One hand rested just below the left breast, directly opposite the heart, while the other almost tenderly swept the bangs aside and descended to the forehead.

The black light pulsed with a ghastly, unnatural glow. Like tiny black holes that, by some strange twist of fate, did not inherit the power of their elder sisters, capable of destroying stars.

'Begin!'

The jet-black radiance trembled and then began to descend, seeping through the skin into the inside, activating the ether already present there.

Two pieces of a whole felt each other's presence and stretched out. To the naked eye, it was invisible, but from the girl's body, the thinnest filaments of energy of thirst extended, connecting with Stas's hands.

Ordinary energy infusion didn't require such a strong concentration of ether from Stas. He would pour it in gradually, preventing his hands from acquiring such an unpleasant appearance.

But now it was different.

At this moment, he had to create a spark that would ignite the "gasoline vapors" and start a chain reaction that would roll throughout the entire dead body.

Like a doctor with a defibrillator, he was about to send a powerful discharge.

The concentrated ether energy reached the heart and, by extension, the prana core of the warmasters. This organ was already dead, so there were no special mysteries to expect, but even so, a magnificent result could be obtained.

A second portion of thirsty energy penetrated through the right hand into the brain, rapidly spreading through the neurons and glial tissues.

An anticipating smile crossed Ordyntsev's pale face. His serpentine eyes, burning with spiritual vision, eagerly watched the dead girl's heart.

'Activate!' The concentrated ether that had accumulated in the heart and was just awaiting the command "exploded," stirring up its less saturated counterpart.

What had Stas done?

In truth, so far, very little. He had merely sent the dark energy one incredibly concentrated emotion: "thirst." It encompassed much: the desire to live, to eat, to drink, to have sex. To possess everything and nothing at the same time.

This was the essence of what the girl herself should have wanted, had she not been dead.

Ordyntsev was doing it for her.

And the ether responded to desires so close to its spirit. The dark energy began to fervently burrow into the body provided to it, saturating the cells and reanimating them.

The ether felt that this body needed its help to continue consuming. And thus, it could anchor itself in this reality longer.

The dead heart remained still. But it was a different kind of silence. The silence of the undead, which should not live, but despite everything, continues to move, desiring to consume any life.

Nevertheless, the ritual was not yet complete.

A mental push, and ether began to expand under Stas's control, claiming parts of the body that had not been used so far.

Moreover, special emotional triggers were being transmitted to the dead girl's brain, which immediately resonated with the ether, supplementing its desires.

Now, the revived ether will believe that the only thing keeping it in this world is the will of its creator. Fulfilling his commands is the only correct and proper decision if it wants to continue consuming.

No obedience – no consumption. It's simple.

It was such a brazen and simple solution that Stas could not help but admire those who had come up with it.

In fact, the only thing that restrained the animated ether was, in a way, deception. But it still worked.

Ordyntsev abruptly cut off the ether supply, and the black light disappeared from his palms. Stas realized with a chill that he had gotten too carried away and approached a dangerous edge, nearly crossing it.

Using the energy of thirst was like walking on a tightrope over an abyss from which someone eternally hungry was constantly ogling at you, licking its lips.

One mistake, and you're already a ruthless addict, draining helpless children right in front of their dead parents.

But it was time to wrap up the reflection.

The dead girl still lay on the altar, showing no signs of life. But this impression was deceptive.

Stas saw clearly how the etheric heart pulsated, driving streams of hungry energy through the lifeless body.

"Stand up!" His sharp command sounded like the crack of a whip.

Ordyntsev suppressed the urge to jump back when the girl sat up and then tried to stand.

Getting tangled in her legs, she rolled off the altar, hitting her head on the stone floor. A dull thud echoed through the room.

Leviathan, lying to the side, hissed in fear. This human unnerved her greatly. She moved and behaved all too wrongly. The dead should lie quietly and be eaten, not walk among the living!

From the side, it might have seemed that the zombie was defective. It twitched, tried to stand, and, time after time, fell again.

But Ordyntsev saw that with each second, there was more correctness in the movements of the corpse.

The self-aware ether was learning to use the brain and body given to it.

And then, the moment of truth. The girl got up, assuming a vertical stance.

She swayed a bit but finally found a stable position, quickly getting used to it.

Another minute, and the last uncertainty vanished. At that moment, the dead warmaster was ready to follow the orders of her new master.

"Strike that block." The earthling's finger pointed to the altar.

The girl's body blurred, and she instantly appeared next to the stone.

'She strikes with both hands clenched into fists. So Minoru didn't lie, some muscle memory is indeed preserved. Her speed exceeds ordinary people, but is still slightly weaker than standard ordinary warmasters.'

Stone chips flew in all directions, and the altar split in two. Dust filled the air.

He had to wait for it to settle down.

"Achoo!" The dreadful necromancer in the dark laboratory desperately sneezed, rubbing his teary eyes.

'Damn, now I'll have to clean up.'

But finally, decorum was restored, and the master looked again at his obedient undead servant.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Tell me, what was your name before?"

The girl opened her mouth and silently flapped her lips a couple of times. For a few seconds, nothing happened, and then she remembered to inhale.

"A-a-a-r-r-a-a..."

"Stop," Stas winced.

'What a disgusting sound. As expected, speech functions were impaired. Nevertheless, the subject remembers what conversation is and is capable of a limited creative approach.'

"That's a success!" Stas beamed brightly. "I've done it."

The dead girl said nothing, continuing to look at her creator without emotion.

The only thing that concerned the spawn of forbidden arts was how soon it could consume something.

And that "something" could be anything: people, animals, the master, or even herself.

*****

"Why should I give you more knowledge?!" Minoru growled at the earthling standing calmly before her. "Even though you've weakened my prison, the main spells still work! We didn't agree on this."

"You're right," Stas nodded in accord. "Nevertheless, if I didn't have any ideas before on how to finally help you, now I have a plan. However, for this, I need more knowledge about the ether and how it operates."

"Why should I believe you?" the lamia crossed her arms under her chest. "So far, you've only been demanding techniques from me. How do I know you'll help me?"

"Because I have a plan. And I'm even willing to share it with you," Stas reiterated, firmly maintaining his stance.

"And what is this plan?" The yokai raised an eyebrow.

"As far as I understand, there are quite deep dungeons beneath the Citadel. Initially, they should be protected by you, but as we see, this is not a problem. I plan to transport a certain number of zombies there and then use them to attack several key points, drawing the main defense forces of the Sumada there. It could be disguised as the machinations of the Deathbringers."

Minoru involuntarily dropped her defensive stance and began to listen more attentively.

"If you haven't killed and raised a whole bunch of at least advanced warmasters, this attack will come to nothing. The dead will be very quickly and easily defeated." The ancient yokai shook her head. Despite her deep hatred for the Sumada clan, she couldn't deny their strength. Even when most of their forces were at war or on missions.

"Don't worry about that," Ordyntsev smirked maliciously. "I have some thoughts on how to make the raised ordinary warmasters lethally dangerous even for advanced comrades. But let's return to the plan. For it to work, I need knowledge of how to create intelligent zombies so they can lead the dead in an attack. After all, my presence on the battlefield might be undesirable."

He paused to collect his thoughts.

"I can help with that," the yokai frowned. "My prison has weakened enough that I can remotely control some zombies."

"But not all," Ordyntsev concluded. "That's why I need your knowledge."

"And you're ready to perform the rituals on living people?" Minoru gave Stas a strange look.

"We made a deal, didn't we?" Stas looked indifferently at the spirit.

"You're right," Minoru nodded, looking away from the man. "Fine, I'll give you this knowledge. Moreover, I'll share the technique for strengthening zombies. The only thing is, they will decay much faster."

"Believe me, that's not a problem." Stas snorted as if he remembered something funny.

*****

'Yup, just like that.' A trio of explosive scrolls surrounded by metal fragments took their place in the belly of an ordinary zombie.

The dead didn't care that all its intestines and part of the lungs had been removed. They were useless to it anyway. In their place were now powerful explosives.

Every time Stas remembered how much money he had spent on these artifact scrolls, he wanted to cry. Almost everything he had earned through hard work had gone into buying these explosive pieces of paper.

'Minoru, I'll wring out every ryo I spent on you!'

"Stand in line with the others." At the command, the undead, rising from the stone operating table, approached the other standing zombies and took its place.

No, this zombie was not particularly intelligent. It's just that Stas was personally controlling it using the technique of etheric thread. The only problem was the difficulty of operating with it at long distances, which meant he could control far fewer servants at once.

This technique was also provided by Minoru, further increasing the already existing debt.

By the pinched lips of the yokai, it was evident that this was the last charity on her part. She was no longer willing to give him anything until he fulfilled his promise.

But that was unnecessary. The existing knowledge was quite enough.

What was missing was the prepared undead.

However, that was a fixable matter. After all, this world was literally teeming with bad guys ready to kill you, even for a contrived reason.

So why couldn't Stas do something very dreadful and wicked to them?

*****

"That's it, my puny students, your time is up!" These were the words with which Jun greeted the tense wards who had gathered at his command at the familiar clearing in the forest.

This place could be considered their unofficial meeting point.

It was here that they had encountered the wolf pack leader. And if before it took them hours to get here, now they could manage in about thirty minutes.

New power was more intoxicating than any drug.

"Sensei, what do you mean?" Eiji cautiously asked, already fearing the answer.

"I'm saying that the years of my suffering are over. No more tasks like "fetch," "carry," "go away," "bring back"! Cursed be courier missions and all that rubbish. Even if they pay me full rate, I still refuse to engage in such bullshit!"

Finding nothing more to say, Jun took to his flask amidst the grave silence.

"In short, each one of you loafers is already worthy of being called an advanced rank. I know, serpent spawn!" He immediately turned to Stas, who had opened his mouth. "That advanced warmasters vary greatly in strength, and you might be sent on a mission that's too dangerous. But it can't be helped. Our entire life is a game of hide and seek with death. Better you learn independence now than do it at the war."

Jun glowered and gave his students a heavy look.

"Besides, what is this dissatisfaction? Normal warmasters are ready to kill for a promotion, and you're still unhappy?"

"Not at all, Sensei!" Eiji exclaimed, delighted. "We are ready!"

"That's the true fighting spirit. Learn the power of youth from Eiji!"

"Sensei, how is this going to happen?" Stas had already realized that arguing with Jun wouldn't work, so he wanted to get at least some information.

"It's simple," the master calmed down completely. "You will have to demonstrate your strongest techniques to the commission..." Their gazes involuntarily met Stas's, for he focused not so much on the scale of the techniques but on precise and cunning strikes. "And by the strongest, I mean their speed as well. Sometimes, the most dangerous techniques are not those that create mountains but those that can destroy all enemies in seconds."

Stas nodded - it made sense. The commissioners were interested not in the approximate power of the candidate but in how dangerous they could be to the enemies.

"Secondly, you must answer a series of questions related to geography and other such trifles. Besides, you must be able to read and write. Fortunately, there are no problems with that."

Ordyntsev inwardly sighed. He didn't want to remember how much effort he spent learning to read and, of course, write in this cursed language.

"And finally, thirdly. If you successfully pass the first two tests, then you must complete a couple of missions on your own to finally confirm your title."

Mei bit her lip and thought tensely about something. It wasn't hard to guess what.

Although her father had promised to send them on easy missions, it seemed that Jun's patience had snapped, and the easy ride was about to end. However, the girl didn't look too irritated. After all, she, too, was very eager to become an advanced warmaster.

In their company, only Stas first thought of all the countless dangers that would await them with the new rank.

Well, Jun had been their commander for more than two and a half years. Of course, there were many teams whose senseis took care of their apprentices longer. But there were also those who would ditch their wards after just a year.

However, unlike Stas, Mei, and Eiji, such apprentices were expendable. The teachers simply considered them a waste of time and were willing to put up with society's condemnation.

Such ordinary warmasters were molded into temporary teams and sent on standard, unremarkable missions. Needless to say, their life and death didn't particularly concern anyone.

Jun's apprentices, however, were ready to sail independently. Moreover, advanced warmasters were still somewhat cherished, as they were no longer just cannon fodder.

Nevertheless, if Stas thought their sensei now didn't care about them, to his surprise, he realized he was wrong.

"Hey, snake spawn," Stas flinched when he heard the sensei's voice behind him. While his companions were practicing strikes in sparring, he sat down to work on pushing prana through the channels. He performed this exercise so often that it became akin to breathing.

The man could simultaneously think about something and drive his energy throughout his body.

"Sensei?" Stas opened his green eyes.

"What I said about the speed of the techniques is true," Jun hesitated. It was clear he didn't like this conversation, but he continued anyway. "However, killing power is also important. Mei and Eiji, unlike you, already possess and practice advanced-level techniques quite well."

The master grimaced and took another swig from his flask.

"Alright, I'll say it straight. I've never been good at beating around the bush. I don't want you to fail and make me look bad. Do you have anything that can impress the commission? If not, you still have a month before the exam. In that time, considering your learning speed, I can teach you one advanced technique. That should be enough."

Ordyntsev hid a smile. No matter what the sensei said, if Mei and Eiji passed and Stas failed, it wouldn't hurt Jun's reputation. The master was just worried and was trying to help him pass the test in his own way.

"Sensei," Stas bowed sincerely. One cannot live for years in another world without picking up some habits. "I am most grateful and ready to accept your help. I am immediately ready to start mastering a new technique."

"Knew I was right to worry." Jun spat out irritably.

"Nevertheless, sensei," Stas immediately continued. "I must ask. How much does the commission value if a participant demonstrates a modified technique?"

"Modified?"

"Yes," the earthling nodded. "For example, if a participant takes, for instance, an earth technique, and then modifies it, making it more dangerous and powerful. How would that be evaluated?"