"Are you sure this is the border, young man?"
Ritzy looked ahead with his hands on his hips and a skeptical look on his face before turning to Maklin with a raised eyebrow.
It was an ordinary grassy plain, kept short by roving beasts. There wasn't a city, fortress, wall, or structure anywhere in sight that could indicate it was the border to one of the two hegemons of the Killgara continent, the Immortal Empire Drychness.
Maklin sighed.
"Yes, I'm sure. Are you really not going to drop the 'young man' even after we cross the border?"
"Why would I when you're the one who said you aren't old? If you aren't old, you're young. And since you're certainly a man, 'young man' is perfect."
"Why not my name?"
Maklin felt like it was the thousandth time he had had this conversation with Ritzy since the start of their week-long journey to Drychness.
Mirrae was on the northern half of Chitron, but since Ritzy and Maklin could only rely on their legs, the occasional horses, and carriages, it had still taken a while to reach the border.
"Don't be ridiculous."
Ritzy scoffed with such conviction that Maklin doubted whether he really was asking the absurd for wanting to be called by his name instead of Ritzy's arbitrary nickname.
Maklin just sighed and followed behind Ritzy as they crossed into Drychness.
Although it wasn't marked out by any structure, crossing the border would still be noticeable to anyone with a keen sense for mana.
"Oh, wow! That's the good stuff."
Ritzy deeply inhaled as soon as he crossed the border while Maklin's nose just twitched slightly in response to the dense mana that was invisible to the naked eye.
"You really weren't lying, young man. But isn't mana supposed to diffuse?"
Maklin nodded as they kept walking while getting used to the dense mana.
"But Drychness is an exception. The Dark One or one of his minions cast a spell covering the entirety of the country upon the empire's foundation. In short, Drychness is covered in a magic formation that keeps the country's mana inside. It would be the dream for any mana user if it weren't for the fact that the mana is especially well-suited for necromancers and slightly under the control of that spell, so it can be troublesome to absorb it."
"I see. Sounds perfect."
Ritzy grinned. He also ignored the part Maklin told him about the mana belonging to the country and thus being harder to absorb. He stopped listening after hearing that it was suited for necromancers. Drychness really was the home of necromancers.
"Where to now?"
Ritzy breathed in deeply a couple of more times to revel in the fresh sensation of rich mana before looking at Maklin.
"I mean, the capital has a pretty decent necromancy academy."
"The capital it is then!"
Ritzy began striding off with excitement.
Maklin sighed.
"First, that's the wrong direction."
Ritzy stopped and turned around before continuing in another direction. He walked at a slow pace while waiting for Maklin to tell him if it was right or wrong.
Maklin held back a sigh while resting his forehead against his hand.
"Just stand still."
"Alright."
Ritzt froze midstep.
"That academy is pretty hard to enter."
"Not a problem."
"Are you well-educated?"
"Of course."
"Where is Darkon then?"
"What's Darkon?"
"See? You don't even know the name of the capital of Drychness. Entering that academy needs more than just a passion for necromancy."
"Hmm."
"Hmm, indeed. There are other institutions for learning necromancy spread out around the country."
"But…?"
"Let's be honest here, Ritzy. You aren't the type to sit still and study stuff that doesn't interest you, right?"
"I mean…."
"He's right, Ritzy. Just say what's on your mind, Scout."
Maklin's eyes slightly widened as he looked at the skull strapped to Ritzy's shoulder. He knew it was aware and that Ritzy sometimes talked with it, but he hadn't expected it to be able to converse.
'He is a Novice, right?'
Summoning a talking undead as a Novice necromancer had to be rare. Maklin had at least never heard of it happening.
"What he said."
Ritzy turned around and looked at Maklin, impatiently urging him to speak instead of beating around the bush.
"Right."
Maklin gathered himself. It wasn't that surprising to hear Mognog talk, anyway.
"My idea was that instead of studying in an institution, you could freelance or basically do what you want. You'll need a mana training method, but as long as you don't need the absolute best, I'm sure you can find something basic in a market and work your way up from there, at least to get to the Apprentice level and start earning money. After that, you can look into buying something better while also looking for necromancy spells and materials."
"Hmm."
"Instead of studying necromancy, you'll be practicing it while also working on, what was it, becoming the Dark Two and beating up the Storage of Darkness?"
"Oh, and bringing Talia back, don't forget that."
"...Of course."
Maklin had already voiced his doubts regarding that during their trip. Doing it anymore would be tactless and futile. Ritzy was grieving in his own way and stubborn. Maklin wouldn't be able to convince him not to commit a taboo regardless of what he said.
Maklin moved on.
"You can find spells, mana training methods, and the like in cities. And you can find and kill monsters and beasts in the wilderness for materials and food. Also, they are practically a rumor by now since it's been a while since the Dark One founded Drychness, but before the Dark One came, this place was nothing but a wild wasteland. However, long ago, before our recorded history began, a prosperous empire ruled this continent. The other parts of the continent have already been fully explored and discovered, but this northeastern corner is still rife with remnants and ruins of that ancient empire."
"Ooh!"
Ritzy's eyes gleamed as he broke his position and looked at Maklin while clenching his fists in front of his chest.
"That means treasure hunts!"
"Yeah. I'm not sure how much treasure there is, but if anyone can find it, it's you, Ritzy. And if you do, you probably won't have to worry about money. But before then, you can sell certain monster parts or excess meat to some merchants and butchers. Otherwise, you might have to rely on the services you can provide."
"Services?!"
Ritzy stepped back, aghast, while covering himself with his hands like a naked maiden.
"Use your summons to do stuff like construction, transportation, or protection. You're smart, Ritzy. I'm sure you can figure it out. But I will accompany you until Benin before seeing you off."
Ritzy nodded while holding up his chin with one arm and holding up that arm with his other one as he thought.
"I must say, young man, you've put quite a lot of thought into this whole shebang."
"I guess I have."
"Good work. I appreciate it and the suggestion. Here, take this."
As he spoke, Ritzy pulled the Deathbed carrying just a pile of bones and picked out one of the ivory pieces before handing it to Maklin. It looked like a tailbone or maybe a piece of a spine.
Maklin was about to ask why Ritzy had given him a piece of bone. But seeing Ritzy's reluctance to hand over the seemingly polished piece, Maklin grew reluctant to question Ritzy's expression of gratitude.
"Thanks…I'll treasure it."
It didn't take long for Ritzy and Maklin to arrive at Benin, and they spent a night in an inn before Maklin decided to leave Ritzy. Maklin would have liked to stay longer since it was almost relaxing to spend time with Ritzy since he reminded him of the kids in the village.
But he was already stretching the liberty Commander Ryter had given him, so it was about time for Maklin to set off.
"What are you going to do now, young man?"
"I'm taking a detour on my way back to Mirrae to say hi to my family. Hey, you remember what you said about seeing a big guy behind me during our first meeting?"
"Yeah?"
"That reminded me of a story the elders used to tell during storytime, so I was going to ask about that. Is there anything else you can say about what you saw?"
"Hmm."
Ritzy rubbed his chin as he thought while Maklin started packing his things. To save money, they slept in the same room at the inn, and Maklin decided to get an early start to catch a ride with a transport carriage.
"He was hairy. Not like a yeti or anything, just a lot of beard, hair, chest hair, and so on. Like you but worse."
"So, no shirt or anything?"
"A vest made of some kind of animal and shorts. That guy looked very strong. That's why I hoped you would be the one to lead me and…Gerhart to Mirrae."
"If I was to call him a giant, would that fit?"
"No way. He was way too small to be called a giant. Maybe a child of giants?"
Ritzy tilted his head back and forth a couple of times.
"Nope, that's all I can think of."
"Alright. Thanks, Ritzy. I'll tell you about what I find if I get the opportunity."
"Of course. I want to meet him again, he owes me."
"He does? For what?"
"Not chasing him away."
Maklin felt that he had lost the ability to talk, at least with Ritzy, so he decided to give up.
"Okay. Bye, Ritzy, see you sometime, maybe."
"Yep, bye-bye, young man."