Chapter 366
[So, you're my creator, huh?]
A historic moment.
Simon was looking at the undead he had created, overcome by an indescribable feeling.
It was speaking.
It was moving.
Covered in crystal, with a plain skull for a face, this lich twisted its bony legs and flicked at the empty air with its hairless head.
[But my creator is still a kid? That’s funny. How old are you?]
"...?"
Was this lich a female-type undead?
The lich uncrossed its legs and stood up.
Thump— Thump—
The Life Vessel throbbed like a beating drum, drawing in mana from the surroundings, converting it into Darkness, and supplying it to its body and the magic circle.
Even without Simon linking his thoughts or imbuing it with Darkness, it maintained its vitality on its own.
‘I made this?’
The excitement swelled in him, it was impossible to calm down.
Ever since he started learning Summonology, this was the first time he’d felt such awe.
Had it not been for the Ancient Undeads nearby, he might’ve jumped around shouting in joy.
Then, the lich approached and lifted Simon’s chin with a finger made only of bone.
[You're cute, but younger guys aren't my type. You're outside my defense range.]
"...?"
He was just standing still, and yet got rejected by his own creation.
At that moment, Erzebet, who had been watching with a displeased expression and crossed arms, snapped irritably.
[How dare you! Get your filthy hands off our Legion Commander’s body, you little fledgling!]
The lich turned its head.
[What the heck? A spider? Why is a spider wearing a human school uniform? That’s hilarious.]
A vein twitched on Erzebet’s forehead. Akemius tried to calm her by grabbing her shoulder, but she shouted furiously.
[You dare, you newly-made undead! How dare you speak to an Ancient Undead like that! Do you want to be annihilated the moment you were born?!]
[Weird big sis. Is there some undead hierarchy based on who died first or something?]
"Alright, enough, enough."
Simon clapped his hands to lighten the mood.
"My name is Simon Follentia. I created you. What should I call you?"
To be honest, while saying that, Simon was hoping to name her himself.
[Herseba.]
The lich placed a hand on her sternum.
[My name is Herseba.]
Maybe it was the expensive heart, this lich had an incredibly strong sense of identity.
"Do you happen to remember your past life?"
[Of course I do!]
Herseba crossed her arms and smiled. Or rather, Simon thought she smiled. Unlike Feer, that skull showed no facial expressions.
[But I’m an undead now, right? So now, nothing really matters anymore! I’ve been reborn! I feel liberated from my heavy body! It’s exhilarating!]
She began humming “la la la” as she spun and twirled on the spot.
The Ancient Undeads stepped back, and Simon scratched his head.
[Hey, Simon!]
Prince looked at him with a frown.
[Did you really make her properly? You ended up with a loose-screwed lich!]
"I-I swear I did everything right…"
Was Herseba perhaps a ballerina in her past life? The elegantly twirling skeleton tapped the wall with a finger.
[Hmm?]
When nothing happened, she tapped it again, and then began poking it repeatedly with more force.
[What? What?!]
She shouted in panic.
[Where’s my power?! Why can’t I use it?!]
"Ah, liches need a staff to cast magic. I’ll link one to you soon."
[You scared me! Hurry up!]
Simon took out the final material.
A long, luxurious box. The moment he opened the case, the autonomous staff ‘Areldellu’ shot into the air with a cackling sound.
"Please grab it."
Worried it might start flying around causing trouble, Simon asked Feer to hold it down.
The moment Feer grabbed it, Areldellu went still like a lie.
“Good. With the best staff I have…”
Simon drew the final magic circle.
While finishing up, Simon recalled his conversation with Benya Vanilla.
—Oh, the staff? Just use the highest-quality one you have.
Simon tilted his head.
—Since the heart is Herseba’s, shouldn’t I find a staff that suits that heart best?
—But how would we know what suits it or not?
—.......
She had a point.
—The setup for the “three elements of a lich” is basically just using the three best-quality materials you have and hoping for the best result. Doing it alone, the Life Vessel success rate, all of it involves a lot of luck in lich creation.
—So that’s how it is.
In the end, Simon chose Areldellu as the staff for the lich.
The most expensive staff he owned.
It was a rare artifact imbued with black magic and curses, an obvious choice. Even Benya had said it was the best option.
But—
[Kyaaaaaaagh!]
Seeing what was happening in front of him, Simon slightly regretted that decision.
[How dare you try to take over my body?! You’re dead!]
—Cacklecackle!
The moment their thoughts connected, the lich and the staff began to fight.
Herseba had an overwhelming sense of self, and Areldellu had a will of its own, so when the two conscious beings tried to share a body, they started a vicious brawl.
Crackle! Zap!
Sparks flew as Darkness twisted and turned like a whirlpool.
Feer’s ruins rumbled like they were about to collapse with a rummmbble!
[Shouldn’t we stop them?!]
Prince, pressed against the wall, shouted in panic.
But Feer shook her head.
[Now that they’ve started the thought-link, it’d be dangerous for us to interfere.]
It was total chaos. The staff and the lich were wrestling each other.
The skull screamed “Get lost!” before going limp, only to suddenly lift its head and cackle strangely.
Then again it slumped, and Herseba’s voice snarled “A staff like you?!”
They repeated this back and forth for about 30 minutes.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted, sending swirling Darkness blasting in all directions.
Silence fell over the area.
Everyone who had retreated to the walls looked around in bewilderment.
Prince spoke irritably.
[Promise me, Simon. That this lich is the last lich of your life.]
[Maybe the problem was using too many expensive materials?]
Simon coughed and raised his head.
“Who won?”
At the center of the blast, the slumped-over lich and the staff lying on the ground came into view.
Thankfully, the Life Vessel still pulsed steadily, so it seemed okay.
[Ha!]
Then Herseba’s voice rang out.
[I won! I beat that damned staff! Kyahaha!]
"As if…"
Said the staff, hopping up and down. Then, as if realizing something was off, it froze in place.
[What?! What?! What?! What is thisss?!]
Herseba’s consciousness had entered Areldellu. The staff howled as it shot into the air.
[What happened?! Why am I in this thing’s body?!]
However, Areldellu's own consciousness seemed to have vanished during the fight, and the lich’s body didn’t move.
Simon quickly rushed over to check the lich's condition.
It was fine.
The Life Vessel was beating normally.
[Get up! Get up, my body!]
Crying her eyes out, Herseba tried to move the lich's body, but only the Life Vessel thumped, her arms and legs remained limp, completely unresponsive.
[It’s over! It’s all over! What kind of mess is this?!]
Panicked, she floated through the air and slammed into a wall, seemingly unfamiliar with her new form.
"...?!"
Simon’s eyes widened at the sight.
The wall that had just been hit by the staff turned to gold.
[Sob sob! Waaah!]
Thud! Thud!
Each time the staff touched the wall, it turned to gold. Even debris falling from the ceiling turned to gold the moment it brushed against the staff.
Simon’s expression grew serious.
‘This is Herseba’s...!’
Benya had told him once.
The reason Herseba’s heart had been so abnormally expensive was because she had been “a being with a special ability” inside a dungeon. Even after death, proper procedures had been taken, allowing her unique power to manifest through her skull and heart, a very rare case.
Benya had predicted two possible outcomes.
Either a lich that consumes Darkness to use regular black magic.
‘…Or a lich that uses a special ability through Darkness.’
Simon’s entire body trembled with a shiver.
He quickly checked his own condition. Despite the surrounding area turning into gold, his own Darkness hadn’t been consumed.
Turning his head, he saw the Darkness being drained from the lich’s Life Vessel.
‘Just as I thought!!’
His mind raced, forming hypothesis after hypothesis.
It’s said that when someone with a special ability becomes a necromancer, they can use their powers by consuming Darkness.
That was the case with Serne, Loraine, and Neftis.
But this time, the summoned creature used a special ability, and it wasn’t Simon’s Darkness being consumed, but the lich’s own Life Vessel.
‘Unbelievable.’
Her mind had simply transferred into the staff, yet she still functioned perfectly as a lich.
‘Isn’t this actually better?’
A lich’s biggest weakness was that if the Life Vessel were destroyed, the power and cost required to restore it would be massive.
That’s why summoners only summoned liches in critical moments, or surrounded them with layers of defensive black magic. The downside was reduced attack power, but that was accepted.
But what if that chronic weakness of the lich was gone? A smile crept to Simon’s lips.
[Sob sob! It’s over! I’m leaving!]
Regardless, Herseba herself, now a staff, was in total despair. She began flying up into the sky.
“W-Wait!”
Simon jumped up and grabbed the staff. Herseba, still sobbing, shot higher into the air.
‘Whoaa!’
Simon held on tightly with both hands.
They shot past the moonlit ceiling and rapidly ascended out of Feer’s ruins.
‘So high!’
He looked down and felt dizzy. Simon quickly tapped the body of the staff.
“Calm down, Herseba!”
[How am I supposed to calm down?! My beautiful body is—!!]
That skull hadn’t exactly been beautiful, though.
As that thought crossed his mind—poof. The Darkness within the staff went out.
‘Crap!’
He had flown too far from the lich’s body, and the Darkness supply had been cut off.
Simon and Herseba tilted, and gravity took hold.
[Aaaaaaah!]
Simon, clutching the staff to his chest, shut his eyes tightly and twisted his body around.
He felt himself scraped and bumped by trees as they fell. Simon drew Darkness across his entire body to protect his back.
Thud—!
A thick cloud of dust billowed up where Simon and Herseba crashed.
“Urgh.”
Simon grimaced with one eye closed and pulled himself up. Herseba, perhaps stunned from the impact, stayed silent for a moment.
Now that he looked more closely, Areldellu’s base structure made it clear—there were eyes and a mouth on the staff.
‘Where even is this place?’
The Forbidden Forest was larger than expected. And making such a loud noise just now was dangerous.
There was a chance patrolling wardens might appear, and more importantly—
—Grrrr.
—Grrrrr.
There were a lot of monsters in the Forbidden Forest.
Having heard the commotion, werewolves began to swarm in from all directions.
[Eeek! W-wolves!]
Herseba jumped and slipped straight into Simon’s arms.
Simon gently stroked her body as if to calm her.
“Don’t worry, Herseba.”
[W-What are you doing?! Hurry up and drive them off!]
The moment Simon held Herseba in his hand, he felt a strange thrill. More than anything, Darkness began to flow out of her again.
‘We must be close enough to the original body now.’
Calmly, Simon held Herseba in one hand and raised her like a sword. The werewolves crouched low, eyes sharp with wariness.
“Herseba, you’re going to fight with your own power now.”
[W-What?!]
Simon grinned.
“Tell me everything about the special ability you have.”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters
Very good story and translation but half the chapter aren't for free and it is wayyyy too expensive will it stat like tjis foreve or will it get free after some time