Nobody deserves to die like that¡­. {Fool! What are you waiting for? That man¡¯s death has provided you with an opportunity! Even a naive numbskull like you should be able to figure it out.} Ahriman¡¯s reprimand snapped Kaz back into reality, out of the numbing thoughts that he was swimming in. Like lightning, Kaz realized the opportunity that Ahriman pointed out. Turning back to the stairs, Kaz sprinted as fast as he could back to the stairs. Fearfully, the remaining scouts who were chasing Kaz took up threatening stances with their swords in an attempt to block him from going down the stairs. ¡°I have no time for this!¡± Kaz quickly summoned up the majority of his remaining magical energy and threw two at the lightly armored scouts. Screams broke the night for a third time as one spear impaled a scout to the wall while the other spear went through a second scout¡¯s leg. Panicking from the sudden pain and loss of mobility, the second scout crashed into the last scout and both men fell down the stairs. With a loud thump, the men landed at the bottom and moved no more. Panting and getting more mentally exhausted as most of his magical energy was spent, Kaz sent his magical sense to the other side of the gate. Locating the death energy pool where Ranik landed on the other side of the wall, Kaz grinned. Raising his hand once more, Kaz forced himself to cast . With a second earth-shattering *BANG*, Kaz materialized on the outside of the wall. Pausing for a bit to use the last of his energy to cast on Ranik¡¯s lingering soul. With some of his mana restored and another soul added to his collection, Kaz slipped into the night. By the time the Klavan soldiers opened the gate and ventured outside, Kaz was long gone with only the terrors of his magic imprinted in his pursuer¡¯s memory. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leave your thoughts in the comments, and thanks for reading! Book 1 Chapter 8: Chained Spirits and Blackened Bones Chapter 8: Chained Spirits and Blackened Bones Jogging at a brisk pace, Kaz disappeared from the view of the Citadel¡¯s sentries as he ran into the forest. Making his way off of the worn forest path, Kaz briskly travelled deeper into the heart of the woods. The bright moonlight streaked through the openings in the leaves, resulting in an ethereal illumination of the forest¡¯s interior. His breath condensing into little puffs of white air in front of him, Kaz stopped moving and hid behind a tree. ¡°Pagan, no Zhakar wouldn¡¯t give up so easily. I expect his forward scouts will find me before dawn.¡± Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed as he went deep into thought. {You know, an ambush might be the best way out of this. Soften them up with some with a hex or two, then run them through with a Frozen Spear. I have no idea why you didn¡¯t remember to grab a weapon from all those soldiers that you blasted during the escape.} Ever the advocate for flaunting one¡¯s powers, Ahriman¡¯s voice hinted at his excitement to live vicariously through Kaz¡¯s spellcasting. ¡°It¡¯s really not that simple. I don¡¯t have that much combat experience, nor do I have the means to continuously cast if I miss a spell.¡± {Well then, don¡¯t miss. Just wait until you can see the...whites of their eyes or something} Sighing, Kaz glanced around his current position looking for any signs of a pursuit. ¡°They¡¯re going to be sending a hunter-killer squad after me. I¡¯m lucky that there was no Arcane Inquisitor stationed at the Citadel. The Inquisitor Magi on standby were due for their rotation back to the capital. But still, a group of six experienced scout-assassins just might be the end of me.¡± Feeling a bit more rested, Kaz turned around and started to walk deeper into the woods. {What¡¯s an Arcane Inquisitor? I¡¯ve never even heard of that.} Ahriman¡¯s confused voice confirmed Kaz¡¯s suspicions that the dead necromancer was far older than previously thought. ¡°They¡¯re a type of battle magus trained at the Arcane Library in the Klavan capitol. They specialize in finding and capturing criminals that the ordinary military police cannot handle. They¡¯re allowed extreme prejudice in carrying out their duties. More often than not, capturing the criminal dead or alive just results in a dead criminal.¡± Kaz broke out into a cold sweat as he thought about the possibility of being hunted by an Inquisitor. *WHIZZZ¡­.THOWK* ¡°Urg¡­¡± Kaz grunted as an unexpected arrow slammed into his thigh. Falling down to try and avoid other arrows, Kaz started to crawl towards a large tree. Hearing no other arrows, Kaz used his good leg to help himself lean against the tree. Less than a second after Kaz had propped himself into a standing position, a dark shadow leapt out of the bushes. Swinging his metal mace in an arc, the hunter had his sights squarely on bashing Kaz¡¯s face inside out. ¡°Gah!¡± Instantly dropping down into a sitting position from a standing one, Kaz was barely able to avoid having his face caved in. *THUNK* His mace lodged squarely into the tree trunk, the hunter let go of his weapon just as a Frozen Spear shot through the space directly above Kaz. Horrified at having missed his first spell, Kaz casted as his opponent drew the tomahawk strapped to his thigh. Before Kaz had a chance to do anything else, a javelin whizzed towards him. Using his good leg to quickly dodge the javelin, Kaz was confronted by another hunter clad in dark green leather armor. Before Kaz could do anything, the hunter slammed his metal mace into Kaz¡¯s stomach. The wind knocked out of him, Kaz landed in a bush. Wheezing, Kaz tried to desperately catch his breath as the six hunters approached him. ¡°So it¡¯s confirmed, then?¡± The hunter who threw the javelin at Kaz had already retrieved his weapon, and was watching his quarry intently. Straining his neck, Kaz saw three other similarly dressed warriors seem to materialize out of the woods. ¡°Without a doubt. If you had not thrown your javelin there, I might have died.¡± Evidently feeling extremely relieved, the hunter that had attacked Kaz first came into sight. ¡°Lars¡¯ missed shot alerted him to our presence.¡± Moving to tie Kaz¡¯s hands together, the hunter viciously kicked at Kaz¡¯s unprotected stomach. That kick knocked the wind out of Kaz¡¯s sails a second time. Tasting blood, Kaz could do nothing but curl into the fetal position as he was being bound. I guess that makes two separate instances of broken ribs within a day. I really, really wish I could stop getting injured so often. {Alright, kid. I¡¯ve got a way for you out of this, but it¡¯ll require you to really concentrate. Also, you might have to use up the three souls that you¡¯ve collected so far.} Sensing the impending danger that would result due to this capture, Ahriman quickly sent two incantations through the shared mental link. ¡°AAAUUGH¡± Kaz screamed as lightning shot through his mind. The mental burden of two spells being forced into his memory was indescribably painful. Startled, all of the hunters leapt backwards and pointed their weapons at Kaz. Even though he was surrounded by two bows, three javelins, and a iron mace, Kaz was too lost in his own mind to notice. Eyes burning blue with mana, Kaz raised his bound hands to the moon, and a primal roar ripped out of his throat. The moment that was cast, two of Kaz¡¯s enslaved souls roared. Faster than the eye could see, two indistinct foggy ghosts materialized around Kaz. One in front, and one behind. As expected of a veteran hunter-killer squad, the six warriors did not panic at this point, but rather unloaded their projectiles skillfully onto the ghosts while avoiding hitting Kaz. Under strict orders to capture Kaz alive, the discipline of the squad would not allow them to disobey orders. Unfortunately for them, this decision to spare Kaz would cost them everything. All of the projectiles unleashed went straight through the ghosts, disrupting their immaterial bodies a bit. However, these conventional weapons did not prove particularly effective at destroying ghostly bodies. ¡°OOOOAOOAOOOOO!!¡± Wailing miserably but without explicit orders, the ghosts could no nothing but stare discontentedly at the six. Finally completing his second incantation, Kaz¡¯s mind felt numb as he released his power for the second time. *TZZZKSSHHHHH* Unable to prevent it¡¯s destruction, a violent electrical explosion annihilated everything in a five meter radius around Kaz as finished. Four of the six hunters who were too close to the initial explosion were assaulted with a monstrous amount of lightning. No matter how steeled a soldier a person could be, these veteran soldiers had never seen the true destructive power of magic before. Their already shaky confidence had been shattered, and the two remaining hunters started to retreat. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Snarling like a wild animal, Kaz¡¯s eyes fell on the retreating hunters. With a single blistering mental command, Kaz sent his remaining materialized spirit flying towards the quickly disappearing forms of the rangers. ¡°AOOOOOOOOOOO¡± With wailing not unlike that of a wolf, the remaining spirit quickly caught up the panicking hunters. Without the need to go around obstacles and the ability to bypass any physical terrain, ghosts do make extremely good hunters themselves. Kaz mused to himself as his spirit managed to put itself between the running hunters. Closing his fist in a harsh manner, Kaz unleashed the death energy that he had collected from some of the very recently deceased soldiers. was casted again, and a second deafening explosion pierced the night. With the immediate danger out of the way, Kaz slumped against a nearby boulder. Scanning his nearby surroundings, Kaz saw that the boulder that he was leaning against was one of the few objects that had survived the explosion from the Rupture Spirit spell. Everything else that was even remotely fragile had been utterly destroyed. The ground was burnt black, with pieces of dirt fused together in unnatural patterns. Small sparks remained from the initial lightning that was released from the spirit upon its demise. What remained of the most trees were the blackened trunks and the ashes of disintegrated leaves. {Do you now realize the awe inspiring power of magic? This is the reason that magi are respected across the world. These particular spells are the reason why Necromancy should be regarded as the most powerful branch of magic.} Ahriman¡¯s voice contained his unyielding pride for the art of Necromancy. Seeing the results of his handiwork, Kaz could only numbly nod his head. Looking around, nothing remained of the hunters sent to apprehend Kaz besides their crisp, blackened corpses. Somehow, one of the men¡¯s tomahawks remained mostly undamaged. I guess I could consider the iron maces to be undamaged too, but I have no idea of how to properly wield one. In addition to my inexperience, these weapons would be too heavy and inconspicuous for a wandering youth to carry around. Special forces issue weapons do tend to attract the wrong type of attention. Kaz carefully sent out his magical sense to check his surroundings. After being absolutely sure that nobody else was near, Kaz collected and enslaved the souls of the newly deceased. ¡°Ahriman, why did you force two spells simultaneously through the mental link. The mental burden of have to forcibly absorb so much information at the same time nearly cost me my life.¡± Kaz frowned as he limped away from the site of battle. Although normal could not see them, the six newly enslaved souls joined Ranik¡¯s soul in creating a silently wailing cloud. Paying his ghosts no heed, Kaz gingerly leaned back against a undamaged tree, attempting to remove the arrow that was lodged deep inside his right thigh. {It...was a bit of a last ditch effort. Ever since my death I have been leaking magical energy. Without a physical body, there is really no way for me to permanently store mana. It took nearly all of my concentration to try and slow down the leakage of mana from my incorporeal form.} Ahriman sounded even more tired than before. {Transmitting the incantation¡¯s information through the mental link that you and I share isn¡¯t a free process. Nothing in this world is free, and you should do well to remember that. I was slowly running out of mana, and I almost did not have enough to send both spells to you. I did not want to send both spells at once, but the situation warranted it.} ¡°So, what this means is that you cannot send me any more spells through the mental link?¡± Kaz frowned. Although he had a variety of spells to choose from at the moment, having more choices would offer him a tactical advantage. {That¡¯s not entirely the case. If we find a Soul Stone, which is a magical artifact that stores mana in a form that is easily used by a magus, I could use the energy stored in that to transmit new information. Other than that, I would have to concentrate for an extremely long time in order to gather the necessary ambient energy. Oh, one other thing, an equivalent amount of Soul Power may be substituted for an amount of mana. Just something to keep in mind since your innate mana pool is so...small} If Ahriman had a face, there would possibly the largest smirk in existence on it. His words carried an unspoken implication: that Kaz was nothing without his help! While that may be true right now, I only have room to improve and you know it. Pretending that he did not hear Kaz¡¯s thoughts, Ahriman stopped talking and fell silent. Concentrating intently with a pained expression on his face, Kaz ripped the arrow out of his thigh in a single motion. Never expecting that the arrow would be barbed, Kaz nearly blacked out from the pain as a small chunk of his flesh was removed along with the arrow. Gritting his teeth, Kaz quickly used some Soul Energy to cast . A portion of Kaz¡¯s blood exploded out of his veins, materializing into the air. Forming a bloody Sigil, it dispersed and entered Kaz¡¯s body. That was the ancient Klavan Sigil for Debt. Actually, its origins might actually predate Venta Klavan¡¯s invasion of the Plains. In that case, where would its true origins lie? As Kaz¡¯s mind descended deep into thought, the Blood Magic applied its effect. Feeling better, though he still had a slight limp, Kaz stood up and started to walk through the forest. Using a damaged javelin as a walking stick, Kaz cut a sorry figure as he travelled. Yet at this moment, the air around Kaz was slightly colder than normal. With a silent cloud of ghosts whose wailing only the dead could hear, the new necromancer walks ever onward... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don''t forget to give a rating/comment if you enjoyed the chapter! Feedback is always appreciated! Book 1 Chapter 9: The Broken Souls Chapter 9: The Broken Souls Night turned into day as Kaz kept walking deeper and deeper into the woods. As he travelled deeper into the forest¡¯s interior, the amount of sunlight that came through the leaves decreased. Without sunlight to help bring warmth to the forest floor, the ambient temperature began to drop noticeably. Unwilling to stop until he found a suitable shelter to hide from any possible additional pursuers, Kaz grimly continued his trek. I need to eat something. Even with an increased amount of usable magical energy at my whim, I cannot ignore the needs of the body. Sending his magical sense outward to scout, Kaz started to scan the area around him for signs of life. It¡¯s a real pity that Soul Rupture previously reduced the all of the hunter¡¯s bodies to ash. I¡¯m almost certain that they would have had prepared rations. Even if they expected to catch up with me within a day, carrying extra rations is...probably standard military procedure. Finding nothing to eat within earshot distance, Kaz put more effort in his magical search. After several hours of walking, Kaz¡¯s magic probe found several deer which were resting in a patch of warm grass. The forest¡¯s canopy had been broken somehow, and the warm sunlight that broke through to the forest floor told Kaz that it was just before noon. Very carefully maneuvering himself so that he was downwind from the animals, Kaz stepped closer and closer. Having moved until he was within ten meters of the deer, Kaz finally saw the animals with his eyes. Confirming that there were indeed four animals, Kaz saw that there were three female doe and one stag. Upon further inspection, Kaz recognized this particular species. With a single long white stripe across the fur on their backs, these should be the Whimsical Deer. They are very playful and uncaring of dangers, which also must be the reason they were hunted so often. Seeing them deep into the woods where normal hunters would not explore therefore makes sense. With a groan, Ahriman decided to chip in. {It¡¯s just some filthy animal that shits in the woods. A deer is only a deer. Why don¡¯t you just kill it and eat so we can move on with our lives?} Ever unconcerned for matters non-magical, Ahriman had little patience for matters such as Kaz¡¯s hunger. Unfortunately distracted by Ahriman¡¯s complaints, Kaz accidentally stepped on a dry twig. *CRACK* Although the crack wasn¡¯t extremely loud, the noise it made in the previously silent forest glade spooked the deer. Turning to look at him, the stag decided that Kaz was too close as a threat. Snorting and pointing its impressive antlers at the cursing necromancer, the stag charged straight at its quarry. ¡°Devils take you, Ahriman! If you¡¯ve got nothing constructive to say, don¡¯t say it at all. You¡¯re dead, waiting just a bit longer really won¡¯t impact you in any way.¡± Kaz furiously berated Ahriman as the stag quickly approached. In the blink of an eye, the stag nearly impaled Kaz upon its antlers as Kaz rolled to the side. Unable to stop and change directions fast enough, the stag headbutted a nearly tree violently. *CAW CAW CAAAWWW* Disturbing several crows that were resting in that particular tree, the stag shook its head as it tried to reorient its sense of direction after slamming into the tree trunk. Unfortunately for the stag, this delay in its attack was all the time Kaz required to mount a counter-offensive. Gathering the necessary mana in his hands, Kaz quickly cast two spells in quick succession. As soon as the stag locked its sights on Kaz again, a unavoidable Bitter Grip chilled the animal¡¯s bones down to the marrow. Unable to run very quickly and startled, the stag had no way of avoiding the Frozen Spear ripping through the air at its chest. Always aim for the center of mass. I missed that hunter previously because I was too focused on trying to get the headshot. Some damage is better than no damage at all. Satisfied that both of his spells had worked flawlessly, Kaz approached the stag as its lifeblood bled onto the cold forest floor. Looking towards the once peaceful forest glade, the other three does were nowhere to be seen. Forcing himself to look at the dying stag, Kaz realized at this point that he had no idea where to even begin preparing the deer for consumption. I can¡¯t just¡­.bite into it. The stag has all this..fur on its skin. Plus, what about the inner organs? I don¡¯t even want to begin thinking about eating those¡­ Exasperated again, Ahriman spoke up again. {Look, the solution to this problem is really easy. I previously mentioned that necromancers are basically historians of the soul. You have access to the memories of the souls that you have enslaved. Why don¡¯t you just concentrate and get the information out of one of those hunters? They have to know something about how to gut a stupid deer or I¡¯m not a Elder Necromancer.} He¡¯s right. One of these hunters must know how to prepare venison from a freshly killed deer. I¡¯d expect that it would be one of the most basic of survival skills. Sitting beneath a tree near the deer¡¯s now lukewarm corpse, Kaz inspected the spirits bound to his will. Reaching into the soul of a spirit, Kaz¡¯s mental probe was violently rebuffed. Shocked out of his meditation, Kaz frowned. ¡°You didn¡¯t say that the souls would still have defenses. What other things are you not telling me, Ahriman?¡± {Look, kid. I can¡¯t just tell you everything ever. I¡¯m old and running out of patience here. Plus I never explicitly said that the spirits wouldn¡¯t have mental defenses. Think about it, the thoughts of the enslaved souls are all they have left. Wouldn¡¯t you make every effort to defend them if you were in their situation?} ¡°You¡¯re right. So what do I do? I¡¯m assuming that this issue is one of willpower since if it involved magical power I would have overpowered the souls without issue.¡± {Yeah it is. So just¡­.think at them harder. Look, it¡¯s really hard to explain. Just try again but try to smash the mental walls that these poor bastards have put up.} Taking a deep breath, Kaz once again delved deep into meditation and focused on the same soul. Expecting the violent mental rebuff this time, Kaz easily blocked it this time around. Forming several mental battering rams, Kaz sent wave after wave of mental attacks at the soul¡¯s relatively petty defenses. Silently screaming, the soul¡¯s mental defenses shattered within a minute of Kaz¡¯s renewed attacks. Like the flood of legend, the soul¡¯s memories spilled out towards Kaz. Blasted with tons of information, most of them not having any relation to the other, Kaz¡¯s senses were overwhelmed with information for a short while. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Ugh...what is all this? That¡¯s...the smell of a hot meat pie. It¡¯s taste¡­.the meat used is beef, a particularly tender beef at that. What¡­.now this is a training yard, pain coursing through my arm because I lost a mock duel with another hunter trainee. Then...a log cabin? Shit. I¡¯m a toddler now? This crib looks so big. I guess the memories that flood out aren¡¯t in any particular order. Forcing himself to concentrate, Kaz started to filter the memories one by one. Viewing the deceased hunter¡¯s memories one by one, Kaz¡¯s memory processing speed increased noticeably as he tried to find the information that he sought. Heh, this is just like trying to catalogue all of the books in the library after the Historian finished a research project. All these memories can be assigned to a specific...genre almost. By sorting these memories by chronological order and genre, I will very easily be able to find the information that I need now, as well as browse for any other information that I might require from this soul in the future. All of this takes a while to explain, but happened nearly instantaneously due to the brain¡¯s remarkable mental processing speed. {Gods above and Devils below, what have I done? I forgot that this brat was..well still is, a historian. I have literally just given him a new toy to play with. Gods, what if he does this with every soul that he encounters in the future? I know it doesn¡¯t take a lot of time to sort memories, but I have to experience everything that he does because of this damned mental link.} Sulking more than ever before, Ahriman fell silent as if accepting his fate. Hmm. Here¡¯s all the information that this hunter, who goes by the name of Rolf, knows about preparing venison from a freshly killed deer. There¡¯s enough information to get started, but I want to know what the other hunters know about preparing venison too. I guess it¡¯s time for me to get serious. A eager grin broke out on Kaz¡¯s face at the challenge of learning more information about survival topics and techniques. {There he goes, off in his own little world. Well it¡¯s not exactly his own world I guess, seeing as how he¡¯s invading the depths of these pathetic hunter¡¯s privacy. There¡¯s no two ways about it, I¡¯ll just have to bear it for now and hope he keeps it quick.} Contrary to Ahriman¡¯s fervent desires, Kaz absolutely did not make his inspection of the hunter¡¯s memories quick. Poring for long minutes over the relatively intact souls of the deceased, Kaz took the time to carefully and brutally break open their mental castles. The difference in mental strength between these hunters surprises me. Some of them are even more easily broken than Rolf, while others have held on for significantly longer before I was able to crack their mental castles. Heh, Ranik¡¯s soul actually was the easiest to break open. I guess the relatively cushy castle position made him feel too comfortable with life. Kaz¡¯s face darkened as he continued to sift through the memories of the fallen. It seems that these men were actually extremely experienced. They were trained through a super demanding regimen at the Ranger Academy in the capitol. It could easily be said that these hunters were the best of the best in terms of scouting and hunting criminals. However, it¡¯s to their detriment that they had to hunt a magus with surprising incantations. A cold sweat broke out on Kaz¡¯s body as he realized that additional hunter-killer squads would be sent after him when this squad failed to report in after a predetermined amount of time. Standard military protocol required hunter-killer squads to update their status within a week at most. So according to their operating procedures, I have about six more days before a second more experienced squad is sent after me. I need to probe the memories before me for more information. These memories might very well contain the information that is critical to my survival. Finally after about two additional hours, Kaz came out of his meditative trance. Although the forest was teeming with insect life, nothing wanted to get near the deathly chill that surrounded Kaz as he flexed his necromantic might. Having formed a plan of action from viewing and analyzing the hunter¡¯s memories concerning the preparation of venison, Kaz drew his weapon. Ah shit. I didn¡¯t take a knife from one of the dead hunters. I took this tomahawk. I guess it¡¯ll have to do. Mentally berating himself for his oversight, Kaz brought the edge of his weapon to the stag¡¯s body and went to work. Okay, so you make the incision starting from the throat, and go down the stomach. Gods, what is this smell? It¡¯s absolutely unreal. Although Kaz had the knowledge of what to cut and how to do it, the wrong tool combined with the lack of mechanical muscle memory caused Kaz to make mistakes. Accidentally rupturing the stag¡¯s intestines, Kaz had to actually step away for several minutes as he tried to get rid of the smell. I knew that the inside of the animal would smell bad, I even knew what it would smell like. But, why is the actual smell so much stronger than the hunter¡¯s memories? Pacing in a circle around the corpse, Kaz thought about the smell problem as he tried to bring up the courage to get back to butchering the stag. Bracing himself, Kaz went back to work as he thought about the disparity between memory smell strength and actual smell strength. It¡¯s probably because the memories are only a pale shadow of themselves. People¡¯s memories of things that are not important to them don¡¯t seem to be particularly sharp. For example, eating favorite foods always seemed to be a much more vibrant memory than eating other foods. Quickly working, Kaz soon had the entire stag disassembled and ready to cook. After digging a fire pit and making an gathering enough wood to make a rudimentary spit, Kaz began to cook his catch. Actually, does the breaking process have any effect on the total amount of Soul energy that each soul provides? I feel like mentally dominating a soul would affect their capacity to store and regenerate energy. Hmm...it doesn¡¯t feel as if any change in my total Soul Energy pool has occurred. Satisfied that his power remained at the same level before he broke the spirits¡¯ will, Kaz happily bit into a finished piece of venison. Pulling a face at the taste, Kaz sighed. ¡°This meat would be a lot better with some salt.¡± ----------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading! Leave feedback/comments below :) Book 1 Chapter 10: Into the Heart of the Woods Chapter 10: Into the Heart of the Woods Travelling deeper and deeper into the forest, Kaz¡¯s vigilance never wavered. Practicing the wilderness evasion techniques that he forcibly wrenched from the memories of his bound souls, Kaz tried his best to cover his tracks. It¡¯s been about five days since I killed the hunter-killer squad. I need to get as far away as possible while covering my tracks. The harder it is to find me, the better. I can¡¯t travel so far on foot as to avoid their trackers, but I might be able to go so deep into the forest where nobody can find me. Ahriman was quiet these days, concentrating on preventing the last of his mana from leaking as well as trying to gather it latently from the environment. Kaz would never admit it, but he was glad that the constant nagging had stopped. In the beginning, Kaz took every opportunity that he got to kill large animals to get them to release their death energy. Using this death energy, Kaz would Death Warp to their location so as to decrease the amount of tracks that he left. I¡¯m actually glad I thought about it more and stopped Death Warping everywhere. Leaving a long trail of dead animals is probably a much, much, more obvious trail than just footprints. Plus the corpses never actually looked like death was caused normally through predation. A large, perfect gaping hole in a deer¡¯s chest would be cause for concern if anybody found it. Seven deathly silent spirits followed Kaz as he travelled. Practicing materializing his bound souls as spirits constantly, the budding necromancer was able to exert a much finer degree of control than he could previously. Never stopping his training even for a minute, Kaz¡¯s control over the arcane increased daily. Instead of sending his magical sense to scout, all of the scouting was now done by multiple spirits. By sending multiple spirits in a circle about a mile across, Kaz was able to view the area around him without exposing himself in any way. Dubbing this sensory information ¡°Ghostsight¡± elicited a weary groan from Ahriman despite the latter¡¯s silence. I¡¯m only able to scout with about a mile radius, any distance farther than that and the information gets...fuzzy. Initially, my Ghostsight was only able to feed me information from about fifty feet. My range has increased by a huge margin, but it¡¯s getting harder to increase the distance as it gets larger. Sensing a pack of wolves ahead of him, Kaz¡¯s face broke into a grin at the prospect of practicing his powers. Having lived through so many life-threatening situations, I can safely say that I¡¯m only alive because of my powers. Therefore, the best way of ensuring my survival is to become a powerful necromancer. Getting within sight of the wolves, Kaz broke into a brisk jog towards them as he gathered his spirits. The wolves, curious at the strange man, snarled and bared their teeth. It seems that they are unwilling to attack, perhaps animals can sense the supernatural? It matters not, they can¡¯t possibly escape from me. Sending five of his spirits forward to attack, Kaz stayed at a distance, gathering mana in his body should it be necessary. Wailing miserably, Kaz¡¯s spirits flew towards the wolves and raised their clawed hands. Sensing imminent danger, the wolves charged forward and tried to bite at the ghosts. As the alpha wolf¡¯s jaws clenched down on the leading spirit, there was barely any pressure before the ghost raked its icy claws at the wolf. Whimpering loudly as the alpha male felt the icy claws rip into its body, the other wolves lost their morale. Becoming easy prey for Kaz¡¯s other ghosts, the wolves soon were badly wounded. Being raked by a ghost¡¯s claws is like being stabbed with cold knives. The actual damage done to the target isn¡¯t too great, but the sheer shock is what intimidates opponents the most. Besides, the ethereal form of my spirits is extremely resilient to physical damage. ¡°Kill them.¡± Commanding his spirits to finish off the wolves, Kaz relaxed his hands as the howls of the wolves became dimmer. Trying to escape, some of the wolves ran through the woods. However, they were not able to escape the searching grasp of the dead hunters. Flying through the woods unimpeded, Kaz¡¯s spirits quickly caught up to any wolves trying to escape and raked their hands across the animals. Caught and butchered by icy hands, the wolves finally died miserably. Even as his group of five spirits was attacking the wolves, Kaz sent out his remaining two spirits on a scouting patrol. The hunter¡¯s ambush still fresh in his mind, Kaz was on high alert to any possible dangers. The addition of Ghostsight greatly reduced the anxiety that he had worrying about being caught off guard. Satisfied with his work, Kaz recalled his spirits. Sensing more wolves homing in on his location with Ghostsight, Kaz readied himself. These attacks by wild animals have increased lately. The creatures here have not been exposed to humans in a long, long time. That could explain the increased aggressiveness, or it could just be that I¡¯ve been trespassing on their territory. Either way, I won¡¯t say no to chances to advance my skills. As Kaz forced his way deeper and deeper into the woods, the scenery got more and more eerie. The previously bright forest turned cold and dark. The wild animals grew larger and more aggressive. Sometimes, Kaz felt as if he was being watched even though there was nothing in his Ghostsight. Feeling uneasy, Kaz started to send out his magical sense as well in order to try and sense anything that the ghosts were missing. Soon, Kaz saw a huge claw mark on a nearby tree. Whatever...creature made this mark has to be huge. I should be extremely wary, but the claw marks look¡­.old. Perhaps the creature that marked its territory on this tree has long passed away. Either way, it doesn¡¯t pay to be relaxed. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Sending his spirits out in a search patrol, Kaz carefully walked onwards. After a while, an ancient structure appeared deep in the woods. The structure looked like a fort, with crumbling walls as well as a broken gate. Sending three of his spirits to scout the surroundings, Kaz hid behind a large tree as he sent his magical sense to scout as well. Sensing nothing, Kaz started to approach the gate. At this moment, what appeared to Kaz and the ghosts to be a large boulder shifted. Bringing itself to a standing position on its hind legs, a giant grey bear made of stone opened its baleful eyes and looked at Kaz. Gulping, Kaz started to gather up his mana. ¡°Hey Ahriman, what exactly is that?¡± {Oooh, you¡¯re in for it now. That appears to be a golem in the shape of a bear. Golems are magical constructs that are animated with a soul. They¡¯re a bit like an undead minion but more physically sturdy.} With a primal roar that shook Kaz¡¯s bones to the marrow, the stone bear got down on all four legs and charged at Kaz. The ground shook with each of its steps, and the bear closed the distance between it and its target in an instant. Before the stone bear had even moved, Kaz slung two Frozen Spears at the bear¡¯s body. Sending all but one of his spirits out to attack the bear, Kaz started to run evasively to the side. Kaz¡¯s spirits raked the stone bear with their claws, but the bear barely slowed down. As the two icy projectiles hit the stone bear, they barely chipped the bear¡¯s fur before shattering. Eyes widening, Kaz was just barely able to avoid the bear¡¯s paw as it slammed down. Rolling away from the impact, Kaz willed his spirits to harass the bear in an attempt to distract it. Fortunately for Kaz, the bear wasn¡¯t particularly smart. Easily distracted by the wailing spirits as they flew around clawing him, the bear swatted his paws at them. Not particularly bothered by the huge claws passing through them, Kaz¡¯s spirits cackled as they continued to wear down the bear. Ahriman said that there was a soul animating that stone bear. Would it be possible for me to attempt to enslave it? With nothing to lose, Kaz casted onto the distracted bear. The moment Kaz finished his incantation, the bear¡¯s body underwent a change. Various magical sigils appeared on the bear¡¯s body, shining with a baleful green light as the bear¡¯s head snapped to face Kaz. Not good! Kaz sucked his breath through gritted teeth as he started to run towards the side away from the bear. With an even louder roar than before, the enraged bear thundered towards Kaz. Killing intent poured out of the bear¡¯s glowing eyes as it chased Kaz. {Did you not think that the magi who animated that golem would have counter-measures put in place in case somebody tried to mess with the trapped soul?} Ahriman sighed as he shook his head mentally. ¡°You. Should. Have. Said. Something.¡± Desperately zig-zagging between trees as the bear swiped its paws at him, Kaz was barely able to dodge. {I thought it was common sense. Why would any magi spend the time to carefully form and animate such a powerful golem if they did not set up a method to prevent it from being disabled easily? I would normally not help you, but if you die here I¡¯m done for too. Try mentally ramming the bear¡¯s sigils. If you do it hard enough you might be able to break it.} Grimly, Kaz sent his spirits to slow the bear down as he sent his magical sense to attack the magical sigils. There were many different sigils on the bear¡¯s body, each seeming to protect a certain part of the bear¡¯s body. Mentally poking at different spots, Kaz ascertained that the chest sigil was the sturdiest in terms of magical defense. Although there are many different magical sigils protecting the bear¡¯s soul, the chest sigil is the one connecting the network of sigils. If I destroy that one, the network of magical protection would be likely to fail. Then, I could easily enslave the soul powering this stone bear golem. Rebuffed time and time again as he mentally rammed the bear¡¯s magical defenses, Kaz¡¯s physical abilities were strained to the limit as he ran in circles around the bear. As he kept up his mental assault, Kaz could feel the bear¡¯s sigils weakening. Attacking just a single sigil time and time again, Kaz could feel the golem¡¯s rage increasing as its protection started to wear off. Refining his mental attacks as he kept trying to crack open the bear¡¯s soul, Kaz¡¯s mental probe began to take the form of a spike. Anxiously, Kaz increased the speed and power of his assault as the bear¡¯s physical speed got faster the more it was agitated. Almost there¡­.the magical sigil on the bear¡¯s chest is about a quarter as bright as it was when it was first activated. I just need to keep this up, but I¡¯m getting closer and closer to being hit. With a singular focus born out of rage and worry, the golem started to ignore the ghosts scratching at him and exerted all of its attention onto the annoying little necromancer. Pausing about ten feet away from the bear, Kaz put nearly all of his strength into a massive mental spike, and sent it at the bear¡¯s chest sigil. *BANG* Finally tortured past the point of its strength, the magical sigil shattered as the bear closed the distance. Oh shit, shit, shit. I need to subdue it NOW. Kaz felt the mana surge through his hands, casting at the same moment a huge stone paw slammed into his chest. Flying through the air like a stone thrown by a child, blood erupted from Kaz¡¯s mouth and chest. Slamming into a thick dead tree, Kaz blacked out. ---------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading! Leave feedback in the comments below! Book 1 Chapter 11: Sanctuary of Silent Stone Chapter 11: Sanctuary of Silent Stone Kaz woke up to a silent, dark forest. There was nearly no illumination within the forest¡¯s interior, with only a few small shafts of moonlight. Had Kaz¡¯s fight with the stone bear not knocked down several trees in the process, the forest would be pitch dark. Groaning as he stood up, Kaz turned his head to look at the stone bear. Seeing the bear¡¯s baleful green eyes staring back at him, Kaz reacted by trying to backpedal his steps and tripping. Slamming down onto the ground once more, the scabs which had formed over his wounds ripped and started to bleed. Looking at the unmoving bear, Kaz warily sent out a mental probe. ¡°So it seems that I have successfully bound the bear¡¯s soul to mine. Does this mean that I can now control the bear?¡± Curious, Kaz sent out a mental command towards the bear. In response, the bear sat down. ¡°Heh, so it seems that I can indeed control the bear now. I was afraid that there would be a mental backlash if the bear disobeyed.¡± Touching his slightly less fractured ribs, Kaz sighed. ¡°The most valuable benefit from training as a necromancer is probably Unnatural Resilience. I don¡¯t think that I could have survived that single blow from the stone bear if I did not recover this fast. Most likely, I would have bled out on the floor before waking up. But now, I have this really interesting creature to test out.¡± Eyes glittering in anticipation, Kaz made the bear do more actions. Lumbering slowly, the bear began to walk towards a nearby tree. Raising its paw to the sky, the bear slammed it down straight at the side of the tree¡¯s trunk. *CRACK* With an ear-splitting crack, a huge indent in the shape of a paw formed on the side of the unfortunate tree¡¯s trunk. Not wasting any time, Kaz quickly ran the bear through a makeshift obstacle course. Testing speed, endurance, and strength, Kaz had no choice but to admit that the magi who created this stone bear was extremely competent their art. The bear¡¯s strength was monstrous. Testing the bear¡¯s ability to lift heavy objects, Kaz estimated that the bear was able to lift and carry an amount of rock that required a team of prime working horses to pull. Even more astonishing was the fact that the bear seemed to be able to do this indefinitely! Having set the bear to pull a downed tree on a patrol course around him, Kaz meditated on the while the bear was carrying out its task. Several hours later and his injuries having recovered somewhat more, Kaz opened his eyes and surveyed the results of his test. ¡°This stone bear truly has astonishing endurance. It was able to pull the huge tree trunk, which it knocked down with its own strength, for hours on end and not get tired. Even the bear at its top speed is extremely terrifying. I don¡¯t think any normal human would be able to escape just through speed alone.¡± The bear didn¡¯t seem to be able to obey complicated commands, much to Kaz¡¯s disappointment. Although simple commands to patrol an area, or to guard an area seem to work fine, Kaz couldn¡¯t make the bear make a fence out of damaged tree trunks. ¡°It seems that the bear will obey commands that a normal bear would have no trouble doing. Anything too complicated for the mind of a fleshy bear would be too complicated for this stone bear. I guess it¡¯s time to explore the crumbling ruins that the bear came from.¡± Climbing onto the bear¡¯s back, Kaz willed it to carry him towards the silent ruins. Approaching the gate, Kaz sent out his spirits out to scout along with his own magical sense. Sensing no immediate dangers, Kaz slowly rode the bear through the gate. What greeted Kaz took his breath away. A desolate courtyard, with a great stone building in the center, occupied the vast space beyond the gate. Kaz could see that once upon a time this place was a vibrant place where many people resided. However, there were traces of the calamity that had befallen the inhabitants here. Dotting the courtyard at various places, Kaz could see the skeletal remains of the people who used to reside in the ruins. Without harsh sunlight, the bones of the dead had not been bleached white. Instead, they were a dirty yellow, as if they had been buried for ages. I¡¯m sure that there are many, many more bones buried underneath the courtyard. I wonder what happened here. It seems like a huge battle had taken place here, although I don¡¯t see the remains of many weapons. Cautiously, Kaz got off of the bear and started to explore the courtyard slowly. Willing the bear to guard him, and sending his spirits on patrol routes centering on him, Kaz felt slightly safer than before. As he explored, Kaz realized that the ruins were even more mysterious than he had previously realized. These sigils on the walls aren¡¯t just for decoration. They contain a trace of power, specifically necromantic power. Although the magic powering these runes have long been exhausted, they carry traces of the incantation that was originally casted. Lost in thought, Kaz carefully studied every single magical sigil that he could find. As he kept studying the different sigils, a surprising thought came to him. Some of these sigils are protective. I recognize them because some of these are the same ones that the stone bear has on its body. Only they don¡¯t work anymore since I shattered the central sigil on its chest. In any case, the bear could prove useful as a distraction even if another necromancer appears and tries to usurp my control over the bear. Though, to be honest, I don¡¯t think that situation is going to happen anytime soon. Moving on, Kaz studied the other runes. Unfortunately, Kaz could only get a fleeting glimpse at their true purpose. Disappointed that he could not decipher the inner secrets of any more magical runes, Kaz walked back towards the central structure in the courtyard. It seems that magic is even more complicated than I had originally thought. Actually, I do recognize some of these sigils, since they resemble ancient letters of several civilizations that have long been destroyed. ¡°Hey Ahriman, do you recognize any of those magical sigils? It would be really helpful if you could explain them to me.¡± Feeling hopeful, Kaz turned to Ahriman for help. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. {.........} Hearing nothing from Ahriman, Kaz frowned. Ahriman did say previously that he would have to concentrate fully on preventing his mana from leaking, and to gather enough from the environment in order to transmit knowledge of new incantations. Perhaps this is one of those moments. I know he wouldn¡¯t ignore me because he¡¯s fond of arguing with me. Sensing that Ahriman was indeed still within his mind, Kaz took a deep breath as he walked into the main building. Following him in the bear¡¯s brightly glowing eyes provided enough light for Kaz to observe the inside. Frowning due to the lack of light, Kaz went back to the courtyard. Breaking off a branch from one of the trees in the courtyard, Kaz lit it on fire using flint he took from the dead hunters. With a new light source, Kaz brought with him several more branches that he fashioned into torches quickly using his tomahawk. Excited to explore the ruins with his new light sources, Kaz eagerly walked deeper into the stone ruins. Surprisingly, the stone ruins were organized like that of a military base. There were sleeping areas, training rooms, teaching rooms, as well as a large gathering hall. Eyeing the decrepit tables within the hall, Kaz surmised that the gathering hall could possibly also be a mess hall or a cafeteria. Walking through the abandoned kitchens, Kaz was astonished to note that there were still metal tools that looked serviceable. ¡°Hmm. I guess that metal would indeed stand the test of time if it¡¯s kept away from water and did not rust. What¡¯s this?¡± Unwilling to believe his eyes, Kaz noticed that there was an intact protective magical sigil carved onto the side of the wall in the kitchen¡¯s stock room. What treasures could it hold? I need to find out! There could be anything behind that wall. Preparing himself mentally, Kaz formed a formidable mental spike. Gathering enough magical power, Kaz unleashed his mental attack towards the sigil. While Kaz did expect that perhaps his mental spike would not pierce the magical sigil on his first try, he did not expect that sheer amount of magical backlash that exploded out of the rune. Blasted backwards, Kaz slammed into the opposite wall with the breath knocked out of his lungs and a new appreciation for the magical wall¡¯s power. ¡°Ugh...perhaps this magical sigil is only part of a magical network like the one protecting the stone bear¡¯s soul. I need to study this rune further.¡± Picking himself off of the floor, Kaz put the brunt of his attention towards analyzing the magical sigil. After a while, Kaz pinpointed what he thought was a weak point in the sigil. Forming another mental spike, Kaz slammed it into the weak point. *BANG* With a deafening noise, compounded even more so by the narrow hallways, Kaz was thrown back a second time as the magical sigil unleashed its magical counterattack. Slamming into the wall a second time, Kaz slid down the wall and just laid on the cold stone floor. This floor actually feels kind of nice. Groaning, Kaz raised himself into a sitting position opposite the unyielding magical sigil. Undeterred, Kaz concentrated even harder in studying the sigil. After several hours and torches, Kaz finally realized that what he thought was a network of runes was actually just a single complicated rune. So there actually was no weak point, it was just a trap of the design. Gritting teeth, Kaz had mixed feelings about being tricked. On one hand, he was furious at being injured because he did not manage to catch the trap. On another hand, Kaz was elated at being able to figure out more details concerning such an advanced magical defense system. ¡°Unfortunately, it seems as if I will be stopped here. My mental attacks aren¡¯t getting anywhere, and the only one being injured is me. Actually, there might be another way¡­.¡± Suddenly filled with inspiration, Kaz quickly retraced his steps to the building¡¯s entrance. Coming back out into the courtyard, Kaz gathered up materials and made more torches. Then, Kaz looked for the stone bear that he left to guard the entrance of the building. Sitting exactly where he left it, Kaz happily commanded the bear to follow him into the building. ¡°Fortunately for me, the entrances and doors in this building seemed to have been built for either giants, or many people. They are large enough for even this massive bear to walk through without much problem.¡± Walking through the silent halls, the young necromancer and the giant stone bear looked like an odd pair. Getting back to the magical sigil carved on the wall, Kaz stepped back while he commanded the stone bear towards the wall. Heh...if mental attacks won¡¯t cut it, why don¡¯t I just use the bear¡¯s massive physical strength to break open the wall? Feeling proud of himself for thinking of this idea, Kaz smugly stood back as the bear started to pound away at the wall with its paws. *BOOM BOOM BOOM* Loud thumps resonated throughout the empty halls as the stone bear slammed its paws time and time again into the stone wall. The magical sigil started to glow even more brightly as the stone bear was hitting it. Feeling the magical energies contained within the wall starting to gather at one point, Kaz get a feeling of immediate danger. Instructing the stone bear to keep up its assault on the magical wall, Kaz ran down the hall and back through the gathering hall before a massive explosion rocked the building. Being relatively close to the explosion, the remaining force shot outwards in all directions and picked Kaz up off the ground. Flying through the air for the fourth time in about as many hours, Kaz sighed as he braced himself for impact. Making his way back towards the destroyed magical wall after dusting himself off, Kaz was greeted with an amazing sight. His mouth open in surprise, Kaz walked through the opening that the stone bear had created. Not sparing even a single look at the heavily damaged stone bear, Kaz looked at the object of his newfound interest. ----------------------------------------------------------- Leave feedback in the comments! I''ve also decided on a constant release schedule. Chapters will be posted (as close to as I can) Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday nights Pacific Time. Book 1 Chapter 12: Ancient Sigils of Protection Here''s Saturday''s release! ------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 12: Ancient Sigils of Protection Walking through the crumbling opening, Kaz was greeted by an ancient door. An abundant amount of magical power was being emitted from the door. The previously unopened space had accumulated a large amount of magical energy that was prevented from escaping due to the magical sigil. Finally offered a release since the sealed wall now lay in a pile of rocks, magical energy poured out. Kaz stood in front of the door, marvelling at the sheer amount of magical energy leaking into the atmosphere. {Ahh¡­.this is much better. There¡¯s so much mana in the surrounding air that I don¡¯t have to worry about my own energy leaking. Mana is like water, you know. It will try to escape whenever it can.} Ahriman gave a deep sigh of content as he spoke, breaking his previously uncharacteristic silence. ¡°So do you know what this place is? And why anybody would choose to build such a large structure this deep inside the forest?¡± Kaz had many questions that he wanted to ask, but he knew that the grouchy necromancer would only answer a few of them. {I suspect that this place used to be either a magus stronghold or an academy used to train magi. Being this deep into the Southern Forests would serve to effectively hide the location from prying eyes. Privacy is one of the most valued things among magi. Besides, there would probably be at least one Spatial Magic user among all of these magi who would be able to create a wayportal to get in and out easily.} Spatial Magic and wayportals? I¡¯ve never even heard of these terms. But they sound especially interesting. ¡°What¡¯s Spatial Magic? And for that matter, whats a wayportal?¡± Eagerly, Kaz prodded Ahriman for more information. Freed from the constraints of trying to preserve his leaking mana, Ahriman had no qualms about lecturing about magic. {Spatial Magic is another form of Magic, another rival school to our Death Magic. Its incantations usually deal with the manipulation of space. The wayportal is the poster child for Spatial Magic. By carving a two sigils onto the ground and imbuing both with the caster¡¯s magic, any other magi need only provide sufficient energy to instantly travel between the two.} Silently shocked, Kaz thought about what he had just been told. Spatial Magic is so powerful. Instantaneous transportation is something that would revolutionize the world as we know it today. ¡°Since Spatial Magic is so powerful and useful, why don¡¯t more magi practice it? I¡¯ve never even heard of Spatial Magic before now.¡± {Look, the way that I described it makes Spatial Magic seem much simpler than it actually is. So, so many things can go wrong with practicing Spatial Magic. Even if a tiny part of a wayportal is not carved right, the person using it could be ripped in half after the portal activates.} Grimacing as he imagined a person being ripped in half. Kaz looked towards the door. Like many of the structures within the stronghold, faintly glowing magical sigils were carved deep into the door. Kaz realized that these magical runes were extremely old, and had probably lost a large amount of their protective power over the centuries. That¡¯s not to say that these weakened defenses aren¡¯t strong enough to kill me. If I did not have the brute strength of that stone bear there would probably be no way for me to even break open the passageway towards this door. Staring intently at the magical sigils on the door, Kaz sat on the floor as he studied the protective magical network. Kaz recognized some of the ancient sigils from his previous studies in history. However, the interactions between these and other sigils that Kaz did not recognize baffled the young necromancer. {What¡¯s taking so long to open this door? Why don¡¯t you just break that Tian sigil in the upper left? That¡¯s the centerpiece of this particular magical door.} Ahriman¡¯s grating voice once again rang out in Kaz¡¯s head, only this time Kaz did not find it annoying. ¡°You can read these? I can only recognize a few of these sigils. The previous sigils that I¡¯ve broken or targeted were only broken after I had analyzed the magical connections between the centerpiece and the outer sigils.¡± Flabbergasted at Kaz¡¯s response, Ahriman was silent for several moments before groaning. {You little brat! Your way of learning is entirely abnormal. Who would even think of analyzing connections between magical sigils if you don¡¯t even know what they mean? These things aren¡¯t a child¡¯s puzzle. The interactions between sigils is extremely complex, and it¡¯s sheer luck that you¡¯ve not died from accidentally triggering magical backlash. Here, I have enough mana to send you the ancient language. Brace yourself} With a silent word, Ahriman burned his knowledge of the ancient language onto Kaz¡¯s mind. The amount of information being branded onto his memory this time exceeded previous searings by a large amount. {Oh stop writhing on the ground with your head in your hands. It shouldn¡¯t even be that painful. I never feel anything when this happens.} Sadistically enjoying watching Kaz suffer, Ahriman took several quick jabs at Kaz¡¯s inability to handle the mental pain well. Having twitched on the ground for an indeterminate amount of time, Kaz slowly got off the floor as his headache faded. ¡°Having a language seared into my mind is not the same as getting a short spell branded. You could really show some more empathy, didn¡¯t your own master brand spells painfully to teach too?¡± Grumpily, Kaz dusted his clothes off as he turned to look again at the door. {No, not really. I had a more traditional apprenticeship. You know, the books and studying kind.} ¡°That sounds so much better. If we could find some books on necromancy, could we do that?¡± {I have to force nearly all of my knowledge into you so you can perform the necessary steps to revive me. Traditional learning just takes too long. Just shut up and unlock the door already.} Looking back at the magical sigils carved onto the door, Kaz realized that he was able to identify and analyze the patterns now as clear as day. ¡°Hmm...alright. So there seems to be a total of six independent sigil patterns, and they link to form two greater sigils. The weak point of this sigil is indeed in the upper left as Ahriman said.¡± Carefully forming a mental spike, Kaz prepared to break the centerpiece sigil. However, before he launched his attack, Kaz¡¯s eyes caught something else of interest. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s so good that I double checked the sigils before I launched my attacks. There is another centerpiece sigil down near the center. Both are centerpieces for their respective greater sigils.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Stepping back, Kaz carefully studied the dual greater Sigils carved onto the door. {What are you waiting for? I just gave you the method to read the sigils and disable the door¡¯s protection. Why are you not busy destroying that door?} ¡°Because there are actually two centerpieces, and the magical backlash from breaking only one would be enough to at least greatly injure me.¡± {Well, yeah. But you won¡¯t die. You¡¯ll just get blasted back a bit and maybe you¡¯ll break a bone or two. Or five.} ¡°Yes. Well, I would really rather not have to go through that if it¡¯s all the same to you. I¡¯ll figure out a way around this. Just let me do my thing.¡± With a loud grunt. Ahriman once again grew silent. Looking at the sigils, Kaz realized with a start that the protections carved onto this door were stronger than both the hallway sigils as well as the protective sigils carved onto the stone bear. There was a specific pattern that the two greater sigils made which captured most of Kaz¡¯s attention. ¡°Six unite to make Two, and the Two are Eternal Companions. When one exists, so will the other. When one is destroyed, only if the other is destroyed as well will both die.¡± Muttering under his breath, Kaz assembled a rough translation of the carved sigils. ¡°If I do not want to suffer the magical backlash, I would have to destroy both centerpiece sigils at the same time. However, they are too far apart to be hit with any of my single target spells.¡± Looking back, Kaz walked over towards the hallway where the obedient stone bear was. Noticing that the opening towards the door was nowhere big enough for the stone bear, Kaz commanded the bear to remove more portions of the stone wall. This stone bear has been greatly damaged by the previous magical explosion. However, if I use it to hit the second centerpiece while I send a mental spike towards the first, both might be destroyed at the same time. Positioning himself very carefully behind the bear, Kaz conjured a mental spike. With a confident motion, Kaz sent the mental command for the bear to attack the lower sigil as he shot his mental spike at a upper sigil. Not daring to look back at the results of his attack, Kaz sprinted back to the hallway. Either Kaz¡¯s mental spike or the stone bear¡¯s physical attack was not sufficient, and one of the centerpieces survived the dual attack. It didn¡¯t particularly matter which one, as the magical backlash resulted in a huge fiery explosion with the door as its origin. *BOOOOOOOOOM* For once in his life, Kaz was far enough from the explosion to not be sent flying. Ears ringing, Kaz waited for the dust to settle before he headed back in. The once intimidating stone bear was destroyed. What once was a giant stone bear now consisted of various stones. The bear¡¯s eyes were no longer glowing, instead it lay upside down, and they seemed to glare at Kaz when he entered. Looking towards the magical door, Kaz could see that both centerpiece sigils were now glowing brightly. Frowning, Kaz sat on what remained of the bear¡¯s torso as he thought about his sigil problem. My main problem is twofold at this point. First, I don¡¯t actually know which attack failed to break the centerpiece sigils. Both of the runes carved are identical, and their patterns strengthen each other. Since they are both the same rune, it would make sense that their magical or physical resistances would be the same. Even if one broke, the patterns carved would focus magical energy and regenerate the other rune. Lost in thought, Kaz almost missed the top rune as it flickered once. The top rune flickered! That means that its magical protection is slightly weaker than the other. This probably means that it was regenerated recently. Since it had to have been regenerated, this means that my magical attack was successful in breaking the sigil while the bear¡¯s physical strike failed. Gnashing his teeth in frustration, Kaz brought out some berries that he had picked up from the forest and started to eat them as he thought. Even if the first problem has been taken care of, the second problem remains. I don¡¯t have any magical spells that could hit a large enough area as to destroy both sigils at once. After some time, Kaz¡¯s chewing stopped abruptly. That¡¯s it! Previously, I have casted spells from both my right and left hands. Mana can be focused on both hands, and can spells can be casted from both. Never have I used both hands to cast spells at the same time, but at this point it¡¯s my only choice if I want to get through this door. Finishing off the rest of his berries, Kaz drank some water from a flask taken from one of the dead hunters. Going back into the hallway, Kaz started to practice forming spells in both hands at once. Rather than practicing in the crowded space in front of the door, I¡¯d rather practice in the hallway outside in case something goes wrong. Holding his hands in front of him, Kaz started to gather his magical energy. Slowly channeling it through both arms, Kaz only managed to get the magical energy up to his elbows before it rushed backwards into his body. There must be something wrong with how I¡¯m gathering my mana. Perhaps if I did it one at a time¡­ Focusing mana into his right arm, Kaz managed to prepare a Mental Spike a few inches above his outstretched hand. Struggling with holding back his spell, Kaz managed to conjure up an identical Mental Spike in his left. Blowing his breath out, Kaz unleashed his dual spells off into the side of the hallway. ¡°The combined magical impact of two spells together seem to be stronger than if I had just unleashed two separate spells one in quick succession. Does the dual cast empower the spells in some way?¡± Kaz grinned as he revelled in his small success. Noticing that his magical power was depleted, Kaz went back towards the magic-saturated space in front of the door to replenish his magical power. Soul power is exceptionally useful, but regenerates at about the same rate as my innate magical power. Since that¡¯s the case, I should just absorb the magical power present in the air instead of using Soul power to facilitate the dual cast necessary to destroy both centerpiece sigils. After about an hour and with his magical power replenished, Kaz looked up at the door with an eager glint in his eyes. ------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading! Don''t forget to leave feedback/comments if you enjoyed reading! Book 1 Chapter 13: Mana Crystals and Floating Skulls Here''s the first chapter for this week! --------------------------------------------------- Chapter 13: Mana Crystals and Floating Skulls Standing in front of the glowing sigils, Kaz carefully pinpointed and identified the centerpiece sigils. Gathering his mana, Kaz formed two mental spikes individually. One in each hand, Kaz hesitated for a second. Then, taking extremely careful aim, Kaz unleashed his spells at their targets. Closing his eyes in anticipation of a huge explosion, Kaz raised his hands as if defending himself from an attack. Curiously, there was no huge explosion. Shattering crisply with two small bangs, the centerpiece sigils collapsed at the same time. Immediately afterwards, the glowing protective network on the door¡¯s surface grew fainter and fainter as the protective magic flickered and failed. Finally confronted with a dark door, Kaz reached to push the door open. At Kaz¡¯s slight touch the door¡¯s runes flashed a bright green once, then the door opened by itself without any further stimulation. Kaz could see a dark hallway through the door, getting darker the further it went. Lighting one of the last torches that he had crudely made from branches and tree resin, Kaz cautiously walked forwards. {Ahhh¡­.the air is even more saturated with mana inside. This feeling is supremely comfortable. You should really not get used to this feeling, since most other environments just aren¡¯t as relaxing. It¡¯s a shame really, if only your innate magical power pool was greater you could absorb so much more. As it is, this environment only provides you a trifling benefit at most.} Thoroughly enjoying the feeling of a mana saturated atmosphere, Ahriman was uncharacteristically chipper. With a stifled groan, Kaz walked deeper into the dark. After some time, Kaz started to notice that crystals that overflowed with mana seemed to be forming and disappearing in the air. Stopping to look at a few of these crystals, Kaz¡¯s eyes glinted as he studied the crystalline formations in the air. ¡°Ahriman, are these crystals made up of pure mana? It seems that some of the mana from the air has forcibly turned into crystals. Some of these larger crystals seem to have been formed for a while.¡± {You¡¯re more or less correct in your guess. Pure mana follows a set of guidelines in nature. Under normal conditions, mana is only found in air. However, in situations where the atmosphere is considerably saturated with mana, crystals of it could precipitate out of the air in the form of crystals. If enough of it comes out of the air, we can expect crystals of pure mana to form like those you see here.} Picking up a mana crystal, Kaz studied the shape, and found that it was not unlike the shape of some precious metals. About the size of a fist, the mana crystal faintly glowed by itself. Kaz got the feeling that the crystal almost seemed alive. Walking further down the hallway, Kaz had many things to ask Ahriman. ¡°If these crystals are the result of pure mana being condensed out of the air, they would have to only exist in areas where there are high levels of pure mana right? Assuming this, the moment I take one of these crystals outside they would disperse.¡± {Exactly right. Many people in the past have attempted to figure out a way to farm these mana crystals. Many methods including airtight containers have failed to successfully transport mana crystals out of their formative environment. However, one method eventually succeeded. Do you know what it was?} ¡°Assuming that a magical method was the sole success. I¡¯d have to say that it was a Spatial Magic method that eventually succeeded in isolating the mana crystals in a way to facilitate transport.¡± {You know, I really enjoy the academic side of you when it¡¯s centered on the topic of magic. That¡¯s right, Spatial Magic was the only way to isolate mana crystals outside of their formative environment. The Spatial Magi would create a small pocket of space where nothing could get in or out, including mana. They would then insert a mana crystal and therefore could take it outside without the mana dispersing.} ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the downside of this be that you would have to hire many Spatial Magi if any significant mana crystal farming was to be done? I think that would be prohibitively expensive. Plus, if the mana crystal formation area was exposed to such open activity like magi coming in and out, wouldn¡¯t the mana leak out of the area at an increased rate? Then the pure mana would run out and nobody could get any benefit.¡± {Although you¡¯re right about the expense, areas containing pure mana do not run out that easily. Since only practitioners of Spatial Magic could successfully harvest mana crystals, they profited greatly from any discovery of a mana crystal mine. Eventually Spatial Magic was lost when their magi had a rather long civil war. But that¡¯s ancient history at this point anyway.} ¡°You can¡¯t tell me that the Spatial Magi had a civil war and then brush it off like it¡¯s nothing! Ugh¡­¡± Kaz¡¯s interest was piqued, but being unable to get the information from Ahriman, he could do nothing but bite his tongue. Further talk was not going to go anywhere anyways since it was at this point that Kaz noticed that he had reached the end of the long hallway. The concentration of mana crystals had increased dramatically as Kaz walked. ¡°Near the entrance, there were only tiny mana crystals the size of a berry. Now there are mana crystals lying on the floor as big as my head. Each is a different shape, even. Although some are similar in shape, there are distinct differences between every mana crystal.¡± Facing a set of stone doors, Kaz realized that there were even more complicated sigils carved on it. Getting excited, the apprentice got close to the doors and started to study them. {.....} Normally, Ahriman would complain about Kaz¡¯s interest in such things, but now he just sighed and kept quiet. ¡°The Seal of Spirits is the creation of the Magi of Lorthar. Beyond these Guardians lies the Power to Change Eternity. Where once there existed a Mountain, there will exist a Plain.¡± Kaz stepped back, and sat on the ground as he thought about the carved inscriptions. Playing with a mana crystal in his hands, Kaz casually began to refill his innate mana pool with the energy trapped within the crystal. ¡°These protective sigils actually spell out a story, or could be interpreted as a story. Each capitalized word corresponds to a sigil of power, which will combine with the others to form the protective magical network. However, figuring out the centerpiece sigil depends on analyzing the message of the sigil.¡± After several exposures to the protective sigils, Kaz started to grasp the core theory behind them. {Hoo..you¡¯re actually really good at this theory stuff. I will admit that I spent much longer trying to decipher the core theory behind protective networks when I was studying them. Then again, I wasn¡¯t nearly as motivated as you are now since protective theory is so damn boring.} Not one to be easily impressed, Ahriman nevertheless admired Kaz¡¯s aptitude for magical theory. Lighting his last torch, Kaz left it in a large crack in the wall as he prepared to deconstruct the stone door¡¯s magical protections. Sending his magical sense out towards the door to probe for the magical connections between each sigil, Kaz realized that the stone doors weren¡¯t actually magically protected. Sighing, Kaz could only retrieve his torch and sheepishly walk towards the stone doors. Although the sigils were carved correctly, either the stone doors were never intended to be in use, or the magus carving it forgot to power it up. ¡°The stone doors have the Eternity Sigil. That alone allows it to regenerate its power from the surrounding environment in order to keep the protective magics up and running. With such a mana saturated environment, the activated protective network could have lasted for thousands of years, perhaps tens of thousands. It looks like today¡¯s my lucky break!¡± {You know, if only you¡¯d have probed the door with magical sense first, this wouldn¡¯t have happened. Do you really need to study everything that interests you?} Unable to resist poking fun at Kaz, Ahriman¡¯s scathing voice carried hints of condescension as well as sarcasm. ¡°I need all the information that I could get. Although I don¡¯t know how to carve and imbue these sigils with mana at the moment, being able to decipher and deconstruct the magical protections surrounding them is a very useful skill in my opinion.¡± Bracing himself for any unexpected effects, Kaz placed his right hand on the door. The moment his fingers touched the cold stone doors, a bright green flash originated from the Eternity sigil on the door. The rest of the sigils started to power up, and the set of doors opened. Breathlessly, Kaz walked beyond the stone doors. Within the stone doors was a large cavern of sorts. It seemed to Kaz to be a sort of laboratory. However, there was an object that drew most of Kaz¡¯s attention. In the very center of the cavern was a massive mana crystal, many times larger than even the head-sized ones that had materialized back in the hallway. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Kaz¡¯s seven bound souls writhed endlessly as they felt the extreme saturation of the mana within the cavern¡¯s atmosphere. Sending them to scout for dangers, Kaz gaped at the central mana crystal as he approached it. Looking at the ground, Kaz realized that the floor was not actually just stone as he initially thought. ¡°There seems to be an extremely complicated magical network carved into the floor. Although it does not cover the entire cavern, since I did not notice it immediately as I walked in, it does cover a sizable portion of it. Curiously, the center of this particular magical network is directly below the huge mana crystal.¡± Walking around the central mana crystal, Kaz¡¯s concentration as he studied the magical inscriptions could only be described as intense. After a short while, Kaz sat on a nearby stone bench in front of the crystal. Deep in thought, Kaz didn¡¯t even hear Ahriman as the latter desperately tried to get his attention. {Hey, this cannot be that interesting. It¡¯s just a really big version of all of those little ones outside. Gods above, how can he be this interested in this pile of junk? There¡¯s not even a practical purpose for studying this huge mana crystal. There¡¯s no way of taking it out of here, even if he did know Spatial Magic. I¡¯ve never seen a mana crystal this large either, but I know they can get this big in theory so it isn¡¯t as interesting to me.} Lacking the verbal ability to shake Kaz out of his thoughts, Ahriman resorted to lightly shocking Kaz mentally with magic. ¡°Agh! Ow...Why did you do that?¡± Annoyed, Kaz glared at the empty space around him. {Because you were lost in thought, and this really isn¡¯t a good use of your time. Isn¡¯t your torch going to run out soon anyways?} Trying to steer Kaz off into a path more interesting, Ahriman tried to appeal to Kaz¡¯s sense of caution. ¡°I hardly even noticed it. The bright glow coming from this central mana crystal is of comparable brightness to a full moon. There¡¯s barely a need for additional illumination. In addition, despite the rude awakening that you¡¯ve provided me, I think I have a basic idea of what the magical network on the ground is for.¡± {Oh? Do tell. I¡¯m sooooo interested in hearing what you have discovered.} If he still had eyes, Ahriman¡¯s would have been rolled all the way to the back of his skull. If he still had one too. ¡°The magical network on the ground is not actually a protective network. It¡¯s more of a condensing network. You can see the Wind Sigil carved multiple times on the outer rings of the network. These are still powered, and I can feel them diverting a constant stream of mana towards the central crystal. I hypothesize that the underneath the massive central mana crystal there lies either a Vortex or Gather Sigil combined with a outer ring of Condense Sigils. This would provide a simple basis for the diverting and condensing of a single magical crystal within the magical network. If my theory is correct, this mana crystal should still be growing. It will continue to keep growing until the pure mana in the atmosphere is exhausted. However, it does not seem likely that this exhaustion event will happen anytime soon.¡± {I should not have asked. I should not have asked. Gods above and Devils below, I should not have asked.} Muttering to himself quietly, Ahriman deeply regretted prompting Kaz to speak about his theories concerning the central mana crystal. ¡°Curiously, we can hypothesize about how this mana crystal was created, but we have no idea about the purpose of this object. There does not seem to be any channeling of the gathered mana towards a specific purpose. The most concrete theory that I have now is that the mana crystal has been created to light up the cavern, but that would not have been viable in the beginning. Such a huge mana crystal must have taken many years to form, therefore it would not have provided any significant lighting when it was first condensed.¡± Continuing on and on, Kaz looked to be nowhere near finished with his thoughts. Fortunately for Ahriman, a ghastly shriek from one of Kaz¡¯s spirits interrupted the historian¡¯s train of thought. His face darkening at the thought of impending danger, Kaz turned to the direction of the shriek and set off at a brisk pace. Condensing the mana in his body, Kaz quickly condensed a Frozen Spear in his left hand has he approached the origin of the shriek. Mentally commanding all but two of his patrolling spirits to come to his location, Kaz turned the corner to a curious sight. ¡°Kakakakaka! Take that you filthy intruder! No one is allowed to defile the master¡¯s sanctuary!¡± A floating skull was busy shooting bolts of magical energy at Kaz¡¯s spirit. Although Kaz¡¯s spirit was agile, it did not have great defenses against magical attacks. The skull¡¯s aim was quite awful, but it did get a couple of hits onto the spirit as the spirit approached in an attempt to attack with its claws. Sending four of his other spirits in to attack the floating skull, Kaz hid behind a natural rock formation and watched the heated exchange go on. This is my chance to study this skull. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve encountered something like this. Besides, it doesn¡¯t seem like my spirits are going to be destroyed at the rate that this skull is attacking them. Zipping through the air, the skull cut a slightly graceful figure. Eyes lit up a bluish-green with balefire, the skull launched bolts of magical energy from its mouth. ¡°Kakaka?! MORE SPIRITS? How did you dirty mongrels even get in here? I didn¡¯t ever think that there would be a way for such scum to break past the various magical protections that master laid down.¡± Agitated by the appearance of additional spirits attacking it, the balefire in the skull¡¯s eyes turned into a bright crimson. Opening its mouth wide, a ball of dark energy condensed. Sensing the imminent danger, Kaz mentally shouted at his spirits to take evasive action. Condensing dual Mental Spikes in his hands, Kaz watched for an opportunity to unleash his magical attacks. ¡°You¡¯re not getting away from this, little ghosties! Take this!¡± The dark-reddish energy finally finished condensing, the skull turned to one of the closer spirits that was trying to run away. With a silent shout, the skull shot the bolt of energy at his target. Flying faster than any magical bolt that Kaz had seen before, the dark bolt clipped the spirit¡¯s lower half. Shrieking miserably, the spirit slowed considerably as its ethereal body took a considerable amount of damage. ¡°Tsk. It seems that my aim has gone quite sour in the years since Master left. Why, in the past I could have shot down a bird flying high in the sky without a second thought.¡± Gathering dark energy again in its mouth, the grinning skull prepared to fire another deadly bolt at the wounded spirit. Noticing that whenever the skull gathers its mana its movement slows to a grind, Kaz took this opportunity to pop out of the background and unleash his Mental Spikes at the skull¡¯s gathered dark energy. ¡°Wha¨C there was actually a necromancer here? Is that why AUUUGHH¡± Unable to cancel his spell in time and surprised, the skull was unable to avoid Kaz¡¯s Mental Spikes as they crashed directly to the dark energy that it was gathering. *BOOM BOOM* A double explosion erupted from the skull¡¯s mouth as the Mental Spikes disrupted the dark energy. Interrupted and unstable, the dark energy took the path of least resistance, which was to unleash all of the stored energy in the form of explosions. Ripping apart the unfortunate skull, the dark energy finally dispersed after vaporizing everything in approximately ten meters from the explosion¡¯s origin. ¡°Shit. That last explosion completely destroyed the spirit¡¯s physical body. I can still feel the bound soul connected to me, but I am unable to access any of Soul Power that it previously provided. Ahriman, is there any way to heal the spirit?¡± Worried about losing an extremely valuable resource, Kaz sought help from Ahriman. {You don¡¯t need to worry that much. As long as you siphon some magical energy to help it regenerate its well-being, a bound soul will eventually be able to manifest another spirit body. As it stands, you are extremely fortunate to be in an area with a high pure mana concentration. Just divert some of that energy to your spirit and it should be fine after a day or two.} His worries aside, Kaz looked around to see what else was in the cavern. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks for reading! Leave a comment/review if you enjoyed! Book 1 Chapter 14: Mental Domination Here''s the second chapter of the week! ------------------------------------------------ Chapter 14: Mental Domination Looking around, Kaz could see many different parts of the cavern. Each part seemed to have its own function. From his location, Kaz could see that there were about six distinctly different parts of the cavern. Keeping his rotation of scouting spirits up, minus the one heavily damaged by the skull, Kaz took the initiative to explore the section of the cavern that he was currently in. Since there were no true rooms in the cavern, the rooms were divided by stone walls about two meters tall. Rounding the corner, Kaz was pleasantly greeted by what seemed to be an armory. About a dozen racks laden with armor and weapons were arranged in a semicircle across from what appeared to be stone golems. Eagerly walking closer towards the stone golems, Kaz ignored the weapons and armor nearly completely. ¡°These stone golems have many protective sigils carved onto them. I wonder what protections they have. Simply having physical protection would be far too boring, I hope that these golems have magical protections too! That would allow me to practice the power of my spells.¡± Inspecting the nearest golem closely, Kaz started to walk around it in order to get the full view of its protective network. Sigils glowing softly, the golem looked like a real soldier from a kingdom long gone. As Kaz walked from golem to golem, studying their sigil networks, he realized that none of the golems were the same. ¡°These golems all have slight differences in their features. For example, none of them are the same height. Although they are all within a certain height deviation, none of them are as tall as another. Furthermore, the faces carved onto each golem are different. Shapes of noses, depths of eyes, even ear shapes are unique to each golem.¡± {Do you really have to linger on the mundane details like this? They¡¯re not even magically important. I know they¡¯re interesting, but so is the rest of this cavern. Plus, what kind of person doesn¡¯t even look at the weapons and armor and goes straight to the stone statues?} Ever the prickly grump, Ahriman always had choice words for Kaz. ¡°Eh. Don¡¯t worry about it. I still have that tomahawk. Plus, I have a plentiful amount of mana to cast spells with if anything does happen. You know my martial abilities are trash, so equipping myself with weapons and armor might actually do more harm than good if it reduces my ability to evade.¡± Not skipping a beat by allowing Ahriman the verbal upper hand, Kaz smartly rapped out his rebuttal as he studied the sigils. After nearly an hour, Kaz finally stepped back from the golems. ¡°These golems all carry different sigil protections. Although the basic Protect sigil is the centerpiece sigil for each golem, they have different auxiliary sigils supplementing them in various ways.¡± Looking back at the racks of weapons and armor, Kaz walked over and started to study them. The twelve racks of equipment were divided into eight types of weapons and four types of armor. At a glance, Kaz saw that there were racks for longswords, shortswords, axes, maces, spears, halberds, bows, and throwing weapons. All of these weapons were in surprisingly good condition, with no signs of deterioration. ¡°There has to be a reason that these weapons, which appear to be made of iron, are still so well preserved. They¡¯re cold to the touch, and rather dry even in this moist cavern. Actually¡­.¡± Looking at the wooden racks properly this time, Kaz saw that there were glowing sigils carved into the backs of the racks. {Hmm, whoever was the owner of this cavern sure was meticulous. Even though this cave was clearly made for a magi, the weapons were as well-maintained as possible. I¡¯m sure this mysterious magus had a lot of free time on their hands hahaha!} Chortling merrily, Ahriman amused himself with the thought that the owner of the cave was an eccentric magus. Meticulously studying the back of the racks, Kaz found that there was a simple Sigil formation on the backs of each rack. These were all the same formations, unlike those on the golems. ¡°With a Repel sigil as the centerpiece, a Water sigil as the supplementing sigil, and a Regenerate Mana sigil as the power, these racks can keep their contents dry as long as there is sufficient mana to power them. These Sigils could actually become the most effective method to preserve consumable materials and items should they become widespread.¡± Walking towards the golems again as he thought, Kaz¡¯s train of thought was rudely interrupted when the central mana crystal flashed brightly. Lighting up the cavern like day, the central mana crystal started to rotate in place. Worried, Kaz recalled all but one of his patrolling spirits. Sending the lone spirit left to the central crystal ahead of him, Kaz cautiously retraced his steps back towards the center of the cavern. ¡°KAKAKAKA! Filthy little necromancer, you¡¯ve managed to destroy my physical body, but this just released my spirit body back into the world.¡± A ghastly voice rang out in the silence as Kaz approached. {That¡¯s the little floating bastard that you blew up earlier, isn¡¯t it? I wonder why it took so long for his spirit body to manifest after his physical skull was blown to bits. Normally a spirit trapped in a physical container will manifest the moment the physical container fails its purpose.} Barely dodging the dark bolt of energy that the enemy spirit lobbed at him, Kaz drew mana from deep within him as he prepared a Mental Spike. ¡°Lecture me later. Just keep a lookout for me and if you have a way to permanently disable this creature, let me know.¡± In no mood for Ahriman¡¯s quips, Kaz ran from cover to cover as the spirit in front of the mana crystal sent bolt after bolt of black lightning towards him. ¡°You cannot run forever! Kakaka sooner or later you will get tired, and then BAM I¡¯ll nail you with a bolt.¡± Cackling manically, the spirit flew around the mana crystal as it replenished its mana by absorbing the mana-saturated air. Finally allowed a break, Kaz recalled his scouting spirit as he took a look at his adversary. Floating about two meters in the air, the previously cranky floating skull turned into a red ghost. Its eyes still glowed with balefire, the smouldering green glow causing Kaz to shiver. Curiously, there appeared to be a set of chains on the spirit¡¯s ethereal body. ¡°That set of chains is centered on a thick lock that appears to have a single centerpiece Sigil on it. So it seems that Sigils can also be used to brand spirits. Although I have no idea how it is even possible to attach ethereal chains onto a spirit, those chains must be the way of controlling that spirit.¡± Eyes gleaming, Kaz prepared two different spells. {I really hope you know what you¡¯re doing, brat. I wouldn¡¯t even think of doing what I think you¡¯re trying to do.} Worried that Kaz is going to try something crazy, Ahriman let his displeasure show slightly as he tried to dissuade Kaz. ¡°Oh shut up, do you have a better alternative? I don¡¯t move faster than that spirit, and I don¡¯t think I can run out of the cavern before it nails me with at least one bolt of black lightning. I don¡¯t even know if I can survive a hit from that. You saw what it did to my ghost.¡± Gritting his teeth, Kaz bided his time as he waited for the red spirit to get back into spellcasting range. {Well yeah, but black lightning spells were specifically designed to combat ethereal enemies. They do extreme amounts of damage to spirits because black lightning disrupts ectoplasm, which is what your spirit¡¯s ethereal body is made of. Although they cannot destroy the soul, black lightning is especially useful in disabling another necromancer¡¯s ghosts.} Never one to resist being able to annoy Kaz in dangerous situations, Ahriman started to teach Kaz important information so that the latter could not possibly complain about distractions later. ¡°You don¡¯t say? I¡¯m still sure that black lightning does hideous damage to human flesh. Do you see these destroyed walls? I¡¯ve had to change my hiding spot at least five times since coming to investigate this central mana crystal. I don¡¯t think that something capable of disintegrating stone walls will be a light brush on my body.¡± Scrunching his face in concentration, Kaz was certain that the red ghost would run out of mana soon and would have to refill his mana pool. ¡°Kek, feisty little thing, aren¡¯t you? I guess I¡¯ll just have to up the power of my lightning if I want to flush you out. The Master would be displeased that such collateral damage occurred, but he¡¯ll be even more displeased if he comes back and finds you here.¡± Holding its hands in front of its body, the red apparition started to concentrate its mana into a darker black lightning. As the spell was being charged, Kaz¡¯s hair started to stand up on end due to the amount of static electricity being generated in the atmosphere. Waiting until the black ball of lightning was an about the size of a small child, Kaz unleashed his spells the moment after waiting for the perfect opportunity. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Keke, you can¡¯t possibly think that your slow spells could hit me¨C?!¡± Slowed dramatically has Kaz¡¯s Bitter Grip hit it, the red spirit could do nothing but watch in agony as Kaz¡¯s Mental Spike slammed into the charged black lightning. *BANG* Oddly enough, the size of the explosion from the charged black lightning was smaller than the previous explosion that had shattered the skull. Nevertheless, the power contained within the explosion was nearly three times as great. The red spirit¡¯s body shook as it struggled to block the explosion from hitting the central mana crystal. By doing this, the red spirit took even more damage than it would have otherwise. ¡°KAAAAAAAAAAAAA! HOW DARE YOU ATTEMPT TO DESTROY THE CENTRAL MANA CRYSTAL! I WILL TEAR YOU APART!¡± Enraged nearly beyond words, the red spirit floated to a standstill in the air as it greedily absorbed mana to restore its damaged ethereal form. Unfortunately, it was this action that cost the red spirit the fight. Seeing his opponent stalled in the air, Kaz finally had the opportunity to read the sigils carved on the chain¡¯s locks. Running in circles below the ghost, Kaz quickly read and tried to analyze the magical network on binding his opponent. ¡°The centerpiece sigil on the chains is Domination. It¡¯s supplemented by dual Protection and Regenerate sigils. Heh, I don¡¯t know what will happen, but I have nothing to lose!¡± With a determined look in his eyes, Kaz quickly gathered the mana necessary for two spells again, this time drawing on his Soul Power to supplement his quickly depleting mana. ¡°Your puny spells cannot do anything to me! I¡¯ve been tricked twice into eating the power of my own spells, which I will admit is extremely frustrating. Since I¡¯m not charging any spells right now, however, nothing you can cast will be able to harm me!¡± Smirking and with a haughty attitude, the red spirit sneered at the spells forming in Kaz¡¯s hands. ¡°Oh, but I¡¯m not looking to damage your body. Don¡¯t you realize there¡¯s a different way to deal with you?¡± Nonchalantly, Kaz put his hands in front of him. Unleashing the power of a dual-casted Mental Spike, Kaz was knocked back a few steps from his own spell¡¯s recoil as it ripped through the air. Flying through the air, Kaz¡¯s huge Mental Spike slammed into the centerpiece Domination sigil that was the focal point for the chains binding the spirit. The chains broke with a small snap, and dematerialized the moment they fell off the ghost. {.......} Seeing how the red ghost was still a threat, Ahriman had no words. ¡°Kekeke, what did you think that was going to do to me?¡± Chuckling to itself over what it thought to be a useless attack, the red ghost continued to gather mana from the atmosphere. ¡°It appears you have no idea what I was aiming for, do you?¡± Things finally going his way, Kaz was relaxed for the first time in the fight. ¡°Do you even realize what the supplementary sigil was on your protective chains?¡± Smirking, Kaz verbally prodded the ghost. With a sinking feeling, the red ghost remembered its Master¡¯s words. You must never let your chains be broken. They are what bind you to this realm in my absence. ¡°I never realized it until I looked at your sigils, but the Protect sigil on your chains was the same Protect sigil that was the centerpiece for that stone bear outside. Once I cracked that, I was able to seize control of its soul.¡± Grinning from ear to ear, Kaz used some of his remaining Soul Power to cast Soul Enslave onto the red ghost. The moment Soul Enslave hit the red ghost, it tried to resist. Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed as he supplied even more power and concentration to his spell. ¡°Urg,,.no soul before now has put up such a resistance. You. Will. Not. Resist.¡± Gritting his teeth, Kaz dove deeply into the red ghost¡¯s mind as he sought to completely dominate the apparition. Completely invading the red spirit¡¯s soul, Kaz caught glimpses of its memories. A red sky. A bloody battlefield. Countless bodies clashing together as two fully armored forces sought to annihilate the other. One army made of the dead, their bones creaking as they marched ever onward. The second army made up of desperate soldiers from a long lost nation. Even as the living soldiers died, fell energies flew from the back of the dead army to reanimate them¡­ ¡°GET. OUT. AOOOOOOOOO¡± Howling miserably, the red ghost tried to mentally force Kaz out. However, years of no contact with any other sentient beings had long corroded the spirit¡¯s mental willpower. ¡°You. Will. Give. In. To. Me.¡± Kaz¡¯s voice grew deeper as he applied more magical energy to subjugate the spirit. After only a few minutes, which seemed like an eternity mentally, the red spirit¡¯s mental wall was crushed. Shrieking miserably, it had no choice but to be bound under Kaz¡¯s control. ¡°Hahaha¡­. I¡¯ve done it!¡± Feeling elated from his hard won victory, Kaz¡¯s knees finally buckled as he lowered himself to the cold floor. Concentrating, Kaz could feel the red spirit among his other spirits. Now with a total of eight souls, Kaz could feel some changes to his magical energy pool. ¡°Ahriman, do binding additional souls to my own change my magical energy pool?¡± Probing his energy, Kaz could feel that there were actually some changes although the subtleties eluded him at the moment. {Well, I guess I owe you this much as a reward for surviving that encounter. I really wasn¡¯t much help since it¡¯s been ages since I faced or was in a situation where the opponent was stronger than I was.} Sounding defeated and tired, Ahriman continued on. {It varies from person to person, but generally each spirit grants its master small benefits based on the aptitude of the caster. You will be able to discern the benefits for yourself and others later once your magical sense has developed further. I can tell you for sure now that each spirit you enslave will help you power up your spells faster.} ¡°If that¡¯s true, my casting speed will only increase as I enslave more souls. What are some other aptitudes?¡± {The ones that I¡¯ve encountered or heard of include increased casting speed, increased mana regeneration, and increased spell effects among others.} ¡°Increased spell effects sounds like a better deal than increased casting speed, is there any way for me to change the benefit provided?¡± {Absolutely not. This is an innate part of your magical abilities. There¡¯s really no way to change it. You¡¯ve just got to work with what you have. Plus, increased casting speed is actually very useful in my opinion. Who needs more slightly more powerful spells when your opponent bombards you with a storm of incantations?} ¡°So the magnitude of the benefit is restricted somewhat? Is this because increasing the output of any spell relies on the manipulation of more mana, which is harder than normal?¡± {That¡¯s right. A increase in the magical energy needed to perform an incantation is what most directly increases the difficulty of the spell. Longer incantations are more complicated since they¡¯re longer, but that increase in difficulty pales in comparison to spells that require more mana. It¡¯s kind of like a sword, if you have a heavier sword you will need to put more effort in order to wield it in the same way that you would a sword of lesser weight.} ¡°But with a faster casting speed, I can bypass that entirely by casting more spells in the same time frame. I guess you are right, Ahriman. Faster casting speed does seem to be more beneficial to me. I guess increased mana regeneration isn¡¯t too useful for me since most of my magical energy pool comes from Soul Power which would not be affected by the caster¡¯s mana regeneration speed.¡± Looking up at the central mana crystal, Kaz could see that the previously bright light was fading back to its pre-fight brightness. Standing up, Kaz stretched his body. Sending a few of his hunter spirits to scout for any other dangers, Kaz casually walked back to the armory. As he was walking back, one of the walls hit by the red spirit¡¯s black lightning started to crumble as Kaz¡¯s footsteps were enough to cause its collapse. As the wall crumbled, the soft light of the calm mana crystal illuminated the area within. Looking inside, Kaz¡¯s mind reeled from the shock of what he was seeing. Shelves of ancient books lined the walls of this particular room. A central stone table with a regal chair was located in the center of the library. Abandoning all pretenses of caution, Kaz eagerly barged inside. {You really need to get outside more, Kaz.} ----------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading! Leave a optional review/comment if you enjoyed reading! Book 1 Chapter 15: The Studious Necromancer Here''s the weekend chapter! Sorry it''s slightly late. I was caught up watching the Dota 2 Shanghai Major! ------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 15: The Studious Necromancer Walking into the previously undisturbed library, Kaz¡¯s breathing gradually became heavier and heavier until he was panting. Not even going towards the stone table in the center of the library, Kaz walked directly towards the nearest bookshelf. ¡°These books seem to be meticulously arranged by subject. This section seems to be¡­.books that contain information about herbs.¡± Carefully taking a book from the top shelf, Kaz looked at the cover. ¡°Herbs of the Kaze Plains: Volume IV. Hmm, so it seems that this book is far older than I thought. I¡¯ve read from ancient Janaroian histories that the plains where Klavan was founded used to be called the Kaze Plains by their older nomadic inhabitants.¡± {How exactly did a Klavan historian, lacking in political or economical means, get his hands on a Janaroian text? That just seems odd.} Trying to steer Kaz away from subjects that he found boring, Ahriman started to ask questions unrelated to the library. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like all trade was blocked. Sure, official trade never happened, but there was a lot of smuggling going on in the Pass. Officially, Klavan military officers tried to stop all information going out of Klavan. However, what did go out was not particularly important since Janaro did not have the technological prowess or military might to force open the Pass in a straight fight. Much information about the two nations was exchanged in this manner.¡± Putting the herbology book right back where he found it, Kaz started to walk around the library. ¡°It seems that all of the writing in this library and cavern is in the old language that Ahriman taught me. Ooh, here¡¯s the necromancy section.¡± Stopping right as he got to the necromancy section of the library, Kaz began to peruse the books with more attention than he was previously. {If it¡¯s simply knowledge of necromancy that you want, I can just blast it into your head. There¡¯s no need to actually read these books. Just tell me what you want to know and I¡¯ll see if I have got the spell for it. Really, can we please just get out of here? There has got to be more interesting parts of the cavern than this dump.} ¡°Seriously, Ahriman. How did you ever get to be that powerful of a magus if you hate learning? The pursuit of power is intrinsically linked to the pursuit of knowledge. If one does not learn, how does one get more powerful?¡± {Learning from books is overrated. There were two schools of thought concerning learning when I was an apprentice just like you back in the day. The first was traditional learning, like you seem to be inclined. The second was dynamic learning, or studying through trial by fire. These schools of thought clashed so much that the Magi Civil War happened, and the learning of magic has been in decline ever since.} ¡°I¡¯m shocked to learn that there were enough magi to have a civil war! Can you tell me anything else about this?¡± Excited more than ever, Kaz stopped looking at the books on the shelf and eagerly anticipated hearing Ahriman¡¯s response. Walking around towards the other shelves with books containing knowledge of magic, Kaz selected several books. {Only that it does not matter anymore. But seriously, can you just ask me to teach you something so we can go explore the other parts of the cavern?} ¡°No worries, Ahriman. I¡¯ve already found several books that I want to study. Just so you don¡¯t have to wait too long, I¡¯ve only selected four books.¡± Grinning from ear to ear, Kaz brought his haul to the stone table in the middle of the library. Groaning, Ahriman had no choice but to reluctantly fall silent and observe. As Kaz approached the stone table, he noticed that the piece of furniture was actually closer to a desk than a plain stone table. The stone desk rose about as high as Kaz¡¯s stomach, and was about as wide as he was tall. In front of the table there was a dusty wooden chair. On the desk, there was what appeared to be a unlit magical lamp. ¡°Looking closely, there appear to be sigils on the table¡¯s surface as well as on the chair. I¡¯m also curious as to how this lamp works.¡± Probing with his magical sense, Kaz could feel some of his magical power draining into the lamp as his magical sense neared it. Pouring some of his power into it, Kaz quickly stepped back from the magical lamp. Wary of any adverse side effects, Kaz quickly stepped behind a nearly shelf. Without a hitch, the magical lamp lit up softly. A bright yellow light came from the center of the lamp. {Wow. That lamp was totally going to explode and kill you. I don¡¯t know what to think of you sometimes, Kaz. Sometimes you do some really smart things like enslaving the stone bear, and other times you completely baffle me. You know what your problem is? You¡¯re just not consistent enough.} Dusting off the chair with his hands, Kaz took a seat at the desk and laid his selected books down. Picking up the one that he thought was the most interesting, Kaz cracked open the book¡¯s pages. Taking a deep whiff, the apprentice delved deep into the book¡¯s contents. ¡°Ahh¡­.I know it¡¯s dusty, but nothing really beats the smell of paper pages. This particular book talks about proper magical theory. ¡°Magical Theory Abridged,¡± is not exactly my first choice. But since I don¡¯t have all the time in the world, I might as well read the abridged version.¡± Concentrating intently on the words in front of him, all other things lost meaning for Kaz as he read. {....this is going to be the end of me, I just know it. I should just count the number of books on those shelves to amuse myself. Hah, I never thought that an exalted elder necromancer such as myself would ever have to do something like this¡­} After several hours, Kaz finally looked up from his studies. Closing the book, Kaz rubbed his eyes as he brought out his water flask. Taking a long drink, Kaz reflected upon what he had just learned. ¡°It seems that while magical spells increase in power very slightly as the caster increases their mastery of that particular spell, there is really one concrete way to increase the power of any spell. That way is exceedingly complicated, though. According to this book, the only way to increase the power of a spell is to increase or modify the incantation of the spell itself.¡± {Or, alternatively, you can just learn an entirely new spell that¡¯s more powerful. That¡¯s much less effort on your part. I have a variety of spells that I think would work great with your level of understanding and power, by the way¡­} Stirring from his previous silent rest, Ahriman was desperate to prevent Kaz from starting another book. ¡°That¡¯s just not efficient, Ahriman. Think about it, what would be the purpose of learning multiple spells that serve the same purpose, only varying in strength, instead of just strengthening one spell as the caster¡¯s magical ability develops?¡± {While I agree with you that such a way is far more efficient, it is also far more difficult. Magical theory is tricky even at the best of times, many frustrated magi have given up on modifying their incantations and just learned other spells. It¡¯s not worth the effort to modify such weak spells. Even veteran magi rarely modify their spell incantations, and only when absolutely necessary.} ¡°As hard as it is, I deserve to try it out at least. Now, which spell would benefit the most from an upgrade¡­¡± Closing his eyes, Kaz thought about which of the spells in his repertoire needed an additional boost. ¡°It seems that the two spells that I use the most are Frozen Spear and Mental Spike. I mainly rely on Frozen Spear to attack targets with a physical body, while Mental Spikes are for damaging targets which resist physical attacks. Although both spells are magical, they have different uses. I¡¯ve decided, I will try to upgrade both of these spells as soon as I can.¡± Looking at the second book that he had brought out, Kaz was pleasantly surprised at his selection. {I don¡¯t know if you planned for this, brat, but it looks really suspicious.} Surprised himself, Ahriman¡¯s voice lacked the distinctive condescension that it usually carried. Astonishingly, the second volume that Kaz chose was titled ¡°Modifying Magic Incantations: Theory and Practice.¡± ¡°Heh, it looks like I really know how to pick them. I don¡¯t even have to get up to look for books talking about modifying magical incantations. This book seems much shorter than the previous abridged book on magical theory. It¡¯ll be a cinch to read!¡± {Yeah, but what about understanding it? I can read that fast too, but I won¡¯t get anything out of it. Since I¡¯m much more experienced in things magic-related than you, why don¡¯t you just let me teach you the things that you need to know?} Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Never one to give up easily, the hallmark of a necromancer, Ahriman continued to prod Kaz. ¡°You may be more experience in things related to magic, Ahriman, but that¡¯s only because you¡¯ve studied it for far longer. Your scholar days are far behind you, while the life of a scholar is the only thing I¡¯ve known until just recently. Thus, my motivation to learn is far greater than yours. What¡¯s your ambition anyway? What did you want to accomplish with your magical ritual anyway?¡± Puzzled that he never thought to ask, Kaz was suddenly curious about the purpose of the magical ritual inside Ahriman¡¯s hut. {Bah. You wouldn¡¯t understand it anyway. Not until you¡¯ve actually experienced more of the necromantic arts. Go on, try to modify your spell incantations. I¡¯ll be here when you get frustrated.} Sulking, Ahriman fell silent. Shrugging his shoulders, Kaz put the question of Ahriman¡¯s magical circle to the back of his mind and opened the second book. Reading for a couple of minutes, Kaz came to a sudden realization. ¡°Where the book about magical theory was very brief, this book goes into great detail regarding the theory of magical incantations. I¡¯m sure the practical part of the book will go into an equal amount of detail. I may have to spend more time on analyzing this book¡¯s contents than I previously thought.¡± Bracing himself for a long night of studying, Kaz was anything but bored. In fact, true to his scholarly tendencies, he felt no exhaustion as he concentrated intently on each and every page. As he got to the practical section of the book, Kaz had to constantly flip back to the theory section in order to understand some of the many example incantation interactions that the book gave him. {Ugh. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have taught him the Chant of the Novitiate. His physical resistance increasing also means that the little bastard has a reduced need for sleep or physical rest. Looking at the current situation, this only means I have to watch him read these books for a longer period of time. At least I can watch his dreams when he has them during sleep¡­.} Muttering to himself, Ahriman fruitlessly tried to entertain himself by counting the books on the shelves again. An even longer period of time, compared to the time it took Kaz to read the first book, went by before Kaz finished studying the second book. Thinking about it, Kaz tried to analyze the magical incantation for his Frozen Spear. ¡°It appears that the ancient language that Ahriman taught me, which is used in these ruins, is the same one as magi today use to chant their incantations. Because of this extreme similarity, it¡¯s possible to modify the incantation by changing what words are chanted when the spell is cast. What¡¯s complicated is chaining the new incantations to the magical power that¡¯s provided by the caster themselves.¡± Thinking deeply about his incantation problems, Kaz packed up the four books that he took into his knapsack. Walking back out of the library and into the cavern proper, Kaz was lost in thought as he slowly travelled back to the armory. ¡°The spell incantation for Frozen Spear is very similar to the sigil networks that have been carved everywhere in this cavern. Are the sigils actually a way to permanently manifest magical incantations, then? Bah, I need to concentrate on one thing at a time. I guess Ahriman is right about me getting distracted easily.¡± As Kaz walked back into the armory, he noticed that there was another room directly connected to the armory that he had seen before. Walking into that room, Kaz was pleasantly surprised to find a series of eight golems arranged in a semicircle like the normal armory. Setting his knapsack down near the door, Kaz walked over to analyze these new golems. ¡°These golems have sigils carved onto them just like the other ones, however these sigils seem to be different than the ones on the golems outside. The sigils carved onto the golems outside seem to be for resisting a different type of weapon each. These sigils seem to be purposefully for resisting magic.¡± Walking around each golem individually and reading their sigil networks, Kaz was able to confirm his suspicions. ¡°It seems that while the other room was primarily designed to test weapons, this room was designed with the testing of magic in mind. In fact, these golems all carry about the same amount of magical protection. I don¡¯t think any of the spells that I currently know would be able to cause significant damage to them. These stationary golems might actually be perfect for me to test modified incantations on.¡± Eyes glittering with anticipation, Kaz sat down on the floor. {If you¡¯re actually serious about going through with this, I¡¯ll help you out a bit. But it¡¯s not because I feel like your efforts are going to be rewarded. Rather, I feel like this is a colossal waste of time to attempt to modify spells of lesser power.} ¡°Well, Ahriman, I aim to prove you wrong. But, I welcome all the help that I can get. So what do you have for me?¡± {Look, I¡¯ve given up on the idea of this process being quick. I just don¡¯t want it to be extremely long if it doesn¡¯t have to. When you want to modify an incantation, you must first discern what part of the incantation that you wish to modify. What incantation were you looking to modify?} ¡°I want to try upgrading my Frozen Spear first. So if what you¡¯re saying is correct, I would need to replace the existing words that are currently in this incantation with other words that mean different things?¡± {Not exactly, you want to replace existing words in the incantation that modify the same part of the spell. For example, it¡¯s inherently impossible to modify the Core of the Frozen Spear spell. The Core of any spell is the main word that manifests the spell. In the case of your Frozen Spear, the Core is the word for Water since the spell falls under the category of Elemental Water Magic.} ¡°So the words for Sharp, Rod, or even Small are fair game? How does the size modifier work for spells, by the way?¡± {Those are all indeed all fair game for spell modification. Spell modification is very close to actual spell creation since both involve large amounts of magical theory to put to practice. The size modifier actually is quite odd. The size modifier actually only modifies the amount of mana that the spell is able to take from you. If you attempt to cast a spell with too large a size modifier for your mana pool, it will fail and you¡¯ll be stuck with nothing to show for your efforts.} Frowning as he digested Ahriman¡¯s words, Kaz thought about what part of the Frozen Spear incantation that he wanted to modify. After a short while, Kaz¡¯s face broke into a smile as he stood up. Standing a fair distance from the magically protected golems, Kaz prepared his new incantation. I¡¯ve decided to modify the Plain sigil to Jagged, the Rod sigil to Orb, and the Single sigil to Multiple. Keeping the Small magical modifier the same would result in the mana spent being the same. Let¡¯s test this! Gathering mana in his hands, Kaz chanted his new incantation. Condensing the mana required in his right hand, Kaz pointed it at the nearest golem. Without a word, Kaz unleashed his spell. With a splatter, a multitude of icy projectiles materialized in front of Kaz¡¯s hand and shot forth to hit the golem. Spreading from their initial position, the spiked icy orbs ripped into the golems directly to the left and right of the target golem. Flashing as they were hit, the magical protections of the golems assured that they would receive no permanent damage. Nevertheless, Kaz could see the damage that his new spell was capable of. Deep in thought, Kaz quickly concentrated his mana and launched a Frozen Spear at the target golem. Comparing the results, Kaz was surprised to see that the Frozen Spear made a deeper indent into the golem¡¯s magical protection than his new spell did. ¡°I guess that makes sense, all of the Frozen Spear¡¯s power is concentrated into one projectile, and the new spell¡¯s power has been divided into multiple projectiles. Although the new spell isn¡¯t as powerful when dealing with single targets, it is much more useful when multiple targets are in close proximity.¡± {Alright...woooooo¡­.you¡¯ve succeeded. NOW can we get on with exploring the rest of the cavern?} Although Ahriman was slightly surprised with Kaz¡¯s first success, he did not show it. ¡°Eh it can wait a moment. I still need to come up with a name for my new spell! I guess I¡¯ll call it¡­.Frozen Spread!¡± Happy with the results of his new spell, Kaz sat down and started to absorb the mana from the atmosphere in order to replenish what he had used. With a groan, Ahriman voiced his displeasure. {All that studying has gone to your head. You¡¯re actually really shit at naming things.} ------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading! Leave a review/comment if you enjoyed reading! Book 1 Chapter 16: Eve of the Disaster Sorry for the late chapter! I''m getting really busy these past few days. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 16: Eve of the Disaster Grinning with the acquisition of his newest spell, Kaz thought about how he would modify his Mental Spike incantation. {Not everybody can get their modification right on the first try, don¡¯t get too cocky just because you¡¯ve succeeded once. Plus, it¡¯s not even a more powerful spell since you left the size modifier of the incantation the same.} Grumpy with what he saw as unnecessary wasting of time, Ahriman scolded Kaz. ¡°It¡¯s not always about more power in the spell. Different spells have different uses. Frozen Spear is a good single target spell, but it does not help me when I am trying to get away from multiple enemies. Plus, I find that my spells do not need to be so powerful in order to kill the hunters that will soon catch up to me. Frozen Spread will do nicely to help me keep multiple opponents at bay.¡± {I guess it¡¯s nice that you¡¯re starting to work your way through magical theory sooner than later. It¡¯ll come to be very useful when you¡¯re finally manipulating Soul Power to animate undead minions. Aaannnnd...he¡¯s not listening to me anymore. He¡¯s just lost in his own world trying to think up a modification to his Mental Spike, I guess.} ¡°I use Mental Spikes primarily to disrupt magical defenses. They work by attempting to distort the magical connections between the sigils in each Sigil network. Mental Spikes also seem to have an increased effect against creatures of a magical nature, such as that floating skull spirit thing.¡± Grabbing his knapsack from where he left it near the door, Kaz sat down against the wall. Reaching into his bag, Kaz brought out his water flask and a small bag of jerky. ¡°I¡¯m glad that those hunters had so many supplies on them. I wanted to ration out these for a bit longer. That deer that I tried to cook was a disaster. I don¡¯t know what went wrong, but I had the worst stomach-ache after I ate some of it.¡± {I don¡¯t want to hear it. I could almost smell the aftermath of your stomach-aches, and I¡¯m dead. If we could just focus on the magic during our talks, that would be great.} ¡°I still need to eat. I¡¯m not dead yet.¡± Muttering to himself under his breath, Kaz quickly finished a small portion of dried meat. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s my palette, or the way that this meat was prepared, but I really can¡¯t tell what animal this jerky is made of.¡± {I¡¯m not surprised. Alright, do you have an idea of what you¡¯re going to modify so we can get on with the other two books that you brought. I can just smell the boredom on them.} ¡°Prepare to be surprised.¡± Grinning, Kaz took a long swig from his water flask before putting it away. Concentrating, Kaz stared at the golems. ¡°The core Sigil in the Mental Spike incantation is Distort. The supporting sigils are Condense and Cone with a Small size modifier. I guess that the Condense Sigil is to concentrate the magical energy provided into the shape of a Cone. The Small modifier is the same as that of Frozen Spear, it measures how much mana the incantation takes from my pool.¡± Picking up a nearby pebble, Kaz tossed it up into the air and caught it with his hand. Repeating this, he thought about possible changes that could be made. ¡°Mental Spikes are primarily to undermine magical defenses. I don¡¯t think I can modify this spell to undermine physical defenses since that would require either a different Core Sigil or a large increase in the size modifier. Therefore, the supporting sigils are what I must change. I should not modify this incantation to require more mana to cast since I have a limited energy pool. This is actually a real dilemma¡­¡± {Look, just..tell me when you¡¯re done thinking. I¡¯m going to go into a near comatose state for a bit just so I don¡¯t have to listen to you blather on. It¡¯ll be similar to what I was like when I was trying to to hemorrhage mana previously.} Finally reaching his breaking point, Ahriman decided that it would save him from a lot of boredom to just go to sleep. Well, as close to sleep as possible for a deceased necromancer can get to. ¡°I wonder if Ahriman was as cranky as this when he was alive. I never got the impression that he was completely bored with everything around him. Actually, could physiological effects carry over when the soul has been ripped from the body after death? Being forced to be hungover for eternity would definitely put a damper on anybody¡¯s mood. Gah, why am I so easily sidetracked? I need to focus¡­¡± Closing his eyes as he sat down, Kaz began to continue his theorycrafting. ¡°Although I already have two spells that are designed to ensnare living enemies, both Bitter Chill and Rigor Mortis are spells that affect a target¡¯s physical capabilities. In fact, both of these spells are extremely similar, mainly affecting the target¡¯s limbs. Furthermore, like Frozen Spear, these spells are all single target spells. I think it¡¯s in my best interest to make another area of effect spell, but one that will affect another body part than the limbs.¡± As Kaz sat on the ground contemplating his modification, a Klavan hunter-killer squad was closing in on his location. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Sergeant, it appears that the rogue magi¡¯s trail of destruction leads to those ruins over there. What are your orders?¡± Walking back towards the rest of his squad, the forward scout did not make a sound as he moved, phantom-like. ¡°What are your thoughts on his capabilities? We saw his handiwork firsthand from what little remained of the first hunter-killer squad that was sent after him. It appears that they let down their guard somewhat, from what little information we could gather.¡± The sergeant was sitting on the side of a tree that had been knocked down. Looking at the deep claw marks on the side of the tree, he could only guess at the true size of the creature that had destroyed the tree. ¡°It appears that he suddenly learned some aspects of eluding pursuers, but then advocated to just go as fast as he could through the wood. We would have caught up with him days ago if he did not suddenly know how to navigate efficiently through forests. It also appears that he¡¯s unaccompanied by any other person or creature. Ultimately, I think he¡¯s unpredictable and we need to be extremely cautious when attempting to engage with him.¡± Crouching down next to a bush as he gave his report, the scout hid himself from view from all but his squad. ¡°Very well. So is it confirmed that our quarry is within these ruins?¡± ¡°Yes, Sir. I¡¯ve circled the compound many times in the last hour, and I saw no tracks of anything leaving the ruins. Unless our magi can fly or teleport away from this area, there¡¯s no possibility except for inside the ruins.¡± ¡°So be it. I¡¯m designating that the area of operation be these ruins for this part of the mission. Scouts Harken and Karel, you two will scout the inside of these ruins while the rest of us hide outside of the gate. Be careful, and expect anything to happen. We cannot fail.¡± Nodding once after saluting, two of the hunters disappeared from view as they travelled through the trees towards the inside of the ruins. Keeping alert, the sergeant unslung his longbow as he and his squad moved towards the gate at a slower pace. ¡°You¡¯re not getting away this time, magi scum.¡± Muttering under his breath, the sergeant concentrated on his surroundings. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C-- Jumping up from a sitting position into a standing one, Kaz excitedly ran his hands through his hair. ¡°I¡¯ve got it! The core Distort sigil is fine to design an incantation around, and I can modify the Cone and Condense sigils in order to get what I want. I need a spell that can disrupt the concentration of physical opponents, and I think I can do it! Hey Ahriman are you listening?¡± {Ugh¡­.yeah, yeah. I¡¯m here. What did you come up with, and I really hope it¡¯s interesting. Otherwise I¡¯m going to mentally zap you, the consequences to my limited mana pool be damned!} Grumpy at being disturbed, Ahriman¡¯s foul mood seemed to have been carried over from before his hibernation. ¡°The Distort Sigil can stay the same. That¡¯s not going to be changed. I will replace the shape modifier of Cone with Cloud, and the Condense into disperse. I¡¯m keeping the size modifier the same since I don¡¯t have a large mana pool that I can use haphazardly.¡± {...So you¡¯ve made some weird cloud spell that¡¯s supposed to distract your physical opponents with?} ¡°Well, in essence, yes. I can¡¯t exactly test it on these golems since they¡¯re not humans or living things, but the new spell should temporarily stun or confuse all who go into its area of effect. I¡¯ll call it my Distorting Fog!¡± {I think I¡¯m going to say it¡¯s a crap spell until you prove otherwise. Now, let¡¯s get on with it. What other two books did you bring out of that library that you think are so important? I really hope they¡¯re not more theory books. Practical knowledge is useful too.} Smirking, Kaz reached into his knapsack and pulled out a thick black volume. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Oh, I think you¡¯ll like this one. Let¡¯s have a look, shall we?¡± {Oho! For all your boring faults, I will admit that you have a talent for picking some interesting books. This will do nicely, yes.} Cracking open the ¡°Necromancer¡¯s Guide to Minions,¡± Kaz sat down and started to read. ¡°Hey, this is actually some really interesting stuff. The creation of minions is catalogued by types, and it seems that this book contains all the necessary incantations to create my own.¡± {Or I could, you know, just shove that knowledge into you via the mental link. That way is much faster I would be less bored. Can you even imagine how gut-wrenchingly boring it is to have to watch somebody else learn the most basic of techniques that you already know? It¡¯s like if you were forced to watch a small child learn how to read. I¡¯m telling you, I would actually just kill myself if I wasn¡¯t already dead just to stop from having to watch this.} ¡°So shut up. Stop being so dramatic, it can¡¯t be that bad. You said it yourself, I happen to be an incredibly fast learner. You don¡¯t even have to spend that much time watching me learn. Reading this book will take me several hours at most. Plus, I don¡¯t forget anything that I¡¯ve seen. It¡¯s part of why I was chosen to be apprenticed to the Master Historian in the first place.¡± Flabbergasted by what he just heard, Ahriman¡¯s tongue was tied for just a bit longer than usual. {Wait a minute, you say that you never forget anything that you¡¯ve seen? Does that include book knowledge?} ¡°Well, yes. Why would I say that if I¡¯m not serious about it? You can try me. Ask me anything about magical theory based on the first book.¡± {You don¡¯t need to convince me, boy. It actually makes more sense that you have a picture-perfect memory. When I first merged with your soul I saw waaaaaay too many memories. It was actually weird how many memories you had, particularly because a lot of them involved mundane things. Normal people would only remember the particularly emotional moments of their lives. Things such as deaths, marriages, birthdays, and the like. I had no idea why you remembered your adulthood Trial as well as you remembered the fourth time you did your chores.} ¡°Hmm...anyways, let me read this book. I understand a lot more of the material if you don¡¯t interrupt me.¡± {Shove a cork in it, brat. You have a picture perfect memory, it doesn¡¯t even matter if you¡¯re distracted or not since you can just go back to the memory of reading the book with impunity.} ¡°That¡¯s not even remotely the reason I was asking you to stop interrupting me.¡± Closing the book, Kaz sighed heavily. ¡°I was asking you to stop interrupting me because it¡¯s harder for me to understand what¡¯s written in this book if you keep bothering me. Whether or not I can remember the book¡¯s contents is irrelevant. The sooner I understand how to create an undead minion, the sooner we can get out of here.¡± {Fine. But you better not spend too long on this¡­} Grudgingly agreeing with Kaz, Ahriman fell silent. Opening the book once more, Kaz read on. ¡°The creation of an undead minion requires two main things, a suitable soul as well as a body. The body can be ethereal or physical. In that case, I¡¯ve already created some undead minions. I guess the spirits that I¡¯ve been using count as undead minions, just a different type than what I had envisioned.¡± {Heh, and what did you envision? I¡¯ll tell you what you envisioned. You saw a horde of skeletal warriors, ready to conquer at your command. You saw legions of undead soldiers ready to do your bidding. You saw spectres of warriors long dead patrolling a castle made of bone. THAT is what you saw.} His voice near reverent, Ahriman¡¯s voice rose to a near fever pitch as he described a grand vision. ¡°Well, my vision isn¡¯t as grand as yours, but I suppose that¡¯s only because I¡¯ve barely scratched the surface of the art of Necromancy, isn¡¯t it?¡± Still reading, Kaz paid close attention to the incantations described in the book. ¡°It seems that the ethereal body of a spirit is created on death by the Soul. When the ethereal body is infused into a physical body, that physical body can then be animated depending on the strength of the spirit. When the physical body is destroyed in any way, the ethereal body will be released from its prison and can then act accordingly. That explains why the red spirit was able to survive the destruction of its floating skull body.¡± Focussing on the red spirit that he had bound previously, Kaz observed it as it glared hatefully at him. ¡°Heh, if you could, I¡¯d bet you¡¯d try to kill me because I enslaved you. But you can¡¯t raise your hand to me now since I¡¯m your new master.¡± Grinning, Kaz¡¯s attention returned to the book. Continuing to read, Kaz was lost in thought and wonder as he delved deep into the lost secrets of the necromantic arts. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C As quiet as cat¡¯s feet, two silhouettes came out of the ruined gates and joined the four that seemed to appear out of nowhere. ¡°Hunter Scout Karel reporting in. Harken and I have secured the inside of the compound. There appears to be a courtyard within the complex, as well as an inner compound. I see the tracks of what appears to be our prey as well as the tracks of a large bear. The bear¡¯s tracks are extremely heavy for its size. Either this animal is different from a bear, or it is the heaviest bear that I have ever seen. There is structural damage to some of the trees within the courtyard. It seems that our rogue magi decided to fashion crude torches before he went into the inner complex.¡± Reporting as he sat down on a nearby rock, Hunter Scout Karel didn¡¯t even seem fazed at the daunting task that he and Harken had just completed. ¡°This tells us a lot about what we should expect, good work. It seems that the inside of the complex is dark enough to warrant multiple torches. Furthermore, it seems that there is a reason for him to want to stay for a longer period of time. Karel, how old are these tracks?¡± Stroking the stubble on his chin, the sergeant was busy formulating a plan of engagement. The man and his squad appeared as rugged mountain men. However, they were far more dangerous than simple mountain rangers. These men were a veteran hunter-killer squad sent from the Imperial Capital of Samara itself. Survivors of dozens of life threatening missions, these men had seen the the worst in humanity as they hunted down its criminals. ¡°The tracks appear to be about two days old. There are also no tracks leading out from the complex except for the ones to gather wood and resin to make torches. He doesn¡¯t have any way of escaping unless he can turn invisible, but even then he¡¯ll make noise as he walks.¡± ¡°Thoughts about his sudden ability to traverse the wilderness?¡± Always one to consider all of the options and dangers available to him, the sergeant trained himself to recognize any irregularities in the quarry that he was hunting. ¡°Although it seems that he did figure out how to travel through the forest suddenly, he favors speed over being untrackable. Even if he chose to erase his tracks, there was no way he could have avoided the notice of all six of us. No, our little magi made a conscious decision to favor speed over caution.¡± Answering between bites of venison jerky, Karel seemed to almost be disappointed now that the chase was nearly at an end. ¡°Yeah, the trail of magically mutilated animals in the woods basically painted a large target on his back. If he had not laid down those breadcrumbs, the search might have taken another few days since he favored caution in the beginning.¡± Grimly nodding in agreement, Harken adjusted his bowstring as he reported his views to the Sergeant. ¡°Well, it¡¯s been quite a chase, but it¡¯s not over yet. Let¡¯s work quickly and carefully to bag this magi, then report back to base. For the Empire!¡± Slinging his longbow across his back, the sergeant walked through the gate towards the ruined compound. ¡°For the Empire!¡± Quietly but clearly repeating their slogan, the hunter-killer squad got into formation and followed the sergeant into the complex. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C- ¡°So all I need to do is to Infuse a spirit into a physical body. The most apt physical body for the creation of an undead minion would naturally be a fresh body, but not the same as the deceased since that would incite the body to rebel against the wishes of the necromancer. Ahriman, where am I going to get a body?¡± Frustrated at the realization that he had no practical way of practicing the incantation to create a skeletal minion, Kaz looked to Ahriman for help. {Beats me. The only thing I saw even remotely close to a human body was that skull that you blew up with extreme prejudice.} Blowing out a long breath, Kaz stood up and started to walk back towards the central mana crystal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Leave a review/comment if you enjoyed! Book 1 Chapter 17: The Red Spirit Transforms! Here''s Chapter 17! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 17: The Red Spirit Transforms! Finding a nicely lit spot near the central mana crystal, Kaz set his knapsack down on the ground and sat against the nearby wall. Bringing out the final book that he had taken from the library, Kaz sent four of his eight spirits to scout for dangers. Letting his injured spirit near the mana crystal, Kaz directed it to absorb the abundant mana saturating the atmosphere in an attempt to heal its ethereal body. ¡°Hmm this last book might be the most important one. Actually, I believe that the second book detailing the manipulation of spell incantation is the most important. However, this last book may very well be the second most important.¡± {For once, I actually agree with you. ¡°Manipulating Undead Minions,¡± is a core text of any student of the Necromantic Arts. Why, I remember reading it when I was just an apprentice like you.} Humming a long forgotten tune to himself, Ahriman seemed to finally be at least content with Kaz¡¯s choice of reading material. ¡°You read this? How old are you, exactly? That¡¯s a question that¡¯s been bugging me for quite a while now, actually. You didn¡¯t appear to be over the age of sixty when you were alive in the service of Lord Zhakar. However, the things that you have shown me seem to be long, long lost.¡± {Well¡­.I¡¯m¡­.older than I looked when I was alive, this is true. After a certain point of concentrating necromantic energies in order to strengthen one¡¯s body, the aging process slows considerably. Cold and death energy permeate our bodies, and the aging process is slowed to a halt once the necromancer¡¯s mastery of his or her magic reaches a point. However, that isn¡¯t to say that we are completely free from time¡¯s grasp. Not until we release ourselves from our mortal bodies, anyway.} ¡°...You just forgot, did you not? You really should have said just that, your explanation just raises further questions in my mind.¡± {Let¡¯s not get hasty, now. There¡¯s nothing suspicious about my answer, it¡¯s a well crafted answer. And I definitely did not forget how old I am. I¡¯m just choosing not to answer you directly right now since my age isn¡¯t relevant to your training.} With a dubious expression on his face, Kaz slowly opened the heavy leather tome that he held in his hands and started to read. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C- ¡°Gods above! I thought that the forest was dark, but the inside of this crumbling compound is darker than I have ever imagined. I guess there¡¯s really no choice. Men, consume a single portion of your Felis concoctions. We¡¯ll use more if needed.¡± Without hesitation, each member of the six member hunter-killer squad took out a yellow flask from their utility bags and consumed it. Very quickly, their width of their pupils narrowed and a strange yellowish gleam seemed to seep from the eyes of the hunters. ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s much better. Now there¡¯s no need for torches and the like. Karel and Harken, you two scout the entirety of this complex. Report back within an hour or when you¡¯re done. Find out that these crumbling ruins are actually for. The rest of you can secure our current perimeter. Don¡¯t let even a mouse out of your sight.¡± Nodding crisply, Karel and Harken shot off silently into the dark, the darkness a hindrance no more. Very quickly, even the enhanced vision of the hunter-killer squad were unable to see their silhouettes. ¡°So the hunt is finally in session. I wonder if you¡¯ll be able to evade us, little magi? No matter. Not many criminals have been able to evade my squad once. Even those who have evaded us have eventually been caught, and they were far more experienced than you. You may have some trifling magical spells on your side, but how will those help you when you have nowhere to hide?¡± Licking his lips in anticipation of the conclusion of this boring hunt, the sergeant unslung his bow and laid it across his lap as he sat. Waiting in the dark, the hunter¡¯s glowing eyes gleamed. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C- Oblivious to the going-ons of the hunter-killer squad at this moment, Kaz was deeply immersed in the information that he was absorbing from the book. ¡°It seems that undead minions can be ranked in terms of power. There appear to be two main types of undead minions, the physical and the ethereal. The spirit is the most basic of the ethereal undead minions, and has a lot of potential to grow. The determinant factor in how each spirit develops as a minion is dependent on the spirit¡¯s previous life. It seems that a person¡¯s skills and personality determines what kind of undead minion it will be most effective as.¡± {Heh, it¡¯s more complicated than you thought, isn¡¯t it? You can¡¯t just kill and collect every single person that you come across and expect them to all develop into one kind of undead minion. For example, some of those hunters that you¡¯ve enslaved are more suited to be Bone Archer minion line while some of them are more suited to be Bone Soldier minion line.} ¡°How can you tell? Is there some sort of test that I can subject these spirits to in order to determine their optimal minion affinity?¡± Frowning, Kaz realized that figuring out how to develop his entourage of minions just became a whole lot more complicated. If there was a test involved, would he have to do it every time to determine his spirit¡¯s affinities? How mana intensive was this test, if it existed? Many of these questions ran through Kaz¡¯s mind as he thought about it. Chuckling to himself, Ahriman reassured Kaz. {There¡¯s really no test. It¡¯s quite simple really. Remember that the text said, that the spirit¡¯s previous life determines what kind of minion affinity it has. What do you think you need to do, given this information?} ¡°Is it really as simple as just ripping through the memories of the deceased and analyzing their skills from there? Doesn¡¯t that take too long?¡± Puzzled, Kaz put the tome down and started to eat the last of the dried food that he had. {I know it takes a while to get used to, but delving into the memories of your enslaved souls is really effortless work after a while. It only seems like an extremely long time since you¡¯re basically reliving their lives as you look through their memories. The actual amount of time that passes while you¡¯re looking through is actually negligible for an individual person¡¯s memories. After a while, you will become extremely adept at sifting through the mess that was once a person¡¯s life.} Caught off guard by Ahriman¡¯s completely nonchalant attitude over the dehumanization of dead people, Kaz nearly choked on a large piece of jerky. {Don¡¯t die on me now, hahaha!} Chortling, Ahriman took much delight in seeing Kaz¡¯s minor suffering. Managing to swallow the chunk of food that was lodged in his throat, Kaz took a long drink from a second water flask to wash down the remnants of the jerky. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m ever going to be as callous as you are when discussing what makes a person unique, even after death. You can¡¯t just go through a person¡¯s memories time after time and still be unaffected, even a little bit?¡± {I¡¯m sure that in the beginning I was distracted by the memories of other people, but that¡¯s really a problem of supply. You have less than a dozen spirits at this point. When you have to sift through the memories of hundreds or even thousands of spirits in order to build up an army, spending the time to go through each of the deceased memories gets really old really quick.} ¡°You might be right, but that is not now. I¡¯m going to sift through the memories of the spirits that I have so far, starting with the weakest. This shouldn¡¯t take too long¡­.¡± Recalling all of the patrolling spirits back to him, Kaz used his magical sense to probea t each spirit. Diving deep into the memories of each spirit, Kaz tried to figure out what sort of physical undead minion each spirit was most suited to be. ¡°Hmm some of these spirits seem to still have some slight resistance when I try to force my way into their memories. I do understand that it¡¯s possibly the greatest violation of their privacy that they¡¯ve ever encountered. However, their souls belong to me now, starting from when I first enslaved them.¡± Shaking his head at some of the spirit¡¯s resistance, Kaz quickly overpowered even the red spirit¡¯s mental defenses and invaded their memoires. Efficiently categorizing the memories by chronological order, Kaz was able to then further divide the memories of the spirits into categories depending on their content. This way, Kaz was quickly able to ascertain the martial dispositions of each spirit. ¡°Hmm, it would seem that Ranik¡¯s spirit is actually most suited to be in the Bone Archer minion line. The six hunters that were sent after me are split rather unevenly. Four of them are much more dispositioned to use melee weapons, so they should be put into the Bone Soldier minion line. The other two hunters were more proficient with ranged weapons so they should be categorized into the Bone Archer minion line along with Ranik. The red spirit is giving me trouble, though.¡± {Ah, is it one of those rare spirits that have equal affinities for multiple minion lines? Those are the best, you can use them to fill what roles are missing among your minions.} ¡°It¡¯s not exactly that. The red spirit actually has quite poor affinity with any physical minion line. Most of its memories are unclear, and I am only able to make out certain events that aren¡¯t connected to each other.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. {Mm. That¡¯s a side effect of the spirit being too old, then. The memories of any spirit are slow to deteriorate at first, then are quickly forgotten by the spirit. In the end, the only memories that remain are those that are unusually important to it. That would explain why you are only able to clearly see certain events in the spirit¡¯s memories while most others are unclear.} ¡°Would it be a much better bet to develop this particular minion as an ethereal minion? It seems to have a lot of previous experience as one before I enslaved it.¡± {That might actually be the best choice, but do remember that once you enslaved that spirit the ethereal body was reset to the most basic of ethereal bodies. Each undead minion is particular to its master. The development and control of the minion is completely dependent on the master. Once the connection between minion and master is severed, the minion is rendered nearly useless and must start over from the basics.} ¡°But that¡¯s not to say that each spirit is the same, is it? Different spirits are the result of the souls of different people developing into an ethereal body. It would make sense that some of their traits carry over even after death. Actually, I think it¡¯s really interesting that the development of an undead minion can affect its base even after it¡¯s enslaved again.¡± {In theory, developing a minion along a particular minion line is modifying it to suit your needs. These modifications are very similar to the modifications that you made for your spell incantations. However, undead minions do not have the luxury of retaining two forms.} ¡°What that means is that unlike my personalized spell incantations, the modifications done to undead minions are permanent and transform the minion. That just makes it harder to decide what modifications I want to make to my minions!¡± {Oh relax. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll ever be limited in your selection of minions in the future. The average necromancer goes through souls in the thousands over the course of a lifetime. It¡¯s not uncommon for necromancers to explicitly target a warrior tribe for their souls in order to reinforce their Bone Soldier minion pool.} ¡°I think it¡¯ll be quite the while before I can refer to genocide as casually as you do. But nevertheless, I think I should try to mold this red spirit into a more powerful ethereal minion.¡± Cracking open the heavy tome to the section about ethereal minion lines, Kaz greedily began to absorb all the information that was there. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Sergeant. Karel and I have scouted out the inside of this complex. It appears that this complex used to be some sort of magi stronghold. We were unable to read any of the runes on anything that we have found, but we think we¡¯ve tracked down where our target went.¡± ¡°Details.¡± Not one to delay the mission, the sergeant got straight to the point whenever possible. ¡°It appears that the target broke through a series of walls alongside an inner hallway near the kitchens. He then walked down what appears to be a narrow passageway to some sort of cavern. We didn¡¯t enter the cavern, and returned to report to you.¡± Grinning, the sergeant signalled the rest of his squad to get ready. ¡°It appears that the hunt can truly begin in earnest. It hasn¡¯t been too long so we don¡¯t need to supplement the Felis concoctions that we took previously. Take one portion of the Canis concoctions, and let¡¯s head off. Karel, you take point. Harken, you take the rear. Everybody pay close attention to your surroundings. I don¡¯t want this mission to end in failure.¡± With crisp, practiced motions the hunters took out small gray flasks from their utility sacks and drank their contents. Instead of their eyes changing, their teeth changed this time. The hunter¡¯s veins became more pronounced on their faces, and their canine teeth slightly elongated. Drawing their weapons, the hunters went into formation as they followed Karel to the cavern. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Sighing as he closed the book, Kaz rubbed his eyes with both hands as he thought about what he had just finished reading. ¡°It seems that the ethereal minion lines are no less complicated than the physical minion lines. In fact, the spirit minion lines seem to be much more useful as scouts and guerilla forces. One thoroughly researched ethereal minion line that is described in detail creates spirits that are extremely hard to detect during the day, and near undetectable by any means during night. These Shadow Spirits differ greatly from the Reaper Spirit minion line as well. The Reaper Spirits are ethereal minions mainly suited for battle while the Shadow Spirits are suited for reconnaissance and assassinations. There even is a Magus Spirit minion line, but that is less well researched than the other main two.¡± {You¡¯ll find that undead minion lines are much harder to modify than spell incantations. The main minion lines described in that book, which I think you now know by heart, are the result of possibly millions of undead minions being created and experimented with. They are the pinnacle of undead minion research, and you would do well to abide by them. Of course, you are welcome to experiment with your own minion lines, but that would not happen for a long time since your mastery of the undead is still pitiful.} Acknowledging Ahriman¡¯s words, Kaz sighed and stood up. Sending four his spirits to patrol for additional dangers, Kaz forced the red spirit to materialize in front of him. Frowning in thought, Kaz began to mold the red spirit into a basic Reaper Spirit. ¡°I don¡¯t really need more scouting spirits right now. The basic unmodified spirits that I have been using as scouts haven¡¯t failed me so far. What I need right now is more battle support from my minions. In the absence of any body or skeleton from which I could make a physical minion, a Reaper Spirit would be the best choice if I wanted additional backup in battle.¡± Carefully manipulating the mana in the atmosphere, Kaz went about molding the red spirit to what he desired. The red spirit, under the careful care of Kaz, quickly began to grow larger. The size of a spirit is not that different from the size that the person was when they were alive. In the beginning, the red spirit was slightly smaller than Kaz. After Kaz was done molding it into a basic Reaper Spirit, the red spirit was larger than Kaz was. ¡°Hmm. The changes that this red spirit went through are astonishing. The change in size is probably the least surprising thing that underwent a modification. Previously, this spirit¡¯s ethereal body seemed to be coming into and out of existence. Now, it¡¯s much easier to visually focus on the spirit. Surprisingly, this spirit also seemed to form a weapon made out of pure mana.¡± {That¡¯s just the standard Reaper Spirit mana weapon. When you followed the modification procedure you used mana to form a permanent mana weapon for this spirit. The weapon will exist as long as the spirit exists. Even if the spirit¡¯s ethereal body is badly damaged to the point that it is destroyed, the soul will regenerate the mana weapon once its ethereal body reforms.} Stepping back in admiration of his work so far, Kaz blew his breath out in excitement. ¡°That¡¯s just unfair! How does this mana weapon work? Is it like the claws of the normal spirits? It looks like it would hurt a lot more, though.¡± Walking around his creation, Kaz¡¯s vision was all over the red reaper spirit¡¯s body as if he was recording the characteristics of this undead minion to memory. Mentally commanding the red spirit, Kaz had it fly around the central mana crystal as he took note of its speed. Running the red spirit through several trials in order to determine its combat effectiveness, Kaz was completely absorbed in this work. ¡°It seems that the red spirit is now giving off a bloodthirsty aura. While weak, this aura might prove useful in intimidating its opponents, at least the sentient ones. I expect that this aura will increase in strength. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t gauge the effectiveness of the red spirit¡¯s mana sword. Although I think it bypasses physical armor, I can¡¯t be sure it actually does until I use it in a fight against an armored opponent. The red spirit does seem to be much more sturdy than the basic unmodified spirit, though.¡± Very happy with his new undead minion, Kaz was in a state of bliss until one of his patrolling spirits returned. The scouting spirit mentally transmitted the images of the hunter-killer squad travelling towards Kaz through the tunnel filled with mana crystals. Signalling his spirits to gather near the entrance to the cavern, Kaz¡¯s eyes glittered. {Heh, I can see that you¡¯re excited too. It¡¯s always a good feeling when you turn an ambush against the ambushers.} ¡°I didn¡¯t think that this hunter-killer squad would appear so soon. It seems that they are much faster than I had estimated based on the memories of the dead hunters. No matter, I just need to be careful and I think I can still come out of this on top. Even if I choose to run away, this cavern is a dead end. I guess it¡¯s kill or be killed.¡± Mentally commanding his spirits to wait floating in the air above the cavern entrance, Kaz hid himself behind a wall in direct view of where the hunters would appear. Gathering his mana, Kaz waited for the hunters to arrive. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Thanks for reading! Leave comments below! Book 1 Chapter 18: Bone and Steel A Sunday Dual release! Or is it monday now? Anyways, here''s Chapter 18! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 18: Bone and Steel Walking through the long corridor filled with mana crystals, the six members of the hunter-killer squad began to feel uneasy. ¡°Hey Karel, what are these rocks? Although they¡¯re mostly yellow, they have some slight variation in color. See, that fat one over there is has a slight greenish tinge to it.¡± Unable to stifle his curiosity, one of the hunters in the middle of the squad asked the point man something. ¡°Shut it. We¡¯re not here to be on vacation. Karel, how much farther until we reach the cavern?¡± Befitting a true professional, the sergeant quickly brought the minds of his men back to the task. ¡°We¡¯re not far. It¡¯s actually quite easy to tell the distance that we have to travel through this tunnel since the crystals get larger towards the cavern. I don¡¯t really know what these crystals are made of, but the atmosphere within this tunnel is definitely different than outside. I just don¡¯t know how to describe the difference. It¡¯s almost as if there is an electrical charge in the air, but not quite.¡± Sounding slightly more anxious than before, Karel quickly briefed the squad on the details of this weird tunnel. ¡°Hmph. As long as there isn¡¯t any immediate danger, we¡¯ll be fine. The atmosphere is probably just a side effect of being extremely stale. I doubt that this tunnel has had any visitors besides us and the rogue magi in at least a century.¡± Moving silently, the hunter killer squad eventually saw the soft glow of light at the end of the tunnel leading to the cavern. In the distance, they saw a single crystal like the ones that littered the tunnel floor. Only, this single crystal was much larger than anything of the crystals that they had ever seen. Dwarfing the crystals in the tunnel, this central crystal emitted a soft light that illuminated the entire cavern. ¡°That¡¯s¡­.a really¡­.big...crystal. I guess we found out why our rogue magi didn¡¯t need additional torches. If he¡¯s in here there¡¯s no need for additional sources of light. If this level of light never decreases, it¡¯s about the same as the amount of light given by the full moon on a cloudless night.¡± Bringing up his bow in front of him, Karel started to look out for dangers. ¡°.....oooaaaaoooooooo¡­¡­¡± All of the hunters trained their weapons in the direction of the moan. Almost imperceptible, the hunters were only able to hear the moan because of their Canis enhanced senses. Slowly approaching, a single red ghost stared hatefully at the six hunters raising an otherworldly sword, it howled as it charged at the six hunters. ¡°Not good! Take evasive action and attempt to attack.¡± The sergeant, as a veteran of countless fights, started to make decisions based on the judgement born of a lifetime of warfare. Splitting from each other, the hunters separated themselves from their previously packed formation. The red spirit paused only slightly in response to this, and it once again charged at the sergeant. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C The moment that the hunter-killer squad changed their formation from packed to loose, Kaz realized that he was dealing with a much more experienced squad than he had previously. {Huh. These particular hunters seem to be more capable than the previous lot. They rightly understand that the correct way to kite a single powerful opponent is to split in different directions and wear it down with ranged weaponry.} ¡°Unfortunately for them, reaper spirit¡¯s ethereal bodies are extremely resilient to conventional steel weapons. Only magic weapons, silver, and certain types of magic is effective against the ethereal body of a spirit minion.¡± Signalling for the rest of his spirits to attack a single soldier, Kaz focused all of his spirits onto a single hunter. ¡°AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!¡± Howling like the damned that they are, Kaz¡¯s spirits flew straight down from where they were floating in the air. Clawing at the unfortunate scout that was in the rear, Kaz forced the rest of the hunter-killer squad further into the cavern as they reacted to the new threat behind them. The target scout was taking heavy damage from spirit¡¯s assault. Long having discarded his bow, the scout had drawn his tomahawk and shortsword. Wielding one in each hand, he was making a valiant attempt to keep the spirits at bay. Unfortunately for him, his steel weapons were doing little if anything at all to the ethereal bodies of the spirits. Fortunately for him, the ghostly hands that were grasping at him did not possess much lethality. Bleeding from many lacerations where the spirits had slashed him, the scout tried to maneuver himself around the edge of the cavern. Seeing his weakened foe, the red spirit took this chance to attack in earnest. Gliding along the floor like a the personification of Death, the red spirit slashed viciously at the bleeding hunter with its mana sword. Well aware of the imminent danger, the rest of the hunters aimed their bows and launched salvo after salvo of arrows towards the red spirit. When each arrow hit the reaper spirit, it ripped a small part of the spirit¡¯s ethereal body apart, but only a tiny part. It seemed to have too little of an effect, but there was nothing else that seemed to have an effect on the red spirit what was charging towards their wounded comrade. Gritting his teeth in pain, Harken braced himself for the red spirit¡¯s attack. His reflexes heightened to near superhuman levels, Harken was well prepared to react as the red spirit swung its sword down at his shoulder. Raising his weapons in a cross block, Haken accurately predicted the motion of the mana sword. A split second later, Harken jumped backwards as he screamed miserably. For any conventional weapon, the cross block that Harken used would have been enough stop the enemy¡¯s weapon. Unfortunately for the hunter, the mana sword easily passed through the scout¡¯s steel weapons and slashed at his shoulder. To his credit, Harken¡¯s alchemically heightened reflexes had allowed him to jump backwards before the mana sword completely went into his shoulder. His face pale, Harken snuck a peek at his left shoulder to survey the damage that the mana sword had inflicted. Tears nearly welled in his eyes as Harken saw that the surface of his shoulder had blackened considerably. Oddly, the pain that he felt wasn¡¯t a burning sensation, nor did he smell his own flesh burning. An icy sensation gripped Harken, and slowed the movement of his left shoulder. Caught off guard by physical sensations that he did not expect, Harken was unable to avoid a second aggressive slash from the red spirit. This time, the mana sword passed through Harken¡¯s right thigh, slowing once it hit flesh. Immediately, Harken lost feeling in his right leg, and crumpled to the ground. Wildly slashing at the red spirit in an attempt to ward off the apparition, the scout did not see the mana blade as it slammed into his head. Watching in horror as the red spirit made short work of one of their comrades, the rest of the hunter-killer squad was in shock. ¡°Retreat for now! We go deeper into the cavern, and regroup once we¡¯ve escaped the apparition.¡± Giving up Harken as a lost cause, the sergeant made the decision to attempt to escape and think of a backup plan. Finally given clear instructions, the remainder of the hunter-killer squad quickly ran in the direction of the central mana crystal. ¡°Not good! They¡¯re unintentionally coming directly at me! Maybe I can get away quietly before they spot me.¡± Anxious that he was going to be discovered, Kaz tried to back out of his hiding spot into another direction as quietly as he could. In a stroke of luck for the hunters, their heightened hearing instantly detected Kaz as he tried to move to a new hiding spot. {This sure is heating up. Hey Kaz, how fast can you run? It looks like these hunters can give you a run for your money. Or run you down. Heh heh heh¡­} Sadistically laughing at Kaz, Ahriman¡¯s voice annoyed Kaz as he tried to put enough distance between himself and the hunters. ¡°There¡¯s the bastard! Hurry, if we kill him we can make our escape. Fire your bows at will. Just make it count. I don¡¯t want to lose any more men on this miserable chase.¡± Bringing his longbow to a full draw quickly, the sergeant shot an arrow that travelled at a blistering speed towards Kaz. Barely avoiding being impaled by the longbow¡¯s payload, Kaz was still unable to evade the arrow completely unscathed. The arrowhead slashed a Kaz¡¯s right forearm as he disappeared within the maze-like passageways within the cavern. Gnashing his teeth at the miss, the sergeant barked orders sharply at the rest of his squad. ¡°Karel, you take Bogdan and try to encircle him from the right. Russak, you take Slack and try to encircle him from the left. I¡¯ll stay behind to distract the red spirit since I have the most experience. Don¡¯t worry about me, just make sure that the little bastard dies. For the Empire!¡± ¡°For the Empire!¡± The four hunters went their assigned directions, and the sergeant looked over his shoulder at the red spirit. ¡°If it¡¯s a game of cat and mouse you want, I¡¯ll give it to you!¡± Firing an arrow at the red reaper spirit in order to get its attention, the sergeant darted into a nearby passageway with the red spirit hot on his heels. Not being given any additional instructions other than to attack the hunters, the red spirit gravitated towards the one who had attacked it. Howling loudly, the red reaper spirit flew towards the sergeant. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. While all this was happening, Kaz was busy trying to circle around to the entrance of the cavern. Having explored some of the passages near the entrance, Kaz was somewhat familiar with the layout of the cavern¡¯s passages. Turning a corner, Kaz ran straight into Russak and Slack. The three men stared at each other for a second, before Russak snarled and charged forward at Kaz with his tomahawk raised in the air. Leaping backwards as he gathered his mana, Kaz slowed Russak with Bitter Grip as the scout charged. His eyes widening, Russak tried to block Kaz as the latter swung a stolen tomahawk at the scout¡¯s face. Too little too late, the front blade of Kaz¡¯s tomahawk slammed into Russak¡¯s face before the scout was able to block. Choking on his own blood, Russak writhed on the ground as Slack was able to sink his shortsword into Kaz¡¯s left upper arm. Hissing in pain, Kaz kicked at Slack in an attempt to get the scout off of him. Smiling grimly, Slack easily avoided the untrained kick from Kaz. Slamming his knee into Kaz¡¯s stomach, Slack brought the young necromancer to his knees. Before Slack was able to finish off Kaz, however, two of Kaz¡¯s basic spirits flew in the scout¡¯s face with their claws outstretched. ¡°Gah...once I get past these stupid ghosts, you¡¯ll rue the day that you were born, wretch!¡± Annoyed by the lacerations that the spirits were inflicting onto his torso, Slack¡¯s face was a mask of hatred. Rolling backwards until he was out of reach, Kaz surveyed the situation in front of him. His life no longer in immediate danger, Kaz calmly watched as Slack struggled to deal with the two spirits. Sending one spirit to keep watch high above, Kaz felt that he had all the time in the world, relatively, to deal with Slack. With a savage grin, Kaz decided what he wanted to do. A quick Soul Harvest replenished Kaz¡¯s mana pool from Russak¡¯s death energy. Casting Rigor Mortis on Slack, the scout could only watch in horror as the two spirits descended upon his paralyzed body. His face twisted in a silent scream, his eyes crying out for help, Slack could do nothing as the two spirits ripped his body apart. {Yikes. Who know you were so cold blooded, Kaz? That¡¯ll leave a stain for sure, not that I care.} Approving of Kaz¡¯s choice in eliminating his opponent in a gruesome manner, Ahriman¡¯s sadistic voice praised Kaz. Grunting in pain, Kaz ran his hands over his injuries. Deciding that they weren¡¯t worth using mana to heal at this point, Kaz quickly gathered Slack¡¯s death energy. Bracing himself, Kaz selected one of the two spirits in front of him, and casted Soul Infuse. Screaming silently, the spirit unwillingly entered the ruined body of Slack. With a wet squelch, the undead minion brought itself to a standing position. What stood in front of Kaz was best described as a hunk of animated flesh. Still bleeding and carrying a tomahawk, Kaz¡¯s new undead minion was ready to do his bidding. ¡°Hmm it¡¯s not exactly what I expected, but I think it¡¯ll do for now.¡± Looking towards the slightly better off dead body of Russak, Kaz¡¯s eyes glittered. ¡°Waste not, want not. I¡¯ll take this breather opportunity to raise a second physical undead minion.¡± Gathering mana from within himself, Kaz casted another Soul Infuse using the body of Russak and the second spirit that attacked Slack. Before long, Kaz had two silent, bloody minions in front of him. Viewing the cavern through the eyesight of the floating spirit above him, Kaz quickly pinpointed the location of Karel and Bogdan. Mentally commanding his two undead soldiers to intercept the two scouts, Kaz urged the red spirit to redouble its efforts at attempting to kill the sergeant. The sergeant had proven himself to be particularly adept at avoiding direct contact with Kaz¡¯s reaper spirit. He seemed to be just within reach so that it would not lose attention, but just outside of the range at which the red spirit could attack him. Having led the red spirit on a wild goose chase, the sergeant was buying valuable time for his scouts to hunt down Kaz. Little did he know, however, that two of his scouts had already been taken out. {Why don¡¯t you get a move on instead of waiting for your minions to do it? Your minions are pathetically weak by the standards of any true necromancer. They can¡¯t really be relied on to complete their task unless you¡¯re close by supervising them.} ¡°Don¡¯t be such a downer. I¡¯m only taking a couple minutes to catch my breath. It could have been really bad back there if my two spirits hadn¡¯t distracted that second scout. I¡¯ll go kill that second set of scouts before I go engage the sergeant since he¡¯s the craftiest of the bunch. Half the hunter-killer squad is dead, but I don¡¯t feel safe since the leader is still alive.¡± Pausing only to cast Soul Enslave on the souls of Russak and Slack, Kaz quickly commanded the floating spirit to keep an aerial watch over his surroundings. Quickly counting the spirits that were available to use, Kaz counted seven with the addition of the two scouts. Sending three of these seven ahead of him to harass Karel and Bogdan, Kaz carefully made his way over to where the two scouts were. Having approached Kaz from the right, the two scouts rushed towards the sounds of fighting when Kaz was busy trying to survive Slack¡¯s assault. However, Karel and Bogdan¡¯s faces grew grim when they heard two bodies fall in quick succession. Rounding the corner, they came face to face with the two undead soldiers that Kaz had recently created. Yelping, the two scouts quickly backpedaled out of the range of the undead minions. Shuffling forward at a brisk pace, the two undead minions silently brought their weapons to bear. ¡°Gods above, is that Slack and Russak? They¡¯ve been mind controlled! Karel, what do we do?¡± Panicking due to the familiar faces, Bogdan¡¯s voice cracked as his fear surfaced. ¡°I don¡¯t think these two are under the influence of mind control, look at their injuries. It¡¯s obvious that these two are no longer among the living. I guess this confirms without a doubt that the rogue magi that we are facing is a necromancer. I thought they were all dead and gone for good.¡± Barely blocking a downwards swipe by Russak¡¯s corpse, Karel could feel his arm tingling from the impact. His arms still sore from the impact of blocking a monstrous blow by Kaz¡¯s undead minion, Karel was wholly unprepared for the attack by the second undead minion. The second minion had begun its attack just after the first minion had attacked, so its tomahawk was mid-swing as Karel blocked the first minion¡¯s attack. Unable to dodge the second attack, Karel¡¯s face was bashed in by the tomahawk¡¯s heavy blade. Bleeding from a huge grisly wound on his face, Karel was knocked flat on his back. Struggling to get up, Karel could do nothing as the two minions launched a second wave of attacks. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t, you undead bastards!¡± Screaming in rage, Bogdan charged headfirst with both shortsword and tomahawk in hand. Managing to push back the first undead minion, the doomed scout¡¯s fierce demeanor turned meek when the second minion sunk its weapon into Bogdan¡¯s back. The undead minions had just extricated themselves from the clutches of the wounded scouts when Kaz arrived at the scene. Mentally commanding his undead minions to disarm the scouts, Kaz leisurely walked up to the two men. Spitting out blood, Karel glared hatefully at Kaz while Bogdan meekly looked at the ground. ¡°You¡­.you¡¯re a monster. It was only fitting that such a heinous criminal like you was exiled from civilization.¡± Barely managing to speak due to the pain that he was experiencing, Karel started to choke on his own blood for a bit. ¡°This isn¡¯t real. This isn¡¯t real¡­.I want to go home. I want to go home. I WANT TO GO HOME!!!¡± Unable to take the stress any longer and mentally anguished by the ruined bodies of his former comrades, Bogdan¡¯s mind broke. ¡°I take no pleasure in this.¡± Kaz¡¯s eyes were cold as he signalled for his minions to execute the two scouts. Raising their weapons up high, the two undead minions unleashed their unnatural strength once more as they slammed the blades of their tomahawks into the skulls of the two wounded scouts. Sighing, Kaz quickly enslaved the souls of the two newly deceased scouts. Raising them up as undead minions with souls foreign to the bodies, Kaz commanded them to equip themselves with bows and arrows from looted from the scouts. Signalling three of his spirits to help the red spirit chase down the sergeant, Kaz walked towards the sergeant¡¯s location. Blood dripping from their bodies, Kaz¡¯s four undead soldiers followed him closely as he walked. ¡°I think it¡¯s about time to end this hunt, don¡¯t you Ahriman?¡± {You¡¯re becoming a stone cold killer, you know that?} ¡°You know of all people I¡¯m never vindictive. They brought this on themselves when they chose to try and kill me. But, I¡¯m getting good practical knowledge out of this, so I have to thank them for that. Let¡¯s go.¡± ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Leave a review/comment if you enjoyed! Book 1 Chapter 19: Small Potion, Big Power Here''s Chapter 19! Sorry it''s a bit late. I had final week just now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 19: Small Potion, Big Power Before Kaz had travelled far, he stopped and looked at the four physical undead minions that he had created. Three of the hunters were more proficient with melee weapons than ranged weapons, so Kaz had raised them up into Bone Soldiers. The last one was more proficient with a bow than he was with the tomahawk, so Kaz raised it up into a Bone Archer. ¡°I¡¯m actually pretty lucky that I don¡¯t need to make a detour to the armory in order to pick up weapons for my undead minions. Having them pick up and use the weapons that their original bodies died with has saved me a lot of time since I still need to go subdue the squad leader.¡± {Why do you always get so lucky? When I raised my first physical undead minion I was knee deep in swamp water trying to find a suitable body to raise. When you want to raise physical undead you¡¯ve got hardened warriors throwing themselves at you.} Complaining somewhat bitterly about Kaz¡¯s dubious luck, Ahriman sounded like a small child whining that his sibling got a bigger slice of pie. ¡°I don¡¯t think you can count being hunted by trained professionals as lucky. If I wasn¡¯t using magic that they were unfamiliar with, I don¡¯t think I would be alive now. Hell, I almost died to that scout that kicked me down earlier. They weren¡¯t pulling any punches, either.¡± {Maybe you got upgraded from ¡°Capture Alive¡± to ¡°Kill on Sight.¡± Heh, isn¡¯t it more fun this way? You even get to practice necromantic magic on targets that basically throw themselves at you. You should be proud that you¡¯re so popular with kill squads.} ¡°Again, that¡¯s a dubious honor. Plus, I don¡¯t think that I can actually take on these kill squads face-first. If it wasn¡¯t for their ignorance of necromantic magic, or the fact that I had ambushed the second group successfully, I don¡¯t think I would be standing here right now.¡± Ever the one to err on the side of caution, Kaz did not grow arrogant from his few successes so far. Commanding his Bone Soldiers to walk in front of him and the Bone Soldier to follow at a short distance, Kaz was in a somewhat protective formation. Sending his magical sense out to scout while keeping visual tab on the sergeant¡¯s location with his regular spirits, the sergeant was unable to avoid detection. After several tense minutes, Kaz was able to corner the sergeant near central mana crystal. The red Reaper Spirit had been able to catch up with the sergeant after a while, or the sergeant let the spirit catch up. Either way, the sergeant looked as if he had just taken a brief stroll. Lightly breathing, he was able to avoid nearly all of the red spirit¡¯s attacks. Seeing the bodies of his former comrades raised as undead monsters, the sergeant let out a low growl of anger. ¡°Get out here, you filthy heretic! I know you¡¯re here! No coward like you would be far away from his abominable servants. Face me like a man, if you dare!¡± Trying to get a reaction out of Kaz, the sergeant verbally issued a challenge to Kaz. Hidden safely behind some walls, Kaz mentally issued commands to his undead minions to attack the sergeant. Hmph. There¡¯s no need for me to get in close combat range with that sergeant. He can challenge me all he wants, and I won¡¯t budge. It¡¯s too big of a risk to attempt to engage at close combat range. He¡¯s been able to avoid the red spirit without suffering a severe injury, it¡¯s almost certain that he¡¯s the best combatant from this particular hunter-killer squad. Signalling for his Bone Archer to hide and wait until an opportunity to shoot the sergeant presented itself, Kaz allowed his mental sense to probe towards the only entrance to the cavern. At this point in time, the sergeant was about to face four opponents at once. I¡¯m not sure even four opponents will be enough to subdue this guy. He wholeheartedly deserves his rank as squad leader, that¡¯s for sure. Gritting his teeth, Kaz chose to stay in hiding as we waited to see how his minions would fare. Snarling at his ignored challenge, the sergeant put his back against the central mana crystal. Even if he is surrounded by all sides, at least he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about attacks coming from behind him. Looking at the three skeletons in front of him along with the red spirit, the sergeant sighed. Quickly bringing out two vials, the sergeant quickly downed the brown bottle while pouring the contents of a bright silver one onto his tomahawk. With a grin not unlike that of a wolf, the sergeant didn¡¯t avoid the red spirit¡¯s sword this time, but brought his weapon up to parry it. Normally, the red spirit¡¯s sword would have gone straight through the iron tomahawk, but this time the tomahawk successfully was able to block the mana sword. His smirk growing wider, the sergeant applied both hands to his weapon and forcefully used it to push the reaper spirit back. As a bone soldier tried to attack him from the side, the sergeant quickly spun his body around and avoided the blow. Without skipping a beat, the sergeant drove his tomahawk into the side of the bone soldier¡¯s head. Ripping his axe out as he kicked the undead minion back, the sergeant turned his attention back on his other enemies. Stunned, both Kaz and Ahriman were speechless at this display of martial prowess. {Kaz, my boy, you really need to find out what was in those little bottles of his. It seems that whatever was in the brown bottle increased his strength by an incredible amount, and whatever he slathered onto his axe allows it to directly block the mana sword. That¡¯s some useful countermeasures for fighting the arcane. I wonder why the other scouts didn¡¯t use them when you fought them earlier?} ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s really not helping right now. I guess I need to personally be involved if we want to actually kill him.¡± Finding the first dead scout with his magical sense, Kaz sent two spell incantations to that location. The target was on the very edge of the incantations¡¯ range, but Kaz was still able to successfully cast what he wanted. Sending out a mental command to his new minion, Kaz turned his attention back to the fight. Viciously, the sergeant was able to keep the four undead minions at bay through a combination of sheer strength, speed, and clever tactics. Stepping into a corridor near the mana crystal where only two undead minions could attack him at a time, the sergeant funneled the minions together in front of him so he could deal with them more easily. Frowning, Kaz realized that his undead minions were dumber than he had thought. ¡°I need to figure out a way to trap the sergeant. The area around the central mana crystal is too open, he easily escaped after kicking down a bone soldier and running to the corridor behind it. Let¡¯s see, this is what I should do¡­¡± Sending out several commands, Kaz waited to see what the results would be. {Really, this hunter is putting up a pretty good fight. If I wasn¡¯t a necromancer myself, I¡¯d take his side since he¡¯s so valiantly fighting against four opponents. Look, he hasn¡¯t even taken a serious wound yet. All your minions have done to him resulted in several shallow cuts and that one bruise. Actually, that¡¯s a rather big bruise¡­} Amused by how poorly Kaz¡¯s minions were doing against the sergeant, Ahriman¡¯s tone could have been mistaken for as a person who¡¯s enjoying a horse race. ¡°We¡¯ll see. This show has gone on long enough. Let¡¯s try to end this.¡± Gathering mana in his hands, Kaz maneuvered himself in the corridors to get into a position behind the sergeant. Peeking around the corner, Kaz could see how the fight was unfolding. Surprisingly, the sergeant had several new cuts on his arms and body that were deeper than the previous grazes that he had. The narrow space of the corridor meant that only two of Kaz¡¯s undead minions could attack at once, but it also meant that the sergeant had limited space to dodge the blows of Kaz¡¯s bone soldiers. However, the sergeant gave better than he got. Kaz¡¯s bone soldiers had hideous new wounds that bloodied their bodies further. Although the open wounds weren¡¯t of much concern to the undead minions, the broken bones that the sergeant inflicted did limit their ability to fight somewhat. ¡°Come on, you bastards. I¡¯ve still got some more action waiting for you at the end of my axe. Shit...what¡¯s it take to actually take out one of these things?¡± His breathing finally getting ragged, the sergeant had inflicted enough damage onto the skeletons to kill an human combatant multiple times. Unfortunately for him, the undead bone soldiers in front of him seemed to ignore their wounds. Seeing how the sergeant was finally starting to struggle, Kaz chose to not involve himself. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Swinging his axe in a high arc, the sergeant managed to slam it down with extreme force onto the skull of an undead minion. However, that caused his axe to lodge itself into the side of the minion¡¯s skull and knocking it down to the cold floor. Trying to get it out, the sergeant was unable to avoid the second bone soldier¡¯s shortsword as it stabbed into his side. ¡°Gah...damn it!¡± Using all of his strength, the sergeant managed to rip out his weapon as he backed away. Panting heavily, the sergeant was was weakened considerably by this last attack. Seeing how the minion that he attacked was back on its feet, and the other bone soldier was heading towards him the sergeant felt fear for the first time. ¡°Desperate situations calls for desperate measures. For the Empire!¡± As he swore to himself, the sergeant took out a small black vial from his utility sack. Popping open the cap, he raised it to his mouth. ¡°Shit. I need to prevent him from downing that!¡± Popping out of cover, Kaz launched twin Frozen Spears at the sergeant. Smirking at Kaz now that the necromancer had revealed himself, the sergeant wasted no time in pouring the contents of the black vial down his throat. Immediately, he dropped the bottle as the potion¡¯s effects became apparent. Kaz¡¯s two frozen spears slammed into the sergeant¡¯s chest, and shattered into tiny shards of ice. Seeing his attack fail miserably, Kaz¡¯s eyes grew wide as he commanded the two undead minions to reposition themselves. Rushing past the sergeant who was currently being transformed by the black potion, Kaz¡¯s bone soldiers moved into formation. With one bone soldier between Kaz and the sergeant and one behind the sergeant, Kaz felt relatively safe. {Odd. Why isn¡¯t the fighting? It never took this long for the potions to take full effect before. Maybe he¡¯s actually trying to poison himself?} ¡°I don¡¯t think so. What kind of poison drastically increases a person¡¯s physical body? My Frozen Spears shattered when they hit his body, and they¡¯ve never done that before when they hit a target. I¡¯m sure that black potion increased his physical defense by a lot, although I¡¯m not sure what other effects he¡¯s going to exhibit.¡± Although Kaz felt a distinct sense of danger in staying put instead of trying to run away, he was fascinated with the transformation that the sergeant was going through. His muscles grew taut, and his veins darkened until they were black. Gradually, the eyes of the sergeant became so bloodshot that they became completely crimson. A low groan of pain came from sergeant as he straightened up. Taking this chance, Kaz commanded his bone archer to launch arrow after arrow at the transformed sergeant. The arrows, designed to be as quiet as possible for assassinations, flew through the air with no audible sound. Slamming into the sergeant¡¯s back, the arrows only seemed to prick at his skin. The sergeant¡¯s leather armor was ruined from the bone warrior¡¯s unrelenting attacks, but the arrows hitting their target were like needles pricking a bear. Pausing to take in the situation, the sergeant¡¯s crimson eyes locked onto Kaz¡¯s figure. Snarling, the sergeant charged towards Kaz with his weapon raised high. Moving backwards as he watched his bone soldiers move in on the sergeant, Kaz¡¯s mind raced to find a way to neutralize the enraged hunter. ¡°This situation really isn¡¯t ideal! I need to get put some distance between him and I, and it seems that my minion¡¯s conventional weaponry aren¡¯t effective any longer. Wait¡­.the reaper spirit¡¯s mana sword isn¡¯t conventional. That¡¯s probably my best bet.¡± {That may be true, but how are you going to subdue him long enough to get your mana sword in range? His reflexes are insane, I don¡¯t think your minions can even touch him now regardless of the room that he has to maneuver in this corridor.} ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll find a way. Ah, that¡¯s not good.¡± Sighing, Kaz started to gather his mana as the sergeant slammed the bone soldier between them down to the ground. ¡°Heh. Nothing between me and you now, you filthy monster. Let¡¯s see if you can avoid me now!¡± Launching himself at Kaz, the sergeant started to close the distance between them quickly. As the sergeant closed in on Kaz¡¯s location, he raised his tomahawk above his head, about to throw it. Seeing this, Kaz unleashed twin Distorting Fogs from his hands as the tomahawk left the sergeant¡¯s hand. The tomahawk slammed into Kaz¡¯s chest as the sergeant was blasted in the face with an extremely dense magical cloud. Thrown backwards a couple of feet from the impact, Kaz steadied himself against the wall as blood started to drip from the wound on his chest. ¡°Augh...what...is this¡­.?¡± The sergeant¡¯s entire body was surrounded by Kaz¡¯s magical cloud. Even though the sergeant was extremely resilient to forms of physical damage and some elemental magic, he had little to no resistance against magic that attacked his senses. {Huh. I didn¡¯t think that your spell would actually be of any use.} ¡°The sensory overload won¡¯t last long, I need to kill him before it wears off.¡± Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Kaz signalled for his fifth minion to climb over the wall. The sergeant, despite his senses being overloaded, was still walking towards Kaz with a purpose. Two of Kaz¡¯s original bone soldiers and the one that he had raised later on grabbed the sergeant¡¯s limbs. Even in his stunned state, the sergeant was just barely being held in place by Kaz¡¯s bone soldiers. Without a roar, the sergeant was able to break free from the three bone soldiers, and started to stagger towards Kaz. At the exact moment that he broke free, Kaz¡¯s reaper spirit came out of the wall of the corridor where it was waiting for its master¡¯s command. Maneuvering itself so that it came out of the wall directly behind the sergeant, the reaper spirit raised its mana sword and stabbed down. To the sergeant¡¯s credit, he heard the spirit swing its weapon down and managed to turn around while pulling out the shortsword that he had at his side. Raising his weapon to parry the reaper spirit¡¯s mana sword, the sergeant realized too late that he did not apply the contents of the silver vial onto his second weapon. There was nothing he could do as the reaper¡¯s mana sword slammed into his face. ¡°AAAAAUUUUUGEUUEUUUGGGG! DAMN YOUUUUUUU!!!!¡± Screaming in pain, the sergeant fell to his knees with his hands desperately trying to grab the mana sword. The moment his hands touched the bright blade, they started to burn as well. Cackling, the reaper spirit kept its burning mana sword lodged into the doomed hunter¡¯s skull. Very quickly, the hunter stopped struggling and fell on his back on the cold floor. ¡°Gah...I have to give it to the man, he was one tough bastard.¡± Grimacing has he pulled the tomahawk out of his chest, Kaz covered and tightened the wound on his chest with his ruined shirt. {Was the man tough? Or was it those little potions that he was drinking? Alchemy can do many weird things, but this was the first time that I had seen combat potions. Usually the greedy alchemists don¡¯t stoop to making anything besides mana restoring potions that can sell for a huge amount of gold. The fact that combat potions are being made is really odd, or maybe these hunter¡¯s benefactor paid a huge amount for those potions. Either way, once this squad fails to report in, they¡¯ll probably send an even deadlier assassination squad after you. You¡¯re definitely on the kill-at-all-costs list after this stunt.} Moving closer to the dead sergeant, Kaz could see the handiwork done by his reaper spirit. The sergeant¡¯s veins were still black, and his limbs were twitching very slightly. His body from the neck up was about as expected, some shallow wounds with some deeper wounds where he suffered attacks by Kaz¡¯s bone soldiers. Everything from the neck upwards deeply shocked Kaz. The sergeant¡¯s face was a complete mess. The reaper spirit¡¯s mana sword was extremely hot, and heated the air around it noticeably. When it plunged into the sergeant¡¯s skull, the reaper spirit made sure it stayed for an extended period of time per Kaz¡¯s orders. The result was truly gruesome. Heating up the inside of the sergeant¡¯s skull, the contents were cooked inside the bone. Steam rose from the sergeant¡¯s mouth, ears, nose, and eyes. Surprisingly, there was barely any blood coming out of the sergeant¡¯s head since it had all been boiled dry. Gagging on the smell of cooked flesh, Kaz quickly stepped away and pulled out his last water flask. Taking a long, deep pull from the warm water within, Kaz was barely able to stop himself from vomiting on the spot. Sitting down against the side of the corridor, Kaz looked down at the result of the fight. All that greeted him were the bright baleful eyes of his undead minions and the silence of the dead. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you enjoyed! Book 1 Chapter 20: A Sanguine Gift Sorry for the hiatus. I had real life issues that I had to deal with. I''m back and will be releasing 2-3 chapters a week like before. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 20: A Sanguine Gift Groaning as he stood up, Kaz gingerly used his fingers to feel out the wound on his chest. {That looks like it hurt. I wonder if you would have died if the tomahawk¡¯s blade had slammed into you instead of the flat top.} ¡°Of, I would have definitely died. In fact, nearly all of my ribs have been shattered. I don¡¯t know how much internal bleeding¡­ugh¡± Pausing a bit to spit out another mouthful of blood, Kaz¡¯s face paled even further. Grimacing, Kaz used the last of his shallow mana pool to cast Blood Debt on himself. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, this time the blood floated in midair before transforming into a mist that entered Kaz¡¯s wounds. Glancing over at his unmoving minions, Kaz frowned as he checked his mana pool. ¡°The amount of mana available to me is even smaller than before...is this because I have animated undead minions now?¡± Standing up unsteadily, Kaz began to walk closer to his undead minions in order to inspect them. {Yes, that¡¯s how your minions are maintained. Nothing is free, and this goes doubly for anything related to magic.} ¡°So the Soul Power that I can take from my minions, which can substitute for mana, is in essence invested into a minion. It seems that I can¡¯t utilize the soul power of a particular soul when it is being used to animate an undead minion. The basic ghosts don¡¯t limit the amount of soul power I can extract, but all of the more advanced minions do.¡± Looking around, Kaz saw that the utility sacks of the dead hunters were more or less intact with the exception of two that were utterly destroyed, contents included. Quickly using the death energy released by the sergeant, Kaz enslaved his soul and then explored the contents of the utility sacks. Each of the hunter¡¯s utility sacks was surprisingly well stocked for being only the size of a small basket. Kaz found bandages, dried food, water flasks, potions, and spare sets of clothes. Not surprisingly, the sergeant¡¯s utility bag had a comprehensive map of the Klavan Empire. Setting everything aside except for the map, Kaz leaned against the wall as he sat. Trying to move as little as possible as his Blood Magic was slowly healing him, Kaz opened the map and started to read it. ¡°Hmm...it would seem that we¡¯re relatively deep into this forest. These hunter sure are meticulous in their tracking. They¡¯ve marked how far they¡¯ve travelled so far, as well as where they started from.¡± {You¡¯re still on the run. Where were you planning on going, anyways?} ¡°To be honest, I had no idea. I was just trying to get as far away from the Blood Citadel and Pagan as possible. The forest was near the fortress, so I instinctively walked deeper and deeper in an attempt to elude the hunters.¡± {It looks like your way isn¡¯t working. Let¡¯s see now¡­.what do these black triangles mean?} ¡°Those are troop deployments. The hunters sometimes coordinate with the army in order to trap their quarry. As such, it makes sense for them to know the approximate locations of strategic garrisons. They¡¯re spread fairly apart so I think we should be able to avoid them if we give them a wide berth.¡± {What are those red circles marked on the map? The red markings don¡¯t look like spilled blood, and they¡¯re obviously too neat to have been made by accident.} ¡°I¡¯ve actually never seen this either. It might be the area of operations for each of these garrisons. See how each of the garrisons are directly in the center of the areas circled? But it might be better to just confirm.¡± Frowning, Kaz browsed through his remaining free ghosts. This map came from the sergeant¡¯s utility sack. He would obviously be the best choice for interrogation. But, I found from breaking the minds of previous spirits that the recently dead have a higher mental resistance. Bah, that shouldn¡¯t matter since the sergeant relied almost exclusively on his martial strength. Plus, I hypothesize that a lot of his strength and resistance came from those unusual potions that he consumed. This will be the first mind I break from this batch of souls. Satisfied with his choice, Kaz¡¯s face broke into a small grin as he gave his full attention to the sergeant¡¯s ghost. His mana somewhat restored from the death energy released by the sergeant, Kaz used a portion of that to condense several mana spikes. Rotating them around his right hand, Kaz¡¯s mental probe started to delve deep into the ghost¡¯s memories. Initially, Kaz¡¯s mental advance was slowed down by the ghost¡¯s resistance. After slamming a mental spike into the ghost, Kaz was able to rip apart its mental defenses and access the deceased sergeant¡¯s memories. Having practiced categorizing the memories of the deceased several times by this point, Kaz was able to quickly and efficiently rip apart memories to find what he wanted. Looking at the memories chronologically, Kaz was able to find the moment where the map was last used. ¡°Hmm. It seems that these markings are the area of operations for each strategic garrison¡¯s patrols. The green arrows indicate troop movements, and the black arrows indicate enemy troop locations.¡± {Well then, we have our answer. How accurate is this information?} ¡°Well since the dead person¡¯s memories can¡¯t be tampered with any longer since new memories are unable to be formed, I¡¯d say that this information is fairly accurate. Plus, this ghost died extremely recently, so memory loss should be nearly nonexistent.¡± Looking back at the ghost, Kaz could almost see the spirit shudder as the necromancer once again delved deep into its memories. Of particular interest to both Kaz and Ahriman were the potions that the hunters were supplied with. Once again organizing the memories chronologically, Kaz started his search from the latest memory and worked backwards. ¡°These strange potions must be a relatively recent innovation. If these potions were already common, the elite shock troops at the Blood Citadel would indoubtably have some variant.¡± {Maybe you just weren¡¯t told about them. It seems something this effective in combat against non-magically protected humans would be kept under wraps.} ¡°You underestimate how much the troops talk during meals in the mess hall. The castle staff ate at the same places, more or less, than the soldiers. Even if these potions were a top military secret, the troops would¡¯ve talked about it. You forget that all of the men and women stationed at the Blood Citadel were elite troops, second in prowess only to the soldiers guarding the capital.¡± Taking the potions that he had gathered, Kaz set them down in front of him. There were a total of four potion types that he had gathered from the dead soldiers. The first flask had a carving of a cat imprinted onto its yellow surface. ¡°This should be the Felis potion. It should grant night vision towards the user along with slightly enhanced reflexes.¡± Putting it aside, Kaz looked towards the second type. Picking up a grey flask, which was the same size as the yellow one, Kaz stared at the carving of a wolf on its surface. ¡°This is the Canis potion. It seems to enhance the user¡¯s sense of smell and hearing greatly. It¡¯s not surprising then, that this potion made up the majority of the hunter¡¯s potions.¡± Placing the grey flask down onto the small pile of other grey flasks, Kaz estimated that they made up over half of the potions still remaining. Deciding to make a actual count after looking at the rest of the potions. Picking up a brown flask, Kaz looked at the bear shaped carving on its surface. ¡°This is the one that the sergeant took right before his physical abilities increased drastically. Even though the flask is the same size as the others, the flask is about one and a half times heavier. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s due to the flask itself, it must be the contents.¡± {Considering that the sergeant¡¯s physical strength and defense nearly doubled, I¡¯d think that the liquid contents of the potion be quite hefty. Although neither of us are alchemists so I don¡¯t know how much weight that thought carries.} ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were interested in alchemy, Ahriman.¡± {Foolish bumpkin! Alchemy is one of the most influential of the arcane arts. In fact, there is a whole department dedicated to it at your sniveling Arcane Library. Not everybody can be a mage. In fact, you¡¯re barely one as it is. If not for your meager Soul Power, you¡¯d be no different than the lowest tier of hedge wizard.} ¡°Yeah, keep rubbing it in. If I die, you¡¯re not going to do so great either.¡± Putting the brown flask down. Kaz looked towards the last type of potion. Unfortunately, the sergeant used the only portion that Kaz could find. The empty silver flask seemed like a taunt as Kaz picked it up. The silver flask was like the other flasks in weight, only empty. A nine pointed star was carved onto the side of the flask, and it seemed to still emanate power even after being used. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°This...one is called the Argentum potion. Rather, it should be described as a sort of poison. When applied onto weapons it grants greatly increased effectiveness against magical defenses or creatures.¡± {This one is fascinating, this potion apparently makes steel weapons effective against the supernatural. Otherwise, how could that human¡¯s standard tomahawk been able to actually come into contact with the reaper spirit¡¯s mana sword?} ¡°It¡¯s indeed a pity. But there¡¯s nothing to be done about it now. Now hold on for a bit, I want to take inventory of these potions.¡± Gazing over his new stash of potions, Kaz carefully tallied his gains. There were four Felis potions, eight Canis potions, and one Ursus potion that could still be used. They were sealed with a wax cap, and the flasks themselves were made out of ceramic. Gathering them up, Kaz placed them into one of the few remaining knapsacks that the hunters carried. As Kaz¡¯s gaze fell back onto the map, Ahriman abruptly spoke up. {I¡¯ve decided to accelerate your education. You almost dying to those hunters is not acceptable by any means. I need you alive so you can later restore my physical body to me.} ¡°How exactly will I be able to do that? You¡¯re not even a ghost at this point but more similar to another voice inside my head.¡± Scrunching his face up, Kaz stared at the central mana crystal of the cavern. {You¡¯re going to need various rare materials and lots more training. I¡¯m going to attempt to gather the mana that I need from the surrounding environment. This means that I¡¯m going to be in hibernation, and cannot help you. You must navigate your way to the Southern Swamps, and I¡¯ll wake once we¡¯re near.} ¡°What else is special about the Special Swamps? I know that if one could travel through, it allows travel from Klavan to Janaro without the need to pass the mountains.¡± {The ancient necromancers lived and practiced their art in the Southern Swamps. Actually, the swamps used to be connected to the great Southern Ocean. However, the struggle between the Janaro Church and the necromancers caused an apocalyptic disaster that transformed the previously fertile floodplains to the swamp that it is now.} ¡°That¡¯s...actually fascinating! How long ago did this happen? This had to have happened before the Venta Klavan¡¯s schism. How come there¡¯s no mention of it in any of the historical records of both countries?¡± {Gods, any mention of history and your eyes light up like the sun itself. It sickens me, it really does. This happened thousands of years ago. How old do you think Janaro is? The damned place has a heritage of several thousand years, and their state religion had existed since the advent of the country. I only know this much because my master was taught by one of the necromancers that survived the event.} ¡°But, how long ago did your master learn from this necromancer? It can¡¯t have been that long ago.¡± {I don¡¯t know. It never occurred to me that this information was important in any way. It doesn¡¯t help me with my studies in the necromantic arts, so what¡¯s the worth in studying it? It¡¯s probably been at least two thousand years since the event happened.} ¡°Janaroian records go back further than that. I wonder why there¡¯s no mention of it. Unless...you¡¯re just making this up to mock me.¡± {I don¡¯t have the patience or need to want to frustrate you intellectually. I¡¯m only even offering this much because I know you¡¯ll pester me to the ends of the world if I don¡¯t give you at least this much. So be it. Your destination is the Southern Swamps. You have the map and know how to read troop movements. If you get caught...well I sincerely hope that you¡¯ll be able to pull through.} Having said his piece, Ahriman fell silent. Kaz looked at the map, and put it away in his new knapsack. Setting his skeletal minions on a patrolling route, Kaz moved all of his other ghosts except for the reaper spirit to the central mana crystal to absorb mana. With his red reaper spirit trailing behind him, Kaz made his way back to the old library. Walking towards the central desk, Kaz didn¡¯t pay attention to the reaper spirit as it entered the library behind him. As soon as the reaper spirit entered the library, the library underwent a drastic change. The central stone table lit up with a red light, revealing that there was a network of sigils previously applied to it. Stunned, Kaz could only watch as the magic sigil underwent activation. ¡°The sigils carved onto the table combine the individual sigils for Transport, Blood, and Reformation. Even though I know what these sigils mean, I can¡¯t deduce the exact functions that they will enact. Gah..watch now, think about it later.¡± The sigils on the table were a light pink initially, but were continually turning into a darker and darker shade of red. Eventually they became an extremely bright shade of blood-red. All of a sudden, the table flashed bright red and a head sized ball of mana began to float about a meter above the surface of the table. The ball of mana seemed alive as it pulsated slowly, and a throbbing vibration was growing stronger as Kaz watched. ¡°This..ball of mana seems to mimic the feel of a human¡¯s heart. This sigil network and library is probably related to Blood Magic. It looks like the spell is reaching critical mass, I need to be careful not to miss a single detail¡­.¡± Standing rigidly in front of the table, Kaz stared unblinkingly at the throbbing ball of mana. The mass of mana eventually condensed into a fist sized human heart made purely of mana. Rhythmically, the heart began to throb in sync with Kaz¡¯s own heart. The moment that the sync between man and mana was perfect, the heart shot out streams of mana towards all of the books along the shelves in the library. Ripping through the pages of each and every book, the streams of mana ran around and around the room creating a small tempest of loose pages. Horrified, Kaz could only stand still. ¡°I can only hope that the spell creates something out of the books in this room. Gods above, if this was only a failsafe that triggered because of the reaper spirit, how large would my loss be? I wouldn¡¯t even know how much knowledge that I accidentally destroyed.¡± Gritting his teeth, Kaz turned his attention to the central table so as to not look anymore at the shredded pages of the tomes all around him. Lowering itself so that it now floated just above the surface of the table, the heart exerted a sudden vacuuming force. The shredded pages and leather of the now destroyed collection of tomes converged onto the heart¡¯s location. Stunned, Kaz watched as the pages and mana came together to fuse into a thick tome in the exact center of the table. Looking around, Kaz realized that the formation of this single tome had used up all of the material that was contained within the library¡¯s collection previously. It was a curious book indeed, slightly bigger than a normal tome and with an eerily realistic human heart on the cover. Walking towards the tome, Kaz tried to pick it up and almost dropped it. ¡°Gah, why is this tome so heavy? It doesn¡¯t seem to be significantly larger than the other tomes that were present before the sigils¡¯ activation. Hmm what¡¯s the title of this tome...the Book of Blood?¡± Flipping open the Book of Blood, Kaz¡¯s eyes widened as he read the introduction of the book¡¯s contents. Going through the pages, Kaz¡¯s excitement dulled just a bit as he realized that he could barely understand the material past the first chapter. Half a second later, Kaz¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Hahaha! This is what I¡¯ve been waiting for! How long has it been since I had material like this to study? I¡¯ve been on the run for a while, and never really had the time to sit down and study something like this. Oh this is going to be great. Maybe I could stay here for a bit longer and try to comprehend at least the first chapter of this tome completely.¡± All of his worries gone for the moment, Kaz put the Book of Blood into his knapsack and went back to the corridors with all of the hunter¡¯s knapsacks that his skeletons had gathered. Rummaging through the sacks, Kaz was able to gather up about a week¡¯s worth of dried food and several waterskins that were still full. Fortunately, these supplies were stored in the middle of the knapsacks, and were less susceptible to being damaged via combat unless the bags themselves were destroyed as well. Walking back to the library, Kaz sat at the central table. Cracking open the Book of Blood eagerly, Kaz started to read without any interruptions. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading! Leave a comment below if you enjoyed! Book 1 Chapter 21: The Inquisitor Chapter 21: The Inquisitor ¡°Inquisitor Chekov. The rogue mage is long gone.¡± A lithe woman covered from head to toe in dull black leather armor made her report to a robed man sitting on a stone chair in front of a stone desk. They were in the remains of the stone library that was found in the ruins of a magical complex, deep into the woods south of the Blood Citadel. ¡°We know that already. The real question is how long ago did he leave? The rotting remains of our hunter killer team is out there in front of that huge destroyed mana crystal. Some of their wounds look to be the result of weapons, while others are clearly from magic.¡± Looking at his subordinate, Chekov wrenched his gaze away from the report that he was reading. Chekov was somewhat young, having recently gotten his credentials as a Klavan inquisitor. He was tall, even for a soldier. Even sitting, his eyes were nearly the same height as hers. Dressed in dark purple leather armor, his symbol of office was the small silver emblem on the right side of his chest. Carved with magic upon a small plate of silver, the symbol of the Klavan Inquisition was a lightning bolt within a map of the country of Klavan. Many people, innocent and guilty people alike, shuddered when they thought of that emblem. The message was clear: there is nowhere in Klavan one could hide from the reach of the Inquisition. Sighing, the Chekov motioned for the woman to follow him as he stepped out of the library. ¡°The mage made preparations. He knew that we would be coming, and how long it would take us to get here. It¡¯s not going to be easy to catch him if this trend continues. Where do you think his destination is?¡± ¡°Sir. My scouts have reported that he appears to have headed south after leaving this complex. Apparently he left a trail of dead animals and monsters in his wake.¡± Grimacing, the scout captain ¡°Have you ruled out the possibility that the dead creatures are a false trail?¡± ¡°Yes. We initially thought so as well, but unless he could travel without the need to traverse the ground, the trail leads south. My scouts and I have combed a five kilometer radius of this complex, and there were only two directions that contained tracks.¡± ¡°Hmph. The first is obvious. The initial foray into this complex by the mage and the hunter killer squad on his tail. The second would be the mage¡¯s path as he went south. Did he at least attempt to cover his tracks?¡± Walking at a brisk pace, Chekov and the woman arrived at the now destroyed central mana crystal. Staring at the decomposing remains of the hunters, Chekov intently listened to the report. ¡°Yes, but not well enough. It is curious, the mage demonstrated that he had some skill in covering his presence in the forest. It is quite at odds with how he seemed to use the forest¡¯s creatures as practice for his magic. However, his skill in travelling through the forest is far inferior to our skill to track. He is headed south, this is a fact.¡± Frowning, Chekov started to walk towards the armory. His team was sprawled throughout the complex gathering intelligence and materials after the scouts had secured the location. ¡°You said that our target seemed to use the forest¡¯s creatures as objects for practicing magic? What about the giant boars and wolves that live this deep within the forest?¡± ¡°Yes, it seems so. All sorts of creatures, from normal wildlife such as owls and rabbits to monsters such as giant boars, have been found slain. They were killed with a variety of different spells. Some of them seem to have been impaled by spears that have since disappeared.¡± ¡°That¡¯s most likely water magic. Frozen spears would be the most basic and likely suspect.¡± Chekov¡¯s eyes glinted as he started to compile his quarry¡¯s profile mentally. ¡°Some other creatures seemed to have died over a short period of time. Their blood was completely black when we found, and there was an extremely strong scent of rot.¡± The woman¡¯s face scrunched up as she recalled the eerie image of the dead animals. ¡°Isn¡¯t that natural when something has decomposing for a period of time? Or was the blood much blacker than usual?¡± Taking out a piece of jerky from one of the pockets of his armor, Chekov started to snack on it idly. ¡°The blood was much blacker than usual. The rot seemed...to be unnatural. We have no idea how he caused this, or what kind of spell was involved. The scouts and I speculate that the animals¡¯ blood was poisoned via magical means, and they died rather quickly but not instantaneously like the first few.¡± ¡°I never thought that my first assignment would involve dealing with some type of unknown magic. Oksana, do we have any leads on who could have taught him this type of magic or where he could have learned it?¡± Pulling out a small red notebook, Oksana flipped it open near the beginning. ¡°It seems that the mage, Kazimir, exhibited no signs of any interest in the magical arts before he disappeared the night the Blood Citadel¡¯s incident happened.¡± ¡°What about his magical aptitude? Surely he had been tested prior to this. Magic is all the rage among the nobility. They love recruiting magi from outside sources as well as pampering their own.¡± Finishing his jerky, Chekov took another piece out to snack on. Oksana gave him an exasperated look, then continued on. ¡°The Arcane Library¡¯s assessment of his magical aptitude was that he had the lowest possible magical aptitude possible to still be considered a mage. In short, even with the proper training he¡¯d end up no more useful than a common hedge wizard.¡± Chekov¡¯s chewing slowed down as he considered the information. ¡°That doesn¡¯t add up. This Kazimir is an extremely dangerous individual. There doesn¡¯t seem to be anybody travelling with him, yet he can cast unknown magic that can wipe out entire hunter killer squads. Something must have happened to him between the Blood Citadel incident and his return after the event. I can¡¯t exactly fault Lord Zhakar for not noticing considering the unenviable situation that he had to explain to the Emperor.¡± ¡°Witnesses to his return point out that his excuse for being absent was that he was returning materials to the previous Master Apothecary Ahriman prior to the incident.¡± ¡°Wait, wait. What Master Apothecary? I¡¯ve never heard of him before in the capital. You¡¯d think that somebody appointed as the chief of medicine for the second most important noble in the Empire would be more well known.¡± For the first time since Oksana began her report, Chekov¡¯s full attention was on her. ¡°He¡¯s a rather secretive man. Dead now, but that¡¯s besides the point. Almost nothing is known about him prior to his self introduction to the previous Lord Zhakar. He came during the previous Red Sickness epidemic that struck the Blood Citadel about ten years ago. Coincidentally, Ahriman arrived just as the previous Master Apothecary succumbed to the disease. He managed to provide a cure to the Red Sickness, although in a surprisingly short amount of time. His medicinal prowess intrigued Lord Zhakar, so Ahriman was hired to replace the dead Master Apothecary. ¡± ¡°There is no coincidence in our line of work, Oksana. Ahriman must be part of the reason why Kazimir suddenly exhibited signs of developed magical power. What interactions did the two have?¡± ¡°Surviving castle staff have stated that Kazimir and his master the Historian were the only ones besides the previous Lord Zhakar to have spoken to Ahriman on a regular basis. Most of the time the man stayed in a small cottage in the forest near the Citadel. Servants, although mostly it was Kazimir, would deliver necessities to the cottage and carry prepared medicines back to the castle on a regular basis.¡± Chekov resumed chewing on his jerky as he thought in silence. ¡°Ahriman might very well be a plague mage. They¡¯re not unheard of in the South. They¡¯re wicked magi that specialize in diseases and poisons.¡± ¡°Pardon, but how would a plague mage that specializes in dealing with disease be able to cure it? They shouldn¡¯t be trained in medicinal matters since it¡¯s not relevant.¡± Grinning slyly at Oksana, Chekov finished the last of his snack before washing it down with some water from a flask. ¡°See, this is why you¡¯re not going to make Inquisitor rank anytime soon.¡± Oksana grimaced and glared at Chekov¡¯s smiling face in silence. Seeing that he was not going to bait a response out of Oksana, the Inquisitor continued. ¡°Plague magi do indeed specialize in diseases and poisons. However, to have true mastery of any such disease or poison is to also know what causes it and what can counter it. Wouldn¡¯t it be a sick joke of the plague mage succumbed to his own spells and poisons?¡± ¡°You¡¯re suggesting that Ahriman purposely infected the Blood Citadel with the Red Sickness, then swooped into a position of power when it was available? That does make a sort of sick sense, but I think it is implausible.¡± ¡°If it this case was normal, they wouldn¡¯t have sent an Inquisition team after it. By the information gathered from the castle staff, Kazimir had an incredible memory and visited Ahriman the most. What if these meetings carried a deeper purpose? What if Ahriman was grooming Kazimir to be his successor mage?¡± Oksana¡¯s face slowly changed, but she seemed to remain unconvinced. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Sir, this still does not explain how Kazimir suddenly increased his magical prowess. By conventional standards, this feat is impossible for anybody.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes. But this isn¡¯t really conventional, is it? We¡¯re tracking a rogue mage that by all eyewitness accounts hasn¡¯t been educated in the arcane. But he manages to blast his way from the Citadel to even this place without managing to die. Now that¡¯s what interests the Inquisition. Can you imagine, Oksana? If there was a way to artificially increase the magical prowess of humans?¡± Ah. So that¡¯s the real reason why we¡¯re on this wild goose chase in the first place. Fuck. It doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯ll stop talking anytime soon¡­ Struggling to not sigh outwardly, Oksana resigned herself to listening to Chekov ramble. Walking in small circles, Chekov didn¡¯t notice or care about Oksana¡¯s disposition. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be stuck here in a war of attrition over some shitty pass in the mountains. We¡¯d take the fight straight to those arrogant bastards in Janaro. If mass producing magi as soldiers, even if it¡¯s at an hedge wizard level, was possible¡­.Klavan would own the world.¡± ¡°Regardless of that, sir, we should initiate pursuit as soon as possible. It becomes exponentially harder to track something when there are no records and time has passed.¡± Oksana¡¯s words snapped Chekov out of his reverie. ¡°How far ahead of us, time wise, do you estimate he is?¡± ¡°About a month is the most accurate estimate that he have made. If he dawdles, perhaps only two weeks. If he¡¯s hurrying with no regards to safety and on foot, perhaps two months. We¡¯re lucky that it¡¯s not the rainy season, which would obscure all but the most established tracks and clues.¡± ¡°Have the men finish their tasks, or as much as can be finished, in 15 minutes and gather at the cavern center. We leave immediately on the chase after that.¡± Finally completely serious, Chekov walked away from Oksana towards the cavern center. ¡°By your orders, sir.¡± ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Briskly walking on a path along a grassy plain, Kaz smiled as he continued towards the village in the distance. It had been about two weeks since he had left the cavern after studying the Book of Blood. The tome held many secrets, of which Kaz had only managed to learn three. Following him high above, two spirits were nearly invisible as they flew slowly with Kaz. Humming a common folk tune, the Lord of Kaksigrad, Kaz seemed like a normal traveller. The reaper spirit had not changed in appearance, but it¡¯s bloodthirsty aura had increased a bit after it had slaughtered many forest creatures. The second spirit looked like a normal ghost in shape, but the color was completely different. This spirit was a light red all over, except on its hands which were a deep blood red. The creation of this Blood Spirit is really a boon. It¡¯s not as strong as the reaper spirit, but it has a much higher utility. I had to forcibly combine all of my previous spirits besides the reaper spirit to one another in the presence of blood in order to create this thing. This spirit actually provides the same soul power as eight regular ghosts. If spirit compression is still possible after this, I may have solved my limited mana pool. Plus, a couple of spirits is much easier to control than a horde. With a spring in his step, Kaz walked towards what appeared to be a small bump in the middle of the road. Sparing no more than a glance at the feature, Kaz continued on his way. *MIIIII KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE* A huge meaty paw swiped at Kaz from underneath the mound. Caught by surprise, Kaz¡¯s right leg was clawed as he lept back. Hissing from the pain, Kaz called down his spirits in anticipation of a fight. Shuffling backwards until his spirits came in front of him, Kaz commanded the blood spirit forwards as the reaper spirit kept guard. A huge amount of dust was blown into the air as the creature ripped itself from the hole in the ground. The blood spirit was eerily quiet as it waited for the dust to settle. In an instant, a several large masses shot forth from the dust. Narrowing his eyes, Kaz started to gather his mana and soul power in preparation for a spell. Curiously, the masses turned out to be four gigantic groundhogs. Charging at Kaz, they were closing the distance at an incredible rate. Snarling, Kaz finished gathering power in his hands, and casted Defile Blood at the closest groundhog. A thin black mist, smelling of rot, materialized in the air around the groundhog. Smelling the rot, the animals¡¯ instinct kicked in and they hesitated. Not waiting for anything, the black mist shuddered, then disappeared into the groundhog¡¯s body. Instantly, the creature¡¯s pained squeals rang out. *MIIIIIII K-KE-K-K-KEEEE* Writhing on the ground in pain, the groundhog could do nothing but squeal as its internal organs suffered from extreme septic shock. Blood began to burst out of the groundhog¡¯s orifices, black blood erupting from the pitiful animal in multiple places. While the other groundhogs were in hissing towards Kaz, the blood spirit attacked the next closest groundhog. The terrified animal started to turn and run away, but it was too late. The blood red hands of the spirit, claws more like, raked across the groundhog as it tried to run away. Squealing miserably, the groundhog fell to the ground in intense pain as the spirit¡¯s claws mutilated the animal''s back. With fresh blood pouring out from the groundhog, its blood started to float towards the blood spirit as if attracted. Absorbing the blood, the spirit seemed to revel in it before flying towards the furthest groundhog. Empowered by fresh blood, the blood spirit¡¯s eyes started to grow darker as its speed increased slightly. The last groundhog was paralyzed in fear, and stayed rooted to the spot. Kaz had already started to prepare a second spell by the time Defile Blood had been casted, and he unleashed the power now. Upon finishing the chant, Kaz¡¯s green eyes flashed red as the spell took effect. As Kaz¡¯s gaze met the groundhog¡¯s the blood magic spell Gaze of the Initiate was activated. Blood violently forced itself out of the animal¡¯s body, floating in the air for a second before shooting towards Kaz. The blood wrapped itself around Kaz¡¯s injured right leg, before melting into the wounds. The gashes left by the first groundhog¡¯s claw started to fade slowly, the wounds closing themselves magically. Ruefully, Kaz looked towards his ripped pants as the last groundhog was slain by the blood spirit. ¡°Mm. It¡¯s itchy as always. I guess the feeling of wounds healing will never go away as long as I can still feel. But this is my last intact pair of pants...I¡¯m going to need to buy some new travelling clothes at the village ahead. It¡¯s a good thing that those hunters carried travelling currency with him, otherwise I would really be in trouble.¡± Looking around his location to see if there were any more noticeable bumps that might contain groundhogs, Kaz slowly approached the second groundhog. ¡°Gah. Gods. I really need to find a way to kill these animals without completely ruining the corpse. I can barely study these corpses since the blood magic spells that I know completely ruins the body of its target.¡± Glancing ruefully at the fast rotting corpse of the first groundhog, Kaz scrunched his nose and moved upwind of the body. Motioning for the blood spirit to carry the body of the most intact groundhog to him, Kaz nearly fell over as the blood spirit tried. Unfortunately for Kaz, the blood spirit was still a spirit and not a true flesh and bone minion. It¡¯s bloody claws could inflict damage, but was unsuited for any other task. It tired to pick up and drag the groundhog, but only ended up ripping off the hind legs of the animal. Sighing, Kaz commanded the blood spirit to fly above him and watch for dangers instead. ¡°In the absence of bone soldiers, I guess I¡¯ll have to just bear the stench if I want to study these weird animals. Gods. How heavy are these bastards?¡± Moving onto the last groundhog which was the second most intact, Kaz pulled out a brown notebook from his knapsack. Flipping it open to a empty page, he began to draw and take notes. Humming to himself once more, Kaz¡¯s eyes glittered as he made note of everything he could. After a short while, the necromancer closed the notebook, put it back, and continued on his way towards the village. Passing a signpost, Kaz felt excited as he read the distance. ¡°Hmm. Only one mile to go until the village of Abaza. I should make it there just in time for dinner. Ah, it¡¯s been so long since I had a nice home cooked meal, I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡± Picking up his pace, Kaz eagerly walked towards Abaza. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Leave comments/feedback below! Book 1 Chapter 22: A Scholar of Lesser Renown Tuesday''s chapter, a bit late. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 22: A Scholar of Lesser Renown The once blazing sun hanging over the heads of the farmers finally started to sink towards the western horizon. As farmhands and laborers started to come in from the fields and back to the village, a young man started to walk closer. He looked to be a traveller, with his well-worn clothes that were patched up in various places. Nevertheless, the young man¡¯s was full of vitality and purpose. Walking into the village center, he quickly caught the attention of the village chief. ¡°Hail, friend, and welcome to the village of Abaza. Where do you come from, and what is your purpose for visiting?¡± With a huge smile on his face, the village chief pressed a fresh apple into Kaz¡¯s hands as a greeting. ¡°Hail. I¡¯m a travelling scholar performing my Trial of Tradition. I¡¯ve just started my journey and yours is the first village that I¡¯m going to be visiting. I hope you and yours won¡¯t mind too much.¡± Breaking into a bright smile of his own, Kaz bit into the bright green apple. With several crisp crunches, Kaz began to enjoy the tangy fruit. ¡°Ah, I see. Welcome! Welcome!¡± Holding his right hand over his heart and the left extended towards Kaz, the village chief recited the first half of the Words of Welcome. ¡°Hail, traveler, and come hither. Rest your tired feet, and partake of food and drink at our fire.¡± ¡°Many thanks, sentinel, and may good fortune follow you and yours for the rest of thy days.¡± Effortlessly, Kaz returned the second half of the ancient greeting. Beckoning for him to follow, the village chief started to walk towards the village¡¯s inn. It seems that these folks pay much attention to the old ways. All signs so far point to them being very conservative. I should be careful not to reveal too much information about myself or the fact that I¡¯m a mage. Walking with the chief, Kaz watched the villagers dart to and fro completing their daily tasks before the sun set. The livestock were herded and put into a smaller pen, each farmhand put their tools away in their houses, and the children came back and started to wash clean their hands. Smiling wistfully, Kaz looked towards the village¡¯s only inn. ¡°Welcome to the Drunken Cossack! It¡¯s probably not the finest place that an educated man like yourself has stayed at, but I¡¯ll be you a barrel of vodka that it¡¯s the most cozy.¡± ¡°No worries, no worries. I¡¯m just happy to have a roof over my head and a hot meal. There will be a hot meal for us, right?¡± Grinning cheekily, Kaz sat down with the village chief at one of the inn¡¯s tables right next to the bar. ¡°Of course! Why, it¡¯d be horrific hospitality if any guest stayed over without a hot meal in them! Gerel! What do you have for our young scholar today?¡± Hollering at one of the waitresses, the chief wasted no time. Some of the farmhands had started to come into the inn for dinner, and the waitresses were busy. However, one of them came as soon as the chief¡¯s voice cut through the noise. Making a short bow, Gerel beamed a smile at Kaz. She was dressed in a moderately long brown dress, which ended at her knees. Her auburn hair was tied up in a bun towards the left, and her black eyes were shining with excitement. ¡°Good evening, sir! Tonight we have pork chops, vegetable stew, and rye bread. You can wash all of that down with some Abaza Stout.¡± ¡°Oho, there¡¯s fresh pork tonight. Olga¡¯s pulling out all the stops to make you a delicious meal tonight. What do you say, scholar?¡± Excited at the prospect of fresh meat, the chief tried really hard to hide the fact that his mouth was watering in front of others. ¡°All of that sounds wonderful. I¡¯ll be honored to eat the madam¡¯s cooking.¡± With a huge grin on his face, Kaz looked towards the chief. ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. Two set meals for the both of us, and make it quick! Oh, it¡¯s been nearly a week since I¡¯ve had fresh meat. Plus, I had to kill fresh game myself for that.¡± Gerel nodded quickly, and went to bring out the drinks. As she started to walk away, the chief smacked his forehead. ¡°Oh Gods, I¡¯ve been so excited at the prospect of having a guest in our village that I forgot to even ask your name. My name is Temur. May I have the honor of knowing your name?¡± His ears red from embarrassment, Temur looked at Kaz sheepishly. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s not a big deal. I know that you¡¯re a busy man. My name is Kir, and I hail from Samara.¡± Having come up with a plausible background in advance, the deception flew from Kaz¡¯s mouth smoothly. ¡°Haha, I didn¡¯t realize that you were so distinguished. Imagine, a scholar from the capital of the Empire...that reminds me, what exactly is the Trial of Tradition? We get scholars like you from all over the Empire attempting it, although years may pass before another comes to the village.¡± Leaning in, Temur looked like a curious child. But, that was only his attitude. The chief was a large man, larger than Kaz by nearly half. Years of harsh farm work and life in the rural community had created a very hardy person. Amused, Kaz could barely keep himself from chuckling as Temur¡¯s behavior was contrary to his appearance. At this point, Gerel came back with two foaming pints of stout. Thanking her quickly, Kaz wet his throat before he started to talk. Opposite, Temur took a huge gulp of his own drink. Smacking his lips, the bear of a man sighed contentedly as Kaz detailed his mission. ¡°The Trial of Tradition is a test from the Imperial Library. They are the Empire¡¯s collection of highly studied scholars in the natural sciences and humanities, which is different from the Arcane Library which studies mostly magic. The Arcane Library recruits and oversees the Imperial Magi while the Imperial Library recruits and oversees the Imperial Scholars. Both are quite different.¡± As Kaz was talking about the differences between the two main centers of academic learning in the Klavan, Gerel arrived with two steaming trays of food. Placing one tray each in front of the two hungry men, she grinned at their expectant faces. ¡°Don¡¯t wait on me, dig in boys!¡± Laughing, Gerel walked off to help other patrons of the inn. Kaz and Temur both looked at each other, and spoke at the same time. ¡°May this meal not be your last.¡± Having said grace, both men started to eat. Kaz scooped a spoonful of the stew into his mouth, and made a small noise of contentment. Whew, how long has it been since I¡¯ve had a proper meal? Ever since that disaster at the Blood Citadel, I¡¯ve only had dried food or my own terrible cooking. These vegetables are so fresh and crisp, and the broth itself is so savory. I feel as if I¡¯m back home. But I have no home now. Having saddened himself at a rather inopportune moment, Kaz shook his head and downed a good portion of his stout. Setting the stew aside for now, Kaz started to cut his pork chops into bite sized portions. Looking across, he was surprised to see that Temur was done with one pork chop already and about halfway into his second. Smirking, Kaz poked lightly at Temur. ¡°Hey, Temur, slow down will you? That pork chop can¡¯t grow legs and run away anymore.¡± Snorting, Temur ripped a chunk of his rye bread apart from his half loaf and started to dip it into the meat juices that were left by the pork chops. Popping that into his mouth, the man seemed turned his attention to his stew and started to consume that at a shocking pace. Stunned, Kaz decided that he should focus on his own meal as well. While eating the rest of his meal, Kaz¡¯s senses of taste and smell were pleasantly surprised. The food wasn¡¯t the best looking, but it was hearty and delicious. Mopping up the last of his stew with what little remained of his half loaf of rye bread, Kaz popped the last bite into his mouth. Sitting back in his chair, Kaz sipped his drink slowly. Temur let out a burp that he tried, and failed miserably, to conceal. Signalling for a refill on his drink, he leaned back in his chair, hands over his belly. ¡°Sorry about that, supper time is for eating, not talking. Never could understand why you city people liked to have conversation throughout a meal. Bit daft, in my opinion, the food¡¯s getting cold while idle chit chat happens. I could understand if there was some really important news that had to be said, but that could happen before the meal if anything.¡± ¡°Ah, but Temur, what if the bit of news was bad news? Depending on the severity, the appetite of the people present could be ruined, and now the food¡¯s going to be cold at best and wasted at worst.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Walking over, Gerel brought over fresh beers for the two of them. Nodding in thanks, Kaz downed the rest of his first drink and handed the empty mug to Gerel. Temur, having long finished his first drink, simply started to take large gulps of his second before speaking. ¡°But there¡¯s the catch right there huh? Food¡¯s important, and it should never be wasted. If food is cooked to be eaten when hot, what happens when it¡¯s cold and unappetizing? We¡¯re getting off topic here, though. You still have yet to tell me what the Trial of Tradition entitles.¡± ¡°Mm. I forgot when the food arrived.¡± ¡°Heh, and me as well. Those pork chops were really well made. I¡¯ll have to give Olga my compliments when I see her later.¡± ¡°The Trial of Tradition requires the applicant to travel to a certain location within the Empire, and live there until their work is done. That work is the study of a certain subject in the natural sciences. For example, some scholars study natural phenomenon like the hot springs of Altan Gal. Others study the medicinal herbs and plants native to their area of choice. Some, like myself, choose to study the local animals. Each of these areas of study are new, previously never recorded before. We have to prove our worth to the Scholars before we are admitted entry as an official Imperial Scholar.¡± ¡°Huh. So all of you are studying different things?¡± ¡°Well, not exactly. Multiple scholars can study the same field, but all of our project choices are extremely narrow. For example, my master studied the mating habits of the Grey Spiked Wyvern. My subject of study is the physiology of the Giant Southern Groundhog. Here, these are some of the notes that I¡¯ve gotten so far.¡± Pulling out his brown notebook, Kaz flipped to the page where he sketched the outward appearance of the giant groundhogs. Taking the notebook into his hands, Temue was astonished to find out the level of detail that Kaz had written down. There were so many different details listed: size dimensions, weight, coloration, even behavior. Passing the notebook back, Temur chuckled. These were not lies, Kaz truly wanted to make his way through the Imperial Library as a scholar. Being a historian was only one path available to him. ¡°You already have so much written down, are you going to be headed back soon? I was hoping that you would stay for a while in our little village.¡± Smirking, Kaz spoke back without missing a beat. ¡°Please don¡¯t joke, Temur. I¡¯ve only scratched the surface of what I need to gather for my Trial project. I need to spend at least three weeks here studying the groundhogs. I noticed that their mounds are all over the place, but not in the fields.¡± Kaz¡¯s words made Temur sigh in exasperation. ¡°That¡¯s because we spend at least half of our time taking measures to make sure the damn vermin don¡¯t come into our crop fields. They eat anything, really, and breed twice a year. In addition to that, they¡¯re such large bastards too. You¡¯re studying their physiology right? What does that mean, exactly?¡± Ever curious of outside matters, Temur took advantage of Kaz¡¯s presence to ask any questions that he had about things that he did not understand. Smiling like a teacher with an eager student, Kaz obliged to the best of his knowledge. ¡°Studying the physiology of an creature means that I am studying the physical features of the animal, as detailed as I can. What this means is that I need to record and study the outside of the animal as well as the insides of the groundhogs.¡± Hearing that Kaz needed to study the insides of the groundhogs made Temur very excited. ¡°Do you mean to say that you¡¯ll need a lot of these creatures¡¯ dead bodies to study?¡± ¡°Well, yes. I don¡¯t think I can studying the guts of the animal while it¡¯s still alive now, can I? I¡¯m prepared to compensate you and the villagers fairly for every groundhog corpse that comes my way. I¡¯m even prepared to help you set up traps to the best of my knowledge.¡± ¡°How much compensation are we talking about here?¡± Ever the businessman as the head of the village, Temur naturally had a better understanding of money and the economy than anybody else in the village. Thinking back to his gains from the soldiers, Kaz decided to offer a bit above what he thought was fair. ¡°How about a five groundhog corpses for a gold coin? I believe that should be fair compensation considering that trying to kill these things is hard work.¡± Temur¡¯s face went blank as he struggled to contain his excitement. Five useless vermin corpses for a single gold coin! What was a gold coin? It could buy supplies from the trading caravans that passed through Abaza for a month. The villagers killed on average two of the groundhogs a day. Based on this exchange, they could earn a month¡¯s worth of supplies for about two and a half day¡¯s work. ¡°On behalf of everybody here in the village, we¡¯ll take your offer. Oh, you¡¯ll need a place to stay, won¡¯t you? We¡¯ll need to build a place for you here in the village.¡± Frowning, Temur tried to figure out where there was enough space in the village to construct housing for Kaz. ¡°Oh, it doesn¡¯t have to be in the village. I¡¯ll be delving deep into the guts and inner workings of the dead groundhogs that you give me. The constant rotting smell might be unpleasant if it¡¯s in the village somewhere. I saw a small bunch of trees a short distance away from the village towards the south. That will do nicely since it¡¯ll be close enough for me to come to and fro, yet far away so that the smell doesn¡¯t drift over to the village unnecessarily.¡± Hearing Kaz¡¯s proposal, Temur felt that the problem had been solved. Taking another huge mouthful of his drink, he sat back in his chair. ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. Kir, my new friend, I¡¯ll send some of the lads over with you first thing in the morning tomorrow to help you build a small hut. We also have some unused old furniture in the village storage. I¡¯ll have the same lads move them to your hut tomorrow after the construction is done. It¡¯s the least we can do for our temporary guest.¡± Matters settled for the time being, Temur¡¯s thoughts went to which villagers were the best at killing groundhogs. Even though he genuinely enjoyed Kaz¡¯s company as a person, the lure of easy money still tempted the chief. ¡°Mm. It¡¯s settled for now. However, I¡¯ll be renting a room for tonight in this inn. I¡¯ve had enough of sleeping out in the open on the ground.¡± Grinning, Kaz stood up and went towards the innkeeper Olga as the bar. As he approached the woman, she turned to face him. ¡°You enjoy your meal, then? I gave you the biggest pork chops that we had today. Normally Temur gets the biggest ones, but my sense of hospitality is stronger than my sense of village loyalty. Just by a bit, heh.¡± Olga was a rather hefty middle aged woman, very matronly. She had on a full length working dress, with a huge stained apron on top of that. Her face, while aged, was warm. ¡°I¡¯d like a room for the night, ma¡¯am. I¡¯ve been sleeping on the ground for days, and a nice bed under a roof seems most luxurious to me at the moment.¡± ¡°Oh, nobody should have to go through that in these times. It¡¯s been so long since our ancestors came over the mountains. Here, take this key. It unlocks the second to last room upstairs on your left. Latrine is at the other end of the hall on the first floor over there. Ah, it¡¯s been so long since we¡¯ve had a guest as important as yourself.¡± His ears red from embarrassment, Kaz quickly tried to downplay things. ¡°Oh, stop. I¡¯m not that important or famous, I¡¯m only an aspiring scholar. I¡¯ve only just begun my Trial of Tradition.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re going to be a hell of a lot more important than any of us will probably amount to. What do you scholars do, anyway?¡± ¡°We record and study the natural world, seeking to understand why things are the way that they are. My project is going to be figuring out the inner and outer workings of the Giant Groundhog¡¯s body.¡± Shuddering, Olga thought to when she saw one of the creatures attack another villager. He had survived, but with a multitude of scars. ¡°Nasty critters, they are. Large too. See, your work is going to make you famous. At least around these parts if not any other in the Empire. We¡¯ll remember you, master Kir.¡± Smiling bashfully, Kaz took his key. Turning, he spoke once more. ¡°I¡¯m only a scholar of lesser renown. Nothing to be mentioned in the inner circles of society. But I¡¯ll get up there one day, and I¡¯ll invite all of you for a celebration.¡± His confident words amused Olga. Laughing, she waved him off as she got to cleaning the dishes left behind from dinner. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Leave comments/feedback below! Book 1 Chapter 23: A Clue Here''s the second chapter for the week! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 23: A Clue Clicking his tongue, Kaz stepped back from the dead groundhog on the outside dissecting table that he had built. Having gutted the animal and pinning it open onto the table stained Kaz¡¯s apron and hands with blood. Blowing his breath out between his cheeks, he walked over to the washing basin and thoroughly cleaned his hands. Whistling a quick marching tune, ¡°The Flight of Jebe,¡± Kaz flipped his notebook open to the section that he was working on. ¡°Mm. Here it is. The inner muscular structure of the giant groundhog.¡± Turning his attention to his specimen that was flayed open on the thick wooden table, Kaz started to take intricate notes on the groundhog¡¯s anatomy. Spreading his mana sense around to make sure that no humans were near, Kaz used his new Blood Manipulation spell to drain the rest of the blood from the corpse. He had not done this when he was opening up the groundhog earlier because the villagers that delivered the corpses always liked to stay and gawk at what Kaz was doing. Smirking, Kaz carefully telekinetically pooled the remaining blood from the corpse into a bucket near his feet. Blood Manipulation was Kaz¡¯s most recent acquisition from the Book of Blood. It had been nearly two weeks since he had arrived, and he had gotten at least a dead groundhog a day. It was an amusing sight indeed, for every morning some of the villagers would haul a dead giant groundhog on a cart over to his hut. Sometimes, Temur would come to banter with Kaz every fifth groundhog. Paying the man with a smile, Kaz was genuinely happy at the prospect of getting his hands on so many dead groundhogs. Animal blood, was very similar to human blood. Kaz suspect that this was because humans and animals share many natural similarities within their bodies, but he didn¡¯t take the time to organize his thoughts on this matter. Understanding more and more of the Book of Blood was much more important right now. With a word, Kaz shaped the blood from the bucket into a ball and brought it up to eye level. Chanting quickly, Defile Blood was casted and the bright red blood blackened almost immediately. A strong scent of rot was also starting to come from the ball of blood, so Kaz called down his Blood Spirit which was watching for dangers from the sky. The Blood Spirit came down obediently, and waited patiently in front of its master. Nodding, Kaz applied the rotting blood to the Blood Spirit¡¯s right ethereal right hand. Having learned methods of improving his minion¡¯s strength with blood from the Book just last week, Kaz was busy experimenting with his Blood Spirit. After a short while, all of the black blood ball had been absorbed by the minion¡¯s right hand. Stepping back to look at his efforts, Kaz was pleasantly surprised at the results. ¡°The previously bloody hand turned light grey at first, then progressively got darker. At this point, the spirit¡¯s hand is ash grey. It doesn¡¯t seem to be darkening any more. This must mean that the groundhog¡¯s blood is losing its tempering effect. Perhaps I need to use a different type of blood? Using more blood now would seem to be a bit of a waste.¡± Sighing, Kaz started to use his thin charcoal to sketch the internal anatomy of the groundhog. With the blood being drained, the entire skinned carcass of the animal was a dark red, indicating that the groundhog¡¯s muscular structure was denser than most other animals. Motioning for the blood spirit to use its unmodified left hand, Kaz had the spirit carve up the carcass of the groundhog so that he could studying the insides of the muscles as well. The blood spirit¡¯s left claw sliced cleanly through wherever Kaz indicated. Satisfied with the corpse, Kaz sent the spirit to keep watch high in the sky with the Reaper spirit. Resuming his whistling, Kaz continued to fill the pages of his notebook with detailed anatomical drawings and notes. ______________________________________________________________________ At a makeshift camp a half day¡¯s ride from Abaza, Inquisitor Chekov sat on a rock as he stared at the map in his hands. The sun was hanging low in the western sky, illuminating the plains with a soft orange light. Having followed Kaz¡¯s trail south for about a week, his plans were disrupted when a rainstorm came and wiped out the trail. Their quarry had stopped leaving the trail of dead animals as soon as the forest had ended. ¡°Little bastard. I guess it was obvious even to him that leaving a trail of dead bodies on a plain would be too easy. Oksana! When are your scouts going to get back?¡± Beckoning for his scoutmaster to come, Chekov¡¯s bad mood radiated almost in a visible halo around him. ¡°My rangers should be coming back within the day. They were going to the villages of Labinsk, Pechora, and Darhan.¡± Oksana replied in a crisp manner. She knew that Chekov¡¯s mood was bad, and that he was a particularly violent man whenever he was frustrated. Even though he was trained in ways to control his emotions as an Inquisitor, the man lets his frustration get to him. I guess it can¡¯t be helped, he¡¯s a freshly trained Inquisitor after all. Gnashing his teeth just a bit, Chekov dismissed Oksana with his hand as he turned his attention back to the map. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit anxious. It had been nearly a week since had lost the mage¡¯s trail. This slowed down their progress immensely, as they now had to send scouts out the neighboring villages to probe for information, and painstakingly explore for clues in a mile radius as the Inquisition team made its way south. ¡°Hah...Abaza is the only village left that¡¯s even remotely close to our location. There¡¯s absolutely nothing to the north and east, but the swamps are to the southwest. I¡¯ll have to send somebody to Abaza while the rest of us continue south. I don¡¯t think the little bastard¡¯s made his way to the swamps yet. Even if he did, there¡¯s no way for him to get through safely. The maps that he obtained from the previous hunter killer team don¡¯t even cover the southern swamps at all. Hell, even the map provided by the Inquisition¡¯s geographers only cover about three miles deep into the swamp.¡± Grabbing a large piece of jerky from his knapsack, Chekov began to viciously tear into his snack. Chekov came from a butcher¡¯s family in the capital, and discovered his powers rather early in life. Recruited into the Arcane Library at a young age, he eventually sought the path of the Inquisitor when he came of age at 16. After eight years of backbreaking training and schooling, he graduated from the Arcane Library as a full Inquisitor. This was his first mission, and one that he could not afford to fail. Seeing Chekov start to brood, Oksana sighed and went over to her tent. They had settled down here to spend the night in order to wait for the scouts to come back. Inspecting her bow, she noticed that her bowstring was beginning to fray at one end. Frowning, Oksana began to restring her bow as she waited for the scouts to come back. A short while later, three riders could be seen coming to the came from three different directions. Although they did not arrive at the exact same time, they arrived within minutes of each other. Dismounting quickly, the scouts walked in front of Chekov and stood at attention. ¡°Well? What news do you have for me?¡± Still visibly in a poor mood, Chekov seemed to spit out the words. Although Chekov¡¯s frustration was visible to others, the three scouts were extremely well disciplined after almost three decades of experience between them. ¡°Sir. Labinsk and the area surrounding the village are void of any traces of our quarry.¡± ¡°Sir, Pechora and the area surrounding the village do not contain traces of our quarry.¡± ¡°Sir, Darhan and the area surrounding the village do not contain traces of our quarry. However, the caravan that was resting there did report some news that may be of interest.¡± Chekov, hearing the last scout¡¯s report, instantly snapped his attention onto the third scout. ¡°Explain. Quickly.¡± ¡°Sir. The caravan from Darhan was coming back from Abaza in the south. Although everything about the village was normal, they reported that there were four extremely damaged giant groundhog corpses alongside the road going to the village. It seems that the groundhogs were trying to ambush a traveller, or travellers, who used unknown methods to viciously kill the creatures.¡± Excitedly, Chekov stood up as he brought out his black notebook to jot down everything that the scout had said. ¡°Mm. What are your conclusions as to the direction that the mage has gone?¡± ¡°The caravan pointed me in the direction of the corpses, but by the time I investigated, there were no trails leading away from the carcasses. In addition, the caravan¡¯s passing along the road has obscured any possible tracks that the rogue mage might have made. I would suggest that we send a scout to Abaza to probe for information as the rest of us head southwest towards the swamp.¡± ¡°Hmm. How long ago do you think that these giant groundhogs were killed?¡± Still taking meticulous notes, Chekov continued to question the scout for anything related. ¡°I cannot accurately estimate the time of death. Some of the corpses were in the state of accelerated decomposition, and no animals would go near these. I can only say that I believe to the best of my abilities that it has been a little over two weeks since they died.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Very well. The three of you are dismissed. Go back to your tents and resume normal watchman duties when it is your turn.¡± Deep in thought, Chekov shooed the three scouts away as he stared at his notebook. Later that night, when the Inquisition team was eating dinner around the fire, Chekov stood up from the rock and directly went towards Oksana. ¡°Oksana. I need you to go to Abaza.¡± ¡°Now?¡± Looking up from her stew, Oksana¡¯s voice sent shivers down the rest of the team¡¯s spines. Disregarding her attitude, Chekov continued. ¡°Yes. Now. If you start now you¡¯ll make it there by morning. You can gather information and probe around there while the rest of us start scouting to the southwest. You¡¯ll meet us right¡­.here.¡± Pointing to a location southwest of their current location and directly west of Abaza, Chekov gave Oksana a hard look. ¡°You¡¯re the best ranger that we have here. This might be a lead, and you¡¯re the best tracker that we have. You can find the clues that the others, myself included, might miss.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to flatter me. I¡¯ll be heading out now.¡± Putting her half eaten bowl of stew down, Oksana slung her newly restrung and waxed recurve bow over her shoulder. Opening her utility sack, she pulled out a small yellow flask. Downing the Felis potion in one go, Oksana went to and mounted her horse. With a snap of the reins, the scoutmaster bolted out of the Inquisition campgrounds. Riding on a pitch black horse at night, the only things visible by themselves were the softly glowing eyes of the rider and her horse. Damn those mad experimenters back at the Arcane Library. I know that they spent decades figuring out how to breed night vision into these horses, but now I have to abandon dinner in order to travel. I guess I can get something to eat at the village once I arrive. Grumbling to herself silently, Oksana¡¯s figure seemed to fly across the grassy plains under the new moon. Unseen by Oksana or the rest of the Inquisition¡¯s forces, a red spirit high in the sky was observing them. Seeing one of the rangers get on a horse and head to Abaza, the red spirit sliced its way through the sky towards Abaza and its master. ________________________________________________________________ Sitting in front of a makeshift fire in front of his hut, Kaz and Temur wondered when their lives had sunk so low. Each of the two men had a metal skewer of groundhog loin in their hands. Wooden skewers were far too weak and would snap under the weight of the meat. Making them bigger was too much effort, so they had chosen to go with cast iron skewers instead. ¡°Temur, when was the last time you said you tried groundhog meat?¡± Squinting at his share of the meat, Kaz didn¡¯t seem too excited at the prospect of chowing down. ¡°Well, Kir, it¡¯s been at least a decade. Us village folk don¡¯t generally eat the bastards, the flesh is really hard to separate. Say, how did you manage to make such a clean cut anyways?¡± Even the strongest of men in the village had trouble sawing through the groundhog meat, so Temur was curious as to how the average looking scholar could have done it. ¡°When you¡¯ve been cutting into these bastards daily for about two weeks, you eventually figure out the best way to slice them up.¡± Sheepishly, Kaz looked at the rest of the cuts of meat still roasting above the fire. ¡°When are you going to bite into that cut of meat? It¡¯s the loin. We¡¯re starting with the most tender part of the animal first.¡± Pulling a face, Temur hesitated for a bit then bit into the middle of the meat. Struggling to rip a piece of the meat with his teeth, Temur shook his face from side to side as he pulled the skewer away from his mouth. Finally, he was able to rip a piece of the meat into his mouth. Sheepishly looking at Kaz, Temur started to chew. About five minutes passed, and Temur was still chewing. Temur had a look on anxiety on his face now, but he still continued to chew. Another five minutes passed, and Temur stopped chewing. Turning his head to look at Kaz, Temur looked as if he was about to cry with his mouth full of meat. Meanwhile, Kaz was under an immense struggle to not burst out laughing as he kept the straightest face that he could. ¡°If you really don¡¯t like it. Just spit it out!¡± Bursting into laughter, Kaz put his skewer back onto the iron rack above the fire. ¡°I guess some things weren¡¯t meant to be eaten eh?¡± By this point, Temur had already spat out the groundhog meat, and was slowly massaging his jaw. ¡°Demons below Kir! I could swear to you that even after all that chewing, I made exactly zero progress on that piece of meat. I told you that we rarely eat the little bastards.¡± ¡°Well yeah you did. But you didn¡¯t really know why they weren¡¯t fit to eat besides telling me that it was really hard to cut them into small enough pieces to cook.¡± Grabbing Temur¡¯s once-bitten skewer, Kaz placed it back onto the rack. ¡°Sure, the meat smells real nice once seasoned with a marinade and cooked, but that muscle density is absolutely ridiculous. Why do you think they¡¯re so muscled anyways? I¡¯ve had giant wolf once in my life and it wasn¡¯t nearly as muscled even though it was larger.¡± Bringing a flask of water to his mouth, Temur tried to wash out the taste of the groundhog from his mouth. ¡°Perhaps I didn¡¯t use enough sours in my marinade. I¡¯ll need to gather some more lemons from the trees around here.¡± Bringing out his notebook, Kaz started to write in the section that he had created about how useful the groundhog was as a food source. ¡°Eh? You even used a marinade for this shitty piece of meat? What was in it?¡± Ever curious at things that he did not know, Temur listened to Kaz carefully. ¡°I used three cups of red wine, two cup of apple cider, vegetable oil, salt, pepper, local berries, two cups of lemon juice, and a smattering of herbs. I mixed all of that in clean buckets and soaked the meat in it overnight. I got all of these ingredients from Olga at the Cossack. I paid her with five silvers for her ingredients, but I think they might have been wasted on the groundhog meat. I want to try using more sours next time but I don¡¯t know if I want to undertake such a task anytime soon.¡± Pulling a face, Kaz thought of all of the other meat that he could have seasoned with that much marinade. At the very least, it would have been far easier to eat than this pile of garbage. ¡°Hmm. That sounds like a standard marinade that Olga uses for fresh pork, beef, or lamb. However, why was there so many sours in yours?¡± ¡°Sours such as lemon juice, apple cider, and red wine help break down the meat in a way. We don¡¯t exactly know how it does this, but we know that it does. I already knew how hardy the meat was when I was slicing it, so I decided to use more than double the standard amount of sours to try and soften the meat.¡± I was really using the blood spirit¡¯s clean left claw to slice the meat, though. That thing cut through this crap like a hot knife through butter. Who knew that the groundhog¡¯s flesh would still be akin to leather even after that? ¡°So why does the groundhog need so much muscle? It doesn¡¯t seem like it makes that much of a difference between it and similar sized creatures in terms of fighting capability.¡± ¡°Look at the dirt on the ground. It¡¯s mostly soft soil perfect for digging. However, the groundhog has extremely powerful short limbs for digging really deep underground. The soil is soft for a short stretch, then it becomes hard because the weight of everything above has been pressing down on it for decades if not centuries. There aren¡¯t any mines around here so nobody has the incentive to dig down and disturb the deeper soil. Can you imagine having to shift soil that¡¯s so far deep underground? The weight would be immense as it pushes down on you and you¡¯re trying to shift it above or to the side. The groundhog does that, however, because it can with these powerful muscles.¡± ¡°So do these things live their lives down there?¡± Temur was really learning a lot and since Kaz¡¯s words sounded logical, Temur didn¡¯t question them. ¡°Mostly, yes. They sleep, hibernate, reproduce, and grow up down in their burrows. Some scholars believe that their burrows reach the width of villages, but we don¡¯t have any easy way to confirm that. Plus, nobody wants to pay for an expedition to dig up a bunch of giant groundhog homes in the first place. A few dedicated scholars have been petitioning the Imperial Library for funding to do so, but every year the budget ¡®surprisingly¡¯ does not allow for such expenses.¡± Temur was about to reply when a black rider on a black horse rode up in front of them. The woman dismounted, dressed in pitch-black leather armor. Her face was hidden with the exception of her eyes which seemed to glow like a cat¡¯s, even in broad daylight. ¡°Are you Kir, the travelling scholar from the Imperial Library?¡± Her voice sounded accusatory, as if she thought he was guilty of something. Kaz beamed at the woman, having prepared an appropriate background story ever since his reaper spirit had informed him of the scout¡¯s approach last night. ¡°That¡¯s right. Say, has Miss eaten yet? I have this wonderful roasted groundhog loin that¡¯s dripping fat right here.¡± Taking his previously uneaten skewer of groundhog loin, Kaz offered it to the scout. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Leave comments/feedback below! Book 1 Chapter 24: Questions and Answers Last chapter of the week! Happy Saturday guys! I was a bit late because I was downtown all day with some friends from college. :) Sorry about that. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 24: Questions and Answers Having ridden hard most of the night, Oksana arrived in Abaza in a foul mood. The villagers were more wary of her than they were of Kaz when he had arrived. One was a cheerful young scholar, while the second unknown visitor was a sullen and heavily armed woman. Riding her horse to a stop in the village square, Oksana dismounted and walked towards a seated village girl who was peeling potatoes in front of the inn. . Slightly intimidated by Oksana, Gerel still put on a smile and greeted the scoutmaster happily. ¡°Welcome to Abaza! I hope you have had a peaceful trip here. What can we do for you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for your village chief.¡± ¡°Temur is currently not here right now. He¡¯s visiting the travelling scholar Kir at his temporary hut just outside the village.¡± ¡°Travelling scholar?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. Kir is a travelling scholar trying to pass his..I think it¡¯s called the Trial of Tradition? I¡¯m not sure on the details, but he¡¯s studying the giant groundhogs around here! Oh, he knows ever so much about everything!¡± Gushing with admiration, Gerel didn¡¯t notice the dangerous glint in Oksana¡¯s eyes. ¡°Where exactly is this hut? I need to talk with your village chief and I¡¯d like to ask this scholar if he could help me with my current predicament.¡± ¡°Oh just take the southern gate out of the village and go along the road. You¡¯ll see his hut almost immediately. It¡¯s near a copse just southeast of here. Do you want to stay for lunch before you go? Olga¡¯s making this wonderful three cheese platter for lunch.¡± Her mouth nearly watering at the thought of lunch, Gerel managed to keep the blissful look off of her face as she talked with Oksana. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I am limited in time, so I will go visit the scholar and the village chief now. Thank you for your help.¡± Mounting her horse once more, Oksana rode off quickly towards the south gate. ¡°Shame. But I guess that this means there¡¯ll be more cheese for me?¡± Grinning, Gerel continued her work as she hummed a tune to herself. ____________________________________________________________ Upon exiting the southern gate of the village, Oksana did indeed see a small hut before a small group of trees in the distance. There also appeared to be a small fire that was cooking a roast in front of it. Urging her horse to go faster, Oksana closed the distance very quickly. As she got closer, she saw that there were two people sitting down on the hut¡¯s porch. The man on the left was undoubtedly the village chief, since he was built like a bear. Heavily muscled and tanned, the village chief looked as if he could have been a member of the Empire¡¯s elite shock infantry. Sitting next to him on the right was a much younger man, wearing worn travelling clothes. This was the person that Oksana was most interested in. His age looks to be a match. However, his other features don¡¯t seem to be a direct match. Kazimir was said to have blonde hair and green eyes. This scholar has dark brown hair and grey eyes. Hair dye does exist, but our rogue mage would have been hard pressed to dye it on the go without the proper materials. Plus, I know of no way to change eye color. But the shape of his face seems very similar to descriptions from the castle¡¯s staff. I need to question him to make a decision. Slowing down, Oksana dismounted a short ways away from the fire pit. Walking closer, Oksana spoke in an accusatory tone. ¡°Are you Kir, the travelling scholar from the Imperial Library?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Say, has Miss eaten yet? I have this wonderful roasted groundhog loin that¡¯s dripping fat right here.¡± Picking up the skewer of meat with the juices dripping, the man offered it to her. The young man flashed her a bright smile, as if he was anticipating her question. This only served to make Oksana more suspicious. However, the roasted meat did smell particularly savory. Hesitating for a second, Oksana took the skewer from the man¡¯s hands. Raising it to her face, Oksana sniffed the unknown cut of meat. Not detecting the scent of any poison, she used her teeth to rip a portion of it. The moment her teeth sunk into the meat, she tried to bite down. Unfortunately, Oksana discovered that she was unable to easily bite into the meat. Pulling away, the scoutmaster glared at the two men who were staring at her. Trying again, Oksana was still unable to really get a good bite in. _____________________________________________________________ Watching the scoutmaster struggle with the groundhog loin for about a minute, Kaz felt a bit bad. Even though she was part of the Inquisition team that is trying to hunt him down, nobody really deserved to be tricked by groundhog meat. It was the dirtiest of dirty pranks. Containing his laughter, Kaz thought that he would let the woman struggle for a bit before speaking up again. Who would expect that such fragrant meat, which looked amazing once cooked, would be such a pain to eat? Even if you did manage to rip a mouthful of meat, it¡¯s near impossible to chew. Hell, even Temur couldn¡¯t choke it down after nearly ten minutes of chewing and I think he has some bear ancestry in him. ¡°If you really aren¡¯t enjoying the groundhog meat, I have some rye bread and cheese here too¡­¡± *Clang!* Upon hearing that Kaz had other food, and that he was offering it to her in lieu of the infuriating meat, Oksana threw the skewer back onto the rack and took a long swig from her water flask. Glaring daggers at Kaz, she took the bread and cheese that he offered. As she was eating ravenously, Temur spoke up. ¡°May I know who this Miss is? My name is Temur, and I am the chief of Abaza village. Is there any way that we can help you?¡± His shoulders no longer shaking slightly from holding in his laughter, Temur was able to give Oksana a cordial greeting. ¡°My business is with the both of you. I am an Inquisition scout. I am looking for a fugitive mage. If it is not too much trouble, I have some questions to ask the two of you separately.¡± ¡°That sounds serious.¡± Temur frowned as he fell into contemplation. ¡°If we can be of help, we will try our best as long as your requests are reasonable, right Kir?¡± ¡°Absolutely. The Empire¡¯s enemies are our enemies as well. I may just be a low level scholar not yet formally admitted into the Imperial Library, but my knowledge is at your disposal.¡± His face serious, Kaz stood up. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come in a take a seat inside. It¡¯s much more comfortable than standing outside.¡± Beckoning Oksana to come inside the hut, Kaz walked in. Not one to laze around, Oksana swiftly followed Kaz into the hut. Feeling left out, Temur smothered the fire roasting the groundhog meat before sighing and walking inside. ¡°That experiment to see if groundhog meat is delicious was a huge waste of time.¡± Muttering under his breath, Temur closed the door behind him. The inside of the hut was actually more spacious than it looks from the outside. There was a moderately large table with three chairs. A small bed was in the corner, and there were a number of barrels containing essentials scattered throughout the room. Cracking open the window near the table, Kaz sat down opposite Oksana while Temur took the last seat to the side. ¡°Now, what should I address you as?¡± Trying to be friendly, Kaz poured a cup of water and placed it in front of Oksana. ¡°You may address me as Ranger.¡± ¡°Oh, do you need to have your name remain a secret?¡± ¡°My name is not relevant to this conversation. Kazimir, what would you say you¡¯re doing here, exactly?¡± Sniffing the water first, Oksana took a sip when she didn¡¯t detect any malicious odor. ¡°Kazimir is not my name. My name is Kir. Please remember that.¡± Frowning, Kaz looked puzzled as to why Oksana would call him that. Looking at his reaction carefully, Oksana replied. ¡°Of course not. It was a slip of the tongue. My apologies. Kir, what would you say you¡¯re doing here, exactly?¡± Sighing, Kaz recited his pre-planned response. ¡°I¡¯m a low level scholar from the Imperial Library. I am attempting my Trial of Tradition in order to gain full access to the Imperial Library as a full Imperial Scholar. As of now, I am just an apprentice.¡± ¡°What are you studying?¡± ¡°My research is on the physiology of the Giant Southern Groundhogs of the Klavan Plains.¡± ¡°So what does that mean?¡± ¡°I have been studying the outer and inner physical features of the groundhogs, from skeletal structures to muscle anatomy to the workings of the inner organs. I have mostly completed the first two, but now I need to tackle documenting the inner organs. Here, have a look at my research so far.¡± Sliding his notebook across the table, Kaz sat back in his chair with a knowing smile. Watching Oksana read his notebook, Kaz smiled as he went over his list of mental preparations. His hair and eyes had both turned darker after he started to practice the necromantic arts. Although Kaz didn¡¯t know the exact cause of this, he speculated that it had something to do with the Chant of the Novitiate. Speaking of the Chant, Kaz had never forgotten to recite it daily. It only took about an hour and he practiced the mnemonics at least once a day, usually at night when there would be nobody to interrupt him. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The Chant has done wonders for the scarring on my body. All of my previous scars are mostly gone. The accelerated natural healing is probably what will help me bluff my way past this Inquisition scoutmaster. She can¡¯t be the actual Inquisitor since she doesn¡¯t have the symbol of office, and the Inquisition isn¡¯t known for their subtlety anyways. Oksana patiently studied the contents of Kaz¡¯s notebook. Even though she did not quite grasp everything that was written in the notebook, her reading this was a stalling tactic. Having been trained in the subtleties of body language and interrogations, Oksana was a master at picking up clues from the people that she talked to. Thinking for a moment, she spoke up. ¡°My apologies, but I need to put on my mask. My eyes are sensitive to light, and I¡¯m sitting right below the window. You understand, of course.¡± Not bothering to wait for Kaz¡¯s reply, Oksana pulled a black mask in and placed it on her face. The mask that she pulled out lacked any features. It was simply a featureless mask in the shape of a face, but where the eyes, mouth, and nose would be nothing existed. After a short while, Temur felt uncomfortable enough that he stopped looking at Oksana directly, and instead looked out the window. Still maintaining his neutral appearance, Kaz was amused inside because he knew the true purpose of the mask. This interrogator isn¡¯t that experienced. She should have worn the mask before she arrived at the village. People would naturally be suspicious if they don¡¯t know the purpose of the actions somebody else takes. This mask should be an Mask of Sight. It¡¯s mainly used by interrogators because it allows them to carefully observe their victims but not allow the victims to know what the interrogator was looking at. At the very least, she¡¯s not looking at the notebook anymore and only pretending to flip to the next page occasionally. She¡¯s observing my features and trying to cross reference them with the eyewitness accounts. Probably. Kaz¡¯s father was once a candidate for the Inquisition. He never made the cut to be an agent in the field, such as an interrogator or investigator, since his physical capabilities were too low. He couldn¡¯t fight well enough and he couldn¡¯t keep his anxiety under control in stressful situations. However, he was very very good at absorbing information to the point that the Inquisition recommended him to the Imperial Library. Eventually he became a steward, but he passed most of his knowledge to his second son Kazimir, who was the more curious of his two sons. Although Kaz¡¯s father Danil was not familiar with the more complicated details of Inquisition modus operandi, he had memorized the basics of their equipment and thought processes since this information was taught to every candidate. The Mask of Sight was standard Inquisition equipment for just over the last hundred years. Kaz knew that Oksana was staring at his forehead, trying to discern if the Mark of the Exile was still carved onto his forehead. If it was, then there was reason enough for Kaz to be taken into Inquisition custody. Exiles were supposed to exit Klavan lands within a month or face execution. With no other country to travel to, most Klavan exiles tried to hide in the forests or brave the Swamp in order to escape. Many of those hiding were caught and beheaded while the ones who entered the Swamp were never heard from again. Making a face, Kaz ran his hands through his bangs, bringing them back. To all observers, this seemed like a sign of anxiety. Yet Kaz knew that this was on purpose, he wanted Oksana to see that there was no Mark upon his forehead. The Chant of the Novitiate had repaired Kaz¡¯s scarring so that the previous serpentine scar on his forehead now resembles only a small indent where Zhakar first plunged the point of his knife in. ¡°Kir, how did you get that scar on your forehead?¡± Oksana pursed her lips as she suddenly shot a question out. ¡°Oh, this old thing?¡± Kaz smiled as he put his fingers over the indent. ¡°I got it when I was a small child in the capital. I was in a fight with some other boys in the streets, I think it was over a pastry. I had picked up a coin in the streets which was enough to buy a berry pastry from one of the local bakeries. I think it was called the Fragrant Loaf. Some of the bigger boys cornered me and wanted to take it for themselves. I tossed the pastry into the air, and when they were distracted, punched the one in front of me in the face as he was about to catch the pastry. I think I even broke his nose, heh. Unfortunately, they beat me up after that since pastry fell into a nasty puddle. I got this scar in my forehead when I fell down some steps and slammed my head into the bottom stair. Is that helpful?¡± The lies smoothly flew from Kaz¡¯s mouth like wine from a bottle. Even though Kaz could not see her face, he was certain that she had a huge scowl on her face. Although Oksana was very experienced in reading body language, she wasn¡¯t nearly as skilled at hiding her own when annoyed. Although Temur wasn¡¯t able to pick up on it, Kaz could tell that she was visibly annoyed even through the mask. Seeing as she probably wasn¡¯t going to get anything else from Kaz, Oksana turned her attention onto Temur. ¡°Temur, are you aware of any suspicious individuals travelling around Abaza?¡± Startled because Oksana abruptly turned her attention onto him, Temur¡¯s back started to sweat a bit. ¡°Oh no ma¡¯am. There¡¯s been no suspicious people travelling through the lands surrounding Abaza recently. Scholar Kir here is the only person that¡¯s new around these parts aside from you. The only visitors that we¡¯ve gotten besides you two is the merchant caravan, but they¡¯ve always travelled through here on a quarterly basis. Four times a year.¡± ¡°I know what quarterly means.¡± Snapping at Temur was mean, but it did make Oksana feel a bit better. ¡°If there was anybody trying to flee the law, where would they go from here?¡± Frowning, Temur thought about the question. Of course, he and his villagers would never think about committing serious crimes. The only type of crime that happened in Abaza was petty and easily resolved with reparations or a stern talking to from the village chief. ¡°I would say that the only way to avoid the law, in my amateur opinion since I have no experience doing so, would be to cut directly across the plains away from the villages and avoid the roads. From here, the only way that the regular peacekeeping soldiers would not venture to is the Southern Swamp, but that place is supposedly a deathtrap. I¡¯ve never heard of anybody coming out of there after entering deep enough.¡± After Temur had finished speaking, Oksana was silent for a short time. ¡°I think that¡¯s all the information that I need out of you two. Thank you for your time, if I need anything else I¡¯ll be sure to come back and trouble you once more.¡± Standing up, Oksana started to walk towards the door. Scrambling to get out of his chair, Temur was barely able to beat Oksana to the door in order to open it for her. ¡°Thank you very much for gracing us with your presence, dear Inquisitor! If you have need of anything else to not hesitate to contact this village again. If what you need is reasonably within my power, I will do everything it takes to help with your investigation.¡± ¡°Bye! Have a safe trip back!¡± Smiling as he and Temur waved Oksana off, Kaz¡¯s eyes glinted dangerously unnoticed by anyone. ____________________________________________________________________ Chekov was anxious the for the entire day that Oksana was gone. He needed to send a message to his superiors tonight if he was to meet the reporting deadline. After reporting nearly nothing of value for weeks, Chekov could feel the impatience that were in the replies from the Arcane Library. As he was brooding, Chekov heard the sound of hooves. Looking up, he could see Oksana riding into the campsite. Standing up, Chekov briskly walked toward Oksana¡¯s horse. ¡°Well, what do you have for me?¡± ¡°Features are a half match. Hair and eye color are different, darker. Plus there was barely a trace of the Mark of the Exile on his forehead. However, the sketch of pre-incident Kazimir matches the suspect nearly on all facial features. He lives in a small hut alone near the village. No reaction at the name Kazimir, too calm during the conversation. His mental fortitude is unlike that of an apprentice scholar, it looks like he had prepared for my visit in advance. I suggest that we kidnap him tonight for further interrogation.¡± ¡°Very well. Tell the men to pack up and be ready to move. We¡¯ll leave in 15 minutes. We¡¯ll wait a short ways outside the village in the dark while you and your team of scouts perform the kidnapping. If needed, we can provide backup.¡± Walking to his portable table, Chekov started to draft a letter. It was simple: ¡®Possible suspect identified. Will attempt to kidnap and interrogate with all means possible. Verify existence of Kir, Imperial Scholar Apprentice in the Capital. -Chekov¡¯ A short while later, the Inquisition team moved out on horseback towards Abaza. High above them, a nearly translucent spirit started to fly back in the same direction. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Leave comments/feedback below! Book 1 Chapter 25: Kazimirs Gambit, Part I First chapter of the week! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 25: Kazimir¡¯s Gambit, Part One Late into the night, the door to one of the village¡¯s grain storerooms opened. Spreading his mage sense, Kaz checked to see if there were any people around. Although it wasn¡¯t a new moon, its recent passing caused only a sliver of moonlight to be casted upon the village. Seeing that the coast was clear, the necromancer quietly snuck into the storeroom. Closing the door behind him Kaz¡¯s eyes softly glowed as he took a look at what was inside. Felis-enhanced eyes sweeping across the room, Kaz found a large number of wooden boxes in a corner of the room. Moving just enough so that he can hide behind them, Kaz sat down on the ground. The Inquisition team should be coming tonight to my temporary hut. I have my reaper spirit keeping an eye of them while the blood spirit is hidden on the roof of this storeroom to keep watch. I don¡¯t think that the Inquisition would risk overturning the entire village in the dead of night to search for me, but I need to take all the precautions that I can. There¡¯s nothing for me to do now but wait. Spreading his mana sense as far as he could, Kaz waited for his enemies to come. __________________________________________________________________ Travelling swiftly through the silent plains, the Inquisition team approached Abaza from the northeast. Although normally they would have noticed anybody that was following them, not even Oksana thought that they would be tracked from the sky. Chekov had sent a raven to his superiors in the Arcane Library, but he did not know that Kaz¡¯s reaper spirit had slain the raven the moment it was out of sight of the Inquisition. Nothing was left of the messenger bird except for a few singed feathers, but only the necromancer knew about that. Stopping half a mile away from the hut, on the other side of the copse, Chekov signalled for Oksana to proceed. Nodding, Oksana and four of her scout-rangers broke off from the main Inquisition strike force. Riding along the outside of the copse, the scouts nocked arrows to their bows. Stopping right outside the hut near the outside pit, three of the scouts dismounted and stealthily approached the front door. Oksana took position a bit away from the door with her bow half drawn, while the last mounted scout waited outside the back window of the hut. Frowning, Oksana waited for her scouts to make contact with the suspect. This is odd. It¡¯s too quiet here. Unless this Kir, or Kazimir, is an extremely deep sleeper, there is no way that he did not hear our approach. Soldiers can only be so quiet on horseback. Could this be a trap? The lead scout took a deep breath, then drew his baselard, and kicked in the front door violently. *CRACK* The thin wooden door slammed into the hut without any resistance since there was no lock on it. Rushing in the three scouts had their weapons up, and were confronted with nothing. Puzzled, the scouts paused for a bit, then started to search the hut¡¯s interior. The lead scout found a piece of paper on the desk. Flipping it over to look at the backside, he saw that there was a single word written. ¡°Surprise!¡± Frowning, the scout was about to drop the note when the dirt floor of the hut exploded in a shower of soil. Three huge masses broke out from underneath the floor and attacked the scouts viciously. What appeared to be a huge rotting claw flew out from the dust and slammed into the lead scout¡¯s chest. Blood exploded from his nose and mouth as the man¡¯s chest caved in. It all happened so fast, he didn¡¯t even have time to scream if he wanted to. The other two scouts didn¡¯t get much further, as they were maimed by powerful claws before being dragged below the earth. Outside, Oksana and her remaining scout jolted into action the moment the dirt floor exploded with movement. The scout quickly moved from the back of hut to the front, stopping next to Oksana. With grimaces, both of them let loose a single volley of arrows dead center into the dust where the lead scout stood a moment before. Cautiously backing away from the hut, both rangers drew another arrow from their quivers and prepared to fire at any provocation. Fortunately, or unfortunately, they got their wish. A single mass popped out of the ground in a similar shower of dirt directly in front of the two rangers. Not taking any chances, the mass within the dust was promptly shot several times with arrows. Seemingly unaffected by the arrows sticking out of its chest, the mass shot forward on all fours, aiming for the scouts. ¡°Gods above! Is that a giant groundhog? Since when were those fond of ambushing soldiers in the dead of night?¡± Using his legs to prompt his horse to retreat, the last scout and Oksana shot off in opposite directions as they sought to confuse the creature. As the groundhog started to chase the other scout, Oksana was able to get a good look at what was attacking them. ¡°Shit. This thing doesn¡¯t even look alive. What kind of a groundhog could remain alive after being cut apart like that? It¡¯s not even making a sound, which is unnatural. The situation was actually much more serious than I had imagined. I need to signal for aid.¡± Reaching into the quiver on her back, Oksana quickly identified the special arrow that she needed. Pressing a small switch on the arrowhead, she waited for four seconds before shooting it directly up into the air. The arrow shot into the air, spewing a bright red trail as it split the night sky. Riding in a semicircle back towards the other scout, Oksana felt for another special arrow in her quiver. ¡°Shit. Shit. Shit. How does this damn thing move so fast?¡± Panting as he barely avoided another swipe from the groundhog¡¯s claw, the last scout let loose another arrow. ¡°This thing doesn¡¯t seem to be alive, it just keeps on coming even after its common vital points have been shot.¡± Still not making any noise, the filthy groundhog continued to chase. Although the scout¡¯s horse was getting tired of running at a breakneck pace, the groundhog¡¯s speed never seemed to slow down. Finally, a flaming arrow came from Oksana¡¯s direction and lodged in the groundhog¡¯s mangy fur. The creature turned out to be extremely flammable, and started to burn immediately. Yet, no squeal of pain or any other sound was heard from the groundhog. Fortunately for the scouts, the flame seemed to slow down the creature enough for them to get a good look at it. ¡°Gods above, that¡¯s not a living creature.¡± Her eyes wide, Oksana unconsciously started to motion for her horse to move away slowly. The once hefty groundhog¡¯s body was half gone, chunks of its flesh were missing. Horrifyingly, there was no blood coming from the creature at all. The only evidence that blood once ran through this abomination was due to the caked blood all over the creature¡¯s now flaming fur. Standing on its back legs now that it was on fire, the groundhog glared at its two adversaries with pale blue glowing eyes. Slowly, the fire began to burn through the undead creature¡¯s body from the inside. As its body burned away, the groundhog turned to Oksana and attempted to give a crooked smile. Shivering uncomfortably, Oksana almost missed the second groundhog that popped up from the ground. Her senses on edge from the creepiness of the first undead groundhog, Oksana was able to jolt her horse into motion mere moments before the ground where her horse was exploded. The other scout wasn¡¯t nearly as alert, and as a result he was only able to jump off of his horse as a third explosion blasted his horse apart. Moving forward rapidly, Oksana let loose a second flaming arrow at the groundhog nearest her. This time, the groundhog seemed to be aware of the dangers surrounding flame, so it used a decaying paw to intercept the burning projectile. As the arrow sank into the paw and started to burn it, the undead groundhog slammed its paw into the ground to put out the fire. Hissing to a fizzle, the groundhog turned to look at Oksana before charging forward on all fours. As Oksana was trying to keep out of her groundhog¡¯s reach, the unlucky scout without a mount was scrambling to get away. Looking back in horror, he could see that his horse was bleeding out with huge gaping claw wounds all over its body. Before the dust settled, two baleful eyes could be seen staring at the scout. Somewhat slowly, as if savoring the scout¡¯s fear, the groundhog approached. Standing his ground, the scout clenched his teeth as he quickly but accurately shot a flaming arrow at the groundhog. As the other one did just moments before, this groundhog stepped aside with a speed surprising for its bulk and slapped the flaming arrow out of the air. The scout stood still for a split-second before attempting to run. Running away in terror, the scout didn¡¯t anticipate or feel the fourth groundhog as it bursted out of the ground near the scout¡¯s feet and crushed his head with a single paw. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°This isn¡¯t good. It¡¯s been less than a minute since I fired the flare arrow to alert Inquisitor Chekov of my distress. I need to get away now.¡± Urging her horse in the direction of the Inquisition strike force, Oksana didn¡¯t see the groundhog throw the last scout¡¯s decapitated body at her. Even after death, the groundhog¡¯s monstrous muscle strength remained, or perhaps it was strengthened after the animal died and was reanimated. Oksana didn¡¯t really know, but what she did know was that the scout¡¯s dead body slammed into her horse¡¯s legs and sent both rider and horse crashing down onto the ground. Rolling forwards for a bit, Oksana ended up pinned beneath her now crippled horse. Cursing, the scoutmaster tried to push the shrieking animal off of her so that she could make a run for it. Seeing that her efforts were in vain, Oksana quickly pulled out a brown flask from one of her armor¡¯s pockets, and downed its contents. With a beastial snarl, the lithe woman¡¯s muscles bulged visibly under her armor as the Ursus potion took effect. With a single smooth motion, Oksana pushed her horse¡¯s convulsing body off of her and managed to stand up just as a groundhog¡¯s paw slammed into her back. With a grunt, she was knocked forwards ten feet. Skidding to a stop, Oksana felt that her upper back was ripped open as the mud stung her open wounds. Shakily standing up, she drew her baselard in a seemingly last show of defiance. The three undead groundhogs approached slowly, as if they were instructed to toy with their prey. One approached Oksana, and it¡¯s decaying body gave off a rancid smell that caused her to wrinkle her nose. Sighing, Oksana prepared for the worst. Pausing for a moment, the groundhog look a long look at the bloodied scoutmaster before charging forward. As she was about to close her eyes, a bolt of lightning lit up the night sky as it passed by Oksana¡¯s side and slammed directly into the charging undead abomination. A crack of thunder rang across the previously silent plains the moment after, and the undead groundhog was blasted back from the force and power of Chekov¡¯s spell. The battlemages on either side of him finished casting their spells at this moment, and twin fireballs flew across the plains. Unable to avoid the Inquisition¡¯s spells, the last two undead groundhogs were set on fire and blasted apart by the force of the fireballs. Slowing down, Chekov stopped in front of Oksana. His face was dark with fury, as the presence of the Inquisition strike team was made known just now. If there was actually anybody watching for them, there was a miniscule chance that nobody had seen the magic flying through the air just then. ¡°Report.¡± ¡°Sir. It appears that our rogue magi is a necromancer. Or that there are two rogue magi, but the one that is here is most definitely a necromancer. Nobody was in the suspect¡¯s hut, so he must be hiding somewhere. He animated dead giant groundhogs to fight for him, and we were caught off guard by the unexpectedness of the enemy¡¯s powers.¡± ¡°He must be in the village or around. Send some of your scouts to secure the village outskirts. The rest of us will go to the village and force a search of their buildings. The rogue magi must not escape us this time.¡± _______________________________________________________________ Deep in the one of the village¡¯s storerooms, Kaz¡¯s glowing eyes opened nervously. Taking a moment to compose himself, he started to take deep breaths. Ah, that didn¡¯t go as well as I thought it would. I didn¡¯t realize that there would be battlemages among the Inquisition strike team. They were dressed like regular knights, so I didn¡¯t anticipate that they would be able to use magic to such a degree. Thinking about it, their mastery of combat magic is definitely greater than mine. I need to scout around with my spirit minions, every single minute is important if I want to escape. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to be able to escape if they restrain me with a mana sealing device. Keeping the reaper spirit on the Inquisition team¡¯s trail, Kaz kept it just a bit higher than usual now that the battlemages have revealed themselves. Merging his own vision with the blood spirit¡¯s mentally, Kaz saw something curious. There appeared to be another group of soldiers coming from the southwest, from the direction of the swamp. Frowning, Kaz moved his blood spirit closer to get a better look at this second group. If this is another Inquisition strike force then I¡¯m definitely trapped. Eh? Their armor looks very different from standard Klavan styles. Those swords...should be scimitars? Those are never used by Klavan soldiers either. Moving his spirit closer and closer, Kaz was able to get a good look at the riders from the sky. There were about twenty riders, riding towards Abaza moderately quietly. All but one of them were dressed in thick black leather armor. The rider in the absolute middle of the group was wearing robes of pure white. He also carried a metal staff, which was at odds with the scimitars and throwing weapons of the other riders. Is that a Janaroian priest? What the devil is he doing here? They must have seen the flare arrow that Oksana shot into the air. Even so, I have no idea what they are doing here in the first place. But...I think there may be a way for me to get out of this mess despite all of my reanimated groundhogs being destroyed. Kaz¡¯s blood spirit had an extremely translucent body when not attacking. If one did not know the spirit was there, it was nearly impossible to see with one¡¯s own eyes. Magical sense could detect it, but only if the mage was scanning for it in advance. I remember Ahriman saying that the priests of Janaro hate all things unnatural like monsters and the undead. Thinking silently for a moment, Kaz smiled in the dark. I normally don¡¯t like to take too many risks, but this whole situation is rapidly going out of my control. I guess I¡¯ll just have to take this one huge risk myself. Hearing his master¡¯s mental command just a split second later, the blood spirit took a nosedive towards the Janaroian group. It happened too quickly for any of the soldiers to see, much less react to. The blood spirit¡¯s right hand, black with infection, swept across one of the riders on the left side of the group. Shrieking, the man fell from his horse and started to convulse on the ground as rapid septic infection induced organ failure nearly immediately. His face red from fury, the priest started to quickly chant a spell. Raising his staff a few moments later, the priest sent a ball of soft white light into the fallen soldier. The soldier¡¯s convulsions stopped, but one of the other riders dismounted and checked the injured ones vitals. Looking at the priest, he shook his head as he drew the scimitar to put the grounded soldier out of his misery. Curiously, the blood spirit did not take advantage of the priest not paying attention to it to flee, but rather floated in the air just out of reach of the rider¡¯s weapons. Although normal metal weapons were not capable of inflicting great damage on it, the priest may have imbued these soldier¡¯s weapons with some power beforehand. Seeing the priest look up at it furiously, the blood spirit gave a macabre grin as it spoke. ¡°The Inquisition sends its regards, scum.¡± Cackling, the blood spirit rose and started to fly towards the village of Abaza. However, it did not get too far before a multi-colored beam of light clipped the spirit¡¯s left side. Fortunately, the priest did not manage to get a direct hit with his spell, otherwise the blood spirit might have perished. Nevertheless, its job was accomplished. The damage to its body barely slowed down the spirit''s flight. It flew just as fast as before, but remained low enough so that it could be seen by the Janaroians. ¡°Chase it down. We must purge this unnatural abomination before anything else. The Inquisition might actually be in the village, which means that we must be careful. Remember our mission, we need to acquire those curious colored flasks that contain potions which grant enhanced abilities to the drinker. The Cardinal of Mezzio himself gave us this order.¡± Silently fuming at the pointless death of one of their own, the rest of the soldiers rode even faster towards the village in the distance. Sitting back against a heavy box, Kaz nervously anticipated the clash of the Inquisition with the Janaroian forces. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Book 1 Chapter 26: Kazimirs Gambit, Part II Second chapter for the week! ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 26: Kazimir¡¯s Gambit, Part Two The village of Abaza was a regular mid-sized village near the southern border of the Klavan Empire. Torches burned bright across the entire village as three groups of people were in a stalemate in the village square. The bright lights made a sharp contrast against the near pitch black of night on the plains. If one was looking at the village from afar, they might have thought that the villagers were celebrating some sort of religious festival. Inquisition forces lead by Chekov were standing in the eastern side of the square, fuming silently as they glared sullenly at the group standing to the west. Calmly standing in the western part of the square were the Janaroian forces led by Father Alessio. Finally, the villagers were standing in the northern part of the square in front of the Drunken Cossack behind Temur. The villagers of Abaza were the most anxious out of the three groups present. Never had they really experienced being caught between two military forces, each of which could wipe out their village without breaking a sweat. ¡°Shit. It was a really rude awakening to find out that two groups of soldiers had come to our little village in the middle of the night.¡± Muttering quietly, Temur¡¯s back had already broken out in a cold sweat. ¡°Do..do you know what they want?¡± Standing just behind Temur, one of the older farmhand¡¯s voice nearly cracked as he whispered. ¡°I have no idea, Viktor. The Gods didn¡¯t grace me with the gift of Prophecy. As best as I can tell, both groups came here looking for something or somebody. I don¡¯t know if both groups are looking for the same thing, but I hope that it isn¡¯t. Things could get very violent, very quickly if that is the case.¡± ¡°What about Kir? He doesn¡¯t know a thing about this. Do you think these soldiers did something to him? He must have heard the commotion from their meeting even from his hut.¡± Gerel¡¯s question sent a jolt through Temur. ¡°Ah, damn it. I forgot about Kir in this mess.¡± Temur¡¯s gaze shifted from one group to the other, looking for a clue to peacefully resolve the situation. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do about it now. Can¡¯t you feel the tension? The peace in our little village is hanging by a thin thread of wool. Ancestral enemies generally don¡¯t take kindly to meeting one another when busy trying to do something else.¡± Blowing the air out of his nose in frustration, Chekov walked out towards the Janaroian forces with his hands at his side. Smiling gently, Father Alessio did the same. The two leaders met in the middle of the square. Far enough from anybody else such that their conversation would not be easily heard, but close enough to their own troops such that if any attack happened both would have immediate backup. ¡°What are you and your own doing here? This is sovereign Klavan territory.¡± Gritting his teeth, Chekov tersely spat out his words. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have to tell you that if you try anything here you¡¯ll be surrounded on all sides in a matter of days.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about that. Young Inquisitor, I have my own reasons for coming to a country as uncultured as this.¡± Still smiling, Alessio snapped his fingers. Very quickly, two wooden stools cracked into existence behind both men. ¡°Sit, sit. Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me, both of us are men of integrity.¡± Not waiting for Chekov¡¯s response, Alessio sat down. ¡°Don¡¯t ever do that again near me.¡± His face darkening by the minute, Chekov sat down with a huff. ¡°Good to see that the priesthood is still wasting mana on useless endeavors.¡± ¡°Now, now, Summoning magic is a sacred and holy art. It is one of the oldest magics in the known world no? If it can make life easier, why not use it to?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t necessary. Are you so old that standing for a couple minutes tires you out?¡± Chekov snarled at Alessio as the inquisitor put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. ¡°What the hell do you want? There¡¯s nothing here for you.¡± Speaking of which, how the hell did these cowering fools get past the Blood Citadel? As far as High Command is concerned, the security of the Pass is greater at the moment than even the Imperial City¡¯s. Although, no security can be better than the Imperial Palace¡¯s¡­. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so testy. Are we not descended from the same ancestors?¡± Bringing out a metal flask from the insides of his robes, Alessio popped the cap off and started to drink from it. A sickeningly sweet smell spilled out of the flask, and permeated the air around the two men. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s nothing like a little sweetwine after a day¡¯s hard ride.¡± Not even bothering to offer Chekov any, Alessio returned the flask back into the confines of his robes. As the two men began to mindlessly banter in anticipation of the actual negotiation, they were an odd sight. Chekov was a young man, nearing his prime. Alessio was best described as an old codger, his prime apparently long past. However, the priest was filled with a vitality unseen in many others his age. His samite robes were dyed the purest white, with gold streaks inlaid in a protective Sigil pattern. The metal staff resting on his lap reflected the torchlight, exposing some of the sigil patterns carved onto it. Seated directly across him, Chekov couldn¡¯t have looked more different. His gaunt face made him look like a starved man, but the unseen power in his muscled frame proved his strength. Dressed in dark purple leather armor that seemed to absorb light, Chekov¡¯s appearance gave an feeling of subtlety towards observers while Alessio¡¯s robes exuded extreme arrogance. Chekov¡¯s only weapon was a curious metal baton that hung at his side. As to its function, only those who wield it or those unfortunate enough to be its victims could say. However, the aura of command that both men gave off was the same even if the respect paid to Chekov came through fear while the respect paid to Alessio came through awe. ¡°I can feel your patience waning, so I¡¯ll get to the point.¡± Alessio¡¯s smile never left his face even for a second. The man was very, very good at infuriating others with his seemingly benevolent attitude. ¡°I want some of those colored flasks which contain potions. The ones that enhance a soldier¡¯s physical abilities.¡± Sitting straight in his stool, Chekov pondered the validity of Alessio¡¯s words. This explains why he¡¯s so deep into Klavan territory. This is a huge risk that a man of his rank is taking. If there wasn¡¯t a suitable payoff for this risk, Janaro High Command wouldn¡¯t send him on such a mission. But there¡¯s no way that I can give him the actual potions. But I need to see if I can negotiate for their leaving with something else. Time is of the essence now. My target might escape while I¡¯m occupied by these sleazy bastards. ¡°I can¡¯t give you any of those. They happen to be state secrets. I can offer to let you and your men return to Janaro with peaceful passage through the Pass. Otherwise, I will have to take action. You might not like the consequences of those actions.¡± Eyes, narrowing, Chekov rested his forearms on his knees. ¡°Ah, but my friend, don¡¯t you see that you are in a disadvantageous situation too? If I¡¯m not mistaken, you¡¯ve recently suffered some losses in your ranks. I know Inquisition strike teams travel with twenty four people, but I only see nineteen present. There can¡¯t be anymore since you would¡¯ve attacked my group by now if there were. This must mean that you¡¯re outnumbered. Come, we can make a deal, can we not?¡± Grinning even wider, Alessio felt that he had gained the upper hand. The Janaroian strike force that he had with him numbered twenty five total, any more and it would have been too hard to travel undetected, even through the desolate plains. Watching Chekov gnash his teeth silently, Alessio didn¡¯t give him time to formulate anything to say. ¡°It doesn¡¯t even have to be a large amount, just give me a few potions. I¡¯m not a greedy man, just one looking out for his country. If we start a fight here, what would become of these villagers? The battle between our forces would surely destroy the village and kill many villagers. At the same time, even if your soldiers did manage to kill all of mine, many of yours would die too. A pyrrhic victory for such a small thing might not be worth it at all?¡± ¡°Watch your words. These potions are a state secret that¡¯s worth more to the Empire than all of our lives.¡± Chekov¡¯s face darkened further as he realized that he was in a deeper hole than he had first imagined. Alessio¡¯s forces did in fact outnumber the Inquisition team. If his five scouts hadn¡¯t been killed by undead groundhogs, this entire exchange might not have happened. Thinking about the almost confirmed possibility that Kazimir was a necromancer leading them on a wild goose chase, Chekov could only swallow his anger at the moment. Even more infuriating at the moment was the fact that the little bastard had to be nearby, but Chekov was unable to search for him properly because of Alessio¡¯s interference. ¡°Give me a moment to decide.¡± ¡°Of course, take all the time you need. I¡¯m in no rush here.¡± The maddening smile still on his face, Alessio took out his metal flask and started to sip on his sweetwine as Chekov silently considered his courses of action. Meanwhile, Kaz¡¯s attention was split as he tried to do two things. Monitoring the stalemate in the center of the square with his reaper spirit, Kaz was also using part of his mana to accelerate the healing of the wounded blood spirit. The blood spirit had a much higher natural healing rate than the reaper spirit, which is why Kaz had used it to take the huge risk of provoking the Janaroian strike force. Fortunately, Alessio¡¯s aim had been pretty bad. Otherwise, Kaz might only have one spirit minion left at this point. Highly stressed at being trapped in the middle of two dangerous forces, both of which would be bad for his physical well being to encounter, Kaz could only try to heal his minion as best he can in case he was forced to fight. Still in the storage warehouse, the necromancer was surprised that he still had not been discovered. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. It¡¯s a good thing that both Chekov and Alessio can¡¯t detect the magical fluctuations of Blood Magic. Mages need to first carefully search for magical fluctuations that are different than theirs in order to sense it naturally. Because necromancy and its associated magics have been unused for so long, nobody alive would be familiar with its magical fluctuations. Well, nobody that Ahriman or I know anyways. Speaking of Ahriman, where is that old fox when I actually need him? Two minds are better than one, I need all the help I can get here. Sighing to himself, Kaz finished restoring the blood spirit. Not forcibly restoring his mana by absorbing the mana in the air, Kaz waited for his body to naturally regenerate it. Absorbing external mana would cause a fluctuation in the atmosphere that the magical senses of all the Inquisition and Janaroian mages would notice. They don¡¯t know how to detect necromancy, but I¡¯m certain that they know how to detect aberrations in the mana existing in the air. Kaz¡¯s mage sense was also necromantic in origin, so he could extend it as far as he could normally without much risk of being discovered. Although both Chekov and Alessio were on high alert for each other¡¯s magical fluctuations, they were both so preoccupied with detecting what they were familiar with that they all but ignored anything else. With this in mind, Kaz hid his reaper spirit behind the roof of the inn. Straining his mage sense closer and closer, the two men¡¯s conversation reached Kaz¡¯s ears. ¡°I cannot give you any of the special potions that we have. I suggest you leave Klavan immediately, my force will accompany you to the Pass, where we can negotiate your return further with Lord Zhakar. If you don¡¯t comply. I¡¯m afraid that I will have to use force.¡± Chekov slowly gave his ultimatum. It wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad decision, because the villagers here were loyal to Klavan. At the very least, they¡¯d be able to soak up some damage if any fighting started. Temur as the village chief was subordinate to Chekov after all. If the Klavan military got word that Abaza defied orders from an Inquisitor, the villagers could expect an extremely harsh punishment. On the other hand, if the villagers suffered due to following Chekov¡¯s orders, then the Empire would reward and compensate them fully. Klavan law was full of extremes like that. Moderation was not in their nature. If you gave a Klavan an inch, they would try to get the whole mile out of the deal. ¡°Now, you and I both know that your answer isn¡¯t something that I wanted to hear.¡± Alessio¡¯s smile suddenly disappeared as the priest¡¯s demeanor finally turned serious. ¡°It seems that you don¡¯t quite understand your position. True, your men do outnumber mine, but what if I didn¡¯t care that the villagers are in the way? All I need to say to my commanders is that they died assisting me in fighting the Empire¡¯s enemies. Every Klavan citizen knows to heed the call to arms. Dissent might exist, but the authority of the Inquisition knows no bounds here. Our talk is finished.¡± Standing up, Chekov looked down at Alessio with a smirk. Alessio¡¯s face now was a mask of anger. True, if he truly wanted to, Alessio could probably fight his way out of this mess. The priest was not worried about his personal safety, and he considered his men expendable in the long run. In fact, these weren¡¯t even his personal troops, but those provided by the Cardinal. As such, they were to be used as Alessio saw fit. The Janaroian Cardinals were never short of willing bodies for their personal armies and guards. ¡°Then this talk has been fruitless, to say the least. We are still at an impasse, but now without the illusion of a possible peaceful resolution.¡± At this exact moment, the reaper spirit bursted out of the Drunken Cossack¡¯s roof and swiped his mana sword at Alessio. Unable to dodge at such a close distance, Alessio was struck head on by the mana blade. The mana blade, a baleful blue, slashed at the priest¡¯s chest. Sparks flew as the mana blade collided head-on with the sigils on the priest¡¯s robe. With the robes magical protections in place, the reaper spirit was unable to directly harm the priest. Instead, Alessio was launched a couple of steps back. Seeing that his attack has failed, Kaz commanded the reaper spirit to commit to the backup plan. Retreating quickly into the air before any attacks could be launched by the stunned crowds of people, the reaper spirit¡¯s raspy voice rang out. ¡°Apologies, Master Chekov, but I am unable to wound the priest.¡± With that said, the reaper spirit flew off into the distance. ¡°You cowardly mongrel! How dare you launch a surprise attack then the both of us were meeting under the pretext of peace!¡± No trace of his previous calmness could be found in Alessio¡¯s face now. ¡°If you wanted a fight from the beginning, you should have just said so instead of trying to trick me.¡± With a flash of multicolored light and a loud crack, Alessio disappeared from the middle of the square and reappeared behind his troops. ¡°Damn it, I was framed by that shitty necromancer! He knows that he can¡¯t escape with two special forces groups near the town, so he seeks to cause us to weaken ourselves.¡± Sprinting backwards towards his own forces, Chekov signalled for his men to break into suburban fighting formations. The Inquisition forces quickly divided themselves into teams of four to five soldiers each, and quickly dispersed around the buildings near the square. As for the Janaroian forces, Alessio commanded his troops to stay in a defensive formation as he and his subordinate priests casted spells. The villagers, seeing the two forces break out into a full blown skirmish, ran away from the square. Temur led some of the villagers into the inn, while other village leaders led groups of the villagers to the north away from the square. Sensing that all of the villagers were safe so far, Kaz finally stopped holding his breath. The only people that he did not want misfortune to befall were the villagers who had treated him so well these past few weeks. Although Kaz did not think that the Janaroian and Klavan forces would turn immediately on the villagers, it was a possibility that weighed on his mind. Back in the square, Alessio was outraged that the Inquisition forces chose not to engage the Janaroians in a headlong assault. ¡°You filthy cowards, why are you hiding? Could it be that you don¡¯t think you can handle the might of Janaro¡¯s finest?¡± His face as red as a ripe tomato, Alessio shouted many obscenities at the quickly retreating Klavan troops. ¡°Julio. Burn down this inn. If they will not fight us proper, we will have to force a confrontation. Although Chekov cares not for the villagers personally, torching this village with impunity will certainly hurt his pride and provoke him. Let¡¯s see if he is prudant enough to avoid being provoked. Either way, there is no drawbacks for us since these peasants are not our people.¡± A swarthy man in red robes next to Alessio nodded. ¡°By your command.¡± Raising his staff, he chanted for a couple of seconds. As his chant finished, dark red flames started to come out of the end of his staff. Pointing it to the Drunken Cossack, the staff lit the wooden building on fire. The villagers that were trapped inside started to panic and scream. Temur¡¯s eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets as he saw that the invaders were setting the inn on fire. ¡°Viktor, try to gather some people and put out this fire. Olga and I will lead the rest of the villagers here through the Inn¡¯s back door.¡± However, some of the villagers were already scared hysterical. They tried to run out of the front door since that wasn¡¯t on fire. The moment that they stepped out of the inn, they were cut down by the swordsmen under Alessio¡¯s command. Waiting patiently under a mana shield casted by his mages, Alessio surveyed the square, trying to figure out where the Inquisition troops would come out from. Kaz¡¯s face fell as the sensed the violence erupt just moments after he had thought no villagers would be hurt. I was too naive. In retrospect, there was absolutely no way that the villagers would not be caught in the crossfire if two foreign powers fought a battle in the village square. However, I didn¡¯t think that the Janaroians would intentionally attack the villagers. Even if it¡¯s to lure out the Inquisition troops, isn¡¯t this too cruel? Even if the villagers were dying, Kaz felt that he couldn¡¯t do anything to help. He was still too weak, and did not have any minions other than the two spirits with him. I owe the villagers something, but my survival is much more important. Even if I¡¯m selfish now, I might be able to repay the villagers later on? Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have stayed in this village so long, but it was so nice to not be worried about where I would have to go or what dangers are around me. Deciding to sit in place and wait for the whole thing to blow over, Kaz silently waited in the storage warehouse. At the very least, there was abundant death energy in the air due to the deaths of the villagers and soldiers. Morbidly, Kaz hoped that somebody would die near one of the gates. Death Warp would result in a hell of a noise, but it would not seem unnatural in the heat of battle. Trying not to pay attention to the carnage in the middle of the square, Kaz looked around the village¡¯s buildings to see if there was an opportunity to escape. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thanks for reading! Book 1 Chapter 27: Abaza Burns Chapter 27: Abaza Burns The skirmish between Alessio¡¯s forces and Chekov¡¯s forces seemed to have no end, even after several hours of fighting in and around the buildings of Abaza. While the Inquisition forces were at a disadvantage facing the Janaroian forces head-on, Chekov had his forces divide up into small groups and dart in between buildings as they took potshots at the Janaroians. Alessio¡¯s forces were only really suited to fighting while in formation, so the guerilla actions of the Inquisition infuriated him. ¡°If that¡¯s how you want to play this, Inquisition, don¡¯t blame me for what actions you force me to take!¡± His face red with anger, Alessio raised his staff as he chanted. Arrows and projectiles flew from the darkness towards Alessio as he stopped to chant, but his mages combined their efforts and put up a golden shield surrounding their priest-captain. ¡°Retreat halfway through the village. I don¡¯t want anybody being hit by his spell. Stick to the shadows and hide behind buildings.¡± Snarling, Chekov signalled for all of his men to move out of Alessio¡¯s line of sight. ¡°All we have to do now is to wear them down by attrition and time. The weakness of fighting in a formation is that once enough people die the formation is broken.¡± Quickly and silently, the Inquisition forces seemed to vanish as they made their way away from the village square. His forehead shining with sweat, Alessio finished the last phrase of his chant. Smiling as he raised his staff towards the buildings next to the inn, Alessio unleashed his prepared spell. A golden ball two feet in diameter shot out from the tip of his staff, and drilled a hole through the wooden building. The golden ball travelled halfway through the building before exploding, setting the inside of the building alight with golden flames. Screaming could be heard within, and several villagers who managed to not be directly hit ran out with their clothes on fire. Motioning with his hand, Alessio had his armored warriors cut down the panicking villagers. Instructing his subordinate mages to set magically demolish the buildings surrounding the square, Alessio stayed back to watch the situation. ¡°If they choose to hide, then I¡¯ll just these Inquisition bastards out of hiding. The righteous fire of the faithful will always prevail over the heretics.¡± Gathering the ambient mana from the atmosphere, Alessio started to prepare another spell. Oksana at the moment had managed to move to the southern side of the square. Climbing to the rooftop of a building, she surveyed the situation. Alessio¡¯s forces were well armored and on guard but their attention was towards the east where Chekov¡¯s main force was and to the north where Alessio¡¯s mages were systematically burning the buildings to the ground. Seeing as how nobody paid her any attention at all, Oksana withdrew a special arrow from her quiver. This arrow was pitch black, with an especially large arrowhead. The arrowhead wasn¡¯t sharp, but was actually a small box containing something. Nocking the arrow onto her longbow, Oksana fired the arrow directly at the Janaroian mages. The arrow arced through the air as it slammed into the mage¡¯s magical projected bubble shield. As soon as the arrow hit the force bubble, it exploded in a black cloud which covered the mage¡¯s force shield. Almost instantly, the magical bubble disintegrated with a distinct pop. ¡°Shit! That projectile was full of magebane powder! Our magic will continue to fail us as long as we are near it.¡± Panting, Alessio quickly took control of the situation. ¡°All troops move in formation to the south. We need to stand clear of this black cloud if we want to survive.¡± Finally facing a real crisis since the fight started, Alessio¡¯s face showed his worry for the first time. ¡°This is it! All remaining archers, fire at will. Aim for the mages. The rest of us, move to surround the soldiers from the dark.¡± Peeking at the Janaroian¡¯s from around a building corner, Chekov instructed his forces. Quietly but quickly chanting, Chekov¡¯s face showed total concentration as he prepared his spell. ¡°Jarlov, Brekan. Distract their mages. I authorize the use of Silentium potions. Klaven be with you.¡± Jarlov and Brekan nodded and brought out potions, their bottles pitch black except for a single white star decorating the sides. Popping open the bottles, the two commandos downed their contents in an instant. Within seconds, the men¡¯s veins grew more pronounced and their faces turned ashen. Gripping their longswords and, the two men darted out of hiding and charged towards the Janaroian mages. ¡°Idiots! Getting out of cover is just asking to be killed! Incinerate those fools!¡± Sneering, Alessio didn¡¯t pay much attention to the two men charging at his soldiers. With quick incantations, the Janaroian mages launched several fireballs at the two quickly approaching commandos. With wide grins, the two commandos ran straight into the flames. ¡°Eh? Did those two lose their minds due to fear? No matter, Mages! Set the every building you can on fire, I want to burn those rats out into the open!¡± With a shout, Alessio finished his incantation. A ball of white fire flew from the tip of his staff into the air. Pulsating gently above the village for a second, it exploded and rained white flames down onto the village. At this moment, the two Klavan commandos jumped out of the flames and over the shields of Alessio¡¯s fighters. ¡°What? Why aren¡¯t they dead?¡± Alessio¡¯s face blanched as the two commandos slammed into his mages. Shocked and without adequate armor, several Janaroian mages were cut down before the steel-clad fighters turned around and sink their swords into the two Klavan commandos. ¡°Heh...we¡¯ve delayed you for long enough. Inquisitor...Chekov has certainly finished his incantation by now.¡± Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Brekan¡¯s teeth were bloody as he gave Alessio a savage grin. Seeing Jarlov lying facedown in a pool of his own blood, Brekan sighed as his eyes rolled back and he slumped down. Looking furiously, Alessio tried to figure out where Chekov was. He didn¡¯t have to look for long, as Chekov¡¯s location was saturated with latent lightning energy. His face aghast, Alessio quickly started to chant a protective spell. The other mages in white, seeing the panic on their leader¡¯s face, started to chant protective spells of their own. The Klavan forces at this point seized the opportunity to increase the rate of their attacks against the Janaroian forces. Hidden weapons and arrows were shot at the besieged soldiers in the town center with no regard for personal defense. Still lurking in the warehouse, Kaz took the opportunity to bind every single mage soul that he could. ¡°There¡¯s a limit to how many souls I can control at once, and normally I¡¯m not a match for other mages. However, Chekov and his men are killing these mages for free. I¡¯d be a fool to not take advantage of this opportunity.¡± Stretching his mana sense to the town center, Kaz quickly cast Soul Enslave whenever a mage died in order to trap their souls. ¡°Normally the fluctuations of my magic are enough for the mages in the square to be suspicious, but I guess they have other things to worry about at this point. Plus the mana fluctuations of all the other spells that they are trying to cast is covering up the ones made by me.¡± Feeling anxious, Kaz hoped that his battle would be over soon. Or at the very least, a path to escape would open up so that he could get out of there. Viewing the center of Abaza from the reaper spirit¡¯s vision, Kaz sent his blood spirit to pick off wounded soldiers. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. A badly burned Klavan commando was trying to crawl away from the town center. Limping away with his left arm hanging uselessly at his side, the man¡¯s hand had been burned down to the bone. ¡°Shit...at least the magical fire stopped the bleeding. I would have bleed out by now if¡­¡± Stopping in his tracks, the man¡¯s eyes bulged out with fear. The blood spirit had walked through the wall of a nearby building and floated silently in the air, gently glowing blood red. It seemed more immaterial than it previously was, a result of having been magically wounded. Nevertheless, its grinning skull visage caused the commando to shiver involuntarily. Raising his machete in front of him, the commando gulped as he tried to walk backwards toward the town center. At the very least, dying from the Janaroians is a more honorable death than being ripped apart in an alley by some freak of nature. Unfortunately for the commando, the blood spirit cackled once, then rushed forwards through the air. Even as he was seizing up with fear, the commando¡¯s battle hardened instincts didn¡¯t fail him. Swinging his blade in a deadly arc, the machete was aimed perfectly at the blood spirit¡¯s neck at an angle. If his opponent was made of flesh and blood, that one strike would have been enough to nearly decapitate the enemy. In this case, the machete cut through the blood spirit effortlessly, but did not damage the creature in the slightest manner. The blood spirits claws raked the commando¡¯s chest open, and the resulted blood spray painted the walls of the nearby buildings a dark crimson. Hissing, the blood spirit raised its arms as it willed the fresh blood to flow towards it. Slowly at first, then gathering faster and faster, the blood on the walls and ground began to float and be absorbed into the blood spirit. After a short while, the blood spirit finished absorbing all of the blood from the commando¡¯s body. His once bloody body was now a dried husk, his face still frozen in a mask of fear. At this moment, Chekov finished gathering enough mana for his spell. With a glint in his eye, he raised his arms high into the air to unleash his masterwork spell. With a shout, the inquisitor emptied nearly all of his prepared mana in a single go. ¡°Obliterate my enemies! WRATH OF THE LIGHTNING DRAKE¡± Thick ropes of purple lightning shot out of Chekov¡¯s hands into the air directly above the village. Within seconds, they coalesced into the shape of a dragon¡¯s head and neck. The dragon¡¯s head formed of pure lightning gazed down upon the Janaroian group in the middle of the town square. ¡°Not good! Finish your spells quickly!¡± Alessio was clearly panicking at this point. ¡°There¡¯s not time to activate the Gate right now, put all of your effort into casting defensive spells!¡± ¡°Ahaha, it¡¯s too late you old bag.¡± Coughing up some blood, Chekov¡¯s face lit up with excitement as he watched the Janaroian mages scramble to finish their spells. ¡°The Lightning Drake waits for no man.¡± With a roar that shook the sky, the Lightning Drake dived headfirst towards Alessio¡¯s mages. Despair was written on the faces of the Janaroian warriors. They had no magical protection and relied on the defensive measures provided by the mages. With such a keen threat so close, the mages might not even be able to protect themselves, much less have breathing room to think about their cannon fodder. Slamming the butt of his staff into the ground, Alessio finished his spell as the Lightning Drake approached. ¡°NULL FIELD! MAGES CHANNEL YOUR MANA TO ME!¡± The Null Field casted by Alessio materialized as a sort of grey bubble that covered Alessio¡¯s mages and some of the closer soldiers. Seeing a spark of hope, the Janaroian mages all drove their staves into the ground and started to feed their mana into Alessio¡¯s spell. With his control as the base, the Null Field that Alessio desperately casted started to stabilize, growing wider and covering more soldiers as it solidified. However, it was too little, too late. The Lightning Drake slammed into the Null Field, destabilizing it. ¡°Put more mana into the Field! If it fails, then we all die here!¡± Screaming at his subordinates, Alessio lost all of his previous calm. ¡°How did this little bastard manage to learn how to cast the Lightning Drake? Could it be he¡¯s at the Grand Mage stage as well?¡± Their faces grim, the mages continuously channelled mana from their bodies into the Null Field. If they didn¡¯t manage to disperse the Lightning Drake here, then they would all end up being fried to a crisp. The Lightning Drake started to grind down the Null Field, but the Null Field was not so easily broken. It started to disperse some of the lightning within the Drake, slowly at first, then increasing in speed as time went on. Within seconds, the Lightning Drake split apart. However, the Null Field popped at the same time. ¡°BANG¡± With a tremendous explosion, the Null Field exploded as the Lightning Drake¡¯s wild energy splashed the area not covered by the Null Field. Unfortunately for the half of Alessio¡¯s armored soldiers not covered by the Null Field took the full brunt of the Lightning Drake¡¯s discharge. Wearing full metal suits of armor, the soldiers made ideal lightning rods for the chaotic escaping lightning energies. Miserable screams and the stench of burning flesh permeated the air as the lightning caused half of the Janaroian forces to be fused into their armor. However, the Null Field¡¯s explosion was not any safer than the discharge of lightning energies. A massive shockwave blasted into to village¡¯s buildings from the center of the Null Field that levelled buildings left and right and caused the stray lightning energies to light far more buildings on fire than before. ¡°Retreat!¡± His face ashen, Chekov withdrew quickly from where he was previously. ¡°All forces regroup at the East Gate!¡± Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Oksana lept down next to the East Gate. She had already anticipated that the clash of magical energies would not end well for either side and bolted as soon as she could. ¡°Damn mages. Why don¡¯t you ever think about the normal soldiers serving under you?¡± Muttering under her breath, Oksana hid behind a nearby tree with her longbow ready in case any Janaroian soldiers ran her way. Kas jumped up in shock as the explosion blew apart the warehouse¡¯s wall and collapsed the roof. Quickly casting Death Warp, Kaz managed to escape to an alley adjacent to the warehouse. Breathing heavily, Kaz continued to monitor the situation with his mana sense as he continued to enslave more magi souls. As the dust started to settle in the town square, the area was littered with bodies of all kinds. Groans and whimpers of pain could be heard all across the ruined town of Abaza, as a sort of wailing chorus of the damned. Alessio stood up from the dust, leaning on his staff for support. Looking around at his remaining troops, his face was pale as he realized the scope of his loss. Nearly three-fourths of his initial men were dead, and some wouldn¡¯t survive the trip back to their base camp. All but one of his mages were lying dead on the ground, some from physical wounds while some succumbed by overdrawing their mana pools. Sighing, Alessio knew that he had failed in his mission to acquire some of the war secrets of the Klavan Inquisition. Withdrawing a white orb from his robes, Alessio whispered a incantation to it. Tossing the orb a ways away, Alessio signalled for his surviving able bodied men to get ready to follow him. Observing this through his reaper spirit, Kaz maneuvered his way to behind a ruined building close to Alessio¡¯s location. His blood spirit was continuously feeding off of the blood of the wounded and dead people around the town square. It mattered little to Kaz whether or not the blood spirit was feeding off villagers or soldiers since they were all dead or going to be soon anyway. With a click, the white orb started to float up into the air as it gathered the latent mana in the atmosphere. Since many spells were used recently in the vicinity of the town square, the orb started to glow a pure white very quickly. ¡°Devils below, brat! How did this ruination happen?¡± At this moment, Ahriman¡¯s voice thundered in Kaz¡¯s mind, nearly causing Kaz to jump out of hiding. ¡°I hibernate to stabilize my condition for a bit and this is what happens? You¡¯ve got some explaining to do.¡± ¡°Gods, don¡¯t startle me like that. I don¡¯t really know how the situation deteriorated like this either. I was just trying to bait the two opposing forces into fighting each other so I could make my escape. I didn¡¯t know that it would happen like this!¡± Sweating as he looked around nervously, Kaz was afraid that any of the surviving villagers would recognize him and call him out. ¡°You baited a magical fight between two Grand Mage level casters? Are you stupid or just ignorant? How did you not realize that this would happen?¡± Ahriman¡¯s voice was laced with contempt as he ranted. ¡°Enough. That little white orb is a Spatial Gate. Once it activates, those white bastards can just step through it and escape.¡± ¡°A..Spatial Gate? Is that some sort of thing that will send me elsewhere in a short time?¡± Kaz¡¯s interest was piqued, and he commanded his blood spirit to return to him. The blood spirit at this time had absorbed the blood of dozens of people, and was fully restored to its peak potential. In fact, it was temporarily stronger even since it was saturated with so much fresh blood. ¡°I don¡¯t know if your luck is great or shit. But that¡¯s besides the point now. That Spatial Gate will take you to a previously memorized location. It¡¯s a tool.¡± ¡°If it¡¯ll take me to a previously memorized location, wouldn¡¯t there be soldiers waiting for me on the other side? I don¡¯t think this Grand Mage is stupid enough to take all of his forces at once to a battle just because he can.¡± ¡°Eh, probably. You can disrupt the previously memorized location with a Mental Spike, but you would have to hit the orb with it just before the Gate opens. That¡¯d be just after it flashes three times with different colors. If you do this it¡¯ll scramble the location that he Gate will send you to. It won¡¯t be exactly the same location, so you¡¯ll have some leeway to escape.¡± ¡°Three colors?¡± Kaz¡¯s face became gloomy. ¡°Why are these tools so complicated? Why wouldn¡¯t it just flash once and be done with it?¡± ¡°What, you think these mana tools just come from trees? They¡¯re ancient forms of solidified spells that even I have no idea how to make. You think those monkeys in Janaro or Klavan know how to manufacture these damned things?¡± His voice dripping with disdain, Ahriman begrudgingly gave Kaz a tip. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when to approach. Just make sure you¡¯re ready.¡± Nodding once, Kaz stood up and started to gather his mana in preparation for his escape. Book 1 Chapter 28: Through the Spatial Gate Chapter 28: Through the Spatial Gate Stretching his senses, both magical and mundane, to their limits, Kaz carefully observed the slow activation of the Spatial Gate. By this point, the only people left in the town square were the remnants of the Janaroian strike forces. At the Eastern Gate leading into the village, the Inquisition forces had finished regrouping. Seeing Oksana keeping watch behind a nearby tree, Chekov quickly approached her. ¡°Give me a status update. How many of our men are left?¡± Gritting his teeth, Chekov focused nearly all of his concentration in restoring his mana pool from the latent atmospheric mana available. Taking a quick headcount of the commandos nearby, Oksana¡¯s face became more gloomy than before. ¡°We¡¯re down to fifteen able-bodied men. There¡¯s seven wounded here for a total of twenty-two, but those wounded definitely cannot take part in any assault on the Janaroian forces. At best they can keep a lookout for any escape attempts.¡± ¡°Gods. What about the necromancer? Did you notice any signs of his presence in the village?¡± ¡°Only that he¡¯s within the village somewhere. I¡¯m certain he¡¯s hiding in one of the buildings, or ruins now. I¡¯ve seen his...ghost thing travelling between the buildings but I can¡¯t pinpoint his location because his creatures don¡¯t travel via alleys.¡± Sighing, Oksana¡¯s frustration was clearly seen on her visage. That little bastard¡¯s stupid undead groundhogs took the lives of my comrades. I¡¯ll see to it that I gut him personally if I ever get the chance. Looking back at his men, Chekov was not at all surprised that their morale was near rock-bottom. The Inquisition forces had started out with nearly twice their current number, and these elite soldiers weren¡¯t used to such high casualties. It seems that I¡¯ll have to propose a new training regimen to High Command when I get back to the Granite Keep. The men should have been indoctrinated better. Pointing at twelve men that were still able to fight, Chekov silently signalled them to get ready to reengage the enemy. Looking reluctantly at Chekov, the twelve commandos nevertheless prepared their weapons and stood up, ready to follow the Inquisitor back into the burning ruins of Abaza. ¡°Stay close to the shadows, and try not to get burnt. I bet that coward Alessio has a Spatial Gate prepared for his escape. There¡¯s no way that he managed to activate it in between the time of the explosion and now. Even with the saturated mana in the atmosphere from spells flying everywhere, it¡¯ll take at least ten minutes for the Gate to power up. We¡¯ll wait and ambush him before he manages to open it and take the Gate for ourselves.¡± Nodding once, Chekov signalled for the twelve commandos to follow him back towards the town center. As Chekov was making his way back to the town square, Alessio was trying to calm himself down in the middle of the town square. ¡°Don¡¯t worry men, the Light of the Gods is almost upon us. Just a little bit longer, and we¡¯ll be away from this damned place.¡± Sounding more as if he was trying to comfort himself rather than his men, Alessio¡¯s hands held his staff in a white-knuckled grip. ¡°The Spatial Gate is very nearly charged now. It¡¯ll be less than two minutes until the portal opens. I hope you¡¯re ready to make a break for it.¡± Ahriman¡¯s voice rasped across the inside of Kaz¡¯s mind. ¡°Hmm? It seems that some of the Inquisition forces are quickly making their way through the eastern part of the village towards the center of town. Could they also be trying to intercept the powering up of the Spatial Gate?¡± Frowning, Kaz turned his mana sense towards the eastern part of Abaza. ¡°They may very well have the same goal that you do. I hope you learned your lesson that trying to bait two groups that overpower you greatly into doing your dirty work isn¡¯t exactly the best solution.¡± Ahriman¡¯s sarcasm cut deeply into Kaz. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not exactly a master of tactics here. I hardly even know how to rank the strength of the mages that I¡¯ve seen in comparison to me. Hell, I don¡¯t even remotely use the same type of magic as they do.¡± ¡°Yeah, whatever. That¡¯s not important now. Quickly shove those free floating souls into a body to animate them as bone minions. Don¡¯t enslave them first.¡± Barking out instructions, Ahriman¡¯s voice had a slight tinge of panic. ¡°Animating minions without enslaving the souls? Then I wouldn¡¯t be able to control them? What¡¯s the point of making necromantic creatures if they might attack me as easily as any other living being?¡± Not trusting Ahriman completely, Kaz gathered the Soul Power needed to animate some Bone Soldiers but didn¡¯t actually animate them immediately. ¡°You don¡¯t need to control them, you stupid brat. The undead attack whatever is in sight of them. All you need to do is animate them and wait for them to catch sight of your enemies, and off they go.¡± ¡°Why couldn¡¯t I just cast Rupture Spirit in the alleys that the Inquisition forces are in? That magical explosion should take care of the problem right there and then.¡± Still not convinced, Kaz leaned against the wall as he observed the situation through his reaper spirit that was still flying high above the village. ¡°Did you forget what happened the last time you used that spell? A whole patch of forest was completely ruined, glassed to the ground.¡± Ahriman¡¯s voice sounded like it was about to explode with anger. ¡°Plus the damn spell takes several seconds to cast. At the speed at which these soldiers are moving they¡¯ll be far past the danger zone of the spell once it activates. In addition, you want to delay the Inquisition troops. If a series of magical explosions happened in relatively close proximity then those Janaroians would be alerted as well.¡± ¡°Ugh. Fine. Have it your way.¡± Rolling his eyes, Kaz grabbed nearly a dozen loose spirits and fused them into the least damaged bodies that he could find in the eastern part of the village. With sickening crunches of bone and low moans, the reanimated corpses rose to their feet with their eyes glowing a light blue. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Moving stealthily but quickly towards the town square, the Inquisition¡¯s second wave of soldiers were split into three groups of four with one approaching from the north, one approaching from the south, and one approaching from due east. Chekov attached himself to the center group, but had another one of his men take point as they made their way through the fires. Turning a corner, one of the Klavan commandos slowed down as he saw another heavily wounded Klavan commando leaning against the wall of a burning building. ¡°Hey, are you okay? You¡¯ll be fine, just go where we came from and you should rendezvous with the other surviving members of our forces.¡± Seeing no response from the man, the Klavan commando tapped the wounded man on the shoulder and spun him around. ¡°Are you okay¨C GODS!?¡± The wounded man that turned around could no longer be identified as a human. Its dead eyes glowed light blue, and the creature¡¯s jaw was hanging by a couple scraps of flesh. ¡°Kekekeke!¡± Cackling madly, the bone minion darted towards the startled commando and bit into the man¡¯s neck. Turning its head to the side, the undead creature managed to rip open the Klavan commando¡¯s neck as it stabbed the man through the chest with a machete in its bony hands. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Gurgling miserably as his lifeblood spilled out onto the ground, the Klavan commando tried to shift his weight in order to push the undead minion onto the ground. With a grunt, Chekov signalled for the remaining three men in his squad to slow down. ¡°Apply argentum potions to your weapons, and drink ursus potions. The necromancer seems to be making his move. Although if he thinks a few of these simple creatures will stop us, then he¡¯ll be in for a nasty surprise.¡± Taking out brown flasks from their pockets, the commandos drank them. Immediately, they took out silver flasks and dripped the contents of those onto their swords. The moment that the commandos were done with their preparations, the undead minion managed to push off the now dead commando. Within seconds, a sickening series of cracks came from the still warm corpse of the commando. Rising unsteadily to his feet, the newly risen undead glared balefully at the remainder of the Inquisition squad that was heading straight through the eastern side of Abaza. The two undead Klavan commandos charged with their machetes raised. ¡°Futile. The power contained in the argentum potion was designed to rip apart magical barriers! Your paltry animated flesh is nothing compared to that!¡± With a snarl, Chekov slashed his sword in a wide arc at the leading bone minion. The bone minion did not react in time, or rather, could not react in time. Chekov¡¯s now enhanced sword sliced through the undead commando¡¯s neck as easily as a hot knife through butter. Decapitated, the glow in the bone minion¡¯s eyes faded as its body slammed down onto the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. The second bone minion was behind it, and swung its machete in a vertical arc towards Chekov¡¯s head. Stepping backwards, Chekov raised his sword to parry the machete. Sparks flew as the two blades met, but the Inquisitor managed to block the minion¡¯s blow. As quick as lightning, Chekov¡¯s sword darted out in a riposte as it slammed into the undead commando¡¯s shoulder. Knocked off balance, the undead minion could only howl in anger as Chekov decapitated the creature. ¡°So much for the unholy strength of the undead.¡± Sneering, Chekov swung his blade in the air to get rid of the blood that stained his sword. ¡°Men, keep in mind that use of the ursus potions allow men to match the strength of these minor undead. Argentum potions are also required in order to finish these creatures off in a timely manner. Avoid all undead minions if possible, do not engage unless absolutely necessary to the mission, but do not allow yourselves to be surrounded.¡± Seeing his men nod once, Chekov signalled for the squad to continue on their way to the town square. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C Seeing the three squads of Inquisition commandos cut through his undead minions, Kaz¡¯s face blanched. ¡°How much longer before the spatial gate activates? I don¡¯t think my undead minions will be of much use right now. That silver potion that they¡¯re using to coat their weapons is absolutely lethal to any of my undead.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because the undead that you create are just really weak.¡± Ahriman said with some contempt. ¡°Why if I was the one animating undead, those soldiers would¡¯ve been dead by now.¡± ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have a body or soul power right now.¡± Kaz snapped back. ¡°The sooner we get through that spatial gate the sooner we can concentrate on getting you your body back. Whose fault is it that I¡¯m bumbling my way through necromancy instead of being taught properly?¡± ¡°I¡¯m actually sure it¡¯s yours, for interrupting my ritual and not dying a while back.¡± Ahriman wasn¡¯t one to take insults lying down. Before Kaz could reply, Ahriman quickly cut him off. ¡°Shut up. The spatial gate will activate within ten seconds.¡± Losing all interest in arguing with the voice in his head, Kaz ordered his reaper spirit to fly lower in the sky in case he needed it quickly. ¡°How do I recognize the moment that I need to interrupt it?¡± Feeling more and more nervous as the spatial gate started to gently pulse with white light, Kaz bit his lower lip. ¡°I told you already you dumb brat. The gate will change, or pulse, whatever. It will change color from white three times. I don¡¯t know what colors the gate will change into, but I can guarantee that none of the colors will be white or black. They will be bright colors, almost revoltingly so.¡± ¡°So, fruit colors? Red, green, yellow, those sort of colors?¡± ¡°...Yes, if the image will make you feel better. Fruit colors. Now pay attention!¡± With a low groan, Kaz commanded his reaper and blood spirits to keep watch for any directly approaching Klavan commandos. Then, he crouched and kept a careful watch on the floating spatial gate. Within a couple of seconds, the spatial gate flashed from white to a dark red. A look of relief could be seen on Alessio¡¯s face as the gate changed colors. ¡°Not too much longer now, men. We will be out of this disaster of a expedition soon.¡± Recovering some of his former calm, Alessio¡¯s voice started to regain its previous benevolent quality. ¡°I swear that I will compensate everyone here, dead or alive, for their losses in this terrible debacle.¡± The spatial gate pulsed once, then flashed from dark red to a bright teal. ¡°Good, good. The spatial gate has made the connection with the target spatial gate. The mages on the other side should be powering up the other end as we speak.¡± Pulsing twice, the floating orb changed once more from a bright teal to a pale green. ¡°NOW!! Disrupt it quickly before it pulses three times!¡± Ahriman¡¯s voice exploded in Kaz¡¯s mind. ¡°CRACK!!¡± With a loud bang, Kaz warped to a dead body using its lingering death energy via the spell Death Warp. Using his left hand, Kaz shot out a Mental Spike towards the spatial gate as his right hand unleashed Frozen Spread at the shocked Janaroians. As the Mental Spike slammed into the spatial gate, a visible crack formed on the surface of the spatial gate. Pulsing erratically, the spatial gate changed colors from its previous pale green into a dark purple. ¡°NO! Kill him before he damages the gate further!¡± Roaring in anger, Alessio ignored the shards of ice that were heading towards him in order to quickly gather mana for an offensive spell. ¡°You think I¡¯ll let you cast that?¡± With a grin on his face, Kaz quickly burned through another portion of his soul power in order to sling the Rigor Mortis spell at Alessio. ¡°It¡¯s to your detriment that I caught you off guard, haha.¡± As soon as the Rigor Mortis spell hit Alessio, the man¡¯s jaw locked up and halted his spellcasting. His eyes bulging, Alessio couldn¡¯t avoid any of the jagged ice shards that ripped into him and his men. Paralyzing Alessio¡¯s mouth meant that the man couldn¡¯t complete his chant, and therefore preventing him from casting whatever spell he was in the middle of casting. ¡°Huh. Shit. I never thought you could use Rigor Mortis like that. I always thought that it was only useful in causing people to trip while running.¡± Seeing Kaz¡¯s creative use of one of his spells, Ahriman couldn¡¯t help but praise the young necromancer. The damaged spatial gate pulsed once. Time seemed to slow for Kaz as he focused all of his attention into his surroundings. The Janaroian soldiers were disoriented and panicking after being pelted with sharp pieces of ice. The damaged spatial gate pulsed again, and started to glow ever brighter turning into a bright purple. ¡°SHUA!¡± Breaking the hold that Rigor Mortis had on his body with his mental strength, Alessio¡¯s face had turned beet red in rage by this point. Slamming his staff into the ground, Alessio issued orders to his men. ¡°Shield troops, approach with shields up. Charge him, this little bastard¡¯s spells can¡¯t penetrate your reinforced shields at this point, and when he gets another spell ready you¡¯ll have arrived in front of him. Mage! You cover my front with a shield while I prepare my spells. We only have one shot at this before the gate opens.¡± Seeing the soldiers move, Kaz willed his two spirits to move towards him. Shrieking wildly, the reaper spirit dived down towards the Janaroian group an an angle. Flying closer and closer at an incredible speed, a bright blue mana sword materialized in its outstretched right hand. The moment the reaper spirit reached the edge of the group, it started to swing its mana sword in wide arcs. Miserable screams rang out among the Janaroian warriors as the mana sword went through their armor and directly ripped apart the flesh within as it burned at the same time. The reaper spirit ripped through the warriors without slowing down, heading for the two mages near the front of the group. ¡°What, what is that? How do we defend against that?¡± The other mage besides Alessio was pale with terror. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid. Maintain the shield up front. As long as we kill the necromancer, the spirits will be loosed and escape from here. I¡¯m certain that those souls are held against their will.¡± Gritting his teeth, Alessio was showing signs of mana exhaustion. The veins in his body were swollen, his eyes had an unhealthy yellow tinge to them, and his limbs were extremely shaky. Mustering up the remnants of his mana pool, Alessio managed to shoot a Fireball towards Kaz. ¡°Brat, die for me!¡± Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed as he recalled his reaper spirit. Hearing the mental command of its master, the reaper spirit moved so fast it blurred. Situating itself between Kaz and the fireball, the reaper spirit pointed the tip of its mana sword towards the fireball. The fireball slammed into the mana sword, and popped with a sizzle. Fire flew in all directions except towards the reaper spirit. Kaz was safe from this backlash since he was standing directly behind his spirit minion. The cracked spatial gate pulsed a third time, and it glowed nearly white. With an weird suction noise, a oval portal was opened vertically in the air like a door where the orb was. ¡°Go, now! The spatial gate is badly damaged and cannot remain open for long. It definitely can¡¯t take more than several beings into it now. Hurry, before it closes and you lose your chance to escape!¡± Ahriman took one look at the flickering portal and urgently warned Kaz. At this moment, Kaz¡¯s blood spirit popped out of the ground near Alessio and his subordinate mage as the two were trying to avoid the flames from the popped fireball. It drove one bloody claw through the lesser mage and flew towards Alessio with its other bloody claw outstretched. ¡°PING¡± As the bloody claw was about to rip open Alessio¡¯s chest, it bounced off of his robes. ¡°Damn. The mage¡¯s clothes seem to have some sort of magical protection.¡± Muttering under his breath, Kaz quickly cast Soul Enslave on the last dead mage as well as Soul Harvest to restore his soul power. At this moment, Chekov¡¯s teams managed to break past the undead minions that Kaz reanimated in the alleys. Looking wildly disheveled, Chekov¡¯s eyes were blazing with anger as he stared at Kaz¡¯s figure across the town square. Looking at Chekov, Kaz smirked and raised his arms in the traditional Klavan salute. Without saying anything else, he lept into the spatial gate, followed by his two spirit minions and the discarnate souls bound to him. With a shudder, the spatial gate flashed once and closed. The now inert orb dropped to the ground from the air. Alessio fell to his knees as the Klavan commandos surrounded him and his warriors. From a broken doorway, Temur¡¯s eyes were glued to the sight of the town square. ¡°Oh, you tricked us, aye. I don¡¯t know who you really are, Kir, but I swear on my ancestors that one day, you¡¯ll pay for what you did to our home.¡± Gnashing his teeth, Temur¡¯s fists were clenched until his knuckles were white and his palms bled. ¡°I¡¯ll hunt you to the ends of the world, if I have to. Just you wait.¡± Book 1 Chapter 29: Into the Swamps, Part I Chapter 29: Into the Swamps, Part I The Southern Swamps were a rather mysterious area. Stretching for more than twice the length of the mountains separating Janaro and Klavan, the southern wetlands remained largely unexplored. As to the reason, there were many. Most of the time, expeditions from both Janaro and Klavan have entered its depths and were never heard from again. Others came back, but with far fewer members and the surviving bunch have all lost their sanity. In an area deep within the swamps, a man sized hole was ripped open in the air. Very quickly, a disheveled young man with a large knapsack came through the rip in space. Taking a few steps forward, Kaz waited for his spirit minions and attached souls to come through the portal as well as he looked at his surroundings. ¡°We¡¯re in some sort of swamp. Could this be the Southern Swamps? Why would the spatial gate point here?¡± Frowning, Kaz eyed the murky wet ground suspiciously. ¡°You damaged the damn thing, alright? The spatial gate was not supposed to take anybody here. When you disrupted the opening process you caused the final location of the spatial gate to change, but not by much.¡± Oddly, Ahriman seemed to be very chatty. ¡°Not by much? That doesn¡¯t explain much.¡± Sending his reaper spirit up high, Kaz could observe through his creature¡¯s eyes. ¡°It looks like swamp as far as I can see, even several hundred feet up.¡± ¡°Send it higher. I¡¯m sure we¡¯re not that far off.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t. Clouds.¡± ¡°Clouds?¡± Ahriman¡¯s disbelief was evident. ¡°What in the nine hells can clouds do to your reaper spirit? They¡¯re not even living or magical.¡± ¡°Clouds block the reaper spirit¡¯s vision if it flies any higher than the height it¡¯s already at. Although, I do see a clearing with several lights a distance away. Could that be the original destination?¡± Kaz¡¯s face lit up in excitement. ¡°If the remaining Janaroian forces are there, they would have to have a map and more preserved food. I don¡¯t think the amount of preserved food that I¡¯m carrying is going to last long.¡± ¡°Food? Why are you even thinking about food? Forget about food, or even sleep for that matter. Didn¡¯t I give you the Chant of the Novitiate?¡± If Ahriman still had eyes, they would be rolled all the way back into his skull. ¡°The Unnatural Resilience granted to me by the novice level of the Chant does severely reduce the need for food and rest, but I also like to eat.¡± Rubbing his stomach, Kaz sighed ruefully. ¡°I haven¡¯t had a really good meal in weeks. It¡¯s just been preserved food and raw fruit.¡± ¡°How can you even think of eating at a time like this? Doesn¡¯t the smell of decay in this swamp ruin your appetite? Look at me for a idol. Even before I turned into this wretched soul I barely ate anything. Food is for the weak, the pursuit of power is all that matters.¡± Smugly, Ahriman didn¡¯t let up in his attempt to persuade Kaz to abandon eating. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been alive for nearly a hundred years at that point.¡± ¡°More like four hundred.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it all the same after you pass that first hundred? I¡¯m sure you stopped eating because your digestive system couldn¡¯t keep up. I swear all I delivered to you was liquor when you pretended to be an apothecary.¡± Pulling out some jerky from his knapsack, Kaz started to make his way carefully towards the direction of the lights. ¡°On the contrary, when Unnatural Resilience has time to work on the body, you will find that the process of aging slows down. Initially by a bit, then more and more as you master more of the Chant.¡± ¡°Oh? Is that why you looked to be about sixty years old when you claim that you would actually be around four centuries old?¡± Frowning as his left leg sunk into the mud, Kaz extracted himself with some effort. ¡°Exactly. I managed to develop the Chant to the Arch Mage level. It¡¯s very hard to develop a Chant to that level.¡± Ugh. The man has absolutely no humbleness in him. I can just feel the pride dripping off of him. Nodding, Kaz grabbed a long branch from a nearby fallen tree. Using it to probe the ground in his path, Kaz carefully started to traverse the swamp again. ¡°You say ¡®Arch Mage¡¯ but you haven¡¯t really explained the different levels of advancement yet.¡± Gingerly making his way around a rather dark puddle, Kaz¡¯s nose wrinkled as he smelled the decaying material everywhere. ¡°What level would you say that I¡¯m at?¡± ¡°You¡¯re quite a ways off from anything remotely respectable. Oh sure, some of these peasants might think you¡¯re a mighty mage but real mages would look upon you with contempt.¡± ¡°Yeah, alright. You¡¯ve repeatedly said that many, many times now.¡± Rolling his eyes, Kaz narrowly missed slamming his head on a low hanging branch. ¡°If you could just tell me what level I¡¯m at compared to what you call ¡®real¡¯ mages, it would give me a better idea of what I need to improve.¡± ¡°You¡¯re at the level of an Apprentice Mage, just barely better than a novice.¡± After a while, Ahriman spoke. ¡°Which, to be honest, is not really great. Really, it¡¯s about average considering that I¡¯ve basically been spoon-feeding you spell forms since you first felt mana.¡± ¡°Never mind that. What determines the different levels of the mages? Is it the amount of spells learned? How powerful those spells are? How long they¡¯ve been practicing magic?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not too far off, brat.¡± After taking a couple of seconds to focus his thoughts, Ahriman continued. ¡°The different levels and advancements of mages are dependent on the ranks of the spells that they have mastered.¡± ¡°Is that it? So I know a couple of Rank D spells, is that why I¡¯m considered an Apprentice?¡± Squatting behind a shrub, Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed as he spotted something moving in the water in front of him. A rather large animal started to slowly crawl out of the water onto the bank opposite Kaz. Without a sound, what appeared to be a large lizard crawled out of the water and onto the mushy ground. ¡°Huh. That¡¯s a Grey Alligator. I didn¡¯t think that those things were still around. The last time I saw one was about a hundred and fifty years ago.¡± Instantly identifying the creature, Ahriman¡¯s voice was filled with smugness. ¡°Those reptiles have an extremely dilute amount of dragon¡¯s blood in them. Their blood lineage used to be of extreme interest in certain circles of magic.¡± ¡°Dilute? How large were the dragons of old? That thing is as large as a bear, except with natural body armor.¡± Eyeing the alligator¡¯s thick scales curiously, Kaz took his notebook out of the knapsack and started to sketch the outer appearance of the reptile before it got too far away. ¡°Ignorant boy. Dragons never actually stop growing, for one thing. They can live for millennia with no problems. I¡¯ve never heard of a dragon that died of old age alone.¡± Sighing, Ahriman thought about berating Kaz for taking notes in the middle of a swamp, but decided against it. The damned boy can probably take notes while being executed if his hands were free. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°If dragons live for so long, then why have I never heard anything substantial about them except from myths and stories?¡± Keeping his body low and trying his best to not make any noise, Kaz maneuvered himself closer to the alligator as his charcoal stick continued to fill his notebook. ¡°Oh, come on, you know why this is.¡± Ahriman scoffed. ¡°Think about where the hell you came from. You¡¯re not just some country bumpkin, your people are some of the most geographically sheltered of all time.¡± ¡°Klavan is indeed boxed on all sides by nearly impassable terrain, but wouldn¡¯t Janaro have records of such creatures?¡± Finishing his sketch of the reptile, Kaz carefully made his way away from the giant alligator as it lay in a sunny patch of warm mud. ¡°You think the Janaroian leaders would allow any relevant information to pass through the mountains over to Klavan?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not allowing anything at all.¡± Kaz frowned as he thought about the books from Janaro that he read. ¡°Those books and scrolls were being smuggled into Klavan by criminals and refugees.¡± ¡°Bah. You¡¯d believe that? Let me tell you right now, you shouldn¡¯t ever believe anything that other people tell you unless you can verify the authenticity of the information for yourself.¡± If Ahriman had physical eyes, he¡¯d be rolling them by now. ¡°Oh? And how can you of all people tell me whether or not the books and information that were smuggled weren¡¯t in fact, authentic?¡± Feeling a bit uneasy about how far away the Janaroian¡¯s swamp camp was, Kaz sent out his reaper spirit to scout while he crouched low near a fallen tree. ¡°What, did you just think that I stayed inside my house all day doing nothing?¡± ¡°Well¡­.when you put it that way¡­¡± ¡°Bah. Forget it.¡± Sending a small jolt of mental energy into Kaz¡¯s brain, Ahriman chuckled as Kaz hissed in pain clutching his head. ¡°You don¡¯t think those Janaroian refugees were actually refugees right?¡± ¡°...Gods. Why would you jab me mentally without any warnings?¡± Eyes watering from pain, Kaz squinted as he massaged his temples. ¡°And why wouldn¡¯t they be refugees? Surely Janaro has better ways of sending spies to Klavan without our noticing? They climbed over the mountains to invade the Blood Citadel easily enough.¡± As soon as Kaz finished speaking, Ahriman blasted him with another mental probe. ¡°Shit, can you please stop doing that?¡± Screwing his face in a rather anguished expression, Kaz held his head in his hands. ¡°As I was saying, the Klavans always executed those¡­¡¯refugees¡¯ that came from Janaro. Where would they be sent anyways? In the view of that old goat Zhakar, the supplies at the Citadel were for Klavan military use only.¡± Ahriman continued speaking as if nothing had happened. ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain how the information given to the Citadel was false.¡± ¡°After the Klavans were done killing all of the supposed refugees, I ripped apart the souls of the refugees.¡± ¡°I suppose desecrating the dead...right. We¡¯re necromancers.¡± Pain fading, Kaz cautiously viewed the swamp through the reaper spirit¡¯s vision. ¡°The Janaroian camp actually isn¡¯t too far off. Their remaining mages appear to be in a panic, trying to figure out what went wrong with the spatial gate.¡± ¡°Keep walking towards them. Now, where was I? Ah yes, soul-searching.¡± ¡°Why did such a...great necromancer as yourself even stoop to snooping through the memories of a few dead refugees. Or spies, as you think they were.¡± ¡°I searched through their memories because I was bored.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Heh, finally shut up? That¡¯s much better.¡± ¡°Surely you had better things to do than that? Didn¡¯t you have to concoct batches and batches of healing salves and liquid medication for the soldiers?¡± Puzzled as to how Ahriman could have so much free time, Kaz scratched his head. After a thought, his face paled by several degrees. ¡°Gods above, did you have your skeletal minions concoct the medicine in your stead?¡± ¡°Huh. I didn¡¯t expect you to guess what I did. I guess you¡¯re more devious than I thought.¡± ¡°Surely you didn¡¯t animate the bodies of the dead refugees and use them as a source of free labor?¡± Gulping, Kaz¡¯s back broke out in a cold sweat thinking about the quality of the medicine that was produced within Ahriman¡¯s hut. ¡°How else did you think I made all of those batches of healing salves and other herbal junk?¡± Ahriman snorted. ¡°The amount of medicine demanded by Zhakar wasn¡¯t an ordinary amount, you know. I had to produce enough for what was basically a battlefield at least once a week.¡± ¡°Ugh. If I was like before I met you, I would have definitely vomited.¡± Even as he tried to put on a brave face, Kaz¡¯s face was still slightly green due to disgust. ¡°Bah, it¡¯s all trivial anyway. But when I soul-searched the memories of those dead ¡®refugees,¡¯ a lot more information than I expected was found.¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t keep me in the dark about it. You seem so awfully smug about whatever you found that proves they were actually spies.¡± Stopping just outside of the perimeter of the Janaroian camp, Kaz hid himself in some of the surrounding foliage in order to avoid detection by the sentries stationed to keep watch. ¡°Oh I found plenty of information that normal refugees wouldn¡¯t know. Like how to avoid capture in forests, how to torture information out of hostages, how to send very specific Janaroian smoke signals.¡± ¡°You probably found this information only on one person. You can¡¯t ¨C AGH!¡± Another mental spike burning through his consciousness, Kaz quickly shut up. ¡°Let me finish. Devils below, why are you so talkative?¡± Annoyed, Ahriman sent a few more mental probes through Kaz just to make him quiet. ¡°Of course it wasn¡¯t every single refugee that popped out of the Pass on the Klavan side. You can¡¯t possibly think that the Janaroians can throw away highly trained operatives like chicken bones?¡± Grimacing in pain, eyes watering as he tried to make sure his body was concealed, Kaz didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Heh, looks like you finally shut up. The vast majority of the refugees were actually normal peasants. However, there was something odd about their memories.¡± ¡°..And what was that?¡± ¡°It seems that several chunks of their memories were wiped. Most of it pertaining as to why they were fleeing Janaro in the first place. Nearly all of the normal peasants couldn¡¯t think of a concrete reason as to why they wanted to flee. They just...felt that they had to get out of there as soon as possible, and to travel as far as possible.¡± ¡°But why wipe out those particular memories? Wouldn¡¯t it be more convincing if they could clearly state the reasons that they were trying to flee their mother country and go into what should be their mortal enemies¡¯ lands?¡± Looking up at the sky, Kaz could see that the moon was high in the sky. The moonlight is too bright right now. I should stage my attack on the camp when the moon passes into the clouds so that the cover of darkness benefits me the most. ¡°Because those refugees don¡¯t really matter. Why did the Klavan soldiers take them within the Citadel to debrief anyways? Zhakar wasn¡¯t planning on letting any of them live in the first place, so why care about whether or not they could give the soldiers a cohesive story anyways?¡± ¡°Okay, that explains why they were killed, but what about the spies you¡¯re so proud of finding?¡± Carefully shifting his body around a large stump, Kaz managed to avoid being detected by a Janaroian sentry patrolling the edge of the camp. With a thought, Kaz positioned his almost invisible reaper spirit behind a tree right on the camp edge. Hmm, the reaper spirit is actually really hard to notice in the dead of night if it¡¯s not wielding its mana sword. The blood spirit on the other hand is always glowing a dark red. I guess it can¡¯t be helped. ¡°About one in...oh I forget, about one in fifty refugees were actually spies. Trained in close quarters combat, infiltration, covert operations, that sort of thing. But these people had no memory gaps.¡± ¡°Continue.¡± ¡°Heh, I like your new attitude. Pain does bring benefits, doesn¡¯t it? Not to you, of course, but for me.¡± Watching as Kaz pulled a face, Ahriman savored the silence before continuing. ¡°These people knew that they were bringing in false information. You can¡¯t really think that Janaro has made less progress than Klavan in the last two hundred years, do you?¡± ¡°What do you mean by that? I thought the two countries had about the same military strength, and that¡¯s why we¡¯ve been at a stalemate all of these years.¡± Sighing, Ahriman took a moment to compose his thoughts. ¡°Think geography. Janaro is about the same size if we talk total land mass, but what about the borders?¡± ¡°Janaro should be surrounded by oceans on two sides, the swamps to the south, and the mountains between Janaro and Klavan to its east. So that means that two sides are open to the oceans. Well maritime trade is how Janaro makes most of its wealth, but you can¡¯t use a navy on land.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point.¡± Exasperated, Ahriman didn¡¯t even shock Kaz mentally this time. ¡°What comes with trade? Information. And what is information?¡± With a glint in his eyes, Kaz finally understood. ¡°Information is knowledge, and knowledge is power. So you¡¯re saying that the Janaroians have advanced much more than the Klavans have these past two hundred years?¡± ¡°Yes, finally, you get it. The spatial gate is but one example of the advances that the Janaroians have made in the past two hundred years. Although those little potions that the Klavans carry are indeed interesting, how could they compare to a device that allows the nearly instantaneous transport of people and materials?¡± ¡°Mm. Even though it¡¯s easily damaged and disrupted by magical means, I do see the huge benefits of the spatial gate.¡± With a sudden frown, Kaz¡¯s suspicion increased. ¡°How do you know this spatial gate is of Janaroian make? They could have easily found it somewhere else.¡± ¡°Because nearly all of the best methods of infiltrating enemy territory was given to these spies. In order to set up the spatial gate, a corresponding spatial gate must be placed in the target location. This is also how I suspect the Janaroian special forces invaded the Blood Citadel. Those hooks that were thrown willy nilly around the mountain peaks is just nonsense.¡± ¡°How do you know it¡¯s nonsense? You don¡¯t seem to be much of mountain climber yourself.¡± Kaz snorted as he thought about how Ahriman would have even attempted to climb the mountains when the old necromancer still had his skeletal body. ¡°Impudent!¡± Slamming a particularly sharp mental spike into Kaz¡¯s mind, Ahriman huffed. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like explaining this anymore to you. Just rip apart the minds of some of those mage souls that you have enslaved when you have time. You¡¯ll find out that I¡¯m right. Now go kill all the Janaroians in this camp. Treat this as a test of your skills.¡± Leaving Kaz with a challenge, Ahriman¡¯s voice faded. Looking up, Kaz realized that the clouds above have obscured the majority of the moonlight. A deep darkness filled the swamp, and the only lights were the flickering flames of the campfires and the glowing eyes of Kaz¡¯s spirit minions. Book 1 Chapter 30: Into the Swamps, Part II Chapter 30: Into the Swamps, Part II Breathing a sigh a relief now that Ahriman decided to stay silent for the time being, Kaz sent his spirit minions on a short task. Flying around the camp, the reaper spirits and blood spirits took note of where the patrolling sentries were. While his minions were spying on the Janaroian camp, Kaz finally took inventory of his new souls. Mm. I managed to snag twelve mage souls before I fled through the spatial gate. Each mage soul seems to give me¡­five soul power each. That added with my blood spirit gives me sixty-eight net soul power total. Kaz¡¯s eyes widened as he realised the implications of having so much more soul power. Even though normal mages have at least more than double of that in mana, their limits are much harder to increase than mine is. They''d have to increase their mastery of mana but I only need to collect more souls. There''s a limit to how many souls I can collect though, so I need to make sure many as possible are mage souls since those have more innate soul power. Waiting his spirit minions to come back, Kaz nibbled on what little dried food he had left. I didn''t manage to put any new food into my bag after reanimating those groundhogs. I sure hope this camp has enough dry food for me to last a while. Soon, Kaz''s reaper spirit and blood spirit flew back. Viewing their short-term memories, the layout of the camp was revealed. The camp is divided into an inner and outer section, with the spatial gate at the center of the camp. It''s a good thing I didn''t manage to come out there, I would have been surrounded almost immediately. I need to pick off the patrolling sentries and soul-search them to find out the actual composition of the camp''s soldiers. Using mana sense would tip off any other mage if they also sensed my mana probing the area. Cautiously, Kaz started to approach a Janaroian soldier that was patrolling alone. Sneaking so that he was only a dozen meters away, Kaz made his move. The sentry¡¯s tired face froze as Rigor Mortis paralyzed the man''s body. With a flick of it''s hand, the blood spirit ripped open the sentry¡¯s neck. A crimson jet stained a nearby bush red as the blood spirit basked in the man''s lifeblood. Enslaving the man''s soul mere moments after he died, Kaz wasted no time in dissecting the poor bastard''s memories. Disregarding anything not relating to the camp, Kaz found out the camp''s soldier composition within seconds. There¡¯s only about thirty people left in this camp out of one hundred that started out from Janaro. About fifty went with Alessio through the spatial gate in Abaza and the final twenty were lost along the way through the swamps. Shaking his head, Kaz reanimated the man¡¯s body into a bone soldier. I¡¯ll leave his flesh mostly intact even though it slows down the movement of the bone soldier. I can use the poor lighting and relatively relaxed atmosphere to catch the rest of the sentries off guard when I attack. Spreading out his mana sense to the outskirts of the camp, Kaz quickly found out what directions the other patrolling sentries were walking towards. Sending his bone soldier in front of him, Kaz stealthily approached the next couple of sentries. When the bone soldier got within sight of the two other patrolling sentries, Kaz made it spasm and fall down onto the ground in full view of the other two sentries. Startled, the other two sentries quickly flashed hand signs to each other. They¡¯re coming¡­.it¡¯s a good thing the standard procedure among Janaroian patrols is to not leave themselves alone when in an uncertain situation. Gathering mana in both of his hands, Kaz waited for the two sentries to check on the collapsed bone soldier. I just need these guys to get a little bit closer¡­.I don¡¯t trust my aim from more than ten meters away, but they might notice me before then since they¡¯re carrying torches. The two sentries¡¯ faces blanched when they saw the state of their former comrade. Sitting in a pool of his own blood, the collapsed Janaroian man looked as if he was already dead. Forcing the bone soldier to raise his arm weakly, Kaz made it wheeze so hard it started to cough naturally. Bloody spit dribbled down the side of the cadaver''s mouth. Alarmed at what could catch a veteran spearman off guard, one sentry crouched down to inspect the ¡®dying¡¯ man while the second stood tall and looked for anything out of the ordinary in the surrounding area. Shit. Aren¡¯t these two sentries a bit too cautious? When the torchlight was almost about to reveal his position, Kaz forced the bone soldier on the ground to move. Near instantly, the bone soldier¡¯s arm drew the dagger sheathed on its thigh and stabbed at the crouching sentry. As soon as Kaz mentally sent out the order, he also popped out of cover and blasted both sentries with prepared Rigor Mortis spells. Caught off guard, the crouching sentry could do nothing but watch as the bone soldier drove the dagger hilt-deep into his left eye. Dying nearly instantly, the crouching sentry fell backwards and twitched a couple of times before dying. Eyes bulging in terror, the standing sentry could do nothing while under the muscle paralysis inflicted upon him via Kaz¡¯s Rigor Mortis spell. Glancing at the frozen man once, Kaz retreated into the shadows as the bone soldier lifted up its spear. A moment later, the sentry¡¯s torch fell into the muddy ground with a hiss as it extinguished itself against the wet ground. Another moment later, two additional bone soldiers rose to their feet with spears in hand. Their eyes contained a baleful yellow glow as they trudged towards the next group of sentries. Methodically, Kaz managed to ambush all of the patrolling sentries group by group. None of these sentries were set to pass another group. I guess this system is designed to patrol the most amount of ground with the least amount of people, but there¡¯s absolutely no response from one group if it manages to get ambushed. Clicking his tongue, Kaz turned to look at the bone soldiers that he had available. Silently standing before him were twelve bone soldiers. Not a single one of these bone soldiers were untouched. All of them had at least one or more horrific wounds on its flesh. Rotating the trapped souls around him, Kaz¡¯s figure looked hazy as the spirits around him wailed silently. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Carefully dissecting the combined memories of the dead sentries, Kaz was able to get a better idea of the remaining composition of the camp. There¡¯s three mages for sure, but the rest of the fifteen Janaroian soldiers was not clear to me until now. There¡¯s ten commandos and five scouts. There aren¡¯t any horses within the camp since transporting the animals to the middle of a swamp would not be worth the effort. Thankfully, the anti-magic capabilities of the Janaroian soldiers is nearly nonexistent. I could probably win this fight easily if I planned out my actions carefully. Looking towards the camp, Kaz made his plan of attack quickly. Dividing his bone soldiers into groups of four each, Kaz moved a group towards each of the three camp entrances. Although the Janaroians weren¡¯t the best in building camp defenses, they still managed to erect a shoulder-height barricade out of rocks and fallen trees. Under cover of darkness, Kaz¡¯s bone soldiers managed to slip into the camp one by one. With all of the patrolling sentries dead and no extra soldiers standing watch at the camp entrances, Kaz¡¯s minions quickly made their way around the camp towards the still living soldiers. Seriously, why is the camp so quiet? Shouldn¡¯t they be panicking at how the spatial gate failed earlier and how Alessio isn¡¯t back yet? Frowning, Kaz sent his reaper spirit into the camp to serve as his eyes and ears. I guess I still can¡¯t use mana sense to view the world through the eyes of physical minions yet. This is quite inconvenient, I¡¯ll need to look into this problem or ask Ahriman when he finally deigns to speak again. Ethereal and practically invisible in the dark parts of the camp, the reaper spirit stopped near what could only be the mages¡¯ tent. Gaudily decorated with a standard of the Janaroian Church posted outside the tent flap, the large tent was a beacon pointing towards the mages. Utilizing the reaper spirit, Kaz was able to hear the nervous conversation within. ¡°What are we supposed to tell the soldiers? The spatial gate failed earlier, and I don¡¯t think Master Alessio would be able to make it back before our supplies run out.¡± A high pitched voice, sounding remarkably like if a rat could speak, spoke in hushed whispers. ¡°What do you mean by that, Ezra? I thought we had enough supplies to last for months.¡± A deeper voice this time, as if it was suppressing a great anger. ¡°You think dry rations and fresh water is easy to preserve in a swamp? The magical seals that we put on the barrels of food and water are starting to fail, and the only mages that were able to retrace them are either dead or missing.¡± ¡°So what? It¡¯s only a few seals. Why can¡¯t you do it yourself? Some quartermaster you are.¡± With a harrumph, the deep voice sounded as if it took the camp¡¯s ration problem personally. ¡°Now, now. Don¡¯t get all huffy Bjorn. Magical seals aren¡¯t that easy to draw or maintain. You of all people should know the difficulty of maintaining magical seals, ser battlemage?¡± A third voice. Soothing. Female. ¡°Magical armor and weapons is naturally hard to maintain, and I wouldn¡¯t begrudge anybody for finding it difficult. However, all Ezra has to do is retrace the enchantments onto a bunch of water barrels and food packs. How hard could that be?¡± ¡°The difficulty of the magical seals isn¡¯t the problem.¡± Exasperated, the high-pitched voice sighed deeply. ¡°The magical seals aren¡¯t difficult to draw at all. The problem is with the containers. They¡¯re starting to rot from the outside.¡± ¡°...What do you mean? The containers themselves are failing?¡± Worried, the woman shifted in her chair. ¡°Yes! Although the contents of the containers are safe for now, within two weeks the containers themselves will rot through and rupture. The most important containers are the ones that store fresh water. Without fresh water I¡¯m afraid we would have to risk getting sick by drinking the swamp water or be even more severely weakened by dehydration.¡± ¡°Devils below...we don¡¯t have any way of purifying the swamp water?¡± Sounding deflated, Bjorn sighed. ¡°None. The only mages with any mastery in water mages accompanied Master Alessio through the spatial gate. Their water barriers are extremely useful in neutralizing thrown hidden weapons and arrows. Lacking other sources of defense against ranged weapons, the master took those three in order to better protect himself.¡± The sole female mage¡¯s voice was soft as she realized the depth of their problems. ¡°What about the soldiers, Ezra? What have you told them about our situation?¡± ¡°Nothing. I¡¯ve revealed nothing of our current dire situation. I had all the available spearmen go patrol the area surrounding the camp and I had the rest of the infantry and scouts go to their tents to sleep early. As for the spatial gate¡¯s malfunction, I only told them that we were preparing to have the Master return.¡± ¡°Sure they¡¯d get suspicious as to why Master Alessio and the rest of the soldiers haven¡¯t returned yet?¡± Doubt evident in his voice, Bjorn started to crack his knuckles nervously. ¡°None. I just stated that it was harder to return through the gate because the master captured a large amount of Klavan commandos. It would naturally be more difficult to transport more people through the same gate. They bought my explanation without any questioning. I guess the indoctrination of the Church is starting to show its worth.¡± Smiling to himself, Kaz realized why there weren¡¯t any soldiers around the campfires throughout the camp. It seems that the soldiers of Janaro obey their mages unconditionally. This is an interesting factor that I could manipulate for sure in the future. Silently, Kaz¡¯s bone soldiers slipped into the light brown tents that were occupied by the Janaroian soldiers. Wearing clothes and leather armor, the bone soldiers made no noticeable noise as they moved. Preparing to be noticed, Kaz was rather surprised when all of the Janaroian soldiers were actually sleeping. Nobody¡¯s standing watch? At all? Is the discipline so lax in this camp? Or is there something else horribly wrong? Without a second thought, Kaz willed his minions to take the lives of every single sleeping soldier. Muffled thumps echoed throughout the camp as spears went into throats. Seeking to kill without being exposed, Kaz¡¯s minions stabbed the heads and necks of the sleeping soldiers again and again until every last one fell into an eternal sleep. Quickly enslaving the fresh souls, Kaz infused the still warm bodies of the dead Janaroians with soul power and had them slowly surround the mage¡¯s tent in the north side of the camp. Taking extra care to hide his spirit minions away from conventional sight, Kaz had some of his bone soldiers light torches with the camp¡¯s main bonfire. Taking a deep breath, Kaz ordered his minions to throw the torches. Nearly a dozen torches lit up the camp as they were throw in a high arc towards the mage¡¯s tent. Another five were thrown at paths between tents so the mages would be baited towards the main bonfire where the majority of the bone soldiers were. ¡°FIRE! Why is the tent on fire? Is the camp under attack?¡± Growling, Bjorn was the first one to charge out of the tent. The battlemage looked nearly exactly as Kaz thought he would. Just over two meters tall, Bjorn was covered in full plate armor. Glowing runes could be seen pulsing dimly on his armor. In his left hand was a shield, which to be frank was really a thick piece of metal, and his right hand held a sagaris axe. Seeing how every path was blocked except for the one leading to the bonfire, Bjorn snorted once and charged straight ahead. Following him in mere moments, Erza and the last mage came out with staves in hand. ¡°Diana, what should we do? Is Bjorn going to be okay?¡± Looking excessively worried, Erza¡¯s eyes darted from shadow to shadow, seemingly afraid that something was going to jump out at him. ¡°No need to worry about that brute. I¡¯ve seen him beaten half to death many times and he¡¯s still alive.¡± Quickly chanting under her breath, Diana shot a ball of light out of her staff into the air. Hovering in the air directly above the bonfire, the camp was illuminated with daylight. The shadows banished, at least temporarily, Kaz¡¯s bone minions were revealed in all their gruesome glory. ¡°Wh-what...are those things?¡± Teeth chattering in fear, Erza shrank back as far as he could into his robes. ¡°Heh, you think a couple of these undead abominations are enough to take care of me? I¡¯ll destroy you!¡± With a roar, Bjorn raised his shield as he slammed into the first bone minion that he encountered. Seeing the wall of steel coming towards it, the bone soldier held out its spear as Bjorn¡¯s shield hit it directly. With a loud snap, the spear splintered and the bone minion was trampled underfoot by several hundred kilograms of steel and flesh. ¡°Support Bjorn with spells! Those undead freaks are easily distracted by Bjorn, and we can get several spells off by the time they take notice of us!¡± Elbowing Erza hard in the ribs, Diana started to focus her mana. Erza nodded and began to do the same. Gods. I don¡¯t think my bone soldiers would be able to pierce the armor of that battlemage. Kaz¡¯s face was as black as a pot as he controlled his minions to try and kite Bjorn as much as possible while he thought of a solution to deal with the battlemage¡¯s armor. Keeping his spirit minions in reserve, Kaz constantly forced the bone soldiers broken by Bjorn to keep reanimating. Cycling the minions one by one, Kaz was able to keep the destruction of his minions by the battlemage to a minimum. Leaving a constant five bone soldiers to deal with Bjorn in the center of the camp, Kaz spread his minions throughout the camp in an attempt to circle around to Erza and Diana. With a sneer, Diana unleashed the spell that she was preparing. Three beams of light shot out of her staff and blew apart two bone minions that were attempting to make their way around the east side of the camp. On her right, Erza¡¯s spell unleashed a series of small quakes that buried four of Kaz¡¯s bone soldiers in a sinkhole. Frowning, Kaz continued to throw minion after minion at the three mages. ¡°AGH, I hate necromancers! Why are they such cowards all the time? FIGHT ME!¡± Enraged at being set upon by mindless undead, Bjorn infused his armor with mana. The dimly lit runes on his armor blazed with power, the force produced blowing away the five bone soldiers that were surrounding him. The runes on his axe now blazing brightly, each swing of Bjorn¡¯s axe blew apart another bone soldier. Gritting his teeth, Kaz finally brought the reaper spirit into play. Flying down from a nearby tree, the bright blue mana sword materialized in the reaper spirit¡¯s right hand. Cackling, the spirit minion slammed its weapon into Bjorn¡¯s back. *BANG* The moment the mana sword hit the battlemage¡¯s armor, the runes on the armor glowed brightly as they brought forth their powers of protection. With a grunt, Bjorn was knocked off balance. However, the mana sword was unable to slice through the thick plate armor. Slamming his right foot into the muddy ground, Bjorn was able to pivot his body into facing the reaper spirit before it was able to launch another attack. With a growl, the battlemage lunged at the reaper spirit. Hissing, the reaper spirit raised its mana sword and started to engage in a brutal melee with Bjorn. Runed weapon against mana sword, magical sparks flew everywhere as the two combatants fought. Back near the now fully burning mage¡¯s tent. Diana and Erza were stunned at the sight of the reaper spirit. ¡°Gods, what is that spirit? It seems really dangerous.¡± Gulping, Erza¡¯s heart rate soared as he started to lose his mind to fear. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we don¡¯t have a choice. We need to destroy it as quickly as possible. That abomination has completely occupied Bjorn. If the other bone minions slip past him and charge towards us, we¡¯ll be hard pressed to survive.¡± Pursing her lips, Diana started to chant as fast as she could. Following her lead, Erza started to chant as well. Unnoticed by either of them, a spirit glowing a bloody red that blended into the flames started to approach from the north behind them¡­.. Book 1 Chapter 31: Into the Swamps, Part III Chapter 31: Into the Swamps, Part III Magical sparks flashing, the reaper spirit and Bjorn the battlemage once again blocked each other¡¯s attacks. Facing each other while walking in circles, Bjorn looked apprehensive while the reaper spirit¡¯s eyes were just emotionlessly glowing. As Bjorn was facing the reaper spirit, he was also trying to keep track of the many bone soldiers that attempted to attack him from behind. *Clang!* Another bone soldier managed to get close enough to try and pierce the battlemage¡¯s plate armor. Spearpoint bouncing uselessly off, Bjorn was distracted for a second as he turned his body halfway towards his right in order to attack the distracting bone soldier. Leaping back, the bone soldier cackled as it quickly got out of weapons range. Actually piercing Bjorn¡¯s armor was never Kaz¡¯s real goal for the bone soldiers. All he wanted to accomplish with them was to distract Bjorn enough for his reaper spirit to slice open the man¡¯s plate armor. Without his runed plate armor, any human flesh without magical protection would be burned from the inside by the reaper spirit¡¯s mana blade. Suddenly lunging forward as Bjorn tried to attack the bone soldiers behind him, the reaper spirit pressed its attack once more. Beset on two sides, Bjorn could only grit his teeth as he tried to minimize the damage to his armor. Standing behind a tree outside the camp, safe from danger, Kaz¡¯s brow furrowed as he continued to try and suppress the overbearing battlemage. Attacking his armor with normal weapons isn¡¯t exactly doing nothing, it¡¯s just that his armor is heavily reinforced with runes. The only thing that seems to apply pressure onto the armor¡¯s runes is the reaper spirit¡¯s mana sword. I guess I¡¯ll just have to keep him off balance and let the mana sword wear his armor down. In the meantime, I should keep applying pressure to the two other mages over on the north side of camp. Turning his attention to the mages standing a ways away from the center of the camp, Kaz smiled as he motioned for some of his bone soldiers to move. Dousing torches in some of the smaller campfires, the bone soldiers threw them in a high arcs aiming at the area around Erza and Diana. With a shout, Diana pointed her staff at a bone soldier that was trying to approach stealthily behind a few tents. Noticing her spell, Kaz forced the minion to lunge to the side in an attempt to dodge. A golden spear, its design rather simple, shot out of the staff¡¯s tip and clipped the bone soldier¡¯s lower torso. Nearly instantly, the bone soldier¡¯s legs disintegrated. Staring with empty eyes at Diana, the undead soldier started to use its hands to quickly crawl towards her. Faster than she expected, the bone soldier covered half of the distance between them before Erza finished casting his spell. ¡°Begone, hateful creature! Earthen Grip!¡± Focused to the extreme unlike his usual nervous manner, Erza¡¯s spell caused the mud on the ground to sink around the bone soldier and solidify. With one hand reaching out from the ground, the bone soldier could do nothing as its physical body was crushed. Hmm, I should watch out for their magic spells a bit more. I don¡¯t fully understand the magical capabilities of those two mages, and I can¡¯t afford to throw away the bone soldiers that I have at my disposal so easily. Ordering his bone soldiers to away a short distance away from the mages, Kaz had them attempt to harass the two mages by throwing rocks and other equipment from around the camp instead. Whizzing through the air, a soldier¡¯s water flask smashed into Erza¡¯s face. Hissing in pain, the mage was stunned for a short while as he winced in pain. Chanting furiously, Diana tried her best to pick of the bone soldiers one by one. However, her golden spears weren¡¯t as accurate as before with Kaz¡¯s bone soldiers running in circles while throwing things at her. Missing nearly every single shot, Diana could only restrict the rate of her spells as her mana was rapidly being depleted. Seeing how Erza was unable to react properly, Kaz made his move. A second flask was thrown with unerring accuracy at Erza¡¯s face. Full of water, the flask was much heavier than the previous half-empty one that was thrown. This time, a full flask smashed into Erza¡¯s face. *Crack!* The moment the full flask slammed into his face, Erza¡¯s nose broke with a sharp crack. Groaning in pain, Erza crouched with his arms raised over his head in an attempt to shield his face. ¡°Don¡¯t sit down! We¡¯re outnumbered here!¡± Seeing her companion stop casting spells, Diana panicked for the first time. ¡°At least hide behind something! You¡¯re a sitting duck out here. Gods¡­¡± Seeing his opportunity, Kaz sent one of his bone soldiers forward. Taking a short running start, the bone soldier raised its javelin before tossing it straight at Erza. Before the mage was able to react, the javelin drove itself into his chest and blasted the mage backwards. Slamming into a crate full of supplies behind where he was crouching, Erza was pinned to the wooden crate by the javelin through his chest. Choking on his own blood, Ezra desperately tried to remove the javelin from his body with shaking arms. His grip slick with blood, the mage¡¯s eyes dimmed as his arms fell to the side. ¡°Ezra! Devils below, how many more of these damn things are there?¡± Snarling, Diana managed to blast another bone soldier to smithereens with a trio of golden spears. ¡°I guess I have no choice but to use this!¡± Gasping for breath, Diana reached into her robes and withdrew a light blue bottle. Without hesitation, she popped the cap open and downed the entire contents of the bottle in a flash. Tossing the empty bottle aside, she began to chant with renewed vigor. Powerful mana fluctuations once again to emanate from her body, as if her mana was not used up at all from the spells that she had casted shortly before. Watching through the eyes of his minions, seeing Diana restore her mana with a potion greatly startled Kaz. Gods, why did I think that the Klavans were the only ones who had potions ready to use in the middle of battle? Of course the Janaroians would have potions for emergency battle situations. Although...this is my first time seeing a potion that¡¯s specifically for mage use. All of the Klavan potions either enhanced the physical capabilities of the user or provided defense against magic. I¡¯ll¡­.have to get my hands on those potions and see if they can restore soul power as well. Otherwise it¡¯ll be nearly useless with my naturally small mana pool. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Leaving his reaper spirit and a couple of minions to duke it out with Bjorn in the center of the camp, Kaz turned the majority of his attention to where Diana was wreaking havoc on his undead minions. With a sizeable portion of his minion¡¯s bodies destroyed or occupied dealing with Bjorn, Kaz was left with just over a third of his bone soldiers available. Moving three of them closer to Diana, he had them try and kite her spells at close range while the last eight spread out and threw projectiles at the lone mage. ¡°Heh, don¡¯t think that I can¡¯t deal with these feeble attempts to wear me down!¡± Slamming the butt of her staff into the ground, the head of Diana¡¯s staff lit up nearly instantly. A transparent golden bubble formed with the staff at its center. ¡°The Shield of the Almighty shall repel the heretics, and the Sword of Light shall rend thy enemies in twain!¡± With her chant finished, three golden swords of light emerged from the bubble. Although simple in design, the three golden swords were entirely made of mana. As if sensing the incoming projectiles, the swords flew into the air close to the bubble and sliced apart any objects that were tossed at Diana. Seeing at how she was protected, at least for now, Diana breathed a sigh of relief. Holding her staff with both hands, she began to slowly chant a series of incantations. Shit. How am I supposed to get through that two-fold protection? The swords prevent my bone soldiers from getting close enough to stab through the bubble as well as any projectiles from reaching the shield. If that wasn¡¯t bad enough, the projectiles that do make it through bounce off the bubble. I can¡¯t risk exposing myself long enough to launch Mental Spikes in order to try and breach her defenses, and I don¡¯t think she¡¯s going to run out of mana anytime soon since she has those little potions. Unless¡­ Inspired by a sudden idea, Kaz ordered most of the bone soldiers surrounding Diana to withdraw. Leaving only four behind to run in circles and throw the occasional projectile, Kaz¡¯s mana sense went over to the center of camp where the reaper spirit was still engaged in melee combat with the battlemage. Seven bone minions joined the remaining bone minions in the center of the camp. Having crushed another two bone soldiers, Bjorn was only facing three bone soldiers and the reaper spirit at this point. His breath in coming and going in ragged gasps, Bjorn¡¯s armor wasn¡¯t nearly as damaged as Kaz thought it would be by now. However, it seems that the battlemage paid for this little advantage with his stamina. As the reaper spirit was about to attack Bjorn once more, Kaz manually took control of the spirit minion¡¯s actions. Charging forward, Kaz raised the mana blade high above the reaper spirit¡¯s head. Seeing this rather amateurish move, Bjorn smirked as he raised his shield to block the blow. Preparing for the impact, the battlemage braced for a frontal impact. Seeing this, Kaz instantly pulled back before Bjorn could respond. Not being prepared for a feint since the reaper spirit had never performed one once this fight, Bjorn was caught off guard for a split-second. And a split-second was all Kaz needed. Exploding outwards from a tent behind Bjorn, the blood spirit that was largely absent from the brawl viciously slashed at Bjorn¡¯s back with its claws. Having absorbed the majority of the dead soldier¡¯s blood unnoticed, the blood spirit was brimming with a vitality unlike anything Kaz had seen before. The blood spirit¡¯s claws were a deep shade of crimson, nearly black with blood. As they slammed into the battlemage¡¯s plate armor, the runes on the plate armor¡¯s back failed. Flashing multiple times, the light from the runes dimmed quickly. Knocked forward several feet by the blood spirit, Bjorn¡¯s organs turned as he felt the runes on his back failing. Falling to one knee, the battlemage started to cough up mouthfuls of blood as the magical backlash of having half of his magical protection broken damaged his body internally. Now! This is it! Excited, Kaz ordered all ten of his remaining bone soldiers to immobilize the stunned battlemage. Very quickly, the bone soldiers managed to remove the axe and shield from the battlemage¡¯s hands. Still in a coughing fit, Bjorn could do little as the bone soldiers pinned him to the ground with his back down. Reaching out with its hands, the blood spirit took the helmet off of the battlemage¡¯s head. A mane of blond hair spread out from underneath the helmet. Bjorn¡¯s once crisp green eyes were cloudy with pain and fatigue. His beard was stained with blood as his breath came out in a series of gasps and coughs. Truly, the man looks like a mortally wounded lion. I would dearly like somebody like him to be fighting on my side one day. If he wasn¡¯t so tired, I don¡¯t think that I could have subdued him this easily. With a glint in his eyes, Kaz had his reaper spirit move forward. Raising its bright mana blade into the air. With the tip facing Bjorn¡¯s face, the reaper spirit drove the magical blade into Bjorn¡¯s forehead. With silent screams, Bjorn¡¯s eyes liquefied as the contents of his head were turned into hot mush. Enslaving his soul, Kaz reanimated the battlemage¡¯s body. The newly reanimated bone soldier picked up the helmet and placed it slowly on its head. Taking up the rune-axe and rune-shield, the bone soldier turned and sprinted in the direction of Diana. I hope this plan works, otherwise I¡¯ll have to abort this battle and retreat until a later date. If I can¡¯t kill that female mage now, I¡¯ll have to try again later but then she¡¯ll be much more prepared than before. It would give me much peace of mind if she died here tonight. I can¡¯t imagine the consequences if she escapes, reports my existence, and I eventually have both Klavan AND Janaroian special forces chasing after me. Various projectiles were still being thrown at Diana¡¯s bubble, but she was very secure inside her magical protection. Constantly channeling a low amount of mana into her staff in order to maintain her light magic, Diana looked only slightly worried. ¡°Heh, keep trying to break open my magical shield with only mundane objects. It will take at least two mages of equal strength to myself in order to breach this shield. Bjorn should be done mopping up those brittle abominations soon and can come help me.¡± Turning her head, Diana¡¯s face lit up as she saw Bjorn charging back towards her. Hearing her words via his mana sense and his bone soldier¡¯s perspectives, Kaz smiled to himself. You¡¯re going to be in for a rude awakening if you think you can escape from this. I hope you won¡¯t die too fast¡­ Charging towards one of the bone soldiers that was closer to the bubble, what appeared to be Bjorn raised his rune-axe high in the air. Swinging down with a force unlike any he had previously shown before, the rune-axe narrowly missed the bone soldier. However, the force of the swing pushed the air enough to knock the bone soldier off balance. Cackling in a mocking manner, the bone soldier started to step backwards towards Diana¡¯s magical bubble shield as it gestured rudely to the battlemage. Without a sound the battlemage charged towards the bone soldier, which at this point was directly in the middle between the battlemage and Diana. Looking relieved at having one of the bone soldiers seemingly under control, Diana looked away from that particular one and towards the other three bone soldiers. Suddenly, she noticed that Ezra¡¯s body started to twitch. With a sickening squelch, Ezra¡¯s body moved on its own. The javelin still imbedded in the dead mage¡¯s chest went through it completely as the mage slid off of the weapon impaling it to the crate. Freshly reanimated, Ezra¡¯s body pointed a bloody finger at Diana as it charged. ¡°Gods, why defile the dead so? Can¡¯t the dead escape from the horrors that you have inflicted upon the world?¡± Starting to tear up in rage, Diana willed the three golden swords to converge onto Ezra¡¯s position and slice his reanimated corpse up. The bone soldier howled silently as its body was diced apart by the blades of light. *CRACK* With a crisp noise, Diana¡¯s bubble shield shattered into a thousand pieces of pure mana that dissipated into the air. Turning her head around incredulously, Diana¡¯s eyes grew wide as Bjorn¡¯s rune-axe decapitated her. Her head flew into the air in a arc, landing at the base of the crate that Ezra¡¯s body was impaled on previously. Without a head, Diana¡¯s body fell to its knees, then slumped over as blood flowed out of her neck like a crimson river. Nodding once, Kaz breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that the last living Janaroian mage died. Enslaving Diana¡¯s soul with a thought, Kaz released all but one of his physical minions from their bodies. With several dozen spirits revolving around his body, Kaz sat down on a nearby stump. Having the reanimated battlemage haul the crate out of the fully burning camp, Kaz sent the undead abomination in and out of the camp on several trips in order to bring out undamaged goods. Looking at the huge crate in front of him, Kaz¡¯s eyes brimmed with excitement. Hmm...this lock seems to be locked magically. What do the runes say¡­. Imbuing his mana into the lock on the crate, Kaz was able to study the sigils that make up the locking rune. Two Protect sigils combined with an Explode if either of the Protect sigils break. How devious, I really admire the pettiness of the person who made this magical rune. A less careful mage might have only cracked the first lock and been greeted with a flaming explosion. Chuckling to himself, Kaz carefully formed twin Mental Spikes. Taking a deep breath, Kaz shattered both of the Protect sigils within the rune on the lock. With a click, the explosion didn¡¯t happen. Rubbing his hands nervously on his pants, Kaz opened the chest. Within the chest were several large canteens of pure drinking water, dried rations, and a small silver box. Carefully placing the precious food and water into his knapsack, Kaz groaned slightly as he realized how heavy his pack would be in the morning. Putting the small silver box on his lap, Kaz swept the box with his mana sense. No lock on the silver box, but a lock on the crate itself? How sloppy. I guess the Janaroians weren¡¯t expecting to be wiped out here. One layer of defense is never enough. Opening the silver box, a browned piece of parchment lay within. Picking it up, Kaz lifted it up as he read its contents in the light of the burning camp. ¡°Oh, brat. You¡¯ve really stumbled onto something big this time!¡± Ahriman¡¯s voice shattered the relative silence of the swamps. Badly startled, Kaz almost fell off of the stump. ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s just a map of the swamp right? I mean, that¡¯s useful and all..¡± ¡°It¡¯s a map to the Morbid Academy, the birthplace of necromancy.¡± Book 1 Chapter 32: The Riddle of the Smear Mark, Part I Chapter 32: The Riddle of the Smear Mark, Part I "Why would the Janaroian priests have a map leading to the birthplace of necromancy?" Flabbergasted, Kaz looked at the map again. "There''s no detail anywhere on this map that leads me to believe it''s anything else than a map of the swamp." "That''s because you don''t know how to read it." Ahriman sighed. Sometimes, I don''t know if I should blast his mind into oblivion or to let him ask as he pleases. I welcome the conversation, but the brat asks too many questions. "Look at the bottom right corner of the parchment. Do you see that small smear?" Bottling up his feelings of annoyance, Ahriman decided against punishing Kaz. "That smudge? Is that not a sort of....stain? That doesn''t look as if it would be of any significance." Frowning, Kaz chanted in a low voice. A moment later, a bright blue ball of magelight materialized near his head. "Mm. Much better. A burning camp''s flickering flames tends to not be the best source of light for reading." Looking at the map once more, Kaz realized that the map was much more detailed than he had realized. ¡°This smear...it seems like it was intentional?¡± Kaz¡¯s eyes narrow as he took a closer look. ¡°Why does it feel magical in nature?¡± ¡°Because it is, in fact, magical.¡± Ahriman¡¯s voice started to crack with excitement. ¡°That little thing is what¡¯s known as a ¡®smear tile.¡¯ It is a little enchantment based on illusion magic, used to conceal or divert attention away from something else.¡± Running his fingers over the smear mark, Kaz started to pick at it. ¡°How can you even tell it¡¯s magical? I¡¯m trying to inject a some of my magical sense into the smear but none of it is going...oh.¡± With a jolt, Kaz scrutinized the smear with a feverish gaze. ¡°Huh, I know I must say this a lot, but you¡¯re not as dumb as I keep expecting you to be.¡± ¡°Is that a...rune?¡± Scrutinizing the smear, Kaz¡¯s breathing started to intensify. ¡°The intricacy of this rune is unbelieveable. How can anybody even construct something this small? How do I break this rune?¡± ¡°Break the rune? It would be impossible for someone of your meager skill to break it. At most, I could say that it might be possible for you to unlock the rune. But, that is a low possibility.¡± Exasperated at Kaz¡¯s misguided ambitions, Ahriman destroyed Kaz¡¯s line of thought. ¡°Unlock it? So if I managed to construct the corresponding rune-key, or counter-rune, I could unlock the secrets of this smear mark and thus the map?¡± His eyes lighting up at the challenge, Kaz started to think back on what blood runes he had already learned from the Book of Blood. With a disgusted noise, Ahriman settled down in Kaz¡¯s mind. This conversation is going to go nowhere for now. All I can do allow the little bastard sate his curiosity before we continue. Muttering to himself, Kaz looked maniacal as one side of his body was lit up by the burning flames of the camp. Raising a hand, Kaz¡¯s fingers started to trace runes that he had learned from the Book of Blood. The tips of his fingers pulsing a gentle blood red, Kaz¡¯s runes started to form in the air faster and faster. The runes that Kaz traced floated outside the reach of his fingers as he traced one after another. After the thirteenth rune formed, it floated up into the air as the rest of the runes started to shudder. Looking up, Kaz¡¯s anxiety was palpable. ¡°Ahriman, why are the runes shaking like that?¡± ¡°Brace yourself.¡± Ahriman¡¯s reply caused Kaz¡¯s face to pale. Jumping on his feet, Kaz sprinted towards the nearest tree that was thicker than he was. Behind him, the runes combined into a ring. Clutching the map in his hands, Kaz peeked around the tree to observe that the runes were doing. The ring of runes started to spin in the air. At first, the ring started to spin faster and faster. After several revolutions, the ring started to get smaller. ¡°Is...it...working? I¡¯m not sure what I did was correct.¡± His forehead slick with sweat, Kaz could sense the incredible amount of magical energy contained within the ring. ¡°It¡¯s not. Watch the ring¡¯s revolutions.¡± Wiping his forehead with his left sleeve, Kaz prepared to run at a moment¡¯s notice should anything untoward happen with the undulating ring. Gods, why did I start to play around with the blood runes near the supplies? Water¡¯s not an issue since I¡¯m in the wetlands and I can purify the water, but I¡¯d rather have rations than have to kill the local fauna for sustenance. With increasing frequency, the red runic ring started to flicker. At first, it was imperceptible, far faster than what Kaz¡¯s eyes could see. The more the runic ring spun, the more common the flickering became. Sighing, Kaz felt disappointed in his work. ¡°The blood runes are unstable in this combination? I thought that I was on the right track in constructing the counter-rune of the smear mark.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your first time trying to unlock a rune-lock with finesse instead of blasting it open. Of course you can¡¯t get it right on the first time.¡± Ahriman cackled in amusement. ¡°Watch, your little runic ring is going to explode soon.¡± As soon as Ahriman¡¯s words rang in Kaz¡¯s ears, the bloody runic ring shattered. With a crisp crack, a wild wave of magical energy flew in all directions. Kaz whipped his head back behind the tree to hide from the energy wave. The wave of magical energy passed Kaz, but didn¡¯t even shake the leaves or branches of the nearby trees. Even the supplies under where the runic ring shattered were not affected. A numbing feeling passed through Kaz¡¯s mind, but passed within a second. ¡°Why were the consequences of the runic ring collapsing more serious? Shouldn¡¯t the broken magical energies devastate anything in its path?¡± Kaz¡¯s brow furrowed as he thought. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°How can normal runes compare to the ones from the Book of Blood?¡± His voice heavy with scorn, Ahriman spoke. ¡°When runes are cast in order, their energy is much more focused. None of the finer runic inscriptions would ever release violent magical energies unless the caster designed them that way.¡± ¡°But how can that be? That energy must go somewhere. If it disperses in the air, then why does it not affect the surroundings?¡± Kaz looked at the stars as he sunk deep into thought. ¡°Not everything can be explained. The mana goes into another place.¡± Ahriman whispered, as if he was...sentimental. ¡°The origin of mana is not well known. It can be described as saturating the air, the ground, the water, and even a magi¡¯s body. At times, mana seems to disappear and reappear at will.¡± ¡°Then, there must be another place that mana travels to once it is exhausted. Runic inscriptions focus the magical energy inwards upon itself and the area of effect.¡± Looking at the smear mark with renewed interest, Kaz¡¯s eyes grew feverish. ¡°That¡¯s it! The reason my first runic ring collapsed was because I only had it focus in on itself. If I position some of the runes so that they counterbalance this effect, I may be successful in forming the rune-key.¡± ¡°Heh, you think you can form a rune-key like that? More talented mages than you have tried and failed even after dozens of attempts. What makes you think you can succeed what they failed?¡± Smirking, Kaz¡¯s attitude remained unchanged. ¡°Old man, I never said that I wanted to be successful on my next try. On the contrary, forming the complete rune-key might even take me a hundred tries.¡± ¡°What, do you plan on staying here near this burning camp until you manage to crack the smear-mark?¡± ¡°Do you have a better idea?¡± Sitting down on the stump near the crate of supplies, Kaz started to eat some of the dried rations as he studied the smear mark. ¡°Hmph. I suppose it does not matter at this point. You eliminated the biggest threat to you in this part of the swamp. I do not sense anything that can threaten you for several miles around.¡± Hearing Ahriman¡¯s reassurance, Kaz stopped eating. ¡°Several miles? How can you say that? Has your mana sense recovered somewhat?¡± ¡°My mana sense is pitiful at this point.¡± Ahriman sighed. ¡°I cannot compare it with yours. My original mana sense is realms higher than your puny mana sense. It would be like comparing a minnow to a shark, a mouse to a lion, or a¡­¡± ¡°Ugh. Spare me. I do not need to hear you lording it over me with your superior magical attainments.¡± Rolling his eyes, Kaz continued to munch on a hard stick of flatbread. ¡°I¡¯m going to keep reminding you that I have had no formal training in magic. I cannot consider the injections of knowledge into my brain to be a form of serious mentorship.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as if I ever wanted a student with such tiny potential anyways. I doubt you will ever be much better than a hedge mage. Have fun failing at your attempts to form the rune-key.¡± With a scoff, Ahriman fell silent. ¡°Mm. Finally some peace and quiet. Why does everybody have to be so loud?¡± Kaz looked up at the sky. ¡°Still pitch black? How much time do I have until day...where¡¯s the North Star¡­¡± Frowning, Kaz realized that the swamp tree¡¯s branches were blocking the sight of the sky. With a snap of his fingers, Kaz commanded his surviving bone soldiers to cut down all of the swamp tree¡¯s branches within ten meters of the stump. ¡°That should take a while, I should do something about these extra souls that I¡¯ve enslaved.¡± Commanding his enslaved souls to surround him, Kaz became the center of a storm of silently screaming spirits. Looking at three dozen or so ghosts, Kaz did not know how he planned to deal with them. Although my mental energy has increased due to me using magic so much lately, it¡¯s quite bothersome to have to keep track of where every spirit is at once. Since I need to wait for my bone soldiers to clear the treeline, I will attempt to fuse some of the spirits. Waving the three recently acquired magi souls closer, Kaz browsed through the residual memories of each spirit. Looking for anything relevant to combat, Kaz¡¯s eyes flashed with hundred of memories every minute. Mm. Looks like it¡¯ll be best to stick to the three magi that died at the camp. The magi souls that I acquired from the mages that were following Alessio do not seem to be as magically potent as the ones from the camp. Motioning for Ezra¡¯s soul to move closer, Kaz started to sign a runic sigil in the air. Upon casting Blood Spirit Formation, a bloody rune formed in front of Kaz¡¯s fingers and he willed it to fuse with the spirit. As soon as the blood rune went into the spirit¡¯s ephemeral body, it shuddered as if it was in pain. Soon, a small blood-red vortex of magical energy emerged on the spirit where the blood rune sunk in. Smiling, Kaz grabbed a spirit and shoved it into the vortex. With a silent scream, the hapless ghost was devoured by Ezra¡¯s spirit. Ever so slightly, the magi¡¯s spirit became more corporeal and turned pink for a second before reverting to white. Like before, only this time it took far less time for the vortex to absorb the ghost that I shoved into it. Satisfied with the speed of the spirit¡¯s absorption, Kaz continued to feed the other spirits to it. After half or so of the remaining spirits were devoured, the bloody vortex closed. Kaz scrutinized the now blood-red spirit. As expected, it took about the same number of spirits to bring about the evolution of a normal ghost into a blood spirit. However, the process was much faster this time because I¡¯m much more familiar with blood magic this time around. The blood spirit opened its eyes, and a bloody glow lit up the surroundings. Slowly, the glow faded and a glowing blood spirit was floating in the air in front of Kaz. Smiling in triumph, Kaz recalled the other blood spirit towards him. The older blood spirit stopped next to the new blood spirit. Compared to the new one, the older blood spirit was a darker shade of crimson. In addition, the older blood spirit¡¯s claws were both longer and sharper. With a wave of his hand, Kaz split the blood energies inside the older blood spirit into two. Pulling the magical energies out, Kaz infused the blood energy into the newer blood spirit. What I need right now are consistent and reliable minions. Two blood spirits of equal strength will be able to handle more opponents than one strong and one weak blood spirit. Time I don¡¯t have to spend bailing the weaker one out is time I could be spending managing my other minions or casting spells. After this infusion, the newer blood spirit turned a darker shade of crimson while the older one lightened up until the two were the same shade of blood-red. Nodding in satisfaction, Kaz sent to two of them to patrol the surrounding areas of the swamp for signs of beasts or humans. Looking at the remaining spirits, Kaz brought the spirits of Diana and Bjorn to the fore. Raising both of his hands, Kaz formed the spirit rune for ¡®blade¡¯ in the air with each hand. Seeing two identical spirit runes floating in the air, Kaz infused one into each of the two battlemage spirits in front of him. Like before, a vortex of magical energy opened up in the middle of the spirits. Unlike before, the vortexes this time were not a deep crimson. Instead, they were a light sky blue. Sending one spirit after another into the ravenous vortexes, Kaz¡¯s back started to sweat as his supply of spirits decreased at an astronomical rate. If these spirits do not manage to transform in time, will the forced evolution fail? My supply of weaker spirits is being consumed too fast for comfort¡­ The right hands of the two magi spirits started to glow, and the glow increased in intensity as more and more spirits were fed to each vortex. Kaz sharply inhaled as he sent the last two ghosts into the vortexes. After a split second, the vortexes remained open. The glow on the magi spirit¡¯s hands were blazing, lighting up the nearby foliage a light cyan. His back covered with cold sweat at this point, Kaz¡¯s mind blazed through the information he had read to find a solution to his problem. Devils below! Why did I not try to evolve one of them at a time? This would not have happened if I was more careful at overstepping the bounds of my resources. I need more spirits, but I have used up the free ones that I have available¡­.that¡¯s it! Moving his mana sense towards the bone soldiers that were busy cutting down branches nearby, Kaz immediately ripped all the spirits from his physical minions. With an influx of six new spirits to work with, Kaz started to feed them to the vortexes before they closed. After the vortexes absorbed two spirits each, they flashed bright cyan and closed. A silvery hood grew on the appearances of the magi¡¯s spirits. The cyan glow in their right hands elongated and sharpened into mana swords as Kaz watched in fascination. A moment passed, and two new reaper spirits floated in front of Kaz. Jumping up from his stump, Kaz wanted to shout his joy out loud. Heh, I did it! That was too close for comfort. I don¡¯t want to imagine what the consequences would have been if the vortexes failed to absorb enough spirits and collapsed by themselves. Stopping for a moment, Kaz summoned his first reaper spirit back to him from its patrolling task. The three reaper spirits floated in the air in front of Kaz, baleful cyan glows shining from their eyes. Mm. I never go the chance to observe them in such detail before. I was always running from one place to another or hiding my spirit minions out of sight. Observing his the reaper spirits, Kaz saw that they were skeletal figures dressed in robes with a hood covering most of their heads. The only sign that the reaper spirits had eyes was the cyan glow that permeated throughout the inside of the hood and spilled out around the edges. The older reaper spirit had a larger mana sword, but Kaz knew from watching it fight that its mana sword was much more powerful than before. It seems that reaper spirits get stronger through battle experience. This is different from the blood spirits since all those spirits need is a constant supply of blood to improve. I guess I¡¯m going to involve myself in more violent confrontations in the future if I want to improve the quality of my spirit minions. Musing on his gains this time, Kaz¡¯s eyes grew wide as he realized how much soul power he had at his disposal. It was approximately four times as much as before! I know that the quality of my spirit minions determined how much soul power I have available, but I never realized that using evolved magi spirits would make such a difference. Sucking in air through his teeth, Kaz lamented that he had already fed the weaker magi spirits to the new blood spirit and new reaper spirits. Sighing, Kaz sat back down on the stump. Previously, my soul power drained too fast when trying to form the rune-key for the smear mark. I should have enough soul power to finish casting the completed rune-key now, or at least enough soul power to try multiple times before I exhaust myself. Raising one hand in the air, Kaz drew the first blood rune. Book 1 Chapter 33: The Riddle of the Smear Mark, Part II Chapter 33: The Riddle of the Smear Mark, Part II Flashes of crimson light spilled into the surrounding areas of the swamp near a burning camp. Sitting on a stump near it, a young man was inscribing runes into the air. One by one, a ring of sanguine runes started to form. This is the third time that I¡¯ve attempted to form the rune-key. On my second try, I was able to inscribe twenty seven runes before the ring collapsed upon itself. I do not know how many runes it will take, but I¡¯ll be damned if I don¡¯t form the correct rune-key. Unlike the previous attempts to form the rune-key, Kaz¡¯s fingers were much slower. However, he focused much harder than before. After his second failed attempt, Kaz realized that trying to form the runes before he ran out of spirit power was not as effective as forming stable runes. With the three additional evolved spirits, my spirit power is four times as much as before. Even though my innate talent is subpar at best, I can keep increasing my pool of magical energy with more high quality spirit minions. Gritting his teeth, Kaz continued to cast runes in sequence. Kaz¡¯s runic ring grew more and more complex. Beads of sweat pooled on Kaz¡¯s forehead and ran down the side of his face. There was no sound in this area of the swamp. Only the occasional crackling of embers or the sound of sweat dripping down onto the muddy ground broke the silence. The two leftover basic spirits that Kaz did not use up in evolving his upgraded spirits were used to bind two bone soldiers. These bone soldiers had long finished their task of clearing the foliage around the stump. The night sky was pitch black with the exception of the starlight shining down upon the world. Tonight, it was a new moon. In the darkest night of the month, the blood runes¡¯ crimson light made them seem all the more ghastly. A short moment later, the runic ring shattered once more. All it took was Kaz¡¯s finger trembling when he was in the middle of inscribing the next rune. Sighing, Kaz leaned back and started to stretch. Even after failing for the third time in a row, the young necromancer was not as flustered as he was when he failed the first time. Each attempt saw further improvements to both technique and length of the runic ring. Mm. This isn¡¯t too bad. I was expecting to have failed my third attempt more than ten runes earlier. I don¡¯t know how many runes it will take for me to form the complete rune-key. It is said in the Book of Blood that true masters of runic inscriptions were able to form rune-keys to smear marks with a single complex rune. Stringing together separate runes in comparison is quite...inelegant. Sighing, Kaz decided to take a short break in order to refresh his mind and unwind after focusing for such a long period of time. Since he started his third attempt at forming the rune-key, it had been a total of two and a half hours. Sitting in a static position inscribing runes with no breaks would be strenuous for even advanced mages. Looking up at the night sky, the Star Plough was hanging low to the left of the North Star. How long did I spend on that last attempt? I didn¡¯t even notice the time pass. Smiling ruefully, Kaz brought a water flask to his lips as he quenched his thirst. The last time I¡¯ve been this absorbed in an activity was when I was in the library of the Blood Citadel. Burying my head in the stacks and reading all of the new imports from the capital...I miss those days. There were no worries, and everybody was friendly. I still remember their looks of disdain at my Trial by Iron. Shaking his head as he sealed the water flask, Kaz once again sat on the stump. Contacting the spirits that were out patrolling, Kaz was pleased to discover that there were very few beasts near him. According to my patrolling spirits, there weren¡¯t any obvious signs of human activity close to where I am. In addition, the memories of the Janaroian battlemages confirmed that they purged any native animal life they found close to the campsite. I¡¯m not sure there was such a need to destroy the native fauna but then again they were following standard Janaroian explorer procedures. Taking a deep breath, Kaz started to inscribe the rune-key once more. Having failed several times already, the young necromancer was adept at forming the skeleton of the rune-key. Once I realized why my first attempt failed, I have managed to extend the length of my runic inscriptions until further instability occurs. Why did I ever think that the rune-key would be a single sequence of runes? Trying to combine the key portion of the rune-key with the skeleton is impossible at my current level of skill. I have to carefully inscribe the individual parts one at a time then combine them with one another. Fifteen bloody runes were carved out of the air. Pulsing, the runes formed a circle as they floated in front of Kaz. The skeleton is generally the same for rune-keys that are near each other in terms of difficulty. I guess that does make sense, why have individualized backbones for each rune-key when a template backbone would work just as well. Who was the person that came up with such an efficient system of magical inscriptions¡­ Stopping for a moment, Kaz let the skeleton of the rune-key float in front of him as he contemplated how to create the actual key portion of the inscription. According to the Book of Blood, the rune-key must be created so that the key portion complements the lock portion of the rune-lock. The smear mark, at least in terms of difficulty, was similar to the rune-locks in the apprentice portion of the Book of Blood. There were other pages, but they were all blank. Some of the pages started to fill themselves in as Kaz got more and more proficient with the contents of the tome. However, what he had unlocked so far was less than a tenth of the total pages in the Book of Blood. Complimentary rune-lock¡­.the runes that I inscribe in sequence for the rune-key must be the opposite of the runes already inscribed onto the smear mark. Having realized this detail on my second try, I have already progressed much further than I would have expected myself to. The reason that my third attempt ended in failure is because I lost focus for a split-second towards the end of the key inscription. Unfortunately, keeping the runic inscription waiting even a split-second longer is lethal to the stability of the rune-key. With a determined look in his eyes, Kaz raised his right index finger and started to inscribe the key sequence of the inscription. Compared to his previous speed when inscribing the rune-key¡¯s skeleton, Kaz¡¯s speed of inscription slowed down to a snail¡¯s pace. Much more complicated sequences of runes were being inscribed in the air. A red thread connected each rune with its previous rune, keeping them in order. Spreading his mana sense all over the smear mark, Kaz¡¯s extreme slowdown in inscription speed was due to the fact that he now had to pay close attention to what runes he needed to carve out of the air. Sword, Hearth, Bone, Tree, Stone, Water, Earth, Water¡­¡­ Reading the next rune from the smear mark with his mana sense as he was inscribing the current one, Kaz was able to anticipate what runes he needed to inscribe next. The back of the necromancer¡¯s shirt was once again soaked in sweat as Kaz felt the pressure of having to multitask at two difficult activities.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. In this manner, two hours passed as Kaz mechanically inscribed runes into the air one by one. Finally, the second set of runes shuddered and melded together into a ring like the skeleton did previously. Panting, Kaz¡¯s eyes were shining in excitement. I¡¯m almost there! I have to merge the key portion with the skeleton portion, and I will have formed the rune-key to the smear mark. Thank the Gods that each step is more independent than the individual runes themselves. Without this breather, I would fail instantly once I tried to merge the two rings. His right hand raised in the air in order to supply the rings with a low amount of mana, Kaz commanded one of the bone soldiers to uncork a water flask. Shuffling over, the bone soldier¡¯s hands were swift as they completed the task. Grasping the water flask with his left hand, Kaz drank several mouthfuls of the ice cold water. Pouring the remaining fifth of the water flask over his head, the refreshing coolness kept Kaz¡¯s fatigue at bay for the moment. Taking a deep breath, Kaz started the process of fusing the two runic rings into the completed rune-key. Using both hands, the necromancer began to overlay the key ring onto the outside of the skeleton ring. The key ring that had formed was two times as large as the skeleton ring. Using his mana sense, Kaz started to compress the key ring. As the key ring began to shrink in size, its color started to get brighter and brighter. At this point, sweat was pouring off of Kaz¡¯s chin as he struggled to compress the magical energies contained within the key ring. Trying to compress the key ring is akin to forcing more jam into an already full jar. Devils take this damned key ring! I cannot stop the process or even slow it down once it has started. I have a mind to take a axe to the head of the creator of this blasted shrinking technique for magical energies¡­ Eyes bloodshot, Kaz grit his teeth as the key ring finally shrunk down until it was smaller than the skeleton ring. Overlaying the key ring onto the outside of the skeleton ring, Kaz started the fusion process. Strands of magical energy erupted from the skeleton ring and sunk into the key ring. As more and more strands of crimson threads latched onto the key ring, the key ring was pulled closer to the skeleton ring. Once the key ring was completely overlaid onto the skeleton ring, Kaz¡¯s emotions wavered. Too excited by what he thought was impending success, the magical energies that he was using to complete the fusion flared up. Gods, NO! NO! I WAS SO CLOSE! With a silent howl of frustration, Kaz¡¯s face contorted in agony. He was unable to salvage the almost fused runic ring as it exploded instead of shattering like before. Waves of magical energy were blasted into the swamp with the stump as its center. Instead of feeling nothing this time, Kaz¡¯s mind was overloaded with magical energy as he was unable to shield his mana sense in time. Pain ripped through the necromancer¡¯s mind. His eyes rolling up into his skull, Kaz coughed up a mouthful of blood before he fainted. ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C ¡°Ugh..Devils take me¡­¡± With a groan, Kaz opened his eyes. The sun hung low in the sky, indicating that most of the day had already passed. Touching his face, Kaz realized that he had coughed up blood all over his chin and neck. Pulling himself to a seated position onto the stump, Kaz commanded the nearby bone soldier to hand him a full water flask. ¡°Heh, had enough? You took one hell of a nap, brat.¡± Ahriman¡¯s cackled within Kaz¡¯s mind. ¡°The mental strain you experienced was enough to jolt me out of my meditative trance. I only wish I could have seen the expression on your face when you realized that you failed again.¡± Without a single word or thought of acknowledgement, Kaz washed his face with the ice-cold water from the flask. Curious as to why the water was still as cold as ice, Kaz probed the water flask with his mana sense. A series of runes were inscribed onto the flask itself. ¡°Purity, Cold, Shield.¡± Running his fingers over the runes inscribed along the body of the water flask, Kaz studied the connections between them. ¡°The reason that the third attempt failed is because my proficiency in merging the connections between runic inscriptions is too low. I should look through the rest of the Janaroian equipment for anything inscribed with runes. Studying how their mages form the connections between inscriptions could prove extremely useful.¡± Kaz moved towards the pile of salvaged equipment that his bone soldiers had managed to collect from the remnants of the Janaroian camp. Looking at the pile, Kaz recognized several intact pieces of armor that were inscribed. In addition to the pieces of armor, Kaz managed to save the two staves that Diana and Erza carried. Taking the staves back to the stump, the bone soldier also brought over the pieces of armor after a second trip to the pile. ¡°Why are you looking at the connections on these trashy pieces of inscribed equipment?¡± Annoyed, Ahriman snapped at Kaz. ¡°Doesn¡¯t your precious Book of Blood teach you methods to connect inscriptions as well?¡± Rotating the stave in his hands, Kaz scrutinized the runes at the top of it. ¡°It¡¯s not detailed enough. The Book of Blood isn¡¯t exactly a text on the mastery of inscriptions. It¡¯s a book on..hey. Why can you not read the Book of Blood over my shoulder when I¡¯m reading it? You can¡¯t be that lazy as to not look at a forbidden magical text?¡± ¡°You think I would be asking you these useless questions if I could read it?¡± Ahriman grunted. ¡°If I could read the book over your shoulder I would tell you everything that related with it so I don¡¯t have to listen to you mutter to yourself as you think.¡± ¡°So you can¡¯t actually read the book?¡± ¡°No. It appears that only you can read the text. I can¡¯t even tell what language it¡¯s written in. The only thing that I see when I look at the pages when you have it open are blank pages. Truly, my inability to read the Book of Blood is one of the great injustices in this world.¡± Sighing, Ahriman returned to a meditative trance. That¡¯s so weird. Why can I read the pages but Ahriman can¡¯t? Eh, that¡¯s a problem for another time. Perhaps it¡¯s even a blessing in disguise. But this problem is not important right now. Turning back to the inscribed equipment, Kaz wasted no time as he set to dismantling the inscriptions on the equipment. Tracing lines of crimson magical energy, Kaz tore apart the inscriptions on the first stave. The most complicated rune is the one for Stability. There are also more basic Amplify and Vortex runes connected to it. Stability is so that spell failure happens less. Amplify seems to bolster the power of the mage¡¯s spells by a small amount. Vortex¡­.if it is anything like the vortex on my spirits when I¡¯m trying to force an evolution, then its function would be to increase the absorption of the the ambient mana from the air. All in all, the inscriptions are indeed quite useful. The Stability rune seems to be the most useful. Throwing the now useless stave off to the side, Kaz picked up the second stave. Glancing at the inscriptions on the second stave, Kaz sighed and set the stave aside. The second stave¡¯s inscriptions were an exact match for the inscriptions on the first stave. Even though he could have dismantled the connections between the inscriptions for practice, Kaz set it aside since dismantling the exact same connections would not have been that helpful towards his understanding of inscriptions. Looking towards the devastated pieces of armor, Kaz was surprised to discover that the inscriptions were undamaged. Eyes shining in excitement, the necromancer made one of the bone soldiers hold up the breastplate for inspection. The armor was scratched and charred from the desperate fight a day ago, but the inscriptions were undamaged. Ah, it¡¯s fascinating how robust runic inscriptions are. Even though there is a tremendous amount of surface damage, the inscription underneath still works. Let¡¯s see...what can I find here...Protect rune. That¡¯s a...Deflect rune? Why would there need to be two different reinforcement runes? Oh, that¡¯s an Absorb rune. All of these runes are connected to a Iron rune. That¡¯s it! These three runes must be in place to reduce the amount of physical punishment that the bearer takes. The reinforcement runes must deal with direct impacts while the Absorb rune disperses the energy of the strike. Let¡¯s take it apart and see the connections¡­ With a single minded determination, Kaz tore apart the inscriptions on the breastplate. After a short while, the breastplate crumbled into pieces of scrap iron as the runic inscriptions preserving it were removed. Sitting with his back straight, Kaz fell into a meditative trance as he contemplated the inscriptions that he had torn apart. Several minutes passed by in total silence before Kaz jumped up into the air from excitement. ¡°That¡¯s IT! Why didn¡¯t I think of that before? Instead of trying to fuse the two runic rings by themselves, I could add a third connecting layer as a sort of magical adhesive. The runic inscriptions on the breastplate were connected in this fashion. If there can be a skeleton for the rune-key, why can¡¯t there be a skeleton for the connection? The difficulty would not even increase that much. An inscription adhesive doesn¡¯t have to be specific, generic rune templates work as well in theory!¡± At this time, the sun had already set and the nocturnal animals within the swamp started to come out. Even though the beasts within the swamp could tell that there had been a serious disturbance, the ghastly energies coming from where Kaz was deterred all of them from coming closer. ¡°I can¡¯t possibly fail to form the rune-key on my fifth try! Heh, this damned smear mark thinks that it has gotten the better of me, but I¡¯ll show it who¡¯s the real boss around here.¡± Plopping down onto the stump once more, Kaz¡¯s fingertips grew crimson as he formed the blood runes with blistering speed. Shortly after, the skeleton ring was formed. Not stopping, Kaz continued to immediately start forming the key ring. Faster than before, the key ring was formed in half the time that it took previously. Pausing to catch his breath, Kaz started to form the adhesive ring. A third runic ring formed between the key ring and the skeleton ring. Compressing the key ring like before, Kaz started the fusing process. Strands of magical energy latched onto the adhesive ring from both other rings. When thirty six strands from both outer rings had connected with the adhesive ring, the three rings pulsed once and fused together in a flash of crimson light. Seeing the completed rune-key in front of him, Kaz forgot to breath for several seconds. Unable to wait for another moment, Kaz whipped out the ancient map that contained the smear mark. Manipulating the rune-key, Kaz pressed it down onto the smear mark. The smear mark swallowed the rune-key when the two inscriptions touched. With a small hiss, the smear mark disappeared from the map. The next moment, Kaz was blinded by a flash of bright green light. Book 1 Chapter 34: Arrival at the Morbid Academy Chapter 34: Arrival at the Morbid Academy After the bright green flash disappeared, Kaz looked at the unrecognizable piece of parchment. In his hands, the map of the swamp had transformed into a note. Rubbing his eyes, Kaz struggled to contain his surprise. ¡°Old man, what¡¯s the deal with this map? Is unlocking the smear mark supposed to do this?¡± Scrutinizing the parchment, Kaz¡¯s brow furrowed as he bit his lip. ¡°It¡¯s just a note now, written in ancient Janaroian. It¡¯s going to take me some time to translate it.¡± ¡°Huh. To be honest with you, I was not expecting the smear mark to do anything like that. I thought at most a path detailing the best way to travel towards the Morbid Academy would be revealed. Tell me when you have managed to translate the note.¡± With a snort, Ahriman returned to the depths of Kaz¡¯s mind. Bah. I would bet money that Ahriman¡¯s as curious as I am about what the revised parchment says. I don¡¯t know why he is so reluctant to admit it. I guess it doesn¡¯t matter in the long run. I¡¯m not even sure as to how I can help him get his body back yet, seeing as that¡¯s the entire point of this partnership. Never mind, let¡¯s see what this note says¡­ Most of his writing charcoal had broken during the escape from Abaza, but the bone soldiers were able to salvage some additional supplies from the ruined camp. A large amount of mundane supplies survived the fire. When Kaz inspected the tent that the supplies were in, he noticed that there were protective runes inscribed onto the sides of the tent. These inscriptions had the Protect rune as the centerpiece while two lesser runes were chained to it. The two lesser runes were Fire and Water. Even though these two runes were not that strong, they still did their jobs in protecting the tent from the flames and rain. Found within the supplies were a large amount of thin charcoal sticks used for writing. Kaz snapped these charcoal sticks up without a second thought and placed them inside one of his knapsack¡¯s pockets. Retrieving his notebook from the brown knapsack, Kaz started to translate the mysterious note. Kaz jotted the translation onto the notebook with a thin piece of charcoal. After half an hour, Kaz finished translating the ancient Janaroian written on the note. ¡°Ahriman. What do you make of the translation? The message doesn¡¯t make sense to me.¡± ¡°Brat, are you sure you translated this correctly? Half of the phrasing doesn¡¯t make sense. Why did you spend time on doing this if the result is so lackluster?¡± ¡°Look, you can¡¯t read ancient Janaroian so I translated the note for your benefit.¡± Kaz sighed in frustration. ¡°You¡¯re the grand necromancer, or so you claim. The least you can do right now is attempt to decipher what the note is saying.¡± Infuriated at Kaz¡¯s words, Ahriman immediately shot off a Mental Spike inside Kaz¡¯s mind. Contrary to his expectations, Kaz didn¡¯t show any sign of discomfort. ¡°Heh, don¡¯t you try to blast my mind like before. I managed to create a basic Mental Shield that protects me from mental attacks. Although it can only stop basic tier mental attacks, my new mental shield is enough to stop your Mental Spikes from affecting me.¡± Kaz grinned in satisfaction. ¡°Don¡¯t be such a grump. Let¡¯s find the Morbid Academy. There has to be somebody there who can help us restore your physical body.¡± ¡°IMPUDENT!¡± Ahriman roared in anger. ¡°How DARE you use such a thing against me. I taught you EVERYTHING that you know. You would not even be alive if I had not deigned to merge my soul with yours. You ungrateful little bastard, when I gather enough power to break your Mental Shield, you¡¯ll BEG me for mercy.¡± Outburst finished, Ahriman retreated to the depths of Kaz¡¯s mind. His mouth now in a frown, Kaz sighed. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t expect him to be that enraged. I don¡¯t like getting zapped for disagreeing with him. I thought he might praise me for creating a new spell. Although I have to use Soul Power to maintain it, the Mental Shield is quite useful.¡± ¡°Translating that parchment took quite a bit of time, I should take short break before I continue analyzing the note.¡± Kaz put the notebook and original parchment away in his knapsack. Standing up, he stretched for a little while before walking over to the supply crate. ¡°Hmm, what else do the Janaroians pack for dry rations? The last time I grabbed something out of the crate, it turned out to be dried jerky. I guess cured meat is universal among military rations, but some extra variety would be nice.¡± Rummaging about in the large supply crate, Kaz grabbed some dry rations. Sitting back onto the stump, the necromancer started to inspect what he had taken out. Ah, what do we have here? There¡¯s some dried meat, but it looks and smells...quite different than any cured meat that I have seen. Setting that aside, there¡¯s this small sealed bag. Kaz looked at the small brown bag in his hands, but could not find the opening. His interest piqued, Kaz explored the surface of the bag with his mana sense. The moment the mana sense hit the surface of the brown bag, a series of runic inscriptions lit themselves up. A Seal rune revealed and activated itself. The surface of the brown bag unfolded itself, peeling back to reveal thick slices of a fruit. The fruit slices were bright yellow, and gave off a sweet scent to the surrounding atmosphere. Smelling this fragrance, Kaz¡¯s mouth started to water. This fragrance...how is it so fresh? I thought that these rations were meant to be stored for a long time and eaten later. I didn¡¯t know that the Janaroians would spare the effort to inscribe runes of preservation for their rations. This...is something luxurious. Kaz picked up a slice of the fruit as he inspected it for defects. Turning it over in his hand, the yellow fruit seemed to be a slice of the sun itself. Seeing no visible defects in the fruit, Kaz threw the whole slice into his mouth. As his teeth bit down onto the slice, the fruit¡¯s juices spilled onto Kaz¡¯s tongue. Mmm...it¡¯s so¡­.sweet! Gods, I have never eaten anything so good before. The temperature is cold, not lukewarm as I would have expected. The juices are so refreshing as they run down my throat. Swallowing the remnants of the first slice, Kaz looked at the rest of the fruit still wrapped by the brown bag. Without a second thought, he devoured the rest of the yellow fruit. Mere moments later, Kaz was licking the fruit juices off of his fingertips. The young necromancer looked with longing at the now empty brown bag.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Where does this particular fruit comes from? It must originate from somewhere in Janaro, if not even further. Klavan does not have anything comparable to this scrumptious delicacy. That¡¯s one more mystery that I need to solve if I ever want to taste that fruit again. Kaz stood up and walked over to one of the water barrels that his bone soldiers had managed to retrieve from the ruined camp. Kaz filled up empty two water flasks, then used a small amount of water to wash the remaining fruit juice off of his hands. Moving back to the stump, Kaz plopped down . Although the stump was uncomfortable in the beginning, Kaz had one of his reaper spirits sheer off the top layer of the wood with its mana sword. The result was that the stump had a flat top, and thus was much easier to sit on. Humming to himself, Kaz pulled out the translated note as well as the original parchment. The necromancer held one piece of writing in each hand side by side. Kaz¡¯s eyes darted left and right as he compared his translation with the original ancient Janaroian script. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. Stopping only to drink water or to take care of bodily functions, Kaz focused on the notes like he was possessed. Several long hours passed by before Kaz jumped up with a shout. ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯ve got it! There was no need to translate the note in the first place. What the smear-mark was hiding was actually an ancient chant.¡± Kaz¡¯s face flushed with excitement. ¡°The chant should activate some sort of spell. I don¡¯t even need to understand the spell for it to work as intended. All I need is to supply the appropriate amount of mana or soul power and read the chant out loud.¡± Kaz returned the notebook to his knapsack. Looking towards the chest of rations, Kaz shoved as much as he could carry into the knapsack. The necromancer thought about something for several seconds. Nodding to himself, Kaz recalled all his spirits that were on patrol back to him. Ripping the last two ghosts out of the skeletons, the two leftover bone soldiers were disposed of. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t take any risks when attempting to read this chant. I¡¯ll have my spirit minions on high alert, ready to take action immediately.¡± Kaz commanded his spirit minions surround him in a circle. Kaz looked over the ancient Janaroian words one last time. Taking a deep breath, he started to chant. Ancient Janaroian does not sound much like New Janaroian now. Although some of the words may be similar, the transition from Ancient to Middle to New Janaroian is convoluted enough so that most Janaroians today would not understand Ancient dialect of the language. Low, guttural sounds emerged from Kaz¡¯s mouth as he started to chant the spell written on the parchment. At first, nothing happened. Kaz continued to chant, and he started to speak with increasing volume. The chant started as a whisper, but now had the volume of a public speech. As Kaz kept infusing mana into his voice, a large magical rune started to form underneath his feet. The magical rune was far more complex than anything that Kaz had seen before, but the necromancer did not notice as all his focus was on the chant. The magical rune underneath Kaz¡¯s feet was indistinct at first, but turned more and more distinct as he continued the chant. The magical rune that was formed from the chant started to draw more connections on itself as more mana was shoved into it. Kaz¡¯s spirit minions underwent a surprising change. Instead of floating silently at attention, they seemed to fidget a little bit. None of the spirits moved from their positions or stopped being on alert, but they would sneak glances at Kaz or at the magical rune under them. Unfortunately for Kaz, he was unaware that anything different was happening to his spirit minions at all. The more of the chant that Kaz spoke, the more complicated it became. Sweat trickled down the back of Kaz¡¯s head and neck as he put his very best effort into completing the chant. I have completed nine-tenths of this chant. I need to persevere and finish the chant. If I do not manage to completely speak this chant, it will fail and all my effort will be wasted. Devils, I have no idea what the cost of failure is! It could be nothing, or I could be severely injured. Kaz wiped the sweat on his forehead away with his free hand. A moment later, Kaz¡¯s voice cracked as he spoke the last words of the chant. Gasping for air, Kaz opened a water flask and drank from it. After speaking for about an hour, the necromancer¡¯s throat was parched. Looking down, Kaz was started to realize that a large purple magical rune had formed underneath where he and his spirits were standing. The magical rune was pulsing in regular intervals. Spreading his mana sense over the area, Kaz could feel that vast amounts of atmospheric mana were being pulled from across the swamp towards the rune. The magical rune was several meters in diameter. It was wide enough to completely encompass Kaz and all of his spirit minions as well. Kaz¡¯s insatiable curiosity provoked, he crouched down as he studied the large magical rune. The chant must have created this rune. There is not another explanation for it. But, to be able to inscribe such a chant and bind it behind a rune-lock¡­.the Morbid Academy is diligent. I wonder which master inscribed this piece of parchment. At this moment, a third of the magical rune changed color. The outermost third of the rune blinked several times, then converted its color from purple to cyan. Shocked, Kaz spread his mana sense towards the outermost layer to investigate the reason for the color change. After several moments of silence, Kaz sighed in relief. It seems that the reason for the sudden color change was that the outermost layer of the magical rune has been saturated with mana. I think that the mana infused into my voice when I chanted was to create the magical rune in the first place. For the magical rune to perform its function, vast amounts of magical energy must be used. Since this amount is greater than most amateur or apprentice mages can give, the magical rune is designed to take the needed amount from the surroundings. Kaz sighed in admiration of the inscriptions master that came up with this particular magical rune. Such an ingenious rune must have been the life¡¯s work of an inscriptions master. Even though he understood the general principles behind such a rune, Kaz had no confidence that he could inscribe it personally. Looking around, Kaz realized that the stump was directly on top of the rune¡¯s center. Chuckling to himself, Kaz walked over and plopped down onto the stump. Ah, the simplest things in life do give the most pleasure. If this stump was not here, I might have been uncomfortable the entire time I was here. Sure, I could have commanded a reaper spirit to cut down another tree. However, that action might have caused a great disturbance and garnered unwanted attention to myself. It¡¯s good to be subtle instead of announcing my presence in a blatant manner. Kaz felt dehydrated after exerting so much effort in chanting inscribed spell. The necromancer sipped ice water from his water flask as he watched the mana gather. Soon, the middle ring of the magical rune blinked several times then turned cyan. After each section turned cyan, the magical rune became brighter. Originally, the magical rune was glowing. After the outermost layer turned cyan, the magical rune¡¯s light was comparable to a candle. After the middle layer turned cyan, the magical rune¡¯s light turned as bright as a campfire. Seeing this, Kaz licked his lips. Tapping his fingers against the side of his thigh, the necromancer was impatient to see the final form of the magical rune. The middle section took longer than the outermost layer to change color even though they are the same size. I think that this means that the different sections of the magical rune have different mana capacities. If this is true, then the inner third of the magical rune will take the longest to change color. I cannot wait to see how bright the final form of this magical rune becomes. After several hours of waiting, the inner third of the magical rune finally blinked. It blinked once unlike the other layers. The color change from purple to cyan was much slower than the outer and middle layers. The purple of the inner layer changed to cyan at a rate visible to the eye, but this speed was far slower than the near instantaneous change of the outermost and middle layers. Kaz shot up from where he was sitting down. When the inner layer finally completed its color change, the magical rune turned as bright as the sun. Kaz grimaced as he closed his eyes. The magical rune started to rotate on the ground, but this was not noticed by Kaz. It was night now, and there were clouds blocking the moon. ¡°Gods Above! Why is this light so bright. I better still be alive when it fades away¡­¡± Cursing to himself, Kaz spread his mana sense into his surroundings to watch out for any dangers. His spirit minions did not have sight like living things, so they were unaffected by the blinding radiance of the rotating magical rune. Within seconds, the magical rune¡¯s rotation sped up. The blinding light of the rune shot up into the air the form of a pillar. The pillar of cyan light pierced the clouds as it went up. The cyan light lit up the swamp for miles around Kaz¡¯s location. The pillar of cyan light ascended high into the sky, and stopped for several minutes. Then, it started to collapse upon itself. Slow at first, then speeding up, the pillar of cyan light shrunk as the mana within compressed itself. Standing directly below this compression, Kaz¡¯s mana sense could feel the crushing pressure of the cyan pillar as it descended. Kaz grit his teeth and decided not to run outside of the magical rune¡¯s interior. I¡¯ve spent too much time and effort on this endeavor to abandon it now. For good or for worse, I¡¯m staying right here in this magical rune until the effects end. It would be such a waste if I ran away now. Kaz braced himself right before the cyan pillar crashed into the magical rune. The moment the pillar collapsed onto the rune, the magical rune flashed once before exploding. Kaz felt a weird sensation in his body when the rune flashed. Opening his eyes, the necromancer¡¯s eyes popped out when he took a look at his surroundings. He was no longer in the swamp. Instead, Kaz was in a giant stone cavern. A gigantic green mana crystal hung on the ceiling of the cavern. Spreading his mana sense, Kaz could feel that the cavern was more than a kilometer high, and several kilometers across. Looking toward the center of the cavern, Kaz saw a small city surrounded by a wall containing glowing runes. Kaz felt his knees grow weak, but he steadied himself. Walking forward, a big smile lit up the young necromancer¡¯s face. Book 1 Chapter 35: The Morbid Gauntlet Chapter 35: The Morbid Gauntlet Looking backwards, Kaz realized that he forgot about the rest of his spirit minions in his excitement. Commanding them to follow him closely, Kaz continued to walk towards the glowing city. Before Kaz had walked even ten meters, a large object slammed into the ground in front of the necromancer. The impact shook the ground and scattered bits of stone in all directions. Face aghast, Kaz jumped backwards and started to charge up Rigor Mortis. As the dust settled, Kaz could see the outline of a gigantic stone statue. The stone statue was in the shape of a man, but it had wings and horns. The face of the statue was set in a permanent grimace, and pieces of ancient armor with glowing runes was carved onto its body. Cursing, Kaz realized that Rigor Mortis would have no effect on the stone statue since it did not have any bones to lock in place. Without a second thought, Kaz started to prepare dual Mental Spikes. If paralyzing the statue would not work, overloading some of the runes on its body might give me some breathing room. But, this is only if the statue is actually hostile. Before Kaz had the time to do anything else, the statue spoke. ¡°Applicant. Please follow me to the Master¡¯s Hall. Leave your spirits outside the gates. If you attack anything within the city, I will have grounds to execute you immediately.¡± The stone statue¡¯s voice sounded as if two stones were grinding on each other. Its words were curt and to the point. Hearing its words, Kaz dispersed the mana that was gathered in his hands. With a thought, Kaz¡¯s spirits formed a small circle right where Kaz came out of the teleportation rune. Not looking back, the statue grabbed Kaz and flapped its wings. A huge force erupted from below them, and the stone statue and necromancer soared into the air towards the Morbid Academy. Flying over the gates, Kaz basked in the sights that he was seeing. From the air, so many new viewpoints were available to him. The Morbid Academy was much larger than Kaz had originally thought. Divided into seven sections, six of these sections were arranged in an outside ring while the seventh section was at the core of the Morbid Academy. I can feel different magical pulses from each of the outer ring sections. Each of these sections must be for the study of a different area of Necromancy. Oh, I¡¯m so excited! I hope there won¡¯t be any problems in my enrollment. The stone statue is flying in the direction of the central section. That must be where the Master¡¯s Hall is located. Soon, the stone statue brought Kaz down in front of the central section. A single thick wall separated the outside from the inside. The wall was made out of thick black metal a meter thick. Bright green runes were inscribed on the black wall¡¯s surface, giving it an eerie aesthetic. Turning to face Kaz, the stone statue spoke once more. ¡°This is as far as I am allowed to go. Walk inside these hallowed gates and into the grand hall of the masters. Do not wander to any other area lest you be killed for trespassing.¡± Having said these last few phrases, the stone statue flapped its wings again and flew off. Kaz watched the black wall as he walked towards it. The moment Kaz got close, a portion of the black wall shuddered and opened itself. The portion of the black wall in front of Kaz sunk into the ground, allowing the young necromancer to walk through the wall. Beyond, there were stairs leading to what could only be described as a gigantic temple. Once Kaz walked inside the temple, the entrance closed itself behind him. With a thunk, a thick stone wall formed at the entrance. A long hall lined with torches of green flames appeared before Kaz. Walking down the silent hallway, Kaz¡¯s steps onto the stone pathway sounded to him like hammer strikes against an iron anvil. Kaz walked for what felt like an eternity before he managed to reach the end of the hallway. At the end of the hallway, a large room opened up. The room had to be several tens of meters high as well as tens of meters wide. At the center of the room was a sort of half amphitheater. Arranged in a semicircle facing the hallway, the half amphitheater had seven stone thrones spaced across its circumference. Each of these stone thrones were occupied by a hooded figure that gave off terrifying mana undulations. Kaz gulped. These seven hooded figures must be the masters of the Morbid Academy. The mana undulations that they give off are unlike any that I have ever experienced before. Neither Alessio nor Chekov gave off such monstrous mana signals passively. What would the mana undulations be like if they were to cast a spell? Before Kaz¡¯s mind could wander further, he heard a cold command from the figure seated on the central stone throne. ¡°Approach, applicant.¡± The central figure spoke in ancient Janaroian. Luckily for Kaz, he had prepared for this situation and had quickly practiced his ancient Janaroian mentally as he waited for for the teleportation rune to activate. Without waiting even a second longer, Kaz bolted to the podium in front of the raised stone thrones. Kaz gulped as he tried not to show how nervous he was. ¡°Name and age.¡± The central figure¡¯s single word thundered in Kaz¡¯s ears. ¡°Kazimir Taleeb. I am seventeen this year.¡± Kaz dared not to speak any extra, lest he waste the time of the masters. ¡°Place of origin.¡± ¡°Blood Citadel, Empire of Klavan.¡± ¡°Mastery of Necromancy.¡± ¡°Novice or Apprentice. I apologize for not being sure.¡± The central figure frowned. ¡°What do you mean ¡®not sure¡¯?¡± ¡°I never had a formal master. My situation is a bit...unique.¡± Leaning forward, the central figure flooded Kaz¡¯s body with his mana sense. Probing every inch of Kaz¡¯s body and mana, the central figure¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Faust, rip the parasite from the boy.¡± ¡°By your command.¡± The figure directly to the left of the central figure raised its hand. With a few words of power, Kaz could sense a terrifying suction coming from that hand. A moment later, Kaz could feel Ahriman scream as the older necromancer¡¯s soul was forcibly separated from his own. Kaz¡¯s mind felt odd, as if a great weight was lifted. Internally, his mind felt emptier once Ahriman¡¯s soul was extracted. Ahriman¡¯s soul floated in the air above Kaz¡¯s head once Master Faust separated the two. Shivering, Ahriman could only wait for the masters to address him. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Hmph. A disembodied soul wishes to latch onto the applicant and enter the Morbid Academy?¡± With a snort, the central figure enveloped Ahriman with his mana sense. ¡°Name is Ahriman. When alive, a minor lich originating from the Great Southern Desert. Reached the level of Grand Necromancer at two hundred and fifty years of age, average talent. Stagnated for another one hundred and fifty years before failing to ascend to true lichdom.¡± ¡°How...how do you know this?¡± Ahriman¡¯s hoarse voice broke the silence after the central figure stopped speaking. Kaz could sense the fear from the old necromancer¡¯s soul. The central figure had just listed all of Ahriman¡¯s accomplishments within moments of inspecting him with mana sense. This level of control and inspection numbed Kaz¡¯s mind as well. ¡°Silence! The Headmaster did not permit you to speak!¡± The hooded figure to the right of the central figure snorted as he slung a light brown spell onto Ahriman. Ahriman started to scream in fear, but was silenced instantly. No matter how hard he tried to speak, no sound came from his soul. Looking upwards, Kaz experienced schadenfreude as he watched Ahriman wallow in equal amounts of fear and outrage. ¡°Thank you, Irra. Now, Kaz was it?¡± The central figure no longer paid attention to the shivering soul. ¡°Yes, Headmaster.¡± Kaz spoke with the most respectful tone that he could. It was previously a tone that he only used when speaking to his parents or the old Lord Zhakar. ¡°How did you manage to activate the teleportation formation hidden inside the map? By your own admission, you had no formal master. I can guess that what little you do know you either figured out yourself or were badly taught by that old wreck floating in the air.¡± ¡°Yes, Headmaster. Ahriman taught me some of the basics of Necromancy, but the rest I studied on my own. Using the runes that I learned from this Book of Blood, I managed to inscribe the correct rune key to unlock the smear mark.¡± Hearing this, the second figure to the left from the center sat up. ¡°You said that you had studied a Book of Blood? Let me see this text.¡± A melodious voice came from under the hood. Its voice sounded somewhat odd, as if ancient Janaroian was not the figure¡¯s native language. Startled, Kaz paused for a second before setting his knapsack down. Opening the knapsack, Kaz quickly brought out the Book of Blood. The moment he took the text out, it left his hands and flew towards the hooded figure. ¡°Heh, Ci Xi. I wonder why one of your textbooks has been found outside?¡± Master Faust chuckled as he watched Master Ci Xi inspect the Book of Blood. ¡°Shut it you deviant. I wrote this version of the Book of Blood before I returned to the Morbid Academy. This version of the text is at least several thousand years old. It¡¯s clearly different than the current texts that I teach with now. So you can shut your little rule book on that, Faust.¡± Ci Xi spoke in a voice laced with venom. It seemed to Kaz that these two masters did not like each other very much. ¡°Enough.¡± The central figure spoke once more. ¡°Applicant Kaz, describe the process by which you formed the rune-key to unlock the smear mark.¡± ¡°Of course, Headmaster. It was like this¡­.¡± Kaz explained his thought process and the work he did on the rune key in detail. Kaz did not omit any details, describing his failures as well in equal detail. Kaz even described his conjectures on why his failures occurred, regardless of whether or not he felt his conjectures were correct. It doesn¡¯t matter if my thoughts are correct or not. What matters is that I made the effort to understand why my failures occurred and how they occurred. I¡¯d bet money if I had any on that the masters here are more interested in the process of the inscription than the success or failure. Kaz spoke at length for about an hour. When he talking, Kaz¡¯s eyes lit up as he described the magic with passion. Nothing could be more interesting to Kaz at this moment than magic, it was far more interesting than Ahriman¡¯s background. When Kaz finished talking, he noticed that all the hooded masters were sitting up in their thrones. Cold sweat broke out on Kaz¡¯s forehead, but he didn¡¯t dare to wipe it lest he disturb the concentrations of the masters. One wrong move, and Kaz could not even imagine what horrors await him should be offend the seven masters of the Morbid Academy. After a period of silence, the hooded master on the very left of the semicircle spoke. ¡°His aptitude for Runic Inscriptions is not bad, especially for one who had to teach himself from texts only. We should admit him.¡± ¡°Bah, Ferran. We can¡¯t admit an applicant simply because he has skill in one area. All of our applicants need to be skilled in most of the areas of Necromancy. You¡¯re just impatient because this boy¡¯s talent for inscriptions is among the best we have ever seen.¡± Faust spoke again, disputing Master Ferran¡¯s words. ¡°If he is this learned in Runic Inscriptions, who¡¯s to say the boy isn¡¯t as well learned in the other areas of Necromancy? You did see the spirits that he brought with him? Being able to form Apprentice level Blood and Reaper spirits is quite good at his age and level of experience.¡± Master Ci Xi spoke up for Kaz this time. Glaring at Faust, Ci Xi seemed to be provoking Faust intentionally. ¡°It matters not at this moment. We can just make him take the Morbid Gauntlet as with all applicants.¡± The hooded figure at the very right of the semicircle spoke. ¡°I agree with Itzli. The fastest way to settle this problem of admission is to just throw him into the Morbid Gauntlet. Should he survive, he will be admitted into the Morbid Academy as an student.¡± The hooded figure immediately to the right of the Headmaster spoke. ¡°There hasn¡¯t been any successful applicants in centuries. I hope this one will prove to be interesting.¡± ¡°Then we are agreed?¡± The Headmaster looked at the rest of the hooded figures. ¡°Yes.¡± All of the hooded figures either spoke or nodded in agreement. ¡°Splendid. Then we can start the Morbid Gauntlet. Applicant Kaz, I suppose you have no understanding of what the Morbid Gauntlet is?¡± Looking at Kaz, the Headmaster¡¯s iron gaze frightened Kaz. ¡°None at all. Please enlighten me, Headmaster.¡± Kaz eagerly looked at the Headmaster. Kaz knew that this ¡®Morbid Gauntlet¡¯ might very well determine whether or not his life would be over as he knew it. ¡°The Morbid Gauntlet is a series of Trials. Each Trial is based on one of the six great Necromantic magics. Each applicant has to pass five of the six Trials in order to pass the Morbid Gauntlet. We will remove you before you die in a Trial, but this involuntary removal will count as a failure. You can voluntarily forfeit a Trial as well, but that will could as a failure as well.¡± Each of the Headmaster¡¯s words were akin to that of a God in Kaz¡¯s mind. ¡°You said that there were six great Necromantic magics, I only know of four. Could you please enlighten me of the remaining two?¡± Anxious, Kaz cried inside. How was he to pass the Morbid Gauntlet if he did not even know a third of the six Necromantic magics? Was he doomed to fail before he began? ¡°Hmm. Your education is sorely lacking, but your enthusiasm isn¡¯t. The six great Necromantic magics are Soul Magic, Hex Magic, Blood Magic, Bone Magic, Runic Magic, and Spatial Magic.¡± Hearing that Runic Magic was one of the six great Necromantic magics, Kaz sighed in relief. At least he had a chance now. He had never gotten the chance to learn Spatial Magic. Hell, Kaz had never even heard of Spatial Magic until this moment. Looking once more at the masters arrayed in a semicircle, Kaz realized that there must be one master for each of the six great Necromantic Magics. With the Headmaster, that would make seven masters of the Morbid Academy. ¡°If I don¡¯t know Spatial Magic, would I still be required to pass five out of the six trials?¡± Even though Kaz probably knew the answer would be yes, he still asked in case there was a chance that the masters would take pity on him. That chance was trashed immediately by the Headmaster. ¡°No. Your only chance to pass would be to pass the other five Trials. We do not go easy on our applicants. The Morbid Academy is the forefront of Necromantic learning and mastery. Each and every student that we admit must be held to a certain standard. If you do not know Spatial Magic, the only thing you can do now is curse your fate.¡± With a straight face, the Headmaster shot down Kaz¡¯s query. Taking a deep breath, Kaz steeled himself. Putting his knapsack back onto his back, Kaz stood up as straight as he could. ¡°Very well. I will undertake the Morbid Gauntlet. When can I start, and what is the punishment for failing?¡± Kaz knew that there was no way to back out of this. He had seen too much of the Morbid Academy, there was no chance that the masters of the Morbid Academy would deign to let Kaz wander the lands without silencing him first. ¡°The punishment for failure is simple: We will turn you into a mindless thrall, one that will only perform menial tasks from the moment of transformation until its destruction. When that destruction will be is up to fate. Your soul will be ripped from your body and stored for other students to perform experiments on, and your physical body will be a pale shadow of what it once was.¡± The Headmaster¡¯s voice was monotone as he described the punishment for failure. Kaz¡¯s face paled just a bit further as he listened to the Headmaster¡¯s words. I absolutely cannot fail here! Such a punishment is inhumane! I can¡¯t even imagine the pain I would be subjected to should I fail the Morbid Gauntlet. My Trial by Iron back at the Blood Citadel is a slap on the wrist in comparison to the potential punishment here. ¡°I understand. When do I begin the Morbid Gauntlet?¡± Kaz¡¯s mind was reinforced by his improvements in the area of Soul Magic. If it was before his Trial by Iron, Kaz might have been paralyzed by fear, but now something was different. The trials and tribulations that he had weathered so far had hardened Kaz. Even if the new Lord Zhakar or Kaz¡¯s mother looked at him now, they would be hard pressed to compare Kaz¡¯s current disposition to what it was before. There is no backing from this, I understand this now. I will undertake the Morbid Gauntlet, and I WILL pass. ¡°You have your choice of subject for the Morbid Gauntlet. We understand that undergoing up to six Trials in a row will tire out the applicants. We are willing to let you pick the Trials in the order that you desire. Many applicants choose the subjects that they are talented at first in order to preserve their mental and physical strength.¡± Still speaking in a monotone, the Headmaster emotionlessly gave Kaz a rundown of the rules. ¡°Then I choose the Trial of Runic Magic first.¡± Eyes blazing with anticipation, Kaz made his first choice. Book 1 Chapter 36: The Trial of Runes, Part I Chapter 36: The Trial of Runes, Part I Upon hearing Kaz¡¯s first choice of trial, Master Ferran looked rather pleased. On the other hand Master Itzli looked rather displeased. Master Itzli was the head of the Void Gate, the department of Spatial Magic. It seemed as if each of the Morbid Academy¡¯s masters had at least one other master that they did not like. Master Faust and Master Ci Xi were opposed to each other, while Master Itzli and Master Ferran did not seem to like each other either. Kaz didn¡¯t know the Masters of the Bone Magic or Hex Magic departments, but he thought that they might be disagreeable to each other as well. The Headmaster looked at Kaz dispassionately, as if the young necromancer was not worth his notice. Perhaps Kaz was indeed beneath the Headmaster¡¯s notice, as Kaz was only an applicant and not a student. After a second, the Headmaster snapped his fingers. Behind Kaz, a teleportation rune started to glow with a soft cyan light. ¡°Step into the teleportation rune. You will be sent to the Trial of Runes.¡± Motioning with his hand, the Headmaster dismissed Kaz. ¡°As you say, Headmaster.¡± Kaz bowed, then turned around and walked into the teleportation rune. When Kaz¡¯s steps reached the center of the teleportation rune, the rune flashed once and took Kaz away. The Headmaster waved his hand in the air, and a huge mirror detached itself from the ceiling of the Master¡¯s Hall. Spinning in the air before floating in front of the seated Masters, the giant mirror flashed once. After the light faded, an image appeared on the surface of the mirror. It showed Kaz as he stepped out of another teleportation rune. Meanwhile, Ahriman¡¯s spirit floated down to ground level as he sought to sneak away. Seeing this movement, Master Faust frowned and clicked his tongue. Ahriman¡¯s spirit shuddered in pain and stopped moving. Satisfied, Master Faust turned his attention back to the surface of the giant mirror. Kaz stepped out of the teleportation rune, and realized that the temperature of his surroundings had increased substantially. Beads of sweat started to form on Kaz¡¯s forehead as he looked around. He was in a medium sized square room, with a teleportation rune in the center. On the wall directly in front of Kaz was a cast iron door, while the other three walls were actually bookshelves filled with leather-bound books. Although Kaz¡¯s first impulse was to rush to the shelves and pull the books off so that he could read them, he decided that it would be wiser to wait for further instructions. Kaz was relieved that he did not have to wait a long time. ¡°For each Trial that you undertake, you will have the opportunity to brush up on your knowledge of each field. You are in the Foundry as I speak, home of the Department of Runic Inscriptions. More specifically, you are in the Trial Grounds of the Foundry. The Trial Grounds are self contained, and you will be unable to exit from them unless you use an active teleportation rune or I actively pull you out.¡± The Headmaster¡¯s voice boomed in the contained room. ¡°All applicants will be given one hour of review time for the first Trial. You will be given two hours of review time for the second Trial, and so on and so forth. I suggest you do not waste this time, seeing as your education so far has been¡­.lacking. Your hour starts now.¡± Kaz bolted towards the bookshelves before the Headmaster¡¯s voice had faded. Scanning the books on the shelves, Kaz realized that there weren¡¯t actually that many different books. There were many duplicates, although some were in worse conditions than others. The Masters of the Morbid Academy must have anticipated that some applicants would be frustrated by the Trials and take their anger out on the books. I wonder if these applicants were punished even if they were to pass the Morbid Gauntlet. I can imagine their fates would not be pretty if they were to abuse Academy property AND fail the Gauntlet. Kaz gathered the best copies of the unique books within several minutes of the Headmaster informing him about the rules of the Morbid Gauntlet. Kaz sat down on the now inactivated teleportation rune and started to look at the books in front of him. Feeling nervous, Kaz¡¯s bad habit of talking to himself out loud showed itself. ¡°There are a total of four unique books here. They are ¡®The Basics of Rune Magic,¡¯ ¡®Common Inscription Mistakes,¡¯ ¡®The History of Runic Inscriptions,¡¯ and ¡®Applications of Novice Runes for the Stupid Mage.¡¯ I should browse the book about applications of rune magic first since the Trial should be more application than pure theory.¡± Setting aside the other three books, Kaz opened ¡®Applications of Novice Runes for the Stupid Mage¡¯ and began to read. The more Kaz read, the more he realized that his knowledge of Runic Inscriptions was not deep at all. In fact, his knowledge about how runes could be used in different ways was severely lacking when compared to the contents of this one textbook. Cold sweat appeared on Kaz¡¯s back, soaking his shirt despite the heat of the closed room. Kaz started to read faster and faster since he had no way of determining how much more time he had until he was forced to begin the Trial of Runes. Gods Above! I¡¯m so thankful that I have an eidetic memory. Even if it does not help me in understanding the source material, I am able to view the contents of each book that I have ever read. I¡¯m practically a library myself, if only a little lacking in content. That is not a problem, though, if I can live for long enough. I refuse to die without learning absolutely everything that I can! Closing the ¡®Applications of Novice Runes for the Stupid Mage,¡¯ Kaz looked towards the remaining three books. Within seconds, Kaz made his second choice. It was the ¡®Common Inscription Mistakes,¡¯ which dealt with the most common mistakes that beginning inscriptionists would make as well as steps to avoid these same mistakes. Reviewing how Runic Inscriptions can be used in real situations is good for my understanding. However, making stupid mistakes can cost me the Trial itself. I should review, or even learn, what some of the most common mistakes are when inscribing runes. At the very least, I can eliminate some of the bad habits that I might have picked up from having to teach myself runic inscriptions. Holy hell, if I ever get out of this alive I¡¯m going to request that Ahriman¡¯s spirit be given to me once I am strong enough. I¡¯m going to make him pay for throwing me under the wagon like this! After another period of time, Kaz put the ¡®Common Inscription Mistakes¡¯ book down. Mulling over what he had just read, Kaz realized that he could have prevented the smear mark from giving him so much trouble if only he had this textbook from the beginning. Gods alone know how I managed to solve the problem of the smear mark with no formal training. It¡¯s a good thing that the Book of Blood taught the method for self-contained inscriptions. Although self-contained inscriptions were harder to inscribe, they collapse with much less force than normal runes. I had no idea that I was only making self-contained inscriptions, I shudder to think how powerful the failed rune-key explosions would be if I had used normal runic inscriptions. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Shaking his head, Kaz looked at the last two books on the floor next to him. Kaz hesitated for several seconds, then picked up ¡®The History of Runic Inscriptions.¡¯ In case that the Trial of Runes actually involved theory, Kaz wanted to be prepared to answer questions about the history of runes. Even though the young necromancer was hedging his bets on the Trial of Runes being an exercise in the application of runic inscriptions, it was not wise to only cover one base instead of two. Besides, I¡¯m pretty sure that I can skim the book about the basics of runic inscriptions once I finish the book about their history. Mm, I¡¯m rather excited about this book. I was training to be a historian back in Klavan. This brings back memories, of happier times¡­ Kaz couldn¡¯t help but read the textbook in its entirety. Having not indulged in history for some time, Kaz¡¯s thirst for historical knowledge was at an all time high. In the middle of reading the ¡®History,¡¯ the Headmaster¡¯s voice boomed once more in Kaz¡¯s ears. ¡°The allotted hour of review time is up. Return the texts to their shelves and enter the door.¡± Kaz leapt up in surprise. He did not expect that there was so little time left. Returning the books to their respective bookshelves, Kaz wailed on the inside. That was so STUPID. Why did I get caught up in reading that historical text? I could have just skimmed the pages since I can remember everything I see. Even though I don¡¯t always remember things immediately, I only needed to see the pages for it to be recorded in my memory. I guess I can¡¯t do anything about it now. Kaz took a deep breath. Walking to the iron door, Kaz pushed it open. At first, the iron door refused to budge. Kaz frowned, then used more force to push the door open. Although the iron door would be very heavy for a normal person, Kaz¡¯s body had been reinforced by the Chant of the Novitiate. Having reached a certain level of accomplishment in the Chant, Kaz¡¯s physical strength had been increased to that of a veteran soldier. Once Kaz used all of his strength, the iron door slowly screeched as it cracked open. A brightly lit room awaited Kaz. As soon as Kaz walked through the door into the larger room, the iron door slammed shut behind him. Kaz gulped as he looked around the room. There did not seem to be all that many decorations within the room. There was a large grey forge in one corner of the room. There was a silent stone golem standing still in another corner. A suit of armor was on a metal mannequin in the center of the room. Next to it was a weapons rack that contained three weapons. These three weapons were a sword, an axe, and a hammer. On closer inspection, the suit of armor on the metal mannequin contained intricate runic inscriptions on its surface. ¡°The Trial of Runes is a test of the strength of the applicant¡¯s inscriptions. Runic Magic is very important to the art of Necromancy because of the reinforcement that it can provide to both physical objects as well as spells. Modifying your undead and spirit minions is just as important as modifying a spell to work underwater instead of only in air.¡± The Headmaster¡¯s monotone voice droned in Kaz¡¯s ears. ¡°The Trial of Runes requires the applicant to inscribe a series of runes onto the weapons that allows any of them to render the armor on the mannequin unusable. The mana forge in the corner may be activated to supply the applicant with enough mana to inscribe the runes, so to be fair to applicants of different mana capacities. You are allowed up to three chances. You will be provided with a runic golem that will strike the armor with your modified weapon. In addition to the limited amount of tries, there will also be a time constraint. You are allowed only three hours to undertake the three tries. A second longer than the three hours will be counted as a failure. You may begin.¡± The moment the Headmaster¡¯s voice faded, the silent stone golem in the corner opposite the mana forge started to move. Runes lit up all over the golem¡¯s body, and it shuffled over to the armor mannequin until the golem was directly in front of the mannequin. Once there, the runic golem stood still and silent as it waited for Kaz¡¯s orders. Kaz walked over to the weapons rack. Picking up each of the three weapons available to him, Kaz studied all three weapons with his mana sense as well as with conventional means. After several minutes, Kaz put the weapons back onto the rack. Kaz took several steps back as he thought about the weapons. These weapons are simple iron weapons. There does not seem to be any significant difference between these weapons and standard iron weapons given to the Klavan military. The only difference that I can tell is that the style of these three weapons is archaic, but that is only to be expected from such an ancient academy. I should inspect the armor next to see that I need to break. Kaz shook his head. The weapons provided to him were mundane. The Trial of Runes could be said to be a test of pure inscription application. There were no additional advantages that the applicants could take. Weapons were provided, the runic golem was the same for all applicants, and the armor should be the same. The only thing that differed between the applicants was their mastery of Runic Magic and their creativity. Kaz approached the armor mannequin. Walking around the mannequin in circles, Kaz used his mana sense to probe each and every centimeter of the armor. The armor on the mannequin was just a cuirass. Although there was only one piece of armor, Kaz felt that this lone piece of armor must be heavily reinforced. Hmm. That¡¯s surprising. The cuirass itself is made up of the same iron as the weapons. The physical properties of the iron used to make the cuirass and the iron used to make the weapons is exactly the same. However, the cuirass does have a intricate network of runic inscriptions carved onto it. Kaz ran his fingers over the glowing runes on the armor as he studied the runic inscriptions. As time passed, Kaz¡¯s eyes grew brighter and brighter with excitement. These inscriptions were like nothing that he had seen before! These runic inscriptions are insane! All of the ones that I have seen before used a single main rune and several supporting runes. Some of them did not even have supporting runes. This cuirass has a three main runes, and nine supporting runes. Gods Above and Devils Below, how the hell am I going to break these runic inscriptions? The back of Kaz¡¯s shirt was now covered in cold sweat. The network of runic inscriptions on the iron cuirass was the most complicated series of runic inscriptions that Kaz had ever seen. Never in all the time that he spent studying magic, short as it may be, did Kaz think that more than one main rune could be used in an network of runes. Kaz paced for several minutes before he was able to calm down. The young necromancer took several deep breaths, then started to study the inscribed armor in earnest. One Protect, one Deflect, and one Absorb main rune. Each of these main runes has three supporting runes. All nine supporting runes are exactly the same, a supporting rune of Power. This tells me that linking three main runes requires an astronomical amount of mana. I can¡¯t find an embedded mana crystal as a power source, so the runic network on the cuirass must be getting all of the mana it needs by using the Power supporting runes to absorb ambient mana from the surroundings. Kaz walked away from the cuirass for now. Turning, Kaz faced the runic golem that was standing at attention. Kaz¡¯s mana sense enveloped the runic golem as he inspected every possible bit of the golem. The golem only had a single main rune of Strength, with a single Power supporting rune to supply enough energy for it to move. There are only two runes inscribed onto this runic golem. Looking at it like this, it¡¯s not much of a guardian. This runic golem must only be used for the Trial of Runes. There is no evidence of independance, and commands must be given to it for any action that the golem undertakes. However, there does seem to be a surprising amount of empty space on this stone golem. Kaz finished inspecting the stone golem. Kaz looked around the room with a bit of a frustrated expression. Again, there was no device or way for Kaz to tell how much time he had left. The Headmaster stated that Kaz had up to three hours or tries, whichever came first. Kaz sighed as he walked over to the mana forge. The mana forge in the corner of the room was slightly bigger than a normal Klavan forge. Kaz had snuck around the Blood Citadel many times in the past in order to watch the blacksmiths work. There was something about creating things from simpler materials that fascinated the younger Kaz. This mana forge contained a set of tools for runic inscription. There was a small board with chalk to practice with before attempting the actual inscription. Next to the small board was a simple iron stick. It looked as if it was a fork with only one tine. Using his mana sense to probe the inscription rod, Kaz discovered that it was made up of a metal that he had never seen before. The inscription rod was made of a metal that was lighter than iron, but Kaz could tell that it was several times harder than Klavan steel. Kaz picked up the inscription rod, and looked at the main body of the mana forge. At the base of the mana forge, a single rune was inscribed. Seeing what the rune was, Kaz smiled and flooded it with his mana sense. The rune lit up as bright as a flame. Within moments, the mana forge started to produce a large amount of mana. Soon, the entire room was inundated with higher quality mana than Kaz had ever felt before. A wide grin broke out onto Kaz¡¯s face as he headed back towards the weapons rack. Book 1 Chapter 37: The Trial of Runes, Part II Chapter 37: The Trial of Runes, Part II Kaz looked from the weapon that he was working on. Putting the iron sword back onto the weapon rack, Kaz smiled. The iron sword was not the simple iron sword that it was before. After toiling in an uncomfortable heat for about half an hour, Kaz managed to finish inscribing a runic network onto the sword. The Trial of Runes made three weapons available to me. A sword, a axe, and a warhammer. Both the sword and the axe are meant to be used with one hand while the warhammer would require the use of two hands. As such, the effort required to inscribe a runic network onto either the sword or the axe is less compared to the effort required to inscribe a runic network onto the warhammer. Bigger objects do require more intricate runes to be carved onto them. Kaz knew from the beginning that the Trial of Runes was also testing the applicant¡¯s ability to reason. Ignorant applicants might think that since the warhammer was the largest and heaviest weapon, that it was the most suitable choice for destroying the armor. However, the amount of effort and skill needed to inscribe runes onto a larger object needed to be taken into consideration. Furthermore, Kaz knew that each of the three weapons served different purposes in the concerto that was war. This iron sword isn¡¯t really the longsword or broadsword that I am used to seeing. I remember reading from the books about weapons back in the Blood Citadel¡¯s library. This style of sword should be a rapier, a sword used primarily for thrusting and piercing the opponent. I have heard that the rapier is considered an elegant weapon by the Janaroian nobility, even if their Klavan counterparts spurn it because of its relative uselessness on the battlefield. Kaz took a small break since once he finished inscribing his runes of choice onto the iron rapier. The young necromancer stood in front of the weapon rack as he thought about whether or not the rapier was the correct choice of weapon. The armor on the mannequin is a cuirass. It¡¯s made of the breastplate and the backplate fused into a single piece of armor. Plate armor is much stronger than the relatively cheaper chainmail, but plate armor is also heavier and more inflexible. Since the target is not mobile, this limited mobility is negated. Therefore, only the strength of the armor and the strength of the weapon is to be considered. Plate armor is effective against slashing, which is what the axe offers. Plate armor is also effective against piercing, but could be vulnerable to it depending on how much force is behind the thrust. In this regard, the rapier could be said to be more effective than the axe under certain conditions. The rise of plate armor in Klavan also coincided with the rise of blunt weapons, such as hammers and maces. Using this line of logic, the warhammer should be the most logical choice of weapon, but it IS the most difficult to inscribe. Kaz breathed deeply, then commanded the runic golem to pick up the rapier. The golem¡¯s runes lit up the moment Kaz gave it a command. The runic golem shuffled over to the weapon rack and picked up the inscribed rapier with its right hand. How odd, that the runic golem has a preference for which hand holds the weapon. Is it ambidextrous? Or does the runic golem actually have a preference for which hand it uses? Nevertheless, it can¡¯t speak and I can¡¯t communicate with the runic golem besides giving it commands. This avenue of thought is interesting, but useless right now. The runic golem returned to its position in front of the armor mannequin after it picked up the inscribed rapier without further prompting from Kaz. Although the golem only moved according to commands, it seemed to have a short term memory of sorts. Kaz walked around the golem again, to make sure that there were no issues with the runic golem itself. Since this Trial would have a direct impact on his future, Kaz took great care in inscribing a network of runes onto the rapier that best reflected his ability in Rune Magic. To be fair, inscribing a network of runes onto the iron rapier was a hell of a lot harder than I first anticipated. I never realized how inscribing runes into the air with magic could be so different from inscribing runes by carving them onto a physical object. Plus, the rapier¡¯s body is so thin compared to what I usually write on, so it was such a pain to carve. The fat inscription rod didn¡¯t help much to improve accuracy. Ugh, I hope that the runes that I inscribed are enough to damage the armor. The rune network that Kaz inscribed onto the iron rapier consisted of a Sharpness main rune, and three supporting runes. The three supporting runes were a Condense rune, a Reinforce rune, and a Power rune. The Sharpness main rune makes the point of the rapier much more keen. The Condense supporting rune was chosen because it causes the metal in the rapier to shrink a bit, but the denseness of the rapier would be increased. Kaz chose the Reinforce rune so that the structural integrity of the rapier would be increased since rapiers were not meant to fight against an armored opponent. Finally, the Power rune was chosen as a supporting rune to power up the other runes. The iron rapier had no slot on it for Kaz to insert a mana crystal as a power source. Even if there was a slot, Kaz couldn¡¯t put anything in it since he had no mana crystal with him. Gods, my father would smack me upside the head for choosing to use a rapier to pierce armor. I think piercing is the best way to make a small hole into the armor. If an opening exists in the armor, then it must be considered unusable right? Wearing any armor that is damaged and not having it repaired before returning to the field is not acceptable unless under dire conditions in the Klavan military. I can only hope that the Masters of the Morbid Academy also share the same opinion on this. Although I find Rune Magic fascinating, I should try to conserve as much of my strength as possible during the course of the Morbid Gauntlet. Kaz finished his inspection of the runic golem. Everything about the golem seemed airtight according to the knowledge of magical constructs that Kaz possessed. That is, Kaz couldn¡¯t find anything wrong with the golem because he knew too little about runic constructs. There¡¯s no use worrying now. I just have to see if my inscribed rapier is up to snuff. Kaz sent a command to the runic golem with his mana sense as he stepped back. Although there should be no problems with the Trial, it was better to be safe than sorry in case any of the runes on either the armor or the rapier overloaded. The runic golem heard Kaz¡¯s command. Pulling its right hand back, the runic golem pointed the inscribed rapier straight at the armored mannequin. In an instant, the golem lunged forward and thrust the rapier at the armored mannequin. The moment that the tip of the rapier touched the cuirass, the runes on both pieces of equipment lit up. Intricate patterns of light flashed from both the rapier and the cuirass, but the cuirass¡¯ runes were brighter. The runic golem did not stop its motion when the tip of the rapier met the cuirass. Instead, the runic golem continued with the thrust until a sharp crack was heard. Kaz¡¯s face blanched as soon as he heard that sharp crack. There was no way that plate armor being pierced would sound like that. That was the sound of something snapping¡­.oh Devils Below! The iron rapier that Kaz had worked so hard on had indeed snapped. The debole, or the weaker and more forward part of the rapier¡¯s blade, had snapped. The runic inscriptions that Kaz had carved were ruined, and the magic within released into the atmosphere. Although Kaz was now aware that his method of inscription required more effort since the runes were self-contained, he still stuck to his old method. In Kaz¡¯s opinion, the ability to minimize the side effects of a runic collapse made up for the extra effort required in carving them. The runic golem had finished its motion by this time, and it returned the broken rapier to the weapon rack. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Kaz sighed, and walked over to the armor mannequin. On closer observation, Kaz saw that the rapier had created a small dent in the area where it hit the cuirass. Kaz¡¯s face grew dark as he thought about his first failure. All of my work ended up leaving only this small mark? There must be a better way to break this cuirass. Even if I wanted to use the rapier again, I cannot. I did not think that the rapier would snap as easily as it did, but is that more a failure of the weapon or the runic golem? No, it¡¯s a failure of the weapon or my inscriptions. A runic golem of this level of independence would not have the reflexes necessary to retract its blow once it takes action. I need to try again with the warhammer. The axe is not going to be successful enough if it¡¯s the most unsuitable weapon available. Kaz turned his attention to the warhammer. The warhammer on the weapon rack was just over a meter long. The handle made up most of its length while the hammer¡¯s head took up the rest. The hammer¡¯s head was a block of iron with the edges rounded off. The entire weapon resembled an amateur¡¯s attempt at making a warhammer. Kaz picked up the weapon with both hands and started to inspect it with his mana sense. This warhammer is ordinary, if a bit simple. There¡¯s a lot of space for carving inscriptions onto the hammer¡¯s head as well as the handle. Both the hammer¡¯s head and the handle are made from solid iron, making the entire weapon an ordeal to lift. My arms are getting tired, and I¡¯ve only held the damn thing for a minute. Other than the weight, I cannot find any other obvious flaws. Gods know that I¡¯m not the best at finding flaws in weapons but I know enough to identify the most heinous of mistakes. Kaz set the weapon down head first. The ensuing thunk echoed throughout the Trial chamber, scaring Kaz a little bit. Kaz planned the inscriptions that he was going to try on the warhammer as he massaged his temple. A short moment later, Kaz went back to the mana forge and took out the little board and some of the chalk that was provided. With writing materials in hand, Kaz sat down on the warm stone floor as he sketched out the runes that he planned to inscribe. The main rune of Sharpness on the iron rapier enhanced its offensive capabilities. The three supporting runes were to supplement the iron rapier¡¯s structural integrity. I wonder if that was the wrong choice? I think that the main issue in this trial is a question of balancing the needs of the inscriptions that are carved onto the weapon. What does a good inscriptionist need to succeed? Of course it¡¯s the ability to look at the needs of the client and to react accordingly! In this respect, inscriptionists are a bit like merchants. Kaz sat straight up as these thoughts flashed through his mind. With a bad feeling, Kaz whipped his head around to look at the cuirass. The small dent that the rapier had caused previously had disappeared as if it was never there. Against Kaz¡¯s expectations, the cuirass had repaired itself! Devils Below! So the cuirass can repair itself. This means that I cannot possibly win through a battle of attrition. Even if I command the runic golem to keep swinging, what are the chances that the warhammer would survive the punishment? Gods, what if the warhammer shatters as well? Then I would fail this Trial without a doubt. Huh¡­.single use? What if I bet everything on a single strike? Kaz¡¯s eyes narrowed as he thought about one particular rune that was described in the Book of Blood. It was the Overload rune. The Overload rune was a rune that allowed the magic contained within it to explode with great force when activated, increasing the effects of the inscribed object by a large amount. However, the object would be destroyed by the backlash of the Overload rune¡¯s power in an instant after the effects have subsided. In truth, the Book of Blood mentioned the Overload rune for the sake of completeness. Otherwise, Master Ci Xi would not have put what she considered to be such a useless rune into her text. The problem that Kaz had right now, however, was that the Overload rune would only exert its best effects as a main rune. I am confident in inscribing any main rune with three supporting runes, but I have never even thought about inscribing two main runes within a single runic network. But I don¡¯t know if inscribing the hammer with conventional runes would be enough to crush the cuirass. If the inscriptions that I carve onto the warhammer are not enough and the weapon breaks, then I would be damned. I don¡¯t think I can take that risk. I will have to attempt to carve two main runes and as many supporting runes that I can onto the warhammer. Kaz nodded to himself in satisfaction and used his hand to wipe out whatever rough draft he had already written onto the board. The chalk in Kaz¡¯s hand danced on the board as it drew out the blueprint of his runic network. This runic network was more complex than anything that Kaz had planned before. Without formal training, however, Kaz did not have the skill to create a full runic network with two main runes. Shit. At most, I can create a runic network with two main runes and three supporting runes. The question that remains is how I should allocate the three supporting runes. I need two of them to be Power runes so they can supply mana to the two main runes. That leaves just the one supporting rune. The two main runes should be an Overload and a Impact rune. The Impact main rune will enhance the power of the warhammer¡¯s strike while the Overload rune should double or even triple the total strike¡¯s physical force. Mmm, that¡¯s it! I¡¯ll have the supporting rune on the Overload main rune, and it¡¯ll be an Overload rune as well. Even though its power will be diminished as a supporting rune, a second Overload rune should increase the force of the warhammer¡¯s strike by a substantial amount as well. Destroying my weapon for sure is a risky move¡­.but Fortune favors the bold, does it not? The moment Kaz came to a decision, he felt as if a great burden had been lifted off of his back. There was no more second guessing himself now. In fact, Kaz wasn¡¯t even sure of how much time was left to complete the Trial of Runes. Kaz made a mental note to ask the Headmaster for a way to tell time during the next Trial, and then started to inscribe his planned runic network onto the warhammer. Many minutes passed, the only audible sounds being Kaz¡¯s breathing and the scrape of the inscribing rod onto the warhammer. Since the warhammer¡¯s head had a much larger surface area than the blade of the rapier, Kaz¡¯s efforts focused on the two main runes. Main runes were different than supporting runes due to their complexity and size. Each main rune would take up at least twice the space as a supporting rune of the same level. The Book of Blood went into detail about the most common runes used in inscription, but only provided novice and apprentice versions of the runes. Different levels of runes had large power gaps between them. Three Novice level runes were required to equal an Apprentice rune of the same, and even more Apprentice runes were required to equal an Journeyman rune. There were also different levels of supporting runes, but the the jump in power from each level was not as explicit as the differences between main runes. After about an hour, Kaz finished his runic inscriptions. Kaz was sweating bullets at this moment in time. He had no idea how little time remained until the Trial of Runes was over. His heart rate speeding up, Kaz inspected his work for a few seconds before commanding the runic golem to grab it. Once more, the runes on the stone golem lit up when it heard Kaz¡¯s command. Walking over to the warhammer, the runic golem picked it up with both hands. After a moment, the runic golem was back in front of the armor mannequin. The runes on the warhammer were lit up bright red, a side effect of the Overload runes that Kaz used. Kaz made sure there was nothing wrong with the golem, then retreated to where the iron door was. Standing with the runic golem directly between him and the armor mannequin, Kaz commanded it to strike the cuirass. Like the first time, the runic golem took a stance. Keeping itself in stance for a few seconds, as if leaving time for the applicant to second guess themselves, the runic golem then slammed the warhammer into the cuirass. Unlike the first time, the moment the warhammer struck the cuirass, the weapon didn¡¯t crack on impact. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM A deafening noise exploded from where the warhammer met the cuirass. The moment the warhammer¡¯s head slammed into the cuirass, the Overload runes on the warhammer lit up as if they were the Sun itself. Transferring all of the wild energy contained within, the Overload runes sizzled afterwards. However, the job that Kaz required of the Overload runes was completed. All of the energy contained within the warhammer¡¯s head was transmuted into physical force and went into the cuirass. With a sickening screech, the front of the cuirass completely bent inwards. The armor mannequin was even knocked off of its stand by the force of the impact. In fact, even the runic golem¡¯s arms were not immune. As the dust settled and the echos disappeared from the room, Kaz couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. The cuirass was a twisted piece of metal, bent almost in half by the impact. The mannequin was knocked off of its stand since it was connected to the cuirass. Pieces of the inscribed warhammer were scattered all over the room in varying sizes. The runic golem¡¯s arms were destroyed, leaving the runic golem with a torso, legs and its head. Soon enough, the Headmaster¡¯s voice appeared again. ¡°You have¡­.passed the Trial of Runes. Step back into the teleportation circle in the other room, and you may have your choice of the next Trial.¡± The Headmaster¡¯s voice sounded different than before. It was a bit uneven, as if he was trying to conceal a laugh. Kaz thought little of the Headmaster¡¯s tone. Instead, the young necromancer was ecstatic that he had managed to pass the Trial of Runes. It was much harder than he had thought it would be. That thought sobered Kaz up, and he sighed. Walking through the iron door once more, Kaz picked up his knapsack where he left it. Taking a water flask out, Kaz drank his fill before stepping into the teleportation circle.