In a voice that no one else could hear,
With utmost silence and discretion,
I whispered a command to the several pieces of bones of the pheasant we ate, lying haphazardly on the plate.
"... Arise...."
Crack— Crack—
Soon after, the bones of the pheasant began to twist and grotesquely align themselves in a skeletal structure.
Even though they were once re food scraps left behind, they soon transford into a strange object with joints and bones, moving with awkward motions.
Creak—
It had beco a headless bird skeleton. Seeing the scene of the bones moving by themselves, I felt my heart sink.
An object that should never have the capability of movent, was now moving freely.
Seemingly reenacting its actions when it was alive, the headless skeleton even fluttered its wing-like structure made of bones, even though there were no feathers or mbranes that usually gave it the appearance of wings.
Rattle— Rattle—
Even though I had thoroughly cleaned the bones when I ate them, leaving not a single piece of at or tissue behind, it still made for a grotesque sight. I couldn't help but imagine how horrific it would have been if there were bits of flesh left behind on the bones.
Rattle— Rattle—
Hurriedly, I covered the plate with both arms to hide the sight of the bird spinning around on the plate. If soone were to witness this scene, I couldn't imagine what commotion would ensue,
Neither could I stand to see this horrific creature.
"... Hey, don't move. Stay still."
......…….
Seemingly understanding my words, I wasn’t quite sure, the bird skeleton suddenly stopped moving on the plate. A corpse that listened to my words; it was both fascinating and eerie at the sa ti.
It felt like fiddling with sothing you shouldn't play with as a child. In fact, it was almost no different from that.
This was undoubtedly wicked black magic that could only be referred to as necromancy.
As for why I could do sothing like this, that was sothing even I couldn’t explain. Hence, I didn’t know why I had this ability.
While resting at ho on the day after the battle with the Thieves’ Guild in the underground, a sudden realization ca to my mind.
Since I could sohow control the super zombies to an extent, maybe I could try that necromancy that Paranoy had ntionned.
Honestly, it was just a simple curiosity I had.
So, I tried it on the bones of the mice that the pet spider, Kong Kong – which had made a nest in the jar – ate and promptly discarded. And lo and behold, it actually worked!
At the ti, I was so surprised that I hastily destroyed it. But after trying it again, I was sure of it.
I could perform necromancy.
How could I even do that?
What could be the reason for this ability?
Was it because of the magical power of Pluto, the King of the Underworld, contained in the necklace I was wearing? I thought it was just a weird-looking necklace. I never expected it to have this kind of ability.
As I touched the pointed star-shaped pendant around my neck, imdiately, a steady stream of words manifested in my mind.
The Eyes of Pluto
Protects the wearer from ntal corruption caused by magic and blessing.
Spend 100 task points to enhance The Eyes of Pluto to The Eyes of Pluto 1.
Enhancent success rate 80%
Words that I had once seen and didn’t think much of manifested in my mind. Now though, they started to seem a bit more important than I initially thought.
I couldn’t believe this. I could spend task points to enhance it. If I strengthened it further, would it be possible to not only resurrect the bones of small creatures like mice but also larger creatures?
Koma, the necromancer who was the previous owner of this necklace, was capable of controlling a full-fledged skeletal dragon.
Of course, it was still a guess without any proof to back it up.
But these days, my guesses had been surprisingly accurate almost to the point that it felt eerie.
Swish—
Suddenly, I felt chills on my nape at that very mont, so I turned my gaze and imdiately saw Hippolyte walking towards from a distance.
Startled by her appearance, I quickly took out the club holstered on my waist and swung it with considerable force, fully intent on shattering the glass plate.
Clang— Crack—
Along with the broken plate, the resurrected and transford skeletal bird also shattered into a million pieces.
Necromancy was wicked black magic that could lead to severe punishnt in this world. So if I were caught doing sothing like that, I would undoubtedly be executed without even having ti to make any excuses.
I should keep this fact a tight-knit secret.
"Damn..."
"What's going on? Why are you breaking the plate with your club?"
Hippolyte asked with a puzzled gaze, looking alternately at the broken plate and my club. Fortunately, it seed like she didn’t catch a glimpse of what I had done with the bones.
"Nothing, there was a spider—"
"A spider? It’s a taver, so, there can definitely be one or two spiders skittering about here and there. But do you really need to swing your club for that?"
"Well, you know… I'm just really scared of spiders."
"Hmm, I guess that’s true. Everyone has their weaknesses. Anyway, have you thought about it?"
"Huh? What do you an by that?"
"I an, learning Aura from ."
Ah, right before Hippolyte left, we were talking about learning how to control Aura.
If I learned Aura, I would receive a 10 boost in my level assessnt. That would effectively make level 33, which would make eligible for the requirents to be promoted to the silver tier.
There was no need for any hesitation.
Just as I was about to answer, Hippolyte spoke a little faster.
"However, let tell you in advance; it will take a considerable amount of ti for you to acquire this skill. Even for , it took more than three years to learn it properly. If you lack talent, you might not be able to manifest it in your lifeti."
"Three years...?"
Huh? Three years? That was over a thousand days, wasn't it? Thinking about it that way, it seed quite a long amount of ti. If sohow I ca to learn that I didn’t have the talent to manifest Aura, wouldn’t I be wasting those three years?
While I was pondering about that, Hippolyte added a subtle remark.
"For your information, the tuition fee is one gold per month."
"What? Do I have to pay tuition too?"
The substantial sum of a gold each month made my head spin. How could the cost be one gold per month?
Damnit. I only have about two golds left from my entire wealth. mories of all the struggles I had to go through just to earn this money ca rushing back to at the thought.
"It's too expensive."
"Expensive, you say? This is actually quite cheap. If you were to enter a knightage or a swordsmanship dojo to learn Aura Mastery, you would have to pay not only for monthly training but also make various additional purchases."
"So, learning from you is cheaper than learning elsewhere, Ms. Hippolyte?"
"It's not only cheaper but also more reliable in terms of skills. Even if you lack talent and can't acquire Aura, I'll make sure to teach you all the fundantals and make your foundation as solid as possible. That way you won’t be taken advantage of by ordinary folks."
Hearing her words, it didn't sound like a bad deal. It was indeed better to learn from Hippolyte, who was strong without a doubt than to register at so academy where I was unsure of the instructors' abilities.
The image of Hippolyte, who effortlessly took down silver-tier adventurers in the underground market, was still vividly painted in my mind. She was so fucking majestic at that ti.
However, one gold per month was still a significant expense for .
If you were to ask if I could earn one gold per month right now, I couldn't give a definite answer. I was still a poor guy with only a fixed budget of a few coppers I could spend on my daily sustenance. I didn’t even have any land or house under my na.
"It's an opportunity that others can't get even if they pay more. What else are you worrying about?”
"I don't have the money for it."
"Even if you have to borrow from soone, learn it. If you acquire Aura, your inco will increase enough to fill your pockets with more pieces of gold than you will initially invest."
Hearing Hippolyte's following words, it sounded quite convincing again.
After the guild building, which would be completed soday, had a notice board, I could acquire my own section on the board to promote myself.
If I wrote, 'Hassan - Titanium Gauntlets and Powerful Club. Certified Aura User,' I might receive valuable commissions from various places.
Perhaps I would be truly able to accumulate a pile of gold.
Just thinking about having a lot of gold to do as I please made feel really good. While having those thoughts, Hippolyte, as if revealing her hidden intentions, said in a subtle tone.
"You have no money... Then, would you like to consider buying shares of Mars Guild? Currently, it's only 5 silver per share... but if you make remarkable achievents, the guild's stock price will also rise accordingly."
"Not gonna happen."
Co to think of it, Hippolyte was an Aura user, yet she was still dirt poor. Learning Aura Mastery didn’t seem to guarantee unconditional wealth with heaps of gold in one’s possession.
#
It had been a long ti since I last visited the guild building of the Mars Guild. During that ti, the rebuilding of the structure had advanced significantly and it was now close to completion.
I dropped by to update my information at the guild and, coincidentally, saw the funny-looking pink-haired Luna inside the building. Her hair was fluttering even though there was no wind.
Luna was carrying a large jar, struggling to move it around inside the building.
"Luna, what are you doing there?"
"Hassan! You ca at the right ti! Help with this!"
So, I ended up helping Luna put all six large jars into the guild's warehouse.
They were quite heavy, so I could see why Luna was grunting while moving them. Thanks to my improved strength in recent tis, I could carry them with relative ease.
"Phew, thanks to you, Hassan, I sohow survived. I thought I would die from moving all this weight. The wagon driver told to move them into the guild building myself."
Luna wiped the sweat dripping from her forehead, tired from all the grunt work.
I couldn’t help but ask her as she kept wiping the sweat away.
"We were supposed to have lunch together, right? Why didn't you co to the restaurant?"
"I'm so busy! I received an order for five big jars of stamina elixir. It's 50 silvers for five jars! Even after deducting the cost of materials, it'll still leave with about 30 silvers, isn't that amazing?"
Luna puffed up her chest, making it seem like it was a significant feat.
But earning 30 silvers at once was indeed quite remarkable, so Luna's appearance seed to shine even brighter in my eyes.
Wasn’t it a good thing if she could earn more than ?
"I have to make seven more. It's a request from the Alchemist Guild. Honestly, I didn't expect the business to do this well right after opening the workshop."
Yesterday marked the official opening of Luna's workshop, Sun and Moon.
Thanks to that, the small cabin’s first floor was filled with dried and crushed materials, and Paranoy’s screaming voice made it quite noisy.
"If this business continues like this, I might earn around 1 gold per month. Even after taxes and other expenses, maybe I will still be able to earn about 10 gold in a year. Holy shh! I'm rich!"
"1 gold per month?"
"That's amazing, right?"
Earning 10 gold in a year.
If soone could earn 10 gold in a year, it would be a pretty significant achievent by this world’s standards.
To put it in perspective, it was similar to earning an annual salary of 100 million on Earth.
It truly represented a successful life.
I couldn’t believe this. Luna has sohow beco a successful entrepreneur.
I couldn’t help but wonder if she was the sa Luna who used to hunt goblins with , used a strange way to find paths with sticks, and practiced outlandish voodoo techniques. However, eting Luna was a fortunate event in my life.
If Luna earned a lot of money, I would probably be able to get a share from that.
Since things turned out this way, I thought Luna could make money outside while I stayed ho and took care of things. After all, I was much better at household chores.
Living a life supported by a woman who earned a lot of money…
Isn't that the dream life for most n?
"Luna, I'm really glad to have t you."
"... Uh, wh-why are you suddenly saying sothing embarrassing like that?"
Luna turned her head away in embarrassnt after hearing the words I blurted out without thinking much. On second thought, I was starting to feel pretty embarrassed about what I just said.
Still, I was relieved that Luna seed to have liked it.
Anyway, Luna and I soon sat in front of Daphne. It had been a while since we did this.
"The weather is too hot, isn’t it? I hope the guild building will be completed soon."
Daphne, the receptionist, spoke those words with a huff. She was fanning herself with her hands inside the makeshift guild counter.
Clearly, there was hardly any ventilation in the tent during midsumr.
"Mr. Hassan, Ms. Luna, it's great to see you two rising steadily. As the receptionist in charge of you two, I feel proud as well. I heard that the adventurers from Kalkata fled from the underground scene?"
It seed like Daphne had heard about the Hydra subjugation mission. News of Elfriede and her colleagues giving up the quest and fleeing also seed to have spread.
"This will further enhance the reputation of the Mars Guild. Anyway, we only do the stats update once a month, right? You've been through a lot, so your overall stats might have increased by 2 or 3!"
Luna was the one who updated her stats first.
Last ti, she made a fuss about not wanting to prick her finger with the needle and whined like a child for a while. But today, she pricked her finger with a sharp pen tip without making any fuss.
I guess, within that short period, Luna's inner self had grown too.
Sssk— Ssk—
In fact, Luna had grown not only internally but in various other ways. Maybe it was , but she seed to have grown a bit taller too.
"Wow, Miss Luna! You're so amazing. Your karma point has increased again!"
Last ti, when Luna calculated her level, the result was 7 or 8. But now, the updated stats for Luna are as follows,
[Stats] Na: Luna Knoxdotty Strength: 4 Agility: 10 Stamina: 3
"Hassan, look at that! The numbers have increased like crazy! If we add them all up, how much is it...?"
Luna was also overwheld by those high numbers, shivering as if not knowing what to do. She continuously counted her fingers, trying to add up all her points. However, Daphne's calculation was faster.
"Your overall stat is 17. It's exactly 10 higher than last ti."
"Holy shh! My Karma point is 17 now! I've beco so strong!"
Smack— Smack—
Luna rapidly hit my forearm. I know that sotis girls hit each other's arms when they're happy or surprised and Luna did exactly that.
The problem was that it hurt quite a bit.
Indeed, this was the taste of getting a smack from a palm with an overall stat level of 17.
"Hassan, at this rate, won't I beco a gold-tier adventurer first...? Sohow, it seems like I have gotten really strong...? Could I be the daughter of a god too? Just like that!"
"Well, it happens occasionally. So people grow rapidly like this. However, the faster you grow, the sooner you'll hit a bottleneck, so be careful!"
It seed like Daphne often gave so sincere advice to the adventurers she was in charge of.
According to her, it was relatively easy to level up to level 20. But many people started hitting a wall after that point.
So most adventurers' ended up never reaching the silver tier, stuck before the wall that ca before them.
"Miss Luna, your agility stat is now in the two-digit range! They say that from two digits and above, it's the realm of superhumans. Do you have any special training thods? It would be great if you could share them so that we can employ them to train our juniors."
"I don't know either! Why did my numbers suddenly increase like that? No wonder my body feels so light these days! Is it because of the wildlings I ate?"
"I-I see... wildlings...."
Anyway, Luna's stat update went smoothly with that. Then, it was my turn. After pricking my thumb with the needle, I felt slightly nervous.
I had also leveled up quite a bit since the last update. Thinking about Daphne's reaction made both excited and worried.
I hope there wouldn’t be a new profession category like a necromancer or sothing written there, or else it would be a total disaster.
While I was feeling a sense of nervousness at such thoughts, Luna next to spoke up.
"Hassan, what if you are weaker than ? What would you do if I beca stronger than you?"
Well, it was unlikely to happen because I already knew my level. Of course, Luna had no way of knowing. So she could have such concerns about sothing like that.
Ssk— Ssk—
[Stats] Na: Hassan Zagreus Strength: 12 Agility: 4 Stamina: 6 Blessing: Shining Hands
Thud— Rolll—
Daphne, who was writing down the words, suddenly dropped her pen.
"Did I write it wrong...?"
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