"Good job, Amy!"
"Yeah, then I'll go first."
Amy Cromwell smiled and bid farewell before stepping out of the store.
As she emerged outside, a chilling wind brushed against her neck.
"Phew."
Exhaling a white breath, Amy headed towards the train station.
Although she no longer needed to work due to the money given by Adrius, there was also no reason to quit her job. It had become a familiar routine, and earning money through her own efforts was quite fulfilling, so she planned to continue for a while.
"I'm back."
"Did you come? It's quite cold outside, isn't it? I've prepared some warm tea."
"Thank you, Lupin. I'll change my clothes first."
About a week ago, Amy had moved into the Apple Tree mansion that Adrius had reclaimed. Since living alone in such a large mansion seemed burdensome, she had invited Lupin's family to live there as well.
Amy had developed a hobby of exploring every nook and cranny of the mansion, reminiscing about the past.
'We used to play a lot of pranks on this staircase.'
Adrius had been a cheerful boy in his childhood, although his current demeanor still had a touch of darkness compared to those days.
In recent times, he seemed to have brightened up a bit, but it still saddened Amy to think about how much he must have struggled.
"Miss, the tea is getting cold."
"Yeah, I'll be there soon."
Having finished her thoughts, Amy changed her clothes and came out of her room.
In passing, she noticed her father's study.
"Come to think of it..."
There had been an incident when she had played a prank and hidden in the study. Her father had scolded her severely for it.
He always forbade her from entering the study, but now she felt a sudden curiosity.
Why did he go to such lengths to keep her out? What was he hiding?
Of course, her father had already passed away, and the house had been sold and repurchased. She had no way of knowing what he had hidden.
Still, her curiosity got the better of her, and she opened the door to the study.
The scent of books filled the air as she caught sight of the study.
Even though it had been a week since they moved in, due to her childhood memories, Amy had never had the inclination to enter the study.
Yet, she couldn't resist her curiosity, and the sight of the disheveled room startled her.
"It's still messy."
However, instead of being organized, the study looked as if a thief had ransacked it. Books were pulled out from the shelves and scattered on the floor, the sofa was overturned, and the desk was flipped.
The scene seemed as if someone had rummaged through it, searching for something.
"I should ask Lupin to clean this up."
Perhaps influenced by her father, the study seemed like a sacrosanct area, and it seemed that Lupin had not thought of tidying it up.
"The picture is still here."
Suddenly, Amy noticed a small framed photograph on the windowsill of the study. Feeling both glad and nostalgic, she picked up the frame.
The photograph showed Adrius, Amy, and their father.
"We were so happy back then."
The frame had collected a thick layer of dust from being neglected for so long.
Amy wiped away the dust and placed the frame back in its original spot.
At that moment, the cleaned frame reflected the moonlight coming in through the window, illuminating a corner of the study.
"Hmm?"
Unconsciously, Amy followed the reflected light with her eyes and realized that there was something in the spot where the light was reflected.
As she approached and examined it closely, she found a small indentation that would have been inconspicuous if not for the reflected light.
Driven by curiosity, just like anyone else would have been, Amy absentmindedly touched the seemingly insignificant dent.
Clank.
"Ah!"
With a sharp pain, droplets of blood formed on her index finger.
Before Amy could even comprehend what had happened, a magic circle slowly began to form in the middle of the study.
"What... is this?"
.
.
.
.
In the middle of my dorm room, I had drawn a magic circle and placed the lifeless body of the formidable Timur on top, preparing for the summoning.
"Are the preparations roughly complete?"
Although I said roughly, I had actually put in meticulous effort.
I had used every possible strategy and tactic available to me.
Summoning Timur was originally scheduled for a little later, but due to the rewards obtained from the recent fight with Firemon, the plan was accelerated.
[Enlightenment]
―Epic
―The more deeply you contemplate and explore something, the higher the probability of understanding or discovering it.
It was a random characteristic obtained as an achievement reward.
In fact, I didn't expect to obtain an achievement like this so quickly, but since it was an achievement that didn't exist in the game to begin with, I didn't anticipate getting it.
'I've raised a Dark Swordsman in the game several times, but I've never obtained the achievement for the second awakening.'
It seemed that the list of achievements had changed as I transitioned from the game to reality.
For now, there was no other explanation.
Nevertheless, with the help of the newly acquired characteristic, I was able to prepare Timur earlier than expected.
'At first, I wondered why I obtained such a characteristic.'
Enlightenment was a characteristic that also existed in the game.
However, in the game, it was a low-grade characteristic considered wasteful and not worth the epic grade, being a characteristic with scarce mana. But reality was different from the game.
'I began to interpret the book of Morne that I couldn't understand before, and Nickel started teaching me swordsmanship.'
Of course, I didn't become smarter or a genius.
It was just to the extent that when I read a book for about three days, suddenly something from the content I had read before would be understood?
But even with just that, my understanding of magic grew rapidly.
To what extent did it grow? My proficiency in dark magic had grown from beginner to intermediate, and my talent in dark magic had even evolved.
Thanks to that, my talent in the Dark Magic skills had risen from intermedate to exceptional.
The difference between intermediate and exceptional was just one letter, but the ability had increased exponentially.
'Ever since I became exceptional, I've been able to read the Book of Morne effortlessly.'
It seems that the talent of the Dark Magic skills has evolved, and my understanding of other basic magical knowledge has also increased.
In the end, could it be that the roots of magic are the same? It was a good sign for me.
Anyway, after that, the skills I learned from Morne's Book of Dark Magic were...
'Bone Armor, Corpse Explosion, Blood Curse, Death Fury, Ghoul Summoning, Revenant Summoning.'
Bone Armor, Corpse Explosion, and Ghoul Summoning were basic skills of a necromancer.
However, Blood Curse, Death Fury, and Revenant Summoning were rare skills that could only be learned from Morne's Dark Magic Book.
'One curse magic, one buff magic, and one summoning magic. Thank you, Morne, for the inspiration.'
Especially Revenant Summoning required a lot of preparation, and the magic circle and various materials drawn in my room were for that purpose.
Although I couldn't use the skill in actual combat, it was a useful skill when I put in effort to create an elite undead.
I thought about sparing the corpses a bit more, but the moment I recalled the dangerous situation during the fight with Firemon not long ago, I decided to summon immediately.
Since I had an evolutionary characteristic that was different from others, there was no loss in creating undead early.
[Intermediate Necromancer: Summon Revenant.]
[Higher-level magic than the caster's level. Stability decreases.]
[One body detected.]
[Detecting materials that assist in commanding. Additional effects will be applied.]
A tremendous amount of mana was sucked in.
Although I was only knowledgeable in theory, I felt a little nervous because it was my first attempt at this magic.
'But I won't fail. I've already calculated that much.'
Would I go crazy and experiment with Timur's corpse?
Of course, the success rate I calculated was 100%.
The corpse of Timur, who had been in a fairly good condition, suddenly shed fur and revealed pale bare skin.
Like a plucked chicken, Tiamur, who had transformed, started moving with twitching muscles.
Crack!
"That guy sure is intimidating."
I'm glad I installed sound-blocking magic in advance.
It was a spell that Charon often used, and now that my magical knowledge has increased, I could use it even if it took me some time.
Roaring, Timur gradually calmed down his trembling pale bare skin and stood up from the floor.
Although Timur, who had become a revenant, had shed all his fur, his flesh and muscles remained, making him not look like an undead at first glance.
[Intermediate Necromancer: Revenant Summoning successful]
[Summoned a Revenant (Legendary) entity]
[The level of the raised corpse is exceptional. Stat bonuses are applied.]
[The level of the raised corpse is significantly exceptional. Tier increases. It becomes a Revenant Fighter.]
[The level of the raised corpse is approaching transcendence. Receives a slight restoration of the former self.]
'As expected of an Aura Master.'
To be honest, if he, the Aura Master who left a name in history, couldn't surpass Nickel, I would have been disappointed.
First, let's check the information.
[Revenant Fighter (Legendary)]
―Timur
―Undead
―Tier 5
―Mana: 891
―Traits: Ego/Extreme: Fist of Power, Berserk
A smile formed involuntarily while looking at the excellent status screen.
I was a little disappointed with the mana, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Still, if you evolve, you'll become even stronger, so you just need to grow gradually.
"Timur, your name is Timur."
Once a king of the Ho'in tribe who plunged the continent into terror, unyielding Timur.
I couldn't figure out why his corpse was at the assembly, but his reputation would continue under my command.
Krehung.
As a summoned revenant, Timur still had vocal cords to make sound.
However, unlike Nickel, he seemed a little lacking.
"Just fight well. I'm counting on you, Timur."
Thus, the former Aura Master and the king of the fearsome tribe who left a mark in history became my second subordinate.
.
.
.
.
The weather, reaching the peak of winter, brought deadly cold to the magicians who enjoyed playing in the corners of the research lab.
The students arriving at the lecture hall were entering with protective barriers and flames for temperature maintenance, without any hesitation.
"The weather these days is insane."
"Yeah, that's why I'm always worried. Will the lectures be canceled? I don't want to leave my room because of the cold."
Listening to the students in the back seats, I could understand their sentiments well enough.
Of course, those words didn't apply to me at all.
Even in this gloomy weather, I continued my daily routine as usual.
"But aren't we having another evaluation next week?"
"Yeah, why do we have another evaluation when the midterm evaluation ended not long ago?"
"That's what I'm saying."
As if responding to the students' conversations in the back seats, Professor Tolman, the instructor of combat magic, entered through the front door.
"Good afternoon, everyone. Today, we don't have a lecture, but instead, I will give you a brief explanation of the upcoming evaluation."
The atmosphere turned chilly at Tolman's sudden announcement.
I didn't expect this.
Well, it's better to receive the blow quickly. Let's hear what it is about.
"The evaluation for combat magic will take place from this Friday until the weekend, lasting for two nights and three days."
The sound of students gasping at the mention of two nights and three days echoed from all directions.
Does that mean we'll be staying outside? I needed more information.
"The theme of this evaluation is survival. Additionally, it will be a survival-style evaluation where you need to gather points separately from survival."
Survival, survival-style evaluation.
The moment I heard those two words, my mind cleared.
"This... could be an opportunity."