Reborn with a Necromancer System - Chapter 92

Chapter 92: Kleo and Firra
Fog filled the academy grounds that night while Kai slipped out of his dorm and left through the eastern exit under the cloak of twilight.

Waiting by the creaking gates was Kleo, her form barely visible beneath a ratty cloak stitched together from stolen noblewear and discarded mage robes.

‘These commands work well. I do hope she didn’t have to wait too long, though.’

Kai nodded and she led him through the city.

She didn’t speak while they were rushing through narrow alleys that twisted and turned until the scent of brine and burnt oil told Kai they were nearing the docks.

She finally broke the silence, glancing sideways at him as she led him down a stone path that dipped below street level. “This is the place. Warehouse Twelve. Used mostly for shipping weapons, relics, even people.”

“Well, you didn’t tell me where we were going.”

“Oh, sorry!” Kleo fumbled with her hands.

“It’s fine. I’m guessing there are more here?”

Kai’s eyes scanned the towering black structure. Its windows were reinforced, and guards patrolled the upper balconies with crossbows slung casually over their shoulders. A few wore mage tattoos that shimmered faintly in the dark.

“Yes. You can take what you want,” Kleo said flatly. “Just kill everyone inside and burn the place down.”

Kai turned to her, cocking an eyebrow. “You don’t give me orders. But… that was the plan.”

He watched from the warehouse roof, eyes gleaming beneath his hood as the shadows twisted at his feet.

He didn’t descend himself.

Not yet.

“Merri. Kael. Clear out the rats’ nest.”

Kael was the first to move, a blur of violent motion that tore through the rusted front door like paper. Screams rang out seconds later as his blades carved paths through mercenaries and handlers alike. Crates splintered beneath his feet as he surged forward, slicing down mages before they could complete their incantations.

Merri stalked in behind him, silent as a grave. She killed without warning and left no trace. She had throats slit in a heartbeat, her dark dagger swallowing sound and light alike. She moved like a shadow stitched to a nightmare, dancing through the rafters and beams between kills.

Kai kept a hand on the edge of the roof, feeding mana into Merri’s shadow. Every now and then, he blinked in and out of their shared senses, watching through her eyes.

But the tide turned fast.

A deafening clang rang out from the center of the warehouse, followed by a crash as Kael was hurled across the room like a ragdoll.

A monstrous form stepped from the back of the warehouse. An iron golem, eight feet tall, glowing red runes carved into its arms and chest, stomped toward Kael and Merri. Its feet shattered concrete as it walked. And above it, three drake-like creatures flew, wings beating with heat and smoke.

Pygmy drakes. Small but vicious. Fire breathers.

Kai’s eyes narrowed.

‘Time to get involved.’

He dropped from the roof and landed onto a swirl of shadows. Ice exploded outward from his hands, encasing the golem and two of the drakes in massive frozen tombs.

For a single breath, all was still.

Then, the heat from the drakes cracked and melted the ice. The golem flexed once, and shattered its prison entirely.

Kai rolled his shoulders. “Fine.”

Darkness pooled around his arms, coalescing into two gleaming shadowblades. He dashed forward, wind screaming past his ears, fireballs narrowly missing his head as the drakes turned their attention to him.

One landed a glancing hit, then the golem’s fist caught him square in the jaw. Kai felt his nose, cheekbone, and jaw crack. The shadow blades disappeared from his hands once he lost his concentration. Kai was sent skidding across the floor, vision spinning.

“System,” he growled through bloodied lips. “Expend my life essence to heal me.”

[Life Essence: 3,097/27,500.]

His limbs felt heavier. Sluggish. But his face pulled itself back together with a wet snap that made him gag.

‘Enough of that.’ Kai looked at the drakes, ‘Shade. Clip their wings.’

Shade burst forth like a serpent, lashing toward the nearest drake and slicing off a leathery wing. The creature tried to stay in the air, but spiraled to the floor with a shriek.

Kai, now on his feet, tightened his grip.

A massive warhammer of shadow formed in his hands, dense and wicked, carved with jagged lines that pulsed with necrotic energy.

[Skill Learned: Imbue Necrosis.]

[Imbue Necrosis – Magically enhance a weapon to mimic necrotic magic. Draining life and stealing energy from those it touches.]

‘Oh, now that’s beautiful.’

It was lighter than steel, yet he could barely lift it, until strengthening magic surged through him.

Suddenly, it felt like holding a twig.

With a roar, he charged the golem.

Each blow landed like a thunderclap. One crushed its knee. Another shattered its chest area.

Kai caught a small blow to his side mid-swing, but powered through it.

The final swing cracked its skull, revealing a glowing core and a mess of carved runes, its arcane programming.

Kai narrowed his eyes and morphed the hammer into a spear.

Without hesitation, he stabbed into the runic cluster. Magic sparked violently, then went still.

The golem slumped.

By now, Merri and Kael had swept the rest of the warehouse. Corpses piled in neat lines.

An offering to their master.

‘They’re like cats…’

Kai knelt beside them.

“Mass Raise Dead,” he whispered.

Dozens of bodies twitched, then rose. Eyes void of life. New soldiers for his ever-growing army.

From the warehouse’s stash, Kai absorbed loot into his shadow space: crates of swords, a lantern that glowed with eternal light, scrolls sealed with enchanted wax, a pair of gloves that seemed to dampen magic, and vials that pulsed with alchemical essence.

In a side chamber, he found caged prisoners. Most of them were ragged, bruised, and barely conscious.

Slaves. Experiments. Collateral.

He released them and gave them several pieces of silver.

“Try to find a way out of the city. By boat would be best. Make sure you don’t stick around here.”

They ran from the warehouse. Kai entered and threw some fire magic around, torching everything in sight.

As the warehouse began to smolder, fire licking at its edges, he heard a clink in the back room. He turned, curious.

Behind a false wall, he found a trembling man. Balding. Greasy. Pathetic. The type that thought money could buy safety.

“I can pay you,” he whined. “Gold. Slaves. Artifacts, anything you want, please-!”

Kai tilted his head.

A blade of shadow took the man’s head off clean.

Then he raised him from the dead, just to see what kind of thing he would become. His instincts said experiment, not soldier.

Inside the backroom, a hidden ledger lay tucked beneath floorboards.

Kai flipped through it. Names. Transactions. Shipments.

And on the third page: Firra Carmine. Priority Asset. Scheduled transfer: Forne Palace. One week.

He showed it to Kleo upon leaving the warehouse a second time, watching the color drain from her face.

“The palace,” she whispered. “That’s where they’re taking her.”

Kai nodded. “Then that’s where we’re going next.”

Kai pulled the gloves over his hands and attempted to use wither, but they held strong.

‘These will come in handy.’

[Name: Kai Tensen |

Age: 14 Years |

Specialisation: Necromancer |

Rank: 7 |

Awakening Requirements: Sacrifice 100,000 Life Essence (24,120/100,000). Consume a soul of Sovereign rank or higher |

Life Essence Stored: 10,672/27,500 (2,750/2,750 – Phylactery Reserves) |

Mortality Deviance: 5/10 |

Artifacts: Abyssal Band, Mirage’s Veil, Gloves of Dampening |

Souls Absorbed: Winfried Drummond (Greater), Angelica Trunsdale (Greater), Nameless Guards (2, Petty), Nameless Inquisitors (3, Lesser), Arcane Wolf (51, Lesser), Iron Bear (13, Greater) Deer (91, petty) |

Undead Army: 379 (Joran (Brawler), Rhea (Commander), Finn, Merri (Shadowsworn), Voltis, Zephyr, Kael (Splitspeed Rogue), Ralts (Chaos Lich), Joe (Death Knight), Arcane Wolf (2), Skeleton Novice Fire Mage (12), Skeleton Novice Shadow Mage (10), Skeleton Novice Elementalist (3), Skeleton Warrior (38), Undead Bandit (63), Skeleton (186), Zombie Warrior (41), Zombie Sprinter (9), Zombie Shambler (20), Ghast (13), Undead Knight, Shadow Death Knight, Lesser Lich (2), Grave Maw |

Tethered Souls: 1: Kleo Carmine |

Languages Translated: Imerian, Salan, Forebearers (Partial) |

Skills: Mana Manipulation, Mana Tempering, Mana Sense, Shadow Manipulation (Advanced), Strengthening Magic (Moderate), Elemental Magic (Minor), Combat Arts (Intermediate), Shadowmeld, Precision Targeting (Magic), Death Sense, Murmurs of the Departed, Shadow Decoy, Sigilcraft (Fortification, Elemental), Aura of Undead, Imbue Necrosis |

Spellcasting: Intermediate |

Spells: Raise Undead (Moderate), Thrall Control, Shadow Conjuring, Bull’s Strength, Frozen Touch (Contact), Frozen Zone (Area), Icicle Javelins (Ranged), Searing Touch (Contact), Wall of Flame (Moderate), Wither, Gravebound, Wall of Ice (Moderate), Mass Raise Undead (Lesser), Tether the Fallen, Ice Prison (Minor), Shadow Weapons, Flamethrower, Tempered Shadows, Shadow Space, Speed Sigil (Lightning), Power Sigil (Fire), Aura Sigil (Ice), Undead Enslavement, Chaos Sigil, Darkness Sigil (Shadow), Chaos Shadow Barrier, Control Sigil (Anti-Chaos), Flight Sigil, Shared Senses Sigil]