DING!

The elevator stopped in front of a set of doors which slowly opened to reveal a dark and dirty alleyway. As I wondered what the denizens of the lower depths of Cahalot were like, the answer immediately came up as soon as we stepped out of the elevator.

A skinny man with long black hair leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, blocking our path through the narrow alleyway. Without even looking at us, he said, “Heoh, sheep has fallen into the Depths of Hell. The predator sees, but it doesn’t even need to. The predator knows already.”

He pushed his back away from the wall lightly, placed his hands into his pockets, then continued, “What does the lost sheep want? The Depths of Hell is only a place for wolves.”

I grabbed Yomi’s shoulder then leaned closed to her. “Do all hobos in Cahalot speak like that?” I whispered.

Before Yomi could even answer, Lard ran his hand against his hair and said, “It seems that I, Vakasa of the Darkness, needs to teach this so-called ‘wolf’ that he is messing with a dragon.”

As Lard approached the skinny man, he forcefully swayed his trench coat side by side. Meanwhile, the stranger turned to Lard in a way to make his own trench coat’s tail spread.

Oh by the Abyss… This is going to be so cringy.

“This is the Depths of Hell? I, Vakasa of the Darkness, was born in True Darkest Hell. As for you, so-called ‘wolf’, does one really foolishly think this barren wasteland could be compared to the hell I call home?” Lard jeered as he spread one of his hands against his face.

“Sheep thinking that one is a dragon, open your eyes if you have any, and come back when you are of this Hell’s level,” the man replied while making his own pose.

“How many levels must I drop to reach this scrubhole?” Lard responded with his back slightly arched, and his arm stretched forward.

“Loneliness can consume a weakling. Does this one have the guts to be ripped and eaten by it?” the skinny man shot back a question, changing his pose once more.

“Fool.” Lard pulled his right sleeve back, then used the only magic he could use - muscle magic. His right arm clenched, then his muscles moved such that it formed the face of an ugly girl. “Loneliness is nothing before me, for I have a girlfriend!” Lard declared as he kissed his arm.

The skinny man dropped onto his knees then spat blood. As he covered his mouth, he looked up with sweat pouring down from his forehead. “Y-You’re just messing with me.”

I scratched my head then called out, “It’s true. She’s from Rallas and her name is Musclella.”

The man remained still, dejected, for a few seconds until he stood up with a smile. “Hmpf. It seems that this predator accidentally prowled upon a dragon indeed. We are finished here,” he declared as he turned and left with his hands in his pockets.

“Deviants, huh?” I said as I turned to Yomi.

“Yeah…” Yomi tiredly said.

We left the alley and found ourselves in the middle of an underground street. The lower levels of Cahalot was like an underground city comparable to those built by the dwarves, except this place was extremely gloomy, dark, and suffocating. A lot of men with long hair and weird clothing roamed the streets, sometimes sending a glance towards us.

Funnily enough, while most of the sorcerers here wore eyepatches, I would see an occasional eyepatch-wearing person that looked like they didn’t belong here. To be specific, they looked like a pirate.

“Does the classroom really have to be in this place?” I asked Yomi as we walked.

“Well, you see, it’s well-hidden down here and the rent is cheaper…” Yomi replied as she held her hands together nervously.

“Let me guess, the main reason was the cheap rent?” I retorted.

Yomi was glanced away from me while Mauri sighed and answered, “Yes, Lord Archlich.”

If this place is bad, I bet the students in necromancy class is worse…

“On the bright side, the lower levels is the only place with a decent bar,” Mauri added. “Bars ran by potion-making sorcerers are questionable.”

“If you say so.” I shrugged.

Before we knew it, we reached a normal looking building amidst the place full of black-painted, fake skulls-decorated shacks in the lower levels.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

I pointed at it and asked, “What is this?”

“It’s my necromancy academy. It’s only one small floor, but it’s enough for necromancy classes,” Yomi replied.

We entered the academy, and I was immediately shocked by how normal and clean the place was. The furnitures within the only three rooms were neatly arranged, and the place actually smelled fresh.

The classroom was filled with a few normal looking sorcerers wearing the usual robes without any weird looking decorations attached to them. In fact, they actually looked like intellectual scholars as they conversed with one another.

When Yomi entered the classroom with us, the scholars approached to greet her.

“Master Yomi, it’s been a while. How are you? I have some interesting report to give you regarding the revival of the dead fishes,” one scholar said.

“Master Yomi, regarding the life equation part three, could you perhaps see if my theory on adjusting it for the dwarves is correct?” another scholar asked.

One by one, the scholars said their piece while Yomi calmly responded with one or two lines. It was clear that compared to the weirdos outside, the people learning necromancy were sane people.

“Fellow sorcerers, please. I will give time for questions and answers later, but for now, we are joined by these two guests,” Yomi introduced us to the class.

“Are you also here to learn necromancy?” someone asked me.

“I suppose. I have no other reason to be here, after all,” I replied.

“Ah, of course. What are your reasons for learning necromancy? As for me, I believe that necromancy could be used in the field of enchanting tools and weaponry,” the same person responded.

“Is that so?” I said as I rubbed my chin.

Another person, an old man cloaked in green robes, interjected, “Indeed. Necromancy is so misunderstood. I’m actually an official investigator and I’m hoping that necromancy could solve murder crimes.”

I never thought about that…

“And you?” I turned to another man.

“Me? I’m a doctor. Weird, right? But… a long time ago, my daughter caught an incurable disease that not even healing magic nor miracles could save her. However, if I could learn necromancy, maybe I could discover new cures and save people!” he declared with great confidence, though there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.

“What about you?” I turned to a woman.

“I’m an archeologist. Hopefully with necromancy, we can summon spirits of ancient civilizations to get more in depth information of the past,” she answered.

Wow. Everyone here has some very noble goals! Each and every one has something to strive for; not for themselves, but for others.

“And you? What do you want to get out of this? Peace? Solving world hunger?” I turned to a man wearing black robes.

“Oh. Me? I just want to learn how to summon zombies and make an undead army,” the man answered.

I clapped my hands together, then prayed towards the heavens. Thank you for giving me a normal person!

“That’s a very nice introduction. Anyway, let’s get this class started! I’m excited to teach you new things!” Yomi announced and everyone began taking their seats one by one.

I sat in the back with Lard, and the classroom went very smoothly. Compared to her normal shy and stuttering self, Yomi was full of confidence and life teaching her students. While her content on necromancy was pretty basic, I didn’t feel bored listening to her.

Who is this person?! What happened to Yomi?! Did she get swapped out in the elevator when I wasn’t looking?!

When class was over, the scholars gave their farewell to Yomi and left one by one until it was just Yomi, Lard, and I in the classroom. She nervously approached me and asked, “H-How was it, senior? P-Pretty boring and basic for you, right?”

“Basic, yes,” I said, and Yomi’s face drooped down until I continued, “but not very boring. After thinking about it, I have decided to help you.”

Yomi’s face immediately brightened with a big smile. “T-Then you’ll start teaching necromancy?!”

“Pfft, no way.” I snorted while waving my hand. “Instead, meet me in my room in two days. For now, I need to check out the bar Mauri mentioned.”

I stood up and got out of the classroom with Yomi to find Mauri. The spirit was in the staff room managing documents, since she only came back recently so all the paperwork had piled up.

“Oh, Yomi and Lord Archlich. How did it go? I hope it went well,” Mauri greeted without even looking up from her work.

“Senior agreed to help me, Mauri!” Yomi excitedly replied.

“Lord Archlich is willing to teach necromancy?” Mauri looked up with a surprised look on her face.

“First of all, no. Secondly, call me ‘Boss’ instead of Lord Archlich. People can’t get Archlich right…” I replied. “Thirdly, I need the directions to the bar in this place. I want to see what they got.”

“If senior wants to go to the bar, I can take you there!” Yomi interjected.

Mauri slammed her pen down and sternly said, “Oh no, not you. You’re staying here to help me fix these documents. Also, you can’t handle your drinks well. My apologies, Lord Archlich-... I mean, Boss, you’ll have to go to the bar yourself, but I will give you directions.”

“It’s fine.” I waved my hand.

After getting directions from Mauri, I stepped off the academy and sighed as I was going to have to make my journey through treacherous lands myself.

“Heeeey, Boss! Hey!” Lard waved his hand in front of my face.

Oh, right. This guy.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“What? You don’t remember that I’m underaged?” Lard asked back.

“Underaged for what? To get married? To go to war?” I raised my chin and rubbed it.

“To drink! I can’t drink!” Lard answered.

“There’s an age limit to drinking?” I pondered.

“Yes, obviously. Wait… Right! There’s no age limit! I can finally try beer!” Lard happily snapped his finger then swiped his nose with his thumb. “Come on, let’s goooooo!”

Well, at least I got a drinking partner.