Chapter 480
“Bone Dragon. When do you think you’ll be able to handle this?”
Simon was left breathless at the sight of the beautiful figure of a dragon reduced to nothing but bones, hidden beneath the orange autumn leaves.
Back in his first year, Simon had finished by creating a Lich.
And now, in his second year, Aron had set the class goal as creating a Dullahan.
“By the end of the second year.”
A thrilled smile appeared on Simon’s lips.
“My goal will be to make it. No—without fail, I’ll create it and make it obey me.”
Clenching his fist in determination, Simon turned away. Neftis smiled brightly as she watched.
“Mm. Do your best, our Student Council President!”
* * *
The next morning.
Aron’s Intermediate Summonology Major class began.
After covering the creation of Skeleton Knights on the first day, the second day was about their operation and a practical exercise on their combat skill, Bash.
The class was held in the outdoor training grounds.
The students spread out, standing alongside the Skeleton Knights they had created the day before. Each of the Knights swung its sword into the air with vigorous force.
“Channel the Darkness of the summoning magic circle and focus it into the sword.”
With his hands clasped behind his back, Aron walked among the students, instructing them.
“The monsters used as primary materials for Skeleton Knights all understood the concept of aura in life. There’s no need to force a magic circle into them. Let the undead recall their memories of life and naturally guide them into reproducing the skill.”
He raised his voice as he turned his back.
“Again—strike!”
Whooosh!
All the Knights’ blades came down at once. A few swords briefly darkened with black energy before returning to normal. The students who succeeded let out cries of joy.
“Well done.”
Aron said.
“Aura is a technique that knights of old used, embedding mana into their swords—it was their very symbol of strength. Think of it as recreating that through the Darkness of the undead.”
“Yes, Professor!”
“Again—strike!”
Leaving the rest of the session to the head teaching assistant, Aron continued to check the students one by one, offering feedback.
“Alibaran Finesse. I know you have a knack for swordsmanship, but don’t cling to your Knight’s posture. The point of this exercise is to find the sword path your Knight wielded most comfortably in life. Once you master that path, Bash will come naturally.”
“Yes, thank you!”
“Hector Moore. You’re too stiff. Your will is too strong for the Knight you made yesterday to keep up with. Adjust your tempo, your rhythm, and your force.”
“Yes, sir.”
After correcting a few more students, Aron turned his head.
‘Simon Follentia.’
This one had already succeeded in performing Bash.
The sword of Simon’s Skeleton Knight rippled with black energy and managed to hold it for quite some time.
‘But why does he look so fired up today?’
The intensity in Simon’s eyes was unmistakable.
Aron knew that look.
It was the same gaze Simon had when others aimed to make Skeleton Mages, while he alone dreamed of a Lich.
He had thought that kind of “activation” would only come later in Simon’s academy life. Did something happen last night? Or was this a sudden shift in resolve?
Aron’s curiosity grew as he approached.
“Simon Follentia.”
But Simon was so focused he didn’t even hear his name being called right beside him.
Aron waited silently. Then, at the assistant’s cry of “Strike!”, the Knight under Simon’s command swung its sword.
Whooosh!
A clean arc sliced through the air.
The Knight’s back was bent and its stance imperfect, but given its limitations, it produced the best possible result.
Finally snapping out of his trance, Simon wiped the sweat from his forehead with a relieved sigh.
“Simon Follentia.”
Simon jumped in surprise and turned around.
“Ah! Y-yes, Professor!”
“The ‘Bash’ your Knight should use is a strike where Darkness is concentrated into a line and then detonated all at once. But what you’re doing right now isn’t Bash—it’s closer to an enchantment.”
“Ah, well…”
Simon scratched the back of his neck.
“To be honest, while searching for the best trajectory for my Knight, I ended up with this.”
Aron’s eyes widened.
‘He had found his own creative direction without anyone’s advice?’
Aron quickly returned to a calm expression and turned away.
“That’s fine, then.”
“?”
Aron said no more and instead corrected Toto’s Knight’s swordplay nearby.
* * *
Break Time
After practice, the students were given a 30-minute break. Aron sat on a bench in the training grounds, watching Simon with a strange look.
‘At this rate, his effort is almost frightening. What on earth happened?’
Even during break, Simon kept training. He commanded his Skeleton Knight to spin, and its body twirled like a top.
Perhaps infused with the effect of Bash, this time the Knight spun into a pitch-black whirlwind.
Toto threw a stone toward it—crack!—the rock was shattered to pieces. Simon and Toto cheered, high-fiving each other.
“Hey, Toto! Check this out too. I made a new technique.”
“What is it, what is it?”
“It’s still experimental, but…”
Simon opened a subspace in front of him.
Shhhrrraaaaack!
From within, three Skeleton Knights burst out, spinning like tops and shredding the air as they flew forward.
Unlike the first Knight, which had only spun at the waist, these rotated with their entire bodies, from toes to torso.
“A-a-amazing!”
Toto screamed in excitement. The other students, resting at their spots, also lit up with wonder as they watched.
But the stopping motion wasn’t perfect yet. As they spun, the Knights’ bodies shattered and pieces flew everywhere. Simon ran around picking up fragments while Toto helped gather them.
“Simon! You had three more Knights?”
Toto asked, his arms full of bones.
Simon glanced around at Aron and the assistants, then whispered:
“Actually, I bought them yesterday in Rochest. Wanted to test this out.”
“Ahh, I see!”
“I’ve even got a name in mind. Blade Storm?”
“How about Whirlwind?”
Watching from afar, Aron pressed a hand to his forehead with a heavy sigh.
‘…This lunatic.’
Before long, with Simon and Toto away in the bathroom, other students began experimenting by spinning their own Skeleton Knights.
And so, in the middle of Summonology Major class, a strange new fad was born.
* * *
The morning practice ended, and Aron led the students back to the classroom. Training Skeleton Knights was fine, but they still had to cover the textbook material.
“By the way, yesterday I received the same question from several of you.”
Aron said, tapping the chalk against the board.
“When I mentioned creating a Tier-3 undead, the headless knight known as a Dullahan, many of you asked what exactly this word ‘Tier’ means.”
Students like Aseraz and Hector, who had studied ahead, snickered.
Simon, on the other hand, only darted his eyes nervously.
‘I don’t know either…’
“Quiet.”
Aron’s voice instantly restored silence.
“This isn’t something covered in the first-year Summonology curriculum, so it’s natural that some of you don’t know. Let me explain.”
He wrote the word Tier on the board.
“As you all know, the term means ‘level’ or ‘rank’. I don’t particularly like the word, but it’s used a lot in the field, so I’ll go over it.”
The chalk danced in Aron’s hand across the board.
“In Summonology, ‘Tier’ is a little different from grade or rank. Every one of you has a maximum number of undead you can control at once.”
Simon nodded.
In his case, without using his Legion Commander’s power, he could currently control up to eight Summoned Undead simultaneously. He had achieved that limit around the second semester of his first year, but since then, it hadn’t increased.
Of course, with cross-operation, he could make it appear like he was controlling more, and with Cloud’s help to use the Royal Guard technique, he could handle 24 undead or even more.
“I’m at five.”
Someone admitted.
Toto’s voice rang out.
“I can handle eight.”
Fitzgerald pushed up his glasses and added his own number.
As the students murmured among themselves, Aron resumed his explanation.
“The maximum number of undead one can command with willpower alone varies greatly from person to person. For example, let’s say a necromancer can control up to ten undead at once.”
He sketched numbers across the chalkboard.
“This necromancer could control ten Tier-1 undead, five Tier-2 undead, or up to three Tier-3 undead.”
‘So that’s it!’
Simon’s eyes widened in sudden realization.
‘The measure of willpower required to control undead!’
“You should be getting the picture now.”
Aron said, setting down the chalk.
“Undead with strong willpower and originality demand far more effort to control. In such cases, handling even a few will prevent you from commanding any others.”
The students all nodded together.
“But as I said earlier, I don’t particularly like this concept or terminology. We shouldn’t plant unnecessary prejudices in students. First—Tier is a relative concept.”
Because controlling undead with willpower is a matter of mental strength, it can vary widely between individuals.
Even if two necromancers each have a maximum of ten, one might be able to control five Tier-2 undead, while another might manage five Tier-2s plus one Tier-1. Some might even find Tier-4 easier to handle than Tier-3.
“Don’t think of it as an absolute rule. Simply understand that the higher the Tier, the harder they are to handle, but also the stronger they become. Second, the maximum number of undead you can control does not directly indicate the strength of the summoner.”
He wrote down a name in chalk.
“For instance, Lenzi Mahomes, currently active as a Crow, is a professional necromancer who can control only three undead at most. And yet, he reached the very top. His ‘Golem Trio’ is considered one of the most powerful summoning combinations.”
The students’ pens scratched eagerly against paper.
“And third, Tier involves many variables. Some of you may already know, but a Lich is classified as a Tier-1 undead. That puts it in the same category as an ordinary Zombie or Skeleton. But is a Lich really the same as a Skeleton? Of course not.”
Aron glanced around the classroom.
“The reason this is possible is due to the unique trait of the Lich—the external ‘Life Vessel’, its heart. And there also exists what we call Tier-0 undead.”
“Tier-0?!”
“What’s that?”
At the student’s question, Aron smiled and wrote seven letters on the board.
“Ancient Undeads.”
“…!”
Simon felt his heart lurch.
“These ancient beings require no willpower from a necromancer. They themselves command other undead as vassals. Likewise…”
He added another word above: Legion Commander.
“Legion Commanders don’t follow these rules. They can command thousands, tens of thousands of Legion-type undead. Numbers mean nothing to them.”
“Woooow!”
“So unfair…”
Toto grumbled. Simon gave a nervous smile, cold sweat running down his back.
“Of course, even Legion Commanders don’t rely solely on the armies of Ancient Undeads. They say Legion Commanders control their own direct Summoned Undead to near perfection.”
Aron glanced up at the wall clock.
“Time’s nearly up. Any more questions about today’s lesson?”
The classroom was silent for a moment—until a single hand went up.
It was Simon.
“Simon Follentia.”
At Aron’s nod, Simon rose from his seat, his eyes serious.
“This might be a bit out of the blue, but… what Tier is a Bone Dragon?”
The murmuring of the students ceased instantly. Aron looked at Simon with a strange expression before replying.
“A Bone Dragon starts at a minimum of Tier-10. Some are said to be so far beyond that it’s doubtful humans could ever control them.”
Simon’s heart pounded wildly.
An undead so advanced it was nearly impossible to create, let alone command.
That was the Bone Dragon.
‘Perfect. Having such a clear goal only fuels my determination further!’
Simon sat back down, burning with resolve. From a distance, Aron watched him, his expression hardening.
‘Don’t tell me this lunatic is actually serious.’
He could only pray that wasn’t the case.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters