Reborn with a Necromancer System - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Training Phase Three – Advanced Reanimation Chapter 39: Training Phase Three – Advanced Reanimation The bear shook the bark and splintered wood from its head.

Charging headfirst into a tree barely did anything.

‘What about ice?

If I could slow it, maybe it would do something?

But what if it just absorbs it again and somehow becomes stronger?’ The bear charged at him again.

‘I can’t overthink it.’ Kai extended his hands and channelled magical frost into his fingertips.

He increased the pressure of the ice within him until the pain from the cold reached his elbows.

A sharp, bone-chilling cold crackled through the air as he unleashed a cone of ice magic across the ground.

Spikes of ice spread across the ground in zigzags towards their target.

The ice encased the bear’s front legs and stopped it in place.

Freezing tendrils spread over its joints, creeping like ivy and locking the thick muscles in place.

The bear roared, shaking violently to rid itself of the encroaching frost.

It broke free from some of the ice, but the bear had already lost all of its momentum.

Kai didn’t hesitate.

Shadows lashed from beneath him, coiling around the beast’s limbs like living chains.

They tightened, anchoring the bear in place for a few precious moments.

The creature fought against the restraints, its raw strength causing the bindings to tremble.

He wouldn’t be able to hold it for long.

He lunged forward, but the bear reacted faster than he expected.

The beast swiped again, its claws whistling past his ear; he rolled desperately under its immense weight, scrambling to his feet on the other side.

He slammed his palm into its ice-covered foreleg, reinforcing the frozen joint with another burst of ice magic.

A sharp crack rang through the air as the frozen plating fractured, a spiderweb of damage spreading from the impact.

The bear staggered, its balance faltering.

Kai seized the moment.

Fire surged from his palm again, this time concentrated and focused.

He blasted the fractured section, the sudden burst of heat melting the weakened armour The Iron Bear howled in agony, rearing onto its hind legs before collapsing to the ground with a bone-rattling thud.

But it wasn’t done.

Despite the damage, the beast forced itself up, eyes blazing with arcane fury.

It lunged again, mouth open wide, aiming to crush him in a single, final strike.

Kai gathered his shadows, shaping them into a protective barrier, but it wouldn’t hold against the sheer force of the creature’s momentum.

Instead, he took a gamble.

At the last moment, he threw his body to the left as the bear chomped towards him, dodging just enough to avoid the full brunt of the attack.

The bear’s jaws snapped shut inches from his shoulder.

He summoned every last ounce of energy, his magically strengthened fist, wreathed in swirling shadow and searing fire, slammed directly into the creature’s exposed throat with a sickening crunch.

The impact sent another shockwave through its massive frame.

The bear let out a final, guttural growl before its body slackened, the arcane energy within it flickering and then fading into silence.

Kai exhaled, standing over the fallen creature, his muscles still tense.

He had won.

But his side ached, his breath was ragged, and he could still feel the sting of the near-miss.

The air remained heavy, thick with lingering mana.

Kai took a deep breath, steadying himself.

The fight was over, but his work had just begun.

His wolves approached from the clearing’s edge.

‘Keeping them from the fight was the right choice.’ They were his first true creations since leaving Ylthara, and he wasn’t about to risk damage to them.

More than that, he needed to be worthy of the Iron Bear.

He had to defeat it with his own hands.

“Raise Dead.” [The body has not been prepared correctly.] ‘Oh?’ Reanimating ordinary corpses was one thing.

They controlled mana and housed a soul within them.

The arcane wolves, infused with arcane energy, their very essence resisted the process of reanimation, but the iron bear was different.

It didn’t just resist it.

It rejected it.

Kai injected his mana into the dead creature.

He felt his mana flow through the veins of the creature, learning and understanding everything there was about his defeated enemy.

The iron plates across its body acted as a shield against magic, necromancy included.

Kai placed his hands on the bear’s hulking form, taking in the sheer mass of its body.

Reanimating something this large was no easy feat.

He had to break down the natural defenses first.

‘Heat can expand metal.

If I apply that principle to the bear’s armour, then maybe…’ Kai kept his hands on the quickly cooling corpse and channeled flames across its entire structure.

Not enough to destroy.

Just enough to soften.

Heat seeped into the plates, loosening the iron’s grip beast.

The once-unyielding material became pliable, receptive to manipulation.

With the body prepared, Kai summoned his strengthening magic and slid his hand between two plates of the bear.

The iron plates threatened to cut his hand off at the wrist, but his magic fought against the pressure.

He reached deep, grasping at the remnants of the bear’s essence, feeling for the creature’s soul within the massive corpse.

The bear’s mana needed to be controlled and integrated into the process.

‘I need complete control.

I can’t have it fight against my spell.’ Like a master martial artist, Kai pictured himself mixing his life essence with the mana and soul of the bear.

Once merged together, Kai pulled his hands free and wrapped the corpse with thick shadow to prevent anything from leaking out.

“Raise Dead!” The air grew heavy, crackling with an unseen force.

Then, the bear stirred.

First a twitch.

Then a shudder.

And finally, with an earth-shaking growl, its massive form rose from the ground, eyes glowing with a dim, unnatural light.

Kai took a step back, his breathing steady as he observed his work.

The bear moved sluggishly at first, but the strengthening magic held.

It retained some of its former resilience, its hide still thick and resistant.

The process had worked.

He had done it.

His first true undead creations, standing before him, waiting for his command.

Kai exhaled slowly, a sense of satisfaction settling in his chest.

This was only the beginning.

The creatures of this forest were powerful, but now, they were his.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Jhaydun We’ve got the Iron Bear!

This guy is an absolute machine, just you wait!