I Became The Academy Necromancer
Chapter 309: A New Hero

Personally recruited by Luaneth Luden Griffin himself, Dante’s Dark Mages were unlike ordinary dark mages as they clearly understood value and negotiation.

Though their perspectives on value differed, causing them to handle matters in bizarre ways, they were at least capable of communication.

That was probably the reason they followed Luaneth, who had aimed to save the world by eliminating all souls.

Saving the world to survive—It meant they were somewhat reasonable.

Though their actions suggest otherwise.

Especially in the case of Entomancer Barctos Nikolay, whose mindset was visibly far removed from that of ordinary people.

[So, where are those dark mages?]

“I heard one of them was captured.”

[Oh, really? I can’t wait to see which fool it is.]

The Dark Spiritualist approached me while sneaking a glance at Stella, who was still hitting my back. It seemed the Dark Spiritualist was chattering exaggeratedly to try and gauge her reaction.

[But only one person was caught in that situation? Who is it? The Blood Mage Findenai faced?]

Like Findenai, Dante’s vice-commander, Pelestan, was a master of prolonged battles and using blood for his magic.

Even in the game, he was the second most difficult dark mage to face after Luaneth, and his bond with Luaneth was exceptionally strong.

And back when I created the Land of Eternal Rest, he had assisted Luaneth in launching an ambush on me but was ultimately thwarted by Findenai.

“No, I heard the Blood Mage Pelestan managed to escape.”

[What? He escaped?]

“That man is blood itself. A normal prison cannot hold him.”

[Griffin’s weakness, ignorance of dark mages, has shown itself again, hasn’t it?]

“I cannot argue with that.”

She wasn’t wrong.

If they had dealt with the Blood Mage properly, they wouldn’t have allowed Pelestan—whom Findenai had painstakingly captured—to escape.

However, I didn’t think Pelestan would do anything more than this.

Dante’s story had already come to a close.

Perhaps he felt a sense of disillusionment and had returned to his hometown, or maybe he missed Luaneth but eventually overcame it one day and moved forward with his life.

[So, who did they manage to capture?]

“Entomancer Barctos, Blood Mage Pelestan, and Cadavermancer Yun—None of them were caught.”

[Hmm?]

“They were all undoubtedly threatening dark mages. However, the most dangerous one is someone else.”

[Really? None of the others besides those three stood out to me.]

“That is to be expected.”

Because if he had somehow succeeded in using his magic, Graypond would have no longer existed in its current form today.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Just as I was about to explain, Stella’s persistent punching on my back caused me to let out a sigh.

“You can stop now.”

[I-It just started to get a bit fun…]

“I noticed.”

In the first place, it didn’t really feel like a punch—it felt more like a massage. That was why I let her be.

[I’m sorry.]

Blushing in embarrassment, Stella quickly walked over and stood beside me.

Once Stella regained her senses, we headed to the part of Graypond where the Magic Tower was located.

[Wait a second, you haven’t told me who it is!]

The Dark Spiritualist yelled all of a sudden, but I didn’t bother giving her an answer since it was clear that even if I did, it wouldn’t make a difference.

***

The Magic Tower.

While the name might give the impression of a sharp, towering structure like a spear, the Magic Tower in Graypond was only slightly taller than the surrounding buildings. In fact, it didn’t even look much different from its surroundings.

And it wasn’t a place where mages tested magic, indulged in researching new spells, or worked to create once-in-a-lifetime results.

Rather, it looked like a place where mages, worn out by fatigue, came day after day to work. Of course, they were probably working hard inside.

[Is he confined in the Magic Tower?]

“Yes, I heard the Archmage subdued him.”

Upon entering the Magic Tower, I was immediately greeted by mages. Since I had already informed Ropelican of my visit in advance, it seemed they had prepared for my arrival.

“Greetings, Lord Soul Whisperer!”

A quick greeting.

Unlike when they used to watch over me while I worked on solving the case of Eleanor’s nightmare, Ropelican’s apprentices now showed proper etiquette.

“I apologize, but the Archmage has been summoned by His Majesty today. Therefore, I, Serizade, the Deputy Tower Master, will be your guide in his stead.”

A woman with glasses, looking unmistakably like a mage, greeted me with the formality of a textbook, to which I nonchalantly responded.

“He must be much busier than me. You do not have to worry about me here.”

Once I praised their teacher, the Archmage, the atmosphere eased slightly, and Serizade led me to the basement.

“He’s been staying in the basement since he’s a dark mage.”

[Isn’t this discrimination? Just because he’s a dark mage doesn’t mean he likes dark places.]

The Dark Spiritualist grumbled, crossing her arms and sulking. Standing beside her, Stella gave her an incredulous look and asked.

[Where was your lab, senior?]

[…In a cave.]

Upon receiving that answer, Stella immediately regretted asking and fell silent. Perhaps Stella’s consideration had offended her, the Dark Spiritualist began grumbling, but I ignored her.

Listening to the Deputy Tower Master chattering beside me was already unbearable.

“His magic has already elevated the Griffin Kingdom’s medical practices by several levels higher. I never imagined it could be used like this.”

“…”

“I used to believe that dark mages were just evil and disregarded human lives, like Heralhazard. Oh, of course, Lord Soul Whisperer, you’re the exception!”

“…”

“He called himself a Blightcaster, so I asked him if ‘Plaguebringer’ would sound cooler. So the next day, he started calling himself a Plaguebringer.”

[Wow, this person seriously talks a lot.]

[This behavior is very typical for a mage.]

As the Dark Spiritualist grumbled while clicking her tongue, Stella retorted bluntly.

She had probably encountered many mages during her time as a Saintess, so her words were likely born from experience.

[I’m a mage, too.]

Subtly indicating that she also belonged in the category of mages, the Dark Spiritualist pressed Stella to correct her statement.

[…This behavior is very typical for a mage.]

However, Stella refused to back down and stood her ground.

[A-Are you going up against your senior?! Are you subtly telling me that I also talk too much?]

[Do you even know how long you kept me in that conversation yesterday? I’ve memorized everything Deus said to you.]

How excited was the Dark Spiritualist while talking yesterday? It might have only been for one day, but I could understand why Stella seemed so upset and was acting annoyingly.

All of a sudden, the Dark Spiritualist became a necromancer who had tainted the enlightened Saintess, someone even the Demon Lord failed to corrupt.

“This way.”

Anyway, following the talkative Deputy Tower Master, we soon arrived at a small room in the basement.

At first glance, it seemed like it used to be a prison that had been remodeled.

The room showed clear signs of how the treatment towards Dante’s Dark Mage, who had been imprisoned there, changed over time.

The iron bars had been torn away, and reinforced glass had been installed in their place. Because of this, we could clearly see the face of the dark mage in the room.

Blightcaster, Becklin.

When the members of Dante, riding on Hearthia’s clouds, launched the attack on Graypond, he was the only one who tried to spread the plague from the city walls. However, the unfortunate dark mage failed to release any mana and was subdued by the Archmage, Ropelican.

In fact, he was so bad at combat that he was almost always one of the first to be taken out by the players when fighting Dante in the game.

However, his strength couldn’t be measured by mere combat skills. In terms of potential, he could discreetly kill more people than Heralahazard.

One day, if a plague were to start spreading across the continent, it wouldn’t be wrong to seek out this man first.

“Huh?”

A gaunt body, messy hair growing everywhere, and an unkempt beard.

Despite that, with a flask in one hand and a small staff used for research in the other, he was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

“Serizade, who’s here?”

“He can’t see the outside from inside.”

Seemingly finding the situation amusing, Serizade smiled faintly as she stared at Becklin in the room.

They certainly seemed quite friendly with each other.

“How did you manage to persuade him?”

Becklin, a criminal cooperating with the Magic Tower. In response to my question, Serizade scratched the back of her head and replied.

“Well, the negotiation process was almost more like blackmail. I mean, even though you’re a necromancer, you’ve provided much guidance and contributed to the development of Griffin, haven’t you, Soul Whisperer?”

[Right, right.]

[Exactly, exactly.]

I didn’t bother replying to her praise of me, but the women behind me answered proudly instead.

“So, upon hearing that he calls himself a Blightcaster, I thought that maybe he could be of some help to Griffin. And to be honest, Black Magic is still an unknown territory for us.”

“You had courage.”

I knew better than anyone how much courage it took to defend Black Magic in the Griffin Kingdom.

Thanks to me, the image of Black Magic had improved significantly, and people’s resistance to it was gradually decreasing as well.

“Even if people point fingers behind his back, as long as they keep exploring, learning, and moving forward, it will ultimately help many of the people living in Griffin.”

And I considered that to be a success.

And as she mentioned earlier while we made our way to the basement, medical technology in Graypond had advanced severalfold thanks to Becklin’s help.

“A-actually, there’s still a lot he can do. It’s not just about the diseases he knows; he can apply his knowledge to other areas as well…!”

Now that I think about it, she’s probably talking so much because she’s worried that I might treat him poorly.

So that was why she talked so much. It was all to protect Becklin.

Despite being a Dark Mage like me, it was clear that Becklin had become such an important figure that she cared this much.

“There is no need for you to worry. I just want to ask him about the other members of Dante he was with.”

“I-Is that so?”

And then…

Hmm.

Watching him turn his attention to his research again, an unexpected idea came to mind.

When I opened the door and stepped inside, Becklin was startled. He stood up from his chair and pointed his staff at me.

“S-Soul Whisperer! How dare you come to find me?! Do you want me to make you bleed from every orifice and die?!”

“…”

“Huh?! Tell me! How, how should I kill you?!”

“…”

“Hey! You little…!”

“…”

“Huh! Huh?! Huhh!”

I didn’t bother responding and simply stared at him in silence. Eventually, Becklin placed his staff on the desk slowly and glanced at me.

“Please, spare me.”

Then, he lowered his head and got on his knees.

“I am glad.”

I showed a satisfied expression as I observed him.

“Had you not lowered your tail, I would have judged you to be useless and left the room immediately.”

While I did need a barking dog, it needed to know when exactly to bark.

I was not sure if Becklin knew when to bark, but at least it seemed like he knew when to remain silent.

Though, his pride might be an issue.

“W-W-What brings you here?”

It wasn’t bad.

I liked the way he still studied magic endlessly, even though his life was being used as a bargaining chip.

“Blightcaster, Becklin.”

“I’m a P-Plaguebringer.”

“…”

“I’m sorry!”

As Becklin shouted while pressing his forehead against the floor, I spoke again.

“Plaguebringer, Becklin.”

“Yes!”

He knelt and leaned forward, as if to listen carefully.

My initial plan was to ask about the whereabouts of the other members of Dante, but a better idea came to me.

“You may think this sounds ridiculous, but the situation has now turned to where you are needed.”

The Griffin Kingdom needed dark mages.

Just as poison could be turned into medicine, Griffin needed a poison called Black Magic to identify, prevent, and treat other poisons.

In that sense, simply having a necromancer like me wasn’t enough.

“Huh? Y-You mean you need me?”

He looked up at me with a stunned expression. Slowly, I extended my hand and asked.

“Would you be interested in becoming a hero of this land?”

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken