However, the behavior of the bone hand suggested something more than a mere trap; it was excessively polite. As Yi-Han stepped forward, the bone hand, trembling violently, rolled backward and lay down, seemingly to prove its lack of hostile intent. Yi-Han was momentarily baffled.
Just then, Professor Mortum interjected, "Cough. It's easy to be deceived by the beautiful and majestic appearance of undead summoning, but in reality, it's anything but easy." This comment shed light on a common dilemma faced by mages, especially those who typically designed inanimate objects for summoning spells. They often pondered: Must I summon inanimate objects? Can't I summon beings with a consciousness?
Even the act of summoning a magic sword required careful pre-planning of its attributes and autonomous movements. As the complexity of such summoning spells increased, they demanded almost AI-like autonomy, making their study particularly challenging for mages. The questions persisted: Why must we design every detail? Can't we just summon beings with consciousness from the start?
However, summoning beings with consciousness had clear drawbacks. Such beings might not always obey the summoner's commands, and this was particularly true for undead monsters. Compared to other monsters, undead creatures were usually 'a bit' more disobedient. Their fundamental nature was the root cause of this challenge; summoners were mostly alive, while the undead were, well, dead. Forming a bond between such opposites was naturally difficult.
To bridge this gap, dark mages employed various methods to befriend the undead. Living in tombs, anointing themselves with rotting substances, and wearing necklaces of bones and flesh were not signs of degeneracy but rather heartbreaking efforts to mask the life force of the living and get closer to the undead.
"..."
"..."
The students, listening intently to Professor Mortum's lecture on undead summoning, turned as pale as the undead creatures being discussed. Meanwhile, Professor Mortum, seemingly oblivious to their discomfort, continued. "Cough. So, try to befriend the bone hand by any means necessary. If you get close to it, eventually you'll be able to befriend other undead monsters." He explained that getting close to low-tier undead monsters like the bone hand could imbue one's soul with their aura, thus enabling control over more powerful undead over time.
"Professor," Yi-Han interjected, quietly waiting for a pause in the lecture. He raised his hand and called out to Professor Mortum.
"Are there undead who are particularly cowardly?" he asked. This was an unusual question, as undead monsters were typically characterized by their fearlessness, given their lack of life.
Professor Mortum initially scoffed at the notion, as if to dismiss such a possibility... but then his expression changed to one of surprise upon noticing the undead monster, the bone hand, trembling in front of Yi-Han.
Professor Mortum cast an incredulous look at the bone hand he had summoned, wondering if this was its usual reaction when confronted with students. The bone hand, seemingly ashamed, bowed its ‘head’ in front of the professor.
"Can't you get closer quickly?" Professor Mortum commanded, yet the bone hand remained trembling, hesitant to approach Yi-Han. The professor began to wonder if there was an issue with the potion he used in the summoning.
Meanwhile, another bone hand was happily slapping the cheek of an approaching student, Gainando. They all seemed to behave normally, except for the one in front of Yi-Han.
'Did the bone hand feel a kinship due to Yi-Han being accompanied by a bone summon? No... that shouldn't cause fear,' the professor thought. Only one conclusion seemed plausible, and it left Professor Mortum internally horrified. "Could it be...?"
"Cough. Try summoning it yourself," he suggested to Yi-Han.
"Is that alright?" Yi-Han asked.
"Yes. Dark magic is superior to summoning magic because it offers practical experience like this. With summoning magic, you'd only be studying for a year."
"..."
Professor Mortum, eager to demonstrate the efficacy of dark magic, tossed Yi-Han a bone fragment necessary for the spell and etched a magic circle on the ground. Yi-Han, holding his staff and focusing intently, couldn't shake off a sense of unease about the professor's actions. 'It seems like he's rushing the curriculum to prove dark magic is better...' he thought. However, Yi-Han felt confident in his ability to subdue the bone hand if it turned aggressive.
He began the incantation. "Appear, bone hand!" With a throw of the bone fragment and a swing of his staff, the fragment absorbed mana and transformed amidst ominous smoke into a bone hand. This was not one of the bone hands previously summoned and controlled by Professor Mortum. This was a new entity, conjured by Yi-Han himself.
Summoning spells typically acted like chains restraining a beast, and for a novice mage, handling such a chain was a significant challenge. The incantation controlled the undead monster, but the control was precarious for an inexperienced caster.
Professor Mortum observed the situation closely. If the newly summoned bone hand broke free and attacked Yi-Han, he was prepared to reverse the summoning immediately. However, what unfolded was unexpected.
Rolling and tumbling—
The new bone hand, summoned by Yi-Han, displayed an even greater level of submission than the one summoned by Professor Mortum. This surprising behavior was in stark contrast to what might be expected of a freshly summoned undead entity. It was as if the bone hand was showing an exaggerated form of obedience.
Amidst this scene, the bone summon hanging from Yi-Han's belt writhed, seemingly in jealousy.
"You have too much mana," Professor Mortum stated calmly, shedding light on a peculiarity he had observed in Yi-Han. Reflecting on past events, Yi-Han realized there had been indications of this since the curse class. He hadn't comprehended the severity of his condition, not until seeing the undead monsters cower and submit before him.
Yi-Han, feeling like a patient diagnosed with an incurable disease, asked solemnly, "I see. Professor, is there a way to cure this?"
"Cough. Why cure it? It's a blessed talent," Professor Mortum responded, surprising Yi-Han.
"??" Yi-Han was taken aback. He had always considered his excessive mana a hindrance. Magic was hard to use, spirits fled from him, and now, even undead creatures were showing fear.
"Cough. With such a talent, there's no need to befriend undead monsters. Just suppress them with power. What a wonderful ability," Professor Mortum elaborated. He explained that dark mages didn't indulge in rituals like rolling around in tombs for enjoyment; they did it to somehow befriend the undead. However, if one could simply overpower them instead of befriending them, it would be a more efficient method of control. To Professor Mortum, the ability to subjugate undead monsters seemed a more advanced and desirable form of control.
"But Professor, we can summon and subjugate undead monsters, but not spirits," Yi-Han pointed out. Without first befriending spirits, they wouldn't respond to summons, rendering the idea of intimidating them moot.
Professor Mortum, understanding Yi-Han's concern, kindly offered a solution. "Cough. There's a good solution."
"What is it?" Yi-Han inquired, intrigued.
"Just give up on summoning spirits," Professor Mortum advised.
"..."
Yi-Han was grateful for the table's presence. Hidden beneath it, he could clench his fist without anyone noticing his frustration. However, Professor Mortum was earnest in his advice.
"Cough. Why try to graze on grass with such good teeth and claws? Dark magic suits you best. I don't usually say this, but... you have a genius talent for dark magic," the professor declared.
"Ah. I see," Yi-Han responded nonchalantly.
"?!" This time, it was Professor Mortum who was taken aback by Yi-Han's indifferent reaction. The professor had given a rare and valuable compliment, yet Yi-Han seemed too casual about it. Perhaps due to his Wardanaz family lineage, Yi-Han's response was unexpectedly indifferent. 'The time to be swayed by professors' praise has passed,' Yi-Han thought. He knew that professors often used praise strategically, especially in less popular fields, and being beguiled by it could complicate one's life.
Seeking to shift the focus, Yi-Han mentioned, "However, Professor. Due to the amount of mana, casting spells is difficult for me."
"That will improve with practice. Cough. I'll help you with the training," Professor Mortum offered.
'Damn. Professors are really of no help,' Yi-Han thought privately. They seemed more interested in satisfying their own desires than genuinely assisting students. Could a professor really be this self-serving? But then again, professors had always been like this.
"Oh my... Thank you very much," Yi-Han replied, managing to keep his expression neutral. While he hadn't committed to pursuing dark magic, he recognized the need to prepare for the possibility that other magics might fail him, leaving dark magic as his only viable option. Therefore, maintaining a good relationship with Professor Mortum was pragmatic.
As they exchanged smiles, both the professor and student had their own hidden agendas.
Elsewhere in the classroom, Gainando, with a swollen cheek, angrily confronted a bone hand with his staff. Raphael, equally battered, brandished a wooden sword at another bone hand. Ymirg, the only one unscathed, had managed to grab and pin down a charging bone hand.
Catching Yi-Han's disbelief, Professor Mortum elaborated, "Cough. Having a talent for dark magic doesn't mean one quickly befriends the undead. That's not a good method. It's a classic mistake young dark mages make."
"But if you beat them up like that, won't the undead monsters start respecting the summoner?" Yi-Han asked, trying to understand the dynamics.
Professor Mortum looked at Yi-Han as if he were suggesting something absurd. Yi-Han, feeling misunderstood, thought, 'But you said suppression was a good method...'
After the extra lesson, Gainando, nursing his swollen cheek with the ointment provided by Professor Mortum, couldn't hide his irritation. "Undead monsters, they’re unaware of nobility... Yi-Han."
"?" Yi-Han looked at him questioningly.
"Let's hurry to the summoning magic class. It might be better if it's not undead monsters," Gainando suggested, hoping for a change in their magic studies.
"..." Yi-Han pondered silently. 'Apart from spirits, demons are probably more ferocious than undead monsters, and monsters generally have strong wild instincts,' he thought.
Meanwhile, Raphael, sporting a puffed-up face, couldn't contain his frustration. "You wicked dark mage. Just you wait. I'll be watching you," he yelled at Yi-Han.
"Really. It seems we have a misunderstanding. Do we really have to fight as fellow dark magic students?" Yi-Han questioned, seeking to defuse the situation.
"You jerk! You hit me in the face earlier!" Raphael accused.
"That was a mistake," Yi-Han replied, regretting the incident.
Yi-Han, following Professor Mortum's guidance, had been testing how far he could command the undead monster. He had even successfully executed a difficult command to self-destruct, which earned him applause and admiration from the professor. However, amidst a command error, Yi-Han's summoned bone hand accidentally slapped Raphael, leading to his grudge against the "wicked necromancer."
"Really. Why don't you believe me..." Yi-Han lamented.
"Yi-Han. He’s already gone," Gainando pointed out.
"What a pity," Yi-Han responded, a hint of regret in his voice.
Gainando looked at Yi-Han, his gaze mixed with fear. '...So this is why the undead obey well?!' he wondered.
"Ymirg. See you next class," Yi-Han said, bidding farewell to another classmate.
"Uh, okay. Yi-Han. But not outside..." Ymirg replied cautiously, hinting at a certain unease around Yi-Han.
Yi-Han felt a sting of hurt at Ymirg's words but chose not to show it.
[<Spirit Festival Hall>]
The <Spirit Festival Hall>, a workshop and tower used by Professor Millei, radiated an aura starkly different from that of the <Darkness Chamber>. 'It's like a library,' Yi-Han thought. Ironically, the actual library of the magic academy felt more like a disorganized storage room of a closed company than a proper library, but the <Spirit Festival Hall> embodied the essence of a library more than the library itself.
The path to the tower was neatly paved with bricks, and there was a picturesque pond with a walking path nearby for strolling. 'The <Darkness Chamber> had a pond too,' Yi-Han recalled, though that one was a bubbling, purple pond filled with poison.
Standing in front of the door to the <Spirit Festival Hall>, Gainando knocked cautiously, then turned to Yi-Han, unsure of what to say. "Wait. What should I say?"
"Just as it is," Yi-Han advised.
"That we're late because we got hit by an undead...?" Gainando hesitated.
"...Let me handle it. Professor Millei! We apologize for arriving late. Another professor had a prior engagement..."
"If there was a prior engagement, it can't be helped. No need to apologize," Professor Millei responded from within and opened the door.
Descending to the first floor to greet the latecomers, Professor Millei raised an eyebrow upon noticing Yi-Han. It seemed as though he was surprised to see him there.
'...What?' A sense of foreboding washed over Yi-Han. He wondered if Professor Mortum had spoken to the other professors, instructing them to lose interest in him with a message like, 'This one will be my student, so everyone stop paying attention to him.'
