The misadventures of the necromancer

Chapter XIII

Adar walked behind the monster. And yes, mentally, he could only refer to it as a monster. And definitely, Adar wasn't thinking about the undead following them. Nero could only be defined as a monster. Not only had he just destroyed the inn's stables and faced and possibly destroyed a significant part of a horde of undead that had massacred the remaining members of the necromancer group.

Before what happened, for some reason Adar simply couldn't comprehend, Nero had limited himself to pretending to be a poor and harmless young man. When, in reality, this was a truly powerful necromancer. Whom he and Seres had guided, to what should have been his death.

And now they were following him to Dantar.

At this moment, two things dominate Adar's mind. One was, what would be Nero's reaction when they become useless. And the second was when the mule would collapse, making them need to carry the load it now bears.

Again, he can't understand what's going on in Nero's head. Why had he created an undead? Everyone knows they don't last long. Undead controlled by necromancers only lasts about ten to twenty minutes.

Meaning they are of little use for longer activities, such as transporting cargo. Besides, the body won't be usable again when the necromancer's magic leaves it. The act of creating an undead damages it, destroying the body when it can’t be sustained by the mage’s magic.

In Adar's best guess, Nero just wants to put some distance between them and the inn. And for that, he is using the mule so they can move faster. But to further confuse Adar, the speed Nero is keeping is not as fast as it could be.

Adar is trying to decide whether to say something or not. But honestly, he is afraid of Nero.

Something that apparently Seres doesn't share, as he decides to speak.

"Really, their reaction to you was ridiculous."

Upon hearing Seres' comment, Nero continues walking and calmly asks, "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, the way the others treated you was absurd," Seres says cheerfully. Adar immediately realizes that his friend is trying to establish a connection with the powerful wizard. He remembers how Seres had acted the first time they had encountered their now former master.

Adar should have expected this reaction. While they were both carrying the mule, Seres wouldn't stop talking about the power Nero had demonstrated and how much they could learn from him.

"Do you mean your former companions?" Nero asks, without slowing down in his march.

"No. I'm mainly talking about Annie," Seres replies still joyfully. Adar at once realizes that his friend must have said something wrong because Nero's pace slows down.

"Do you mean that the girl was wrong to be mad, after being mistreated for years?" Nero asks, now in a calm and cold tone, which Adar had never heard from the normally laid-back young man.

Fortunately, Seres seems to have gained some sense. Deciding to take some time to respond, therefore getting the opportunity to carefully choose his words.

"No! She has every reason to be angry. I just mean that she doesn't have a reason to be angry with you," the answer gives Adar some relief. Considering that his friend had found a good way out of the situation.

"She just found out that someone she didn't expect was a necromancer like those who had imprisoned her. I think her feeling of betrayal makes sense. Adding to that the effects of your collars. By the way, where did you find them?"

Adar immediately responds in a desperate attempt to prevent Seres from digging his own grave. "They were found in the ruins. They were discovered before we arrived, so we don't know much more."

"Right, makes sense.", Nero concludes with a slight affirmative nod. Seemingly satisfied he accelerates the pace again.

Unfortunately, Seres isn’t smart enough to let the subject drop, saying, "Yes, I agree she has reasons to be angry. But being angry with someone who saved her, simply because he's a necromancer. Seems wrong."

Adar does agree with his friend. But he watches with growing dread as the guy who had recently incinerated a group of dangerous undead simply stops in the middle of the road. To then slowly turns around, slightly tilting his head to the side and with a furrowed brow, starts to take a good and long look at them.

"Let's try to make this clear. If those poor souls you enslaved have problems with necromancers, I'm currently looking at two of the major culprits," Nero says, waiting for a few seconds, perhaps to see if either of the two would be stupid enough to contradict him. Apparently satisfied, after not finding arguments against him, he continues speaking.

"That, and both of you understand that as a rule, necromancers are all villains. That isn’t very difficult to get. Right?"

Adar quickly nods his head, not wanting to engage in a debate with this strange and unpredictable mage. Seres, on the other hand, continues with his stubbornness. As expected from anyone who knows him well, the guy is fixated on magic. Anything against his magic demands a response. Making him speak again.

"No, necromancers are simply mages who are not afraid to pursue magic that others do not understand. How can people without magic judge us?" Despite the words coming from Seres' mouth, they seem more like words from their master. And seeing Nero's growing furrowed brow, they are the wrong words.

"Who exactly doesn't have magic?" Nero asks, his tone staying harsh, and his hands starting to open and close. At this point, Adar begins to prepare himself to launch at him. Once Nero decides to start casting his fire spell, they won't have any chance of escaping.

But at this distance, he might be able to take down the mage. But before he can even try, he feels the approach of the undead mule. Which until now had been calmly a few meters behind.

This completely dashes his hopes. Him and Seres together against Nero, up close, would be a fight with the advantage for them. But the two of them would probably be crushed by the mule alone. And if Nero is attacked, there's no doubt about the action of his undead.

As such, Adar has no other choice but to wait, for the spell that maintains the mule to end. He can only hope that Seres doesn’t cause their death before then.

"I'm talking about Annie, Sate, and Ged. None of them have magic, so how can they understand what it's like for us?" He delivers this speech while using his hands to indicate the three humans present. Adar then notices that the fool didn't even notice the undead coming closer.

"They don't have magic," Nero says, bringing one hand to his face to rub it. To then, simply say, "Morons."

Adar feels insulted by this outburst, but he isn't stupid enough to say anything. And fortunately, Nero continues speaking before Seres can prove him right.

"I can't be too harsh on this, after all, until recently, I also swallowed part of it." this strange phrase being said, he now uses both hands to rub the sides of his neck.

"Okay. Both of you listen well.”, here he pauses, looking at them for a moment, before continuing “To start, you two are idiots who think you're better than others. And if you think that justifies the behavior you've had, you're very wrong."

Seres begins to speak, only to be interrupted by Nero making a gesture to stop with his hand.

"Don't say anything. When I say you're wrong, I mean both morally and logically. And what you said is indeed wrong." At this moment, Seres stays silent, apparently not understanding what Nero means. Adar agrees with the confusion. But Adar, for his part, remains more concerned about the mule, which persists intact.

"I mean if someone should have realized that everyone has magic naturally. It should be your little group."

Here, it's Adar who exclaims, "What?" surprised by the strange statement. After all, everyone knows that only a minority of people can use magic. Nero continues speaking, seemingly unconcerned about the reaction he elicited.

"Yes, of course, everyone has magic. After all, how do you think your little collars work?"

It's Seres who responds in a confused and uncertain voice, looking alternately at Nero and Adar, where he seems to seek support. "You... you said the collars cast a calming spell on the wearer. And that prevents them from fighting."

Immediately, Nero shakes his head negatively. "And what else did I say?"

Seres becomes even more uncertain and seems to seek help from Adar with his eyes. His irritation with the attack on necromancy seems to have disappeared in the face of this strange inquiry.

On his part, Adar has no idea what to answer. Between the oddity of the conversation and his concern with the necromancer and his undead, Adar simply doesn't know what to think.

"You also said that the collars have limits," Seres eventually tries to say.

Nero just sighs with clear disappointment. "I did say something like that. But the main point was that their principal function is to spend the magic of captive. Preventing them from using it.”, while speaking he keeps on shaking his head. Before letting out another sigh, to say. “How the hell did you think those collars had magic to keep working for so long?"

Seres tries to respond with, "Well, the collars are powerful artifacts from the past.”

"Powerful artifacts!! Idiot, those are basic prisoner collars. And precisely because they're old, that what you said makes no sense. The idea that someone, in their creation, put enough magical energy into them to last such a long time is ridiculous. Just like thinking they could control someone for a long time using only ambient magic." Nero says, continuing to look at them like they are idiots.

Indeed, Adar thinks that Nero had said something similar to this. But this day, which hasn't even reached noon. Has already been one of the biggest days of his life. Perhaps due to all the stress today, Adar is starting to think that what Nero says makes sense.

"But they can't use magic!" Seres timidly and now quite uncertainly asserts.

"Humph, and what does that have to do with having or not having magic? Everyone who doesn't use magic simply hasn't had the opportunity to learn to use it. What do you think it takes to learn magic?" Listening to this new explanation from Nero, Adar finds himself disagreeing again.

Everyone knows that not everyone has the talent for magic. Even Adar, who had finally found his talent, had struggled a lot to use magic. So, it's not hard to understand that others, despite their efforts, might not have what it takes. To him, it sounds like Nero is putting others on the same level as himself, which is unrealistic for those who don't have his abilities.

"Talent and hard work, that's what it takes to be a mage," Seres asserts with a new tone of certainty. His gaze had regained a firmness that he had been losing.

"Okay, you're not wrong," Nero says calmly, beginning to scratch his head and looking into the distance. Seems to be thinking about something. "But I would say that even more important would be time and luck."

Hearing this, Seres takes a step forward, seemingly wanting to confront Nero. With his friend's aggressive action, Adar hears the mule behind them approaching even more, putting him in an unpleasant position. Should he support his friend and possibly die by his side, or not?

Fortunately, Nero stops him by raising his hand and saying, "Hold on there, kid. Let me try to explain." Nero's ridiculous expression almost makes Adar burst into laughter. After all, Nero seems to be younger than them, even if it's only by two or three years. But considering what almost happened, Adar simply lets out a sigh of relief.

"When you learned magic, someone must have explained a spell to you. They told you its name and what it did. Then they explained that you should recite the spell's name while focusing on the result. Right?" he asks, expecting the affirmative nod from Seres.

"Right, that's the Lore explanation in the wiki." Nero asserts, lowering his hand and regaining his thoughtful look. On the other hand, upon hearing this strange new comment, Seres simply blurts out, "What?" with which Adar completely agrees.

Seemingly ignoring them, Nero sighs and continues to speak. "Never mind. The part you shouldn't know is that all spells have a probability of failing. And that probability depends on the... let's call it experience you have with that spell."

Seres, on the other hand, at once places his hands on his hips, raising his head high and seemingly forgetting the monster in front of him, saying in his most arrogant tone, "Of course, I know that. What kind of mage wouldn't?"

"So, you never thought about what that means, right?" Nero's calm and relaxed response takes the wind out of Seres' sails, leaving him with another confused expression.

"If someone has the chance to learn a spell, they can do everything right and still fail consistently in casting it.", at that moment, he raises an eyebrow and continues speaking. "Meaning that someone can try for a long time and fail without it being a lack of their abilities. Being just a lack of experience."

Yes, that makes complete sense to him, leaving Adar in awe, of the conclusion reached. Looking at Seres confirms that he's not the only one.

"On the other hand, by successfully casting the spell, you gain experience that makes it easier and more likely for you to cast it again," he pauses for a second and starts scratching his head, apparently organizing his thoughts before continuing.

"In reality, the most important thing might be that from that moment on, anyone who can cast it knows they can. So, it becomes easier to muster the courage to keep trying and gain experience. Which then makes casting the spell easier."

This is something Adar can confirm to be true based on his personal experience. When Seres had managed to cast a spell for the first time, Adar had been encouraged to keep trying. But after continuous failures, he started to give up. Only Seres' stubbornness, urging Adar to keep trying, had led him to persist even when he had no hope of success. Until he finally succeeded, and since then, he has regained the courage to continue. This had allowed him to join Seres with the Master and his group of necromancers.

From the look on his friend's face, he must also remember circumstances that align with what Nero said. Something that clearly disheartens him.

"So, being lucky enough to cast the spell puts you at an advantage."

"That's not luck; it's talent." Seres passionately asserts.

"I can see that you either didn't understand what I said, or you don't want to understand," Nero responds, before Seres can even try to refute him, Nero continues speaking. "Okay, let me put it this way. Imagine someone trying a new spell has a one-in-a-hundred chance of success. By that, I mean if someone tries to cast the spell 100 times, they should succeed once. Understand?"

Adar nods seriously without even thinking about what is being said. He's just glad that Seres isn't disagreeing.

"That means that in any of those attempts, they can succeed. So, someone who is lucky enough to succeed on the first try has an advantage over someone who only succeeds on their hundredth. Do you understand?" Nero says this calmly while focusing on Seres.

Seres, on the other hand, can only say, "And talent..." before Nero continues speaking over him.

"Talent just means that the more talented person doesn't need 100 attempts. Maybe, in that case, they're guaranteed success in 90." Here he stops talking for a few seconds, observing a bewildered Seres who seems unsure of what to say.

"Do you understand that the lucky untalented person who manages to cast the spell on their first attempt gains a significant advantage over the unlucky talented person who only succeeds on their fiftieth attempt?" Nero finishes saying this, crossing his arms and casually looking at Seres.

"But is that how magic works?" a disheartened Seres asks, looking around. For a moment, his focus returns to Adar, his eyes seeking help. He seems to want to counter Nero but doesn't know how.

Nero, in turn, uncrosses his arms upon hearing Seres' question and starts scratching his chin while seemingly pondering the matter. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I might be wrong. But what I said aligns with my knowledge of how magic works in this... world."

This should put an end to the discussion; after all, both Adar and Seres are beginners compared to Nero even though simple magical power doesn't represent a mage's knowledge of magic. What he has heard so far does make some sense. And adding Nero's capabilities to the mix, Adar cannot deny that Nero is much more capable and knowledgeable than they are.

"But, even if that's true, it doesn't mean that necromancers are evil. Our entire school of magic shouldn't be judged by a few," Adar is astonished by Seres' sudden assertion. He seems to have regained some of his spirits while trying to reclaim the value of necromancy. Even though he seems to ignore that they both are among those who have marked all of necromancy.

"Dude, necromancers are evil because of how necromancy works. They need bodies to reanimate; otherwise, they cannot proceed. Unfortunately for them, at lower levels, they can't always reuse the same bodies," then he looks intensely at both Seres and Adar and concludes with, "Which results in unpleasant tendencies."

Seres finds new energy, uses his hands to point at Nero, and says, "But you are not evil."

Adar has to give that point to Seres. Even if they don't know Nero, his actions so far can hardly be classified as evil. Even his actions against them could be considered self-defense. And even considering that he could while remaining in the right. He hadn't killed anyone. At least not yet.

Nero, in turn, starts shaking his head negatively, saying, "Nice try. But I don't count."

"What do you mean?" says a frustrated Seres, who must have counted on winning this point.

"Well, I'm not so much a necromancer as I am a mage who uses necromancy," there's some hesitation in Nero's voice as he says this, after some reflection on the matter.

Adar, faced with Nero's absurd statement, bursts into laughter, and says, "That's the definition of being a necromancer!" Adar couldn't contain himself with the ridiculous statement. Only to have his brain start working again, leaving him feeling uneasy as he remembered who he was laughing at.

"Well, you're not wrong. But I also use fire magic, does that mean I'm a fire mage?" Nero asks calmly. To Adar's great relief, apparently, Nero didn't take offense.

"Does that mean you're a pyromancer?" asks an intrigued Seres. This relaxes Adar even more, seeing the focus of the powerful mage turning to his friend.

"No. Nero's main schools are necromancy and illusion, and only then can we say fire," Nero says, talking about himself in the third person, something that Adar is unsure how to interpret. But the fact that Nero just mentioned that his main school of magic is necromancy, despite not considering himself one, is worrisome. People that are too inconsistent can be very dangerous.

Seeing that Seres is about to speak up, Adar interrupts him, "Illusion, why did you dedicate yourself to illusion?"

"Well, it's a good strategy for the build I used.", Nero replies strangely while seeming to be lost in thought.

With this strange response, Adar begins to think that Nero is getting tired of their questions. So, he tries to think of a way for them to proceed, preferably without casualties. It's at this moment that his eyes meet the stubborn mule that seems to refuse to collapse and give them a chance in this fight.

But then an idea comes to him—a way to at least change the subject before Seres has a chance to continue digging both their graves.

"Wouldn't it be better to unload the mule?" Adar asks Nero, who seems distracted.

"Hmm, why?" Nero inquires.

"Well, it shouldn't take long for the spell to end. And some of the things she's carrying might break. It's better to unload now," he says as Seres nods affirmatively, seeming to realize what might happen.

Nero, on the other hand, stares at him with rapidly narrowing eyes and a confused expression, leaving Adar wondering what's going on in his mind.

Nero raises his hand and points to the mule, looking from Seres to Adar, saying, "Rising of the undead."

Now it's Adar who is confused and looks at the mule and then at Nero, trying to understand what the non-necromancer means.

"I cast ‘rising of the undead’.”, not ‘rising of the undead’," Nero calmly asserts while looking alternately between Adar, Seres, and the mule.

While Adar continues to look between Nero, Seres, and the mule, his friend also seems confused. When they lock eyes, Adar wonders what he means by that.

"It's permanent," Nero declares before putting his hands to his face in frustration and asking, "Don't you know the difference between the spells? What kind of necromancers are you?"

Both Adar and his friend don't know what to say, so they remain silent.

"The rising of the undead spell is permanent. So, that mule will only disappear if," Nero raises one finger and says, "someone destroys it, or" lifting another finger to have two raised, "I die, or" another finger goes up, "I run out of magic, or" finally, he has four fingers raised, "I cancel the spell, something I don't remember how to do."

This response leaves Adar dumbfounded. He knew Nero was a powerful mage, but this was not something he expected.

On the other hand, Seres becomes so excited that he starts almost jumping.

"I can't believe it!" Seres exclaims, turning to Nero and shouting, "This is what the master wanted to do."

"Who wanted to do what?" Nero asks, raising an eyebrow, indicating his curiosity about Seres' statement.

"Our master..." Seres begins to speak animatedly, indicating himself and Adar with his hands before stopping and thinking for a second, correcting himself. "I mean our former master. This is what he wanted to do."

"He aspired to create an undead that wouldn't disappear. For that, we were working with the undead that were already persistent.", Seres spoke quickly and excitedly, trying to explain what they had been doing.

"The wild ones?" Nero asks with a somewhat hesitant voice and an intrigued facial expression.

"Yes, the wild undead as you call them. The master's grand idea was that we could use magic like that of the collars to gain control of wild undead. And thus, have undead that wouldn't disappear in a short time, entirely obedient. It would have been revolutionary," now he pauses with a happy expression on his face, seemingly delighted that the other necromancer has understood the ambitions and vision that his group of necromancers aspired to.

But Seres wasn't done. Revealing a big and bright smile, he continues, still gesturing towards the mule with his arms. "But here it is. You managed to do what the master dreamed of."

Here is when Seres' joy stops because his interlocutor abandons his expression of interest and releases a loud laugh.

"What a stupid thing. Did you really plan to control undead with those collars or calm spells?" Nero says this between his persistent laughter, alternately looking at Adar and Seres.

Adar doesn't know what to think. Seeing this necromancer laughing at the work they had been doing for years was more than a little insulting, even though Adar himself had started to have some doubts about their success.

On the other hand, how can he argue with someone who is not only much more powerful than he is, but also can seemingly effortlessly do what they tried for so many years?

While Adar and Seres try to process the most recent action of the ridiculously powerful necromancer, Nero, now with an intrigued look, says, "Maybe the skeleton didn't go mad for no reason."

Once again, Adar is confused by Nero's strange comment. What is he talking about? Which skeleton went mad?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, here comes Seres with the question. "Sorry, but what are you talking about? What skeleton?"

"Oh, you know. The skeletal bald guy who thought it was a good idea to unleash a small horde of undead," Nero responds, tilting his head to the side and speaking in an amused tone.

With this explanation, Adar immediately understands that Nero is talking about the master. And even though he doesn't have the adoration for him that Seres or Agatha had, he is still horrified by the way Nero is referring to the man. Yes, he was indeed bald and somewhat thin, with features defined by that thinness. Still, to refer to him in such a way... Not that Adar can ask for any kindness for the deceased from Nero. Not with everything that has happened, especially considering what could have happened.

On the other hand, and to Adar's surprise, Seres seems to have latched onto another point in Nero's comment. "What do you mean he didn't go mad for no reason?"

"It means, that if I'm not mistaken, he only lost it when I explained how the collars actually worked. So, he might have realized that what they planned was impossible. Understanding that a lifetime's work has just gone up in smoke can drive someone..." Nero finishes speaking, pointing to his head with his index finger and starting to spin it.

Nero's action is strange, but he believes to understands what he means. and Adar gives him some credit in His conclusion. For some time now, the master had been isolating himself more and more. And every time they gathered to discuss the progress of their work, he vehemently and almost aggressively insisted that it would work.

If, when Nero had revealed that the collars were casting a calming spell, the master had understood that all they had done had been in vain, his final act might be somewhat understandable.

With Adar and Seres still digesting this latest revelation, Nero turns and starts walking, speaking aloud. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people," sarcasm drips from his voice before he continues talking.

"I'm tired of this conversation. We've been standing here for too long. Start walking."

Seres looks at Adar and, with a shrug, simply obeys Nero's order. Therefore, Adar also begins to walk, hearing the steps of the mule behind them. Adar takes the opportunity to think.

The undead that he hoped would collapse to give them a chance to escape this situation will remain, bringing his best hopes to an end.

But then another question arises. Nero had turned Bren into an undead and raised the mule. Actions that seemed to have been simple for him. And as Nero, himself stated necromancers cannot reuse bodies. So how did Nero become such a capable necromancer?

With this question in mind, it becomes clear to Adar that, despite the mule and Nero's power, he must find a way to escape before something else happens.