The northern section of the Academy campus.
In the area primarily used by professors and researchers, a few faculty members were having a lunch gathering.
“I heard that Eriol Valencia made a huge contribution during last weekend’s dungeon conquest tournament.”
“Looks like Head of Necromancy, Professor Piotr, owes him a great deal.”
“Thanks to that, the vampire’s scheme was stopped in advance. We should be grateful that Professor Kaisel acted quickly.”
The professors main topic of conversation was the dungeon conquest tournament held the previous weekend.
A vampire had tried to seize control of the undead intended for the tournament and unleash chaos, but thanks to Eriol Valencia’s efforts, the damage had been minimized.
“Come to think of it, I heard Eriol Valencia also ranked first in the midterms.”
“Wasn’t he also first in the entrance exam?”
“First in the entrance exam, first in the rookie tournament, first in the dungeon conquest tournament, and first in the midterms… He’s been sweeping first place in everything.”
“Incredible. Truly impressive!”
The eyes of the professors seated at the table sharpened slightly.
They were trying to gauge just how interested the others were in Eriol Valencia.
“Eriol Valencia… I’m already curious what major he’ll choose in his second year.”
“Well, he’ll decide during the second semester. The rotation practicum hasn’t even started yet.” *Rotation practicum is a training program where students rotate through different departments to gain practical experience.
“Right. Let’s just wait and see.”
Most of the professors attending today’s meeting had seen Eriol in action during the freshman showcase.
However, none had made any direct moves yet. Professors consider it undignified to start recruiting freshmen this early.
The real recruitment war begins in the second semester. That’s when students go through a rotation of hands-on classes in each department, and most of them choose their majors during this period.
“They say he has exceptional talent in elemental magic. Perhaps he’ll come to our Elemental Department?”
“That’s a hasty assumption. He hasn’t properly studied the other types of magic yet.”
“He should at least experience all six core departments before deciding.”
The six core departments:
- Elemental Department
- Biological Department
- Electromagic Department
- Radiant Department
- Necromancy Department
- Spatiotemporal Department
These correspond to the six major schools of magic: elemental, biological, electromagic, radiant, necromantic, and spatiotemporal magic.
“There’s also a chance he’ll go into the Producing Division.”
“Rumor has it that Professor Hephaestus contacted him personally.”
The Producing Division consists of:
- Artificing Department – which creates various magical tools.
- Pharmacology Department – which develops alchemical medicines through magical processing.
“If you think of it that way, the Research Division might actually be the most likely.”
“His advisor is Professor Klein of the Lore Department, and Professor Kaisel from the Principles Department is his uncle.”
The Research Division consists of:
- Transcendental Department – which studies ancient grimoires, artifacts, and magical history.
- Principles Department – which seeks to uncover the unknown laws of the world and create new magical systems.
“The core six, the two producing, and the two research departments… That makes ten departments total. Where will he end up?”
“We’ll just have to see which field suits Eriol Valencia best.”
“Right. Ultimately, his own wishes matter most.”
“Forcing someone into a department is never a good idea.”
The professors continued to keep each other in check.
The message was clear: don’t try to jump the line before the second semester.
That’s when the real recruiting begins—after the rotation practicum starts.
“Now that I think about it, Professor Piotr isn’t here today.”
“Professor Piotr? He said he was busy preparing because first-year lectures start today.”
“Wait, the department head himself is teaching a first-year class? Doesn’t he usually leave that to the regular professors?”
“He insisted on personally handling the top-tier class.”
“Hold on… If that’s the case…”
The professors’ expressions turned serious.
Except for special cases like Professor Horizon of the Elemental Department, it was rare for department heads to personally teach freshmen.
Especially someone like Piotr, who normally disliked giving lectures—his involvement was unprecedented.
“Damn it, he’s not even trying to hide it!”
“Does he want Eriol Valencia that badly?!”
“Professor Piotr, this is cutting in line!”
Piotr Grozny, the head of the Necromancy Department.
He had officially begun his move to recruit Eriol.
“All living things come to an end upon death.”
Top-rank lecture room, First Student Building.
There, a man with a gloomy appearance was giving a lecture titled “Foundations of Necromancy” to the freshmen.
“All functions cease, and silence follows. This is what we call the ‘First Law of Life.’”
Professor Piotr.
He was the head of the Necromancy Department and a skilled necromancer. While not among the continent’s top ten mages, he was one of the academy’s foremost.
Because of that, all the students were paying close attention to the lecture.
“However, there are beings that defy this First Law of Life. We call them ‘undead.’”
Undead.
Beings who transcend death.
The Necromancy Department studied these undead.
“Since ancient times, this world has seen the existence of undead who violate the First Law. There have been higher undead like vampires, possessing abilities superior to humans, and lower undead like zombies and skeletons, which arise naturally from corpses. Necromantic magic is the magical system built to understand and reproduce the ‘sinister wave’ that sustains these undead through incantational language.”
That “sinister wave” was likely the aura I had felt from the skeletons and from Sabat.
Because I could sense that, I was able to identify Sabbat as an undead.
“Some of you might wonder—why use necromantic magic to animate corpses at all? In this day and age, why do such gruesome things? Why learn necromantic magic at all?”
As he said this, Piotr scanned the classroom.
“Anyone care to answer?”
“I’d like to try.”
Monarch Orson raised his hand.
“Because a corpse is an extremely efficient material. Especially when it comes to utilizing spiritual energy.”
“Exactly. And your name?”
“Monarch Orson.”
“I’ll remember it.”
At Piotr’s response, Monarch smiled in satisfaction.
“There’s no situation where undead are absolutely necessary. You could just use golems instead. But golems require fully prepared materials. That’s not the case with undead.”
“……”
“Let’s say you throw a skilled golem-crafting mage into a dungeon. That mage wouldn’t be able to do anything—no materials, no facilities.”
It was the kind of remark that would provoke objections from the artificer professors.
After all, Professor Hephaestus had demonstrated his ability to build a golem on the spot using only chalkboard materials.
But such instantaneous craftsmanship was rare. For ordinary mages, Piotr’s words were likely accurate.
“However, a mage proficient in necromantic magic… can simply turn the nearest monster corpse into an undead and use it.”
As he spoke, Piotr drew a skull on the board.
“Moreover, as I mentioned, corpses retain spiritual energy. Even if the flesh has rotted away and only bones remain, a significant amount of spiritual energy still lingers. Utilizing that means you don’t need a separate energy source like a golem would require. It’s incredibly efficient.”
All living creatures possess spiritual energy, which is mostly concentrated in the brain, heart, and bones.
However, the spiritual energy in the brain and heart dissipates rapidly upon death. In contrast, the spiritual energy contained in bones remains for quite a long time, even after death.
That is why necromancy primarily utilizes the spiritual energy left in bones.
“The necromantic spell I’ll be teaching you today is one that uses this spiritual energy to animate the dead. It’s called Animate Dead.”
Professor Piotr drew a new picture on the chalkboard next to the skull he’d previously sketched.
This time, it wasn’t a skeleton—it was a corpse with flesh still attached.
“But not all Animate Dead spells are the same. There’s a big difference between a corpse that’s just bones and one that still has flesh on it.”
A bony corpse and one with flesh still attached.
He was clearly referring to skeletons and zombies.
“What kind of difference is there? Anyone want to answer?”
“I’ll answer!”
“You already answered earlier, so let’s give someone else a chance.”
Monach lowered his hand with a embarrassed expression.
“…”
Piotr’s gaze swept across the classroom.
And then… his eyes met mine.
“Come to think of it, we had a student who ranked first in the midterms, didn’t we?”
“…”
“Eriol Valencia, go ahead and answer.”
“Understood.”
I’d been called on, so I had no choice but to respond.
“Skeletons and zombies show a distinct difference in movement.”
“How so?”
“Skeletons move in a way that resembles living creatures. They can even wield weapons. But zombies can’t perform such complex actions.”
As often depicted in novels, zombies simply lurch forward with their arms outstretched, staggering toward their enemies.
Skeletons, on the other hand, move more naturally. Although their motions may be a bit jerky at times, they’re capable of movements close to those of the living.
“You said earlier that necromancers use the spiritual energy in bones to animate undead.”
“That’s right.”
“Skeletons only require the bones to be moved using that energy. But zombies still have skin, muscles, and internal organs attached… making them much harder to control.”
“An accurate explanation.”
A chorus of admiration broke out across the classroom.
Though I’d never had the chance to study necromancy before, I had read a few books about undead monsters, which helped me answer.
“Skeletons are easier to control, zombies are harder. So what’s the advantage of zombies?”
“Zombies are physically much stronger. Since they still have muscles attached, they can use that strength.”
“Correct. Given spells of similar quality, zombies will always be stronger than skeletons.”
“That’s why… skeletons are useful as general foot soldiers in combat. Meanwhile, zombies, with their superior strength, are better suited for the ‘corpse wave’ tactic—charging straight through enemy lines.”
“You know about the corpse wave tactic? Impressive.”
“I read about it in a book.”
The corpse wave tactic involves sending a large number of zombies charging forward to overwhelm the enemy. It’s called that because the zombies sweep across the battlefield like a wave, engulfing everything in their path.
“Either way, good answer. Excellent work.”
Piotr praised me.
“As Eriol Valencia just explained, skeletons and zombies each have their own distinct traits. That’s why understanding those characteristics is important when using Animate Dead.”
“…”
“But there’s one thing Eriol didn’t mention. While carrying around corpses to make zombies is difficult, bones for skeletons are relatively easy to transport.”
As he spoke, Piotr raised his hand, and the assistants waiting nearby began opening a large box.
“Gasp!”
“Eek!”
Screams erupted throughout the classroom.
Inside the box were neatly stacked piles of bones.
“These aren’t human bones. No need to overreact.”
Piotr calmed the students in a gloomy voice.
“They’re from some kind of monster. And since spell inscriptions have already been engraved on them, if you assemble them correctly, they’ll function as a skeleton.”
“…”
“From this point on, you’ll form pairs and work together to assemble the skeleton using these monster bones. This is an essential step in understanding the Animate Dead spell. After all, you can’t assume the bones you find in the field will be laid out nicely in anatomical order.”
It seemed like a hands-on exercise to understand skeletal structure while gaining foundational knowledge for casting Animate Dead.
“For the record, you’ll have to figure out how to assemble the bones yourselves.”
“…!”
“Don’t worry. As you interpret the spell inscriptions etched into the bones and go through some trial and error, you’ll gradually figure it out.”
Piotr said this in his usual gloomy tone, standing before the nervous students.
“Use this opportunity to become familiar with bones.”
Suddenly, the bone-assembly practical began.
The classroom became noisy as students tried to form pairs.
“Eriol, shall we pair up?”
“Sounds good.”
I decided to team up with Senia.
We’d talked last night about making a Fang Soldier.
To make a Fang Soldier, I first need to master the basics of necromancy.
In order to learn Summon Dead, which is necessary for creating the Fang Soldier, I had to first understand Animate Dead.
So this practical was perfect practice.
“Hey! Don’t just throw the bones around! You have to sort them carefully first!”
“Why are you sticking a leg bone in the middle of the spine? Have you never eaten a chicken drumstick?”
“Damn it, suddenly asking us to assemble a monster skeleton—this is way too hard!”
The classroom remained in chaos.
Everyone seemed overwhelmed by the difficult hands-on task during their first necromancy class.
“This won’t be easy.”
Senia said as she carefully pulled bones out of the box one by one.
“Judging by the size of the bones, it doesn’t seem like a large monster.”
“Agreed.”
“Do you think it’s bipedal or quadrupedal? That’s the first thing we should—huh?”
Senia, busily pulling out bones, suddenly widened her eyes.
“E-Eriol. What are you doing? Didn’t you hear what the professor just said?”
“I heard him.”
“You’re supposed to figure it out while deciphering the inscriptions, but… wait…”
She looked at my face, then back down at the desk.
“How… how did you already get this much done?”
On the desk…
The skeleton of a Small Kobold, half-finished, was already taking shape using the bones Senia had handed me.
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