I took a small break, then I started working on the next zombie. I began to understand why most people would not bother. I mostly did it because I preferred skeletons, not because it gave me an advantage.

My friends resumed their search for the loot. There was a large amount of things to go through. And the zombies had just picked everything up and thrown it on a pile when we returned to the camp, which did not help.

After my first success at turning a zombie into a skeleton I was more confident. I knew how to do it now. But it did not make the process less exhausting. At least not by much. Hopefully with enough training that would change in the future.

Sadly, creating skeletons this way did not give me a chance to prepare the bones before. Which meant they were normal skeletons. At least I still had the bones from the mage. I was really looking forward to experimenting with them. But I would wait until I was back at the academy. Those bones deserved some alchemical treatments.

Once my friends finished their looting they started training themselves. It was already afternoon when a group of five soldiers arrived on horseback. Surprisingly I knew some of them.

“That is Captain Sarah, she escorted me to the academy.” I told my friends as we gathered to greet the soldiers.

“Huh. I would not have expected an officer here so fast.” Helena remarked.

“Koyuki? I had a feeling it would be you when I heard about a foxkin necromancer.” Sarah said with a smile. Then she dismounted.

John and Edith were here too, I did not know the other soldiers.

“So, what do you have for me? Bunch of bandits?” She looked around and studied the zombies. By now I had turned 8 of them into skeletons.

We told her what happened. About the hunter who approached us and our assault on the camp.

“You had exploding chickens?” She looked at us in disbelief.

“Iron Beaks, ma’am,” Cassie corrected her.

“Whatever. So you took down a mage and what, 50? 60 soldiers? Certainly a large group of bandits. Impressive. I knew you had potential!” Sarah praised me. “And it seems you found a strong team.”

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“Captain Sarah, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here? This does not seem like a place where an officer would be stationed. I expected maybe a local sergeant.” Helena said.

“You are not wrong. We were in the area on a mission. There was a commotion as the local guard tried to arrest a man because he had a zombie. They did not really believe his story. After hearing it I decided to intervene.”

I paled. I had not considered that my zombie escort would cause a problem. Necromancy was legal after all.

“But necromancy is legal!” I protested.

“It sure is. But the local guard might be a bit lazy. They decided instead of investigating they could just arrest the man and be done with it. Or they are corrupt. I will certainly recommend an investigation.”

“Idiots like that give the army a bad rep.” Edith commented.

“Anyway, please continue your story.” Sarah said. We had gotten sidetracked after we mentioned the Iron Beaks.

We finished our tale of the battle.

“And then we found a chest full of vampiric nightshade seeds.” I said.

Sarah blinked. “You… WHAT?”

We showed her the chest. She kept staring at it.

“Shit.” Edith commented.

“Yeah. You know what this means?” Sarah asked us.

“Uh... That there is an organisation behind this?” I guessed.

“It means politics! Ugh.” She complained. “Even worse, that might be connected to why I am here.”

“Why are you here, ma’am?” Skadi asked.

“There have been some concerning reports. Missing people, monsters that should not be here… Someone is stirring up trouble.” She sighed. “So, you have gone through their stuff? Anything of note?”

“We have not found anything relevant. I have made a list of our loot.” Skadi said, pulling out a piece of paper.

“A shame but not unexpected. Oscar, Theo you secure the camp. Search the loot and confirm what the girls have found in our official report. Edith, John, with me. We are going to check the scene of the battle. Could you show us the way?” She asked.

I nodded. “I will leave the zombies here and bring my skeletons, Frank and Nyx.”

“Frank was you draugr? And Nyx your cat?” Sarah asked. We had mentioned them when we described the battle.

“Yes.” I confirmed.

“You know, a draugr is rather impressive for a first year. As is your kitty, if she took down a mage.”

“Meow.” Nyx confirmed the statement and jumped on my head.

Sarah studied the undead feline. “Being able to look small and adorable is a great camouflage. You would never suspect her to be a powerful undead. She reminds me a bit of a shadow stalker.”

“What is a shadow stalker?” I asked.

“A type of feline monster. You can find them in the south of Payton. They are a bit larger than a normal cat and don’t look that dangerous, at first. But they use death mana. Once their claws get you, you are done. Unless you have countermeasures.”

“Are they undead?” I asked.

“No. They are not the most popular thing to turn into undead either. They are loners and good at hiding. Acquiring a lot of them is tedious. And the way I understand it a skilled necromancer could just take a different skeleton and give them necrotic claws or something. But I am no expert.” Sarah explained.

I pondered that. She was right that an undead could be enhanced with death mana. The original creature already having that affinity should make it stronger. But it did not add any utility. The real question was, could they become natural undead? How did natural undead raise anyway? Not every undead was created by a necromancer after all. I should ask Gronir about that.