Damn Necromancer - Chapter 80

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Wasteful Necromancer (80)
“Kern, do you perhaps already have a team…….”
“I do.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
Because I’d shown so much, recruitment offers came pouring in from all sides.
Naturally, if a front-line swordsman was reliable, any mage would be grinning ear to ear.
But then——
“……Um.”
Even Doloris attached herself to me.
“Yeah?”
“H-hey, do you have a team?”
“Wow. You’re something else.”
After causing all that commotion today, and now you ask if I have a team?
I was genuinely impressed.
Whether she misread my tone, Doloris bit her lip hard and glared at me.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not belittling you. Besides, you cut my hair off.”
“……That’s one thing, this is another. And if I team up with you, it’d benefit you too, wouldn’t it?”
I nodded.
If I’d been a purely naive Academy student, I naturally would have partnered with Doloris. Either way, she wasn’t the top of the Magic Department for nothing.
Watching her like this today made me think there was good reason she held that position.
“Sorry. Doesn’t look like it’ll work.”
“……Are you going to team with her?”
Doloris pointed at Merhen as she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Why, though? There’s nothing in it for you. And she even came dead last on the last exam. Aren’t you worried about your score?”
“I can get first place on my own.”
“……Do you actually like her or something?”
“Actually, Doloris.”
When I lowered my voice slightly, Doloris flinched.
“W-what.”
“Since when were we close enough for you to drop the formal speech? You weren’t doing that just before.”
“W-well, you’re speaking informally too. And we’re the same age…….”
“That’s true. So from now on, you speak informally too. Keep it consistent.”
“……Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Anyway, I can’t partner with you. I already have a team.”
“So that’s why—you like Merhen.”
“Does it matter?”
“Yeah, it does. Because I liked you.”
“……?”
I tilted my head.
What’s with this sudden turn?
Merhen beside me was also staring at Doloris with confusion written across her face.
“What?”
“D-do people need a reason to like someone?”
“No, but there’s nothing to like about me.”
“There is. Y-you were the first person to treat me that way, and……. I was excited. That’s what I mean.”
I could see Doloris speaking, her face flushed crimson.
A low murmur rippled through the crowd.
At this unexpected public confession, students around us began buzzing like they’d lost their minds.
This is driving me insane, seriously.
“I’m sorry. I’ve already chosen my team.”
“S-so we’re going to date then?”
“No, it’s not like that.”
“……Then does that mean I still have a chance?”
“Doloris. Don’t just think about your own feelings. What if you considered someone else’s for a change?”
“Do you hate me?”
“Think hard. About what kind of person you’ve shown yourself to be. And ask yourself.”
“E-even with short hair, I’m still pretty though?”
Could she have really taken my words to mean nothing but her physical appearance?
I saw her eyes trembling slightly.
‘Not entirely wrong, I suppose.’
The fact that she felt embarrassed suggested she understood what he meant.
It was just the kind of thing she did — shutting her eyes tight like a rhino and charging headlong without thinking.
Kim Min-woo let out a soft laugh.
At least when it came to romance, Doloris seemed remarkably earnest.
Anyone who gave their all in any endeavor was a pleasure to watch.
If she was going to commit like that, he owed her his honesty in return.
“I don’t dislike you. But I don’t think we can be together. I’m sorry.”
….
“I’m going to step outside.”
He caught Merhen’s eye with a glance.
The two of them slipped out.
As if it were the natural thing to ask, he turned to her.
“You’ll join the same team as me, won’t you?”
“…If you’d have me, then yes.”
Whether she’d picked up something from their last conversation, she accepted the proposal without hesitation.
“…But why are you doing all this for me? You and I have no real connection.”
Why indeed.
Because if he racked up points now, he’d have leverage later when dealing with those lower in standing — and if he helped her, he might receive some bonus when the practical exam ended.
If there was a clear score to clear, he needed to start building it up piece by piece from now on.
Of course, he couldn’t say that directly.
“You remember my nickname was ‘blockhead,’ didn’t you?”
“…I’d heard something about it.”
“I ranked last in the Swordsmanship Department too. So I kept noticing you, since you were in a similar position. It bothered me — made me feel a bit sorry for you, if I’m honest. That’s why.”
She fell silent for a long moment, her lips moving slightly.
“…Thank you. For helping me.”
“I’m doing it because I want to, so there’s no need for that.”
“But were you hiding your real abilities?”
“Something like that.”
It was true enough that Kern’s body had been borrowed for this, though he couldn’t explain that — so he’d let her draw that conclusion instead.
“We’re the same age, so isn’t it awkward to keep using formal speech with each other?”
“…Is it?”
“No need for all that ceremony. Let’s just be friends. Everyone at the Academy is equal anyway. That works for you?”
“Um, yeah…”
“Good. I’m counting on you.”
He extended his hand.
She grasped it firmly.
* * *
There was still time before the practical exam began.
In the meantime, Kim Min-woo had decided to try something he’d been thinking about.
He sought out Professor Wellington.
“Oh! Kern! What brings you here? Don’t tell me you’ve decided to take the Death Magic School classes after all?”
“Professor, before that — I had a question I wanted to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Is there truly no summoning magic in the Death Magic School?”
“…Summoning?”
“Yes. You know — summoning undead and that sort of thing.”
“Nothing like that exists.”
“But why not? Given that you work with corpses, surely it’s not something no one’s ever considered?”
Wellington nodded at that remark.
“It’s certainly a topic worth exploring. Many death mages have attempted it over the years. The problem is, none of them have ever succeeded.”
“But what if someone did manage Undead Summoning? How would that go?”
“What if someone did?”
“Yes. Would they get hunted down by some religious faction or something?”
“Ha! You jest. If that were the case, the other mages wouldn’t have bothered attempting it in the first place.”
Kim Min-woo nodded in understanding.
Wellington’s reasoning was sound.
‘The records I found support that too.’
He’d searched through all the Academy’s literature on the subject, and everything confirmed that these mages couldn’t summon undead — not because of external pressure, but because they simply lacked the ability.
‘There’s nothing strange about that.’
Creating undead in the first place—was that ever easy?
If one possessed some technique or insight, perhaps it could be manageable, but starting from unknown territory without such foundations would make it an extraordinarily difficult undertaking.
He himself would never have summoned a skeleton without having learned the Summoning skill first.
“Then if someone capable of Undead Summoning appeared, they might receive considerable treatment, wouldn’t they?”
“Indeed. They would. To us Death Magic practitioners at least, they’d be no different from a hero. It would be proof that such a thing is genuinely possible.”
“Would the mages from other schools find it unimpressive?”
“Heh. Regrettably, they likely would. After all, those fools avoid our school precisely because they find undead repugnant and foul-smelling. Undead Summoning? They’d probably scoff at it.”
“I see.”
“Well, if one could summon higher-tier undead like a Lich or Death Knight, that might be another story—but in any case, that’s my assessment. But why do you ask?”
Through his conversation with Wellington, Min-woo had gained certainty.
The conclusion.
Summoning undead was permissible.
And this knowledge would be extraordinarily precious to Death Magic practitioners in particular.
Wasn’t it true that other mages avoided Death Magic practitioners precisely because they found them repulsive?
But Death Magic practitioners themselves?
They’d be overjoyed at the summoning of even a single skeleton—achieving a frontier that no one had yet reached.
‘Simply by demonstrating that much, I could receive magical instruction…’
From what he’d gathered, the Death Magic School’s spells were remarkably practical.
Magic utilizing corpses.
Magic using bone for offense and defense. Magic employing poison and the like.
There were numerous advanced techniques among them.
‘Perfect to teach the Mages.’
The Mages did employ a handful of spells, but they were all basic variants.
Against high-level monsters, they invariably bounced harmlessly off. What was needed was a heavier blow—one that consumed more Mana and struck with genuine force.
“Professor, I can perform Undead Summoning.”
“…?”
He summoned a single Skeleton Mage before Wellington’s eyes.
In that instant.
Shock flooded Wellington’s expression.
“Impossible! That can’t be!”
His hands trembled violently, as though seized by convulsion, as he grasped the Mage’s skull.
“How—how is this possible! How did you do this? How on earth!”
“I simply visualized it, and it worked.”
“Visualization alone made this possible?”
Wellington’s eyes grew profoundly grave.
“Could you describe that visualization process to me?”
“I simply recalled an undead and extended my hand. Then the Mana moved of its own accord.”
“Hmm… Well, I suppose. Your talent has been unlike anything I’ve witnessed before. Since this is uncharted territory, you might indeed make the impossible possible…”
Wellington seized his hand with desperate urgency.
“…Help me. Let me study this undead! I’ll give you anything, please…!”
“Professor, wouldn’t research benefit from having many specimens?”
“Of course it would!”
“I can summon many such undead. I’ll provide them for your research.”
“Oh! Truly? Thank you, thank you! You’re a treasure to our Death Magic School!”
“In exchange, I have one favor to ask.”
“Name it!”
“Please teach the Mages the Death Magic School’s spells. As many as possible.”
“Done. I’ll teach them. I’ll gather all the professors from my school! But… will they actually be able to learn them?”
“I won’t know unless we try.”
“Just wait a moment!”
Wellington immediately summoned all the professors from the Death Magic School.
There were five in total, including himself. The professors who hurried in widened their eyes upon seeing the Skeleton Mage.
“Undead Summoning, you say!”
“This was actually possible?”
“If—if we’re taught the magic, can we truly study this undead?”
He nodded.
“Perhaps our Death Magic School will undergo a magnificent revival.”
“Indeed! If we can summon undead like this, it’s entirely possible!”
The professors’ eyes blazed with fervor.
If Undead Summoning became viable, the Death Magic School’s potential would soar to heights far beyond what it had been.
The Skeleton was merely the starting point. If he could only understand the mechanism of Summoning, there was nothing preventing him from summoning higher-tier creatures.
Enormous possibilities would open up for every mage in the Death Magic School. They might leap from the lowest ranks straight into the middle tier or beyond.
The five professors’ eyes blazed with hunger.
Moments later, they commandeered an entire spacious Great Hall.
“Summon them! Please, summon them now!”
[1,628 Skeleton Mages are being summoned!]
Clatter!
The professors gazed upon the Great Hall brimming with Mages, their eyes alight with rapture.
“Ahhhhh…….”
“Is this heaven…….”
“Let’s teach them magic first! This will be part of our research process!”
“Excellent! Let’s make history! Summoning research! This is our research project for the year!”
The five professors immediately launched into fervent lectures before the gathered skeletons.
[‘Maili’ receives instruction in the Corpse Explosion spell from Professor Hemerson…….]
[Skeleton Mage 523 receives instruction in Bone Shield from Professor Sidal…….]
[Skeleton Mage 1,102 receives instruction in Spell Circle Construction from Professor Milenol…….]
Messages began flooding in like a tidal wave.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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