I Became The Academy Necromancer

Ultimately, it’s not a matter of volume.

The idea of gathering the souls resting all over the continent in one place was good, but in the end, that place could only be set on the continent itself.

A space in another dimension was needed.

So the solution I came up with was the general store.

A place where the dimensions were twisted, and even the gods couldn’t dare to interfere, as Lehric stated confidently.

And Aria did mention she failed to summon her sword in the general store when she tried to previously.

Is it a characteristic of the general store?

The randomness.

I believed it to be the one-of-a-kind characteristic that the general store had on this continent.

Other than the first encounter, stumbling upon Clair’s General Store in the game was completely random.

It was a shop you could find without fail or not at all.

This had a significant possibility of acting as a variable in the game’s progression, and it was the same here.

The reason Lehric was able to obtain the general store.

Initially, the general store was supposed to be run by the dwarf Clair. However, I assumed that the store moved to Lehric’s location and was then taken over by him.

The continent had a main story, a story that flowed inevitably as the fate of the hero was entrusted to Aria.

However, the general store was an exception.

This place was not included in the grand scenario of the continent.

Hence, I planned to use this place.

“Collect the souls and place them in the general store.”

That was the method I thought of. Of course, it would require immense power and the magic to bring it to fruition.

It was possible.

Just as Stella said, I was slowly but surely moving forward towards my conclusion.

Step. Step.

The sound of people descending the stairs echoed in the laboratory. It was about time, so I finished organizing the materials and papers with formulas on my desk.

“What is going on for all of you to come here this early in the morning?”

“You’ve installed lights?”

“…”

There were three people who came down.

The first one was the Royal Knight Commander, Gloria.

With her red hair tied up, she was carrying her treasured sword and was also wearing the red armor symbolizing the Royal Knight, as if she was ready to go into battle at any moment.

The other was Tyren Ol Velocus, the Mage Tribunal Judge, with a thick golden robe, headpiece, and a staff resembling a spear.

And the last person was Findenai, who was dressed in her usual maid uniform.

She, too, was equipped with items like Snow White and War Shoes and looked sullen.

It seemed that she was still unable to forget the shame from the last time.

“Prepare yourself.”

That was that.

It was now time to move my body, not just the pen on the desk.

***Rometiu Forest—A forest known to be inhabited by elemental spirits and fairies, a place left untouched by humans.

With the King of Elemental Spirits accompanying Erica Bright, the largest barrier was absent.

However, the elemental spirits and fairies were not really bothered by this. In fact, they were glad that the one who nagged them on a daily basis was gone.

They were innocent and simple beings, happy to fly around and wander among the trees with their friends.

And today was just another day like that.

The elemental spirits believed it would be a quiet but exciting day. However…

Kyaaaaakkk!

Dark Mages!

Screams erupted from their lips.

A deep, dark shadow had entered Rometiu Forest. Dark Mages in black robes were wandering through the forest, heading towards the center.

“These damn noisy spirits.”

Dante’s Dark Mage Becklin, who called himself a blightcaster, shooed the elemental spirits away in annoyance.

He wanted to spread his plague among them immediately, but he had to refrain due to the orders to not cause a commotion.

The moment Becklin activated his magic, Rometiu Forest would no longer be called a forest.

After all, his plague wasn’t just limited to humans.

“Huheehe.”

An old man with a hunched back walked beside him. If he were to straighten up by leaning on his staff, he would actually be quite tall.

In a way, he resembled a coiled centipede.

He was Entomancer Barctos Nicolay, the general director of the Weapon Development Department of the Clark Republic.

“I’m quite fond of this forest.”

Insects poured out of Barctos’s shadow endlessly, occupying the forest like conquerors.

No! No! No!

The insects managed to catch a fleeing fairy and brought it to Barctos.

Crunch!

Without hesitation, Barctos shoved the fairy into his mouth and began chewing on it.

Kyaaaack!

“Huheehe! Hearing a woman’s scream from inside my mouth is a new experience for me.”

Of course, the scream didn’t last long.

Having eaten the fairy, Barctos looked dissatisfied.

“Chomp chomp bleh, it tastes worse than bugs.”

Complaining that he had eaten it for nothing, a hooded woman walking at the back approached him.

“Bring me one.”

“Huh? Are you going to use it?”

“Hurry up.”

“Alright, fine.”

The woman’s voice was hoarse, as if she had sand stuck in her throat. Soon, the insects captured another fairy.

Help me! Help me!

“Here it is.”

The insects brought the fairy to the woman, who reached out and grabbed it.

As she reached out, the sleeve of her robe was drawn back slightly, revealing stitch marks around her wrist.

“Hmm.”

After contemplating for a moment, the woman pressed her fingers and snapped the fairy’s neck.

The fairy’s neck twisted 180 degrees, like a broken toy.

However, as the woman’s mana seeped into the fairy, it stood up again on her palm.

Even its twisted neck didn’t matter.

The fairy’s corpse fluttered its wings and began circling around the woman.

“My first fairy corpse.”

Cadavermancer Yun smirked, looking pleased and began experimenting with the fairy’s corpse.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the deepest part of Rometiu Forest.

Under the great tree where the King of Elemental Spirits, who was absent due to the contract with Erica, should have been resting stood a handsome young man with white hair and a short-haired blond man with a military demeanor.

The leader of Dante.

The most vile Dark Mage in history, known as Heralhazard.

He was also known by another name, Luaneth Luden Griffin.

The other sturdy looking man was the Blood Mage Pelestan, who had come from the Clark Republic.

“Is it only the three of you?”

When Pelestan asked with a cigarette in his mouth, the Blightcaster Becklin pointed to the back with his thumb.

“They’re coming. Just cleaning up some strange remnants.”

“Hmm.”

Pelestan shrugged indifferently, puffing out smoke. This was Griffin’s land, so it wasn’t strange for enemies to appear.

“What sort of insignia did they have?”

However, Luaneth, their leader, reacted differently. With an unusually tense expression, he repeated his question hastily.

“Their shields or armor of the pursuers must have had some kind of insignias or design on them, right?”

There was no way they would be captured by low-level people, barely worthy of being called soldiers, like the village militia.

Hence, he naturally assumed that they must either be private soldiers of a particular noble or guards from the vicinity.

“Oh, are you really asking me to remember all that?”

Becklin scratched the back of his head and grumbled irritably.

“This is my first time in Griffin. I didn’t study enough to recognize those households just by their insignias.”

“Red hawk.”

Instead of Becklin, who had slanted eyes and never cared about reading the room, just blurting out randomly, it was Entomancer Barctos and Cadavermancer Yun who gave the desired answer.

“They had red hawks on their armor and shields. There was also a pretty skilled magic swordsman among them.”

“There was a light sword as well. Their main force seemed to be Mages in yellow robes.”

“What? That’s quite a formidable force.”

Having heard the story, Pelestan found his interest piqued and regretted not being involved.

“Damn it.”

Having realized that the situation had become complicated, Luaneth ran a hand through his forelock and looked around.

“Barctos, look for any warp markers in the vicinity.”

“Huheehe! Warp markers? Could it be him?!”

Having already experienced it once back in the Clark Republic, Barctos enthusiastically struck the ground with his staff.

Like ants rushing out of an anthill, insects swarmed from his staff, spreading throughout the forest.

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Is it because of the Soul Whisperer?”

Pelestan and Yun asked simultaneously. Luaneth nodded with a tense expression.

“The red hawk is from the Zeronia Household and the light sword from the Bright Household. Both families are working with the Soul Whisperer.”

Having encountered them during the Romuleus incident, Luaneth grew increasingly anxious.

With both the Zeronia and Bright households present, it meant that the Soul Whisperer was already aware of their presence.

“Did they know we were coming here?”

Muttering to himself, Luaneth fell into thought. Dante’s Dark Mages had never seen their leader so anxious.

“The Soul Whisperer.”

When Pelestan first heard of that title, he thought nothing of it. To him, Deus was only at the level of a Dark Mage who clung to the royal family to survive in the kingdom.

But in reality, barely a year since he took on that position, he had already displayed remarkable actions.

Not only did he annihilate the Griffin Evil Ghost that had been lurking since the founding of the Griffin Kingdom, he also slew five out of the ten Demon Lords on the continent.

The Demon Lord of Gluttony, Magan.

The Demon Lord of War, Valkyria.

The Demon Lord of Worship, Feyron.

The Demon Lord of Pride, Dune.

The Demon Lord of Deception, Lehric.

At this point, his feats alone could earn him the title of a Demon Lord hunter, surpassing even the Saintess, and the surviving Demon Lords had no choice but to watch the Soul Whisperer’s actions with bated breath.

The Dark Mages of Dante had also seen him through shared visions.

In fact, after witnessing his fighting style, they felt that they were likely to emerge victorious if they were to face him directly.

After all, it was hard to imagine losing to a Necromancer who didn’t control souls.

However, he managed to overcome all sorts of hardships and formidable enemies and survived to this day.

This showed that he was not someone who could be judged by magic or common sense alone.

And thus, due to his unpredictability, Luaneth was worried about the Soul Whisperer’s involvement.

“We’re here!”

As if to dismiss his worries, the rest of the Dark Mages arrived, pushing through the trees.

The biggest among them was a man carrying a spear on his shoulder despite being a Dark Mage, who was greeted with a smile; a Dark Mage from the Han empire, Zhang Run.

He was covered in blood and dragging a red-haired man behind him.

Swish!

Crash!

The handsome man with red hair was Gideon Zeronia. He was once a professor at Loberne Academy but was forced to resign due to a family crisis. Since then, he had been following Deus’ orders diligently.

“Huheehe, is this a spoil?”

Barctos asked with a laugh, and Zhang Run chuckled, pointing at Yun.

“I brought it for her. The best gift for a Cadavermancer is a fresh corpse, isn’t it?”

“As expected, you’ve always been passionate in your pursuits!”

Barctos and Zhang Run burst into laughter simultaneously. Ignoring them, Yun approached Gideon and asked while stepping on his head.

“He’s still alive, isn’t he?”

“I thought a fresh corpse would be better!”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter.”

Responding indifferently, Yun twisted her left wrist.

“Blood will get on it.”

A thick needle protruded from her palm.

“All the warp markers have been taken care of.”

Turning his attention from Yun and Gideon, Barctos spoke to Luaneth.

“There were about five in total. There shouldn’t be any problem as the ants ate them all.”

“Alright.”

Only then did Luaneth feel relieved.

He knew that Deus was currently staying at Graypond.

Considering the distance from Graypond to this forest, even if it were Deus, he wouldn’t be able to make it on time.

But then….

Crash!

Cadavermancer Yun fell onto her buttocks. Gideon Zeronia, who had been lying limp until now, used all his strength to push her away

“This bastard!”

Thinking Yun was hurt because of his gift, Zhang Run grabbed his spear and stepped forward.

“Haaaaaaaackkk!”

Bang!

A shining stake emerged from Gideon’s pocket.

It was a warp marker.

“Huff! Huff!”

Bleeding profusely, Gideon collapsed as if he had exhausted the last bit of strength.

“Huheehe! Huh? There was one more!”

Barctos laughed, pointing at the warp marker hidden on Gideon’s person.

While there would normally be some waiting time before it could be activated, this time was different.

The warp marker began to react immediately, emitting a pillar of light.

“Seems like it’s only one person?”

Pelestan muttered with his arms crossed as he looked up at the pillar of light.

Indeed, only one person was transported via the warp.

The warp was brief.

After the pillar of light turned to dust and vanished, a somewhat unexpected woman stood there.

“Phew.”

She was wearing a white shirt and a neat, deep blue suit.

Her long hair was tied in a ponytail and draped over one shoulder.

Her blonde hair complemented her fair skin.

The woman, with her hands buried in her suit pockets, was a mage and professor who should not have been here.

She was Erica Bright.

“That is…”

“The Soul Whisperer’s fiancée.”

“What? How insignificant.”

The Dark Mages of Dante had similar reactions. They were relieved that it wasn’t the Soul Whisperer who had come but were also puzzled by the lone woman standing before them.

Erica, however, cast a cold gaze over them and drew her hands from her pockets, producing a pair of white gloves.

“You must be the Dark Mages he’s been searching for. Dante, right?”

The Zeronia Household and Bright Household had been on Dante’s pursuit at Deus’ request.

Following suit, Erica asked them calmly while putting on her gloves. It was Pelestan who responded.

“Coming here all by yourself for the sake of your fiancé is quite foolish. Are you blinded by love?”

“…”

“Do you even know how many Dark Mages are gathered here?”

In addition to the Dark Mages who had arrived earlier, about ten Dark Mages had accompanied Zhang Run after cleaning up.

Considering they were all Dark Mages, it was a sizable group.

Snap.

Erica let out a disdainful snort, pulling the cuffs of her gloves to secure them.

“Surely, you can’t be unaware of where you are, can you?”

“Step back.”

Seeing the golden mana rising from Erica’s feet, Luaneth warned.

The Dark Mages who were about to rush at her flinched at the warning from the quick-witted Luaneth.

Vast power surged behind Erica.

Then, from the grassy ground, a giant golden butterfly emerged.

The King of Light Elemental Spirits.

“This is the first time the Elemental Spirit King has been this enraged.”

The King of Light Elemental Spirits floated above Erica, radiating intense hostility towards the Dark Mages.

To the unwelcome visitors who had arrived in the sanctuary of the elemental spirits, the light emitted by the Elemental Spirit King felt like sharp needles piercing their skin.

“She made a contract with an elemental spirit?”

“If it’s the King of Light Elemental Spirits, we need to be cautious.”

“It seems like you two make a very well-matched pair.”

One was a Necromancer known as the Soul Whisperer.

The other was a contractor with the King of Elemental Spirits.

The Dark Mages of Dante let out nervous jeers.

“Helping out one’s husband behind his back.”

The eyes of Erica, who was now influenced by the King of the Elemental Spirits, turned to a golden hue as they glared at them.

“That is what a good wife should do.”