I Became The Academy Necromancer Chapter 122: Former Comrades

I checked the round clock placed above the auditorium entrance . Even though two hours had passed, it felt like the lecture didn't progress as much as I intended.

It was ti to wrap things up.

However, my personal ambition got the better of .

I didn’t want to disrupt the current flow as I doubted if I would get to see the students concentrating like this again.

"To summarize once more, just as every human possesses mana, every soul also contains mana."

So, I decided to prolong this level of concentration with a brief summary before concluding the lecture.

Aware that I was about to bring the lecture to an end, both the students and the professors paid close attention to the final summary.

It was the ti to highlight the important points that were discussed during the lecture.

"However, as I ntioned, what anchors the mana of the soul is not a physical body but rather a type of will."

That was where the difference arose.

"Thus, depending on their willpower, evil spirits often vary in strength. Although I used the term 'will', it can essentially be seen as 'resentnt' or 'lingering attachnt.'"

Gulp.

The students were so tense that even the sound of saliva being swallowed could be heard. It seed like they were recalling the experiences they went through in the first sester.

"As you have experienced, conventional magic does not work on such entities."

This ti, it was the professors who groaned in agreent. Having fought against the evil spirits that had overrun the academy several tis, they could truly relate to this.

"Simple spells like fireballs, water bullets, lightning bolts. Even though these spells are also conjured using mana, they were developed for the purpose of causing physical damage.”"

On the contrary.

I ignited a blue fla on the tip of my finger.

It was a special magic known as the Necromancer’s Fla.

"Using this, Dark Mages have a ans to harm intangible entities. However..."

The audience was taken aback as I placed my hand above the fla.

However, my hand only felt a sauna-like warmth; there was no burn.

"Harming tangible entities is more challenging."

Of course, this was an extrely rare spell among the arsenal of spells a Dark Mage possessed. After all, their primary opponents were humans. Therefore, there were far more spells that were geared towards human opponents.

I grasped the Necromancer's Fla as it dispersed and vanished.

"I have given you a brief explanation on the background and theory of Black Magic today. We will begin with practical exercises from the next session.”

A montary silence fell at my words.

As I was aware of their concerns, I decided to address them preemptively.

"I might be a Dark Mage, but I do not plan on teaching you Black Magic."

The students looked puzzled. Since they were attending my lecture, they had co prepared to learn about Black Magic.

However, this wasn't a discipline that could be learned with half-hearted determination.

Just like with Dante and the Dark Spiritualist, it was only possible to master if they had no hesitation in walking the disciple's path.

"What I intend to teach you is how to detect and respond to Black Magic, evil spirits, yokai, and much more. Furthermore, what I plan to focus on and teach you in our future lectures is how to protect yourselves from such entities.”

That way, incidents like how the academy was easily taken over recently wouldn’t be repeated.

Furthermore, by instilling this knowledge in young students, the teachings would spread throughout the Griffin Kingdom. This would enable the kingdom that was vulnerable to Dark Mages and spiritual phenona to gradually be able to confront them on their own.

The Evil Ghost Griffin, who was a Dark Mage, had created this deford kingdom structure. Thus being a Dark Mage myself, I had to restore the balance.

Just as I was about to conclude the lecture, a student swiftly raised their hand.

Although much ti had passed, no other student seed to object, so I gestured to him with my hand.

"Speak."

"Professor, I heard that you have solved several unsolved cases during this sumr break."

"That is correct."

That statent was true.

After all, most of the unsolved cases in the Griffin Kingdom were either related to evil spirits or yokai.

"So, will the content related to them also be covered in class? For example, conducting lectures by applying the circumstances of that ti."

It was quite a good question, and it was also sothing I was pondering over due to the advice given to by Erica yesterday.

Instead of rely imparting knowledge, conducting lectures by associating them with the actual cases I encountered would not only improve the concentration of the students, but it would also make the lectures more engaging.

Of course, there were cases I would not be able to reveal out of consideration of the victims, but I thought of selecting so of the less severe ones.

"Yes. I plan to weave my next lecture around actual cases."

At that, the audience stirred once again.

To be precise, it must have felt like a seasoned detective showing his case notes.

It seed like quite an interesting topic for them.

"Thank you!"

After the student who asked the question sat back down with a satisfied smile, I held the microphone one last ti and announced.

"Any student who has discovered anything about the Dark Spiritualist can co to speak to at any ti. However, I hope you will be careful as each person will have only one opportunity to do so."

I made that announcent as they could co and waste my ti with any random story. However, as if they had expected that much, the students didn't react strongly.

"Well then, I will conclude the lecture here."

And just like that, I left the auditorium.

* * *

The impact of Deus Verdi's Black Magic lectures didn't just stop at the Loberne Academy.

Until now, Black Magic had been completely opposed and suppressed by the kingdom.

The parents were quite uncomfortable with the idea of their children attending such lectures, and the bishops from the church were also wary.

They feared a student might get corrupted anyti, so they were ready to pounce at the slightest suspicion.

It was quite literal.

However, Deus Verdi was solely teaching thods to counter Black Magic.

Moreover, he himself was acting as their practice opponent.

"Hwup!"

Eleanor roused her mana and ford a green barrier, hiding her entire body behind it.

Flas from the Dark Spiritualist poured onto it.

"Ugh!"

Her hand trembled violently, her head throbbed with pain. But thanks to the Dark Spiritualist adjusting her power, Eleanor managed to fend it off with much difficulty.

"Gasp! Gasp!"

Sweat flowed profusely.

Although she had wielded magic that only used mana before, this was her first ti using both mana and ntal strength together.

Since it was quite vague, Deus didn't expect her to be able to grasp the concept of ntal strength firmly.

The approach Deus used was that to confront the thoughts of your opponent, one had to understand their perspective and put an equal amount of determination into it.

"Well done, next."

"Th-thank you."

Eleanor wiped her sweat and smiled sheepishly on hearing Deus’ praise before taking her place in line again.

The next student stepped forward.

"I'm a first-year, Leorus."

He was a handso boy with striking blue hair known for his expertise in spear techniques and he was an important figure who was destined to be a tanker in Aria's future party.

[Aghhh! I don't want to do this anymore!]

The Dark Spiritualist, who had taken the role of their opponent all this while, grumbled about not liking this arrangent, but Deus chose not to respond.

Eventually, the Dark Spiritualist unleashed the flas once again.

"Keargh!"

Leorus fell backward. It seed that he was still struggling with the concept of using mana and ntal strength at the sa ti.

"That is enough, next."

Truthfully speaking, the defense Leorus put up was quite good. However, unlike Eleanor or Aria, who were praised by Deus, most students didn't receive any positive feedback.

Thus, while the theory was explained based on Deus' experiences, most of the lectures were conducted through practical exercises.

Both aspects were popular among students. Furthermore, Loberne Academy, which was overrun by evil spirits in the first sester, had already designated it as a mandatory subject.

"Sob."

Once again, unable to withstand the Dark Spiritualist’s fla, another student retreated while being visibly upset.

The next student.

"I look forward to your cooperation."

The protagonist of the ga, Aria Rias, fixed her gaze on with a confident posture.

[......]

The Dark Spiritualist's expression turned cold. She unleashed a slightly stronger fla towards Aria.

Aria calmly defended herself while striking the barrier as if nothing had happened.

It showed how stable her ntal strength was.

"...Well done."

"Yes!"

Even such light praise made her really happy. Aria spun around with a bright smile.

Aria stood at the back of the line, ready for the next training session. In front of her, her peers who had been defeated by the Dark Spiritualist were already lined up.

"Aria, how do you do that so well?"

"Wow, you're really amazing."

"Could you teach later?"

"She's quite sothing."

Leorus, Happy, Florensia, Jin— they were her friends with unique yet significant appearances.

"...."

Her comrades from the first round.

As ntioned before, Leorus excelled as a spear master and was active at the forefront. His water-attribute magic was also top-notch, making him an excellent choice to act as a barrier.

Happy was a female archer who used bows. She always provided additional firepower from the rear alongside Florensia and had an advantage against the items from the Clark Republic.

Florensia was a Mage.

She played a central role in the party by supporting their recovery and making up for Happy's lack of firepower. If she were to fall, it would be like breaking the backbone of the party.

Lastly, Jin was an assassin skilled in dual-wielding. Currently, he was posing as a reserved student, but his household had been involved in an assassin organization for quite so ti.

Jin was supposed to be the next head of that assassin organization, but he decided to join the party.

He had various skills such as reconnaissance, dismantling traps, and surprise attacks.

Suddenly, mories of the friendly chatter around the bonfire resurfaced in Aria’s mind.

- Ugh, it's tough.

Leorus,, groaned from the frontlines while wiping his sweat off with water magic.

- Seeing this kind of thing makes miss our academy days.

Happy, grilling at by the bonfire, missed her academy days.

- We're still students, you know.

Florensia, handling the at, replied with a sour face.

- You fool, you burnt the at.

Even Jin sighed irritatedly, asking Happy not to cook.

It was a scene that Aria had seen many tis before.

After a day of adventure, they would gather around the bonfire, chatting away.

The most commonly discussed topic during those tis were obviously stories from their days at the academy.

Even though they weren’t able to return to the academy in the previous round, they had now returned.

Was it really okay to have returned like this?

All of a sudden, Aria couldn't help but feel doubtful.

Throb!

She imdiately grimaced in response to the throbbing pain in her head and took a sharp breath.

"Why, what's wrong Aria?"

"Huh? Do you feel unwell sowhere?"

"Sh-should we call the professor?"

"Take deep breaths."

Cold sweat dampened her forehead as the other students worried about her sudden condition.

However, Aria gritted her teeth and spat at her forr comrades.

"Get lost! Go enjoy the academy life you all loved so much!"

With fierce hostility, Aria clenched her fists.

She didn’t need any of them.

She would only protect the Professor. Never again would she hesitate between them and the Professor.

Even if she were to arrive at that crossroad again...

"I will definitely choose Professor."

Aria turned around swiftly. She didn't feel like being with them /genesisforsaken