After the lesson Leo tried to talk to me again. I politely excused myself and left. While he was rather courteous I did not like the look in his eyes. And there was Helena’s warning. I had no reason to distrust her.

At dinner I managed to meet with my friends again. I told them about my lesson and the encounter with Leo.

“It was wise to keep your distance. He is one of those who would like to use you. Just like he wants to use me for his political goals.” Helena said.

“What will you use for your first undead?” Skadi asked, changing the topic.

“I don’t know. A rat is sort of boring. But I don’t have the money to buy a bigger skeleton. If I had something to carry my things it would be cool.”

“We could go and hunt something on Solday! Maybe a bear?” Helena suggested.

“Um… We would need to leave the city. There is no guarantee we will find anything in one day. And would you even know how to harvest the skeleton properly? I don’t want a zombie. Also, don’t forget that I was attacked on my way to the academy. Someone might be watching, looking for a chance to try again.” I pointed out.

Helena sighed. “You are right… I guess hunting will have to wait.”

“Could you create a frost undead? Instead of going for a big skeleton just make a fancy rat.” Skadi suggested.

“It’s supposed to be hard to add an element. I have to check the book if it says something about it.”

“There are a lot of frost monsters back home. It’s a shame we don’t have a corpse ready. I bet they would work well for you.” Helena mused.

“I could ask my teacher. He said he might help if we had an interesting idea… But I am not sure if that would not be too much. It’s my first undead.”

“But you are really talented! Just look how easy you have learned the elemental runes. You even discovered one for yourself! And you are already capable of casting telekinesis. Believe in yourself!” Helena encouraged me.

“Ok. I will talk with Gronir tomorrow.”

Now that we were in our second week we had regular classes in the morning. The afternoons were either for advanced classes we picked, or practice. It was expected that students would work on their skills in their free time. So I had an opportunity to visit Gronir the next day after lunch.

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As I reached his office I was surprised. His door was made of bones. I was not sure if I found it creepy or awesome. As I knocked the door opened, by itself. Had he animated a door?

“Come in.” He said. “Ah Koyuki, what can I do for you?”

The interior of his office was mostly normal. He had a plush couch and a nice desk with two chairs for visitors. There were some bones and skulls lying around, as well as two skeletons standing at the wall. But mostly it looked organised. There were shelves with books, neatly stacked papers and some nice pictures on the wall.

“Sir, I would like to ask about selecting a skeleton.”

“Ah! Have a seat! It’s good to have a motivated student. And I have heard great things about you from my colleagues! It’s a shame that you did not bring the body of the mage you killed with you. That would have made for a great undead.”

What? I looked at him with wide eyes, my mouth hanging open.

“Does that surprise you? This is a military academy. Raising your enemies is rather normal in battle. You killed him by flooding his body with death mana. Some of that will have lingered in the bones. Killing something with death magic can help when animating them afterwards. And it would have been a great trophy.”

That was not how I imagined this conversation to go. “I… I will remember that sir.”

“Good. About your first undead. I agree that someone of your talent should aim higher than a rat. And I understand from your background that you do not have the funds to actually buy something. Hm. I am willing to support you, as long as you are dedicated.”

“I promise I will work hard!”

“Good. I think I have an idea. Have you managed the telekinesis spell yet?”

“Yes, but only briefly.”

“I can work with that. It means you know the basics of a channelled spell. We will do something special for your first undead. Something that can help protect you. Maybe a dire wolf. Are you taking advanced alchemy?”

“Yes.”

“Perfect. I will talk with Horas. He can help you prepare the bones. Come back in two days in the evening. I am looking forward to seeing what you can do.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I left his office, pleased with the result. I would get something nice for my first undead! I decided to study the necromancy book for the remaining afternoon. I settled down in the park since the weather was nice. A lot of other students were around, all studying something. After a while I heard a familiar voice.

“All alone? Have your friends abandoned you already?” Archibald said.

I ignored him and kept studying my book.

“Listen slave, you will look at me when I talk to you!” Archibald’s voice got louder.

“You should teach her a lesson.” Someone else said. I did not recognize the voice. As I looked up I found a woman with blonde hair and cold green eyes. She was accompanying Archibald.

There were a lot of witnesses. Would they really be stupid enough to attack me here?

“And who are you?” I asked the unknown woman.

“I am Lady Florence, betrothed to Lord Archibald.” Her voice was definitely haughty.

And to think I had felt bad for her because Archibald stared at Eva so much. Maybe they deserved each other.

“I am Koyuki. Is there an actual reason why you are bothering me?” I asked.

“You should know your place!” She hissed. “Animals like you don’t belong here.”

I was not all that bothered by the insult. I liked animals.

“Are you done? I have some studying to do.” I was a bit nervous. This confrontation reminded me that I had to get stronger. But I would not let them push me around. I was no longer a slave. And they were most definitely not my superiors.

I heard people snickering. Everyone in the vicinity was watching our exchange now. Archibald and Florence seemed to be aware of that as well. They both sneered at me and left.