"You did well, Amy!"
"Yeah. I'll go in first."
Amy Cromwell smiled and greeted him as she exited the store.
As she stepped outside, a chilly wind brushed against her neck.
"Phew."
She exhaled a visible white breath and turned in the opposite direction.
Thanks to the money Adrian gave her, Amy no longer needed to work, but she saw no reason to quit her job either. She continued working at the store, as it had become a familiar routine. Earning money with her own efforts was quite satisfying, so she planned to keep at it for a while.
"I'm back."
"You're back? It must have been really cold outside. I made some hot tea."
"Thanks, Lupin. I'll change my clothes first."
About a week ago, Amy had moved into the Applewood Manor, a mansion Adrian had reclaimed. She rehired Lupin, who had served as the household manager during her childhood. Living alone in such a large mansion seemed burdensome, so she invited Lupin's family to live with her.
Exploring every nook and cranny of the manor had become a hobby for her.
"We used to play a lot of pranks on these stairs."
Adrian, as a child, was much brighter compared to his current self. While he had brightened up a bit recently, he still seemed darker compared to his childhood, which was a bit unfortunate.
"I wonder how much he must have suffered too?"
Adrian, burdened at such a young age with the hollow façade of their family, became pitiable to Amy. She had her own share of suffering, but he must have been even greater.
"Miss, the tea has gone cold."
"Yes, I'll be right there."
After finishing her thoughts, Amy changed her clothes in her room and came out.
Then, she suddenly noticed her father's study.
"Come to think of it..."
She recalled the incident when she and Adrias had played pranks and hid in the study, resulting in a severe scolding from their father.
Their father had always strictly forbidden them from entering the study, and she suddenly felt curious.
Why did he go to such lengths to keep it a secret?
Of course, her father had already passed away, and the house had been sold and repurchased, so she had no way of knowing what he had hidden.
Still, her curiosity got better, and she opened the study door.
The smell of books filled the air as she took in the sight of the study.
Even though she had moved in a week ago, she had never thought of entering the study due to her childhood memories. Amy couldn't conceal her surprise at the disheveled state of the room.
"He didn't clean up."
Since the house had gone through an auction, she thought everything would have been organized. But instead, it looked as if a thief had ransacked the room. Books were scattered on the floor, the sofa was overturned, and the desk was flipped over.
The scene resembled traces of someone searching for something.
"I should ask Lupin to clean this up."
Perhaps influenced by her father, the study had become an area treated as sacred ground, and it seemed Lupin hadn't considered cleaning it up either.
"The photo is still here."
Suddenly, Amy noticed a small framed photo on the study windowsill. It brought a mix of joy and longing as she picked it up.
The photo showed Adrian, Amy, and their father.
"We were so happy back then."
The frame had collected a thick layer of dust from years of neglect.
Amy cleaned the dust off and placed the frame back in its original position.
At that moment, as the cleaned frame reflected the moonlight streaming in through the window, it illuminated a certain spot in the study.
"Hmm?"
Unknowingly, Amy followed the reflected light with her eyes and realized that something was present in the spot where the light was reflected.
She approached to take a closer look and found a small indentation that would have gone unnoticed if it hadn't been for the reflected light.
And like anyone driven by curiosity, Amy absentmindedly touched the indentation.
Thunk!
"Ah!"
Along with sharp pain, drops of blood formed on her index finger.
Before she could fully comprehend what had happened, a magic circle began to gradually appear in the center of the study.
"What is this...?"
I was in the middle of my dorm room, having drawn a magic circle and placed the corpse of the King of Demons, Tiamur, on it, preparing for the summoning.
"Are you ready with the preparations?"
I said it was a rough preparation, but in reality, I had put in a lot of effort.
I had used every best move available to me at the moment.
Summoning Tiamur was supposed to happen a bit later, but due to the reward I obtained from the fight with Phaimon, the plan was expedited.
[Enlightenment]
―Epic
―When deeply contemplating and exploring something, the probability of understanding or discovering it increases.
It was a randomly acquired attribute as a reward for achievements.
Actually, I didn't expect to achieve the accomplishment so quickly, and I didn't even anticipate getting an achievement that wasn't in the game.
"I've raised the Dark Swordsman several times in the game, but I've never acquired the 'Second Awakening' achievement."
It seemed that the list of achievements had changed as I crossed over from the game to reality.
At the moment, that was the only explanation.
In any case, with the help of this newly acquired attribute, I was able to prepare Tiamur earlier than expected.
"At first, I wondered why I had to acquire such an attribute."
Enlightenment was an attribute that existed even in the game.
However, in the game, it was a low-grade attribute that was almost worthless, as it was a mana-consuming attribute. But in reality, it was different from the game.
"The Book of Unknowns, which I couldn't understand before, as well as the swordsmanship Nickel taught me, started to make sense."
Of course, I didn't become smarter or a genius. It was more like suddenly understanding something from the past after reading a book for three days.
But even with just that, my understanding of magic rapidly grew.
To the extent that my proficiency in dark magic had advanced from basic to intermediate, and my dark magic talent had evolved.
Thanks to that, my talent as a Necromancer had risen from average to exceptional.
The difference between average and exceptional was just one letter, but the ability increased exponentially.
"Ever since becoming exceptional, I've been able to read the Book of Unknowns smoothly."
Although my talent for Necromancer's Command had evolved, my understanding of other fundamental magical knowledge had also improved.
In the end, magic must have a common foundation. It was a good sign for me.
Anyway, since then, the skills I learned from the Book of Unknowns were:
"Bone Armor, Corpse Explosion, Blood Curse, Death Fury, Ghoul Summon, and Revenant Summon."
Bone Armor, Corpse Explosion, and Ghoul Summon were basic skills of a necromancer.
But Blood Curse, Death Fury, and Revenant Summon were rare skills that could only be learned from the Book of Unknowns.
"A curse magic, a buff magic, and a summoning magic. Thank you, inspiration from the unknown."
Especially Revenant Summon required more preparation than ordinary undead summoning, and the magic circle and various materials drawn in my room were for that purpose.
Although I couldn't use these skills in real battles, they were useful for creating elite undead, so I wasn't disappointed.
I thought about preserving the corpses a bit longer, but I immediately decided to summon Tiamur, remembering the dangerous moment during the fight with Phaimon just a while ago.
Since I had the evolutionary attribute that others didn't, summoning the undead early wouldn't be a disadvantage.
[Intermediate Command: Revenant Summon, cast.]
[This magic is of a higher level than the caster's. Stability is reduced.]
[One corpse detected.]
[Detecting materials that aid in commanding. Additional effects will be applied.]
A tremendous amount of mana was drawn in.
It was the first time I was trying this magic, so I was a bit nervous even though I had calculated everything.
"But I won't fail. I've already calculated it to that extent."
Was I crazy to test it with Tiamur's corpse? Of course, the success rate I calculated was 100%.
Tiamur, whose condition was quite good, suddenly started shedding fur, revealing pale flesh.
As if he had turned into a plucked chicken, Tiamur's muscles trembled and he began to move.
Roar!
"Damn, he's really loud."
I was glad I had installed noise-canceling magic in advance.
It was magic that Karon often used, and now that my magical knowledge had increased, I could use it even if it took some time.
Tiamur, who let out a roar, gradually calmed down as his pale flesh settled and he stood up on the floor.
Although the fur had been completely removed from the revenant Tiamur, the flesh and muscles remained, so he didn't look like an undead at first glance.
[Intermediate Command: Revenant Summon successful.]
[Summoned one Revenant (Legendary).]
[The level of the raised corpse is exceptional. Stat bonuses will be applied.]
[The level of the raised corpse is significantly exceptional. Tier has increased. Becomes a Revenant Fighter.]
[The level of the raised corpse is close to transcendence. Partial restoration of the former self.]
"As expected, Aura Master."
To be honest, I was a bit disappointed that he wasn't as good as Nickel, the Aura Master who left a mark in history.
But let's check the information first.
[Revenant Fighter (Legendary)]
―Tiamur
―Undead
―Tier 5
―Mana: 891
―Traits: Ego/Extreme: Fist of Authority, Berserk
A smile naturally formed on my face as I looked at the excellent status window.
I was a bit disappointed with the mana, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Still, as I evolved, I would become even stronger, so I just needed to grow little by little.
"Tiamur, your name is Tiamur."
Once the king of the savage tribe that plunged the continent into fear, the unyielding Tiamur.
I had no idea how his corpse ended up at the rally, but his reputation would continue under my command.
Groar!
As a revenant, Tiamur could make sounds if his vocal cords remained.
But unlike Nickel, he looked a little lacking.
"Just fight well. I'm counting on you, Tiamur."
That way, the former Aura Master and the king of the savage tribe who left a mark in history became my second subordinate.
The weather, reaching the peak of winter, brought deadly cold to the mages who enjoyed playing in the corners of the research lab.
As students arrived at the lecture hall, they were all creating protective barriers and flames to maintain a comfortable temperature.
"The weather is crazy these days."
"Yeah, that's why I'm worried every day about whether the lecture will be canceled. I don't want to leave my room because it's too cold outside."
I heard the students in the back seats talking, and I could understand why they felt that way.
Of course, it didn't apply to me at all. I continued my daily routine as usual.
"But aren't we having another evaluation next week?"
"Yeah, didn't the mid-term evaluation just end? Why another evaluation?"
"That's what I'm saying."
As the students in the back seats continued their conversation, Professor Tolman, the professor of combat magic, entered the classroom.
"Good afternoon, everyone. Today, we don't have a lecture, but instead, I'll briefly explain the evaluation that will take place this week."
The sudden announcement from Tolman made the atmosphere tense.
Well, I didn't expect this either. But it's better to receive the blow quickly. Let's listen to what it is.
"The evaluation for combat magic will take place from this Friday to the weekend, spanning 2 nights and 3 days."
The mention of 2 nights and 3 days caused a murmur among the students.
It meant that they would be spending time outside. More information was needed.
"The theme of this evaluation is survival. In addition to survival, you need to gather points through a survival-style evaluation."
Survival, a survival-style evaluation.
The moment I heard those two words, my mind cleared up.
"This... could be an opportunity."