I Became The Academy Necromancer

The rustling of leaves could be heard in the stillness that had settled. Their echo was like the waves of a forest; a sound that would usually bring tranquility and revitalize the heart.

But now, it roared violently, mirroring the inner turmoil of my heart.

The two of them stared at me in complete silence.

I remained still as I waited for the two, who seemed to be searching for the right words.

[This is too sudden.]

It was the Dark Spiritualist who broke the silence, though her voice was half-teary.

“Farewells, especially death.”

There was no way I would renege on my decision.

“It always arrives when you least expect it. You, of all people, should know that best.”

Most farewells happened without warning.

Even if you prepared yourself, braced, and were expecting it, the pain of parting would never diminish by much.

It was inevitable that all of us would have to part someday, and it was just that it had arrived sooner than expected.

“If it is hard for you to give me an answer right away, I can wait.”

I might have spoken in a way that could be misunderstood, but I wasn’t telling them to close their eyes right away.

“Even if it is sudden, you will have enough time to prepare.”

From this point on, I planned to lock myself in the royal palace and focused on creating the afterlife.

I didn’t know how long it would take, but as long as I was researching for the means, they still had time.

“Think about it carefully first.”

After saying that, I headed towards the door of the general shop.

***Although spring had arrived in earnest, the Clark Republic was still plagued by cold and harsh winds.

However, the citizens of the Republic found it to be warmer than ever—both the temperature and within the Republic itself.

They had finally attained freedom after the death of the dictator Magan.

Though they were still unfamiliar to this new era, they were gradually adapting to it.

Of course, such peace was only found on the surface.

In fact, starting from the Griffin Kingdom, several countries were desperately holding talks on the surface while conducting espionage operations behind the scenes in an attempt to devour the collapsing Clark Republic.

And the schemes unfolding beneath the shadow of peace, sneaking into the power struggles between nations, were none other than Dante’s.

They were also extracting as much as they could from the Clark Republic, which was once ruled by a Demon Lord.

“Is this enough?”

The capital of the Clark Republic.

A short-haired blond man entered an alley in the heart of Clarkwork’s downtown. At first glance, he appeared to have the build and hair length of a soldier, but he was quite a rare type of Mage.

.

His name was Pelestan, a Blood Mage affiliated with Dante.

Although it did take him some time to shake off the pursuers from the Han Empire chasing after him, he managed to get rid of them.

“Ha, it doesn’t matter how good the opportunity is, is there really a need to overdo things?”

He sighed and leaned against the wall. With a lit cigarette in his mouth, he puffed out a long trail of smoke.

The Republic’s products were quite potent, but their rough charm appealed to him.

Then, mana within his body resounded.

Dante was contacting him.

Since everyone’s sight was shared within Dante, Pelestan knew that Luaneth, the leader of Dante, was observing him.

However, it was a bit unusual for Luaneth to contact him out of the blue like this.

- Pelestan.

“What’s the matter?”

Luaneth’s voice resonated in his mind through the mana, which was connected like a paper cup phone.

Though Pelestan replied rather indifferently, Luaneth’s voice was quite serious.

- It’s a summons.

“A summons?”

Dante generally allowed their members to operate individually. And for large-scale tasks or ones that couldn’t be handled alone, Luaneth occasionally paired people up.

Hence, it was very unusual for Luaneth to use the word ‘summons.’

But Pelestan grasped the reason without needing to think for long.

“Is it time?”

The reasons why Dark Mages were bound to the organization known as Dante varied.

But what united them was Luaneth and the greater cause he held.

His sole purpose of saving this continent.

Luaneth answered Pelestan’s question without hesitation.

- The Rometiu Forest in Griffin.

“Ha, it’s a fittingly dirty and dangerous place for the last one.”

The Griffin Kingdom was still known as a barren land for Dark Mages.

Moreover, the Rometiu Forest was also a place where elemental spirits resided.

Generally speaking, elemental spirits did not like black magicians.

In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that most spiritual beings shunned Dark Mages.

So, in the end, the Rometiu Forest in Griffin was a place where Dark Mages were threatened by both people and elemental spirits.

“Is everyone gathering? It seems that I can finally give that old insect guy a piece of my mind.”

Entomancer Barctos Nikolay—a Dark Mage affiliated with Dante and the director of the Weapon Development Department of the Clark Republic.

The key contributor in the creation of an item called Protection, an item beyond common sense, that enabled the dictatorship of the Clark Republic to continue for as long as it did.

- Yes, since the Republic has collapsed.

Following the collapse of the Clark Republic, Barctos, who had been straddling both sides, finally joined Dante without reservation.

Pelestan deeply exhaled the smoke of his cigarette, recalling the old man’s strange laugh.

“The long journey is finally coming to an end.”

***It had been around a month since I returned from the Jerman Kingdom.

The new term had already started at Lobern Academy, and Aria and Eleanor, who were students, had returned to the academy. However, I, the professor, was still in Graypond.

Being a professor, I should have returned to give lectures, but…

This was only possible thanks to my position as the Kingdom’s Soul Whisperer. And it was probably Erica and Professor Fel who were conducting the lectures in my place.

I felt sorry for the two of them.

If someone were to ask what I was doing in Graypond…

“I can’t remember the number of times I asked you to install a light in here, so tell me, why do I only see a candlestick here?

Deia grumbled as she came down the stairs.

This was where Griffin Evil Ghost had lived, filled with various records and the knowledge he had gathered over the centuries.

It was a secret room hidden behind a statue on the first-floor corridor of the palace.

“Can’t you read outside? Why do you have to do it down here?”

She complained as she placed a tray with coffee and some light refreshments on the desk.

The original plan was for her to return to Norseweden, but she insisted on staying here with me.

“Is it going well?”

“…Yes.”

“You hesitated. Are you really okay?”

I had already informed King Orpheus and those around me about my plans to create the afterlife.

I was creating a place where the dead could rest.

Archmage Ropelican and Saintess Lucia also offered to assist me, but I refused.

I did have a few conversations with them at first, but the difference in knowledge about the theories and structures was too vast, so I decided it would be better for me to handle it by myself.

“Even if it is difficult, I will somehow achieve it.”

Because if I failed, the continent would eventually perish.

Lucia had also informed me that strange incidents were on the rise, not only in Griffin but across the continent.

It was probably because the places for souls to rest were decreasing, causing them to awaken.

The number of incidents were much greater than in the original story.

Some unforeseen butterfly effect might have been the cause of this accelerated pace.

And so, I had been immersing myself in research without eating or sleeping properly.

“You’re going to ruin your health at this rate. Wait, you’re not doing this to create a place for yourself after you die from overwork, are you?”

“This body was already ruined to begin with.”

The constant abuse of drugs and alcohol had already taken its toll on this body. However, since I took possession of this body, I hadn’t touched any drugs, and I had only the occasional drink, which allowed me to somewhat recover.

However, as I aged, the damage accumulated by the original Deus would gradually begin to surface.

“…”

Deia crossed her arms with a disappointed look, apparently not very happy with my words.

Without bothering to respond, I dove right back into my research, and eventually, she turned around and left.

Thud.

The door closed, and silence returned.

Once again, I infused mana into the orb Lehric had used to trap the souls.

An orb with the capacity to hold 20,000 souls.

However, that wasn’t enough.

The place I was creating needed to accommodate every soul that had ever fallen into eternal rest.

They could be billions or even hundreds of billions of souls, so 20,000 wasn’t nearly enough.

A specific power source is required to increase capacity.

Was the volume important for souls?

This question made my already muddled thoughts even more complex. Was the size of the place important for beings without a physical body to enter rest?

I thought it wasn’t.

Then why is there a lack of space on the continent?

I knew all this from the game’s lore, but as my research continued, more questions arose.

If it is not simply an issue with the volume, then creating a separate space on the continent to hold souls might not be any different from now.

After all, even that space would still be on the continent.

“Sigh.”

My head throbbed with pain.

Although I had gained a considerable amount of knowledge as a necromancer and my mind now held numerous secrets about the continent, I still found myself lacking in several areas.

[Ha! You said you’d do it all by yourself, and look at you now, you look sogreat, huh!]

At that moment, I heard the voice of the Dark Spiritualist coming from behind me. When I turned my head a bit, I saw the Dark Spiritualist and Stella, who hadn’t been seen for a while.

The Dark Spiritualist stood upright with her chest puffed out while Stella had a slight blush, looking shy.

[How is it? It’s hard without us, right?]

“…Neither Archmage Ropelican nor Saintess Lucia can assist me now.”

[Hmph.]

That was the same for the Dark Spiritualist and Stella.

The Dark Spiritualist was a Necromancer who used only violent magic, and Stella was originally a Saintess like Lucia.

I wouldn’t have made much progress even if they had offered to help.

They couldn’t deny this, so they remained silent.

This was a good opportunity.

To clear my head, I turned my chair and looked at them.

“The fact that you have returned means that you have something to say to me. Am I right?”

It had been a month since I had told them that if they found their own regrets and shared it with me, I would help them enter eternal rest.

That was enough time to reflect on themselves.

As I stared at them directly, the Dark Spiritualist cleared her throat and tapped Stella on her back.

[The junior should go first.]

[…You’re really going to do it right after me, right?]

Stella, who had been keeping her head low and sighing a lot since earlier, seemed to be feeling embarrassed about something.

It was unusual to see a woman who always carried herself with confidence and kindness behave like this.

“Speak.”

Stella had originally woken up from her rest to help me.

Although it might seem like she had no regrets, I knew that her perspective had changed after witnessing the world with me as a soul.

She had seen souls searching for their parents in the brothel and the appearance of Romuleus, who was on par with the gods she believed in.

I wondered what regrets could have arisen in Stella from the experiences she was unable to have during her time as a Saintess while accompanying me.

However, her inherent nature hadn’t changed.

And so, I assumed it would be a request filled with good intentions. However…

[F-fock you!]

Stella showed her white middle finger awkwardly, as if she was not accustomed to the gesture.

“…What?”

[F-fock you!]

She definitely wasn’t Velica.

There were no horns protruding from her head.

Her voice trembled, and she seemed to be very embarrassed by her attempt at cursing, probably biting her tongue.

As I stared at her in bewilderment, she clung to the Dark Spiritualist like a child.

[Seniorrrrrrrrr!]

Immediately after Stella, the Dark Spiritualist raised both hands to display her middle fingers to show her junior how it was done and said.

[Eat this fack you! You eunuch bastard!]

“Jenny.”

[Don’t call me that!]

“…”

[No,ahem. That’s not what I meant.]

The Dark Spiritualist then grabbed Stella’s hand and declared aggressively.

[We are now evil spirits!]

And then, they ran away.