Supreme Magus novel Chapter 230

"Does Phloria know about this Death Vision thingy?" Yurial asked.

"No, she has spent too much time worrying about me night and day. I’m going to give her a little respite before breaking the news to her. She deserves it."

"Man, that’s exactly what I am talking about." Yurial sighed.

"Before Balkor, everything was so easy for me. I had my future set in stone. I thought I had my whole life in front of me. That my sh*tty wife would give me a few heirs before I started searching for happiness somewhere else.

"I didn’t give a damn about love. All that I cared about was to take my father’s place as the head of the family and make my Grand Duchy a better place for everyone to live in.

"Now I feel completely lost. I can’t stop thinking about all the things that I will miss because of my role and my marriage. To make things worse, if something happened to me tomorrow, nobody would care.

"My mother barely remembers my name, while my father is always so busy that I rarely see him. Is it wrong for me to want to go away and have a life? To forget about duty and think only about myself for more than five minutes?

"I want to have something similar to what you have with Phloria, even once, before duty hog-ties me like a prime roast. What do you think I should do?"

"I’m sorry Yurial, but this is something only you can decide." Lith shook his head.

"There are only a few things I can tell you. First, give yourself some time to recover. Maybe you need to re-evaluate your life’s long term priorities or maybe this is just your anxiety talking. We both need some quiet to get things straight, right now we are a mess.

"Second, you can’t go to class in that state. Unless our Professors and colleagues have gone blind, they’ll notice how high you are. You could get in serious trouble, maybe even get suspended."

Yurial sighed before using a few healing spells on himself. Cleansing his system was the easy part, in just a few minutes his appearance became that of someone that just had skipped too many meals and a few nights of sleep.

The problem was that now he could only resort to sheer willpower to keep his inner demons at bay. When they met the rest of the group in the compulsory courses’ class for the Necromancy lessons, their mood only got worse.

While most of the class was moping in silence, the girls were smiling and laughing, like they had no care in the world. Yurial was so envious of house Ernas that he was about to pop a vein.

Phloria’s older brother was already married, ensuring the future of the family and relieving his sibling from any kind of pressure.

Based on what Quylla had told him, she was walking on air. Orion was the father she had always wished for, and once she got used to Jirni’s attempts to manipulate her, Quylla couldn’t get angry with her.

Not after what she had heard from Friya and Yurial about their respective biological mothers. Yurial couldn’t agree more with her.

’Lady Ernas may be nuttier than a fruitcake, but whatever she does to her daughters, she only does it because she thinks it’s for their sake, not for her own.’ Yurial thought.

Also, while Yurial’s trauma was only getting worse over time, Friya was slowly overcoming her own. Losing her family after her mother’s escape had been the lowest point of her life, but she was now certain that being adopted by the Ernas couple was the best thing that could happen to her.

She had finally a place where she belonged, loving relatives, and no more worries outside graduating from the academy. Since the fall of house Solivar, her arranged marriage had been called off. She was now free to do as she liked.

The boys faked a smile and sat in their chairs, waiting for the second gong to sound.

Professor Zeneff entered the room, giving a sad smile to the class. The students were so used to her cheerfulness that the change of attiude drawn on her drew even the gazes of those that usually wouldn’t pay attention until the start of the lesson.

She had lost several kilograms too fast, making her appear much older than she actually was. Professor Zeneff seemed to be dreadfully tired, her movements were unsteady.

"Good morning, dear students. I know I look terrible, just like I know that after all you went through, you probably don’t want to study Necromancy one more minute than absolutely necessary.

"Luckily, we are on the same page. The Black Griffon academy has suffered many casualties. I have lost many dear friends and assistants that were like family to me. So I’m eager to get over our lessons as much as you do and go back home.

"Today I’ll teach you how to possess the body of one of your undead and use it as it was your own. This is the last thing you need to learn to complete this subject. I told you at the beginning that my course would be quick and easy. I kept my word."

Her voice lacked the enthusiasm they had become used to. The gloomy atmosphere of the class became even worse.

"The principle behind it is relatively simple." She made appear a rat skeleton, turning it into an undead, and imprinting it with her mark in a few seconds.

Death Vision made Lith see the undead’s eyes turn off once the spell had lost its effectiveness and then after its body was crushed under something heavy.

’What the heck? Do I care for undead too or is this some kind of curse?’ Lith thought.

"When I taught you how to move them and impart them simple commands, I explained to you how to perceive the mana that you have transferred within the corpse and move it with your will.

"Even if detached from your body, it’s still a part of you."

Professor Zeneff placed her hand on the undead. Its eyes turned blue and it continued the explanation using Zeneff’s voice.

"The last step requires for you to transfer your consciousness along with the mana. You have to find that sliver of your essence and establish a connection with it. I always suggest imagining it like creating a tunnel between the sliver and your consciousness.