The Undying Magician - Book 3 - Chapter 50 - Necromancy (Patreon)

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Nathan
Year 2850 | Month 12 | Day 24

“-so in order to start the shapeshifting process, you need to merge your very DNA with your mana,” the skeleton continues our lesson as I type down my notes. “Tier V spells are far more difficult than any other Tier of spell you’ve tried so far. They’re not like Tier III healing spells. They are meant to directly alter the human body. And they are far more touchy and likely to cause harm.”

Understandable.

I think these lessons he gives me are the only times where I actually like the stupid skeleton.

“But just like with Tier III spells, Tier V spells won’t likely work on you,” the skeleton says while using a pointer to point at a blackboard showing my body. “As with everything else, your body would just revert back normal after any changes. However, as a magician, you can’t simply skip knowing how these spells work. So you need to at least design one Tier V spell to know the inner workings of them. Otherwise you’ll be left blindsided when you need to revert a spell.”

I frown at that before understanding what he means.

While those spells won’t work on me, they will work on those I care about. And I’d rather not have to be left watching a friend or even possibly my parents being stuck under the effects of a Tier V spell.

“There aren’t very many fire spells meant to shapeshift or alter the body, but there are plenty of death magic spells,” he continues. “After you design a Tier V spell of your own to work on yourself, you will know the fundamentals behind designing Tier V spells for others. Such as turning someone into an undead.”

Right. Lots of Tier V death magic spells.

It’s the first spells of necromancy after all. For the death magic branch at least.

“Before we go over any of that, I will explain to you the difference between the two branches of necromancy,” the skeleton says while changing the blackboard to show a screen instead. One with two diagrams of silhouettes. “Of the two branches, death branch necromancy directly alters the body of the subject, whereas soul branch necromancy alters the soul of the subject instead.” He pauses for a second while pointing the pointer at the silhouette on the left with a bunch of black and purple particles in it. “Death branch necromancy fills the subject’s body with death mana while mutating the DNA directly, merging the two and killing the brain at the same time. This will turn them into an unintelligent undead run directly by the mana in their body and the spell supplying it and controlling them. But when the spell stops running, the undead will stop as well.”

The skeleton pauses to look at me as I write down my notes before he adds, “Some more advanced spells can keep the undead active even after the spell has run its course. Until it runs out of death mana. But even those don’t allow the caster to control the undead any further, leaving it to act entirely on the orders it was last given before the spell ran its course.”

I think back to the necromancer baroness that Incendia and I killed during the war. How her undead just dropped like puppets the moment she was killed.

“As you likely saw during your little war, the soul branch of necromancy works differently,” the skeleton says while pointing at the other silhouette that has a white and black energy surrounding the undead’s body, along with a white energy filling their head. “The soul magic branch works through creating an artificial and temporary soul under the control of the caster. One located within the brain of the body that has a slight film around its skin to control the undead. It doesn’t strengthen the body in any way like the death magic branch, but it requires far less mana to cast and allows for more ‘puppets’.” He pauses for a second as I continue writing notes before he focuses solely on me and asks, “Now a question. Based on what I’ve told you, tell me the biggest difference you’ve thought of between the two types of undead.”

The biggest difference…

“Undead created by death magic are an entirely different species from normal humans while undead created by soul magic are simply dead bodies that have been turned into puppets,” I answer him while imagining the two in my mind. “Technically, undead created by soul branch magic shouldn’t be considered undead at all. Since they are merely artificial souls inhabiting the dead corpse. Unlike death branch undead which were mutated by death mana and miasma.”

“Correct, in all accounts,” the skeleton says with a nod. Then he pushes the three segments of the pointer together and finishes, “That’ll be all for this lesson. By our next session, make sure to have started your work on a Tier V spell since then.”

I nod my head at that before finishing up my notes and putting my tablet away. But my mind is already running all over the place with ideas for a possible Tier V spell.

Maybe a spell for elemental shifting? Transforming my body into fire itself. Like how I’ve seen the skeleton turn his into miasma.

But would I even be able to make a spell like that? If I tried making it, how would I test it? My body would revert before I finish using the spell, so how’d I test it?

I don’t think it would work out… so a different type of Tier V spell? But what…

“Before you begin brainstorming, there are some people I would like you to see,” Adalwolf suddenly says, snapping me out of my little trance as I raise my head to look at him. “And I’m pretty sure you’ll want to see them.”

I stare for a few seconds before muttering, “What? Who?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” he says while staring at me with the flames making up his eyes blazing with a level flame. “Follow me.”

What’s he… guess it can’t hurt to see.

Might as well follow him.