REAPER SCANS
Necromancer Academy's Genius Summoner
[Translator - Ramen]
[Proofreader - Artethrax]
Chapter 366
[I see, so you're my creator?]
A historic moment.
Simon felt indescribable emotions as he looked upon the undead he had made from the ground up.
It was moving.
It was speaking!
Covered in crystal bones except for its ordinary skull, the lich moved its body around, crossed its legs, and swept its hand through the empty air where hair would normally be.
[But it seems like you're still young, creator? That's funny. How old are you?]
"…?"
Was this lich a female undead?
The lich uncrossed its, no, her legs and stood up.
Ba-thump. Ba-thump.
The Life Vessel beat like a drum. It drew mana from around it, converting it into jet-black and supplying it to the body and any magic circles. It was exactly like Simon's own core.
An undead that maintained its life on its own, even without Simon connecting to its thoughts or providing jet-black.
'To think I made this!'
Simon couldn't stay calm amidst the surging excitement.
Ever since learning summoning, this was the first time he had felt such awe.
If not for being surrounded by Ancient Undead, he might have screamed in excitement.
Then, the lich approached and lifted Simon's chin with her bony fingers.
[You're cute. But eh, too young. Not my type. You're out of my range.]
"…?"
He had just been rejected by the very creature he had created when he hadn't even said a word yet.
Just then, Elizabeth, crossing her arms with great displeasure, spat,
[How dare you, little brat?! Get your hands off our Commander!!]
The lich turned her head.
[What's that spider? Why is a spider wearing a human uniform? Pft! That's hilarious.]
A vein bulged on Elizabeth's forehead. Akemus tried to calm down, holding her back by the shoulder, but she shouted over him.
[How dare a newly created undead speak to an Ancient Undead like that??! Do you want to get turned right back into the bones you just came from?!!]
[What a strange sister. Is there a hierarchy among undead based on when they died?]
"Enough, enough."
Simon clapped his hands, drawing both of their eyes away from each other's throats.
"My name is Simon Polentia. I created you. What shall I call you?"
In fact, although he said this, Simon secretly wanted to name her himself, but…
[Herseva.]
The lich placed her hand on her rib cage and said,
[My name is Herseva.]
Perhaps because he used an expensive heart, this lich had a very strong identity.
"Do you perhaps remember anything from your previous life?"
[Of course!]
Herseva crossed her arms and smiled. Or so Simon thought. Unlike Pier, that skull showed no changes in facial expression.
[But now I'm undead, right? Now I feel like it doesn't matter anymore! I've been reborn! I feel freed from a heavy body! This feels great!]
She started singing, "La la la," twirled, and danced around on the spot.
The Ancient Undead stepped back in bewilderment, and Simon scratched his head.
[Hey, Simon!]
Prince frowned and looked at Simon.
[Are you sure you made it correctly? For some reason, it seems like you've created a lich with a screw loose!]
"I-I'm sure I made it right."
Was Herseva a ballerina in her past life? The elegantly twirling skeleton tapped the wall with her finger.
[Hm?]
As nothing happened, she tapped the wall again and started poking it forcefully several times.
[What…? What?!!]
She shouted, her lower jaw nearly falling off her face.
[Where's my ability?! Why can't I use it??]
"Oh, liches use a staff to cast magic. I'll connect you to one soon."
[You scared me! Hurry up!]
Simon took out the final ingredient.
A long box with a luxurious appearance. As he opened the case, the autonomous staff 'Areldellu' flew out, already cackling.
"Please hold onto it."
Worried it'd fly around and cause trouble again, Simon asked Pier to hold onto Areldellu.
As soon as Areldellu was in Pier's hand, it became calm like it was magic.
'Alright. Even the best staff I have…'
Simon drew the final magic circle.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Ramen
Proofreader - Artethrax
Join our discord for updates on releases!
* * *
As Simon made the finishing touches, he recalled his conversation with Benya Vanilla.
"Oh, the staff? Just use the highest quality one you have."
Simon tilted his head.
"Since I chose Herseva's heart, shouldn't I find a staff that matches it best?"
"But how would we know if it matches the heart or not?"
"…"
"…"
That was indeed an issue.
"Arranging the 'three elements of a lich' usually involves using your three highest quality materials and hoping for the best. It involves a lot of luck, including the risks involved with working alone and having to succeed with the Life Vessel."
"So that's how it is."
In the end, Simon decided on Areldellu as the staff for the lich.
The most expensive staff Simon owned.
It was an obvious choice, as it was an extremely rare artifact preloaded with dark magic and curses. Benya also agreed it was the best choice.
However…
[Kyaaaaaaaaaah!]
Simon slightly regretted that decision, seeing what was happening before him.
[H-How dare you try to take over my body? You're dead to me!]
[Kekekeke!]
The lich and the staff began fighting as soon as their thoughts connected.
Because Herseva had a strong sense of identity, and Areldellu was also loaded with consciousness, they clashed, causing them to fight wildly for control.
Bzzt! Bzzt!
Sparks flew around them, and jet-black swirled into a vortex.
Pier's ruin began to shake, a few loose stones falling from load-bearing pillars.
[Sh-Shouldn't we stop them?]
Pleaded Prince as he pressed himself against the wall.
But Pier shook his head.
[Now that their thoughts have linked, it would be dangerous for both if we intervened.]
It was total chaos. The staff and the lich were grappling for control.
The skull shouted, "Get off of me!" before falling limp like a lifeless puppet cut from its strings. Then, the skull slowly lifted again, an eerie "Kekeke!" coming from its mouth.
Then it fell limp again, followed by Herseva's voice saying, "You're a mere staff!"
It went on for about 30 minutes, until…
Bang!!!
With a loud explosion, the swirling jet-black shot out in all directions.
Then, silence.
Everyone, backed up against the walls as much as possible, looked around in confusion.
Prince spoke in an annoyed tone.
[Promise me, Simon, that this lich will be the last one you make in your life.]
[Maybe the materials were too expensive?]
Simon coughed and lifted his head.
'Who won?'
At the center of the explosion, he saw the skeleton collapsed on the floor, the staff resting in its hand.
Fortunately, the Life Vessel seemed fine, as it was still beating.
[Ha!]
A feminine voice could be heard first.
[I won! I won! I beat that damn nasty staff! Kyahaha!]
Said the staff while jumping up and down. But then it suddenly stopped, belatedly realizing something was wrong.
[What, what, what, what is this??!]
Herseva's consciousness was inside Areldellu. The staff cried and flew into the air.
[What happened! Why am I in this thing's body?!]
However, perhaps Areldellu's consciousness perished in the fight, because the body of the lich didn't move.
Simon quickly approached and checked the lich's condition.
It was fine.
The Life Vessel was also beating normally.
[Get up! Get up, my body!]
Herseva cried, trying to move the lich's body, but only the Life Vessel was beating. The limbs didn't move, just hanging limp.
[Everything is ruined! Ruined! Look at the state I'm in!]
She flew around in panic before crashing into the wall, being unfamiliar with her new body.
"…?!"
Simon's eyes widened at the sight.
The wall that was hit by the staff turned to gold.
[Huhu! Waaaaha!]
Thump! Thump!
Every time the tip of the staff hit a wall, that section of it turned to gold, and even the falling debris from the ceiling turned to gold upon contact with the staff.
Simon's expression suddenly became serious.
'So this is Herseva's…!'
Simon had heard it from Benya.
Herseva's heart was abnormally expensive because she used supernatural abilities while in the dungeon. Even after death, her abilities were well-preserved. A very special case in which it was manifested through her skull and heart.
Benya had predicted two outcomes.
Either it'll become a lich that uses regular dark magic by consuming jet-black.
'…Or it'd become a lich that uses supernatural abilities through jet-black.'
Simon's body trembled with excitement.
Simon quickly checked his own condition. Despite the surroundings turning to gold, his jet-black wasn't being consumed.
Turning his head, he saw jet-black being consumed by the lich's Life Vessel.
'As expected!'
His mind raced, various hypotheses running through his thoughts at lightspeed.
It is said that supernatural ability users consume jet-black to use their abilities when they become necromancers.
Serene, Lorain, and Nefthis were the same.
But just now, when disconnected staff used her supernatural ability, it consumed jet-black from the lich's Life Vessel, not Simon's core.
'This is crazy.'
Only Herseva's consciousness had moved to the staff, but she was functioning properly as a lich.
'Isn't this actually better?'
The biggest weakness of a lich was that, if its Life Vessel was destroyed, it consumed enormous quantities of jet-black just to keep somewhat functional.
That's why summoners only brought out liches in decisive moments or showered them in defensive spells to protect them. This reduced their offensive power, but it was a necessary trade-off.
But what if that chronic weakness of liches disappeared? Simon couldn't help but smile.
[Ahuhu! Everything is ruined! I'm gonna leave!]
Regardless of Simon's thoughts, Herseva—now a staff—was in despair. She began flying away, headed for an exit.
"W-Wait a moment!"
Simon jumped up and grabbed the staff. Herseva continued to sob as she soared into the air.
'Whoa!'
Simon held the staff with both hands, getting dragged up with it.
Despite not knowing the lay of the land, Herseva flew through the hole in the ceiling where the moonlight once shone on Pier's lifeless corpse. She then quickly left Pier's ruins behind, ascending endlessly.
'It's so high!'
Simon made the mistake of looking down and had to stop himself from vomiting. Simon urgently tapped the staff's body.
"Calm down, Herseva!"
[Do you think I can calm down?? Just look at what happened to my beautiful body…!!]
That skeleton wasn't that beautiful, though.
Just as the thought crossed Simon's mind, the jet-black in the staff flickered out.
'Crap!'
She had gotten too far from the lich, the main body, causing the supply of jet-black to be cut off.
Simon and Herseva began tilting heavily downward before starting to crash down due to gravity.
[Kyaaaaaaaaah!]
Simon hugged the staff tight, screwed his eyes shut, and faced the ground back-first.
As they fell, Simon felt branches push and scratch at his vulnerable back, so Simon quickly gathered jet-black around his body to form an improvised shield.
Thud…!
A thick cloud of dust rose from where Simon and Herseva had crash landed.
"Ugh…"
Simon narrowed his eyes as he stood up. Herseva was silent, seemingly shocked by the impact.
From this close, Simon could now see that the staff had its own eyes and a mouth, just as Areldellu had.
'Where are we now?'
The Forbidden Forest was larger and wider than one thinks. And making loud noises just like now was dangerous.
Of course, there was a chance they could encounter patrolling Keepers, but more importantly…
[Grrrrrr.]
[Krrrrrrr.]
The Forbidden Forest was full of monsters.
Drawn by the commotion, werewolves gathered from all directions.
[Hieeek! W-Wolves!]
Herseva leaped up and moved inside Simon's arms.
Simon stroked her body as if to calm her down.
"Don't worry, Herseva."
[Wh-What are you doing? Hurry and chase them away!]
The moment Simon held Herseva in his hands, a strange exhilaration filled him. Most importantly, jet-black was flowing out from Herseva again.
'It's because we've gotten close to the main body again.'
Simon calmly held Herseva with one hand and raised her like a sword. The werewolves crouched low, raising their guards.
"Herseva, I'm going to fight now with your power."
[Wh-What?]
Simon grinned.
"Explain to me in detail the supernatural abilities you possess."
——
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