Well, technically, the letter-covered corpse that Ritzy had carved multiple editions of his new mana training method on was still a corpse. But it wasn't lifeless anymore. And this time, it wasn't just an expression.
It was so subtle that Ritzy was the only one who could sense it, thanks to his master-minion connection with the undead. But there were faint fluctuations of something that could be life force. It wasn't life force. That was all Ritzy could say with certainty, but it was something similar.
However, an overwhelming aura of death also filled the undead. It was something that should be impossible. One being shouldn't be able to become a vessel for both life and death.
But, thanks to the mana training method carved into the body dictating the mana inside, Ritzy's latest minion made the impossible possible.
Ritzy immediately wanted to figure out the details, and he approached the undead with eyes shining in the glow of the letters on his minion's skin.
"Guooh."
But the undead groaned, sidestepped Ritzy, and approached the fancy swordsman.
Ritzy tilted his head. But it wasn't the first time he had an undead with independent thought. In fact, almost all the undead he had summoned had acted on their own.
With the monstrous undead taking everyone's attention as it stepped closer to the fancy swordsman, Ritzy relegated himself to a spectator's position. He looked around for Mognog, but the poor skull had gotten kicked quite a bit. Retrieving him would be too eye-catching.
The fancy swordsman stared at the mystifyingly hideous undead stalking toward him.
Each and every last part of the creature's skin was covered in letters. The fancy swordsman felt like he could read them, but at the same time, not. They pulsated with a faint whitish light, and the letters' edges seemed to curve and bend, moving like wriggling worms all over the creature's skin.
The fancy swordsman felt daunted and like a small mouse as he met the creature's pitch-black eyes, which, contradictorily enough, shone with a white light.
But he did his best to shake off the feeling. The undead didn't emit that much pressure or mana. It was just freaky. That was why he felt frightened. Besides, it was probably just like the Flesh Slime, weak. After all, it had undergone the same reanimation process as the other corpse.
It was just a little different in terms of results and prep work. But it was still Ritzy who had reanimated it. How strong could it be?
"Die, tainted abomination!"
The fancy swordsman laced his weapon with mana again and lunged forward, intending to hack it to pieces.
Needless to say, since it was Ritzy's final card, it didn't work.
With surprising reach and agility, the Abomination intercepted the fancy swordsman's arm before he could put his blade against the creature. The fancy swordsman felt how his target's hand wrapped around his arm like a vice. But he could also sense that the creature hadn't perfectly taken the force behind his would-be-blow as its arm had caved slightly.
The Abomination clearly wasn't as strong as one could think. But it also wasn't as weak as it should be, considering it couldn't even completely catch and stop the fancy swordsman's arm.
It was as if the Abomination was using more strength than its body could unleash.
And it showed.
The fancy swordsman's keen eyes picked up on how the Abomination's skin tore, joints creaked, and bones cracked when it moved to try and launch a strike. The strike was the height of simplicity, and the fancy swordsman saw right through it.
However, on account of his sword arm being trapped in the Abomination's grip, there wasn't much the fancy swordsman could do. He could only use his free hand to block, which he did relatively successfully.
It was just that the Abomination's fist was too heavy, and it powered its way through the fancy swordsman's hand after hitting it. The Abomination's hand torpedoed into the fancy swordsman's stomach, knocking the air out of him.
That was it. That was the fancy swordsman's losing moment. All it took for the abomination to end the fancy swordsman's life was to stab its outstretched fingers into the man's throat and tear it out with bloody efficiency.
"Good job!"
Ritzy praised his new undead with a brilliant smile on his face. Not only was it strong and efficient. It also knew how to target Ritzy's favorite weak point. Taking out the throat was an almost guaranteed kill, and it was without damaging precious materials or necessities for undead like the heart or the head.
Ritzy patted the Abomination on the shoulders with both hands and looked it up and down with proud eyes.
"Wait right here. I'm going to go fetch Moggy."
The letter-covered undead obediently sat down cross-legged and began absorbing mana.
Ritzy was only more elated to see that. Thankfully, there weren't any more enemies since Ritzy had taken the opportunity to end the rest of Mercel's men when they were shocked by the Abomination's appearance. He had stabbed the other mana user with his dagger that he picked up from the ground. It was almost a stroke of fortune the way the fancy swordsman had swatted it close to Ritzy.
And just like that, before anyone could react to either the fancy swordsman's death or the other mana user capable of resisting Ritzy, they had all died. Mercel and his seven men had died, and all they had brought with them to the other side was an undead Flesh Slime.
Mognog was more than a little surprised when Ritzy told him how it had ended. Obviously, since Ritzy was uninjured, things had gone well for them. But it was still slightly surprising for Mognog to discover that Ritzy had managed to almost singlehandedly take care of seven armed men, among which two were Apprentices.
"What do you think about calling that guy the Unholy Avatar?"
Ritzy spoke and pointed at the Abomination while Mognog was still taking in the situation.
"Sure."
Mognog answered absent-mindedly, not really caring about what Ritzy called another one of his undead minions. However, as he followed Ritzy's gaze, Mognog realized that he was talking about the canvas they had used to record the first several drafts of their new mana training method.
"Hey, kiddo, can you bring closer to the 'Unholy Avatar'?"
"Oh, you wanna admire his majesty up close, huh?"
"Mmnah. I am curious about what happened. You said he used brute force, right?"
"Yep. Grab, punch, and tear, and boom, that fancy swordsman was dead on the ground."
"Yeah, that's what has me confused. I can sense the mana from our new mana training method on him. But that method is supposed to be for spellcasting and spellcasting alone. How come this guy is using his body?"
"That's true. But at the same time, the other corpse became a Flesh Slime when I tried to reanimate it. In case you missed it, my necromancy is a little colorful."
"Yeah, no, I knew that already. But this time, at least, it looks like it's related to the mana training method."
Ritzy shrugged and leaned down to read the letters on the Unholy Avatar's skin. Maybe there was something to Mognog's words.
"By the way, Moggy?"
"Yeah?"
"I've been thinking. What about Unholy Codex?"
"Was that your plan all along? Naming this guy with the drafts scrawled all over him Unholy Avatar just so you could add 'Unholy' to the method's name."
"Of course not."
Ritzy lied while continuing to scan the Unholy Avatar's skin.
Mognog sighed. He had to admit it was a pretty good name.
"If we want, we can expand it to Unholy Codex of Life and Death."
"Take it easy, kiddo. Unholy Codex is good. Don't ruin it."
"Yep."
Ritzy grinned. They had finally decided on a name for their new method.
"Kiddo, if you want to break through, just do it and let me read this guy. Though, it would help if you asked him to twirl slowly."
"You heard the man, Unholy Avatar."
Ritzy turned to Mognog.
"Do you think Unholy or Avatar works best as a nickname?"
"Kiddo, don't get distracted now. I can feel your mana about to burst."
"Right."
Ritzy giggled and sat down a little ways away.
Now that Mercel and his goons were dead, they wouldn't have to worry about anyone coming after them for the Little Specter Mana Method anymore. So, he could take it easy and just break through to the Apprentice rank without a care in the world.
Ritzy had longed for this, for growth and the improvement of his mana and necromancy so long that when he was finally at the threshold about to take the final step, he didn't know what to feel. Ritzy rarely felt nervous. But this was one of those times he was nervous.
However, he wasn't just nervous. He was excited, both about breaking through in general but also because he would see the first effects of the Unholy Codex.
Ritzy closed his eyes and concentrated on his mana.