Chapter 60
“Oh.”
The shopkeeper folded his arms and smiled.
“A freshman, right? Already trying a Skeleton Archer?”
“Yes. I thought I’d give it a shot.”
There are various positions among Skeletons.
Skeleton Archer.
Skeleton Mage.
Skeleton Rider, and so on.
And simply put, a Skeleton Archer is a skeleton that mainly uses a bow as its weapon.
At first, Simon tried handing a bow to an Island Ratman Skeleton and had it shoot, but it was an absolute disaster. It couldn’t even notch an arrow properly, let alone draw the string.
So, in search of a solution, he flipped through his textbook and discovered that there are specific types of skeletons suitable for becoming Skeleton Archers.
“If a beginner wants to try out a Skeleton Archer, Sapiros is the most stable choice. This way, please.”
Simon and the shopkeeper headed deeper into the wide central hall.
Simon’s eyes darted around wildly. There were countless items whose purpose he couldn’t even begin to guess. He thought it might actually be fun to come back later just to browse.
“The bones of Sapiros are over here.”
The shopkeeper knelt down on one knee and pulled out a box from the lower shelf.
With a puff of breath to blow away the dust, silver letters gleamed on the black surface of the box. It looked incredibly luxurious.
“Shall I show you the inside?”
“Yes!!”
Simon practically shouted in response. The shopkeeper smiled like he was looking at a cute junior and opened the box.
“Whoa…!”
The inside was lined with antique red cloth, and at the center sat the skull of a Sapiros, two horns sticking up. In each compartment surrounding it were the spinal bones, arm bones, leg bones—all sorted by type.
“Vanilla is the best brand for skeletons, quality-wise.”
The shopkeeper picked up an arm bone and flicked it with his finger as he spoke.
Tong. The sound rang clearly.
“Did you hear that? That means it’s been properly cold-processed. The joints in the arms are crucial when using them as Skeleton Archers. Oh! And of course, look at the magic circle engraved on the skull like this.”
The shopkeeper gently lifted the skull and revealed the inside. A complex Darkness magic circle was visible.
“This magic circle was carved meticulously, one stroke at a time, by professional necromancers. The defect rate is extremely low, and even if there is a defect, the brand provides after-service support. Just bring it back to the shop and they’ll replace it with a new one.”
From Simon’s perspective, everything he was hearing was as enchanting as a dream. But on the contrary, the smile tugging at his lips began to tremble.
“Uh, it must be really expensive, huh?”
“One box is 30 gold. But as everyone knows, the Vanilla brand is worth every coin.”
30 gold!
Simon sighed inwardly. He knew Summonology was expensive, but this was no joke.
Of course, as a legion commander, Simon’s case was a bit different, but still, with how short-lived skeletons were, 30 gold per unit felt absurdly expensive.
“Is there anything… a little cheaper?”
“Of course there is! Let me show you.”
The shopkeeper stood up and skimmed through several boxes. He then carefully pulled out a few and laid them in front of Simon.
“From the right: 27 gold, 24 gold, and 22 gold.”
Even Simon, who still didn’t know much about undead, could see the quality of the bones deteriorating visibly from left to right.
“And here’s a 20-gold set made by an unknown necromancer.”
He opened a box tied haphazardly with string. A musty smell wafted out, and inside, the bones were jumbled together messily. As he sifted through them, he pulled out a skull and showed the magic circle.
“The circle is still functional, but whether it’s defective or not… that’s up to luck.”
Definitely skipping that one, Simon thought, turning his gaze back to the other boxes.
[What are you hesitating for, boy!]
‘Gah! You scared me.’
[Obviously, you should choose the most expensive Vanilla brand! You're not like other necromancers who can't use broken skeletons! They all become part of your legion's power!]
‘That’s true, but…’
Simon stared at the boxes in deep thought. Feer wasn’t wrong.
If he was going to buy something anyway, shouldn’t he go for the best quality?
“…I’ll take three sets of the Vanilla.”
“Whoa, big spender! Got it.”
The shopkeeper whistled as he pulled out two more boxes with the silver-lettered Vanilla label.
Simon, watching him silently, suddenly grew curious and asked,
“By the way, why is the undead product brand named Vanilla?”
The shopkeeper picked up a bone and sniffed it.
“They smell like vanilla.”
“……”
“Just kidding. The founder’s surname is Vanilla. Now then, let’s head to the counter.”
“Ah! Wait a sec, sir.”
Simon swallowed nervously.
“There’s one more thing I’d like to buy…”
Hearing this, the shopkeeper gave a gentle smile.
“Oh, that one’s going to be seriously expensive… Shall I show you anyway?”
[You lunatic! Hey, snap out of it! You’re gonna blow all your mission money on this?!]
Despite the cold sweat running down his back, Simon smiled and nodded.
“Yes, please.”
* * *
“Please come again~!”
The shopkeeper bowed deeply, and Simon stepped out of the Necromancer Shop with a light smile. As a bonus, he’d even received three bows specifically made for Skeleton Archers.
[Tsk tsk. Feeling good, are you?]
Feer grumbled.
[In the end, you went and splurged on the expensive stuff.]
“Ahaha… Sorry for spending without consulting you, Feer. But still.”
His heart was pounding. The items he had bought were already stored in his subspace, but he was tempted to open it up and touch them again.
“I really think these are necessary for the upcoming duel evaluation.”
[Hmm, if that’s the legion commander’s judgment, I won’t say more. Since you bought them already, just make sure you use them without regrets!]
“Yes!”
He needed to get back to Keyzen before it got too late. He pulled his hood low and began walking.
Maybe he’d spent too long at the Necromancer Shop—night had deepened, and the streets were completely deserted.
As Simon walked quickly—
‘Ah…!’
He saw someone walking from the opposite direction, and his face instantly went pale. He immediately turned around and slipped into an alley between buildings.
[Hm? What is it! What’s going on!]
“It’s someone I know.”
Simon peeked his head out cautiously.
Despite the robe, the face and white clothes visible beneath it were unmistakable to any Keyzen student.
“Professor Bahil? What’s he doing in Rochest…”
[Is that a problem? Maybe he just came for a drink after work.]
“Hmm.”
Well, Simon didn’t need to concern himself with a professor’s personal life after hours.
He watched until Bahil disappeared down the opposite street, then emerged from the alley and sprinted in the direction of Keyzen.
* * *
“Haah, finally here.”
Thankfully, Simon made it back to the dorm without incident. At one point, he nearly got caught by a patrol scouting around Keyzen, a dangerously close situation, but he managed to avoid it without trouble.
As he opened the door to his cozy refuge, Room 409, he was greeted by the usual scene.
Dick was sprawled out on the bed reading a magazine, and Kajan was—as always—snoring with the blanket pulled up to the top of his head.
“Oh, you’re back! Simon.”
Dick said, sitting up.
“Today’s a patrol day. Everything go okay?”
Simon shrugged.
“Almost ran into them, but I got away.”
“Heh! You’ve got guts, seriously. You’ve got that model-student image in class, but here you are sneaking out to Rochest all the time. Lately, I think you’re out more than me.”
Simon brushed it off with a vague smile, took off his uniform, and hung it in the closet. Then, changing into a light short-sleeved shirt, he started preparing to head out again.
“Where you going now?”
“To make a skeleton.”
“This late at night...? What kind?”
“Skeleton Archer.”
At that, Dick sprang up from the bed like a spring.
“Whoa! Whoa! You’re already trying out a Skeleton Archer? For the upcoming duel evaluation?!”
“Yeah. I’m not sure if it’ll work yet, though.”
“That’s gonna be tough for us to put together at this level! What brand is it?”
“Vanilla.”
Dick’s eyes lit up as he grabbed Simon’s shoulders.
“Hey, what are you waiting for?! Lead the way!”
“...Haha.”
The two left Room 409 and headed toward the pantry. The dorm study room was too crowded and quiet, so this place was a better choice.
“This place is perfect.”
The spacious room had no one else around except two students chatting nearby. Simon and Dick sat down.
“Hurry! Bring it out!”
Simon opened his subspace and took out the box. With shimmering silver letters, Vanilla was written on the black box.
Dick let out a “Kyaha~” kind of noise.
“Can I open it?”
“As much as you want.”
When Dick opened the box, gleaming white bones lay on luxurious crimson fabric.
“Damn, that sheen is beautiful.”
The students nearby, curious, crept closer.
“What’s that?”
“A Sapiros Skeleton Archer set. From the Vanilla brand.”
“Whoa…!”
“This is Vanilla?”
Everyone looked at the box like it was the latest release of something fancy.
Simon smiled as he watched the others. Being at a necromancer school, he liked how there were shared interests among students.
“But where’s the assembly diagram?”
“Hold on.”
Simon dug through the box and found a folded piece of paper tucked underneath. He spread it out and finished setting everything up.
“Okay, let’s get started.”
“Go go!”
Simon began by infusing Darkness into the summoning magic circle engraved on the skull.
The colorless magic circle turned black, runes interlocked and spun, creating an ecosystem of magic.
“Is it done now?”
Simon muttered as he lifted the skull up and examined it.
The magic circle was running, but the skull wasn’t showing any movement. Upon closer inspection, some of the runes weren’t functioning properly.
“Look at this, Simon!”
Dick, who had been reading the diagram, called out.
“See the four corners of the magic circle? You need to insert circling-processed Darkness into those spots!”
“Circling? What’s that?”
“It’s a technique used in Darkness Dynamics when constructing magic circles. I think. We haven’t learned it yet, though.”
As expected from a skeleton too complex for a freshman, they hit a wall right from the start. Simon pulled out his Darkness Dynamics textbook from his subspace.
“Circling… circling…”
He scanned the table of contents and found the section on Circling in the middle. Simon flipped to the page.
“Oh, this…”
It sounded familiar.
The content was similar to what Bahil had explained before about Core manipulation.
Darkness circulation. Contemplation. The Black Sun.
It was nearly identical to how Simon currently operated his Core. He even thought the tips Bahil gave him back then were probably based on this very technique.
‘If that’s the case, then maybe I can pull this off.’
Simon slowly raised his right hand and closed his eyes.
‘Not transformation, but circulation. Picture the flow, circulating.’
Shhhhhh—
Darkness began rising slowly from Simon’s palm.
—Darkness has a tendency to remember.
Bahil’s voice echoed in Simon’s memory.
—Like hands and feet, really. Repeat the same motions hundreds or thousands of times, and eventually, even without thinking, Darkness will try to recreate the flow it’s learned. Isn’t that amazing?
Simon clenched his teeth.
Focus on the center, contemplate. Let the Darkness remember and settle into the flow.
Shaaaaa—
The Darkness stabilized. Sweat poured off Simon’s body like rain.
‘It worked.’
Even when he shifted his focus for a moment, the Darkness continued to circulate on its own.
This was Circling.
Simon then compressed the vortex-like Darkness into a small size and inserted it into one of the four corners of the magic circle.
Wuuuuuuum!
The corner lit up. Like powering on a machine, the runes around it, which had been dormant, began to move with renewed energy.
“Dude, you’re… what…”
Dick stared at him, speechless.
“…You just skimmed the textbook and pulled that off? Are you seriously some kind of genius?”
Superb.